Chapter 7 - Our Stay in Konan (2)

Elona:

It was late at night when sounds of fighting resounded around the village. I had went outside to check what it was and saw something I haven’t seen since I got crippled and was forced to retire. Then, as Hana was walking over to me, a boney yet muscular arm came out of the darkness and grabbed her. In an instant she was taken away from me, and despair started swelling at the thought that I might lose my only daughter.

A fire I had thought was already extinguished within me lit up brightly again at that moment the Crowned Shadow Reaver appeared and took Hana away. Similar to other Shadow type demon beasts, it can use [Shadowgate], a teleportation skill, but it’s teleportation distance is nowhere as far reaching as a Shadow Saber but much quicker to activate. This means it should still be near.

After a while I managed to gather enough of the remaining villagers to come along with me as we were about to set out. By that time though, Princess Lucy and her gang showed up again. Behind them was Hana who seemed to be staring brightly at the Princess. I was surprised to later find out from Hana that Princess Lucy had a sister, and Lux was exactly that person.

It wasn’t confirmed, and I was still quite doubtful until I actually talked to her again. Definitely, she is completely different from Lucy whom I’ve met in my travels, but their features are indistinguishable. Of course even back then she had a haughty nature, but Lux was completely different. She felt closer to a commoner than any noble or royalty.

Her companion also seem to be quite nice people, although Rai seems to give off a terrifying aura at times. Aside from that they are really similar to Princess Lux, ah well just Lux actually, since she doesn’t want to be associated with her family. Suddenly something clicked inside as I thought about it.

“Ah, she couldn’t be in illegitimate child now could she? But… if her mother was a commoner then, the humility and her personality could be easy to explain as opposed to her turning out this way while being raised by that royal family…”

I was about to blurt that out but luckily I managed to stop myself in time and kept it to myself. It was really close, so I quickly excused myself and went back home. But even on the way I thought about it, and considering what they said the first time we met, it solidifies my thoughts even more. Now I was curious as to why she was traveling with such powerful companions, especially that young man Rai.

“It must be quite complicated, but… her armor…”

The [Whitefall Lineage Armor], only one person per generation can don it, regardless of gender it can transform to match it’s wearer according to history. But there could only be one set, created by the second Emperor during his contract with the Ancient Dragon Lux. Sadly the Empire’s fallen compared to those times.

“Still… if the current Emperor is donning it then is her’s a replica? Or could her’s be the original and his is the replica!?” A sudden radical idea hits me.

“Haha… no way. Knowing the Emperor he would want to keep it to himself. But if that were the case then who made that replica for her? I can sense a powerful magical force coming from it so it has to be a Master Blacksmith. But… ahh! Now I have so many questions! Forget it I’ve already left behind my adventuring life, I have Hana to take care of now.”

Finally I made it back home and put my thoughts to rest. Intriguing as it may be, it isn’t my issue so I shouldn’t dig too deep into it. She is also the savior to our little village and Hana’s life. Regardless of her roots, she’ll be welcomed here, and so I finally went to sleep while holding tightly onto Hana.

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Armon:

I woke up this morning feeling even more tired than before I went to bed. The reason was because I barely got a wink of sleep. Yesterday after Elona left, we looked for rooms to sleep in but there was only two. Normally the guys will take one and the girls the other but things are complicated with Ken being Lux now.

Lily suggested that Ken and her share the same room but Ken just couldn't accept, saying that he can’t just sleep alone with a girl, that he’ll feel guilty and begged to share the same room with me. I mean how was I supposed to say no to his begging face with that body, I just couldn’t. In the end we shared the same bed, and even though we’ve slept over before this is completely different.

“Huff…”

“What is it Armon, tired? I just thought you’d have a swell time last night~ Hehehe~”

“Guh, nothing happened. I just couldn’t get any shut eye, that’s all.”

“Really now~ I see, I see.” Lily was being annoying again while standing at the door to our room.

“It’s not what you’re fantasizing right now.”

“Hmm? Haaaa~ W-what are you two talking about?”

Suddenly Ken woke up, because unlike me he was snoozing peacefully until just a while ago.

“It was cute…” I muttered to myself as I recalled Ken’s sleeping face.

“Hmm?”

“Ah! Nothing, nothing! I was, uh, just thinking about what we should just do from now on!”

“Ohh… yeah. Honestly I have no idea what to do next… I mean we could look for a way back but… where do we even start? Any ideas Lily?” I dodged a bullet, but I’m starting to get worried about my state of mind.

“Hmm? Well… how about we discuss some of our ideas then? Armon?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah let’s.”

“I’ll go wait at yesterday’s room for you two.”

“Okay.” We both answered back.

And so, we began to take off our gears and equipments since we went to bed with them still on considering how tired we were. Well, Lily doesn’t particularly wear any armor so she had to wait a while for Ken and me.

“Ahh~ this is much better. You done too Armon?”

“Y-yeah.” I looked away from Ken with a flushed face.

“Then let’s go, can’t keep a girl waiting now.”

“Haha… yeah.”

