Slayers Special Volume 2: Little Princess - Chapter 1: Dragon's Peak

Credits

INCLUDE THIS SECTION UNALTERED IF YOU TRANSLATE THIS TO OTHER LANGUAGES

Sureiyasu Supesharu 2 – Ritoru Purinsesu by Hajime Kanzaka.

Illustrations by Rui Araizumi.

Originally published by Kadokawa on March 16, 1992.

This translation is based on the updated eBook version released on August 2, 2012.

 

English translation by H. Berry

 

Cleaned color illustrations by Arturo Songor (@artson593)

Chapter 1: Dragon's Peak

Originally published in the January 1991 issue of Monthly Dragon Magazine

 

“Ah, a sorceress, I believe…”

Some old guy addressed me as I sipped my dinner stew in the cold, drafty dining room of the only run-down inn in this tiny village.

Apparently, people around here really don’t like the cold, since I was the only one there. Only a faint groaning could be heard from upstairs.

I looked up at him. His face, gracefully aged, was drawn tight with anguish.

“You see, I’d like to ask you something—”

“No,” I bluntly cut him off.

Silence followed. Only the sound of me slurping stew and the occasional creepy groan from upstairs broke the air.

“...Um, if possible, could you at least hear me out?”

Reluctantly, I sighed, “Fine. Just listening.”

“You see, in the snowy mountains east of here—”

“No,” flat refusal.

Again, silence.

“...Um, but why not? If you don’t mind, could you tell me why?”

“It’s cold outside.”

The old man’s eyes widened.

I, Lina Inverse, renowned warrior, famous (and infamous) sorceress, am still human after all. And there are a few things I absolutely cannot stand.

One of them is the cold.

“Ugh! Why is it so cold here!?” I screamed when I first stumbled across this village while crossing the eastern pass. It was so freezing I wanted to hurl a fireball or two.

…Maybe I did.

Sorcerers are first taught a simple chill spell when they join the guild. It’s great for cooling off under a cloak in the summer heat.

But warming up? There’s no equivalent spell.

Why? Because it’s not really necessary.

The true calling of a sorcerer is research, shutting yourself away in some tower or dungeon poring over grimoires. If it’s cold, you just turn up the heat and throw on warmer clothes.

And there’s another problem. Warmth belongs to the fire element, and fire, as you know, is inherently violent. Uncontrollable. Which makes it almost impossible to fine-tune.

Still, a few sorceresses have tried.

One is me. The other is a certain acquaintance of mine, you probably know her as Naga the Serpent.

She’s a sorceress that wears a ridiculously revealing, villainess-style getup. My self-proclaimed rival, she follows me around shouting, “Oooohohoho! One day I’ll defeat you, Lina Inverse!”

Of course, in that barely-there outfit, the cold hit her hard and she refused to dress properly. So, on the way here, she suggested we try experimenting with a warming spell.

…Maybe she just can’t afford clothes?

Anyway, she got a little carried away. She’s got tremendous magical power but next to no control, which makes her a walking disaster.

As you might expect—

“I’ll skillfully combine fire and ice to balance the temperature!” she declared. Then promptly lost control, froze an entire lake, burned down an entire forest…

And herself.

I had to clap. Truly, an outstanding screw-up.

…that groaning from upstairs? Yeah, that’s her. She’s still bedridden.

Well, while I fired my Fire balls around to try to warm up the place, I almost ended up just like her, it was a big mess (I thought I was going to die for a bit), so I don’t want to go too hard on her.

Still, now I’m stuck footing the bill while she recovers.

What a pain…

Anyway, why would I want to head into freezing mountains on top of that?

The old man studied me for a long moment, then sighed in resignation, “I see… so you won’t take the job.”

“Nope,” I shook my head.

“There’s no other way… I understand. After all, your opponent is a white dragon. Probably too much for you…”

White dragon!?

“…Hmm.” I kicked my chair back and shot to my feet.

You see, I have history with white dragons.

