The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 133 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (15)

At the mercenary leader's words, Hindrasta suddenly burst out laughing.

“Haha! So, what, you’re saying Scala and Dian should mate now or something? Oh, this is killing me!”

Hindrasta wiped away the tears that had welled up from laughing so hard and continued.

“You’re dreaming if you think that. Do you even know how many women Dian’s been flirting with at the Academy? The elf Vice-Headmaster, a Duke’s daughter, some country girl, the dark-elf Headmaster—ugh, it’s exhausting just listing them all.”

“What are you talking about?”

Scala’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Why are you even asking when you clearly already know? The number of women interested in Dian at the Academy could fill a wagon.”

“R-really?”

Scala looked between Hindrasta and me, then smiled and shrugged.

“Well, I mean… that’s to be expected, right? Brother Dian’s handsome and talented, so it’s only natural women would be drawn to him. But… he’s not married yet, is he?”

Her gaze fell on my hand, which was holding a beer mug.

“Dating is one thing, but as long as he hasn’t promised to marry anyone yet, it’s fine. Right? You’re not engaged, are you?”

“Not yet.”

Scala beamed at my answer.

“Great, then there’s no problem.”

“Haha!”

And, of course, Hindrasta erupted in laughter again.

“And what if you think there’s no problem? So what? Are you the only one getting married? You realize you haven’t even asked Dian what he thinks yet, right?”

Hindrasta’s point hit Scala like a sudden realization, and she whipped around to look at me, her eyes clearly asking for my thoughts.

I didn’t need to think about it. The answer was an obvious ‘NO’.

With the whole situation with Ismera—being so ‘deeply’ involved with her—I couldn’t just casually agree to marriage with someone else.

Even if it weren’t for Ismera, marriage isn’t something you just rush into like frying beans over a fire.

Besides, Scala… she’s still too young.

She’s about the same age as Merilda in terms of both body and maturity. Even thinking about taking things further with her made me feel guilty.

And on top of that, I’ve seen her as a little kid from ten years ago. It just didn’t make sense.

I smiled awkwardly without saying anything, and Scala’s expression stiffened, while Hindrasta’s laughter only grew louder.

“Look at her face! Did you seriously think Dian was going to marry you without a second thought?”

“Shut up!”

Scala snapped, glaring at Hindrasta, who made a zipping motion across her mouth, as if sealing it shut.

She really has a natural talent for pissing people off.

“You know, you’re acting pretty suspicious yourself.”

Scala pointed a finger at Hindrasta.

“Why are you so keen on mocking me and tearing me down? You’re acting like you have a personal stake in this.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. You keep trying to put me down, acting like me marrying Brother Dian is impossible. Why are you so worked up about this? Do you have some kind of personal issue with it?”

Hindrasta blinked, then slammed her hands on the table as she realized what Scala was implying.

“Are you seriously saying that I’m secretly in love with Dian and trying to stop you from being with him?!”

“What else could it be? You’re not the one marrying me. Brother Dian isn’t marrying you, either. So why do you care so much? Are you one of those women chasing after him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl! He’s not even human—he’s a monster, and a top-class one at that!!”

Hindrasta shrieked in outrage, and I couldn’t help but be amused.

I know she hates me, but seeing her so adamantly declare her dislike for me to my face—yep, that’s a dragon for you.

Scala’s misunderstanding stems from not knowing Hindrasta is actually a dragon herself. If she knew the whole story, she definitely wouldn’t be talking like this.

“Enough fighting on such a happy day.”

The mercenary leader stepped in, trying to mediate.

“Marriage is a serious matter. It’s not something you decide while eating snacks at a party. Let’s leave it at this for now: Dian has heard our and Scala’s thoughts on the matter.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Dian, I’d be thrilled if you became my son-in-law, but I know we can’t force you into anything.”

“Yeah, to be honest, this all came out of nowhere, and I’m not sure what to say.”

“You don’t need to give an answer right away. Now that we know where to find you, we can reach out anytime. I assume Academy professors aren’t prohibited from talking to outsiders?”

“Of course not. Professors aren’t that high and mighty. Anyway… I understand what you and Scala are thinking.”

“Brother Dian!”

Scala’s eldest brother suddenly stood up.

“I’m all for you joining our family.”

“So am I!”

The other brothers echoed as they stood up with determined expressions.

“We, the brothers of the Reblanc Mercenary Group, strongly support Dian!”

As Scala’s brothers voiced their opinions, Hindrasta shook her head in disbelief, looking utterly unimpressed.

