Chapter 625: Across the Blue Snake Mountains
“Ooo……that’s great……”
“I know, I know. If you’re riding a dragon for the first time, you’ll be overwhelmed by this view”
“Why is Naris so proud?”
We are now over the Blue Snake Mountains. We are flying over the low part of the ridge. We are flying at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. Laila is flying without wasting too much altitude, which allows us to enjoy a powerful view of the terrain. The peaks, which you would normally have to look up at only dimly from a distance, flow below you as you fly, making you realize that they are not just a piece of paper but three-dimensional.
“It’s worth coming here just to have the experience of flying over the mountain range……you can’t see something like this unless you’re a mountaineer”
“It’s a little hard to believe that there are people who climb these mountains on foot……”
I know there are people who climb mountains as a hobby, but the more I look at it again, the more it doesn’t look like terrain for people to walk on. There are slopes for hundreds of meters with no footholds that make it hard just to stand on them and at the end of the slopes there are cliffs that look like they are ready to kill you. It is futile to imagine the path one can take in these mountains. I can only be convinced that the East and the West have been neatly separated as separate nations for many years. ……But.
“But there are people who climb it”
“Seriously? ……Seriously!”
On the opposite side of the window where Gloria-san is, I go to see Luna, who was looking outside and pointing and sure enough, there are guys climbing this high mountain. Amazing.
“Ho. They must be dwarves. Are they looking for mineral deposits?”
Chibi Laila tells me from my shoulder.
“How did they get up there?”
“Well, maybe. But a mountain range of 2,000 meters or so is gentle compared to the Eastern Mountains”
“……I always find it hard to believe that people live on top of the Eastern Mountains”
“What? Compared to living in the desert, it must be easy, right?”
The Eastern Mountains are at an average height of 4,000 meters. And from the bottom you can see through the clouds. People can live anywhere, can’t they? If you ride a dragon, you can go anywhere with relative ease, but once you do, you can’t help but admire the ordinary people who venture into the harsh terrain without a care in the world.
“……Ah”
The sight of four dragons crossing the sky seemed to startle the dwarves who were climbing the mountain below and one of them panicked, fell down and began to roll down the slope.
“H, Hey, Laila!”
“I can’t do anything rash while I’m carrying everyone. Leave it to Maia”
Maia, who was flying nearby, let out a high-pitched cry and pushed the empty carriage she was holding onto the back of Emma, who was flying next to her. Emma yells in protest, not wanting to let go of her own carriage, but Maia swoops down, grabs the gurgling dwarf, does a spectacular somersault and with a flick of her wings, flips him over to return him to his fellow climbers.
“You did a good job of picking him up……but he looks badly hurt”
“A dwarf is a hardy fellow. A fall of that magnitude would not have been fatal”
“If he needs medical attention, Hilda will take care of him……”
Laila and the other two stayed in the air for a while to watch the situation. Maia flies to the front of the group of dwarves, then transforms into her human body and hands over the rescued dwarf in a princess carry. She seems to be exchanging words with them, but we cannot hear them.
“How is it, Laila?”
“He doesn’t seem to be badly hurt, after all. A bruise or two?”
“I hope so”
As I looked down at them, the dwarves somehow all bowed down together. Maia looked puzzled.
“What was that all about……?”
“The dwarves seemed to think that we were trying to kidnap them and eat them. Well, it could look that way with all four of us flying around with carriages in our arms”
“No, no, no, we wouldn’t go to all this trouble to find someone to eat”
“I wouldn’t eat people anyway. Horses or sandworms are better for eating”
Well, that’s true, isn’t it? I heard some time ago that humans are not tasty. But it would be difficult to make the dwarves understand that.
“I’ll go down there and explain it to them”
I had no choice but to let Laila dismount the carriage and I got out and went to explain to them.
“Ah, wait, wait. I’m changing the air pressure between the carriage and the outside, so you’ll have a hard time breathing if you go straight out”
Before I get out, don’t forget to ask Hilda and Irina to cast an alpine treatment spell on me.
“And while you’re at it, Hilda, will you come with me?”
“Yes. That might be a good idea”
“Well, then, come with me. Hey, are you okay?”
Hilda and I waved to the group of dwarves and ran to them, explaining that we were not a threat.
In the meantime, Hilda-san treats the dwarf with bruises and abrasions and incidentally examines the other dwarves who were not feeling well and prescribes medicine for them.
“Hahaa……that’s amazing. You’re traveling with four dragons?”
“I’ve been through a lot. I thought you were famous in Renfangas”
“We speculators live lives far removed from the events of Rennesto. I guess you did something that would make you famous there”
“Last year, during the Great Demon Invasion, that Maia who just saved that old man over there played a big role”
I gave a thumbs up, assuring Maia of her success. Seeing my gaze, Maia also gave a thumbs up.
“These days, dragons are rampaging in the monster invasion. You’ve been holed up in the mountains for a while and now something amazing has happened”
“Well, my friend, there was once a time when dragons helped out”
“Never heard of them”
“When my father was in the army, he said he saw one once”
The dwarves start chatting. The air seemed to soften considerably after Hilda healed them and I came out of the carriage, where they thought I was being held captive and explained the situation to them. Incidentally, I did not tell them that I was a dragon rider. I told them that I was one of them, including Bauz and they somehow agreed with me.
