Chapter 153 - The Welcome
◎ Hyvern Dukedom, Capital City Deer South
「Wow, this is...」
Kazane looked towards the sky in mute amazement.
It was only when the city Deer South came into view that she noticed that what she thought were birds were actually dragons. When she compared the birds" size to the city, she noticed there was something strange, so Kazane used the Circlet of Wisdom"s remote viewing to get a closer look and saw over 100 dragons flying about.
The surprised Kazane reported that to her companions, and Emily explained that they were Hyvern"s cavalry dragons. Basically, the dragons had the same rights as people, so they could freely move around the Hyvern Dukedom, and they were allowed to fly above cities. But even so, she supplemented that the number of dragons was abnormal.
Then when they arrived in Deer South, the dragons recognized the appearance of Kazane"s party and all of their gazes gathered on the Thunder Chariot, or more precisely, they gathered on Jinrai driving the carriage. And then the dragons started circling the Thunder Chariot in the sky as they advanced.
「Wi, will we be okay?」
Yumika was also looking at the sky with a pale face, but there were no indications that they would be attacked.
「Yeah, unlike wild flying dragons, dragons chosen to become Dragon Knight cavalry are mostly adult dragons, so we"ll be okay... probably?」
Emily answered Yumika"s question, but her voice gradually faded. Her confidence was gradually lost as she watched the dragons acting wildly.
At any rate, they were constantly being threatened by distant roars, and sometimes a dragon would descend to just above the rooftops and roar, which would make the surrounding people scream and run away.
「Umm. This isn"t an everyday thing in this city, is it?」
「Obviously.」
Lyle retorted from the coachman"s seat after Kazane"s question.
「This is the first time we"ve experienced such a tense situation in Deer South.」
It seemed Lyle and Emily were also surprised. It was clear that this wasn"t an everyday scene in their hometown.
Although from a certain point of view, Kazane"s Hippomaru-kun and Thunder Chariot didn"t lose. At the center of the unruly dragons was a jet black figure scattering purple lightning as it advanced, as if it was a demon king"s triumphal return. Since the windows weren"t tinted, the people inside were naturally also visible.
「Ah, Royce was looking at us.」
「It looks like Auntie Rend also noticed us. I wonder how we should explain.」
Emily was now bowing her head to hide her face after being noticed by a few acquaintances. Lyle and Naoki were sitting on the coachman"s seat and couldn"t hide.
「Everyone from the Adventurers Guild tavern was looking at us, but, well, we can"t hide anyway.」
Naoki said without regret. Although Naoki had only stayed in this city as an adventurer, so he was very different from Lyle and Emily, who grew up in this city. The proportional future problems were different.
「So, this situation is also the influence of Jinrai-san"s wife?」
Jinrai nodded slowly after the words Kazane couldn"t help but ask.
「They"re really causing trouble for everyone. Those lizards are like my wife"s elite guards. Well, they"ve always tried to intimidate me since a long time ago. Hahaha」
Jinrai answered with distant eyes. He somehow seemed to be accustomed to the dragons" intimidation, but it was hard to say he was in normal condition.
「Ah, we"ll arrive soon.」
Naoki said. Kazane looked ahead of the carriage.
(The smell of three strong dragons?)
Kazane accurately grasped what was ahead with her『Dog"s Sense of Smell.』
(Is one of them the dragon that came to Shirodieh City?)
All three dragons felt like they were stronger than the Crystal Dragon but below the Black Rock Dragon. If that was the case, Kazane thought it was certain that they were adult dragons.
◎ Hyvern Dukedom, Capital City Deer South, Barnes Family Mansion
『Oh, it seems you"ve finally arrived. Young masters, Jinrai, and all the young ladies.』
When Kazane and the rest arrived at the mansion, there were three 10-meter cla.s.s dragons sitting there. The Barnes family"s yard was large enough for them to do so. And the surrounding flying dragons didn"t approach the three huge bodies.
The dragon who greeted them was the biggest one in the center emitting the strongest Dragon Spirit.
「Hmph. It seems you"re unchanged, G.o.do.」
『It seem you"ve become pointlessly young. And they are your current companions?』
The dragon called G.o.do looked at Kazane and the rest. Tiara was frightened and averted her eyes, but Kazane smiled and responded.
「Hi, I"m the big s.l.u.t. Best regards.」
『Kuku, you"re an interesting girl. Well, there isn"t much more to say about that. Because of that…』
So saying, G.o.do"s gaze turned toward the edge of the yard. Kazane was intrigued, so she looked in the same direction and saw Jiraid intently polishing a door. He was continuing to polish it without paying any attention to their exchange. For some reason, it seemed both of his cheeks were quite swollen.
