That morning they sat for breakfast with a very exhausted looking Rin nursing a cup of tea. Alissa energetically greeted the hero which earned her a groan for her troubles.
“Have a little hangover? The way you were drinking last night, I’d thought you were used to it.”
Quietly and with a bitter smile, Rin answered, “I got used to having a few drinks now that no one from school is looking over my shoulder, but I’ve never had so much.”
Feeling a little sympathy for the girl, Alissa wrapped an arm around her in a light half hug. As Rin in her half dead state leaned into the embrace and rested her head against the bar, Alissa asked Rose who looked as chipper and neat as ever despite drinking with them late into the night.
“Morning Rose, what’s the breakfast today?”
“Well I figured as least a few of us wouldn’t be feeling well so I changed the menu a little to sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, and just for you, I made some pancake batter and found some syrup in the back.”
It took all Alissa had to stay quiet in consideration for Rin, but she still flung herself halfway over the bar to hug the blushing redhead. Alissa only let her go quickly because Rose would be the one making their food. But before going Alissa did ask for one thing, “Rose could we get three shots of that cinnamon liquor?”
As Rin gagged at just the words, Rose nodded in sympathy. “It won’t be fun, but a little hair of the beast that bit you will help a lot. Just push through it Rin and you’ll feel better by the time you’re done eating.”
Groaning from her position on the bar, Rin only sat up after some more encouragement from Adrest and Alissa. With a bright red forehead and bloodshot eyes, Rin had tears forming just looking at the small glass of light brown liquid in her hand.
Rose, Alissa, and Adrest clinked their glasses against Rin’s and downed theirs smoothly. They all stared the worn down Rin, and under the power of peer pressure she downed the drink as fast as she could manage trying to avoid tasting it completely. Sadly, she seemed to have failed as her face turned green as soon as the audience heard her gulp, Rose traded the empty glass in Rin’s hand for a cup of a red fruit juice, which was quickly emptied. Alissa patted the poor girls back as her stomach settled and Rose went to make their meal.
As fast as she could, Rose came back out with large plates filled with over easy eggs, long links of sausage, and thick, fluffy pancakes drenched in a light red syrup.
The four gave their thanks to Rose who had made today’s menu with them in mind, and had stacked the plates until they were towering with food for their breakfasts alone. It really showed how much she liked this group in particular.
After digging in, the three adults had gained new life, Rin’s face now had color, she could sit up straight and talk again, filled with energy.
“I feel alive. Thank you so much Rose, Alissa. Now, I have to get going. I want to get my walk through done early so we can eat together tonight if you didn’t have any plans.”
“We’d love to!” Alissa agreed as everyone wished Rin luck and to stay safe as she walked off, stopping occasionally to greet the locals she knew on the way.
“So, what should we do today?” Alissa asked to Adrest and Belle, looking for ideas.
Rose who overheard it, added her opinion, “If you’re interested, A small caravan from Everflow City should’ve arrived today. There won’t be anything very exotic this time of year but maybe they’ll have one or two interesting things.”
Alissa showed clear interest, always happy to shop, and looked towards her companions.
With nothing better to do, the pair agreed to check it out. With everyone’s plans in place, the 4 young adults were all out the door, leaving Rose alone to run her business while they explored.
The demi-human family walked along the main street for a time with Rin as they easily caught up to her, before separating as she took a turn towards the gate facing the forest.
The three continued on their way, Belle in the middle and swinging her hands that held the older pair’s.
“Big Bro, Big Sis, what do you think of Rin? Did you have fun last night? Rin seems nice, but I didn’t get to talk to her last night, or during much breakfast.”
Adrest started, “Hmm, she seems like a good girl. She’s honest and happy to be here helping the people. She seems like a simple teenager, but my intuition is telling me I wouldn’t stand a chance if we fought. What about you, Ali?”
“I like her. She doesn’t have a dishonest bone in her body, and you’re right Ady. If the two had to fight seriously, she’d probably kill you in under 30 seconds. She’s completely ambidextrous and no matter how much she drank last night, she stayed perfectly balanced. She's a prodigy and practice has been her life since she entered that Academy. Overall, she’s a perfect hero in training.”
Eyes sparkling Belle said, “Then could she fight you Big Sis?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Even Adrest’s curiosity was peaked and looked at the purple haired girl who was considering her answer.
“Well, she could probably fight with me for a bit at least? She seems to focus on speed and a never ending stream of attacks, but that’s not enough to fight a dragon. Its really hard for me to say anything else until I see her fight.”
“Wow, if she can fight with you even just a little, that’s amazing isn’t it?”
Alissa preened under the compliments, and made sure to pull pull out a candy from thin air for her admirer.
As Belle ate the sweet they found the caravan Rose had told them about, but the travelers seemed to be in rough shape. All their wagons were scratched and burned, some half destroyed and it was a miracle they made it to the city without falling apart.
The merchants dressed in thick fur coats were talking to some people easily identified as adventurers by the thick leather and metallic armor they were wearing, and by the large weapons sitting across their backs.
