Watching the girl's figure disappear into the crowd, Naohara finally looked away.
"A Talent called [All-Seeing Eyes], huh. Too bad it's useless to us."
Beside him, Momonga, who had temporarily turned into a human by using the item [Mask of the Dead], shook his head as he spoke.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick had always been collecting information on Talent users in every country.
They sorted them by how strong and how practical their abilities were. The useless ones were ignored, while the useful ones were added to Herohero's "buffet" list.
Momonga did remember the girl from the reports.
Her Talent was definitely impressive, but for them, it didn't really matter.
"Don't be so serious. When it comes to cute little human cubs, we can afford to be a bit gentler."
Naohara chuckled and patted Momonga on the shoulder.
He also recognized the girl from earlier.
Not from intelligence, but from the anime in his first life.
Ever since he fully transformed into a dragon, Naohara had noticed his memory had improved a lot. Things that had once been hazy were now coming back clearly.
In the original story, that girl had invaded The Great Tomb of Nazarick, and her ending had been pretty miserable.
But this time, because Naohara had gotten involved, her fate had already drifted away from its original path without anyone noticing.
In its own way, that was a good thing.
Naohara believed one idea was true.
Everyone has the right to pursue happiness.
Of course, that only applied as long as that pursuit didn't end up involving The Great Tomb of Nazarick.
"You, honestly…"
Momonga shook his head and walked on ahead.
Naohara's logic wasn't wrong, but considering what Naohara's true form was now, the word "gentle" didn't exactly fit him anymore.
Naohara didn't mind. He laced his fingers behind his head and followed along at an easy pace.
Their target this time was the Bloody Emperor.
But rather than going straight to him, the two of them wandered around first.
They walked through the lively streets, taking in scenery and an atmosphere completely different from the Kingdom.
Touring the city like this wasn't a bad way to spend the time.
As they walked along the smooth, even roads, Naohara and Momonga both nodded to themselves.
Compared to the Kingdom's capital, the Empire's roads and traffic were undeniably better.
"This place looks pretty good. Want to take a look?"
They stopped in front of an inn. Feeling the lively atmosphere inside, Naohara turned and asked Momonga.
Dancer was a distinctive profession in the Empire.
Only those who were both beautiful and truly skilled at dancing could be called dancers.
They were often the main attraction of a venue, drawing customers in with their performances.
Take the inn in front of them. The decor was nothing special, yet it was packed.
The main reason was simple.
A new dancer had arrived.
"Uh… maybe not. It looks expensive."
Momonga shook his head. His frugal instincts kicked in right away.
"Don't be so stingy. We're already here, aren't we?"
Ignoring the protest, Naohara pushed Momonga into the inn.
To be honest, The Great Tomb of Nazarick wasn't short on New World currency anymore.
After taking in "Eight Fingers," the "Dragon Lord's Treasure Vault of the Argland Council State," and the "Dwarves' Frozen Treasure," Nazarick's reserves were overflowing.
Inside the bustling inn, cheers rose and fell like waves. At a glance, you could see a crowd packed together, all facing the stage and shouting in excitement.
On the stage, a beautiful dancer in light, translucent gauze moved gracefully.
Her body was incredibly supple, able to twist into poses ordinary people could never manage. Every time she glanced back, it set off another round of cheers from the audience.
"Wuhu!"
Naohara joined the crowd without the slightest awkwardness, cheering along with everyone else.
Behind him, Momonga sighed. As someone who had known Naohara for many years, he could roughly guess what he was trying to do.
Aside from his naturally carefree personality, there was probably another reason behind it.
He was deliberately increasing his emotional fluctuations in order to reduce the personality changes caused by his dragon transformation.
Then, by combining that with [Dragonic Will], he could suppress the negative emotions and let the two balance each other out.
Shaking his head, Momonga also turned his attention to the dancer on the stage.
After all, they had already paid. It would be a waste not to watch.
"Is this… magic?"
Momonga narrowed his eyes. The dancer's performance was indeed impressive, but there was something else that caught his attention even more.
Had she mixed dance with magic?
No wonder there was a faint feeling similar to Albedo's aura. Charm abilities… interesting idea.
"Not bad. That was pretty entertaining."
After the performance ended, Naohara returned to Momonga's side and casually praised it.
For some reason, however, the image of Evileye appeared in his mind.
Although the dancer on stage was quite attractive, with a well-proportioned figure, Naohara felt absolutely no interest.
"Alright… I think… maybe… possibly… I might actually be a lolicon…?"
After some serious self-reflection, Naohara suddenly understood his true nature.
So the lolicon was me all along?
Naohara clicked his tongue.
Still, Evileye was a vampire, at least several hundred years old, so she counted as a legally acceptable loli.
Lost in these random thoughts, Naohara and Momonga walked out of the inn.
They could have stayed longer, but there were still many parts of the Empire they had not explored, so it was better to look around elsewhere.
Back on the street, Momonga glanced at Naohara, who was muttering to himself, and felt puzzled.
What was wrong with this guy now?
The two wandered through several streets and alleys before eventually stopping in front of a rather unique building.
The structure stood right in the center of a square, and loud cheers drifted through the air. A large crowd had clearly gathered inside.
"The Arena?"
The unique building was indeed the Arena, one of the Empire's signature attractions. It was the largest entertainment venue in the Empire and a very popular sightseeing spot.
The arena's events focused on combat. Over the course of a day, the bloodier the battles became, the more excited the spectators grew.
"What a strong smell of blood. It's getting me excited."
"I almost feel like destroying this whole place."
Naohara licked his lips. A flash of crimson passed through his eyes as an impulse to destroy everything suddenly rose in his mind.
But in the next moment, a green light appeared and instantly calmed him down.
"Tch. What a pain."
"Maybe we should skip it. For you right now, this kind of stimulation is too much."
Momonga spoke up from the side.
"No need. I'll have to get used to it sooner or later."
"Come on. Let's go take a look inside."