Vacation
A full month had passed since the martial arts tournament ended.
"Hwaaah… I'm so bored…"
"Just a little longer, My Lady. We're almost there."
Schwarz answered as he watched Milia stretch with a languid roll of her shoulders, then turned his gaze to the window. The view outside was one both of them knew by heart: fields that had shed spring's tender green for a deep, rich blue; sunlight glittering on the river that cut through the territory; and beyond it all, a city ringed by sturdy walls.
This was the edge of the kingdom and one of its vital shields—the Valentine Countship.
"It's been nearly a year and a half. I wonder if Mother and Father are doing well."
"They sent a letter only a few days ago, so I'm certain they are."
Excitement lit Milia's face at the thought of seeing her family again. For a girl still in her mid-teens to have been away from home for more than a year and a half, the eagerness was only natural.
"Come to think of it…"
"…?"
Milia narrowed her eyes at him, and Schwarz returned a puzzled look. Then he caught the sly spark of anticipation in her gaze and answered in a firm tone.
"Absolutely not. What will you do if the Count and the Countess scold you?"
"Oh, come on. Don't be so strict. What if we call it a patrol of the territory? If Father says the same thing, you won't have any room to argue!"
"My Lady…"
Schwarz shook his head at her pleading, yet she pressed on without mercy. If anyone from the academy saw her like this, they would surely suffer a severe case of cognitive dissonance at the sight of a side of her so different from the usual.
"No matter how you ask, some things simply cannot be allowed."
"Really? Truly? Even when I'm begging like this?"
"Urgh…"
Her relentless coaxing drew a low groan from him. The more she insisted, the more troubled his expression grew, until at last he let out a short sigh.
"Haa… If we get scolded, I know nothing about it, all right?"
"Heehee. Deal!"
Milia stuck out her tongue with a mischievous grin at his defeated tone. It's always like this… Schwarz thought, then opened the small window that connected to the driver's seat.
"Mr. Ban, would you stop here for a moment? My Lady says she would like to walk a little."
"Hm? Right here? We're still quite a ways from the manor…"
Ban, the Valentine family's coachman, answered with clear surprise.
"Please."
"Well… if the young lady says so, there's nothing for it."
Like Schwarz, he was a servant and could not refuse Milia's request.
"Whoa—!! Whoa—!!"
—Hiiiiiiing!!
At Ban's call and the tug of the reins, the horses slowed, and soon the carriage came to a halt at the roadside. Schwarz stepped down first and offered his hand with care; Milia took it and alighted after him.
"Then I'll go on ahead!!"
"Please give Father a good explanation!"
Confirming they were safely down, Ban doffed his hat in farewell. Milia waved back. With a sharp crack of the whip and a chorus of equine snorts, the carriage rolled away. In moments Ban and the vehicle vanished from sight.
"Ready?"
"Yes, My Lady."
Schwarz offered a faint smile at her eager face, drew a deep breath, and gathered his mana. At once his form began to change. His body swelled in an instant; dark-blue scales erupted across his skin; fangs and claws lengthened; sharp horns rose from his head; and a pair of vast wings unfurled from his shoulders.
"It's been so long that this form feels a little strange."
Fully transformed into a black dragon, Schwarz inspected himself for any incomplete shift. After nearly a year spent in human shape, the sensations of his true body felt oddly unfamiliar.
"You'll get used to it soon enough."
Milia scrambled up onto his back with the quickness of a squirrel. Schwarz spread his great wings and gave them a few experimental flaps, sending grass and dust swirling in the sudden wind.
"Hold on tight. Takeoff can be dangerous."
"You worry too much. Do I look like a child to you?"
You are a child… Schwarz thought with a quiet groan, then swallowed a short breath.
"All right—let's fly to our hearts' content for the first time in ages!"
"Kyaoooooh—!!"
With Milia's exhilarated shout, he loosed a thunderous roar and surged into the sky.
"Home really is the best, isn't it?"
"Of course."
High above, Milia flung her arms wide and drank in the cool wind rushing past. For a long while they had barely flown at all. In Barenberg, security forbade casual flight, and even with a hard-won permit the risk of exposure was high. Besides, the school term had kept them far too busy to spare the time.
Then—
"Schwarz, shall we try that again after so long?"
"By 'that,' you mean…"
He understood at once and gave her a small smile. Milia read the meaning in it and tightened her legs around him. Schwarz climbed higher still. The Countship shrank beneath them until the entire territory lay spread out in a single glance.
"Ready?"
"Yes, My Lady."
He nodded and stilled his wings. For the barest fraction of a second—less than a heartbeat—his body hung motionless in the air. Then they plummeted.
A colossal wind slammed into their faces; the raw force of it scoured every inch of them as they arrowed straight down. The surface of the Limon River, which cut through the heart of the Countship, rushed up to meet them.
"Now!!"
"Yes, My Lady!"
Mere dozens of meters above the water, at Milia's cry, Schwarz snapped his wings open. Wind roared against them; gravity crushed down with crushing force. For an instant his vision swam, then the dizziness vanished and he skimmed the river at tremendous speed. His tail flicked the surface, sending up tiny ripples, while the following gale raised a towering spray.
"Ahahahaha!!"
"Kyauuuu—!!"
The thrill racing through her body drew peals of laughter from Milia; Schwarz shared the same wild joy and answered with a mighty roar.
"I really can't get enough of this rush. Right?"
"Need you even ask?"
He nodded at her bright voice. To any outsider the stunt would have looked like pure suicide. To the two of them, long practiced in perfect harmony, it was merely a slightly dangerous game.
"Still, we should probably head back soon."
"Mmm… If we delay any longer, Father might actually get angry."
The carriage would have reached the manor long ago. Soft-hearted as the Count and Countess were with their daughter, they did not indulge every whim.
Just then—
"My Lady."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Look down there."
"Down?"
Milia's eyes widened as she followed his gaze. Below lay the broad, dense coniferous forest that blanketed the northern reaches of the territory—the Black Forest, the place that had become a major turning point in both their lives.
[Kwooooaargh—!!]
[Gruk! Gwoargh!]
And from the edge of that forest, nearly a hundred living shapes were pouring out. Each was built like a powerfully muscled adult man, skin a vivid green, clad in crude hides and armed with weapons that looked cobbled together at a glance.
"A Green Skin pack. Honestly, no matter how many of them you kill, there's never an end to the things."
Milia clicked her tongue in disgust. Green Skins—the common name in this world for orcs and goblins. They were monsters found wherever humans lived; in small numbers they posed little real threat.
"Judging by the numbers, there's a fairly large settlement nearby…"
"It would seem so."
A typical Green Skin raiding party numbered a few dozen at most. The force below, even at a conservative count, exceeded a hundred. That meant a sizable village lurked somewhere in the forest.
"What shall we do?"
"What do you mean, what?"
Milia flashed a sharp grin at his question.
"We can't exactly let them rampage through the territory, can we?"
"Understood, My Lady."
Schwarz nodded. The Valentine Countship was Milia's home—and his own as well. He would never allow monsters to trample it.
Gliding on the wind so the beat of his wings would not reach them, he closed in on the Green Skin horde. A goblin scout spotted him and began to screech a warning, but by then their fate was already sealed.
"Huuup…!!"
Schwarz drew a deep breath as the pack came within point-blank range. The next instant, a torrent of dark-blue flame erupted from his jaws and engulfed the Green Skins.