Chapter 40 – Deception.
Donard, who had been called to the old man with Pan, sighed as he recalled the old man’s nagging. Fortunately, the fight between Pan and Donar is widespread enough that anyone within the guild can guess who was at fault first. That’s because he and Pan argued a lot and many people saw it. So now he can get away from the old man’s nagging a little earlier and walk among the people who are preparing dinner and camping with his friend Shalby.
“I told you to kill that angry personality.”
“God, are you even nagging me now? Look at me. Pan, there’s no one who doesn’t know what that bastard is doing.”
Frightened by Shalby’s nagging, he asked. Even so, he was tired of being disciplined by the old man, Mr. Ermis.
“That son of a bitch won’t even listen to what the elder says.”
Pan, who was admonishing with him, did not even pretend to listen to the old man. Donar almost punched me again because of his ignoring behavior of digging his ears one more step, but the old man caught him and only nagging him more.
“I told you that if you react to that son of a bitch, you’re the only one who loses.”
“I still can’t stand it, so what can I do?”
Feigning his mistake, he recalled the image of Pan trying to fall into Sif’s arms and clenched his fists. All in all, he was trying to do her mean to her. I beat him so hard, but even now, just thinking about it makes me hot.
“It’s useless because I just like toughness.”
It’s just that Donar didn’t swing the sword, and even though he hit him mercilessly while wearing the armor, there were only a few wounds.
“That’s right. Pan is good at fighting, but it’s creepy when he’s been beaten so one-sidedly and yet he’s laughing.”
Shalby also agreed with him. Yes, no matter how heated Pan was, as soon as he thought he was hit, he brushed off his seat and got up. As he puts on a sneering smile that pisses off the viewer. He wasn’t mocking, saying that no matter how beaten he was, it was useless. It is a more reluctant mockery because it is a mockery of something more fundamentally different. It was now commonplace for Donnar, who had become feverish again, to beat him up. As they were walking towards the carriage like that.
“Hey! There’s a fight!”
“What? Who and who?”
“Rogi and I are new here!”
I could hear the children talking excitedly. Donar and Shalby looked at each other’s faces, feeling unbelievable at the sound. All they could see was the helmet they were wearing in common, but as soon as they got used to it, they noticed each other’s thoughts and chased after the children. Fighting is the only new kid here, except for Usher’s sleeping friend. They ran worried about Usher, but they could see.
“Kyaaa! You won’t wake up right away? Where are you going to peep and just move on?!”
A blond boy grabs a boy bigger than himself by the collar and shakes it, running amok like an angry dragon. What was even more surprising was the fact that the boy Usher was holding by the collar, Rogi, was already unconscious and limp. However, Usher, who was holding him by the collar, seemed to mistake it for pretending to pass out. Because of this, the children who were excitedly flocking to the news of the fight were surprised. Even the people watching around him can’t seem to stop him because his momentum is so ferocious. Shalby was the first to let out a voice of admiration at the sight.
“Wow, I jokingly said it looks like a dragon, but it looks like a real dragon.”
“I see. I never thought I would defeat Rogi.”
Donard was also genuinely impressed. Although Rogi is a mischievous and mischievous boy, he was called a promising star in his country. No matter how much Rogi doesn’t have the heart to deal with or careless, he’s not an opponent that a kid his age can easily overcome. He was thinking he was a great guy.
“But shouldn’t we stop that?”
“Ah.”
It was only when Donnar spoke as if she had remembered something Shalby had forgotten, that she remembered what she had been running for. Originally, he thought that Rogi would be winning, and he came to stop Rogi, but he forgot that he had come to stop the fight in the exact opposite situation. When they finally remembered their original purpose, they tried to stop Usher.
“Usher.”
I heard the sweet girl’s sweet voice. The voice wasn’t particularly loud. Rather, it was a plain voice, as if it contained no emotion. Even so, the voice was strangely clear to their ears even among the people’s murmurs. Let’s stop talking as if everyone has put together.
– Again and again
The sound of small shoes came from the carriage. And when the girl appeared, people stopped breathing for a moment. Donard and Shalby were no exception. The first thing that catches the eye is the fine red hair, not just the eerie color that reminds me of blood or flames, nor the blazing color. If you have to choose, it’s a bright red flower-like color. A beautiful girl wrapped her slender body in a dark red dress and covered her face with a white mask.
“You don’t have to do that.”
The girl held back the boy who was shaking Rogi by the collar with a beautiful voice proving that she was the owner of the voice they had heard.
“But this guy.”
“Usher.”
When the girl called out his name again, Usher obediently let go of Logi’s collar, though with a dissatisfied expression on his face. Rogi was still in a state of fainting, so it was like lying on the ground.
“What, did you really pass out?”
He was shocked to see that he had realized it now.
‘No, you who defeated him are the strangest.’
