We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Let’s camp!
“Yo, dudes, walk briskly!”
Slaton, at the head of the party, shouted bravely.
However, complaints and curses flew from the rear.
“That guy’s an idiot. Dudes?… There are only me, you, and Slaton.”
“Hey, Lisuter. Don’t you think you should reconsider your partner selection?”
“That’s a painful observation.”
Lisuter smiled bitterly and appeased Cerise-chan and the others, who were grumbling at Slaton. Then, he turned his feet towards the forest ahead.
Finally, Hero Lisuter and his party were about to enter Dragon Peak.
In the end, with all the travel permits gathered, my proposal was readily accepted by Cerise-chan and the others, and we set off.
“First, fulfill your promise with the Hero.”
Pushed from behind by Mistral, I have arrived at the present.
Leading the hero’s party is Slaton. Next, the Earth Dragon Duranel. Behind him follows the bride squad of Cerise-chan and the others, with Lisuter at the rear.
“Elnea-sama, I wish to depart like this.”
“Laira, if you do that, Ruiseine will be angry later, won’t she?”
“Hahahaha!”
I walked alongside Lisuter.
And Laira clung to my arm as she walked.
“Seeing you two makes me feel less tense about entering a dangerous land.”
“I-is that so?”
I gave a wry smile at Lisuter’s retort.
“So, I have a question. Why Laira, not the Dragon Race member Mistral, when entering Dragon Peak?”
“Ah, well, it’s because if we encounter dragons or anything, Laira can resolve the situation more peacefully.”
Mistral can handle dragons, but I can’t say that his jet-black one-handed club would be a problem.
Besides, if the opponent is a dragon, Laira’s dominion ability can drive them away.
“Or, would Yufi and Nina have been better?”
“Elnea-kun, please spare me from that!”
As if she had overheard our conversation, Cerise-chan quickly turned around and pleaded.
It seems my choice of personnel was not mistaken.
In an already dangerous land, I can’t possibly add to their mental strain.
And so.
Only I and Laira are accompanying the hero’s party as assistants.
Ruiseine has not yet finished her duties, and Mistral and the others remain to prepare for the migration of the Ear-long Tribe.
By the way, Priscilla-chan and Ares-chan and Nimia have gone to the northern land to meet Mei.
This time, Yunyun and Rinrin are acting as guardians.
“However, it’s finally here.”
Lisuter gazed at the deep forest spreading at the foothills of Dragon Peak with a sense of emotion.
To be precise, the land ruled by humans ended beyond the West Fortress, but in terms of feeling, the real challenge begins in the forest.
“Slaton, don’t let your guard down! Duranel, please watch the surroundings.”
Slaton waved his hand in response to Lisuter’s voice without looking back.
From behind, he appears to be a somewhat frivolous fellow, but he is still the Hero’s partner. Despite his laid-back demeanor, he is aware of his surroundings and his steps are steady.
“There are no dragons around here yet, but once we enter the mountains, it might be better for Duranel to hide behind Slaton.”
“It makes me feel uneasy to lose vigilance against dragons, but it can’t be helped.”
On flat terrain, even as a young dragon, Duranel’s presence is significant.
The sensory abilities of the Dragon Race are far beyond those of humans, and even walking around scares away monsters and magic beasts.
However, on Dragon Peak, it works in reverse.
Dragon Peak is the habitat of the Dragon Race, and their territory.
If a strange young dragon intrudes carelessly, it could cause unnecessary provocation.
Furthermore, the adult dragons living on Dragon Peak have superior sensory abilities to the young dragon Duranel. It could lead to a situation where it’s too late by the time we detect it.
Therefore, Duranel’s presence on Dragon Peak is actually dangerous.
Duranel is also well aware of this, as he did not complain when I explained it to him in advance.
“Well, regardless. First, let’s camp in the forest. Once we get a feel for it, we’ll advance a little further.”
“Bah. If a fifteen-year-old brat like Elnea could do it, then it’ll be a piece of cake for us!”
“But that fifteen-year-old Elnea was apparently already a Dragon King, unlike you now?”
“Grrr…”
The conversation between the front and rear of the line could be heard clearly by Cerise-chan and the others walking in the middle.
Creacio also laughed without reservation at Lisuter’s merciless retort.
It seems everyone is in good spirits.
Is this to be expected of the seasoned hero and his party?
They said they felt less tense seeing me and Laira, but from my perspective, I couldn’t see any timidity in Lisuter and the others.
No matter where they go, they all perform their duties as usual and overcome challenges without unnecessary pressure. That’s the essence of the companions led by Hero Lisuter.
We entered the forest with light steps, maintaining a sense of tension.
We picked up the necessary firewood while walking through the forest.
There had been some rainy days before our departure, so the fallen leaves and dead branches were damp. However, for the Hero of Flame, it seemed to be no problem as long as they weren’t soaking wet.
He dried the firewood with his sorcery flames.
Myra and I envied such a convenient technique.
“I’d like to hunt, but I’ll refrain since it’s the first day,”
Slaton said daringly.
We advanced through the forest for half a day and began preparing for camp ahead of schedule.
After all, our main priority is not to conquer Dragon Peak, but to experience the nature of Dragon Peak.
If we push hard, we could reach the easternmost village tomorrow, but we plan to camp in the forest nearby for several days.
Cerise-chan and the others unpacked only the essential luggage and started preparing a meal.