“So that’s how it is. You don’t have to be so scared when you see a dragon. They know what they’re talking about”
“I often hear from my fellow mountaineers that they were threatened when they were hanging around near the dragon palace”
“That’s no wonder. No one wants to have their walls dug up like a vein of ore”
“No wonder
We parted from the laughing dwarves and returned to the carriage.
“You are very skilled at making friends with strangers, aren’t you?”
Gloria-san was a little impressed.
“I just like to drink with people I don’t even know by name at bars. It’s the Celesta way”
“Umm, our people don’t open up to people they don’t know very well, but I guess Harmonium is a little closed off”
“Maybe that’s part of it. Well, in the Basson and Talc area, you can drink like that”
“You may think you’re living a long life, but it’s not good to be a hermit, is it?”
Gloria-san laughs. It seems that leaving town is already starting to have an effect on her.
“……Ha, hurry up and get into the carriage”
“Ah”
Emma remained in the difficult position of being unable to let go of another carriage with her hands while supporting the carriage that was forced onto her back with her tail up. ……Sorry.
————————————-
Then we fly for a while and arrive at Rennesto.
“It’s even more impressive when you see it from the air. ……So this is the famous fortified city”
“I’m renting one of the mansions. ……I’m still allowed to use it, aren’t I? Tetes”
“If you’ve been evicted, you can just ride into the castle with impunity. If Dianne is still working and they take away her quarters without her permission, you can be angry”
Taking Tetes at her words, we rode to the 「Celesta Mansion」. The dragons were not particularly blamed, but the dragons seemed to stand out after all and after a while, the knights visited the mansion, clanging their armor.
“Dianne, is that you?”
“Oh, Berga”
“……Looking good, Sharon”
It was the Gauntlet Knights led by Berga.
“Today we’re just sightseeing. Our guests will look displeased, so please don’t rattle your long weapons”
“……Irina-sama. You’re in a good mood”
Berga is indeed the most senior of the Arcas-born group and he has a sense of propriety. The knights with bare spears and halberds immediately let go of them. Well, it is not possible to put them away somewhere, so they are all entrusted to one knight. This kind of equipment is more for intimidation than anything else, so it’s tactless if you know they are not suspicious of you. If it had been the old Sharon or Felios, they might have refused to do so, no matter what Irina said.
“You mean you’re just here? Do you have another purpose?”
“To settle the accounts of the Gauntlet girls. The exploration business has been settled. It would be unjust to leave them in debt to the queen without informing her”
“……Mu. Indeed”
Irina is explaining everything to him nonchalantly, but it feels like it should really be Dianne or me who should be saying it……no, the Dianne Special Forces are a plan led by Maia and by extension the elven territory, which is treated as a contributor to their forces, so is it okay for Irina to be in charge? Anyway, regardless of reality, I’m officially just a member of the unit. Ah, it’s complicated.
“So Sharon will be brought back, I take it?”
“For now, yes. I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring her back at least once”
“……That’s a suspicious way of putting it
“She seems to have been very fond of Polka. I can’t ignore her wishes
“……Polka, you say?”
“Hmm. You want me to say something different? I don’t mind, but it’s you who cares about face”
“…………”
Berga would like to say something sarcastic, but if Irina were to honestly say that Sharon was being boned by Andy Smithson, it would be Berga who would lose face, since they had come to support each other as the three greatest knights from Arcas.
“I don’t like it”
“Oh. I don’t want Berga to tell me that”
“Sharon”
“You’re a very romantic man, aren’t you?”
“……Don’t get too comfortable with”
“You and I are in different positions. We may share the same glory, but both you and Felios are in a position to inherit the throne. And……”
“If I had intended to treasure it, I wouldn’t have run away. Now, talk of lineage doesn’t mean much to me. That’s not enough. Right?”
“That was a long time ago. Now that you’re recognized as a knight with powers that connect you to all nations, you’ll be welcomed with cheers when you return to Arcas. I have not yet achieved this, but if I have an audience with the king, I can even get a significant raise in the order of succession…….”
“The king is not interested in the throne, which is like a dead tree. There is no change in the past. Whoever wants to get such a thing and become the king of that lethargic and closed forest can do it. It has nothing to do with me”
“……Sharon”
Berga looks annoyed. Irina claps her hands there, pan and pan, as if to wrap up the conversation.
“I’m interested, but I don’t think we should be talking about our own people here. We have just arrived. Can’t you take your report home with you for now?”
“……Ha?”
Berga bowed and withdrew. The knights who were brought in also looked interested in this side of the glamorous, but once they returned with Berga. And Gloria-san, who was watching them from the side, sighed with relief.
“No no, I knew they were important people but……when they talk like that in front of me, it makes me feel out of place”
“Well…….right”
I’m getting used to it, but it’s really like a royal conversation. Hmm.
“And that princess……what’s with that thing you do……how did you do it?”
“Even if you say you did it……it was just a coincidence……”
Even now, when I think about it, there aren’t many elements that could be said to be inevitable about the events that followed, such as accidentally buying my prank armor……I was thinking how lucky I was to make armor for a beautiful woman with amazing boobs and before I knew it, she had become a female slave. I feel like Aurora is responsible for about half of it.
“I sometimes hear about women ruining countries, but it’s scary to think that a man can pull the strings with just his penis”
“Don’t say things like penis in the middle of the day”
The only thing I can think of to say about pulling strings with my dick is that it has a weird meaning, so don’t do it.