Donnar held back the words as they rose to the tip of his chin. Hearing from the old man that those children might be the inhabitants of the forest, he seriously pondered over whether the inhabitants of the forest were basically very strong.
“Is the boat okay? Are there any problems?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any particular problem. They say it’s just a side effect of sleeping incense and medicine.”
At Usher’s concern, the girl shook her head.
“Is that doctor trustworthy?”
“Maybe.”
And as if to reassure him, he kindly arranged the boy’s clothes and hair, which were disheveled from knocking down Logi.
“Rather than that, tell me more about what happened. We stopped talking earlier.”
Donnar, who was watching their conversation, could see the girl looking around anxiously. Usher seemed belatedly aware of her actions that there were people around her.
“Uh, when?”
That’s how things ended. After a while. They gathered near the old man’s carriage to have supper.
“So you said you were his friend?”
When Donnar spoke to Belka, she trembled and clung to Usher’s side, perhaps because of her shy nature. Because this girl fell down, Usher asked for help here. He already knew it, everyone in the know knew it, but most people only knew Usher.
“Don’t come too close. Belka is scared.”
“Did I do something wrong? That’s too much.”
Even when Donnar spoke as if he was disappointed, Usher was adamant.
“Because Belka is scared. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Aren’t you overprotective?”
But even Donard, who said that, understood why Usher was overprotective of Belka. He, too, couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw the girl properly this time. Her body was wrapped in a large, dark red dress, but her slender body could not be concealed with that alone. A girl with uniquely colored red hair and pale skin that contrasts with a dark red dress gives a pitiful impression like a single flower. She even has that whisper-like beauty. Even though she was hiding her face with a mask, she was an overly attractive girl. Because of this, the girl named Belka quickly became famous among people.
Even though she looks young, her appearance that thrills many men was enough to make it so. It is to the extent that you can see not only boys, but also male bachelor men and possessive bodies with their eyes rolling at least once in a while. It would be surprising if there were quite a few women among them. However, the girl seemed to be reluctant to have bad memories of men. As if they were curious about the face of the girl behind the mask, when men approached, they would stick close to Usher and express their disapproval, and Usher growled whenever they did. Its momentum is so ferocious that other men cannot even approach it.
“Isn’t that just a dragon?”
“It’s a dragon.”
Shalby nodded her head beside him. At that level, the dragon was wary of humans trying to touch the treasure.
“If you use magic, you won’t be able to tell whether you’re a human or a dragon.”
“I can hear everything!”
“”Eak.””
Still, Donard was rejected as politely as possible along with Shalby. At least she was able to sit in the same seat, so she wasn’t as upset as she thought. Compared to Rogi, who was kicked out the hardest even though the girl didn’t show any particular resistance. Usher asked Donnar, never stopping to be wary of people spying on the girl.
“By the way, have you ever seen a dragon?”
He heard the nuances of Shalby and Donnar’s conversation and felt angry at being made fun of, but he was certainly curious about the dragon. I remember seeing a strange armored dragon that was invisible in the underground cave, and the dragon was also there in the mural I saw in the cave of the wolves.
“It’s fortunate if I just saw it in person? I saw it up close and got tired of it. Ugh, disgusting things.”
Donard trembled as if the mere thought of it made him gross.
“It’s just a lizard with wings.”
“Except it’s as big as a man.”
Shalby added to Donard’s explanation.
“Wait a minute. Are dragons only that big?”
The dragon Usher remembered was very large. Because I felt myself smaller than its fingernails. Even in the murals of the cave, he drew the dragon very large, so it was not his own illusion.
“It might surprise you, but usually it is. Most dragons can’t exceed the size of a man. There are occasional ones the size of a house, but that’s rare.”
But Donard said big ones are rare.
“Besides, these guys have a dirty temper, so if you touch them wrong, they won’t be able to see you, and they will attack you.”
He trembled, saying that the damage would be formidable if the already damn strong things started to attack in such a way without hesitation. No matter how much Usher thought about it, he kicked out a boy who was wandering around while struggling with an explanation that felt so far removed from the dragon he had seen.
“And they fanatically love shiny things and treasures. They collect them in their nests and try not to take them away even if they die.”
According to him, if the dragon clings to you even though you haven’t messed with it during encounters or fights, it means that you have something the dragon likes, so it’s better to find it and throw it away to save your life. He said that if a dragon steals something, it will never be found unless a miracle happens.
“He’s just a thug.”
“Yes! A thug!”
As expected, it was a very different story, even if it was different from the feeling of the dragon he had seen and felt. The dragon he saw was huge and scary looking, but the atmosphere was gentle rather than violent. Because of this, he was Usher, who felt a sense of difference, but his interest returned to Donnar’s words.
“Don’t even talk. They even use magic.
“Is it magic?”
And then I saw it. Dragons knew how to use magic. As Usher’s eyes lit up at the word magic, Donnar smiled bitterly at the prospect of a different story than he expected.
