Chapter 3 - Saving Konan Village (1)

Ken:

Today is our second day in this world and right now, we are being led to a village by the girl we met yesterday, Hana. Occasionally she would look over to my direction before quickly looking away again. This fear, is not something I’m used to, especially when it's someone else who’s scared of me.

“Really what the heck did this Lucy do anyways…?”

“Yeah, she’s really afraid of you huh? I wonder if the other villagers will also be the same.”

Lily was right next to me while Armon was walking ahead with Hana. We were pretty far in the back so that she’ll be less nervous but this barely helps at all. Even with the wolves forming a sort of wall between us. I’m just glad they aren’t attacking me.

“So how much longer will this take?”

“Uh, j-just over that hill and we’ll be able to see my village, Konan.”

“Oh, that looks just like a normal village from the middle ages huh? Things didn’t change much in 1000 years.” Lily said so as we reached the peak of the hill.

“Hmm, there’s barely anyone in there. Where are they?” It was as Armon said, no one could be seen in the village only a few children.

“All the adults must be in the field right now…”

After that there wasn’t much conversation between us until we made it to the entrance of Konan village. There, I could see all eyes were on me with each holding different attitudes. Some were of hate, scorn, and bloodlust while fear dominated them. In response to this, I pulled up the neck of my cape to try and hide my face but that didn’t really help.

“Hana! Where were you I was so worri- !? P-princess, what… what are you doing back here? You already took all the men away, what else do you want!?” Hana’s mom seems to be a strong woman, her fear only lasted a bit before she tried to stare me down.

“Umm, ma’am. I’m sorry but you’re mistaken. I’m not Lucy so, please, calm down.” Suddenly we were surrounded by a crowd of mothers and children.

“Then, how do you explain your hair and eyes? Only the Whitefall family has those traits.”

“Ma’am please, we didn’t even know of this Princess you’re talking about until today! And we’ve been with Lux here for while and she hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Of course any subordinate of the royal family would say that. And only heard of her today, ha. Then if you’re really not Princess Lucy, please get out of our village before we have to kick you out.” Hana’s mother quickly rebuked Armon’s statement.

“Tch. Guys, I think we should leave for now…”

“Y-yeah, I could’ve phrased that better… huff.”

“Let’s think on how to prove that Ken isn’t Lucy aside from just saying it.” We all whispered to each other as we walked out the way we came.

“Don’t stay out too late now, alright Hana? Look at how worried your mom is.” I quickly said before we left.

The villagers continued to glare at us until we were out of sight, over the hill. Now, we were back to square one, no where to go and no idea where we are since Hana’s village is pretty isolated. The dirt trail ended the moment it enters the forest.

“Well, we did not think things through clearly…”

“Yeah, we didn’t even have a proper plan… I suppose it really is harder to get people’s trust than how the MC of those light novels make it…”

“Actually they did do a lot before they’re trusted right? So shouldn’t we keep our promise and do some hunting for the village as we promised Hana? Maybe they’ll be less hostile if we bring them some food?”

“You’re right Ken, Armon did promise her that huh? But didn’t she say there was nothing around for some reason?”

“Maybe it was because of us? Either ways, that would be our best option right now. I’ve already memorized how to get back here so we can look further away.”

“But wouldn’t it take us forever? None of us has any hunting experience not to mention these are animals and or monsters from a different world with nature we’re not familiar with.”

“Yes, that is true Lily. But weren’t you the one who wrote about this world? You should know the nature of this world’s creatures the most.” Armon replied back to Lily in a confident tone.

“Well, it is true that I wrote about it but not everything is the same as the world I wrote about. Take this village for instance, I didn’t write anything about it and I didn’t think about every little detail that happened in that world, only the information that was relevant to the plot.”

“Okay okay, way to kill my confidence in you.”

“Hey, I know how we can do this. We can just ride you Armon!”

“R-ride? Wha-” For some reason Armon was confused.

“Yeah, aren’t you a dragon? If you transform we can just ride you until we find some animals. Wouldn’t that be quicker and we don’t have to walk?

“Ohhh! Yeah you’re right. Why did we not think of this earlier? Okay, Armon, transform.” Lily just came to the same realization as me.

“B-but, how do I do that?”

“Just think about becoming a dragon, it should be as easy as breathing for Rai.”

“Alright then, I’ll try…” After hearing me, Armon closed his eyes and began concentrating.

