REFDL 131

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣[You really can’t tell us anything? Not even a hint?]

Yuram stared at the lord.

True to his status as the leader of a group that reveres dragons, his reaction was a bit different when he asked.

The lord looked as if he were about to cry, but then, as though he had made up his mind, he ordered someone to bring a white cloth and a brush.

The imperials was fascinated by the writing tool they’d never seen before, while Yuram pretended not to notice the familiarity and focused on the tip of the lord’s brush.

He drew a bizarre pattern on a piece of cloth the size of a palm and handed it to him. Yuram understood immediately.

‘The symbol of that tribe…!’

The drawing was so messy that it was hard to make out, but after Nitan and Odan put their heads together to interpret it, they concluded it was indeed the shape of a dragon.

…A dragon with only its head remaining.

“This thing next to it looks like a vessel.”

“The spear and sword aren’t symbols; it looks like they’re piercing through the dragon…”

“The atmosphere here is all about worshipping dragons, so that tribe might…”

All the humans’ eyes turned toward the dragons. The two Pensiltas yawned and tilted their heads in confusion, but one of them, the human-like Kremlis, opened his mouth wide.

……There’s actually a tribe that hunts dragons?!

Kya…

“It’s fine. I’m here. No matter what happens, I won’t let a single one of your scales get hurt.”

Kya…!

Kael…!

“……”

“Sniff. That’s so touching. Right, Deputy Commander?”

Anyway, he decided not to think about this issue for now. Pouring time and energy into a strange connection, one he didn’t even know if he’d actually meet, was a matter of efficiency.

“On behalf of His Majesty, I express my gratitude. Both for welcoming the investigation team and for your final warning.”

He spread his wings and took flight.

“Waaaaaah! Lord Dragon! If we ever get another chance, please come again…!”

The lord’s desperate shout was scattered by the sandstorm.

***

Odan led us toward the center of the rocky desert. The distance to the star wasn’t that far.

“It seems we’ve landed right in the middle of the desert. That’s a relief. It’ll be easy to find. If we keep flying like this for just two more days, we’ll reach it.”

Kaelus nodded. The mood of the group improved considerably.

At last, the end of our long journey was coming into view.

The Pensiltas and I, meeting a rough, dense headwind for the first time in a while, soared high in the sky without hardly flapping our wings.

The humans riding on our backs seemed to have found some breathing room as well, as they marveled anew at the scenery below.

“……It’s barren and desolate, and there are few places where plants can grow. However, the land here seems much larger than Firmus.”

“I suspect it’s even larger than Denos combined.”

“And perhaps environmental factors… have also slowed the encroachment of the Sea of Trees here.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that, Mage?”

“His Grace just said it himself. Barren. Desolate. No plants can grow.”

“……Ah!”

Irina clapped her hands. …And let go of the reins.

“The Sea of Trees is a plant too!”

Grab the reins first.

Fortunately, whether it was because telepathy worked or thanks to Kaelus’s glare (I suspect it was the latter), Irina quickly grabbed the reins that had slipped from her hands.

“We’re starting to descend. If we set out at dawn tomorrow, we should reach our destination by evening.”

Kaelus said this and glanced back at Odan to confirm. The mage, weakened by exhaustion, nodded. The sun was setting.

The ground was growing dark quickly, but to a dragon’s eyes, it wasn’t much different from broad daylight. I spotted a suitable spot. Three boulders, each nearly as big as a house, lay scattered about like marbles.

There was a fairly spacious gap between them. It looked perfect for lighting a fire and resting.

“Good find.”

Grrr!

It was just as I was landing near the boulders, delighted by the praise…

[……?]

…a strange and unpleasant sensation ran up from the soles of my feet.

My heart dropped.

Demonic energy?!

No. It was a little different.

It wasn’t demonic energy. Just something very similar, yet distinct.

……The aura of a curse.

Kyaa!

Grrr!

Nitan and Irina’s Pensiltas must have sensed it too because they recoiled as if they’d been burned.

“Ugh! What is it?!”

“W-why are they acting like this all of a sudden…… Ah!”

