The Abandoned White Magician’s Tea Life - Chapter 65 : The Golden Dragon and the Mercenaries
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- Chapter 65 : The Golden Dragon and the Mercenaries
Translator: Sunnyshies
[unedited]
Chapter 65 : The Golden Dragon and the Mercenaries
Awakening from his slumber, Leonardo rotated his shoulders, which stiffened during the night.
The faint sunlight coming through the gaps in the trees indicates that it was morning.
“Yo, you awake, Leonardo.”
“Bruno-san…good morning.”
Leonard looked to the side as he was called out. There, Bruno, who was on the lookout for sleep last night, made a bonfire and grilled some meat.
When he gulped as the savory smell tickled his nostrils, Bruno laughed and offered him a freshly grilled skewer of roasted meat.
“Eat first…oh, Yugo would have ‘gone for a walk’ somewhere.”
“Thank you. If it’s Yugo…he’s probably okay.”
He received a grilled skewer and immediately bit into it. Perhaps it is the nature of mercenaries, but they have a habit of eating when they can.
Four days had passed since Leonardo and his group left Polk.
Bruno decided to gather a handful of men to search for Amalia, and the next day everything was ready. After another good night’s sleep, and with the temperature rising in the morning, Yu go, who was feeling somewhat better, followed the magical residue further, and the result was that there was no doubt that Amalia had been taken to the royal capital of Kingdom of Kyros.
It would take ten days to cross the western border of Leandra from Polk, regardless of how far one could drive the carriage. But there is no other way, and even Yugo, who can handle spatial magic, says it is impossible to move instantly to an unknown place.
Yugo offered the possibility of becoming a dragon himself and flying through the sky. But being in his dragon, it would be much harder to control himself than when he was in his human form, and if the golden dragon flies, it would be seen by people. Moreover, he is sensitive to the cold, even if it’s daytime, flying for a long time in the sky would drain his strength at once, and there’s also the possibility that he might not make it to Kyros, which was why this suggestion was rejected.
The horses were raring to go, but they were still about two-thirds of the way from the eastern edge of Leandra to the western edge of the city. At this rate, it would be two more days before they could enter Kyros, and from there it would take even more days to reach the royal capital.
“The people in that particular place need Amalia’s magic, don’t they? If so, they wouldn’t kill her right away.”
Perhaps reading Leonardo’s impatience, Bruno said nonchalantly and handed the skewered meat to the other men who got up after Leonardo.
“Besides, even Amalia wouldn’t go out of her way to provoke the enemy…all we can do is to cross to Kyros as quickly as possible.”
“…yes, of course.”
Swallowing his second skewer in one gulp, Leonardo nodded stiffly.
Bruno and the others will accompany them to the royal capital of Kyros. Leonardo was fortunate enough to have entered the royal castle once to meet Alphonse, so he remembered the rough route he took.
Furthermore, when the time came, Yugo was to transform into a dragon and wreak havoc on the royal city. Leonardo objected to this because it would put Yugo in danger, but Yugo, of all people, made it clear that he was willing to accept a few injuries for the sake of his mother.
Yugo revealed his true identity to Bruno and the others. Bruno and the others were dumbfounded when Yugo said with dignity, “Actually, I am a dragon,” but when they saw him burn down the trees in front of him in an instant, throw an attacking demon with one hand, and destroy an obstructing stone with his bare hands, they seemed to grasp the fact that “at least this child is not a human.”
Of course, it is also confirmed that Amalia and Yugo are not parent and child. But everyone didn’t seem to have any intention of saying anything to Yugo, who stated with an unchildlike look in his eyes that he was going to help his mom. For Yugo, Amalia is definitely mom, as he stated.
After eating all-meat breakfast, he hydrate himself as well. He missed the tea Amalia made for him, but this was not the time to dwell on sweet memories.
Leonardo was in this grove to help Amlaia.
“All right, we’d better be on our way. Leonardo, is Yugo back yet?”
Leonardo looked around when asked by a huge man who was working as a carpenter. Normally, Yugo would call out, “Leonardo!”, but it was hard to hear his energetic voice right now.
“Maybe he’s going deeper into the woods. Let’s see what’s going on――”
Leonardo was about to say, “I’m going to go check it out,” but almost bit his tongue when the ground shook with a tremendous thud. There was a rustling in the forest, and birds were rushing to take flight.
“What the hell was that?”
“Is that a demon possessing earth attributes?!”
As Bruno and the others finished cleaning up the encampment and picked up their weapons, Leonardo, who had already drawn his sword, looked up over his head, and was stunned.
