Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 298
Chapter Title: On Dragonback
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After going through all sorts of ordeals, morning arrived, and we set off to exit the ancient forest.
All manner of grotesque beasts prowled around us, but thanks to the pelt of the Little King draped over my head, they couldn't muster the courage to attack. They just growled lowly instead.
"Lord Hassan's mighty valor has all the beasts of this forest bowing their heads...!"
Paranoya, as always, put on her bizarre display upon seeing me and the beasts.
Truth be told, I usually took half of what Paranoya said with a grain of salt and let the other half slide right off. But given the circumstances, her words rang surprisingly true this time, puffing me up with pride.
It felt just like being the donkey in the lion's skin. And honestly, the situation wasn't all that different.
Still, knowing full well how that donkey ended up exposed and humiliated after strutting around, I had no choice but to keep a dignified air to avoid any mishaps.
Stroke, stroke.
Luna kept petting my head and shoulders, so I reluctantly opened my mouth.
"Luna, what is it?"
"The fur feels amazing! I'm jealous!"
I see.
Luna seemed quite taken with the white pelt I had draped over me.
Come to think of it, she was the one who'd figured out what this beast really was.
It looked like the same species as that freakish magical beast called Whitey, which the witch Nemeia kept as a pet in her shop.
"It's bound itself to Hassan now. I wanted a piece of that hide myself."
"Maybe you could take a little?"
"No, this is a token of the pact. Even if you can't keep a promise, destroying its proof is bad luck."
Her words reminded me of the pact I'd made with Echidna.
The deal was that I'd help her have as many offspring as I'd killed of hers. Of course, the nuance of "helping" was utterly lascivious.
Husband to a snake woman.
Giant pythons symbolize lust and virility. That's why snake liquor was popular with men and women alike, even in back-alley tonics.
Let alone becoming the man of such a massive female—it was clear I'd be squeezed dry and crushed to death. Escaping her death grip coils was no different.
Of course, I hadn't fully escaped.
I'd merely postponed it with a promise to return to this forest in a hundred years.
But as I've said many times, the average lifespan here tops out at around seventy. Even I, having endured so much hardship in my youth, probably wouldn't last past eighty.
"Anyway, what a shame!"
At Luna's wistful words, Hippolyte, who had been walking quietly beside us, let out a thoughtful "Hm—."
"Well, it's prime material for armor or a shield. Leather this tough rivals luxuriously forged titanium or mithril. Though it'd be heavier, of course." She trailed off, adding that it seemed too hard to work with anyway.
She was spot on.
The hide covering me now was incredibly heavy, like wearing a condensed military tent around my body.
If my Strength hadn't reached 15—the supposed human limit—I probably couldn't have taken more than a few steps before collapsing under its weight.
But it was just as impossibly tough.
I'd seen for myself how it took a direct hit from Hippolyte's aura-clad sword strike without a scratch.
At least it served as protective gear for my head, neck, and the vulnerable spots on my back most prone to ambushes. I could endure the weight for that.
"Still, we're both decked out in beast byproducts, so we match! When we get to Delphoi, I'll stick on a ward and cast a spell to make it waterproof!"
Luna brightly declared this while donning her skull helmet.
Now that she mentioned it, with her bizarre skull helm and my hide mask, we looked like a matching couple's item.
To a stranger, we might pass for a savage tribal pair on an expedition to the continent.
"Ah! That kanf just thought something wicked...!"
"What? Why would I?"
"You're jealous of Lord Hassan's new beast hide...!"
"Hah? Why would I be jealous of that?"
"Honestly, I'm a little envious."
Hippolyte nodded as she eyed me over carefully.
"Fine beast hide like this is rare. Just wearing it marks you as a formidable warrior. It's practically a symbol of karma."
"Hmph."
Elfride looked like she had more to say, but with the mood against her, she let out a small scoff and clamped her mouth shut.
"Ah—! That shady kanf is up to no good...! Hiding something in her bosom...!"
"No, why are you always picking on me?"
"If you're innocent, leave Gaia continent...! This is nymph territory...! Anyway, she's hiding something super suspicious...!"
Paranoya's incessant yapping made the growls from the surrounding beasts grow louder.
Echidna had silenced her yesterday with some strange spell. I regretted not learning it, when Luna spoke up.
"Time for a Silence Honeycomb after so long?"
"..."
Paranoya shut her mouth instantly, as if she'd never spoken. The whole forest seemed to fall silent with her.
Knowing full well what Luna meant by "Silence Honeycomb," she trembled in fear.
Thinking about it, we didn't need fancy spells or magic to quiet her down.
"So, what'd she hide?"
Satisfied with the quiet, Luna turned the topic to Elfride.
Elfride sighed faintly, as if she had no choice, and pulled something from her pants pocket, holding it out to us with a flick.
It was a small, white stone.
What was this?
As I felt a twinge of curiosity, Hippolyte spoke.
"A magic stone from a beast. High purity, too. You scavenged it from the pyre earlier, right?"
"Yeah."
"I heard fire mages incinerate beasts to extract stones. Guess it's true."
A magic stone.
Only then did I recall our past adventures with Elfride. She'd often burn the corpses of monsters she'd slain to ash.
I'd thought it was just her pyromaniac elf quirk.
