“I do apologize, Lady Shrine Maiden, that I cannot allow you to ride with me. My partner is a little bit, uhm, finicky with whom he allows to ride him,” Sir Antonio, riding on his proud hippogryph, spoke to me while we were walking on a road north of Firwood. His white-feathered armor glistened under the sun, matching in color with his white-brown mount.

“You do not have to mince your words with me, Sir Antonio. I can feel that your hippogryph does not like me on an instinctive level,” I replied, focusing on the glare the hippogryph was giving me with its right eye. The fire burning inside it was being projected to me with pure animalistic hostility, as if the beast was looking at a rival. Admittedly, my own instinct was being roused; not ‘cause of my [Danger Perception], but ‘cause of something a bit deeper inside me. I wasn’t so sure what the reason for this feeling was, although I think it’s some kind of dragon instinct.

Antonio’s expression contorted, showing how uncomfortable and awkward he was feeling when I spoke the truth. “Usually my chivalrous partner here would allow any fine ladies to ride him, but… i-it is true that hippogryphs despise wyverns, and consequently any dragonkin in general, including dragonewts. Please forgive me, my Goddess, for I have sinned against one of your shrine maidens.”

Lucky us that he’s so religious; otherwise, we would have had to go with Saori’s plan and tail him.

Cernust was our benefactor, since he was the one who taught Tasianna alchemy, something that has been benefiting us financially. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we would try to help him, or at least find out if he truly was a kidnapper or not. Which meant we needed to either accept the Quest that Antonio had posted in the mercenary guild or tail him after he departed.

Fortunately and unfortunately, nobody in the merc guild wanted to accept it due to something Saori told me about — the mercenaries in Firwood despise taking Quests from Lecartiglio nobles like Antonio. Nobody wanted the Quest, so we didn’t have to tail him, but another issue appeared. Our mercenary guild rank was only F, since we had done barely any merc Quests.

As an adventurer guild, the merc guild allowed their members to take Quests one rank above their own if they could prove their competence to the Quest giver; however, that didn’t apply to people two ranks lower. Which we were. Rachael, one of the merc guild’s receptionists, had to follow the rules and reject our application.

Certainly, if I were a normal person, I would have given up here and relied on tailing the knight, but I had connections. No, I did not call in any favors from House Helvas or House Sirius. I wouldn't want to be known as someone who abuses her status as a noble to get priority on quests. Instead, I remembered my discussion with Farron when he visited my restaurant, where he complained about a Lecartiglio noble that was annoying him. Saori and Tasianna even confirmed that Antonio was this person.

So, I had Farron write a recommendation for us. Quests could also be given to adventurers by referral, either through the Quest giver or guild master. He wasn’t the guild master of the merc guild, but Antonio did ask him to help him in his search for Cernust. So, we were going for the client’s referral, just like how Carine Village’s head, Colwyn, gave us our first Quest, the bandit subjugation one.

Since Antonio’s house didn’t have a home in Firwood nor was he willing to stay over at a noble’s mansion, he had rented a room at a fancy inn in the merchant’s district, which was close enough to a hotel, quality-wise. Saori mentioned he was uncomfortable around, and possibly even racist against, beastmen and elves, so I was expecting issues, but it went well enough. I mean, he still scowled when he saw us, proving Saori’s words.

What made him calm down were my robes. Once again, looking like a priestess of Aurena was a boon, despite this being a white mage’s robe and not a priestess’s robe. Yes, I was being pedantic, but who cares? Anyway, as I was a priestess and looked the part of a shrine maiden, Antonio warmed up to me quickly, as he was apparently quite religious. The moment I showed him Farron’s letter? That was when he turned completely friendly to us.

“A letter from Sir Farron?!” he exclaimed, looking very pleased, although I wasn’t sure why he called Farron “Sir.” Wasn’t that reserved for knights or something? Then again, Antonio showed he could be very polite and courteous when he wanted to be, so maybe this was his way to show respect to an A rank adventurer.

In the letter, Farron explained that we were the help he requested since we were mercenaries in addition to hunters, albeit with low ranks from our recent arrival and registration in Firwood. Furthermore, the letter also specified that Saori was a B rank tracker and combatant, and that she was part of the newcomer party Aurora, so Tasianna and I were included in the package. After Saori proved her qualifications by showing her profile to Antonio through her ID — which meant we could hide certain information from him — he readily accepted us.