A golden light was visible through the trees. then he heard something swaying―― or rather, flapping its wings, and his gray eyes widened, wondering what it was.
“…Yugo!?”
He put his sword away and Leonardo jumped out of the way. He heard Bruno’s voice behind him, but there was no time to look back.
He jumped over roots overhanging the ground and leaps with his arms over twigs in his way.
He arrived at an open space where a huge creature was standing, knocking down the trees that seemed to be growing in the area.
Its huge body was so large that one could look up and see its glittering golden scales. Its long tail with fine spines swung, knocking down trees and blowing them away with each swish.
―― “It” saw Leonardo.
Leonardo’s whole body trembled as the golden reptilian eyes looked down at him from a great height.
Leonardo had slain many demons in his life, and he had even slain a dragon. But they were all small to medium in size, and he had never encountered anything so fearsome, so divine, so beautiful.
The Golden Dragon.
The light dragon is one of the strongest among the dragon tribe. Even as a juvenile, its massive physique makes you feel the dwarfism and ineffectiveness of humans, and when it stares at you, you almost fall to your knees in indescribable awe.
Swallowing hard, Leonardo opened his mouth.
“Yugo…is this what you really are…?”
When he called out in a gravelly voice, the light dragon blinked. Then, “Guao, guao,” he shouted something in a language Leonardo could not understand.
Yugo said that when he is in dragon form, it is difficult for him to control himself. That is probably why he cannot understand Leonardo’s words now, nor can he speak human language.
“Oi, Leo…uh, woah!? Dragon?!”
“Wait! This is Yugo!”
A rustling sound was heard behind them, and the men, who had arrived late, screamed. Perhaps because they had been told in advance that Yugo was a dragon, they were scared, but they quickly put down their weapons.
“T-that’s right. But why did you suddenly look like this――”
“That’s what I――”
Leonardo fumbled for words, but again Yugo was howling low. “Guao, guao”, as if he was repeating the same words over and over――
“…no way, Yugo. Are you saying, ‘Mom’?”
Leonardo was surprised, and immediately Yugo turned around. Then he snarled and twisted his head to bring his head closer to Leonardo’s.
Yugo’s huge fangs and horns were so close that even Leonardo was startled, but Yugo pushed Leonardo toward his body with the tip of his nose.
Perhaps he is asking him to get on board?
As Yugo bent over, and Leonardo willingly climbed onto Yugo’s front legs and straddled his back, clinging to the rough, rugged scales. There was no saddle, and to be honest, the ride was worse than on a horse, but he managed to hold himself in place by holding onto the spines on his back.
“Yugo, are you going to go straight to Amalia’s――”
He asked as gently as possible, but Leonardo’s voice was drowned out by Yugo’s roar and the sound of flapping wings. A cloud of dust rose up, and Bruno and the others at Yugo’s feet screamed and took shelter in the trees.
Leonardo was nearly shaken off by the impact, and reflexively grabbed onto the spines and shouted at Bruno, who looked surprised.
“Bruno-san! I’ll accompany Yugo! Maybe I’ll fly to Kyros, so…Bruno-san and the other, please follow me too!”
“Oh, oh !? Be careful !?”
Immediately after Bruno replied in an upturned voice, Yugo spread his wings and rose to his feet.
Leonardo’s feet suddenly became perpendicular to the ground, and he fell off his back―― or so he thought, when he felt a soft, fluffy light envelop him.
Then, when Yugo leans back or flaps his wings violently in preparation for takeoff, Leonardo feels almost no impact. He holds onto the spines just in case, but the soft light keeps Leonardo’s body pinned to Yugo’s back.
Soon, with a roar, Yugo jumped up. He flew almost vertically, blowing away the surrounding trees, and then spun himself around in mid-air to fly vertically parallel to the ground. Leonardo was able to cling to Yugo’s back with almost no impact, even though his body spun around a bit during the process.
This must be Yugo’s magic. Since Yugo is said to be able to handle spatial magic, he might be able to keep Leonardo from falling off his back.
Yugo set the direction to the west and began to fly straight in that direction. Leonardo is not afraid of heights, so he leaned forward and glanced at the scene below and saw the landscape flowing by at a tremendous speed. Yugo seemed to be going faster than Leonardo expected.
‘…this is not the time to be impressed with your first air trip in your life.’
In his dragon form, he would lose his intelligence and the cold of winter would easily rob him of his strength. Yugo knew this and made the journey in the carriage, so he must have sensed something when he took the risk of transforming himself into a dragon.
――Perhaps some danger was coming to Amalia.
Leonardo held on tight to the thorns and stared at the sky.