So it was to harvest magic stones.
Even I'd heard of them from my brief adventurer days. They held mana or whatever and were like jewels to mages.
A tiny stone from incinerated remains.
Like relics or sarira. Probably similar.
"Oh? When'd you snag that! Jealous! Gimme one!"
Luna eyed the beast relic in Elfride's hand with regret.
Elfride had always been soft on Luna, so I wondered, but surprisingly, she clenched her fist around it and pocketed it, unwilling to part with it.
"Sorry, it's mine. Gonna make a necklace. It'll be an artifact on par with that hide hat of yours."
"That kanf's aiming to wear something made from the same material as Lord Hassan's...!"
"It's not like that, okay?"
Elfride's ears twitched in panic. She glanced around wildly, as if offended by the false accusation, then fell silent.
With all these strong-willed folks together, it was pure chaos.
Felt like I understood why idol groups disband once the money rolls in—everyone goes their own way.
As I thought that, the forest thinned, revealing open fields. The blue dragon Isvaron, who had been walking silently, spoke up.
Time to fly again. Get in the carriage. And you, Juvenile Hassan.
I looked up as the dragon addressed me. Its massive blue pupil stared down piercingly.
My heart raced. But it said its piece, unconcerned with my feelings.
If you wish, you may ride my back once.
"No way!"
Elfride beat me to the reply.
"You're letting that guy on your back? Why?"
He amused me. Might as well let him ride once.
Whatever it was, my desperate struggles for survival had apparently earned high marks from this blue dragon.
Amuse it, and you get a ride.
I mentally added "appreciates humor" to my notes on dragons, these massive reptiles.
Anyway, from everyone's reactions, riding a dragon's back was no ordinary feat. Even in this world of magic, curses, and spells, it was rare and precious.
"Fine, what the hell. I'll ride. But it'd feel weird solo. Mind one more? Too heavy?"
Heavy? Your weight's nothing to me. Fine, one more. But if you fall, tough luck.
My offhand comment oddly pricked the blue dragon's pride, and it permitted far more easily than expected.
"Anyone wanna ride up with me?"
I asked the party, but no one jumped.
"Riding on the back, if you fall to the ground, you'll end up messier than a splattered egg...!"
Paranoya had a point. No seatbelts, clinging to a dragon flapping at high speed? Riskier than highway biking without a helmet.
Now I felt like sticking to the cargo hold.
I won't accept your refusal. My pride as Isvaron forbids it.
The blue dragon sensed my hesitation and blocked the escape. Damn.
Now I had to point at someone willing to die with me. I looked like Clyde Bonis, facing a suicide flight.
Ride or die.
My partner in this...
Hold tight. If you fall, not my problem. Been ages since I carried anyone—feels awkward.
"Hey, where do I even grab?"
Figure it out.
Astride the dragon, I freaked out. Its back was covered in smooth, tightly packed scales—no gaps to grip.
Nothing to hold.
What do I grab?
Then a calm voice came from behind.
"Idiot, quit panicking. Dragons are flight masters alongside griffons. No fussing, no falling."
It was Elfride, mounted behind me. I'd picked her as my ride-or-die.
She loved dragons anyway—probably saw riding this vast back as a dream come true.
Shaking off my fear, I bluffed.
"So, how's it feel fulfilling your dragonback dream thanks to me?"
"Pfft. No one else wanted to. You'd look pathetic shivering up high alone, so I'm helping."
"Sure, got it."
Her voice trembled slightly too.
Not from terror like mine, but the excited quiver of a kid at a dream ride. Her ears were flushed red.
Here we go.
Flap—.
With a mighty wingbeat, our bodies lifted off.
"Eek—!"
Elfride let out an uncharacteristically shrill yelp and clung to my back.
"What, idiot? No need to freak, you said?"
"Sh-shut up."
Accelerating. Gotta reach Delphoi by nightfall.
Flap, flap—.
The wind blasted my face with the huge wingbeats.
Dragons were flight experts, per Elfride—no need to grip anything. But facing this intense speed wind, I felt like I'd fly off anyway.
No leisure to sightsee or savor the experience; I just ducked my head.
Was Elfride the same?
Her chatter died the moment we took flight.
Turbulence ahead. Might jostle—grab something.
"Hey, idiot, grab what?"
I was losing it. Turbulence? Sounded like the worst life storm ever.
Am I dying?
What to grab?
As I panicked, something tugged firmly at my waist sash. No need to check—Elfride, plastered to my back.
"Hey, idiot, grabbing me? If one falls, we're both dead."
"Why so scared? Ride or die—same either way. Just enjoy the wind."
"Enjoy what? You get shelter from my back, so you're f—"
Whoooosh—.
Vicious winds battered us from all sides, shaking my body wildly.
Elfride's grip on my side tightened. Soon her arms wrapped my waist like a seatbelt.
Bump, bump—.
The gusts tossed us like a new car on a rough road—no time to care.
Her hold around my waist even gave a strange sense of security, despite doing nothing.
Of course, I didn't say that.
No need.
After shaking through the turbulence for ages, we burst from the clouds into clear skies, mountains sprawling below. Despite my recent terror, the sight purely overwhelmed me.
Elfride, still clutching my waist, spoke.
"Never thought I'd come back here like this. Remember this place?"