We went back to the mercenary guild with Antonio where he referred us, which allowed us to take his Quest despite our low rank. He then went back to his inn, telling us that we would depart the next day. After he left, most of the mercs warned us we were making a mistake, but we told them not to worry. When we didn’t budge, most of them wished us luck and bid us to come back safely, although I suspect that they did that simply ‘cause some of them were regulars at our restaurant.

The curry had them trapped…or maybe was my singing? I like to think it was that.

Unfortunately, since we were taking on this Quest, we would probably miss Ellaine’s departure to Griffonpeak, depending on how long this Quest would take. We had to say goodbye in case that happened, but we also made plans to meet up at House Helvas’s mansion when we reached the capital.

So, that’s how we ended up here. We immediately left the town at the break of dawn, where we met Antonio’s hippogryph Bornelli, a white-brown feathered eagle-lion-horse hybrid monster. It had the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle, the torso of a lion, and the hindlegs and tail of a horse. There was a mix of armor and horse gear equipped on the hippogryph, making it look as battle-ready as Antonio, who was sitting on the giant bird-horse in his armor.

Just like in various fantasy novels, the hippogryph was a relative to the griffon. However, unlike Lord Helvas’s griffon, Antonio’s hippogryph was only around the size of a horse compared to the griffon’s elephant-like size. If I were in my proper form, I would outsize this arrogant little pipsqueak, hmph!

“Sir Antonio, we are used to the road. You do not need to slow yourself down for our sake,” Saori stated, leading us from the front. “Considering it is your sister, should we not hurry?”

“Well, I am very worried for my sister, but I cannot possibly ask the Lady Shrine Maiden to run. As her guard, should you not be more considerate of her health? Even walking like this is already a sin, ohhh, woe to my honor! How could you allow this to happen, Bornelli?” Antonio complained like a drama queen.

“Kiyyaaaaahhhh!” somehow understanding him, Bornelli began to flap his wings wildly, looking like he wanted to knock his rider off; however, Antonio kept himself mounted like an expert bull rider. After he noticed that he couldn’t do anything to his rider, Bornelli turned his head towards me and screeched “Kiyaaaaahhhhh!” at me. Was he venting his anger at me?

“I do apologize for this shameful behavior that I am showing to a visitor from Loatryx,” Antonio apologized. “Hippogryphs are naturally more aggressive and feral than griffons. Even after breaking him when he hatched and raising him as properly as any honorable knight of the White Talon order should, I still have not gained his full respect yet. On my honor, I promise to raise you to become as valiant as your parents, Bornelli!”

Mana Eyes.

Hippogryph

A savage feathered monster with the body parts of a majestic eagle, prideful lion, and stubborn equerochs. Hippogryphs possess a ruthless and terrestrial nature that makes them into powerful dogfighters and terrestrial hunters. Unlike the older and evolved adults, Younger hippogryphs compensate for their smaller size with savagery to intimidate and break potential enemies and prey. Rank D

I was expecting the hippogryph to be rank C, based on my memory of Lord Helvas’s B rank griffon, but I guess that wasn’t the case in the end. I wonder if this hippogryph had just reached maturity?

Since Antonio had some sense of chivalry to protect a “fragile maiden” like me from marching like a common soldier, even though his sister was currently missing, I couldn’t help but sigh. Were his religious beliefs and knight’s honor that much more important than the safety of his sibling? I couldn’t say, but what I do know is my impatience.

Saori, reading my mood, signaled for Tasianna to get on her back. The moment that happened, Saori sprinted forwards, leaving Antonio and me behind. The knight, exclaiming “What in the world?!” in surprise, turned to me, to which I answered by running ahead of him, leaving dust in his mouth.

“Your sister is in danger — a noble at that, too — and you are worrying for me?” I then cast both [Haste] and [Swift Winds] on myself, drastically increasing my Agility even further. “That is patronizing me, Sir Antonio. Fleur Mushroom Forest, correct? I know that place, so I bid you hurry up.”

The Fleur Mushroom Forest was the hunting location I went to with Ellaine, a place filled with mushrooms and, consequently, fungi-loving monsters and animals like skorrs, the Peolyncian version of pigs. Antonio told us that Cernust was planning to bring his sister to the elven kingdom north of Firwood.

They would have to go through this forest, which borders the Belzac mountain, and then cross a river to the edge of Saelariel. According to Antonio’s sources, Cernust escaped Firwood on the same day Antonio arrived in Firwood, so they couldn’t have made it to Saelariel yet; however, that didn’t mean we should slow down so much for something as ridiculous as worrying about my Stamina. A sunfang dragon doesn’t care while it’s still morning!

