The celebration began right away.
When the dragon's body stopped moving, the villagers cheered so loudly that Lucian's ears hurt. People emerged from their hiding places, with some shedding tears of relief and others bursting into laughter.
Kids who had been hiding in cellars were now running around the square, shouting about the brave warriors who saved them.
Lucian's legs felt like overcooked noodles as he tried to get up from the dragon's head. The system was healing the wound on his back, but it still hurt so much that he could see stars when he moved incorrectly.
"Easy, Master," Glacielle said, appearing next to him with her superhuman speed. "You are injured."
"You shouldn't move around so carelessly."
Lucian said, "I'm fine, I just need a minute to catch my breath," but his body didn't agree with that.
He was pretty sure he had bruises on top of bruises, and every muscle hurt.
A group of people were gathering around the dead dragon. Initially, the villagers approached cautiously, fearing that the dragon might awaken and attack them.
But still, they got braver and reached out to touch the scales with awe when they were sure the drake was really dead.
"They really did kill it!"
"Take a look at how big that is!"
"It could have wiped out the whole village!"
"The warrior woman was great! Did you see how she moved?!"
"And that boy drove the blade right between the creature's eyes!"
A few people started to walk up to Lucian, obviously wanting to thank him, touch him, or do something else, but Glacielle moved to block them all before they could get within five feet.
She's now between Lucian and the crowd, and her frost fans appeared in her hands. The temperature dropped a lot, and ice started to form on the ground around her feet.
"Stay back," Glacielle said in a flat, cold voice. "My master is injured and needs to rest."
"If you move any muscle and come near, I will see it as an attack..." she said while pointing at all of them with both her fans.
The crowd stopped in their tracks, their eyes wide. Glacielle's body was literally glowing with frost, and her blue eyes had an almost dangerous glow.
"W-Wait! Stop, Glacielle," Lucian said quickly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "It's okay..."
"They don't want to hurt me. All they wanted is just to show their gratitude toward us."
Glacielle stayed still. "You are still injured, Master."
"My primary responsibility is to ensure your safety, as these individuals could pose a threat if we let down our defenses."
"Hahaha... come on now, don't be all that protective with me." Lucian laughed tiredly and said, "They're thankful villagers, not killers."
"Look at their faces. They're crying and smiling, so they don't look like they want to hurt us."
Glacielle looked at the crowd for a long time, and her face was blank. Then, slowly, the frost fans went away, and the temperature went back to normal.
She moved to the side but stayed close to Lucian, clearly ready to step in if anyone did something wrong.
An old woman pushed her way through the crowd, her face weathered and wet with tears. "Thank you," she cried.
"Thank you very much...! My grandkids were in the village, and they would have died if you hadn't come."
Lucian said, "We're glad we could help," feeling awkward because she was acting so grateful.
Next, a man in his 40s stepped forward with what looked like a small glass bottle full of red liquid. "Take this, young hero."
"It's a potion that heals your wounds immediately."
"Even though it's not the best quality, it should help with your injuries."
"Are you sure about this...?" Lucian looked at the potion and then asked, "Are you sure?" "These things can't be cheap."
The man said firmly, "You saved our lives, so giving that potion is the least we can do to return the favor."
More villagers came forward, each with something to give. A few coins, some snacks, and more healing potions.
It was too much for Lucian, and he could feel his face getting hot from all the attention. "And with that instant... I'm fucking popular now," he said in his mind.
"Thank you very much," he said as he took the potions. "We're grateful to receive all these gifts, even though of course... we do all this saving for free!"
Glacielle stopped each item before it got to Lucian and checked it carefully for poison or traps before letting him take it. Her paranoia was both adorable and a little embarrassing.
"Glacielle," Lucian whispered, "I don't think the old lady is trying to poison me with soup."
"One can never be too careful, Master," Glacielle said as she handed over the soup, sniffing it suspiciously first.