When I was little, I spotted one soaring lazily overhead and ran after it, chasing it far and wide. But I tripped, twisted my ankle, and watched all my snacks and pocket money tumble off a cliff.

Damn you, white dragon! I’ll never forgive you!

Even as a kid, instinctively, I gave that dragon the finger as it flew off into the distance.

Are you thinking that I hold a grudge?

Nah, not at all.

But if I ever run into that dragon again, I’ll kick its scaly butt!

“Tell me more!”

According to the old man, who introduced himself as the village chief, near the end of last year a white dragon took up residence in the snowy mountains east of the village. Normally, dragons are dangerous, but this one seemed content to leave the villagers alone.

Until a few days ago.

Now it was causing trouble. No people or livestock had been harmed yet, but it was only a matter of time. So they decided to hire mercenaries before things escalated. Unfortunately, in such a remote, frozen village, few people ever passed through.

But then, the innkeeper noticed the beautiful, intelligent-looking young sorceress staying at her inn.

Naturally, that was me.

 

Woosh…

I stood alone, helpless in the howling wind.

Though a thin layer of snow covered the ground, the sky above was clear and bright blue.

I could smell the snow, the sharp, cold scent of it.

Even at midday, the air was freezing.

The man who guided me this far bolted the moment we arrived. Guess he’s scared of dragons.

So now, I wandered alone.

…Not that I can blame him. Fear of dragons is perfectly normal.

I was told a white dragon is somewhere around here, but where exactly?

Honestly, a white dragon is no match for me. I’ve taken down more than a dozen blue dragons, far stronger than whites. I’ve even killed a black dragon, the kind that makes even the bravest warriors wet themselves.

But no matter how weak or strong, if I can’t find it, I can’t kick its butt.

…For a moment, I thought about dragging the old man back here and forcing him to guide me all the way. But he probably doesn’t know where the dragon is either.

I wasn’t ready to give up, but wandering aimlessly until I got lost would be a complete waste of time. I’d be a laughingstock!

At times like this, the only sensible option is to eat lunch, even if it’s a bit early.

I could also scream pointlessly at the mountain peaks to vent my stress. Who knows, maybe the dragon would even hear me. But I’ll save that for later.

First, I need a nice spot to eat.

Then—

A flock of birds took off nearby, followed by the sound of trees rattling, wood cracking, branches snapping, snow crunching.

…hmm

I had no choice but to get up, and as quietly as possible, move towards the source of the sounds.

Through a sparse, snow-dusted forest, I peeked out from behind a tree—

Crap!

There it was. A white dragon.

It gnawed lazily on tree bark… then turned its head and looked straight at me. Our eyes met.

At this distance, it had the advantage.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Then the dragon opened its mouth, “Hello! Are you alone, miss? Want to join me? The bark’s delicious.”

My fighting spirit vanished in an instant.

“Oh, that’s a terrible and false accusation.”

The white dragon, Riol, waved the claws on its wings for emphasis.

I sat beside him on a flat stone, listening, “So, you’re saying you haven’t done anything?”

Luckily, he speaks human tongue. I know dragonian, but the language is annoyingly tricky. A single mispronounced syllable could turn a harmless greeting into a deadly insult.

“Heavens, no. But what exactly has this ‘dragon’ done?” Riol tilted his head.

Honestly, I didn’t know.

The village chief only said a dragon was causing trouble, without giving details.

“Well, he was vague,” I admitted, glancing aside, “But he made it sound pretty serious. I’m pretty sure, though, he wasn’t talking about you.”

“Of course not,” Riol puffed out his chest proudly, “I swear by the Flare Dragon Ceifeed. Why would I attack humans? They’d just attack me back. What’s the point? Even a young dragon knows that… well, except blue dragons. Big bodies, no brains!” He burst into raucous laughter.

So even dragons have their prejudices. Not so different from us humans, after all.

“...Hmm, maybe you’re looking for a blue dragon,” he suddenly frowned, “I’ve seen one around here recently. I thought he was invading my territory, but I didn’t want to bother with such a brute, so I ignored him. But now that I think about it…”

“That’s probably the culprit.”