“Kyiyiyiyi,” the hippogryph turned its long neck to its rider, making sounds to make its intent clear.

“Tch, Bornelli, we ride!” Understanding his mount, Antonio picked up the reins and shouted with a loud “Hiyaahh!” before Bornelli galloped at a breathtaking pace. I was holding myself back but it was still impressive to see the hippogryph’s top speed.

If we flew, we would have reached the forest before lunchtime; however, since my party couldn’t really use our top speed due to the hippogryph, it took us until the afternoon. We would have probably needed a day if we went at the same pace we used to travel to Rashan Village. Then again, we departed from Firwood during lunchtime back then, not at dawn like today.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“Unbelievable, I didn’t think we would reach the forest in less than a day without riding Bornelli and some equerochs,” Antonio stated with disbelief as he checked on his heavy-breathing hippogryph. It seemed like it had strained itself to keep up with our pace, but it was doing its best to not show any weakness. Prideful, indeed.

To allow him to recover, Antonio dismounted and unsheathed his sword and shield, saying he would handle any threats as he was a knight. Honestly, that’s the first time that I heard somebody say this to me after I reincarnated as a dragon. Most of the time, I had the privilege to say something cool and dashing like that.

Nevertheless, I didn’t say anything. Antonio didn’t accept a party invite and most of the monsters in this forest weren’t worth the experience for my party anyway, so having him fight and do the hard work was fine in my book. I also wasn’t in any danger of [Battle Frenzy] since I had just unleashed a full explosion on Davison a few days ago.

“Most of the tracks are skorrs, loopabits, and other monsters,” Saori noted as she analyzed the ground for tracks, commenting and pointing at any footprint she could find. “Sir Antonio, would you possibly have anything belonging to the kidnapper or your sister for me to track them with? The forest has too many tracks on the ground that it would be quicker to use my nose.”

Saori was a wolf, after all.

Antonio nodded, agreeing her plan sounded more efficient. He then opened up one of the satchels strapped on Bornelli and took out a handkerchief with an emblem on it. “This handkerchief is Severa’s. It has the emblem of our house on it, and from what I remember, she always brought it with her wherever she went. After she suddenly left our mansion, the maids noticed she left this behind in addition to her rings. What a coward, kidnapping a fair maiden while she is inside her home.”

Huh, that does sound like a kidnapping. Cernust, what the hell did you do?

Saori sniffed on the handkerchief, noticing a slight perfume smell. “I can see that you kept it washed and clean. Any traceable smell is long gone. Could I try the rings?” While the handkerchief was a dud, the rings seemed to have retained the noblewoman’s smell. Saori began moving towards the smell’s direction while inspecting the ground for tracks.

[“Saori, don’t lead him directly to Cernust. We need to get his part of the story first,”] I told Saori through [Telepathy]. Whether Cernust actually was a kidnapper or not should be determined after we talked with him, and hopefully without Antonio being with us.

Saori didn’t look back as she responded, [“Yeah, I understand. I have a feeling that it wouldn’t end well if those two were to meet, especially with that hippogryph. It’s like it is waiting for any hostility from us, any reason for it to pounce on us.”]

As we started to move, curiosity finally got the better of me. “Sir Antonio, if it isn’t awfully rude to ask, how was your sister kidnapped?”

He shook his head, saying it wasn’t a problem, as his family had already asked the gods for forgiveness for this failure. He cleared up his throat and began recalling what he knew. “When it happened, I was actually at the Order, so all this information came from my lord father and eldest brother. Severa, the fourth child of our parents, one day seemed to have met this criminal in our fief while he was doing some work. I do not know what beastman trick he used, but my sister somehow was infatuated by that brute. Oh, I do not mean any insult, Lady Shrine Maiden.”

“None taken. Please, continue.” I couldn’t help but believe he was a racist by now.

“Thank you for your graciousness. It purifies my soul.” He gave a quick prayer, thanking Aurena for sending her shrine maidens to him today before he continued his story. “After we forbade him from seeing her, even resorting to a forceful removal, they somehow met in Gransromus and Cedaraille again and again. And then one day, she just disappeared while she was at our home. Simply vanished. Without any warning except for a letter which had ‘I will leave’ written on it! Outrageous! How dare that vagrant take my youngest sister away from her house!”

After allowing him to calm down a bit, I asked him what Gransromus was, to which he answered that it was the capital of the Lecartiglio duchy. Well, my party had no plans to visit that place, but knowing its name was fine, I guess.

