Chapter 34

“How peculiar….”

Roo crossed her arms and muttered quietly.

In front of Roo, three different races were sleeping together peacefully.

Ariel, Rakia, and Ghost were hugging each other, sleeping soundly.

A warm smile spread across Roo’s lips as she watched them.

Though it was already morning, Roo deliberately didn’t wake them up.

It wasn’t every day you saw an elf, a dragon, and a wolf sleeping while hugging each other.

“Hehe, they’re all sleeping so well.”

The first to wake up among the three was Ariel.

Ariel rubbed her eyes drowsily and sat up.

“Ah, sister, you’re awake?”

When Roo asked, Ariel nodded with a sleepy face.

Then she looked at Ghost and Rakia, whom she had been hugging.

Ghost also seemed to have woken up, as she opened her eyes slightly, while Rakia was still deep in sleep.

“We should probably wake Rakia soon.”

At Roo’s words, Ariel quietly reached out her hand.

Ariel’s finger poked Rakia’s cheek.

“Mmm…”

Rakia frowned and mumbled.

“Mommy…”

Roo chuckled softly as she watched Rakia.

“Pfft, a dragon calling for her mommy?”

Poke. Poke poke.

As Ariel kept poking Rakia’s cheek, Rakia finally opened her eyes slowly.

“Mommy…?”

Rakia stared blankly at Ariel for a moment.

“Ah!”

Then she suddenly sat up.

“Lady Ariel!”

Rakia straightened her posture and sat properly.

Her elegant frilly dress had come undone, with one shoulder strap slipping down, and her once-pristine golden hair was now a mess.

She looked disheveled.

It seemed she had been rolling around in her sleep.

“Ah, did you sleep well…?”

Rakia’s face turned bright red.

She had just remembered calling Ariel “mommy” upon waking up.

Rakia hadn’t been away from her mother for long, so it was a habit that came out unconsciously.

Fortunately, Ariel didn’t seem to mind.

She simply stretched and released the shield she had cast the night before.

“Squeak!”

Immediately, three orcs rushed in. They had been waiting outside the shield all night.

A daily morning occurrence.

By now, they were used to it.

“Explosion!”

Rakia cast a spell.

Boom!

A powerful explosion engulfed the area.

And a moment later.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Rakia bowed her head repeatedly to Ariel, looking miserable.

Perhaps she had been too eager.

She had used too much magic to deal with just three orcs.

As a result, the surroundings were completely devastated.

It wasn’t as bad as the recent tragedy at the shrine, but the ground was deeply gouged, and dust was rising everywhere.

*

In the end, they decided to have breakfast in a different location.

The three orcs that had been blown up by Rakia’s magic were scattered everywhere in pieces.

No one wanted to eat in such a gruesome place.

“…….”

Feeling guilty about the accident, Rakia looked sullen, and Roo comforted her.

“It’s okay, Rakia. These things happen when you’re trying your best.”

Roo combed Rakia’s tangled hair and straightened her clothes.

At first, Roo had found it difficult to even talk to Rakia, but now she was quite comfortable with her.

After talking a bit, Roo realized Rakia wasn’t so different after all.

“It’s not okay… Lady Ariel must be disappointed in me… I must be such a lacking dragon…”

“Sister doesn’t really care about small things like that. So don’t worry too much. You’ll do better next time.”

“I… I don’t have confidence…”

“…….”

Roo looked at Rakia with a complicated expression.

Hearing a dragon say they lacked confidence…

Rakia’s magic, though a bit excessive, had been incredibly powerful.

There weren’t many on the continent who could wield such powerful magic so effortlessly.

Someone like that would surely be called a grand mage.

“Rakia, you need to have a bit more confidence…”

Thud!

Suddenly, a striking sound came from ahead. Roo stopped talking and looked forward.

Beside a large tree, a boy was breathing heavily, holding a wooden sword.

The striking sound was from the boy hitting the tree with his wooden sword.

Thud!

“Seven!”

The boy was counting as he struck the tree with his wooden sword.

It seemed like he was practicing swordsmanship, but his posture was very sloppy.

He was so skinny that holding the wooden sword seemed difficult.

Thud!

“Eight! Huh…?”

