Chapter 36: Direction
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ Knights side ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Meanwhile, the knights who left the Letivia mansion camped at the foot of the mountain where the dragon lives. After making sure they are in perfect condition, they leave their horses behind and begin to climb the mountain.
Their numbers are small, but they are an elite group.
Besides Mildy, Richil, and Garner, Fletty selected 50 men to go with them.
Including the guards in their territory, the Letivia family has around 1,000 knights and soldiers.
Fletty purposely reduced their number.
Dragons are generally very tough and won't be intimidated by half-baked attacks.
All Letivia knights are strong, but there are individual differences.
Inexperienced knights won't be able to fight the dragon, so they are asked to stay behind as a reinforcement in case of an emergency.
"From this point on, we will rely on the map that Luciel-kun drew for us."
Karim takes out a map he got from Luciel.
The map is a big leaf. Karim tilts his head a little at the size of the leaf.
He unties and unrolls the leaf scroll.
"Pampakapaan......"
Luciel, who emits a bluish-white light, popped out of the big leaf.
Karim was so surprised that he almost dropped it. The others were also stunned.
[I'm sorry for surprising you.]
"What is the meaning of this, Luciel-kun?"
Karim tries to stay calm as he tilts his head at a little Luciel that has popped out of the big leaf.
[This is a magic herb called possession herb.]
"I, I know! It is one of the rarest magic herbs, and it originally grows on the young trees of Ghost wood."
Richil, who knows a lot about herbs and medicinal herbs, responded.
"As expected of you, Richil-san."
"Did, did he compliment me? This is like I'm talking to Luciel-kun right now. Is this some kind of distant talk magic?"
"Isn't that very difficult to do? The distance of distant talk is limited. No matter how good he is, he can't send his voice from the mansion to this place. Unless he's silently following us and hiding nearby, but....."
Karim looks around with a sharp gaze.
Fletty and Garner also look around, but nothing to be found.
Finding him won't be easy if he wears the Jewel Chameleon skin. But they all think that the meddlesome boy should be nearby.
The palm-sized Luciel that popped out of the big leaf nodded.
[Karim-san is right. No matter how good I am, it would be difficult for me to send my voice using [distant talk]. I'm not there. The dragon will notice my presence if I am on that mountain.]
"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while, but it seems that you and the dragon aren't very close friends. Isn't he your benefactor?"
"I think so, but he doesn't seem to think so."
"'Did you somehow offend him?..."
"I think somehow you may have offended him."
[...... Well, well, it's not that I don't have any idea. Ahahaha.]
( ( ( What the hell did you do?) ) )
The inner voices of those who were listening overlapped.
Little Luciel smiles bitterly and continues his explanation.
[Actually, a part of my memory possesses this possession herb. Since it is a part of my memory, it can only answer based on that part of my memory.]
"Isn't it a very advanced technique to make a part of your soul possess something? Okay, I get it. Go on with your story."
Karim shrugs his shoulders.
[So all I can do is give directions to where the dragon might be.]
"Might be---- You mean you don't know where the dragons live?"
When Fletty speaks to him, Luciel responds honestly.
[That's right. It is a moody dragon that changes its habitat from time to time.]
"I see. You can't tell from the map alone. If you go straight to his nest in the mountain, you might provoke the dragon. That's why you have to do it this way."
Luciel again nodded his head at Karim's words.
"That's very helpful."
Karim looks up. What he sees are dense trees and bushes.
There is no open space, and there is no animal trail.
It looks like a natural fortress that blocks human intrusion.
There are many blind spots, and if a monster attacks you in such a place, you will not be able to get out of it.
Even if their target was a dragon, they would have difficulty confirming its appearance.
"Then, can you give us the directions?"
"Yes. Then please turn right."
From the possession herb that is possessed by Luciel, they hear cheerful voice directions.
◆◇◆◇◆
They walked through bushes, climbed cliffs with ropes, and crossed rivers with rafts.
It was kind of an adventure.
It took about two hours to cross a distance that normally only took half an hour on a normal road.
Of course, the knights' stamina was drained.
It would have been easier if they could take off their armor, but this area is not only the lair of dragons. It is also the lair of monsters.
They cannot let their guard down because they do not know when they will be attacked.
"Let's take a break, Karim-sama"
"Yeah."
At Fletty's suggestion, Karim brushed the sweat from his chin and nodded.
Mildy the beast girl, and the other knights also look tired. Even Garner is breathing heavily. He plays the shield role and is more heavily armed than the other knights.
Richil, who is not confident in her physical strength, can barely walk.
"You are indeed a good knight, Fletty. As the son of the family head, I am proud of you."
Karim looks up as he sits down on a tree root.
Fletty usually trains very hard, so her face looks cool.
[Excuse me, Karim-sama.]
"Now, what do you think, Luciel-kun? Are we getting closer to the dragon?"
Karim opens the possession herb again.
A cheerful Luciel appears again.
[I think you're getting close. You'll probably see it soon....]
"Commander!"
Mildy raised her voice.
She takes off her helmet and listens closely.
She seemed to notice some noise and pointed behind the bushes.
"No way, this soon---."
A giant dragon is occupying most of that open space.
Its wings are folded, and its long neck rests on the ground. It is dozing off comfortably, its long neck resting on the soil. Its size is stunning to most of them, but Karim is surprised by another part of the dragon's body.
"I heard about it before, but it does really exist."
Sweat drips down Karim's neck.
He sees a dragon with white scales that reminds him of summer clouds.
"The dragon that serves the gods--White Dragon.... It's the first time I've seen it."
Karim's hands tremble.
[Looks like this is as far I can navigate you.]
"Thank you for your help, Luciel-kun."
"I wish you good luck. And be sure not to mention my name----."
"I won't."
He rolls back the possession grass, and the little Luciel disappears.
Karim hides it in his pocket and raises his head one more time.
A puff of smoke is coming out of the dragon's nose.
"Who's there?...."
For a moment, no one knows who uttered the words.
All they know is that it wasn't one of the Knights.
There was something majestic in the voice that sounded like a summer thunderstorm.
The dragon's eyelids slowly lifted.
The white part of its eyes is black. The irises remind one of red ruby and wriggle like a snake.
The dragon's large eyes look at Karim and the other knights.
"Can you speak human language?"
Karim gulps.
"I can also understand you, human."
The giant body slowly lifted. The knights raised their heads along with the movement.
White Dragon stands up and exhales violently.
A strong smell filled the air.
"So, who are you? Who has disturbed my sleep!"
It was roaring like thunder.
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