“Barely a scent and I can’t find a single human or beastman track in the smell’s direction.” Saori, despite her naturally strong nose from [Primal Senses], was having trouble finding our path through this place.

“That coward is an earth mage, or so I’ve heard. Maybe he covered up his tracks?” Antonio suggested, to which I agreed it was a possibility. In a custom spell book I read, there was a spell designed for agriculture called [Soil Moving], which could probably be used for this exact purpose.

Time went by with us talking. I say “us,” but it was only Antonio and I speaking, as he wasn’t willing to be sociable with either Saori or Tasianna, preferring me simply ‘cause I was a priestess. Nevertheless, he didn’t let his guard down once since we arrived in the forest, despite his rather lackadaisical attitude towards the current situation. It would have been a bit concerning if it weren’t for the fact that all the monsters and animals were frightened away by Bornelli.

I made a mental note to be careful if I ever entered a hippogryph-infested area. The amount of screeching would be intolerable and probably cause tinnitus.

Saori scratched her nose, looking irritated. “I apologize for the slow progress. The smell of flowers and animals is overpowering my nose, covering up the scent of your sister and forcing me to double-check once in a while.”

Now that she said it, the forest did smell more aromatic than the last time I was here. Then again, that was like two weeks ago, so maybe Spring was in full bloom now?

[“Saori, good job stalling. How far ahead is Cernust?”] I asked, wondering where she was leading us.

[“Hestia, when I said I could not trace them properly, I really meant it. Smells, tracks, heat signatures. I cannot find a single good clue to continue on with except for the scent from those rings.”] It was a real surprise to hear Saori admit that when I expected she had a plan or something. [“It is as if the entire forest was working against me. It honestly feels as if nobody here wants me to find them, and is erasing their whole presence throughout this whole forest… it is… exhilarating?”]

[“Saori?”]

[“Ahh, forget what I just said. I think I’ve become a bit too competitive since my tracking skills have not been challenged in months now. [Primal Senses] is not perfect, huh?”]

It took us until the sky turned slightly orange that Saori finally told us “Stop!” Looking at the hippogryph, I felt that, if she had taken any longer, it might have gone hunting to relieve its boredom, but luckily, that didn’t come to pass.

“I managed to find some tracks. Not footprints, but crumbs of bread,” she announced, causing Antonio to exclaim his excitement, mentioning he cannot see them. As he was impressed by Saori, she telepathically told me to begin listening intently while she kept the knight and bird occupied.

My hearing might not be as powerful as Saori’s, but as a musician, I had my own pride. Straining my ears, I managed to detect voices in the direction opposite of where Saori was.

“-in danger. My brother might have called for help, which might even be from my father or eldest brother! If the White Talon knights were to pursue us, they would catch up with us before we can escape. Please, I beg you, leave the kingdom, Cernust!” The voice was far away but it was definitely audible enough for me to make out that it was feminine.

“As if! Severa, don’t compare me to some common earth mage. I have been manipulating the earth and plants as we walked through the forest, covering up our tracks and using flower pollen to erase our smell. Let them send their hounds, they won’t find us,” someone with a mildly deep voice that I recognized said. “Even if they search from the sky with their mounts while we are in this forest, the tree leaves will cover us from their sight wherever we go. The only danger will be when we reach the river, but we will simply have to be patient. The moment we reach the elves, no human can enter their woods without risking the wrath of their border scouts.”

“W-will we be okay?” the feminine voice asked.

“Don’t worry, Severa. By my tail, I swear I will protect you. I will be able to talk them down, no worries, ha ha ha ha ha!” That laugh was the final straw. It belonged to none other than Cernust!

[“Saori, it’s Cernust, definitely. There is a woman’s voice as well, which I presume belongs to Antonio’s sister Severa. How should we handle this?”] I asked Saori after confirming the voices.

[“Wait until night time. I’ll sneak out and handle it. However, first, we need to lead Antonio away at all cost; no, we need to warn Cernust first. I have an idea, Hestia. Call for a bathroom break.”]

Ahhh, I gotcha. Such a gentleman wouldn’t question that at all… at the cost of my dignity. Hold on, I got used to walking around naked when I was first born, who cares about shame!

“Sir Antonio, I know the urgency of our trip, however, could I possibly ask to pick some flowers?” I asked as innocently as possible, remembering how Manuela did it.

“Flowers? Oh, today is a wonderful day for flowers, yes. Your guard would probably need a bit longer so it would be a waste if we didn’t take a break here. I will be looking this way,” he turned around, showing a lack of suspicion for our actions.