Of course, Lisuter was the one who lit the fire with the wet firewood.
“The night watch will be in the usual order. Elnea and Laira-san, you can relax.”
“In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Myra and I are, after all, just assistants.
It would be meaningless if Lisuter and the others didn’t take care of things themselves.
I chatted leisurely with Laira while watching Lisuter and the others prepare for the camp.
“Hey, hey. Let’s put the mushrooms I found in the pot!”
“Naimee, those are poisonous mushrooms.”
“What, no!”
When did Naimee gather mushrooms?
And it’s a scene that looks familiar from somewhere.
Naimee, pointed out by Cerise-chan, dejectedly dropped her shoulders and threw the mushrooms in a completely different direction.
“Elnea-kun, Laira-san, are you bored? I’ll make you some tea now.”
Cerise-chan and Creacio were in charge of the pot, while Kiiri boiled water beside them.
The fragrant tea leaves thrown into it were surely of high quality.
Inea prepared cups for us, and Kiiri poured the freshly brewed tea.
“My body feels warm.”
“It will surely get cold in the depths of the night.”
Myra and I drank the tea without hesitation.
It was a little bitter, but the sweetness from the sugar softened it, making it very delicious.
“Is it still cold on Dragon Peak?”
Cerise-chan asked while stirring the pot.
“Yes. At high altitudes, it gets freezing at night even in summer. But this area is still flatlands, so it’s the same as the capital’s climate.”
“There are dangerous plants and animals, and it’s cold even in summer. It’s a truly harsh land.”
“But you guys will be fine.”
“Then I have to work hard not to disappoint you, Elnea-kun.”
“We’re cheering for you!”
We chatted happily, with me promising to take them to various places if Cerise-chan and the others could overcome the nature of Dragon Peak.
Beside us, Lisuter and Slaton were sleeping.
The sun was still visible in the west.
It seems they were sleeping in advance to be ready for the night watch.
When it was my turn, I relied on Ares-chan for guard duty while sleeping, I remembered my first year of travel.
And the night I was attacked by wolves.
“Magic beasts and carnivorous animals appear around here, so please be very careful at night.”
“Thank you for the warning. I’ll be careful. But before that…”
Susus, Cerise-chan approached.
Laira became alert and hugged me.
Did she think I would be taken by Cerise-chan?
Don’t worry. I won’t lay a hand on married women!
“Elnea-kun.”
“Y-yes.”
However, ignoring Laira’s vigilance, Cerise-chan moved closer.
Then, she smiled and said.
“Let’s meditate!”
Hahaha, I could only laugh.
What was she going to say, I wondered. It was meditation.
“Yes. I want to meditate with Elnea-kun too.”
“Then, I will too.”
“In that case, me too—”
Then, Creacio and Kiiri and Inea also expressed their intention to join.
No, no, meditation is something to be done individually, you know?
Meditating together won’t necessarily yield better results, you know?
“In that case, while everyone is meditating, I’ll keep watch!”
For Naimee, who is always on the move like a small animal, meditation, which requires quiet contemplation, seems to be an unrelated matter.
So, we asked Naimee to watch the pot and the surroundings, and then formed a circle around the bonfire to meditate.
Kiiri and Inea, who have Miko abilities, meditated calmly, like Ruiseine.
Creacio had a mysterious aura.
And Cerise-chan meditated as if conversing with the earth.
Even with the single word “meditation,” there are so many different ways to meditate.
Myra and I also sat cross-legged and closed our eyes.
*Swoosh*, the presence of Laira next to me, who should have been meditating, weakened.
Like us, Cerise-chan, who can now sense the Dragon Vein, meditated on how to freely draw and manipulate power by feeling the flow of the earth.
However, Laira was different.
The earth, no, different. She melted into the world, harmonizing and merging as if her own existence were part of the flow of the Dragon Vein.
And the more she melted into the world, the more her presence became faint.
Laira-san, what are you trying to achieve?!
Even I, who has trained to sense presence, find it difficult to feel Laira’s existence.
Even though she should be right next to me!
Creacio also seemed surprised by Laira’s mysterious meditation.
I’d like to ask later what Laira looked like during her meditation.
Laira meditates in a way that blends not only her presence but even her very existence into the world.
However, unlike Laira, there is something that energetically asserts itself.
It is the Spirit Tree’s two-handed staff that Laira possesses.
Since Ares-chan is not here, we carry what we need ourselves.
Of course, Laira’s two-handed staff is also with her.
Resting on Laira’s lap as she meditates in zazen, the two-handed staff radiates life force.
When it was discovered in the treasury of the Yorttenitos Kingdom, it was shriveled and withered, but now it is full of life thanks to Laira channeling Dragon Energy into it every day.
Meditating like this, it feels more present than my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
And the existence of the Spirit Tree’s two-handed staff seems to anchor Laira’s presence, which has melted into the world, to this world.
“Elnea-kun, don’t you have a lot of distracting thoughts?”
“Ugh!”
Then, a remark came from Cerise-chan. I was so focused on sensing everyone else’s meditation that I neglected my own.
And it turned out that everyone else, like me, was observing their meditation to see how they were doing.
“Elnea-sama, I alone believe that this is the usual Elnea-sama.”
“Th-thank you, Laira.”
*Munchuri*, a soft sensation on my arm.
“Elnea-kun’s color is in the pink state.”
“Damn it, can you see it in color even in that state?!”
We laughed at Creacio’s observation.
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