Chapter 427: Take off
The next day.
“Then today we will leave for the south. I will be using both Maia and Laila to get various supplies for the fort as needed, so my itinerary will be more than a week and less than two weeks. With that much time, there should be no place in Celesta that we can’t get to……dragon travel can be flexible as well. At present, Dan-dono’s dwarf colony and Talc have been confirmed, but depending on the market price, other areas such as Oficlade and Harmonium are also candidates. In addition, if there are other places you would like to visit, please let us know in advance”
At Dianne’s announcement, all the members of the special force team currently in Polka (almost all of whom are female slaves, so they met in my room in the morning) bowed their heads in approval. Then Naris immediately raised her hand.
“Yes, yes! Umm, I’d like to go to Quica, but I wonder what it’s like!”
“……The capital. I don’t like to approach it with a dragon unless I have something special to do”
“He? Why not?”
“Because Laila’s illusion is a little uneasy when it’s in flight. Trot doesn’t know what to do, Celesta’s capital is also a mecca for various types of magic research. It is not necessarily that it will not be broken and cause confusion. Celesta has relatively few dragon palaces, so if one were to appear in the vicinity of a city, what kind of commotion would it cause?”
“Hmm? But well, it’s well known within the military that 100-man commander Dianne is riding a dragon and cooperating with Renfangas, isn’t it? If there were to be some commotion, it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience, would it?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? The common sense within the military is not at all understood by the public. And even with prior knowledge, the appearance of a dragon is seen by the general public as a threat to the destruction of the city. Even if it’s just a short trip for us, if the actual creature should inadvertently appear, the risk of chaos, death and looting is unfortunately quite high”
“It’s notoriously unsafe. There are a lot of poor people there who are refugees”
When I nodded, Naris folded her arms and growled.
“I think we should land at a distance and sneak there……”
“The question is, how 『Far away』 do we have to go? The southwestern part of Celesta was originally the center of the dark elf and ogre commercial zone, so there is not as much competition for land as in other areas. Thanks to the fact that the boundary between the city and the rest of the world is not so well defined by walls, it is difficult to say that it is safe to go this far away. If we wanted to be safe, we might have to go down to a place that is a full day’s walk from the main road”
“Well, it would still be considerably easier than going normally……but it would be two or three days just to get to the landing point and back. I would certainly think twice about going there just for sightseeing”
“If you go outside of Quica, it’s not so bad and you can do some sightseeing in Tinbales, for example, rather easily”
“Umm……I think I’ll just stick to this time. I would like to go to Quica someday, but we will have to wait until we have more time”
Naris seemed to agree.
“I mean, either way, it’s a must for Naris to satisfy her desire for sightseeing……”
“That’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing that we all have the desire to see new and interesting places that we don’t know about. And now is a good time for it”
“?”
Dianne tilted her face and winked so that only I could see. ……Ah, I see. So we’re going to show Neia. By showing her various cultures, various landscapes, we would diminish Neia’s obsessive loyalty to the Kalwin Kingdom and convince her that in this modern age, we don’t have to stick to one set of values……together with what the other female slaves taught in Polka, this will eventually become the cornerstone for Neia’s precarious footing and vision for the future. Neia is not alone. Other citizens of Kalwin have many lives waiting for them, if only they can just get out there. As long as she is aware of this, she will not be able to think that she can die so easily. I really want to get along with Neia and if possible, I really want her to forgive me and love me. But first, I want her to have the will to survive the turbulent times that are about to begin for her little kingdom. If she can live properly and step through it, it is never too late to be friends with Neia, even if it is later. Like the old man Bonaparte, it is impossible for a truly strong person to die so easily if he is truly determined to survive. If such a person dies, it is always because of his principles. He would rather die beautifully than waste the rest of his life and he is killed by his own mind, which is foolish about the future.
“What else?”
“Ho. I’d like to show my face at Helicon. I’m sure the people of the city will be happy to see me and Maia down there”
“Ah, you know, I think we should stop by in Celesta? I want to see what my mother is doing in the royal capital”
“Ah, by the way, I want to go to the hot springs in Talc and Raika that Naris-chan said she went to”
“I’ve never actually been in Claves, although the Celesta Forest Territory is closer to Arcas than the northern forest. If I could meet General Lucas, who in recent years has been called the Noble Prince of the Forest……”
“I don’t recommend it. Yes. I don’t say anything bad about it. You should not go there”
“Ah, if you go to Tinbales, you might be able to get some rare medicinal herbs from the western continent”
“……I’d be happy if you could stop by the cat beast colony, just for a little bit. I just want to know that everyone is doing well”
Everyone is offering their hopes and wishes. I wonder if we can go that far. But Dianne nodded her head and counted her fingers.
