>>33776
>Dragonium
Where to Buy: magic shops on Dragonwing Street (as ore)
Price: Reasonable to rather expensive
This little beauty is a rare ore mined out in the Dragonian Territories we call “dragonium”.
When it comes to the ores you can dig up in mamono realms, the first thing that most think about is “realmsilver”, which contains mana. This dragonium here is what happens when an underground vein of realmsilver is somehow forced to the surface, exposed to the dense dragon mana in the atmosphere for years, and eventually crystallizes from all of that potent energy.
You can only mine this ore out of places where the air is particularly thick with mana– in short, you have to go poking around in dark mamono realms for it, and because of the danger that represents to humans, it’s considered extremely rare. Dragonium is mostly seen in places with a surplus of mana, like the caves and ruins of our dark mamono realms, but the most well-known lodes would be in the Dragon’s Graveyard, which also happens to be where the dragon zombies are. Every year you’ll get a handful of cases where people witness adventurers who’ve been blinded by their greed heading off for the Graveyard in search of dragonium, but it’s not particularly hard to imagine how well that goes for them.
Dragonium has a unique property we call “dragon’s breath”, and when you mix it with other precious metals, it takes on an ability to diffuse mana. For example, armor and shields made using dragonium reduce a mana-imbued impact by dispersing it, and if you process it into weapons like swords and spears, attacks that utilize mana will ripple out far wider, or something like that.
These properties are indispensable even for us dragoons. Sex with a dragon tends to be intense, and more often than not, humans who haven’t become incubi yet will end up even more drained than they would from ordinary sex from being bombarded with dragon mana, not to mention our extraordinary physical strength. In those cases, if someone's wearing jewelry made from dragonium that touches the skin like a pendant or choker, those feelings of exhaustion after a workout like that will be somewhat reduced, and there’s far less strain on the body.
Of course, these same perks also mean that you have to handle dragonium carefully. I’ve already made it clear that it makes mana disperse, but the ore itself has mana in it– strong mana. If someone with more ambition than sense and no experience with controlling mana were to get his hands on a chunk of dragonium, or a weapon made using it, on a whim, he’d be completely unable to handle any of that latent power. It’ll end up spewing mana out in a wide range, along with his own essence.
If that happens, the only thing you’ll end up showing off is how delicious you are to the hordes of horny monsters that you’ll be attracting. Situations like those are why many of the interested parties coming to buy up dragonium weapons are monsters who already possess some amount of power, like the demons of the Radical Faction. If a single man happens to purchase a dragonium weapon available at the market, he may have to prove the strength of his essence to the vendor in order to test his mettle, or undergo personal training. Even in our Dragoon Corps, you’re only permitted to wield a dragonium weapon after you’ve become full-fledged.
Heh, I don’t mean to brag, but my weapons and armor are also made with dragonium, you know. Of course, members of the Corps also get a dragonium lance when they earn their titles. I’m sure you’ve taken some interest in the ore that’s even called the symbol of our nation’s might, haven’t you? I think now’s the perfect time for me to give you an in-depth lesson so you can become a full-fledged dragoon ♥
~Captain of the Dragonia Dragoon Corps Altoiris~
Translation Notes:
I just think "realmsilver" sounds cooler, more succinct, and more magical than "mamono realm silver".
>Dragon's Lifeblood
Where to Buy: “Firedrake’s Breath” direct sales office
Price: Affordable
What’s the matter? Tired? Ah, right, you’ve had to do a lot of walking, and most of it uphill. No, nothing to worry about. If anything, it seems that I of all people let this first leave I've had in a while get me in too high of spirits. To think that I ended up neglecting my duty of keeping you safe is… shameful.
That’s right! I’ve got just the thing. Here, drink this. It’s “Dragon’s Lifeblood”— every member of the Dragoon Corps is supplied with it. Haha! Don’t get spooked by the name, it’s not our actual blood. It’s a fruit infusion1 that contains just the slightest hint of Her Majesty the Queen’s mana. Of course, even though it’s just a mamono realm fruit infusion, that doesn’t mean it’s completely harmless. Here in Dragonia, we put a lot of pride and effort into our cultivation of mamono realm grapes. Our grapes were originally raised simply by sucking up the mamono mana from the earth, but one of the methods introduced to us from our diplomacy with Lescatie is having a monster with exceptionally high mana directly raise them during the cultivation stage.