Good! Now, I just need to sneak away with Tasianna and warn-

“IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR! SEE, I CAN SHOUT AS LOUD AS I WANT AND WE ARE STILL SAFE! NO TRACKER WOULD HELP THEM, SO NO WAY CAN THEY TRACK US! TRUST ME, HA HA HA HA HA!”

-Cernust…

“Kiyahkiyah!” Bornelli growled, agitated by the shout.

“What is it, partner?” While the bird managed to hear those two, it seemed like Antonio hadn’t with his inferior hearing. Before my party could say anything, Bornelli flung Antonio onto his saddle and galloped towards the direction of the shout.

Uh oh.

It didn’t take long for the excited bird-horse to reach the location while we had to chase after them from behind. Any chance of warning Cernust and hearing his part of the story was out the window. I honestly had to wonder how this went downhill so fast, all Cernust had to do was be silent, that musclehead.

“Kiyaaaaaaahhhhh!”

“Severa!”

“B-Brother Antonio?!”

“What in the hell?! Shit! How the hell did you find us in these woods?!”

You shouted, you idiot! You boisterous dumbo!

“Fiend! How dare you hide my sister away from me! Unhand her and accept your righteous judgment, filthy beast!”

To one side, a tall beastman of ox ancestry stood in front of a young woman with strawberry-colored hair, in contrast to Antonio’s dark red hair. The bovline’s hair was green and he was wearing padded leather armor, form-fitting enough that you could deduce his muscular physique his clothes were hiding. He wore a backpack filled stuffed full of food, herbs, and other travel essentials while a belt full of potions hung around his waist. Lastly, the most interesting point of his equipment was undoubtedly the green-scaled gauntlets around his arms, looking as if they could deal a mean wallop.

To the other side, there was Antonio in his white-feathered armor, brandishing a longsword and shield like a knight from storybooks. He was mounted on his loyal hippogryph, a beast of feathered savagery with the look of a hunter having found its prey. If I had been suffering from [Battle Frenzy] right now, I would probably give off that same look.

“Pah! Whatever you did, beast mage, it was nothing against the guard of a priestess of the Goddess of Light! You did not believe you could abduct a member of House Moreschi without any consequences now, did you? Hear me, the Goddess stands with me! Stand down and surrender now. Otherwise, I will be forced to wield my blade on you, beast!”

“Haha! A ‘beast?’ You know, if I hadn’t come to Artorias and met up with those beastmen of Lecartiglio, I would have never really bothered with humans calling me a ‘beast.’ In fact, I would even consider it a boast! Still think it’s praise, but I now know you’re fucking insulting me here, human!” Cernust returned an arrogant boast.

“Cernust, please! Please, I beg you, don’t fight!” the woman behind him, Severa, shouted in vain. “Brother, please, I-I will come back. I just beg you to let Cernust free. Th-This. All of this was my selfish wish to become free! I asked him to take me away!”

“I see his beastman trickery still has you under his sway, my dear sister. No more! If this beast does not give up, then I will show him the fury of a knight of the White Talon!” Antonio pointed his blade at Cernust, glaring down at him with burning fury.

“Sir Antonio, please, stop-” I wanted to stop him but he simply shouted over me.

“Stand back, Lady Shrine Maiden! Your duty is to lead me here, not help me capture this criminal! As a knight of the Kingdom of Artorias and the Lecartiglio duchy, I shall bring this beastman to justice! Goddess Lamreeta, I pray to you, grant me the strength to bring this knave to justice in your name! Goddess Aurena, I pray to you, grant me your strength and protection to defeat this fiend!”

Hold on, the Quest objective was to bring your sister back safely! This is part of the job!

Antonio’s words finally caused Cernust to look our way, showing an expression of surprise. It hurt my heart as it looked like we betrayed his trust by bringing Antonio here.

“Cernust, we-”

“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted, clenching his fist. “Work is work as a merc, right? Do me a favor, will ya? Stand the fuck away from this fight and let me break this pretty-boy’s face, yeah? Afterward, we will talk, yeah? Since we’re kinda the same and I don’t wanna hit my pretty acquaintances if I can help it. Yeah, you three got that?”

Cernust stepped forward, causing the hippogryph to shriek like a banshee, causing the many birds surrounding us to fly away at the cry. Cernust was undaunted as he looked up at the angry four-legged bird, doing simple stretches and warm-ups as he prepared for battle. Then, two brown magic circles appeared around his arms; one caused his skin to transform into stone while the other did something far out of my imagination.

The trees, the roots, the grass, the flowers.

They all began to move.