Chapter 39

The beef stew made by Ted was incredibly delicious.

At first, Ariel felt a bit uneasy since it was made from monster remains, but after sneaking a taste, she ended up cleaning her plate completely—it was that good.

Moreover, there was enough for everyone in the village to eat their fill.

Thanks to that, the village enjoyed a long-awaited happy feast. Adults and children alike ate, drank, and had a great time.

After the feast, Ben, along with some village youths, headed to the barbarians’ hideout and returned with the livestock and goods that had been stolen.

With the feast and the recovery of their belongings, the village was in full-on festival mode.

Some villagers even shed tears of joy.

While it was good to celebrate, they also needed to plan for the future. This time, they were lucky to have Ariel and Rakia’s help, but there was no guarantee that would happen again.

They had to prepare for similar incidents in the future.

The plan was to raise the palisade and establish a self-defense militia.

Led by Ben, who had taken over as village chief after his father, a village meeting was held. Meanwhile, Ariel’s group decided to leave the village.

“Are you guys heading to the Dwarf Mountain Range now?”

Ted came to see them off at the village entrance.

“I wish I could go with you…”

Ted looked disappointed, but he had to stay and help his brother manage the village, so he couldn’t join Ariel’s group.

“Come visit our village again someday. Next time, I’ll treat you to even better food!”

“Sure.”

Rakia answered with a smile.

“But if it’s not tasty, I’ll turn the village to ashes.”

“……”

Rakia meant it as a joke, but Ted’s face turned pale.

“I-I’ll do my best…”

Having witnessed Rakia’s magic firsthand, Ted’s reaction was understandable.

“Take care, everyone. I won’t forget this. Thank you so much!”

Ted waved goodbye as Ariel’s group set off.

*

Roo woke up much later.

Having passed out drunk in Rakia’s dress pocket, Roo woke up with a hangover and stumbled out of the pocket.

After hearing what had happened in the village from Rakia, Roo was furious.

“How dare they mess with Ghost and you?! Those jerks! If I had been awake, I wouldn’t have let them off! I’d have twisted their limbs…”

Ariel took out some food from her inventory and handed it to Roo.

Ted’s beef stew.

She had stored it in her inventory to give to Roo when he woke up.

“Th-thank you, sis…”

Roo looked deeply moved.

“You’re the only one who thinks of me. Let’s stay together forever.”

Since it had been stored in the inventory, the stew was still piping hot.

Roo slurped it down as if it were a hangover cure.

“Ah… this stew, that scrawny kid made it? Amazing. That boar meat was something else. Hmm, that kid’s cooking skills are no joke. Someone like that might be useful in our group…”

As Roo muttered, Rakia felt someone staring at her and turned her head.

Ariel had been staring at Rakia, but when their eyes met, Ariel quickly looked away.

“……?”

Rakia tilted her head.

“Ariel, do you have something to say to me?”

“……”

Ariel fidgeted but didn’t speak.

It seemed like she wanted to say something but was hesitating.

“If you have something to say, feel free to say it anytime, Ariel.”

Rakia spoke softly, and Ariel finally opened her mouth.

“Um, I want to ride…”

“Ride? Ride what?”

Ariel’s cheeks turned red.

“A dragon…”

“Ah.”

Rakia’s eyes widened.

“You… want to ride me?”

“Yeah.”

Ariel nodded. Riding Ghost was nice, but she also wanted to ride a dragon.

Flying through the night sky on a dragon seemed incredibly romantic.

“Sure, you can ride me!”

Rakia said casually.

“It’s not hard to carry you, Ariel. You’re light.”

In truth, whether light or not, dragons rarely let anyone ride them.

If Ariel rode Rakia, she’d likely be the first elf to ride a dragon.

“How about we fly all the way to the Dwarf Mountain Range? We can carry Ghost and Roo too.”

“Really?”

“Of course. If you want it, Ariel, I’ll do anything.”

“……”

Meanwhile, Roo’s expression turned complicated.

‘Is this… okay?’