By the time we got to the room though, there seemed to have been a change of plans. That’s because sitting with Lily was Hana and her mother Elona. On the tables were also plates of food enough for the three of us that were brought by them.

“Haha, hey guys looks like we’re eating first. I almost completely forgot about it with our current situation.”

“Ah, right we didn’t eat anything yesterday too huh? Thanks for the food Elona and Hana~” Ken said with a smile to them.

“Yeah, thanks a lot. I was running low on energy haha…” I really am exhausted still.

“I-it’s no problem… hehe” Hana was blushing as she stared at Ken.

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“It’s the least we can do. Also lunch is at noon, it’s not much but come join us if you can, or we could bring it to you too.”

“But will it really be fine to dine with the villagers when we hadn’t done anything ourselves?”

“Ah, no no. Saving us is plenty but there might not be a lot of meat.”

“In that case, we can go hunting for meat in exchange then.”

“Great idea Armon. We already know where not to search too now, it’ll be much easier.”

“Please, that’s really not-”

“It’s fine, we’ve heard about the situation from Hana too and saw it for ourselves yesterday. Let’s do what Armon said. Let’s go hunting and get some meat, after we finish breakfast of course.”

“I-in that case, it would be much appreciated. Thank you Renna.”

Again we were left alone, and not letting the food go to waste we all quickly chowed down. It was lacking flavor but anything’s delicious when you’re hungry. When we were done, we stacked the wooden bowls together and went to re-equip ourselves. Then we brought the bowls out with us as we searched for Elona and Hana.

We found them quite easily, since everyone in the village was pretty much gathered in the center of the village to eat before going off to do their respective jobs. We gave Elona the dishes and was about to head out for hunting when we were suddenly stopped by Hana.

“U-umm… can I come with? I-I promise I won’t hold you back.”

“Huh?” We all looked at each other before finally making a decision.

“Umm… sure? But is it alright Elona?” Normally we’d never let a child not even in her teens like us to do this but considering this world and their situation, we decided to accept.

“No problem with me, she’s a capable child after all.”

“Since Elona also approved, I guess it’s fine.”

“Haa~ Really~ T-then I’ll go prepare right away!” And Hana quickly ran off.

Soon after, Hana came back with the same getup we saw her wearing the first time we met. She has on a black mantle over her light gray undershirt along with a dark blue skirt and knee high brown boots. Around her waist was a leather like brown belt with a bag attached along with red and blue potions.

“I’m… huff… ready… huff…” Behind her was a row of Gale Wolves, with Misty at the front. There seemed to be one less though.

“Okay then let’s go.”

“Bye mom, I’ll be back later!”

“Take care now Hana.”

Making our way through the village we soon arrive at the entrance. By now, some people were already in the fields just outside the village doors. As we walked by many people came to wish Hana good luck on her hunt. We were mostly ignored since no one knows how to interact with us. After walking past the hill that overwatches the village, Hana tugged on Ken and asked a question.

“Umm… where, exactly are we going? Isn’t it going to take a while on foot?”

“Oh, right. No one knows about this yet huh? It should be fine right guys?”

“Ah, now that you mentioned it Lux, you’re right. Hmm, it should be fine, probably.”

“Well, it concerns you Rai. What do you think?” Ken and Lily turns around and asked me.

“Ah, well I think it should be fine. Besides I don’t see why not.”

“In that case let’s step back a bit. You can start now Rai.”

Just like last time, I closed my eyes and concentrated on an image of a dragon, take in a deep breath then breath out slowly. At the same time I could feel power surging through me while sparks begin to cover my body. I had thought it was going to hurt the first time I tried but it doesn’t, in fact it’s quite calming.

“W-what! Is… is that a… a dragon!? Rai was a dragon!?” I could hear the trembling voice of Hana below me.

“Hahaha. Is it that shocking? But don’t worry he’s still Rai, more importantly are you scared of heights?”

“I-I mean I haven’t really been anywhere high up before so I don’t know… Wait are we going to be riding Rai!?”

“Exactly, well climb up guys.” I tried to sound as nice as possible but a dragon's deep rumbling voice is still scary regardless.

“Uhh, you’re a Monster Tamer right Hana?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Umm, it’ll be hard for Rai to carry all of Misty and gang so can you [Recall] them?”

Well it’s not that I can’t carry all of them, rather it's that they might not be able to hold onto me during flight. So in a sense, Lily isn’t completely wrong.

“[Recall]...?”

“Right. As a Monster Tamer, once you’ve made a contract with a monster you can [Recall] and [Summon] them as you will. Ah, but it’s different from a Summoner though, a Summoner can only control spirits. They are in the same Class group though like a Knight and Magic Knight.”

“Ohhh! Okay, ah, [Recall]!”

Suddenly a large green magic circle enveloped Misty and the other Gale Wolves, and after a flash of light they disappeared from the spot. Of course they didn’t just vanish into thin air, they’ve just been sent back to the village since that could be considered as Hana’s base or home.

“Okay now, get on~”

“Uhh, uhh… I-I can’t reach! Haah…”

“Pffft, haha. I’ll help you up Hana.” Lily pulled Hana up with her as she climbed onto my back.

