Manowa

The fourth day after Kazane and the others arrived at Deer South.

There was the matter with Jiraid, but that was already over. After that, Kazane went to the university to sign a formal license agreement with the royal architect Maberit for the technology used in the Cottage. The money generated by that would be managed by the Barnes family on her behalf. Also, the 200 dragon fang steel arrows made from Earth Core Dragon fangs she had ordered before they left Deer South last time were safely delivered.

And most importantly, Kazane was able to enjoy Maberit"s muscles after a long time. It was the first time in a while that Kazane was able to have a relaxing muscle admiring time.

In addition, the curio shop she had bought Mana potions at previously had restocked, so she was able to buy two more.

As for the other members,

The name b.l.o.o.d.y Berserker finally spread to the city yesterday, and Yumika had been groaning since then. The students at the Barnes Dojo were praising her by saying things like「That"s amazing, Anego,」and it seemed it was making her very uncomfortable.

As Yumika was like that, Kazane could see a youkai appearing and disappearing over her back. It was a youkai that sometimes annoyed the surroundings by speaking unconscious thoughts like「I don"t want to be conspicuouuus, I"m amazing, but I don"t want to be conspicuouuus. The way people look at you changes when you"re conspicuous. But it was exposed? Aaaahーーit was exposed? My strength was exposed? I give up. I completely give up. Is this being popular? Even though this isn"t what I intended...」

Kazane thought she should keep such thoughts to herself, but it was a dreadful youkai-san that couldn"t be seen by the person it was possessing. Kazane understood that fact, but she also couldn"t understand.

Naoki was a.n.a.lyzing the Crystal Dragon horn magic sword. It seemed he named it『Rainbow Horn』. That was... descriptive.

Lyle and Emily were summoned to the castle and formally appointed as knights of Hyvern. Their mission was escorting the G.o.d Dragon Empress.

The two had originally planned to walk the path to becoming knights, and they had jumped over that journey in one go. Their desire had come true, but they were shocked that they had skipped being junior knights and had directly become senior knights.

There was the circ.u.mstance that since Kazane refused to allow a new knight to enter the party and they were already party members, they were appointed instead. Although it was sudden, n.o.body was harmed by it. The only problem was Lyle and Emily"s mental preparedness.

Tiara, Louise, and Mefirus pa.s.sed the time at the Elmar home while they were in Deer South. Tiara"s mother Keiran had already returned to Tsuvara, so she wasn"t there, but her grandfather Maisen Elmar was naturally there. Also, it seemed that Rynox"s father, the former archduke of Hyvern and Louise"s son (who was also a severe mothercon) often dropped in.

Tatsuo had been hanging around the Barnes estate since their arrival and had been training with Flashing Radiance Dragon G.o.do, Flying Lightning Dragon Mordo, and Fang Blaze Dragon Fornesia.

Though simply firing one Mega Beam would get them praising him by saying things like「As expected of Tatsuo-sama」「A genius, this child is a genius!」「Isn"t he exactly a wonder child?」which made Kazane sigh and say「Be a little stricter.」

But the right way to learn dragon Skills was to rely on dragons. In particular, Tats...o...b..coming able to use the essential dragon Skills『Divine Protection from Arrows』and the stabilizing『Sky Flying』was a big plus.

The last member was Jinrai, who had finally won one mock battle against Archduke Rynox. Kazane was making an absurdly smug expression while looking at the prosthetic arm when she heard that, but the truth was that Jinrai only won the match where he『removed his prosthetic arm』. So Jinrai replied to Kazane with a wry smile.

(Hmm, it looks like he doesn"t consider it his own victory because of my added power. Well, I guess that can"t be helped? That prosthetic arm is amazing. Well, I made it, after all)

Kazane was becoming more and more smug while looking at Jinrai"s wry smile, but Jinrai didn"t make any particular corrections. And he decided to keep the nickname『Unicorn』Rynox gave him to himself for now. Since Jinrai doted on the girl before him like a grandchild, he frankly thought her smug expression was cute.『A child is cuter the dumber they are』; that was the devilish power through which Kazane"s Old Person Attribute took all elderly captive. So he didn"t want to do anything boorish that would break that expression.

