We live in the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Zan and Elnea.
The next morning, I was woken by a faint commotion outside.
Curiosity piqued, I left the room in the lodging house that had been allocated to me.
In the plaza, warriors, men and women, and middle-aged people were gathered.
Among the gathered people were Mistral and Zan.
Zan had heard my story the other day and had gone to check on the safety of Laza, one of the Eight Dragon Kings, hadn’t he?
To return in just one day, was Laza’s village nearby?
Straining my ears, the clear morning air carried the conversations in the plaza to me.
“So, was Laza unharmed?”
“No, it seems unknown. By the time the loaders’ tribe noticed the abnormality and rushed over, the village was already…”
“However, they said there was no trace of Laza.”
“Then, there is a possibility that they escaped.”
“Shall we gather volunteers and form a search party?”
“Wait. That area is close to the Demon Race’s Country. If we gather and act carelessly, we will provoke the demons.”
“But we can’t just overlook this, can we?”
“We can’t make a decision by ourselves. When the tribal chief returns…”
“That will be too late. We have to confirm Laza’s safety as soon as possible and find out the Dragon Knight’s true identity.”
“Did the people of the loaders’ tribe have any other useful information?”
As I eavesdropped, Mistral, who had noticed me, approached.
“Good morning, Mistral.”
“Good morning, Elnea. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes, I was tired, so I slept soundly.”
I thought I might be scolded for listening out of curiosity, but Mistral didn’t seem to care.
As I looked at the people gathered in the plaza with interest, Mistral explained a little.
“Yesterday, Zan went to the village to check on Laza’s safety, but it seems he was a little too late.”
“Laza’s village was attacked?”
“Yes. But the method wasn’t like what you told me, so the possibility of Orta is low.”
“What!?”
Does that mean there are others secretly working on Dragon Peak besides the Dragon Knight, who is presumed to be Orta?
“Laza’s village was to the west of Dragon Peak and quite far from here. The loaders’ tribe, who had a close relationship with Laza’s village, lived a little further west of this village. They were sensitive to the abnormality in western Dragon Peak and, before we could act, volunteers from the loaders’ village rushed to Laza’s village. But by then, most of the villagers had already been massacred.”
An opponent who would attack and massacre a Dragon Race village, even though it contained many ordinary people like humans. Moreover, Laza, one of the Eight Dragon Kings, was missing.
What in the world was happening in western Dragon Peak?
“And so, while the loaders’ tribe was sending warnings to the main villages of Dragon Peak, Zan and the others rushed out.”
“I see. That’s why they returned in less than a day.”
“Yes. It takes quite a while just to get there and back normally.”
“So, are there no leads at all about who attacked the village?”
Were there no clues?
“There are no leads at the moment. There is insufficient detailed information.”
The loaders’ tribe seems to have sent a message warning other villages to be on guard against an attack by someone, in addition to the fact that Laza’s village was attacked and their safety is unknown.
“Since it’s close to the Demon Race’s Country, perhaps…”
Mistral’s expression was gloomy as she pondered.
“What, you’re up early.”
As Mistral and I were talking, Zan approached us before we knew it.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
In contrast to my slight tension, Zan had a relaxed air.
“Mistral. Thinking about it won’t solve anything. All we can do now is wait for more information.”
“You’re right.”
Zan’s gesture of putting his hand on Mistral’s shoulder to cheer her up was cool, even from a same-sex perspective.
“For now, we’ll wait and see until the tribal chief returns.”
“Is the tribal chief out?”
“Fufufu. Didn’t he come up in your travel story yesterday? Koa is the tribal chief of this village. Didn’t you hear?”
“Whaaat, Koa never said a word about that!?”
I never expected Koa to be the chief of Mistral’s village.
Mistral and Zan gave a wry smile as I was surprised.
“Well then.”
Zan grabbed my head.
“Eh?”
It was so sudden that my body stiffened with tension.
Mistral’s face also tensed for a moment.
“Since you’re up early, let’s go for a walk.”
And with that, Zan took me out of the village without my consent.
The people who saw me being taken out of the village with my head grabbed gave complex expressions. But no one stopped us. Not even Mistral.
Uh, what’s going to happen to me after this!?
Zan left the village from the north. The north was a small forest, and the village was soon hidden by bushes.
Zan, who had been striding along, finally released my head.
“Follow me.”
Saying only that, Zan started walking again.
I was filled with anxiety about what would happen next, but I followed obediently.
Honestly, I also wanted to have a good talk with Zan.
He is Mistral’s childhood friend, someone who knows a lot about Mistral that I don’t.
I feel like he’s someone I’ll have to get through if I’m going to marry Mistral.
