We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Wyvern Knight Order, again.
The New Year has passed safely, and the world has immediately sprung into action.
Closer to home, a few of my quick-witted classmates registered with the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as their New Year activities began and started their lives as adventurers. There’s no rule that you have to wait until the beginning of spring to start a journey. It doesn’t matter how early or late you start, as long as you’re not too late. However, since school graduation is set for the beginning of spring, they will be attending school and adventuring simultaneously, just like Listea and the others.
And at the center of the country, things have become hectic with the start of the new year. The first to make an appearance was the Wyvern Knight Order, for the first time since before last summer. This time, there were ten knights, more than last time. It’s unusual to see the Wyvern Knight Order flying in formation, and the number is even larger.
As various rumors flew among the citizens due to the arrival of the Wyvern Knight Order, an army of kingdom knights, organized on a medium scale, arrived from the Kingdom of Yorttenitos. The Kingdom of Armēdo and the Kingdom of Yorttenitos are on good terms, so there’s no tension when their armies move, but this time is different. The arrival of the Wyvern Knight Order and the kingdom’s knights at the same time…
“I suppose they will be hunting wyverns this year,” Listea said with a tense expression.
Wyvern hunting. In the first place, wyverns hardly inhabit the Kingdom of Yorttenitos. However, the Wyvern Knight Order exists. This means that the wyverns ridden by the Wyvern Knight Order are wyverns captured in the Kingdom of Armēdo. Wyverns live in Dragon Peak. They make their nests on the steep cliffs of Dragon Peak and hunt for food in the Wyvern Hunting Ground, which spreads across the northern part of the capital city. It’s called the “Wyvern Hunting Ground” because it’s a wyvern feeding ground, but it actually has another meaning. It means a place to hunt wyverns. In the Kingdom of Yorttenitos, skilled individuals who want to make a name for themselves capture wyverns in the Wyvern Hunting Ground and become wyvern knights. It goes without saying that the Dragon Knight Order is a highly honorable knightly order. Therefore, those who are not fortunate in their birth and seek status and fame aim to become dragon knights. Since anyone who captures a dragon can become a dragon knight, ancestry or money is irrelevant. However, even so, you are facing a dragon. They cannot be caught with just any effort. Therefore, so as not to increase the number of casualties by going on a hunt with a small group, the Kingdom of Yorttenitos and the Kingdom of Armēdo jointly recruit aspiring dragon knights and conduct large-scale hunts once every few years. And that was what was happening this year. Aspiring dragon knights train in the Wyvern Hunting Ground from this time of year and begin the main hunt around summer. Of course, some people drop out or become wyvern prey during this period, but after about six months, the collected individuals are sifted, and the elite of the elite take on the main event. By the way, citizens and adventurers from the Kingdom of Armēdo can also participate if they wish. However, hundreds of people participate in the wyvern hunt that occurs every few years, and less than half survive. I’ve heard that only one or two people, if any, achieve their goal, making it an extremely difficult challenge.
“Hey, hey, will they be able to secure enough members for the Dragon Knight Order?” When I asked Listea this question, Slaton laughed.
“Once a wyvern is captured and trained, it will stay with them, right? Knights are human and have short active periods, but wyverns live for nearly three hundred years.”
“Ah, I see. So, they inherit the wyverns of those who have retired from active duty.”
“That’s right,” Slaton told me, a bit condescendingly. As he said, it was the case. A rider retiring doesn’t mean the wyvern is no longer needed. They are precious wyverns caught with great sacrifice, so they want to use them as much as possible. However, since those who inherit them are likely to be disciples or nobles, ordinary people who want to make a name for themselves still have only the option of participating in the wyvern hunt. Perhaps because it is known that there will be many casualties this year due to the wyvern hunt, there was a sense of tension among the temple officials. By the way, how does Mistral, a member of the dragon race, feel about the wyvern hunt? After the incident with the Rotten Dragon, I learned that the dragon race and the dragon folk do not necessarily coexist amicably. Intrigued, I asked him when I visited the Moss Garden for the first time this year.
“The human’s wyvern hunt?”
“Yes, I was wondering if you had any thoughts, as we are races that live on the same Dragon Peak.”
“Hmm. I don’t particularly think anything of it.”
“Oh?” Mistral’s unexpected reaction left me taken aback.
“If it escalates to a one-sided massacre or destruction of nests, we might worry, but if it’s conducted in the Wyvern Hunting Ground, we don’t get involved.”
“Is it because it’s about dragons, so the dragon folk don’t care?”
“No, it’s not that. Humans hunt wyverns with all their might. Wyverns resist, and humans become their prey.”
“Uwah.” Imagining wyverns devouring humans, I turned pale.
“If humans can capture a wyvern, they can become dragon knights. But many casualties will occur. Conversely, wyverns, while having access to an abundant food source, will be subjugated by humans if captured. In other words, both sides gain something and lose something. We see this as an equal exchange. Therefore, we do not interfere with hunts in the Wyvern Hunting Ground.”
“I see, so as long as it’s a fair fight, you’ll turn a blind eye.”