Also, it seemed that Jinrai"s wife and Lyle"s grandmother, Cindy, looked at Jinrai"s prosthetic arm with a complicated expression. She was happy that it was given her name as an expression of affection, but it wasn"t surprising that the flame of jealousy rose up when it seemed like more affection was given to it than herself. It seemed that part was scrupulously made up for during night practice.

And since her status as the G.o.d Dragon Empress was well known to the country"s upper cla.s.s, Kazane was uncomfortable, so she proposed quickly leaving the city for their next destination. There were no particular objections, so they decided to leave Deer South on the fourth day.

They would head to Jinrai"s hometown, Sorae Village, before going to Elsta Floating Kingdom.

◎ Hyvern Dukedom, Dragon Claw Highway

「Ah, departure on the fourth day?」

When Lyle looked back, the cityscape of Deer South already looked small. The city where he had spent most of his life. There was attachment. Lyle also knew that if they headed for Minshiana immediately after their current destination, he wouldn"t return for a while.

「It would have been nice to stay a little longer. Aneki didn"t need to be in such a rush.」

Naoki running alongside him said. Lyle shook his head after those words.

「No, the surroundings were a bit annoying. It might be better to stay away until things calm down?」

Lyle so replied to Naoki"s words. Originally, Lyle and Emily had been reasonably well known young adventurers, but that was different by an order of magnitude these days. Part of that was from entering the White Party, but he was also appointed as a knight just the other day. The reason wasn"t clear, so the gazes from people his age were peerlessly painful. Although there was also jealousy, it would be better to say that they were strongly suspected, since benefitting from being part of the influential Barnes family should have a limit. The surrounding people had particular difficulty knowing how to treat Lyle and Emily after the story of the Demon Wolf subjugation and the b.l.o.o.d.y Berserker reached the city.

「Well, if you think that, then it"s fine.」

So saying, Naoki looked at the Thunder Chariot running in front of them. He thought the girl group inside was probably being boisterous. Naoki always wanted to be by his sister"s side, but that place was completely far away.

(Well, running like this better suits me, though)

The ride comfort of Hippo-kun High, which Naoki was riding, couldn"t be compared to a normal horse; it rarely jolted, and there was no burden on the body while moving. Separated from the Thunder Chariot"s Purple Lightning Barrier, the wind blowing at Naoki, who hadn"t received a motorcycle license, stimulated the boyishness inside him.

Naoki and his colleagues were currently leaving Deer South and heading for Jinrai"s hometown, Sorae Village. Although it was reasonably distant, there was no town in particular town they planned to stay at, so they would stay at the Cottage while taking the shortest route.

(The a.n.a.lysis of magic sword『Rainbow Horn』is just about finished, so I"d like to do some actual combat training soon.)

As Naoki was thinking that while riding Hippo-kun High, Lyle beside him looked towards the sky ahead.

「Ohーit"s sunny today, so we can see it well.」

Naoki nodded and said「That"s right」after Lyle"s words.

Elsta Floating Kingdom. The island that had been floating over Hyvern since long, long ago could be properly seen even from here.

「We"re going to challenge that after this. You never know what will happen in life.」

Lyle said with a laugh. But it wasn"t surprising that Lyle would say that. That was a place that Hyvern"s adventurers yearned after. It was always in the sky, a land of adventure out of the reach of human hands. He would be setting foot on it, so there was no way he wouldn"t get excited.

Naoki also understood Lyle"s feelings, so like before, he replied「That"s right.」When his sister wasn"t involved, Naoki was a cool type handsome guy, and he looked at the floating island with an expression that looked like it was ready to shift into a cold smile at any time.

「AhーNaoki, come here for a bit.」

Though that cool ikemen face collapsed when he heard his older sister"s sudden words. Then that boy became like a dog wagging his tail after being called by his master. Lyle muttered「That guy has changed」after watching that.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King"s 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, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 33

Health: 135

Magic Power: 260+420

Strength: 57+20

Agility: 52+14

Endurance: 33

Wisdom : 65

Dexterity : 41

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior"s Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog"s Sense of Smell: Lv2』『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: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』

Kazane:「Now, let"s go to Jinrai-san"s hometown!」

Yumika:「Master"s hometown? But if I remember correctly, the only anecdote of that village so far was about master being a Don Juan, right?」