If you’re any good at guessing, you’ve probably already figured it out, haven’t you? This infusion is made from grapes raised directly by Queen Deonora herself! All varieties of infused water made using mamono realm grapes have an intense color, but the Dragon’s Lifeblood is a particularly fiery red, as if it’s symbolizing Her Majesty the Queen. There’s mamono realm wine made from the very same grapes on the market as a luxury item, but… well, it’s strong stuff. So strong that it can, say, cause a disturbance where a flock of dragons fly into a mating frenzy and start attacking human men, and we dragoons have to be dispatched.
It’s for that reason that Dragon’s Lifeblood is infused along with a blend of nectar courtesy of the alraunes living in our plateaus and mamono realm herbs with calming effects. It blessedly neutralizes the strength of the grapes and it’s available as an infusion that can be enjoyed by everyone from kids to adults in just about every establishment in Dragonia. Even when it’s been watered down as much as it has, the effect’s got to be pretty outstanding if we supply our troops with it, right? Take a swig and your physical strength, willpower, and vitality will recover right away— anyone feeling exhausted or lethargic will get the same sense of pleasant refreshment as if they’d just woken up from a good night’s sleep.
You could also say that the way it makes your essence levels bubble up like magma in a volcano is a pretty welcome side effect, heh. By drinking this, even a whelp with no endurance who can’t handle a night with a dragon can take on three straight days of sex. How’s that? Pretty reassuring, right?
O-oi, don’t give me that confused look. As far as taste goes, it’s got the same richness of a concentrated mamono realm grape, as you can probably tell from the way it looks, but the herb blend gives it a light, refreshing feeling. It’s really quite drinkable. Just relax and take it. If you do, you’ll be overflowing with essence— no doubt you’ll want to take out some of that excess energy as soon as possible on a dragon.
What’s the matter, aren’t you going to drink it? T-true, yes, I’ve already had some of it, but– but rest assured that won’t impact the flavor or the effect! There’s no issue, so go ahead and drink it! Come on, DRINK IT! GET BACK HERE!
~Captain of the Dragonia Dragoon Corps Altoiris~
Translation Notes:
Can I just say that Altoiris is my favorite? She is my favorite.
1: 果実水 is literally "fruit water", meaning fruit-infused water. Y'know, the stuff you make with those huge mason jars with spouts. Much weaker than actual juice, but still pretty refreshing, which is probably part of the reason why the effect isn't nearly as crazy as the wine. Honestly, I'd really like to try this stuff. "Juice" specifically would have been 果汁 or simply ジュース (literally "juice").
>Dragonwing Street
Location: Dragonia Empire city center
Primary facilities: Restaurants, inns, magic supply shops, arms and armor shops, etc.
Well, here we are at “Dragonwing Street”. There are a lot of these steep roads that lead up to Her Majesty’s castle on the summit, but this is the big one– the main street of the whole Empire. It got the name ‘cuz of all the little streets that branch off and spread out from it… y’know, like wings.
Given that it’s the Empire’s main street, there’s always a ton of people coming and going around here, y’know, tourists like you, travellers from other monster nations, adventurers, hawkers, even dragoons and their mounts. It’s lined with all kinds of souvenir shops, restaurants, inns… not to mention the magic supply stores and the weapon and armor shops— well, basically, in short, if you want literally anything in Dragonia, you can probably get it here. When it comes to Dragonian tourism, this is kind of the classic spot.
It’s also the go-to choice for dates for dragons and humans. It’s every dragon’s dream to walk through here with a guy… or like, that’s what they say. From the moment I decided to show you around, I wanted to— I mean, I thought you seemed like you wanted to come here, so I took you straight here without you even having to ask me to! You should be thanking me!
Ugh, anyway. One of the most noticeable things about this street is just how wide it is, which, duh, it is the main street, but it’s actually so we can use it for things like taking off and landing when we transform. The government here actually decided to put proper places for takeoff in places that get a lot of foot traffic like here, and on the roofs of some shops and the like, to keep you humans safe. We also use Dragonwing Street for the Parade of Triumph after a pair-bonding ceremony, so we built it even wider with that in mind.