As the three neared they could hear one of the merchants say in a low and raspy voice, as if he’d just shouted for several hours. “It was the biggest wyvern I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen the ones the imperial guards use in Dorm. Big, green, and vicious. The only reason so many of us made it back was because it ate 3 carts filled to the brim with meat and fruits we just got from the southern nations.”
The man had a bitter look on his face thinking about how much they’d lost today. Seeing the grieving caravan was in no shape to sell their goods, Alissa guided them down a few side streets and Adrest soon realized what direction they were heading.
As he put the dots together, Alissa spoke, “Wanna go on a walk and stretch your legs a bit Belle?”
Belle having now figured out what she was planning, got excited and bounced on her feet “Aren’t wyverns around C or B rank? It sounds like a little too fun much for me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to hunt it down by yourself, Adrest will do most of the work. I just want you to learn more about how to deal with flying opponents, and get an idea of how tough B ranks are.”
Adrest was surprised to hear he had volunteered to fight the wyvern, but didn’t argue as it sounded fun and he felt sympathy for the merchants. It was a cruel world, and while Adrest couldn’t change that, he could at least make sure the wyvern wouldn’t attack anymore innocent travelers.
“I’m fine with giving it a try, but will I even be able to handle it? The lead merchant back there made it sound big and strong, even for a B rank wyvern. And aren’t most wyverns blue, not green?”
Alissa was happy to hear the two agree and explained to Adrest, “That’s the fun part! You remember that dragons can molt when they meet certain conditions? Well since wyverns descended from dragons in ancient times, technically they a chance to do the same. The difference being, while dragons shed their scales nearly every breakthrough, for wyverns it’s a one in ten thousand opportunity.”
While Adrest’s eyes grew wide and he suddenly felt regret at agreeing to Alissa’s whims so easily, she said what he’d already figured out.
“It’s probably in the middle of transforming into a drake right now! Since its bloodline is so weak it needs immense amounts of mana and nutrients to finish. I can’t be sure until I’ve seen it personally, but I’m pretty sure it has a half foot in the A rank! It’ll be a lot of fun Ady!”
Adrest coldly glared at the witch who set him up but knew there was only one way for it to go when Alissa wanted something. He resigned himself to fate and followed the purple haired menace out of the back gate, waving to a guard that reminded them to stay safe and vigilant due to the increase in monsters.
Belle seemed to have something on her mind as she followed alongside the older pair through the trees and bushes. Adrest could easily see the inner conflict playing out on the young rabbit's face as she walked and if he could notice it, obviously Alissa would too, so she stopped and crouched down to be level with her.
“What’s the matter Belle? Don’t feel well? Want to go back to the town? You know you can always say what’s on your mind.”
Belle blushed as she became the center of attention and struggled to make eye contact with the bright purple eyes less that a foot away from her own.
“it… It’s just, didn’t you say that wyverns are related to dragons? And in class I remember you mentioned drakes once, they’re just a step away from becoming real dragons too. So is it okay for us to be chasing it down if it’s like you Big sis Ali?”
Belle was feeling shy and her bright crimson eyes were rooted to a particularly interesting rock by her feet. That lasted until Alissa’s loud Belle like laughter resounded through the forest and she swooped Belle into a tight hug.
As Belle squealed at the unexpected attack, Alissa reassured the teen, “It’s fine Belle, when I say they descended from dragons, it was millions of years ago and good job remembering that lesson! It’s true that you could say that drakes are very nearly dragons, with hard work and a lot of luck, when they reach S rank they can become true dragons. But that’s where the relation stops, dragons born like that are still different from us raised in the clans. They are almost always bloodthirsty, vicious creatures that kill first, question later. They were raised in the wild and it’s all they know. For the most part, it is actually mostly the clans that have to hunt down the strays when they go too far.”
Belle seemed to feel better, and now was curious, “But if you both end up dragons, why are you so different?”
“It’s because of how we’re raised, this is a concept hundreds of years too early for you, but consciousness can be divided into three categories. Humanity, Bestial, and Godliness. Humanity is what drives emotions, creativity, and growth. Bestial governs survival, base instinct, and violence. Godliness governs the increased perception of fate and the inner workings of everything."
Alissa paused and waved her hand, putting up her silencing barrier and taking out an ornate music box that started playing a melody that Adrest couldn't quite understand. He could hear it, but not remember. He knew it was beautiful, but couldn't place a single note. His mind was buzzing lightly when Alissa's voice focused him again.
"Best to be safe, those old fossils don't like it when some secrets spread. To ascend to Godhood is to change a grand fate. There are many ways to do this, but they almost all require ascending and evolving your mind, that means embracing the purest form of yourself. The dragon clans have developed for countless millennia in the direction of embracing all three paths, allowing us to come up with amazing techniques and arts for every type of talent and dragon, It’s what allows us to grow generation from generation. Wyverns, drakes, and wild dragons on the other hand, walk the bestial path alone, focusing on strength and survival above all, it’s also the reason S rank and higher wild dragons are almost always so violent and destructive.”
The explanation seemed to partially go over the girl’s head, but the doubt in her eyes was gone and it was replaced with a bright smile. Seeing that, Alissa patted her head and they walked towards the mountains in the cold winter day.