The Ultimate Sage Who Faked Incompetence and Was Disinherited Just Wants to Enjoy His New Life! - Episode 30: Water Dragon

Episode 30: Water Dragon 

I squinted up at the sky. But there was no sign of a Dragon. However, my Analyze spell clearly detected a massive magical presence approaching. 

“Lilia, I don’t see anything!” 

“Fel, it’s not in the sky—it’s in the water!” 

Hearing our commotion, the crew of the magic-powered ship also turned their attention to the water’s surface. Just as Lilia had said, a large, dark shadow was steadily approaching. 

A sailor looking through binoculars shouted, 

“It’s… it’s a Dragon! A Water Dragon!” 

Panic erupted on the deck. Crew members took turns looking through the binoculars. Their faces turned pale before they ran off to different parts of the ship. 

“Lilia, this is bad, isn’t it?” 

“Probably. It might not like that something bigger than itself is swimming through its territory.” 

“That can’t be the reason…” 

“Oh, it can be. We just got caught in a territorial dispute.” 

As I struggled to process this unexpected turn of events, I heard the creaking of gears. And the ship’s wheels began to turn. At the same time, I felt a slight increase in speed—they were trying to outrun the Dragon. 

“Do you think we can escape like this?” 

“If we do, won’t that mean the Water Dragon will end up attacking the royal capital downstream?” 

That would be disastrous. If that happened, the damage wouldn’t be limited to just this ship. But where had this Water Dragon come from? Had it been hibernating until now? I had no clue about Dragon ecology. 

The Water Dragon picked up speed. It was rapidly closing the distance. In an instant, it reached just behind the ship and raised its long neck out of the water. Then, it opened its mouth wide. 

“It’s going to breathe water at us! I’ll protect the ship—Fel, you handle the attack!” 

“Looks like talking our way out isn’t an option.” 

“You thought you could talk to a Dragon?!” 

“I figured it was worth a try…” 

“Not a chance. You can’t have a conversation with a monster.” 

Lilia shot down my idea without hesitation. I had always wanted to talk to a Dragon—books always had scenes where they spoke with people. Was that just a fairy tale? 

“Water Jet!” 

I countered the dragon’s water breath with my own water magic. It seemed my spell was stronger, as I managed to push back the dragon’s attack. 

For a moment, I thought we had the upper hand. But the Water Dragon twisted its neck to dodge and then quickly dove back into the water. 

“That was close.” 

“Yeah. If I could have gone on the offensive too, we might’ve finished it.” 

“Lilia, keep focusing on protecting the ship. I’ll handle the attack.” 

Below the surface, I sensed swirling magical energy—it wasn’t giving up yet. Now, what should I do? 

“Hey, did you see that?! He repelled the Dragon’s attack!” 

“That’s incredible! We might actually survive this!” 

The crew erupted in excitement. Some even cheered. I thought it was a little early to celebrate, though… 

News of the Dragon attack seemed to be spreading through the ship. As more and more armed individuals were rushing onto the deck. 

The Water Dragon stopped using its straight-line breath attack. Instead, it surfaced and started launching large spheres of water at us. 

However, Lilia’s Shield spell easily deflected them. Each time a water sphere hit the Shield, a loud *BASH* echoed across the deck. 

“How are we supposed to attack something like that?!” 

“If one of those hits us directly, we’re done for!” 

The adventurers who had joined us on the deck weren’t proving to be very useful. Understandably, none of them were willing to jump into the river, where the Water Dragon was lurking. That meant all attacks had to be long-range. But arrows wouldn’t be able to pierce the Dragon’s tough scales. 

Not to mention, hitting a target that kept diving underwater would be nearly impossible. 

That left magic as the only viable option—but judging by the people around us, no one seemed capable of casting a powerful enough spell. 

“What’s the plan? At this rate, we’ll reach the royal capital.” 

“That would be a disaster. But landing a precise hit when it surfaces is going to be tough.” 

“In that case, we’ll just blow it up all at once!”

Blowing it up all at once… Using explosion magic underwater would be a bad idea. It would likely take out a lot of fish, and the splash would be enormous. 

Alright, then. I’ll manipulate the water currents to pull the Water Dragon into the air—then I’ll blow it up. 

“Lilia, can Water Dragons fly?” 

“Hmm… Their wings seem to be small, so I don’t think they can.” 

“Got it. Then I’ll blow it up midair.” 

“Huh? Fel, are you serious?!” 

“Of course. Water Tornado!” 

A massive whirlpool formed on the water’s surface. It swallowed the Water Dragon and spiraled upward like a tornado. 

“H-Hey! What the hell is that?!” 

“What in the world is happening?!” 

“Look! The Dragon’s inside that thing!” 

It seemed my magic was stronger than the Water Dragon’s diving ability. I had a feeling it might work after I repelled its breath attack earlier. But I was still nervous. 

The Water Tornado burst, and the Water Dragon was flung into the air. It twisted its body. But it wouldn’t be able to dodge the next attack like that. 

“Flare Burst!” 

A blinding flash tore through the sky. It was followed by a deafening explosion. Lilia’s Shield groaned under the strain. It was creaking ominously. However, the intense heat and shockwave from the explosion didn’t reach us. As expected from Lilia’s magic—solid as ever…… I think. 

A large magic stone, likely from the Water Dragon, fell from the sky. It crashed into the deck with a heavy thud, embedding itself into the wood. Yep… I was definitely going to have to pay for that. 

“Fel! What kind of magic are you using?! My Shield was this close to breaking!” 

Lilia was absolutely furious. She even threw a flying kick at me. Yeah… I might’ve overdone it. She made me sit in seiza on the spot and gave me a long, painful lecture. 

All around us, cheers erupted. But I was in no position to celebrate. 

“Fel-san, what exactly happened here…?” 

I turned to see Sancho-san looking confused and Count Hauzinha watching us with concern. There were no other monster presences nearby. So it was probably safe for them to be on deck. 

“I may have gone a bit overboard, and now Lilia is mad at me…” 

“Overboard… So that deafening explosion just now was your magic, Fel-san? There was an uproar about a Water Dragon appearing, but… don’t tell me…” 

“Yeah, we just took it down. But apparently, the way I did it wasn’t ideal.” 

I glanced at Lilia, who still looked absolutely livid. 

“Sir Fel, that massive magic stone—is it the Water Dragon’s?” 

“Yeah, it is. It hit the deck so hard it left a hole… I’m guessing I’ll have to pay for that, right?” 

At that, Count Hauzinha suddenly burst into laughter. Sancho-san was laughing too. 

“I had heard from Sancho, but you truly are an amusing man, Sir Fel. No one would demand compensation from the person who saved our magic ship. And if someone did, I’d personally cover the full cost.” 

That was a relief—I wouldn’t have to pay for the repairs. Now the real challenge was figuring out how to appease Lilia… Maybe I could get her some good alcohol? Yeah, I had a feeling that just might work.