The boy noticed Ariel’s group and widened his eyes.

“What the, who are you… Eek!”

The boy saw Ghost, the wolf, and jumped back in fright.

The wooden sword fell from his hand and rolled on the ground.

“A-a wolf!”

The boy shouted with a pale face, but Ghost showed no reaction.

As if he wasn’t worth reacting to, Ghost just stared at the boy indifferently.

Roo stepped forward and spoke.

“No need to be scared. Ghost doesn’t harm people for no reason. More importantly, what are you doing here, kid? Why are you hitting a perfectly good tree?”

At Roo’s words, the boy frowned.

“Can’t you tell? I’m training. And who are you calling a kid? You’re the tiny one here.”

“Well, I’m a fairy.”

Roo replied nonchalantly, and the boy, with a sullen face, picked up his wooden sword again.

“Anyway, go away. Don’t disturb me. I need to keep training.”

“Sure, sure.”

Roo replied coolly, and Ariel and Rakia, who had no interest in the boy to begin with, continued walking.

After passing the boy, Ariel’s group soon found a quiet spot.

It was by a cool waterfall in a valley.

The group’s faces brightened.

“Oh, this is perfect for breakfast!”

Roo exclaimed, and Ariel sat down on a rock.

From Ariel’s inventory, a bunch of jerky and desserts appeared.

Ariel started eating the desserts with great satisfaction, but the rest of the group wasn’t as enthusiastic.

Roo, tired of the jerky and desserts, just sipped on some fruit wine, while Rakia and Ghost reluctantly nibbled on the jerky.

Rakia was a dragon, and Ghost was a wolf.

They preferred fresh, bloody meat over jerky.

Of course, they couldn’t say that to Ariel.

“Kyaa!”

Suddenly, a scream echoed from afar, and birds fluttered into the air.

Soon, someone came running toward them in a panic.

“S-someone help!”

It was the boy with the wooden sword.

Behind him, two large wild boars were chasing him.

Ariel continued to quietly chew on her dessert, but Rakia was different.

Rakia’s eyes lit up as she eyed the boars.

The plump boars looked delicious.

“Lady Ariel, can we help that human kid?”

At Rakia’s question, Ariel nodded. There was no reason not to.

“Hehe.”

Rakia licked her lips and stood up, walking briskly toward the boy.

Ghost, after glancing at Ariel, quietly followed Rakia.

‘This time, don’t overdo it…’

Rakia repeated this to herself as she looked at the boars chasing the boy.

Ghost stood beside her.

“Ghost, want to take one?”

At Rakia’s question, Ghost nodded.

“Alright, let’s each take one.”

Rakia extended her hand, and Ghost lowered his stance.

“Kyaa, move, move! It’s dangerous!!”

The boy shouted urgently, but neither Rakia nor Ghost took a step back.

As the distance closed, Rakia moved her lips, and Ghost leaped forward.

“Wind Cutter.”

Swish!

The magic from Rakia’s hand sliced one boar in half.

The other boar was quickly killed by Ghost, who bit its neck.

“Huff, huff…”

The boy sat down, drenched in sweat. Seeing the boars die had drained the strength from his legs.

“A-amazing…”

The boy muttered in awe.

“You’re so strong…?”

No one paid attention to the boy’s praise.

Rakia happily approached the boar, and Ghost was already tearing into it.

“Let’s eat~”

Just as Rakia was about to take a big bite out of the boar,

the boy approached and asked.

“Hey, miss, are you just going to eat it like that?”

His address had changed to “miss.”

From the boy’s perspective, she had saved his life and used powerful magic, so it was only natural to call her “miss.”

Of course, she also looked a year or two older than him.

“Why?”

Rakia looked at the boy with a guarded expression.

Rakia, as if protecting the boar from being taken, covered the boar’s body with her thin arm. Not that it helped.

“If you’re going to eat it, you should cook it.”

“Why? I’ll just eat it raw.”

“No, you can’t just eat it raw. Cooking it makes it safer and tastier. I have some spices, so I’ll cook it for you.”

The boy came over to Rakia and started skillfully preparing the boar.

“Miss, my name’s Ted.”

He casually introduced himself.

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