On afternoons when the weather’s good, you’ll see things like restaurants taking advantage of how wide the street is and setting up open-air terraces where customers can enjoy their meals, and the lizardmen at the weapons shops doing product demos with their husbands to show off their magic weapons’ power to charm men. For the most part, the couples tend to clear out when the sun goes down, but the inns and taverns that the wurms run all light up their lanterns, and those places start to get busy.
Apart from how lively it gets around here during the day, a relaxed Dragonia evening enjoying a good meal and wine also has its charms… but if a guy like you who’s never so much as kissed a girl1 just wanders around by himself here, the single dragons working the inns might offer a free night as a way to draw in customers. They tend to toss in a meal too, so if you haven’t decided on a place to stay, it’s not a bad deal, but… as sort of like their idea of a lodging fee, you’re gonna end up attacked. S-so, you know, if you decide to take them up on their offer, don’t come crying to me!
I-I mean, I guess if you’re having trouble finding a place to stay, I guess I have no choice but to show you some inns with really good food since you can’t seem to do it yourself, but… y’know, a double room is plenty spacious, and there’s no extra fee, so there’s no need to worry ♥
~DTB Newbie Guide Syltia~
[Insert Wilmarina pic here lmao]Necklace of the Pair Bond
※ A monster couple from another mamono realm nation visiting on their honeymoon.
Translation Notes:
As a whole: man, I know I mentioned it in her little profile illustration snippet, but holy cow, Syltia, you gotta mind your manners. I tried to get across the vibes of a young lady who knows her stuff, but just has zero interest in making her actual tour guides all that professional or even polite, which is 100% how she comes across in the Japanese. She's not very good at her job. And very, very tsundere. Real fun to translate, though.
1: This literally made me laugh to read. 女っ気がない is a hilariously messed-up thing to call a guy, especially an honored customer; it literally means "has no female presence" and when used to describe a man and not, say, a bachelor pad or a workspace with no female employees, it means not merely that he's single, but that he's chronically single, has little to no romantic experience, and/or has no game or luck with the ladies. Basically this girl is calling you maidenless right to your very face. Take a chill pill, Syltia! I'm honestly worried that the way I translated it wasn't mean enough.
>Necklace of the Pair Bond
Where to Buy: Magic supply shops on Dragonwing Street, etc.
Price: Inexpensive to moderate
Hey, look— see that jewelry hanging from the necks of those guys walking over there? Those are called Necklaces of the Pair Bond; they’re magic jewelry made from our claws. Well, I say “jewelry” but they’re not really something us girls can wear. It’s a human man thing, so obviously I have zero interest!... well, I guess since they can be dangerous too, I’ll have to tell you a bit about them.
There are a lot of places in Dragonia where you can either get a craftsman to make a necklace for you, or buy from a huge variety of pre-made ones. As for the necklace itself, first some, s-some weak dragon who m-ma… married a human man provides the claws to her husband, and then at the shop they do stuff like using magic to engrave runes into it to make the complete pendant. If you do it that way, the processing fee doesn’t actually end up being that much money, but if you’re gonna buy one that’s already made, it can get pricey, s-so I really don’t recommend that option at all!
Since the necklaces use our claws, no two are the exact same. There’s a lot of different kinds you can get, too, from ones that have enchantments to make the claw’s natural beauty even more striking, to ones with simple protective charms like “slightly increasing strength” or “fire resistance”— I mean, I guess you could say that it’s something that contains the power of us dragons, so it’s no wonder that they’re as amazing as we are.
But, a Necklace of the Pair Bond is more than just a symbol of strength. It’s a symbol of love, something for a human husband that makes him feel like his dragon wife is always by his side. Some of the people who come to Dragonia, of course, are top-notch adventurers, and sometimes even the ridiculous jerks calling themselves “dragon slayers”1. That bunch usually all just want gear that has the power of dragons, so they’ll come in and do stuff like buying up the necklaces, but… oh, don’t tell me you want one, too! I already told you: absolutely not!