That was when a net flew in. A metal net that looked anything but ordinary obscured the sky.

Kaelus was the first to react.

Clang!

A sapphire-blue sword aura surged upward like a crescent moon and sliced the massive net in half.

Clang!

The heavy metal net fell to the left and right.

Grrr!

I roared and spewed flames all around me. Meanwhile, the Pensiltas, who had regained their senses, tried to take flight, but…

“……?!”

“Why… why can’t we fly?”

No matter how hard they flapped their wings, they couldn’t fly. Their feet did leave the ground, but as if held back ​Read on​by something, they couldn’t even fly a meter before crashing back down.

……Could it be that I can’t fly either? As I strained my wings to test it, a figure suddenly leapt out from beyond the flames. And he said,

“Wait. Calm down for a moment.”

Led by him, people rose from the darkness. They had been hiding under sand-colored cloaks.

Rustle.

Brushing off sand and gravel, they rose one by one.

Their skin was swarthy, and they were all incredibly burly.

Their upper bodies were bare, clad only in weapons, while their lower bodies were covered by a single pair of old pants that looked as if they’d been tailored to fit. And their exposed bodies were covered in menacing tattoos.

Nitan and Irina grabbed their swords. Odan fidgeted inside his robe, seemingly preparing his own move.

The one presumed to be their leader stepped forward. He raised both hands nonchalantly. He was the only one among the nearly naked group who was properly dressed.

“It was our mistake. We didn’t see the people on the dragons’ backs! We thought they were wild dragons. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have attacked. So, calm down for now. I understand you were startled, so I won’t ask you to lower your weapons.”

“……”

His voice was calm.

He wasn’t groveling, but he was humble. His attitude was decidedly friendly. After some deliberation, Kaelus chose his words carefully and asked,

“Who are you?”

The man grinned, his white teeth flashed in the darkness.

“Since you’re asking who we are, you must not be from the desert. Am I right? Did you cross over from the Sea of Trees?”

“…….”

“No. I made another mistake out of curiosity. I’m not usually this prone to mistakes… I apologize again. ”

With an attitude that showed no remorse, the man lowered his hands.

Then, his clenched fist tapped against his thick chest.

“We’re one of the desert tribes. We wander aimlessly, hunting desert beasts or scraping by with a little help from the dragons.”

“A little help, you say?”

“We kill beasts, but we don’t kill dragons. That’s an unforgivable sin. We just take a few things, like scales that have fallen off on their own from age, or overgrown claws. Dragons are precious. Selling them is a big help in keeping the tribe alive.”

The moment I heard those words, the lord’s warning came to mind.

Taboo. Desert tribe.

Minamao, who had once worshipped dragons.

……One plausible theory came to mind.

Could it be that the desert tribe killed a dragon?

If so, given the circumstances, it was highly unlikely that these were the tribe the lord had mentioned.

Kaelus, who probably had the same thought as me, asked again.

“Do you have any kind of tribal symbol?”

“Not really. Well, most tribes have them, but we’re not big enough to have something like that.”

The man shrugged. His forearm, as thick as an average person’s thigh, twitched, barely concealed by his clothes.

It was the first time I’d seen an arm thicker than Kaelus’s. Fascinated, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

For some reason, this made Kaelus’s mood worse.

Kya?!

Why?

Unable to bring myself to speak in front of strangers, especially humans who weren’t exactly friendly toward us like the lord, I deliberately called out to him in dragon language.

Kaelus immediately gave me a resentful glance. His gaze rebuked my lack of fidelity.

[……?!]

Seriously, why?

I didn’t do anything?!

Oh. Wait a sec.

……Could it be because I looked at the man’s forearm?

No, that can’t be it!

I shook my head vigorously, filled with indignation. Then Kaelud gave Irina a meaningful glance.

Irina, who had been coldly watching her surroundings like a wolf while holding her sword, said ‘Huh?’ with a blank expression that looked like her whole art style had changed at that gaze.

“Why me all of a sudden?”

[…….]

……Yeah. It’s all my fault.

I underestimated your jealousy. This was karma.