Zan walked on without the slightest concern for his surroundings, even though we were in a forest.
I hadn’t forgotten the lesson learned from my journey on Dragon Peak.
Carelessness is a great enemy.
Even with Zan by my side, I won’t be careless just because we’re near the village.
I extended my dragon energy, watched my surroundings, and followed Zan.
Zan glanced at me, who had extended dragon energy, for a moment, and then continued walking without a word.
And after walking in silence for a while, we emerged from the forest. But Zan didn’t stop.
As we left the forest, the earth covered with soil gradually disappeared, and we entered a steep mountain with bare rock.
Zan climbed the steep slope of sharp rocks without much difficulty.
There was no path. Zan used convenient footholds to leap up the mountain lightly.
Yeah. As a human, I couldn’t do such acrobatics. I don’t think I could keep up even with dragon energy. So, I used Spatial Jump to rapidly ascend the mountain.
As I desperately performed consecutive Spatial Jumps to catch up to Zan.
And when I landed on a slightly larger foothold.
Suddenly, a giant snake appeared in my field of vision, which switched instantly after the Spatial Jump!
“Uwah!”
It was so sudden that I instinctively blew the giant snake away with dragon arts.
The giant snake flew off and crashed into the rock face. However, the rocky area wasn’t very wide. The giant snake coiled up, baring its long fangs, and threatened me.
I also drew my White Sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, preparing for battle.
Then, the next moment.
A fire-clad fist descended, blowing off the giant snake’s head.
I erected a barrier to prevent the splatter.
It was Zan who killed the giant snake.
I widened my eyes at the explosive dragon energy Zan now possessed, which I hadn’t felt at all until moments ago.
But Zan ignored my surprise and contained his dragon energy.
“I see. You seem to have the basic power to travel Dragon Peak.”
Having said that, Zan smiled with one side of his mouth.
“Uh, thank you for saving me.”
When I thanked him, Zan looked at my White Sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and said,
“I wouldn’t have had to intervene if it were you. You would have defeated it.”
“That’s not true. It appeared so suddenly, I was flustered.”
Zan dismissed my words with a snort.
But who would have thought a giant snake would be lying in ambush. Despite extending dragon energy and being vigilant, I didn’t notice its presence at all.
Also, why did it attack me, letting Zan, who had passed by earlier, pass through unscathed?
“You’re wondering why you alone were attacked by the giant snake.”
Zan, can you read my mind like the Ancient Dragon Species?
“Kukuku. You’re wondering how I knew.”
“Wh-why do you know!?”
Seeing my surprised expression, Zan burst into laughter, holding his stomach.
“Your expressions are too rich. Your inner thoughts are completely visible in your face.”
“Gnnnu.”
Are my inner thoughts really that apparent in my expressions?
I grumbled, surprised by this unexpected observation, and Zan laughed.
Muu, even his laughter is cool.
“Good grief. You were disarmed.”
After laughing heartily, Zan ruffled my hair.
“Perfect. I’ve secured breakfast, so let’s talk here for a bit.”
Saying that, Zan quickly began to prepare the giant snake he had caught.
He peeled the skin, cut the meat with his hand, and grilled it with fire dragon arts. Then, he sprinkled on seasonings he had brought and handed me a piece of meat.
I obediently took the perfectly grilled giant snake meat, thanked him, and took a bite.
I was hungry after a vigorous morning walk, and the tender meat was delicious.
“You eat well. I would have hit you if you had eaten it listlessly.”
“If you hit me, Zan, I would die.”
“Fuh. No need for honorifics. I’ll call you by your name too. And you don’t need to use polite language.”
“Okay.”
Then I’ll be no longer reserved. I think we can talk more openly that way.
Thinking so, we ate the giant snake meat in silence.
“By the way, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Elnea. Mistral’s fiancé.”
“Fufun, I’m Zan. Mistral’s childhood friend.”
A spark briefly ignited between me and Zan. But we both recognized it as a joke, so the atmosphere didn’t turn hostile.
“Interesting guy.”
Zan smiled with one side of his mouth raised.
“Last year, when Mistral announced she had received a marriage proposal from the Guardian Dragon of the Dragon Forest, the whole Dragon Peak was in an uproar.”
“Ugh.”
Right. Of course.
“But she never mentioned who she got engaged to. She’s quite tight-lipped.”
That was probably to protect me.
“Then, just the other day, her fiancé declared he would come to the village on his own. The villagers were all very curious about what kind of person he was.”
“Weren’t you curious, Zan?”
“Who knows. But, considering she accepted him, I thought he wouldn’t be ordinary. But…”
Saying that, Zan ruffled my hair again.
