Chapter 462: Rica Rescue Operation 2
I would surrender the carriage I came in to everyone else and since it would be a deadweight to use the cargo carriage for me alone, I would ride on Maia’s head as I was in charge of holding Sahul back with Maia.
“It’s still too cold to fly. Put some clothes on and go”
“I know”
“We will probably reach the city of Sitar sooner than you, based on the arrival time of the flying dragon service. You will fly in the opposite direction to Helicon from there and look for Sahul. When you find him, send him to……”
“Stalling?”
“No, you tell him the truth. We’re going to help Rika”
“Eh, really?”
“If you try to smoke him out with a lie, he’ll find out and you won’t know which way things are going to go. He is twice the size of each other, so it shouldn’t be too difficult”
“Yes”
Maia nodded, moved away, paused and transformed into her dragon form.
“I’ll leave that one to you. If you can get him to be quiet, we’ll meet up with you in Sitar”
“Understood”
I lifted my hand to Laila, who had transformed first and said, 「Good luck」 and I climbed up onto Maia’s head. ……Once I put my foot on the dragon’s scales, I felt better. My floating consciousness of eroticism, hot springs, good food, etc., returns to 「Soldier」 with a stomp. No, 「Soldier」 is still not enough. What I need to be aware of is that I am a 「Dragon Rider」. My work alone could turn an entire city into ruins.
“Good”
With a snap, I clamped my hands on my cheeks and grabbed the corner of Maia’s head.
“Please, Maia”
“Yes”
The two dragons soar into the sky. Below them, the servants and Dianne’s siblings looked up from under the awning with trepidation. I waved my hand lightly from above Maia to show my gratitude for staying with them for a while. Let’s get this over with and come back without incident.
———————————-
Flying almost due south from Talc for a while, I saw the gentle mountainous terrain beyond the lake area and the sea beyond.
“Sea……!!”
“?”
“It’s as big and scary as ever”
I have seen the sea in the Blue Clan Territory beyond the Elven Territory, but in a sense, that sea is different from the real thing. It may be the first time I’ve seen the real one like this since I went to Quica a long time ago. At that time, I was amazed at the volume of water in the Great Armonica River, which exceeds the Garash River (the one that flows through Folklore) and I was slowly terrified as the river grew wider and wider. The Celesta, I thought at the time, was too big for the sand and water to handle.
“Are you interested in things like the other side of the sea?”
“No, I can’t even imagine”
I answered Chibi Maia standing by my ear. I had never faced the ocean in my life, but I could never imagine what it was like beyond it. I can’t help but wonder what the sailor’s mindset is like, traveling for weeks or months without being able to see the ground on which to set foot. Of course there is a world beyond that as long as people have reached it, but for me……it is still beyond the realm of what I can understand.
“If you want to go there someday, Andy-sama, just let me know”
“What, Maia, would you like to go?”
“Because it’s my dream to explore the unknown world with Andy-sama”
“Hahaha. I’d love that”
Adventure. I had always thought of quitting the military, becoming a blacksmith, and living peacefully with the female slaves. ……But one day I will go on an adventure with Maia in some unknown land, not on a mission, but out of curiosity and I will be able to see the world with my own eyes. Will there ever be an adventure day? Exploring the demon territory is close, but I’m sure that’s not what Maia is dreaming about.
“Well, more than that……”
“I know”
When the port town came into view, Maia and Laila split off. She turns slowly to the left and east, following the reverse course of Sahul’s flight path.
“We can ambush him somewhere. I don’t feel like I’m going to lose to a baby dragon in terms of flying speed, so I can catch up even after it passes through”
“No, we’ll fly until we find him”
“I don’t mind, but Andy-sama looks cold”
“If you come over and have sex with me later, my temperature will be back up in no time”
“Okay, but I’m probably cold, right?”
“A cold pussy’s not so bad”
What am I saying with my teeth chattering?
“……Okay. I’ll have sex with you later”
“Ou”
In the end, Maia and I headed northeast and jumped over mountains and swamps, even though we were somehow getting entangled in eroticism. I’m a little worried about what kind of strategy Dianne and the others will have in the city, but first, let’s fulfill our role. So, we kept flying like that and even if we flew until I could see the desert again, I couldn’t meet Sahul.
“……Did we miss him?”
“I don’t think he’d try to fly while hiding in an illusion……”
“If he did, it would be a disaster”
“What should we do……”
Do we keep going, try to meander around in case he might have veered off course, or do I believe in the possibility that he could have slipped through and pontooned back? ……Is already forcing me to make an important decision. I have no time or clues, so I have to rely completely on intuition, but if I miss, there’s a possibility that fire breath will suddenly hit the town where Dianne´s group is secretly sneaking in.
