Heron’s potato field was now the unofficial landing zone of all hell breaking loose.

  Previously, it was Lucifer that had descended from the heavens and demanded Heron to be its faithful servant.

  Now, there was a crater in Heron’s potato field that was the result of a black, curled blob that had crash landed into this tiny planet.

  And Heron could swear it was a black dragon.

  Falling back on his butt, Heron’s mouth hung open as he stared at the black dragon that had rocketed into the clearing. Goosebumps ran across his bare skin as his breath caught in his throat. Lucifer had disappeared and Heron flicked his eyes to the side to search for his friend.

  Only to find the pathetic shivering of a white rabbit once more.

  It is strategically more sound for me to be in this form right now.

  Even Heron could hear the tremble in Lucifer’s voice as it gave its reasoning. It was definitely not strategically sound given the circumstances. They were about to become dragon chow.

  Except the black dragon wasn’t moving. It did smash into the ground very hard and Heron was surprised but relieved that there weren’t more casualties. The thought of casualties tightened his chest as he thought about Charcoco and Melvin. Melvin should be fine since her stall and pen were a bit further away and from Heron’s point-of-view, it was left untouched. As for Charcoco, it was nowhere to be found.

  “Lucifer, you didn’t tell me there were other dragons.” Heron’s voice rasped, his mouth dry and throat parched.

  I… forgot.

  That was clearly a lie but Heron didn’t question it twice. It was more important to figure out if the black dragon had died on impact. He flinched as the dragon twitched once, then its wings unfurled. Heron’s eyes widened as his vision locked in on where the dragon’s arm was curled—around the body of a pale figure.

  Was that… a person?

  Heron didn’t dare to move closer, but observed from afar with Lord Bun in his lap. He squinted as he made out the shape of the humanoid, his eyes catching the details. With red hair the color of ripe tomatoes tied in a high pony-tail, pale skin and furrowed brows, Heron was well aware that he was still only in his underpants. If HR was here, he would probably be fired.

  His eyes caught on the pointy ears of the girl that was dressed in armor as she lay unconscious in the arms of the black dragon.

  That wasn’t a person, that had to be an elf. She had the features that Heron was familiar with when playing video games or watching anime. So to sum up the entire situation, Heron’s planet was just assaulted by a black dragon who was accompanied by a lovely elf girl who appeared to be a warrior of some sort. And Heron was stuck in his underwear with a white rabbit in his lap.

  Now what?

  Snap their necks, break their bones, stab on sight—

  Lucifer would not shut up in Heron’s mind as sweat dripped down the side of his temple while he crept up step-by-step towards the black dragon and elf girl. His bare feet slid across the dirt of the clearing as he passed the hearth—the was surprisingly still burning strong—as he approached the pair of planet assailants. His heart drummed in his chest as he stared unflinchingly at the two as he moved across his campsite.

  Are you listening? You need a weapon. I suggest a pointy stick or a rock to bash their brains in.

  What a little menace. Heron could hear Lucifer hopping around in the background, the sound of tiny paws shuffling around the grass by the boulder. No, Heron wasn’t going to give the intruders the death penalty for dropping onto their planet like a meteor. If anything, he was more worried about the both of them. That impact? It looked like it hurt!

  Now that Heron was only a few meters away from the black dragon and elf girl, he could see that both appeared to be… sleeping? Or rather, unconscious. Their chests heaved as they took long breaths and long sighs. Peering closer and adjusting his angle, Heron observed the two carefully from head to toe.

  No apparent injuries—just dust on the dragon’s scales and likely bruising from the impact into the ground. The elf girl appeared to be uninjured but was pale, paler than what Heron would describe as ‘in good shape’. Upon closer inspection, he noted the leather-looking saddle on the dragon’s spine and the metal armor that the elf girl was wearing. A dragon rider?

  But where did they come from?

  They… are from another world.

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  That was not the most helpful answer considering Heron and Lucifer’s world was this tiny planet. With the answer that Lucifer provided in Heron’s mind, he assumed that the dragon-rabbit meant another planet.

  That is correct. I cannot see where they are from but… they smell crispy.

  Crispy?

  Yes, they were burnt. Sometimes, you smell crispy too.

  That was… good? Heron didn’t know if crispy was a good thing or a bad thing. Regardless, he needed to do something about this situation. While he was scared of the black dragon, surely there was nothing to worry about since Lucifer was… the way it was?

  Hey, I can hear you, you know?

  Yes, of course. Dragons, absolutely terrifying and almighty. Heron was not trying to lose a hand—or worse, his head—as he leaned over the elf girl and reached out to wake her. When his fingers brushed the elf girl’s metal plating on her shoulder, he felt a shock zap him and yanked his hand back. What the hell was that?

  Magical essence—also known as mana—overload.