“Probably,” Riol agreed with a firm nod.

Makes sense. He probably had plenty of food through autumn, but winter cut off his supply. So now he set his sights here, lots of trees to chew on, after all.

Oh, right, dragons aren’t strict carnivores. They’re omnivores, just like us.

“So you think the blue dragon attacked the village and tried to pin it on you?”

“Exactly. Blues can be devious like that.”

Funny, he just finished calling them brainless. Definitely a grudge there.

“Well, if that’s the case, help me out!” I slapped his chest, “Come down to the village with me. We’ll explain the situation together. Don’t worry, I’ll play mediator. We’ll work it out.”

“...Are you sure about that?” Riol looked uneasy.

“Of course! Leave it to me!”

 

“…And that’s the gist of it. What do you think?”

I slapped Riol on the back, though at the moment, his tail, wings, and jaws were all tightly bound with magically reinforced wire.

“That’s a lie!” “I’ve never even seen a blue dragon!” “Just kill it already!” “He’s obviously the culprit!”

The villagers shouted over each other, voices rising in an angry chorus.

I leaned toward Riol and whispered, “Well, that was a bust. Guess you’ll just have to accept your fate, haha.”

He tried to retort, but with his mouth bound, all he managed was a pitiful growl.

Then—

“There’s a big bird over there!” A kid pointed at the sky.

I whipped around, and sure enough, a massive blue dragon soared lazily over the snowy ridges.

“A dragon—!” “And it’s huge!” the villagers cried.

“See!? Just like the white dragon said!” I yelled, “You just had to trust him!”

“But even you didn’t trust him! You tied him up!” one villager shot back.

“Don’t mind that.” I brushed off the perfectly reasonable comment and released Riol.

…Tch. Lucky guy.

(That’s what a villain would say.)

“…You know, I don’t appreciate being treated like that,” Riol carefully kept his voice low so the villagers wouldn’t hear.

He still looked sore about the fact I knocked him out with a Sleeping spell, tied him up like a hog, and dragged him here.

It wasn’t that bad.

“Not the time for complaints! Let’s go after the blue dragon!” Without asking, I leapt onto Riol’s back. Snapping my fingers at the villagers, I called out, “Wait here! We’ll defeat the real culprit. The white dragon and I will take care of it!”

With a powerful beat of his wings, Riol soared into the sky.

“Good luck!”, “Crush the blue dragon!”

“They’re so two-faced. Changed their opinion of you in an instant!”

Riol gave me a flat look, “You’re just like them.”

“W-what are you talking about!? I trusted you from the beginning!”

“I don’t believe you.”

Hey.

“Anyway! Our priority now is the blue dragon.”

“…You humans are always like this… always…”

I pretended not to hear him.

 

The blue dragon dipped lower, banking toward the dense forest.

“Catch up to him!”

“I’ll try!”

Riol sped up, closing the distance quickly. As expected, white dragons are the fastest fliers of their kind (well, aside from the actual flying dragons, of course).

“But… after we catch him, how do you plan to win?” Riol asked.

“What do you mean? You’re the one who’s going to fight,” I gave him a curious look.

Riol nearly lost balance mid-air, “What!? Why me!?”

“Why not? You’re the one being accused! This is your mess!”

“…Well, that’s true, but… this is ridiculous! My specialty is intellectual work! Why should I fight a dangerous brute like him!?”

“Because… it’s your fate.”

“Don’t spout nonsense! There’s no way I can win!”

“Stop being such a coward! With love and friendship, effort and guts, luck and ability, skill and speed, brains and magic, wealth and power, there’s no one you can’t beat! Do your best!”

“If you had all that, you’d be invincible! But no matter how hard you try, you'd be lucky to manage two!”

“…You know, most of what you do is whine like a weakling.”

“I do not—!”

“Ahhh! See? Whining again! What kind of dragon are you!? There are three things I hate in this world.”

“What’s with this all of a sudden?”