“Well, it’s within our expectations”
“This?”
“If you calculate the routes, they overlap quite a bit. I was wondering what would happen if Naris wanted to go to some of the finer regional cities”
“No matter how much I try, I’ll never be that unreadable”
“Do you have any special requests, Al-chan?”
“I’d like to ask the Gardner family of Folklore about the progress, but……well, it’s highly likely that Duke Gardner is in the royal capital. I don’t mind if he comes by while I’m with Anzeros”
“Come to think of it, I wonder if we’ll see Nord-chan”
“I’m sure she’s a capricious person. It would be better to take it as a blessing if you do meet her”
In contrast to the departing group, who were excitedly and adorably fussing about the trip, the stay-at-home group looked a little envious.
“Why don’t you go too, Apple?”
“I’d like to fly as few times as possible……”
“Hmmm. Is Jeanne not going? I can see Christie stopping me”
“Of course”
“I have Peter with me”
“You can leave him to us, if you like……”
“No, no, Fennel-san, none of us are going to get boobs”
“I’d love to go to Celesta someday, but next week the temple is hosting a picnic……”
“Ahaha, our clothes shop has also plainly stocked up in the merchant caravan this time……so they’re busy redecorating……”
“Marone, if you’re not busy, why don’t you go?”
“I’m not free, I’m just in the middle of getting basic medical training……”
“Why don’t you ask Hilda-sensei to teach you?”
“W, Why are you not going Miril?”
“Ahaha……as expected, the inn is fully booked and I can’t force my sisters to go……”
“Isn’t it better if Azel and Rizel don’t have to go home once in a while, nya”
Each of them seemed to be torn between their desire to go, their reservations about forcing themselves into the mix and the role they’d played in Polka. When I have time, I would like to make a travel plan for the stay-at-home group. ……No, I think I’m being a bit too cynical.
—————————————
So, two hours later, the carriages were ready, and the two dragons transformed into their dragon forms, each of them nude and posed on the street.
“It’s terrifying no matter how many times you see it……”
Jackie-san, who was also seeing us off, nodded his head as my mother, who had come to see us off, said with a slightly tense look on her face.
“I’m not afraid of you, Bocchan and the others”
“No, there’s nothing to be afraid of. They are beautiful women inside”
“I mean, aren’t dragons what’s inside beautiful women?”
“……Well, I feel like either way is fine”
“Bocchan’s ridiculous thickness is to say that it doesn’t matter which one”
……I thought to myself that I might be a little too familiar with dragon ecology.
“Well, it won’t be right away, but I’ll make something good and come back. Just you wait and see”
Old Dan said from his short stature to Jackie-san’s big frame and got into the carriage.
“Thank you for your help”
Jackie-san answered politely. I could see Old Dan’s mouth corners twitch with a slight smile of happiness.
“I plan to come back after working for about a month, but will you come pick me up?”
“If you mean a month from now, I’ll send you Laila or Airi”
“……I’m getting used to the luxury of being able to use a dragon as a horse”
“It’s a luxury, sure. Each dragon wants to be active. It would be impolite to keep them in the dark when they have a chance to play their part”
When I said that, Chibi Laila appeared softly at my shoulder.
“Ho. Owner knows what he’s doing”
“I’m counting on you”
“Hohoho. You can rely on me to the fullest”
Laila said this and slowly moved the black dragon’s huge frame away from the surrounding guards and began to flap her wings. Nearby, Maia, also holding a carriage, has begun to take off as well. And if I look closely through the window of the carriage, I can see a few of the city’s merchants, who are beginning to reappear on the main street, looking at us, stunned and dismayed.
“……Oops. Maybe I should have hidden it with an illusion”
“Isn’t it a later festival? Let’s leave the explanations to the elves and barons”
“I guess that’s all I can do……”
And so we soar once again. We’re going to Celesta in spring.
“Neia”
“Yes?”
I patted Neia’s head with her hat and laughed as I sat her down next to me.
“We’re going to eat a lot of good food, so the people of Kalwin can eat it someday”
“……Yes”
Whether the food situation improves or we escape to this side of the world. As long as we’re going, that future will come. After reaffirming this, we began our air travel.