“That such a cute boy is her fiancé…”
“Ggnnu, I’m not a boy!”
Whether he heard my complaint or not, Zan continued to pat and ruffle my hair.
“For such a frail-looking boy to be her fiancé, who would believe it. Even when you rode on the tyrant’s back, I suspected it was the work of the Guardian Dragon of the Dragon Forest.”
I see. So that’s how Zan saw me.
“But well. Now that you’ve come this far, I see you can at least walk around Dragon Peak.”
Saying that, Zan stood up.
“Your dragon energy control was good. And with the Spatial Jump, which you learned from the Mimicho Race, I was surprised.”
“That’s a dragon art.”
“Oh? Then I’d like you to teach me sometime.”
He looked at me with slightly widened eyes, as if genuinely impressed.
“But, you didn’t notice this giant snake, and you were attacked.”
“Yes. I didn’t notice it at all, so I was surprised.”
“I’m sure you were.”
Zan looked down at the remains of the giant snake.
“This area was its territory.”
Zan seemed to want to teach me something. I felt that, so I listened attentively to his words.
“You probably traveled by emitting dragon energy to drive away magic beasts and other creatures.”
Strictly speaking, I only managed to notice and practice that for one single day.
“But, what happens when you encounter magic beasts with strong fighting spirit and territorial instincts, or snakes like this that hide their presence and wait for prey?”
“My dragon energy encroached on its territory, so it attacked me?”
“Exactly. And it was fortunate that it was only a giant snake this time, but what if the opponent was a Dragon Race?”
I choked, unable to answer.
“If it’s an opponent you can defeat, there’s no problem. But if it’s someone you can’t defeat, then it’s death.”
Zan was right. Imagining the “what if,” I broke out in an unpleasant sweat.
“Well, with your Spatial Jump, you might be able to escape. But constantly maintaining your dragon energy is both the correct and incorrect way to walk on Dragon Peak.”
And then there’s the reality that Dragon Peak is a dangerous place, even for the Dragon Race. He explained this to me.
“We Dragon Race first learn to walk by emitting energy like you. But we quickly run into the problems I mentioned.”
Then what do we do? Zan continued.
“One answer is me. Erase your presence to the extreme. If you emit dragon energy, you’ll be attacked by aggressive creatures. If you sneak around, you’ll be seen as weak and attacked. So, if you completely erase your presence and are not detected by the opponent, then nothing will happen.”
“Ooh,” I exclaimed, impressed. That was exactly right. If the opponent doesn’t notice you, no problem will arise in the first place.
“But that’s not something you can learn overnight, and I think there are people who can’t do it?”
“Ah, that’s right. Then, what should those who can’t erase their presence do?”
Zan grinned.
“You learn. The territories of magic beasts, the nests of dragons, the places where beasts roam, everything.”
“What!?”
Learn? Isn’t that too harsh? Magic beasts and dragons don’t just stay in one place. They should move periodically.
The nest of the Chicken Dragon didn’t exist in the original location either, which is why Koa warned us.
“Heh, as you’re thinking right now, learning is difficult. But there’s no other way. Once you can walk outside the village after learning to emit dragon energy, you gradually learn. Starting from places close to the village. And those who learn and are not careless can move freely on Dragon Peak.”
Mistral had said yesterday that people her age only start venturing outside the village, and by the time they become an adult, they can travel alone to perhaps the next village. Does that mean they have to know about the various threats and beings that inhabit Dragon Peak?
Seeing my understanding, Zan continued.
“So, you too must learn one of them.”
“Ugh.”
My face contorted.
It’s difficult, so difficult.
I don’t think I have time to learn the circumstances of the village surroundings one by one from now on. And I don’t have even a shred of the skill to completely erase my presence like Zan.
“I’ve given you advice. The rest is up to you. If you’re careless, Mistral will be taken away. Your existence has been revealed to the Dragon Race. Be careful not to be taken advantage of by cunning individuals.”
Zan is saying that if I am careless and show weakness, there will be many who will try to get their hands on Mistral.
“Are you also one of the people who would ‘take advantage’ of me?”
Without answering my question, Zan gave a smirk and headed down the mountain carrying the rest of the giant snake’s remains.
Zan is an unknown entity, whether friend or foe. But he was a kind person, and I knew he meant me no harm.
I let out a sigh of relief.
I had thought Zan was a scary person. His appearance and mannerisms were cool, but that only made him seem more intimidating.
However, after talking to him, I realized that it was probably due to his worrying.
It seems I’ll be able to manage in Mistral’s village.
With renewed vigor, I followed Zan down the mountain.
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