“Shut up and listen. First, I hate humid, muggy summer nights. Second, people who turn a blind eye to problems, and those who act all high and mighty while leaning on others! Men who treat women like tools deserve to die, and women who act spoiled just because they’re women deserve the same. And lastly, I hate people who give up without even trying! …Oh, and the stench of rotting zombies, too.”

“That’s way more than three.”

“Shut it! I also hate people who nitpick details!”

“That was closer to seven.”

“Whatever! Just fight already! I’ll back you up as much as I can!”

“…Seems I can’t get out of this one…” Riol muttered bitterly.

 

The blue dragon noticed us. The two dragons faced off on a rocky slope dusted in white.

“Ah, you. The white dragon who lives here,” That’s more or less what the blue dragon said. Dragonian is a funny language, no pronouns, everything vague. Hard to translate exactly.

Still, his tone was rough. Then again, Riol wasn’t exactly refined either, at least compared to the golden dragon I once met, who spoke like royalty.

“What do you want? Tch… Don’t just tail me acting cocky. Well? Say something!”

…I had to tone down his words a bit.

Riol froze, intimidated by the sheer size difference. The blue was nearly twice as large.

“What are you scared of?” I hissed, “Say something! Out-talk him! You said it yourself, blue dragons are dumb!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”

To my surprise, it was the blue dragon who roared back.

Oh, great. He understands human language, too…

“You!” His glare locked on Riol, “Did you just call me dumb!? Interesting, ain’t it!?”

“I didn’t say anything!” Riol yelped.

“Shut up! I don’t care if it was you or that filthy little human on your back!”

…What did he just call me!?

“…Riol,” I leaned to whisper.

“What?”

“I’ll help,” I began chanting.

The blue dragon narrowed his eyes. “...What are you muttering? If you’ve got something to say, say it—”

“Dragon Slaaaaaaaaave!”

 

Boom!

 

The ground behind the blue dragon erupted into a roaring sea of fire.

Silence. Both dragons stiffened. Of course, even a dragon wouldn’t survive that.

“Hehe… hehehehehe!” I laughed from Riol’s back, “I missed on purpose. Scram, unless you want to get roasted!”

“What the hell!? Are you insane!?”

The blue dragon panicked, flapping wildly to escape.

“Come on, Riol! After him!”

“…Well, um…”

“Go, or I’ll aim that spell at you next.”

“Y-yes ma’aaaaaaaaaaaaaam!” Riol shot off in a frenzy.

Thus, the chase began.

“Dragon Slave!” I fired off again from Riol’s back, explosions blooming indiscriminately across the snow-covered mountains.

“C-could you please stop shooting that… it’s really scary…” Riol was oddly polite.

The Dragon Slave really must terrify him.

“Don’t worry about it,” I waved him off.

To be perfectly clear, I have no intention of harming, let alone killing, the blue dragon. I just wanted to inflict a little psychological trauma, scare him enough that he wouldn’t come back here or mess with humans again.

“Ahahahahahahaha! Dragon Slave! Dragon Slave! Dragon Slaaaaaaaaaaaave!”

 

Boom! Boom! Boom!

 

…I’m definitely not doing this because it amuses me.

…Seriously, believe me.

The chase continued, through forests, over peaks and slopes, kicking up clouds of snow as we went.

“Wait a moment!” Riol shouted.

“What is it?”

“If possible, please refrain from using spells for a bit…”

“Ah, this is nothing! It’s not like I’m getting tired—”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just that… the shape of the mountain has changed…”

Ah. He was right.

“Now that I think about it, my sister used to say nature should be cherished.”

“…”

“But I say a little sacrifice is inevitable!”

“Waaah! Stop messing with my territory!”

“But if we go half measures, fear won’t take hold in that dragon’s heart, and he’ll come back for revenge!”

“I know,” Riol thought for a moment, then spoke with resolve, “I’ll defeat him, please stop attacking.”

 

“Hey, blue dragon! Stop!”

At my shout, the blue dragon halted and hovered in the air.

How nice.

“Change of plans. The white dragon will fight you instead, play nice.”