“Exactly.” Both the dragon folk and the dragon race operate on the principle of the survival of the fittest. The weak are eliminated by the strong. And when facing each other, they accept whatever outcome results from a fair match. I felt like I had learned a little about the values of the dragon folk, and I was satisfied. By the way, I was surprised when I visited the Moss Garden for the first time this year. I was busy visiting my grandfather and relatives for the first three days of the New Year, so I couldn’t go to the Moss Garden. But on the fourth day, when I thought I had to go to the Moss Garden before school started, Jiludo was there.
“Wh-wh-why are you here at the Moss Garden, Jiludo-san!?” Seeing Jiludo-san chatting amicably with Old Man Sleigsta, I was surprised.
“Hmm. I told you before that I used to frequent this place. I thought it would be difficult for you to travel between my home in the northern part of the capital and the Dragon Forest in the south while I was instructing you, so I decided to come here.”
“You say ‘decided to come here’ so casually…” Jiludo-san, you’re quite old. Wouldn’t it be difficult to travel this far?
“Kuhehe. Jiludo was originally a Dragon King. He can cover this distance without getting winded.”
“I-I see. As expected of a former Dragon King.” I was convinced by Jiludo-san’s vigor, which far surpassed his appearance.
“From now on, you will learn the Dragon Sword Dance from Sleigsta-sama, and I will teach you dragon arts.”
“Yes, I would be honored.” I was overjoyed by this unexpected proposal and bowed enthusiastically.
“Oh. Then, I suppose my use is over.”
“Uwah! Mistral, you’re not useless. Just you being here makes me happy.”
“But you won’t be sparring with me anymore, will you?”
“That’s not true! I’ll be learning from Jiludo-san, but I also want to spar with you, Mistral.” I panicked at Mistral’s sulky demeanor. The Dragon Sword Dance that Old Man Sleigsta teaches is important. Mock battles using the dragon arts and swordsmanship that Jiludo-san will teach are also important. However, a life-or-death match with Mistral is also important. Besides, Mistral is the only one who can heal me when I’m tired from training. I don’t think you’re unnecessary at all. It’s a misunderstanding. The residents of the plaza laughed at my frantic attempts to reassure Mistral. Ugh, they’re teasing me right at the start of the New Year. Mistral stroked my head as I slumped in disappointment.
“I’m just kidding. We’ll all train you together.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard to become a man worthy of the title Dragon King as soon as possible.”
“Go, go!” The girl spirit, who had appeared at some point, was hopping around and cheering me on.
“That’s right. I’ve thought of your name.” I ran up to the girl and took her hand.
“Really?”
“Really.” Hearing my words, the spirit girl began to dance with joy. Is it just me, or is she starting to act like Priscilla-chan?
“Na-na-name!” The girl flitted around me happily.
“Um, your name is…” I held the girl and told her.
“Your name is Ares, is that okay?”
“Ares?”
“Yes, Ares.” I nodded.
“Hmm, I’d like to hear the origin of the name,” Old Man Sleigsta asked with interest.
“Um. Ares is part of the name of the Creation Goddess. You gave me a miracle when I was desperate and couldn’t beat Jiludo-san. Miracles are performed by goddesses. Therefore, you are my miracle goddess.” The girl spirit gave me a miracle. She always watched over me kindly. She gave me immeasurable power. This girl is like a goddess to me. So, I took part of the Creation Goddess’s name and made it Ares. I thought of it when I was watching the Yagai Kagura in front of the temple on New Year’s Eve and listening to the grand performance.
“Um, is that… not okay?” I asked the girl, who was staring at me, with an anxious expression.
“No, it’s wonderful. I am Ares. Thank you for the name.” The girl, now Ares, smiled happily.
“Ares, that’s a good name.”
“Hmm, for you, you came up with something pretty good.”
“A fitting name for you and your way of thinking.” Praised by everyone, I was immensely pleased. By the way, I told Ruiseine about Ares’s name later. She became quite sulky about it. Apparently, the reasons were that she couldn’t be with us during the New Year’s Eve work and couldn’t be present for the naming.
“I was left out. Elnea-kun, that’s cruel.”
“Waaah, it’s not like that. I’ll make it up to you properly.”
“Then, let’s go shopping together sometime.”
“U-uh. Okay. I promise.”
“Oh my, I was just joking. But since you made a promise, you must keep it properly.”
“Eh?! It was a joke!?” Tricked by Ruiseine’s words, I ended up going shopping with Ruiseine in the bustling capital city later. And then, for some reason, Ruiseine proudly told Mistral about it, and I was threatened by Mistral…
“Ummph, ev-everyone’s so mean,” Priscilla-chan, who was outside the loop of all the New Year’s events, was crying. No, no, no, that’s because of you. Priscilla-chan, who had been stubborn and didn’t participate in the village’s year-end events and instead spent New Year’s Eve with us, had been placed under a travel ban during the New Year holidays. Now that the New Year has passed and she can finally come to the Moss Garden, Priscilla-chan was feeling down. “Nyaa,” Nimia said, sitting on top of Priscilla-chan’s head as usual. She had regained her energy and greeted us cheerfully for the first time in a while. You can easily convey your support by clicking the heart. (Login required) Support Account holders, please log in. Learn more about the reading experience on Kakuyomu.
