Due to Elana’s strange powder, we got into a lot of trouble.
Even though they were substitutes for mercenaries, Navis prepared a carriage that could carry all of us. It was a large one, capable of carrying many people, like those seen in Western movies. With the bandit group gone, there probably wasn’t much to fear.
“Speaking of which, how did you save Pauline back then?”
“Uh, well, it was like remote control or something.”
Nina responded to Lauren’s answer with a casual “Oh, that’s amazing.”
“It felt like I pushed them with my sheer will, and it worked somehow.”
“Somehow? Did you just say things randomly? I honestly thought you knew what you were doing!”
“No, I didn’t know. But if you have that skill, you’re invincible! You can infiltrate anywhere, right?”
Nina laughed, “Ha ha ha,” but Lauren looked displeased. As expected of a spoiled princess, she bulldozes her way through things.
“Um, you know, it’s not that easy. I’m not good with this type of situation…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“N-nothing…”
Lauren turned her head away and started muttering to herself. At that moment, Elana, who had been lying down at their feet, spoke up.
“Being forcibly thrown somewhere and being torn apart, that’s happened before. Though, it was to a pleasant tourist spot back then.”
“That’s true, and besides, you’re strangely popular with man-faced animals. If we hadn’t come to your rescue this time, you would have ended up marrying that guy.”
As a bitter memory was brought up, Elana made a pained face. That’s right, she had been sent flying by the witch Diepser before. She had been flustered then too, but fortunately, the place she landed was safe. This time, however, it was different. They were suddenly thrown into a scorching, dry land with no proper luggage.
“I thought it was better than wandering around alone. That’s why I ran away like this.”
Nina chuckled, half amused. While they were talking, the carriage arrived at the Naga Village. There was some grass growing around, and it wasn’t entirely covered in sand. Several stilted houses stood in a row.
While I looked around, the merchants dispatched by Navis were unloading their goods one after another. One of them approached us.
“We’ll unload our cargo here and then head back after receiving new goods. What will you do?”
“Well, we’ll be looking for companions in this village for a while.”
From what the merchant said, it seemed they made regular trips. If they wanted to go back, there would be a way. The Nagas who greeted the merchants had sharp scales, similar to Chamber. Nina looked happy to see them.
“Oh, so they all have scales like him. And the houses look similar to where I used to live.”
“Hmm, I’ll ask about Philiana and Cecilia right away.”
“Yay, hey, what’s that over there?”
As soon as their feet touched the ground, everyone scattered.
“Hey, wait! Even though it’s a safe place, you shouldn’t split up!”
I caught Piyo, who was about to fly off, and covered Elana with my cloak to hide her. Then, I stopped Nina, who was about to run off, and got Lauren, who was still lingering in the carriage, to get off.
“Panting, panting… Can you please stick together a little? We need to find our companions first, right? Who should we ask?”
“Leave it to me! It’s best if I go, being one of their own, so they’ll be less suspicious.”
“I hope there’s something like a guard corps.”
As they were about to scatter again, I spoke to a handsome Naga youth who was helping with the unloading nearby.
“Excuse me, we’re looking for companions. Where should we ask about such things?”
“Hmm, I don’t really know. But if you want to know something, why not ask Nagaraja? They know everything.”
Nagaraja? Is that a Naga companion? I glanced at Nina. She blinked her eyes in surprise.
“Isn’t Nagaraja Queen Manas?”
“No, the current Nagaraja is indeed her, but this person has the true bloodline. Their appearance is different from ours.”
Queen Manas is the person who currently rules the Naga Tribe, the one featured in that magazine. But I don’t really understand the crucial points.
“Nina, what is this Nagaraja?”
“It’s like royalty that rules our Naga Tribe. But what does ‘having the true bloodline’ mean?”
We asked the youth for their whereabouts to meet those royalties.
