Huff huff.
Panting sounds came from behind.
When the ground trembled slightly, Levi knew he needed to prepare himself.
Unity of waist and horse!
"Oof!"
The next moment, Levi was knocked to the ground with tremendous pressure on his body. A large tongue licked his face while whimpering softly.
Levi helplessly moved the big head away from his face.
But the other three weren't as calm as he was.
"Dragon!"
"Enemy attack!"
Thorin drew his sword, eyes wide, shouting as he lunged forward. Bard quickly drew his longbow and pulled it taut, and even old Gandalf raised his staff.
"Wait!"
Clang!
The staff met Thorin's sword, while Bard's view was blocked by grey robes.
"Gandalf?"
"Don't be nervous."
Levi patted Little Pink's head and moved the whole creature aside.
"This isn't the kind of evil dragon you're thinking of."
Thorin and Bard frowned and exchanged glances. Out of trust in Levi and seeing that Little Pink showed no malicious intent, they lowered their weapons, though they remained somewhat tense.
Both the Lonely Mountain and Dale had suffered terribly from evil dragons. They'd be happy to see every dragon in the world killed.
"Dragon?"
Gandalf questioned with obvious confusion.
"But it has no evil aura nor greed in its eyes. Except for looking like a dragon on the outside, I can find no similarity between them."
"Big Yellow, slow down!"
Another voice came from nearby as a cook responsible for Little Pink's meals chased after an aged yellow dog.
Seeing Big Yellow approach, Little Pink immediately turned its head, carefully stepping over to gently nuzzle the dog with its snout. Then the dragon and dog both crouched in front of Levi.
"My lord!" The cook greeted Levi while continuing to watch Big Yellow and Little Pink.
Levi nodded in response, patting the dragon head with his left hand and the dog head with his right.
Wait.
At this moment, Levi suddenly noticed something important.
Little Pink seemed capable of gentle movements, just like it had shown with Big Yellow.
So why did it always like to tackle him so enthusiastically?
Levi narrowed his eyes, but still met those clear eyes like those of an apprentice Ranger.
Fine.
Maybe it was just some animal instinct, like sensing strength. Tackling Big Yellow like that would probably kill the dog, but for himself it was just a drizzle and wouldn't even break his shield.
"If it's not an evil dragon, then what is it?" Thorin asked Gandalf.
Gandalf was speechless for a moment, feeling that the world's absurdities had increased again.
"Woof!"
At this moment, Big Yellow barked ingratiatingly.
"Woof!"
Little Pink also barked.
"Is that a dog?" Bard asked with wide eyes, his gaze full of doubt.
"It seems Marksman Bard should take better care of his eyesight."
Gandalf said mercilessly.
Levi sighed: "It's a dragon, but it learned things a bit wrong. I'm considering sending it to school..."
For some reason, upon hearing this, Little Pink shuddered all over. Its big head lowered, wings folded, and it crawled away dejectedly.
That dejected appearance left everyone momentarily speechless.
Slinking away like a dragon.
Seeing Little Pink leave, Big Yellow followed closely, with the cook continuing to supervise them.
"Interesting." Gandalf stroked his beard, his eyes never leaving Little Pink.
"A dragon with pure nature. Truly mind-boggling."
As an aged Maia who had witnessed Morgoth's era, Gandalf knew all too well what dragons really were.
There were originally no dragons in this world until Morgoth cultivated and created them as war weapons.
Dragons had always been collections and synonyms of malice and darkness. Their innate thinking and nature were evil, and they were extremely greedy for wealth.
These traits were encoded in their genes, the underlying logic of their existence. Not something that could be changed through good upbringing.
Gandalf studied the creature thoughtfully.
"This is different from other dragons - a new species entirely. Don't be alarmed by the similarities, Thorin and Bard. The resemblance is only surface deep."
"Yes."
Levi picked up the conversation, pointing at Little Pink casually munching grass in the distance: "After all, what dragon would like eating grass..."
"Then I'll believe what you say."
Thorin frowned, clearly still not quite recovered. This had been quite a shock for him.
"The people of Roadside Keep have gotten used to this dragon's existence."
Bard, skilled at observing environments, looked around and found that Roadside Keep's residents were accustomed to this, not particularly paying attention to Little Pink. No one showed fear or similar emotions. On the contrary, they all appeared quite gentle when seeing it.
Though he also bore mortal hatred toward dragons, Bard accepted Little Pink before Thorin did.
After all, the last fire-dragon Smaug was trapped and killed inside the Lonely Mountain, never getting a chance to cause trouble outside. Lake-town hadn't been affected and completely destroyed like in the original timeline.
Compared to Thorin, who had personally witnessed the Lonely Mountain's fall and his people's slaughter, Bard's hatred toward evil dragons wasn't as deep. He only knew his ancestors were once lords of Dale and had been persecuted by dragons, but he hadn't personally witnessed those scenes.
Ultimately, human lifespans were too short, and generational changes too rapid. Just a few generations later, memories of Dale's destruction had already faded.
What remained vivid for older dwarves was already "history" for humans.
"Time is always unreasonable."
Thorin also sighed. Even having personally experienced it, the Lonely Mountain's fall was something that happened in his youth.
Now he was over two hundred years old, no longer young. For a dwarf, this meant his life had passed its prime.
The longest-lived dwarves only reached just over three hundred years.
"Alright, stop looking so grim."
Levi patted Thorin and Bard's shoulders: "Today is a good day for my territory. I'm planning to call on everyone in the territory to hold a feast. How about it? Are you two interested in participating?"
"Of course."
Thorin smiled, straightened his clothes, and bowed slightly:
"Thorin, at your service."
"Bard, at your service."
"What are you looking at? Do you expect an old man to bend his easily injured back?"
Gandalf said indignantly.
After all, Levi had only said "you two," ignoring him as the third person.
"That's a pity. Our Roadside Keep's tobacco quality is no worse than the most famous varieties from the Shire. I was planning to share them with my wizard friend..."
"Oh, I was just joking earlier."
Gandalf removed his hat and gave Levi a standard visiting bow with a sidelong glance.
"By the way, there's one more thing."
Gandalf said: "I've been curious since arriving here. What is that?"
He pointed at the light beam piercing the sky above the castle.
Only then did Thorin and Bard follow this gesture to notice the sky's anomaly, both looking up and squinting.
"A beacon. A magical device I made several years ago."
Levi explained: "It can grant blessings to nearby people, like restoring vitality, increasing movement speed, enhancing strength, and so on."
"I traveled quite a distance to obtain this thing."