After I told Nell my request, I head towards the village.
I find Bella treating an injured Lithuvar man along the way.
It looks like she led a rescue team to help the other Lithuvar fighters who were too injured to get back to the village and performed emergency treatment on them on the spot with magic and medicine.

When they saw me, their expressions changed from gloomy to cheery.
Bella calls another healer to treat the man in her place and she runs near me.
She utters a chant, closes her eyes, and readies〖Telepathy〗like this is already becoming a routine.

【“Ryujin-sama! All the children have safely returned! Everything… everything is over, isn’t it?”】

Bella, who calmly pushed aside the others to get close to me, was trying her best to hide her excitement in front of everyone.
Even though her smile is as obvious as the eye can see.
Seriously though, serving as an intermediary for the Dragon God, responsible for reconciling two villages, attending strategic meetings, taking command in an actual battle, and treating the wounded in battle, she’s already experienced so much in her young age.
She can’t stop herself from feeling relieved now that it’s all over.

I imagine myself smiling as well while looking at Bella.
It’s finally over.
All the disasters revolved around the Lithuvar Tribe. The Manticore fiasco, the conflict between the two villages, the Abyss breeding season…… and, the attack from that stupid noble’s army.
With most of the dangers gone, life in this forest should be fairly calm from this day forward.

……Yeah, life would be calm… if I hadn’t thought about leaving.
No, I shouldn’t feel regret. I shouldn’t.
I fought to regain the peace of this forest, along with the Lithuvar Tribe residing in it.

“……Ryujin-sama?”

Bellla looks at me in concern with her eyes half open.
Then, when she realized that she inadvertently spoke with her mouth instead of〖Telepathy〗, she gets slightly flustered and closes her eyes again.
…… It’s fine if you talk to me normally, you know. Although, you wouldn’t be able to hear my thoughts anymore.

“Gra~a……”

Partner looks at me with a sad face.
I shake my head to pull myself together, take a deep breath, and give Bella an answer.

I’m sorry, but I’m thinking about leaving this place for good.
The enemies who got away know that I live here.
They’ll probably inform their higher officers about this.
And if that happens, then this green forest will turn into a sea of fire.

“Eh, eh……?”

Bella uttered while keeping her eyes closed.
The other Lithuvars behind Bella must’ve noticed her unrest since their smiles have turned into disturbing expressions.

【“A-As long as we have you, Ryujin-sama, by our side, we have nothing to fear. So, please……”】

I slowly shake my head as Bella cried.

Even I don’t know who or what will attack next.
I can’t allow your entire tribe to get involved anymore.
I’m too worried about what Tallmann last said.

【“Wherever you run, it’ll be pointless! No matter how powerful you are, sooner or later, the hero or saint will come to slay you! That is guaranteed!”】

…… Thinking about what he meant by that, it could imply that there’s still someone out there who’s an irregular like the hero and the slime.
That someone might even have〖God’s Voice〗like me.
And, everytime I meet someone who has that skill, they’re always up to no good.

Now that my existence will be widely known, I can’t run from the path that I set out for myself anymore.
I haven’t seen any other rank A monsters like me so far.
From this world’s standards, I’ll definitely be considered as an enormous threat. With the hero no more, there’s a high chance that saint will come after me instead.

If the saint happens to be more powerful than the hero, then forget protecting the village, I might not even be able to protect myself.
All the more reason not to let these villagers get involved.
I know I had to do it out of necessity, and I had no better choices that time, but damn, I chose a troublesome path to evolve into.

Knowing full well I’m about to leave them behind, Bella holds her staff tight.
She opens her eyes, already in tears.

“I-If Ryujin-sama leaves…… if Ryujin-sama leaves again…… I don’t… we don’t know what we’ll do without you……”

Even I’m having a hard time deciding.
I even thought t it wouldn’t be so bad if I stayed.
Despite the added insurance in case the worst happens, I can’t say for certain that I’ll be able to divert all the watchful eyes from the Lithuvar Tribe towards me.

Besides…… I worked really hard.
I want to be rewarded for all my hardwork too.

Now, I have to go to another foreign land again…… and this time, without getting anyone involved.
An Ouroboros like me shouldn’t stay anywhere near human settlements.
The humans will never accept me. My power is too immense.
I realized that when I fought Tallmann’s army. Anyone who can easily demolish an army of a hundred soldiers is either a god or a monster.

Once I leave here, until I do something about this dragon body of mine, I won’t be able to interact properly with humans.
And as to when that will happen, even I don’t know. A year, or ten years perhaps? No. When you think about it from a dragon’s lifespan, a thousand years then?

…… If it’s going to take forever, won’t it be alright if I just stay here instead?

I was staring at Bella while getting lost in my thoughts, and she must’ve thought I wanted to say something, so she wiped her tears with her sleeve and held her staff tight.

Hey, Bella…… I……

…… After giving it some thought, I’ve decided.
In the back of my mind, I imagined the Hero laughing menacingly while everyone in the Lithuvar Tribe groveled beneath his feet.

I can’t promise you that the Lithuvar Tribe will truly stay safe even after I’m gone.
But at the same time, if I continue to stay here, then that saint might come after me next.
If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s that…… anyone with the〖God’s Voice〗skill is bound to have a nasty personality.

I don’t know if it’s gonna be an enemy or a friend, nor do I even know if it’s an opponent I can match.
But, I’m sure that it’ll be someone who won’t care about the surroundings or the collateral damage they’ll cause just to kill me.

I watch Bella’s reaction, who still has her eyes shut.
Her face hardens.

I promise…… I’ll come back someday.
It may be ten years from now…… or, maybe even a thousand years.
But, I’ll definitely come back again.

The silence continues for a while.
And then, Bella, while still having her eyes closed, raises her head and snuffles her nose.

【“That’s a promise…… We’ll be waiting for you. Even if I no longer exist when that time comes, the Lithuvar Tribe will await our Dragon God’s return.”】

…… If I stay here any longer, my resolve might waver.
Sorry, but I’ll be leaving the tribe in your care, Bella.
All that’s left is to go talk it over with Alo, Treant, and the spiders……

But then, a whistle sound is heard coming from the village.
Isn’t that…… the instrument made of Grafant bones, the trouga?

Someone must be messing with it now that everything’s over and they’re probably celebrating already.
I lightly laugh at the thought before watching the rest of the Lithuvar Tribe one last time and leaving the place.
But then, everyone’s faces turn pale.

So, I begin guessing.
The trouga might not be something they just play around with.

“D-Did the survivors return and attack the village……?”

Bella murmured to herself.
Even after seeing what I can do…… they still have idiots who come back to pick a fight just because I left the scene?!
I rush towards the direction of the trouga’s whistle.