“Ridiculous. You’re going to bring a freak like him into your family and tear it apart.”

“Raise your mugs!”

The eldest brother shouted, raising his beer high.

“Today is the day Brother Dian saved our mercenary group for the second time. Thanks to him, we’ve been reborn.”

“That’s right!”

The mercenaries cheered, raising their mugs in unison.

“To Brother Dian!”

“To Brother Dian!!”

After downing their beers, the mercenaries began pounding their fists in rhythm on the table, breaking into song.

We are the wolves of the wasteland!

With swords and shields in hand!

Soaked in the blood and sweat of our comrades!

We survive together!

Steely and unbreakable!

We fight as one, our mercenary band!

Through fire and blood, we live on!

Sworn in iron to claim victory!

Through the dark we march with no fear!

No hand of death will break our stride!

“Ugh, enough already.”

Hindrasta groaned, plugging her ears as if the whole thing bored her.

# # # # #

The celebration seemed like it would never end.

After being held captive for so long, the mercenaries were making the most of their freedom, and the beer must’ve tasted especially good.

Orendi had already passed out and been thrown into a room upstairs. I was starting to feel drowsy too—I’ve never been good with alcohol.

Hindrasta, being a dragon, wasn’t drunk at all and still looked perfectly fine, and Scala was holding strong as well.

“I think I’m going to head up to bed.”

“Alright, Dian. Get some rest.”

After bidding the leader goodnight, I made my way upstairs and collapsed into an empty room.

The noise from downstairs filtered through the floor as I drifted off to sleep.

But then, some time later, I heard loud noises coming from outside my door.

It sounded like an argument.

The party was still going strong downstairs, so I figured it must’ve been a drunken brawl between mercenaries and tried to fall back asleep.

Then, after a while, something shattered, jolting me awake.

When mercenaries drink, it’s not uncommon for tables or chairs to get broken. Must’ve been something like that.

I was just about to doze off again when suddenly, my door opened.

Wait, is this not the guest room? Did I get the wrong room?

I sat up and squinted in confusion at the figure stepping into the room.

“Who are you?”

It was Hindrasta.

She closed the door behind her and stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at me.

“You’re not asleep?”

“Too noisy to sleep. What are you doing here?”

“I don’t like being in debt.”

“Debt? Wha—ugh!”

Without warning, Hindrasta climbed onto me.

She may have the appearance of a human woman, but underneath that form, she was still a dragon—her muscles were dense, and she was so heavy I could hardly breathe.

“Get off! You’re crushing me!”

“We have to settle the accounts properly!”

I tried to shove her off, but she grabbed my wrist, pinning it to the bed.

“I hate messy finances! No more talking—just get ready to settle this debt!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! What debt?!”

“Today, you helped me out a lot, didn’t you?”

Hindrasta pressed my wrist harder into the bed as she spoke.

“Back during the war, I repaid the debt for causing trouble by getting beaten and trapped in this polymorph form. And today, I’ve settled the score for you forcing me to stay at the Academy by recovering my money.”

“Then there’s no debt left, right?”

“Wrong. Scala gave me extra on top of what I was supposed to get. I need to settle that too.”

“Fine, but how do you plan to do that? Don’t tell me you’re actually….”

“I’m not giving you the money, nor am I splitting it. That’s going straight into my hoard for the next thousand years. And besides, you’re not the greedy type anyway, right?”

“You can’t just decide that for me—”

“The problem is, I don’t have anything else to give right now except money. But I do have something else, after thinking it over during the party.”

She cut me off, tightening her grip on my wrist.

“This body.”

“This crazy dragon…”

“Even though it’s in a polymorphed form, it functions exactly like a human body. And it’s beautiful.”

Hindrasta spoke confidently.

“Besides, you’re obsessed with women, aren’t you?”

“What? When did I ever—?!”

“You’re always surrounded by them, practically leading them on. But anyway.”

She squeezed my wrist even tighter, continuing with her plan.

“I get to pay off my debt, and you get to have a beautiful woman. It’s a win-win, so shut up.”

With that, Hindrasta spread her legs, revealing the heat building between them.

“If you lick me here, I’m sure we can settle this debt in no time. Don’t hold back—you can lick as much as you want.”

“Ugh…? No, thanks….”

Feeling utterly repulsed, I muttered my response.

“I mean… your, uh, hair down there… it’s pink too, and it looks weird… Plus, it smells. It reeks of piss….”

“Huek?!”

Hindrasta’s face went pale as she quickly fumbled between her legs.

“Eek?!”

And then she bolted from the room, breaking down the door in her rush to escape.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

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