  Heron flicked his head back to see Lucifer peeking out from behind the boulder, its white bunny ears lopsided as its head was tilted. Well, information about the magic system would have been very useful the past few months.

  You never asked.

  This was true, Heron had just assumed the dragon was not familiar with the magical powers he was granted when he had isekai’d here. The dragon had never batted an eye when Heron had summoned logs from trees, accelerated plant growth, or when he had set up Melvin’s pasture and stall.

  Only humans study magical essence—magic is innate in a being like me.

  Heron was just now finding out there were other humans in this universe and he held back a sigh as he stared at the rabbit from afar. It wasn’t that he didn’t suspect the possibility of other civilizations in this universe, but rather he had gotten so used to his cozy, simple life on this tiny planet that he simply did not seek out other worlds. Why would he if he was satisfied with the life he currently had?

  Turning his attention back to the black dragon and elf, Heron knelt down once more as he faced the elf girl. Her face was pale, like she was sick. Magical essence overload? Was that what was making her sick?

  Only a part of it. Magical essence overload will cause the user to have physical reactions, like when you retched on that cow. In this case, it is only part of the reason why they are both unconscious. Also the perfect time to stab them—

  Alright, no stabbing. Heron stood up as he thought about what he should do next. His plan had been to carry the elf girl to rest in a more comfortable position than sideways while being gripped by her dragon—this was exactly the poor position to get neck cramps and Heron had suffered at the hands of bad sleeping posture in the past.

  But first, pants.

  Heron felt like a monkey wearing clothes.

  He still hadn’t been able to craft clothes and he’d mostly avoided wearing his salary man outfit—it already wasn’t comfortable to wear in the office, let alone working in the fields. The soap he was able to summon was the most simple version of it with no added scents—and hand-washing, drying, and wearing clothes was just too much effort when there was no around to judge him for only wearing underpants. Besides, the simple soap was mostly to keep himself clean and remain as hygienic as possible; getting sick was not an option in a world with no doctors.

  It’d probably been a month since Heron last wore his pants and it was scratchy and annoying. But that was the price of societal norms—at least, he assumed the elf girl was from a society of some sort regardless of which planet she came from. She was wearing metal armor after all.

  Securing the rope around the elf girl, Heron did his best to tie knots that would hopefully stay tight for when he dragged her out of the dragon’s clutches. Both were still heavily unconscious—he had poked them both with a stick several times. Neither of them stirred. While Lucifer had told him to bash their brains with a rock, its voice had gone quiet when Heron prodded them in an attempt to wake them without getting zapped.

  Slowly but surely, Heron tugged at the rope that was attached to the elf and pulled. He was not the strongest man around but he was strong enough to pull an elf girl. Right?

  Huffing and puffing, Heron collapsed on the dirt ground as he glanced over to the efforts he had made. She’d maybe budged… a meter at best. Great, maybe Heron should have been working out since he had isekai’d. Apparently farming was not enough to make significant headway of dragging an elf girl plus her metal armor out of the clutches of an unconscious dragon.

  Yes, you could use more meat on your bones.

  The dragon-rabbit mused as Heron gritted his teeth. Gripping the rope once more, he stood and braced himself as he pulled her out of the grasp of the dragon. Neither the elf girl or dragon shifted, though a low rumble came from the black dragon. Heron gulped as he continued to drag the girl along the flat clearing. Dirt was getting caught in the metal armor but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He wasn’t looking to get zapped again.

  The mana overload has subsided. Probably when you tied the rope around her.

  Of course now Lucifer tells him this. Heron fell back again, panting as sweat dripped down the side of his face.

  “Maybe tell me that sooner next time.” He whisper-shouted back at Lucifer, shooting the rabbit a look.

  I thought you could tell.

  No, Heron could not tell that the magical essence overload had subsided. He wondered if Lucifer could sense something he couldn’t—it would make sense, Lucifer was a dragon after all. Kneeling down by the elf girl, Heron began to investigate how the hell to get the metal armor off. Through finagling with straps and buckles, he managed to undo the plating. Once the bulky gear was off, he picked her up with ease.

  Her expression was sickly and her brows remained furrowed as Heron carried her into his cabin, setting her down in his grass clipping bed. At least he had a cotton pillow from weeks of strenuous work. Adjusting her hair and assisting in her comfort, Heron was at ease once the elf appeared to be comfortable, as if she were asleep into unconsciousness.

  Hop, hop.

  Heron flicked his head towards the open cabin door in time to see Lucifer peeking in, its white fur puffed and red eyes watchful.

  “How long do you think it’ll take for them to wake up?” Heron whispered, gesturing towards the elf in his grassy bed.

  Could be a day. Or many days. Or whatever you call ‘months’.

  MONTHS?!

  Heron stared at Lucifer as Lucifer stared back. Somehow, Heron had achieved yet another title that he never asked for.

  Nurse Heron to the rescue.

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