“Huh? Lux why are you still down there? Ah… right… you’re scared of heights.”

“T-that’s not… not it…” Ken’s voice was shaky and his words were barely audible.

“Hahaha. Come on Lux, even Hana’s not as scared as you are!”

“S-shut up… I’m coming, alright!?” Ken finally climbed up, albeit hesitantly.

“Alright!! Let’s gooo!!” Lily is as enthusiastic about flying as last time.

“D-don’t go too fast okay?” Ken on the other hand looks just like a frightened kitten, adorable.

“Ah, y-yeah…”

“What do you mean!? We don’t have all day you know guys. Just be steady or something and K- Lux, you need to get used to this.”

“R-right.”

That was dangerous, I felt as if my heart would jump out of my chest with how fast it was beating. I just can’t shake this unease whenever I look at Ken now, it’s quite troublesome.

“Lux is… scared of heights?”

“Pfft, see you’ve screwed up the great image Hana has of you!”

“Eh? That… that’s not what I m- !”

“It’s not my fault okay!?”

“Alright alright, settle down back there. Hold on tight cuz we’re about to set off.” If things keep up we’ll never leave this spot so I took the initiation to leave.

With a powerful flap from my wings, we shot off the ground and into the air. Afterwards was a slow ascent into the air, only stopping at roughly the same height as cruising airliners which is about 36,000 feet. At this height the ground is barely visible through the clouds but with my exceptional dragon sight, it was no problem at all.

“Ahh, what a wonderful feeling…”

The same indescribable feeling I felt the first time flying began to well up inside me. It felt as if I was right at home up here with the clouds as I look down on the vast land below me. This calm yet exhilarating feeling I get is great.

“Waahhh… this is great~” It seems I wasn’t the only one enjoying this.

Behind me, Hana was looking sparkly eyes at the lush greenery below us and enjoying the wind tickling her cheeks.

“Ugh…” On the other hand, Ken wasn’t doing so well.

“Do you really like it?” Lily asked while holding onto her.

“Uhuh, it’s the same feeling I get when the wind brushes past me as I ride on Misty’s back. It’s really refreshing…”

“There’s one person who’d beg to differ… Hehehe, come on Lux, you know you can fly too.”

“Ha-ha… I know I can, but I’ll never come this high up. A-anyways, let’s search in the other direction this time.” Ken began hugging my neck tightly again.

I can’t believe it actually made me kinda happy but I ignored it and continued on flying. Since we found nothing towards the direction the Goldcrest infiltrators came from, we’ve decided to search another direction where the Shadow Saber has yet to reach. After a while I realized that I remember this part of the forest.

“Hey guys, I think this was where we first woke up right?”

“Huh really? Ah! You’re right! That’s where you used [Decree of the Thunderlord], the forest is still in shambles. But really, you got better after just one use huh? There was no damage like this during the fight at the village. I may have to rethink that ban now… hehe.”

“Yeah, but what’s strange is that there are a lot more presence here than when we first woke up.”

“C-could the animals have returned after we left?”

“It’s a possibility. Well, I’m still a bit wary but since the animals are back, should we hunt here?”

“Ah! I just thought of something, hehehe. Let’s hunt here as you suggested Rai, and take our merchandises back with us when we’re done. We spent good money on them, and maybe we can even sell them for a good price here.”

“Now that you mention it, I did spend a good hundred or so bucks on them.”

“You two sure are loaded… ugh… c-can we land soon if we are going to hunt here?”

As per Ken’s request, I soon found a clearing large enough for me to land and they quickly dismounted. Hana had a face full of question marks about our conversation earlier but decided to say nothing, though I could tell that she was curious.

“Wooow~ You’re so amazing Rai. I never thought I’d ever meet a dragon in my entire life. I heard from mom that all the dragons left for the Dragon Sanctuary or something like that.”

“Dragon Sanctuary? What’s that?”

“Ehh? You don’t know about it Rai? Hmm… but I don’t remember either. Hehe sorry~”

“Ahaha. It’s fine. So shall we begin the hunt, of course we’ll go in pairs of two since I still don’t completely trust this place.”

“In that case I’ll take Hana. I got to show her how to properly use her Tamer class. It’s quite interesting, especially when you get [Soul Link]. We’ll meet back here in about three hours, okay? Well, come on Hana, have fun you two~”

“Ah, o-okay.” And with that Lily dragged Hana away and left me alone with Ken.

“Well… shall we then?”

“Haha… yeah, let’s.” It couldn’t be helped.

We couldn’t lose out to the girls, so me and Ken quickly went into action and hunted some animals. Many of them are actually quite similar to those from Earth for obvious reasons. Along the way we also encountered some weak Demons and Monsters, but they were quickly dealt with.

Surprisingly I feel really happy hunting with Ken, but even as friends, I’ve never felt this way before. I’m really starting to scare myself. Of course I never forgot to keep my guards up since this was where the Giant Gale Wolves attacked us. My worries went on in vain though, since nothing happened in these three hours and it was already time to meet up with Lily and Hana.