“…… At any rate, there is a possibility that the flying dragon flight will arrive at Helicon late due to a sandstorm or some other reason. I decide to fly to Helicon once and if he had already left, we could turn back at full speed this time”
I made that decision, but my evidence was weak. If he happened to fly on a strange course, he would be in over my head and there would be no reason for him to hide in an illusion. If that’s the case, I would have to trust Maia’s power and play with her speed.
“I understand. I’ll try to fly”
“Please do”
Maia increases her speed. I was actually quite cold, even with my heavy clothes on, but I couldn’t say under these circumstances. We arrived at Helicon and were circling over Laila’s mansion when, for some reason, Sahul was coming back from further east in the city.
“Oh……?”
“Maybe he didn’t get the message because he went out on his own?”
Maia and I were relieved to see that we had not missed anything. But when Sahul saw us, he quickly approached us, hovering over us and shouting.
“Hey, you guys!”
“Uh”
The sound echoed in my ears. I had forgotten how loud dragons are when they speak normally. In fact, in the city of Helicon below, townspeople were crouching and running away, clutching their ears.
“Rika’s whereabouts……”
“Noisy”
Maia grabs Sahul by the head, who is still trying to speak, throws him toward the ground and slams him down. The ground shook with a thud and the townspeople screamed and ran for cover.
“You guys are too big with your blurbs and your tics!”
“And this is the only way to get him to shut up right away”
“Ah already, Sahul and Maia, go back to your human bodies! That’s an order!”
“Y, You’re ordering me too……”
“A dragon without a rider usually obeys unless his life is at stake. If you don’t like it, I’ll force you to obey”
“D, Don’t come!”
The atmosphere was that a mini-dragon battle between Maia and Sahul was about to unfold, but as expected, Sahul returned reluctantly to his human body, as he seemed to know the difference in power after being knocked down once.
Maia followed suit and returned to her human body.
“Okay, I can talk properly with this”
The difference in height when he returned to his human body threw me into the air, but Maia immediately jumped to catch me and landed safely. Being princess-carried is uncool, but I don’t have a choice.
“That’s right, listen! It seems that Rika has been found!”
“Yeah, we heard that too and now Dianne, Laila and the others are working to rescue her”
“Why didn’t you come back to talk to me!?”
“Because it looked like you were going to jump out on your own. I mean, you knew that information, but why were you flying over there?”
When I questioned him, Sahul looked away awkwardly for a while and then said.
“……Hey, that……isn’t the town where Rika is located there!? I remember it said it was a port town”
“It’s a town called Sitar, but it’s not……that way”
“Sitar. That’s it, yes, I had a feeling that there was a r at the end. So which way is it?”
“Did you fly without knowing anything?”
I might have been saved by Sahul being an idiot.
“C, Cause you can’t just stay or go! Or rather, you’re caught by bad guys”
“You shouldn’t panic because they’re bad guys. Don’t you think that if you destroy a building or something, they’ll just offer Rika-san and beg for their lives?”
“I’m not that stupid! But you won’t come back even if I sit down!?”
“That’s why everyone is moving. Everyone wants her to come back comfortably”
“Even if you say that……I can’t be relieved. Rika might be killed at any moment”
Sahul swung his body and stomped on his feet. Well, I understand how he feels. I wouldn’t be able to wait around for Apple to be taken prisoner by some unknown villain either. But I don’t know what I would do if I were to take Sahul in this state……without a second thought.
“Hey, take me with you! I’m not as violent as you think! I swear!”
“…………”
“Hey!”
“Really?”
I look at Sahul and worry for a moment. I stare at Dianne, pondering the weight of what she has entrusted me with and exhale.
“Listen. Sahul. Absolutely follow my instructions. Don’t do anything selfish”
“I understand”
“It’s a matter of bad guys. It could be anything, but you must obey me. I will not allow you to get angry and run amok”
“………..”
“If you break your promise, I’ll kill Rika-san, even if she’s alive”
“!?”
“The plan is to save her, but if you betray us, she will pay for that crime. Is that alright with you?”
“Wh, What are you talking about?”
“That’s what an oath is. A promise is a promise and it’s a big one. If a dragon runs amok, something terrible will happen. That’s what it means to take your dragon with you and risk it”
“…………”
“If you don’t like it, me and Maia will wait here until the end. Whether Rika-san is alive or dead”
“Gu……”
For Sahul, that would be an unreasonable phrase. But I can’t just take a dragon that could go out of control and say no to the rest. After a while, Sahul raised his eyes.
“……But still, I want to go”
“Okay”
I met his gaze squarely. Come to think of it, even though he looks like a child, he’s older than me. Even just a dragon. I can’t help but feel like I can say such a pompous thing. But even so, I’m sure I’m the only one who can convince a dragon to accept it.
“Let’s go, Sahul”
I held the boy dragon’s hand firmly.