I-I mean, yeah, depending on which one you want, it’s not like there aren’t ones you can get pretty cheap, but! There are pre-mades that are made with the claws of single dragons who are still in search of a human husband. If you buy one of those and put it on, you’re gonna naturally attract that dragon to you. There are even times when you might even find yourself being influenced by the mana that’s still in that claw of hers and seek her out on your own! I-if, if that sort of thing ends up happening to a weakling like you, you could maybe even end up falling for her right away, and she’d treat you like her most, most, most precious treasure, a-and you’ll never be able to leave her ever again!
So, so, that’s why it’s a piece that you should never treat as an impulse buy, and under no circumstances should you ever buy more than one! B-but… y-y’know, if you’re really deadset on it, it might be okay for me to give you one of my claws… ♥
~DTB Newbie Guide Syltia~
Translation Notes:
1: Interestingly enough, referring back to my notes from the monsterization section, Syltia uses both 竜殺し and ドラゴンスレイヤー (the latter only in a parenthetical, meaning that she almost certainly didn't actually say it and it's literally just for our benefit as readers to know that she's talking about Those Ladies) to refer to the dragon slayers here.
>Dragon Orb
Where to Buy: Magic supply shops on Dragonwing Street, etc.
Price: Affordable to rather expensive
There are all kinds of products available in Dragonia’s magic supply stores, but the ones that stand out the most are definitely these dragon orbs. The actual orb part is a high-quality “magic gem”, and it’s typically attached to a pedestal with a design that’s usually modeled after a dragon— claws, fangs, even a whole dragon itself. There are two kinds of orbs available for sale: the first is a glowing one that has both the orb and pedestal imbued with color. As you can clearly see, the colors swirl around inside the orb; isn’t it pretty?
A spell of ever-flow gets cast on these dragon orbs, y’know, meaning that the mana inside the orb is always slowly shifting around, flickering a little like the flame of a lamp. It really is pretty like this— and one of the customs here in Dragonia is to decorate the front of your home with them as porch lights and magic wards. At night, all of those dragon orbs lined up in front of the houses makes for a really magical, honestly gorgeous scene. The Dragonian nightscape is famous for it. Hey, I see that suspicious look on your face, so lemme just say this now: when I said “magic ward” before, what I mean is it’s for married couples, and it says “hey, I already have a monster wife”.
What the— you IDIOT! That clear one is off limits, put it back right now!
You listening?! Another name for this kind of dragon orb is, is c-courtesanite…!1 In order to fill it with mana, you need to put it in your bedroom, and radiate a lot of pure mana during intense… bedroom activity. That’s why a guy buying something like this, for us monsters, means that he’s, y’know, giving us a nighttime invitation! Do you get it yet? If a single guy buys an orb like that, you’re gonna look like you’ve hung a big, stupid sign around your neck that says “please attack me!” to the other dragons around here. Look— see how the colorful ones are pretty expensive, but the clear ones are cheap? That’s why there are a lot of adventurers who’ll just buy one out of curiosity, but those guys usually get snatched up by horny monsters within a day, or get worn down into sex by some really intense dragon claiming she’s gonna “protect” him… hell, they might even get pounced on by the shopkeeper!
… I, I, I’m really glad you’re interested in the orbs, r-really, I am, but… taking on a really wild night all of a sudden, you really do need a lot of stamina, y-y’know, there’s a lot of steps and prepwork and stuff. B-but, but you know, once a year they hold a big dragon orb exhibition here in town, so if you really think about it, you might as well go on and buy one now… ♥
~DTB Newbie Guide Syltia~
Translation Notes:
1: For the Sana & Luna profile, I told you guys that 夜伽 is really hard to translate well, and here it is again with 夜伽石! Or literally "be entertained in a sexy way all through the night by a lovely lady-stone". When in doubt with novel kanji compounds, go for wordplay, I say. "Courtesanite" is a pun on "courtesan", the kind of gal who'd do the above activity, and "quartzite", a real mineral. 石 can be used as a suffix similar to "-ite" in English, so I found it fitting! Shout-out to my huge-brained friend for helping me with this one lmao