“What? That guy?” The blue dragon narrowed his eyes.

In a head-on fight, the white dragon was at a clear disadvantage, but Riol looked so determined I had no choice but to step back.

“If I can defeat him, then you’ll let me go!”

“Fine. And if you stop harming humans, I’ll let you keep this place as your territory.”

With that, I cast Ray Wing, floated off Riol’s back, and landed on a peak with a great view.

…Not that I was entirely confident about Riol’s conditions.

“You must fight within sight of here. That’s the only rule…” I glanced at Riol.

He nodded vigorously. What a great guy!

“Go!”

At my signal, the two dragons sliced through the air and collided with a thunderous crash.

Maybe that hurt, because Riol drifted back toward me, limp in the air. “…Hey, I don’t want to do this. Are you sure it’s okay?” he whispered.

This guy…

“You know, if you try to run, I’ll blow you away!”

“Fuuuuuuuuuu…”

Man, he can be so pathetic.

“Hey, focus!”

The blue dragon charged, then slowed and drew a deep breath.

Uh-oh. Dragon’s breath!

Riol dodged at once.

“Balus Wall!”

Just beyond my outstretched palm, the dragon’s flames split and flowed aside in two elegant streams.

A derivative of Wall of Fire, it disrupts incoming flames with counter-magic, scattering them in different directions.

“Any act of violence against the witness is punishable by death! Don’t let it happen again!”

“Y-yes! Sorry!” The blue dragon’s face twisted, hard to describe that expression.

Riol kept flying weakly, clearly not recovered, and angled toward a nearby valley, obviously trying to buy time.

“Bastard! You’re not getting away!” The blue dragon dove after him at breakneck speed, the gap closing fast.

Riol glanced around, “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” he screamed when he saw how close the blue dragon was.

He was now in range of the dragon’s breath; at this speed, the wind pressure would blow the flames back onto him.

The blue dragon wasn’t that stupid. Instead, he clacked his fangs, snapping at Riol from behind.

“Stop! Don’t bite my tail!”

Amused, the blue dragon lunged for the tail, but Riol flicked it away at the last moment.

“H-hey! Stop it! I asked you to stop! …kidding!”

Wow! Riol pulled a sudden somersault.

The blue dragon, distracted by the tail, was a beat too slow to react.

The match was decided in that instant.

Riol’s claws swept back and tore through both of the blue dragon’s wings!

The blue dragon spun out and plummeted into the deep valley below. Even for a dragon, he was way too high to survive that.

Impressive, Riol! He’d lured him into a trap, using his tail as bait.

“Not bad!” I gave him a big wink.

 

Back in the village, Riol became an instant hero. The villagers even held a banquet for me and the white dragon.

He can speak human language, so he’ll surely get along with the villagers. He even got drunk drinking with some old men.

Good, good.

I watched from the sidelines with some juice.

“I’m really sorry I doubted a good dragon like you… but after everything, the lake we use for water suddenly froze, then we had a drought after the forest fires, I should’ve realized something was off.”

 

Pfffffffffffff!

 

I nearly spat out my juice.

The villagers and Riol all looked at each other.

Forest fires…

Frozen lakes…

It wasn’t Naga and me, was it?

“Ah, sorry, I’m fine, please continue,” I said, frantically waving my hands.

…So the blue dragon didn’t do anything?

…I can never tell anyone about this

Needless to say, as soon as Naga recovered, we fled the village.

…I kinda feel bad about it.

 

Lesson learned: Make sure you check things thoroughly and think carefully before doing anything.

Contents

Chapter 1: Dragon's Peak
Chapter 2: Little Princess (Read right now on Patreon or Ko-Fi !)
Chapter 3: Labyrinth (Coming Soon!)
Chapter 4: The order to eliminate Lina (Coming Soon!)
Chapter 5: The Child (Coming Soon!)
Chapter 6: Slayers EX - Little Princess 2 (Coming Soon!)
Afterword, Color ilustrations and Download Links (Coming Soon!)

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