■ Self-use □
“Why so serious? You look like you’ve seen something scary.”
Ozma said this while tilting her head, but I couldn’t laugh.
Because no plausible reason came to mind as to why the hero would suddenly die.
According to the original plan, the hero should have lived for at least a few more months, but with this turn of events, it deviates from what was originally thought.
What’s more, it’s now certain that a new hero will appear.
After handing over the scroll to Ozma, who was curious about the contents, I asked the soldier:
“How many people can ride on the wyvern you came on?”
“Uh? Oh, two is the limit.”
So, at most, we could only take one more person.
“I see. I’ll go get my luggage, please wait a moment.”
As I was about to leave to retrieve the luggage I had left at Gav’s mansion, Ozma hurriedly caught up after having just finished reading the contents of the scroll.
“The hero is dead? What do you mean by that? Wasn’t the hero executed?”
The fact that the hero was still alive was extremely confidential information known only to a select few within the Demon King’s Army.
Even Ozma, the Demon King’s own daughter, seemed unaware of it.
“To explain everything would take too long, so let’s talk on the way.”
I evaded while quickening my pace. [[#]] After briefly hearing the situation, Ozma murmured seriously.
“So, you’re saying that the hero was deliberately kept alive to prevent the next hero from appearing?”
“Yes. That’s why the current situation is even more perplexing. Unless the hero committed suicide, it’s hard to imagine anyone infiltrating the heavily guarded underground prison and killing them.”
At this, Ozma furrowed her brow.
“Could there be a traitor within our ranks?”
“That seems unlikely. The place where the hero was imprisoned not only has a hidden entrance, but also requires at least one guard to accompany anyone entering or leaving. Moreover, the Demon King understands the hero’s importance well, so he wouldn’t have simply let them die.”
This means the news of the Hero Party’s destruction will be announced earlier than expected by a month or two.
From the perspective of the Demon King’s Army, which plans to invade the kingdom next year, the emergence of a new hero is nothing short of bad news.
As soon as we arrived at Gav’s mansion, we immediately prepared to leave.
However, Gav, the owner of the house, curiously asked what was going on. When we hastily replied that we needed to return to the Demon King’s Castle right away, Gav smiled and suggested,
“If you’re in such a hurry, I can take you to the castle.”
This was an unexpected offer.
We were just discussing how, since the wyvern could carry a maximum of two people, I might have to return alone while Ozma and Camilla would separately make their way back to the Demon King’s Castle.
If Gav transformed into his dragon form, he could easily carry three of us.
“Thank you, but are you sure it’s okay? The chief shouldn’t leave his post, right?”
Gav shrugged and replied,
“That’s fine. There are plenty of wise elders in the village who can handle anything urgent.”
“If that’s the case…”
There was no reason to refuse.
In fact, even if he said no, we might have had to ask him anyway.
“Just a moment, I’ll prepare and come back.”
Saying this, Gav quickly ascended the stairs.
I watched his retreating figure silently until I remembered the soldier waiting in the square.
“Should I go tell him we don’t need to wait anymore?”
At this, Ozma tilted her head and said,
“If we don’t show up, he’ll probably wait for a while and then leave, right?”[[#]] About ten minutes later, Gav returned to the first floor, ready to go.
Now I noticed he was holding three beads in his hand.
When I looked at them curiously, Gav handed each of us one and explained,
“It’s called the Guardian Jewel. It’s necessary to ensure your safety while riding on my back.”
“Aah….”
Indeed, flying on a dragon at high speeds through the sky would expose passengers to intense winds and cold.
It seemed similar to when I surrounded myself with a wind barrier while riding on the wyvern’s back.
Thus, the four of us—me, Ozma, Camilla, and Gav—headed to the open space in front of the mansion.
As we approached the center of the clearing, Gav’s body was enveloped in light, and his small frame quickly transformed into a massive one.
His true form—the Celestial Dragon—as we’d seen before during the martial arts tournament.
Transforming into a Flying Tyranno, Gav roared towards the blue sky.
I wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing, but it seemed that in dragon form, he couldn’t fully control his wild instincts.
Soon, growling softly, Gav lowered his body to make it easier for us to climb on.
