I Couldn't Become a Knight, But for Some Reason, I'm Beloved by Dragons - Chapter 23: The Journey Goes Smoothly

Chapter 23: The Journey Goes Smoothly

(Or rather, it was more like a confession of love that happened naturally…I wonder what’s going to happen now?)

Remembering the exchange we had just outside of Karsananta, I let out a small sigh. While enjoying the journey through the skies on Luna’s back once again, Luna herself has been humming a tune and seems to be in a very good mood.

I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt her in that state, and despite the altitude being high enough that we would definitely be flattened if we fell, her humming was so soothing that it made me feel sleepy.

~Well, that reminds me. Xeno, I have a proposal for you.~

“What is it?”

~My name is Luna, that’s not wrong… but the name ‘Runa’ is a name that I’ve only allowed you to call me, Xeno. Rather than the name that many others call me, I would like you to continue calling me with the name that makes you feel closer to me, especially when it’s just the two of us from now on.~

“Haha… well, I can’t just refuse when you put it like that… Runa.”

~Hm… ah, that sounds nice… Xeno’s special name for me♪~

So we decided to start calling her Runa, but I have a feeling I’ll just end up going back to calling her Luna in the end. 

Although it’s only when it’s just the two of us, I guess nothing has really changed.

“Hey, Runa, sorry to spoil the mood when you seem so happy, but… where are we headed now?”

~Hm? That’s a good point… Flying in the sky like this is nice and all, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to land somewhere as a dragon too.~

“Yeah. As long as it’s not in the middle of a town, we should be fine.”

~It might cause a commotion, but with me around, we can handle anything.~

Indeed, with this partner by my side, there’s nothing to worry about even in the worst case scenario. The only thing I can say is that looking down on the earth from the sky like this is also quite enjoyable, but that’s precisely why I can have a good conversation with Luna… no, I mean Runa.

“By the way, Runa, why do you speak differently as a dragon compared to when you’re human?”

~Because it’s better to have a sense of dignity as a dragon.~

“…Is that the only reason?”

~Yes. Have you ever read any interesting books when you were living as a human in the city? There was a book that depicted a fantasy where a dragon that no one had ever seen before became a human. That character in the book had different ways of speaking as a dragon and as a human. So I thought that you might find it interesting, Xeno.~

“I see… that makes sense.”

Certainly, Runa’s dignified way of speaking is not bad, and it’s also not bad for her to use feminine words while maintaining her dignity… no, rather, that gap is even better.

Runa simply became happy when I stroked her back saying, “cute”, and resumed humming.

~Oh, it seems we’ve flown this far.~

“…Ah, is that the sea?”

What jumped into our view was the sea.

To tell the truth, I had never actually seen the sea before, so the expansiveness of the blue that spread out before me was fresh.

Runa, who laughed at my childlike excitement, folded her wings and descended.

“Are we going down?”

“Yes. Don’t you want to land?”

Well… I’m a little curious about the sea.

For me, who hardly ever leaves the capital, the sea is truly a rare sight, only visible when going further away from the capital.

I think there are probably many people who go through their lives without ever seeing the sea, so it’s a loss not to experience it on this occasion.

“What’s going on!?”

Perhaps because Runa immediately landed, thinking of me, she didn’t pay attention to the five people on the beach and landed anyway.

We had reached the end of Dragonis Kingdom’s territory, so it was clear that our journey could not continue further.

“… The sea, huh… I can’t see the bottom even though it’s far away.”

When looking closer, the surface of the sea was visible, but if I look a little further out, it becomes murky and impossible to see. 

I was very curious about what kind of world and creatures might be living at the bottom of this sea, but if I started thinking about it, it’s no use.

~There’s no response from any monsters nearby. Why don’t you try licking it?~

“…Alright.”

When I put my finger on the surface of the sea and licked it, I tasted the saltiness.

This was different from ordinary water or river water… so this is what seawater is.

~Geez, the way you try out unknown things is just like a little kid. Looks like I won’t be able to take my eyes off you when you go to an unfamiliar place like this.~

“That’s because I’m able to be like this because Runa is by my side. I’m just that relieved.”

There might be something in this sea, maybe even something huge.

Even so, I was not anxious at all because Runa was here with me. Even when I looked down, her shadow surrounding me gave me a sense of security.

“Amazing… it’s a dragon, real dragon!”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted our moment together.

Well, we knew that they were there the moment we landed, and the farther they lived from the capital, the less chance they had of seeing a dragon, so their reaction was understandable.

So beautiful… really.”

“…”

They were captivated by Runa’s beauty, but that alone would have been fine. However, a man with a small wolf on his shoulder blurted out these words:

“Hey you over there! I can tame monsters! I’ll pay you as much as you want, so give me that dragon!”

I was stunned by what he was saying. Humans who can tame monsters are not particularly rare, but does he think that he, just a tamer, can tame a dragon? 

Well, dragons are indeed too powerful. For tamers whose evaluation depends largely on the quality of the monsters they can tame, being able to tame a powerful creature, regardless of whether it’s a dragon or not, is an easily understandable strength.

“From the looks of it, you’re not a tamer, are you? I don’t know how you tamed that dragon, but please, I’ll pay you as much as you want so—”

The man who clasped his hands together, but I didn’t feel like answering anything in particular. 

It wasn’t a matter of paying money to make something happen, and I didn’t like this guy who could only see Runa as a power to adorn himself with.

Runa lowered her posture as if to greet me, who had moved away from the man.

“Hey wait! Garon!!”

Garon, perhaps the name of the wolf on his shoulder. He seemed to have given some kind of command to it, but Garon, the wolf, didn’t move a muscle… And that’s why, no matter what creature it is, no fool would dare to confront Runa.

“What’s wrong, Garon! Why won’t you move!”

He seemed to instinctively understand that he would receive a painful backlash if he tried to touch Runa.

“Stop right there…”

“Yeah. Enough already—”

“Shut up! With a dragon at my command, I’ll be the strongest… I can’t let it get away—”

After confirming my presence on her back, Runa let out a low growl. 

At that moment, the intimidating aura emitted by Runa blew fiercely and before the tamer could realize what it was, he was directly hit by Runa’s killing intent and fainted. 

Without caring about the fallen man, I took off again with Runa.

~Just made him faint… I’ve grown too.~

“Haha, well, he was kinda annoying.”

~If he had said anything bad about Xeno, there wouldn’t have been a piece of meat left.~

Was that a joke or was she serious? Probably serious. 

I chuckled at her words, and then we resumed our journey in the sky… And it became night.