After a while, a brilliant blue light began to surround Armon. At the same time, streaks of lighting could also be seen rippling about near him. The light got so bright it completely engulfed him before it started growing in size. It was an amazing sight, to see the figure of Armon shift from a humanoid form into that of a four legged creature as wings sprout out from his back. When the lighting and light ceased, a magnificent blue dragon with golden eyes appeared.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Oh… Uh… Oh my fucken god! A real fucken dragon!!! T-this is the coolest thing ever!” I lost my shit, I mean I’ve always wanted to see a real life dragon and now one is standing in front of me so this is only natural.

“I-it’s so beautiful…”

“I-I’m assuming it worked since you two are acting like that?” A deep voice resonated from the dragon, reminding us that it was only Armon.

“Wait, we don’t have a saddle…”

“I’m not a horse you know!”

“Gah, my ears. Calm down Armon I’m just saying…”

“Oops, sorry guys. Anyways, get on.” Armon bent down so that we can climb onto him since he’s now twenty feet tall.

“W-woah, this is a bit high up isn’t it, haha…” I said nervously as I looked at the ground.

“Okay guys, I’ve never flown before so… hand on tight!” With a flap of his mighty wings, we shot up into the sky light a rocket.

“Wah!!! I-I forgot I was scared of heights!!” I closed my eyes and held on tightly to Armon’s neck.

“But weren’t you just fine riding the plane?” Armon said as he looked back at me.

“Y-yeah, that’s because it has a solid ground where I could stand on and seats I can sit on as well as a covering that prevents me from falling!” I replied back in a scream with my eyes still shut.

“A-alright, I’ll be careful then. And how about you Lily?”

“Woohoo!! I’ve always wanted to fly freely like this! Woo!”

“Ha-hah… I guess you two are total opposite with this huh?”

Because of how high up we were, I only saw the beautiful scenery shortly before I had closed my eyes. Holding onto Armon tightly I hope this would end soon and regretted my decision to bring up this idea.

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Armon:

This is such a wonderful and, weird, feeling. To be able to fly and having a pair of wings as well as two pairs of leg. It was all new to me, but somehow they seem familiar and I could easily control them as if I was born this way.

“Wooo!!” Behind me I can hear the excitement of Lily.

“Can you stop that and help me with spotting out something to hunt? Ken is kinda useless right now.”

“I-I’m not useless! I-it's just…” I can hear how shaky his voice is and I can feel him trembling on my back as he holds on tightly to my neck. It was kinda cute.

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Anyways Lily?”

“Yeah, yeah. All is within my view, none can escape my eyes, [Farsight Alteration]!” Because of our height, Lily had to use a spell to see the ground below.

We had agreed not soon after I took off that I should remain at a high altitude to not draw any attention to myself. It was also then that we asked if Ken wanted to get off, but he strongly opposed the idea. He said he’ll get used to it soon but his eyes are still sealed, even now.

“Man, a dragon’s eye sight is so good. I can see the slightest movement below. But, how long is it going to be until we find something? It’s been an hour now hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, what happened? There isn’t even any fishes in the river. Even if something did happen to scare away some of the animals when we arrived, it wouldn’t be to the point of driving everything within a 100 meter radius to disappear right?”

“Wait, what’s that down there?” I saw a black figure rush pass a clearing in the forest.

“What? Where?”

“It just rushed past that clearing there. It was moving pretty fast, maybe it was chasing something? Looks like we- it stopped moving. Imma go in closer for a better look.” The rustling of the trees in the direction it went suddenly stopped.

Because this was the first life form we’ve met so far, I wanted to see what was going on. The closer I got, the more clear the sounds of bone crushing could be heard. This creature may be a predator of sort since I can smell the fresh scent of blood.

“!” I barely managed to dodge the shadow that lept out of the forest trees.

“Kyaa!?” Because of my sudden movement, I dropped Ken and Lily from my back.

“Shit, Ken! Lily!” I dove as fast as I could and almost didn’t make it to them in time.

“T-that’s a Shadow Saber! What is a demon beast like it doing in the White Empire!?” Back safely on me, Lily identified the black tiger with wings above us.

“Gah! Oh my god, I thought I was going to die… wait Shadow Saber? Isn’t that a rank A demon beast that can only be found on the Demon Continent?”

“I think we just found the origin of our problem… if it’s this binge eater. It makes sense why everything disappeared. Now the question is how did it even get here? As strong as it is, it’s impossible that no one’s subjugate it yet.”