“They spit magic out of their mouths.”
“Yes?”
Usher asked again, wondering if he had heard it wrong.
“It literally spits it out. Some breathe fire, some breathe cold air or spray poison.”
Other than that and their big size, they’re just nasty flying lizards. Donnar was sorry to disappoint Usher, but from his point of view it was fortunate that they could only use such simple magic. Otherwise, their hometown would have perished early.
“Well, there are three special exceptions.”
As Donnar remembered, dragons were called the king of monsters, but honestly, if he was properly prepared, he wasn’t something he couldn’t deal with at all. However, only three dragons, the biggest and strongest of the three dragons, were an exception. They were living beings close to natural disasters, capable of destroying a country that could survive even when attacked by countless dragons, even with just one.
“Have you ever seen those dragons?”
“Hey, if I’d seen that even once, I wouldn’t be a person in this world anymore?”
Fortunately, they rarely go out on their own. The moment even one of them steps forward. At that time, you should really prepare for the destruction of the country. In fact, every occurrence of one of them is recorded as a catastrophe in his hometown. Lately, I’ve been wanting to beg you to show up at least once.
“Anyway, the magic that dragons and humans can use is different. Even the magic of humans is unclear how to use it.”
Surprisingly, there is a lot of information about magic. There was at least one book written in detail on how to activate magic. The problem is that in order to use magic, unknown special conditions are required. No one knows how to fulfill that condition. Even if a person fulfilled the condition, no one knew the condition properly enough to say that he did not know why he met the condition.
“Ah, what is that?”
Usher couldn’t hide his disappointment after hearing all of his story. Could you hear stories of dragons using magic and learn how to use magic? I was expecting The way dragons use magic was more primitive and less than I thought. Besides, he knew that in order to use magic, special conditions that no one knew were necessary. The only new thing I learned was the existence of special dragons.
He thought maybe the dragon he saw might be one of them, but that alone couldn’t soothe his disappointment. He was still far from knowing how to use magic. Belka patted Usher as if comforting him.
“Now, how about we talk about that and eat?”
At the end of the story of dragons and magic, Sif appeared with the old man with a large pot. Along with the bubbling sound, the fragrant aroma flowed through the nose and stimulated the hungry stomach.
“Oh, what happened! Did you even use water today?”
Donard, forgetting he was talking to Usher, spoke to Sif excitedly.
“Because Danju has a special guest, so I asked you to do your best.”
Sif smiled at him and glanced at Usher. Could it be that special guests are talking about them? Usher looked at Sif and the old man in bewilderment before he opened his mouth.
“Fortunately, your friend seems to have woken up safely. Doesn’t it hurt more?”
“Yes, even the doctor said there is nothing wrong.”
The old man nodded at his answer and immediately looked at the girl and spoke.
“So you’re Usher’s friend. You said Belka, right?”
“…”
She still glanced over her mask at the old man who had been talking to her by Usher’s side, then gave her a small nod.
“Let’s talk comfortably over a meal.”
It was said that it was because the girl was very shy, but when Usher looked at the old man with a worried heart at the behavior that could have seemed out of habit, fortunately he didn’t seem to be offended, so he was barely relieved.
“I’m going to eat some food today.”
“You’re delighted with lobsters, too. It’s strange.”
As Donard talked while accepting the bowl that Sif was handing him, Shalby mischievously bruised him and took the bowl as well.
“Well, how is it? It’s the most delicious food we can eat right now, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it thanks to the skill of the cook?”
“No matter how much you praise it, things like soybean paste won’t fall.”
In the midst of their friendly conversation. The old man also talked while accepting the bowl from Sif.
“So what did you guys decide to do?”
The story with the old man had already been told to Belka. He decided to ask her whether to accompany her or to part with her. She was worried that Belka might be a burden because she had left her luggage herself.
“You said you were going to Lantua, right?”
“It is.”
Instead of the shy girl, Usher is just talking to the old man. Belka had already decided that she would accompany them. She even asked if she was in a different place from her original destination, and if the distance was too far, she had no choice but to accompany her, but fortunately she shook her head. She said that Usher was not in danger with them.
“Well, if you really don’t mind, would it be all right if I accompany you to Lantua?”
At his words, the old man smiled contentedly as if he had heard the answer he had been waiting for.
“Of course it’s a welcome. Come on, take it.”
And he passed the bowl to them who were sitting a little further away. For some reason, I thought that the old man seemed more relieved, but I was handed the bowl he was holding out. A savory smell that had faded a little rose from the bowl. A warm bowl warmed my hands, which were already cold in the cold air. Looking inside the bowl, I could see something like a thick brown stew mixed with things like meat and vegetables. To be honest, it didn’t look very appetizing.
“Sif! One more bowl!”
“Eat a little bit!”
I liked the chatter of people across the brazier with flames and the warmth of the broth.