「What is that?」
『What, you say... isn"t that the way to apologize?』
The red dragon on G.o.do"s right so answered.
『It was Ane-san. She was furious when she heard what sonny said to the young lady. She told him a dogeza alone was an insufficient apology after saying such a foolish thing to a girl your age.』
Then the yellow dragon on G.o.do"s left interjected.
『Because of that, he has been continually polishing doors since he returned. He"s been borrowing doors from various places. Hey, isn"t polishing a door the way to apologize in your hometown?』
Kazane made an「Ah」expression. It seemed she had heard rumors about that strange behavior.
『I don"t think sonny would lie about that, but I do think it"s a strange custom. Well, he didn"t lie, right? Even if it"s sonny, if he lied to Ane-san we might need to discipline him a bit?』
There was an momentary sign of violence in his eyes, so Kazane nodded and said「That"s right.」
「Yeah. No, that"s some splendid door polishing. Jiraid-san"s apology is resounding in my heart.」
Kazane"s instincts were telling her that something awfully frightening would happen if she said anything different here.
『Is that right?』
The dragon replied.
「Um, so why are Jiraid-san"s cheeks swollen?」
『In the middle of talking with Ane-san, things got a little exciting. The slaps sent him flying. I don"t think it was one hundred slaps, though.』
It seemed she was a scary grandmother.
『Hey, Jinrai. Are you planning on forcing your way through? You made Ane-san sad, and we also have things we have to say to you. Various things.』
The yellow dragon glared at Jinrai.
「Shut up. Immediately let me meet my wife, Mordo.」
『You are...』
After Jinrai"s curt reply, it seemed like a vein was going to pulsate on Mordo"s forehead as he glared at him.
『Stop. You should know that Ane-san said to let him pa.s.s?』
But G.o.do interrupted Mordo"s obstruction.
「Ane-san?」
That reminded Kazane that the yellow dragon called Mordo had been using that t.i.tle since some time ago and she tilted her head.
「Our grandma is also called the East Ane-san.」
Lyle so answered Kazane"s question.
(If she"s the East Ane-san, is there a West Ane-san as well?)
Kazane wondered, then a maid-like woman came from inside the mansion and guided them inside.
◎ Capital City Deer South, Inside the Barnes Family Mansion
「The Barnes family is a considerably distinguished family in this country. Jinrai-kun is a son-in-law, isn"t that right?」
After entering the mansion, Louise turned to Kazane and Yumika and explained.
「Well, that"s right.」
Jinrai answered with a bitter smile. Furthermore, to the end they weren"t noticed by Jiraid as he continued to intently polish the door. It seemed he had already become obsessed.
「Those dragons were adult dragons, right?」
Louise nodded after Kazane"s question.
「Yeah, they were the Hyvern cavalry dragon leading Archduke Rynox"s beloved dragon Flashing Radiance Dragon G.o.do, the yellow one was Flying Lightning Dragon Mordo, and the red one was Fang Blaze Dragon Fornesia. Mordo and Fornesia are siblings, and Mordo is Jiraid-kun"s beloved dragon.」
Louise answered.
「They are particularly devoted to grandmother and are fairly often visiting our house.」
Emily successively spoke after Louise.
「Even though they"re so huge.」
「Well, that"s why our yard is uselessly large. It"s so the dragons can easily come and play.」
Lyle said.
After advancing down the corridor for a while, the maid stopped in front of a door and raised a dignified voice.
「Head Miko-sama, I have brought Jinrai-sama and the other guests.」
Then「Let them in」was heard from the other side of the door. It was a very lovely voice.
Name: Yuihama Kazane
Occupation: Magic Swordswoman
t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner
Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Ogre Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator
Level : 30
Health: 107
Magic Power: 181+420
Strength: 52+10
Agility: 43+4
Endurance: 29
Wisdom : 57
Dexterity : 38
Spell : 『Fly』 『Torch』 『Fire』 『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』
Skill : 『Warrior"s Memory』 『Night Vision』 『Crushing Blow』 『Dog"s Sense of Smell』 『Golem Maker: Lv3』 『Rush』 『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』 『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』 『Air Jump: Lv2』 『Killing Leg: Lv3』 『Fear Voice』 『Invisible』 『Tiger Eye』 『Wall Walking』 『Intuition』 『Cheat Death』 『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Placement』『Thunder Chariot』『St.u.r.dy Teeth』『Crystallization』
Yumika:「What should I say...Yakuzlike?」
Kazane:「Well, they were saying various things, like calling her Ane-san.」