“Looks like it’s up to us to subjugate it? Haha, good thing we have these OP equipment or else we would probably die here. Well, aside from you Armon.”

“Hey, i-if we’re really going to fight this thing then can you drop me off? I can fight better when I can feel the earth beneath my feet.”

“From, this height? I thought you were scared of heights?” I questioned Ken’s request.

“I am, but the trees aren’t that far down. Besides the trees won’t be as tall as you are.”

“It’ll be fine Armon, Lux’s got plenty of reach with [Heritage of Lux].” Lily reminded me of an amazing ability that Ken has right now.

“Oh, right. How could I have forgotten. Okay, hmph.” With a slight tilt of my body Ken jumped off from my back.

“Lend me your strength, Ancient Dragon, to face my foes [Heritage of Lux]!” As he fell, a translucent white light surrounds Ken’s entire body.

Just before reaching the treetop, that light transforms into a pair of translucent wing. Even though I can’t see it, right now Ken’s eyes are that of a dragon’s. [Heritage of Lux] gives Ken the ability to temporarily borrow the strength of the Ancient Dragon Lux that protected the Whitefall family. In an instant, he disappeared into the forest.

“Looks like we have to get serious too. Heed my call Divine Flames of Heaven, pierce mine enemy [Flaming Shot]!” A crimson magic circle with intricate seals formed in front of Lily’s outstretched arm.

Instead of aiming it at the Shadow Saber in front of us, she quickly aimed it right above us. The reason was soon to be clear, as Ken lept with incredible speed from within the forest. The Saber vanished into a shadowy smoke to avoid Ken’s attack, it dodged while also launching its own offense. Sharp claws clashed with the flaming light of Lily’s spell.

“Too predictable and slow! Armon!”

“Yeah!” Quickly reacting to Lily’s word, I smashed my right arm below me.

A powerful boom was heard as the Shadow Saber’s body was blown down to the forest floor, where it was pierced by Ken. [Zenith] easily slashed through its body as a roar escaped with its dying breath. The battle was over in an instant.

Shadow Saber slain. 4500 exp divided among damage dealers, 1500 exp gained.

Level up. Level 10 Attained.

“That… was easier than expected… My, well, Renna’s battle instinct just took over.”

“Well, it was pretty low level if we’ve only gained 4500 exp. Still, could this be influence from when that voice made us fight those Gale Wolves?”

“Quite possibly? I hope that’s the only Shadow Saber here. If it isn’t then we’d be in trouble.”

“Yeah, they’re unpredictable in groups. Anyways, let’s go get Ken.”

“Ahh, so fast. Almost couldn’t control it… oh, hey guys. Didn’t that seem too easy?” Ken said as he noticed me above him.

“That’s what Lily said too, but we are equipped with the strongest gears right? Only an empire as strong as the White Empire or similarly powerful kingdoms can possess a set of armor and weapon as strong as [Zenith] and the [Lineage] armor right? Not to mention [Heritage of Lux].”

“Ah, right, right. I keep forgetting because it was just cosplay not too long ago. I guess the level restriction doesn’t apply to us then huh?”

“Good thing it doesn’t. Wait, what’s burning down there!?” A golden flame from within the forest caught Lily’s eyes.

“I’ll go check!” After saying so, Ken duck into the foliage and didn’t come back for a while.

When she did come back, Ken was holding onto a golden choker with a golden lion head embedded onto it. Its mouth open in a roar with wings of fire on either side of it and two swords crossing beneath it. This was the insignia of the Goldcrest royal family.

“Ken, where did you get that?”

“This was what caused that fire, it completely burnt the Shadow Saber. Nothing’s left of it.”

“Wait, didn’t Hana mention that the Whitefall are going to war against the Goldcrest!? What does this mean?”

“It might be time to head back guys. Ken, get back on.”

“Ah- alright..” Hesitantly Ken got back on me as I sped back to Konan Village.

They may be in danger of being attacked by the Goldcrest army. According to Lily’s story the Holy Leon Kingdom, ruled by the Goldcrest, is located east of the White Empire. If they’ve managed to get through somehow, then the villages nearby would definitely fall. Though, we don’t even know the exact location of Konan village, it might even be on the west side of the empire and the Goldcrest had somehow made it there. And what exactly are they doing with demon beasts?