Lucian opened one of the healing potions and drank it. The taste was terrible, like someone had mixed battery acid with cherry cough syrup, but the effect was instant.
He felt warmth spread through his body, and the wound on his back started to heal faster. The pain in his muscles went from sharp to dull.
He said, "Holy shit... that really works," amazed by how it felt.
Lucian thought. "There was real magic. There were actual healing potions. This world was truly bizarre."
"Maybe soon I will have a bizzare adventure... like some kind of... Lucian's bizzare adventure...?"
"Anyway... let's see the rewards!"
Lucian opened up his system interface to see the quest rewards after dealing with the immediate pain.
[Quest Complete: Village Under Siege]
[Rewards Claimed: Beginner's Longsword (Rare Quality) - Already equipped, 500 Gold, 3 Equipment Gacha Tickets, 2 Outfit Gacha Tickets, 1000 EXP]
[Additional Rewards:
Title Earned: "Dragon Slayer"
Reputation with Millbrook Village: Friendly → Honored
Special Achievement: "First Blood" - Defeated a boss-tier enemy on your first day]
[Total Gold: 500]
[Total Equipment Tickets: 3]
[Total Outfit Tickets: 2]
Lucian looked at the numbers, and it's a whopping five hundred pieces of gold. He didn't know if that was a lot in this world, but it sounded like a lot.
And the gacha tickets would help him get better gear for himself and new clothes for Glacielle.
"Get out of the way...!" An important-looking man pushing through the crowd broke his train of thought.
He was probably in his sixties, had a thick gray beard, and wore nicer clothes than the other villagers. He wore a simple circlet on his head.
"Hah... hah... hah... young hero!" The man said, "I am Aldric, chief of Millbrook Village," and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for saving us from that monster on behalf of everyone here."
"No need to thank me more than this... we just do what anyone would do," Lucian said, not liking the formal bow.
"Gahahaha~! Come on now, don't act that low to yourself! We know that's not true!" Aldric stood up straight, his eyes fierce. "Most adventurers would have asked for money up front or just run away!"
"You rushed in to save people you didn't even know, and that shit takes many guts."
"Well, my warrior here did most of the work," Lucian said, pointing to Glacielle.
Glacielle's face stayed blank. "I just did what my master told me to do... He deserves the credit more."
Aldric nodded his head in approval as he looked between them. "A strong master and a loyal warrior."
"That's a very rare mix!" He clapped his hands. "Now we need to talk about how much you're going to get paid from me!"
Lucian started to say, "I think we've had enough," but Aldric waved him off.
"Gahahaha! Don't be silly now! There's no freaking way I'll let that happen!"
"We owe you for saving our homes, our families, and our lives." Aldric took out a big coin purse. "Please take this."
"As to thank you, we give you 1,000 gold coins!"
Lucian's mouth dropped open. "One thousand fucking gold coins?!"
"Wait, wait, hold on for a second there! That's too much!"
Aldric pushed the purse into Lucian's hands and said, "It's not nearly enough."
"And that's not all. While you're in Millbrook, you and your friend will get free meals at the tavern!"
"We also made two rooms at the inn ready and paid for a whole week!"
Lucian weakly protested, "That's very nice of you, but we can't just take all that," even as he held the coin purse.
"You can and you will," Aldric said with a smile. "We also have selfish reasons."
"For weeks, that dragon has been scaring people in the area. It seems that someone destroyed its nest in the mountains, and now it's been attacking nearby towns and villages."
"People will feel safe again, and trade routes will open up, and thanks to your actions, that will bring wealth back to Millbrook."
"What...? Did someone break its nest? Glacielle's question was the first sign that she was interested in the conversation. "That was really a dumb thing to do."
"Letting out a drake without killing it first only makes things more dangerous."
"Welp, I totally agree with that," Aldric said with a frown. "We don't know who did it, but they caused us a lot of suffering."
"Thank goodness you were there to fix their mistake."