Ghost and Roo following Ariel was one thing, but Rakia was a dragon. Such blind loyalty…

‘This feels like it shouldn’t be happening…’

As Roo thought this, Ariel approached Rakia and patted her head.

“Thank you, Rakia.”

“Heh, hehe…”

Rakia’s mouth curled into a wide, happy smile.

“Alright, then.”

Rakia began unbuttoning her dress. To transform into her true form, she had to take off her dress first, or it would tear.

“It’s… a bit embarrassing. It’s been a while since I transformed…”

Rakia’s dress slid to the ground.

Ariel had already averted her gaze. Roo did the same.

“Polymorph release.”

Whoosh!

A massive surge of mana swirled around them.

Ariel, Roo, and Ghost all felt it.

A moment later.

“All done, Ariel.”

At Rakia’s words, Ariel turned her gaze.

On the ground lay Rakia’s dress, and in front of it stood a massive dragon.

A dragon that shimmered gold, much like Rakia’s hair.

“……”

Not just Ariel, but Ghost and Roo were also stunned, staring at Rakia.

It was awe-inspiring and overwhelming.

Any creature facing a dragon would likely feel the same.

Rakia lowered her body and spoke.

“Climb on, Ariel.”

“Okay.”

Ariel, with an excited face, climbed onto Rakia’s back. Ghost and Roo did the same.

“Hold on tight.”

With that, Rakia flapped her wings.

With just one flap, Rakia’s massive body shot into the sky.

*

Flying through the sky on a dragon felt like a dream.

Ariel happily gazed at the stars in the night sky and the distant ground below.

It was a blissful time, making her feel that having a dragon as a companion was the right choice.

But the dragon’s speed was incredibly fast.

Even though Rakia flew as slowly as possible, it didn’t take long to reach the Dwarf Mountain Range. The distance wasn’t that far to begin with.

“We’ve arrived, Ariel.”

Rakia descended to the ground as she spoke.

When Ariel looked up, she saw a massive mountain range shrouded in clouds.

The Dwarf Mountain Range.

“Dwarves…”

Ariel murmured softly.

While she was sad she couldn’t ride the dragon anymore, she was excited to finally meet the dwarves.

“Polymorph.”

After setting the group down, Rakia transformed back into her human form and quickly put on her dress.

Honestly, as a dragon, she didn’t need clothes.

She wouldn’t catch a cold or damage her skin without them.

But Rakia wore clothes because of her mother’s advice.

When in human form, she had to wear clothes, or she might attract unwanted attention and feel embarrassed…

Something along those lines.

Rakia didn’t fully understand, but she faithfully followed her mother’s words.

After buttoning up her dress, Rakia grinned and looked at Ariel.

“All done, Ariel.”

Ariel, who had been looking away, nodded and started walking toward the Dwarf Mountain Range.

*

The Dwarf Mountain Range had no guards or gates.

Because of this, non-dwarves could come and go freely.

Most of the people visible were humans—merchants and adventurers who had come to buy dwarf-made goods.

Dwarf craftsmanship was unmatched by humans, so trade between them was lively.

On the other hand, elves didn’t get along with dwarves, so they rarely visited the Dwarf Mountain Range.

It wasn’t forbidden, but they simply disliked each other, so there was little interaction.

Despite that, a young elf was now boldly entering the Dwarf Mountain Range.

It was Ariel.

Ariel looked around with a mesmerized expression.

Dwarves everywhere.

Since it was the Dwarf Mountain Range, dwarves were bustling about.

With their short legs, they scurried around, each heading somewhere with purpose.

To the dwarves, it was just work, nothing special, but to Ariel, it was a delightful sight.

But perhaps she was too distracted.

Thud.

Ariel didn’t notice a dwarf walking toward her and bumped into him.

The dwarf was also carrying so many items that his vision was blocked, so he didn’t see Ariel either.

“Oof!”

The dwarf fell backward, dropping all the items he was carrying.

Ariel, on the other hand, stood unfazed.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, you idiot… huh?”

The dwarf blinked his large eyes and stared at Ariel.

“An… elf?”