Once I, Ozma, and finally Camilla mounted his bumpy back, Gav spread his relatively delicate wings compared to his large body and soared high into the sky.
Thanks to the protective beads given by Gav, the ride was remarkably comfortable.
[Do not open your mouth. You might bite your tongue.]
The blue tyranno spoke while rolling his green eyes, then turned his body toward the direction of the Demon King’s Castle and began flying swiftly.[[#]] Normally, it would take four days to travel by foot.
However, riding on the back of a dragon allowed us to cover the four-day journey in just three hours.
Doom Land generally has quite rugged terrain, but the skies are an exception.
And in this area, the Celestial Dragon was the undisputed ruler of the skies.
There were no flying monsters or winged demons that could rival Gav.
Thanks to this, we enjoyed a peaceful and safe journey, returning to the Demon King’s Castle in about two weeks.
[We’ve arrived.]
With a great flapping of his large wings, Gav landed in the Demon King’s Castle training ground and exhaled a plume of breath.
Apparently, they had already detected Gav’s presence before we arrived, as a crowd had gathered in the training ground.
Among them, the familiar face of Dullahan Barnett approached with a surprised expression.
“Ozma!”
” Barnett!”
Ozma happily leaped off the dragon’s back first, followed by me, and I helped Camilla down.
After all three of us had dismounted, Gav also transformed back into human form using polymorph.
“I never imagined that someone returning from a tribal exchange meeting would do so in such style. How did you end up riding a dragon?”
“Hmm? Ah, Gav was kind enough to give us a lift. Thanks to him, we got here without any trouble.”
“Ah, I see… Wait, Gav?”
Barnett looked at Gav again, clearly unable to believe what she was seeing.
“What is it? Dullahan.”
At this, Barnett asked hesitantly,
“Is this dragon really the Gav I know?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you become a woman? I thought you were a hardcore guy.”
To this, Gav responded,
“Love.”
“Huh?”
“Love for Partarth has led me to this new world.”
While striking an exaggerated pose to extol the beauty of love, Gav realized no one present truly understood.
Seeing this, Barnett asked with a skeptical expression,
“You don’t understand the beauty of love, do you? How pitiful.”
At this, Barnett, who usually carried a cheerful demeanor, stiffened her face and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Are you challenging me to a fight?”
“Ho. Are you trying to attack? Your life must not matter much since you’ve died once already.”
It seemed like a real brawl might break out before we even met the Demon King, so I hurriedly stepped between them.
“Come, come, let’s not waste energy. Let’s disperse for now. Disperse. Barnett, you’re probably very busy with patrols, aren’t you?”
At this, Gav, who seemed reluctant, clicked her tongue while Barnett glared at her and turned her head with a “Hmph!”
It appears that masters resemble their subordinates; Barnett and Gav seem to clash terribly.
Anyway, once the situation settled somewhat, I finally had the chance to speak to Gav standing behind me.
“Regardless, thank you for bringing us here. Mr. Gavril. Without your help, we would have arrived much later.”
To this, Gav grinned broadly, put her arm around my shoulder, and laughed heartily.
“Haha, what are friends for? Feel free to ask for help anytime with things like this.”
While saying this, she subtly pushed her chest against me—a blatant body contact.
However, knowing Gav’s previous male form, I still felt some resistance and managed to push her away.
Seemingly aware of this, Gav glanced at my face and confidently placed her hands on her hips.
“I’ll let you off this time, but next time when we meet, it won’t be so easy. By then, I’ll have learned how to live as a woman.”
“Are you planning not to transform back into a man anymore?”
At this, Gav nodded and replied,
“Previously, I transformed into a man because it seemed advantageous for fighting. But meeting you made me realize my true identity, so from now on, I want to live as a woman.”
Saying this, Gav slightly turned her body and looked at Ozma and Camilla, smiling confidently.
“I’ll temporarily step aside for Caldlasth, but when I return, things won’t be so easy.”
Then, she was enveloped in dazzling light and instantly reverted to her original form.
The Flying Tyranno covered in blue scales roared and soared high into the sky.
Gav was truly a being as fleeting as the wind.
