Heroes and Their Qualifications (1)
I had traveled the world.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say so, given how much I roamed around.
At first, it was the Magic Continent. I didn’t move much in the grand scheme of things, but I lived there for a time. After crossing over to the Central Continent, I really went through all kinds of hardships. I visited key locations in various countries, even re-entering the Magic Continent…
After all that struggle, I thought I’d be able to rest, but for some reason, I’m still wandering around the world to this day. There’s hardly a place I haven’t been to. The Empire in the Central Continent, Frontis at the far north of the continent, the Tower of Magic in the Southern Continent, and then bypassing the Central Continent again to the Holy Imperial Court and The Great Forest, Myluman. Excluding the Magic Continent, it’s almost as if I’ve traversed the entire nation.
And now, I’m at the Dragon Kingdom, at the western edge of the continent.
It’s the last place to conclude my journey.
It means that my years-long life in another world is coming to an end.
I thought I would be overwhelmed with emotion, but I don’t really feel it. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived here too long. Have I adapted to life here…? Well, that’s probably it.
It’s going to take a while to adapt when I go back.
Since I don’t know anyone there.
Anyway.
The journey to the Dragon Kingdom was not easy.
As soon as I tried to leave The Great Forest, I was surrounded. If I hadn’t escaped, I would likely have been in grave danger.
I later found out that the Emperor and dragon hunters were positioned to the west of The Great Forest. If I had come out carelessly, my journey could have ended prematurely.
Escaping to the less populated north was the right decision. It was close to the Holy Imperial Court, but it was familiar territory since we had entered from there, and if we moved a bit further north, we could reach Mt. Muak, so that’s why I chose it.
Well, even then, those guys were pretty strong, so if I had made a wrong move and reinforcements had arrived, I would have been caught in the end.
After that, would I have died?
Or would they have kept me alive?
Cecilia would survive anyway, being a saint, and Valkvogel would be captured waiting for death, and I would… probably die too.
Ah, but that’s neither here nor there.
Ahem, after escaping the encirclement, we immediately headed north.
Our destination was the Dragon Kingdom, with a stopover at Mt. Muak.
Of course, since the Holy Imperial Court was on the way up, there was a risk of our path being discovered… but we managed to deal with that by taking a bit of a detour.
This time, our journey through Mt. Muak was quite comfortable.
Since there was a dragon that wasn’t on the brink of death, lower to mid-level magical beasts didn’t dare approach. Still, some high-level magical beasts and invisible ones would charge at us, perhaps out of overconfidence.
But against the combat power of a dragon, they were useless.
When Valkvogel tore one of the beasts in half, I thought the leash had broken.
So weakened, and yet… a dragon is still a dragon.
However, there were times when our defenses were breached.
Well, that wasn’t an issue since Cecilia was there.
And I had the Mind’s Eye, after all.
I don’t use it because there’s a high chance I’ll become an idiot if I do, but if I had to, invisible beasts wouldn’t pose a threat.
Thus, our passage through Mt. Muak went smoothly.
At one point, Valkvogel said to me, ‘This is where we met,’ but the place felt strangely awkward to me.
I was sure we had met at the base of a cliff. Why did she remember it as a cave?
If there’s a mistake, it’s probably on my part, but that’s when my body was broken. With my current condition, my memory could be correct.
…Or maybe not.
Sometimes, as we climbed, my vision would blur, as if my body was trying to return to its original state. So, there’s a high chance that my memory is faulty.
Or maybe climbing the mountain is just tough.
I didn’t notice it on the way down, but now that I’m feeling it, the trail seems too rugged. To climb, you basically have to grab onto something. When descending, you could just jump down bit by bit, but that’s not the case when going up. Plus, if you grab the wrong thing, you’re likely to fall.
Moving with all that gear in such a state…
It’s definitely too much.
If you don’t regulate your speed, you’ll break down quickly.
And behind us, pursuers were on our trail.
If you stop, you die.
Even so, I could have moved somehow if that was all there was to it. No matter how tough it got, my body had grown stronger, and with careful management, I could have moved with minimal loss.
That would have been the case if Cecilia’s condition hadn’t deteriorated.
Healthy… a bit shaky, but healthier than before, unlike Cecilia, whose body was gradually falling apart.
Especially, her condition worsened while we were moving through Mt. Muak.
She would cough up blood frequently, or I’d look away for a moment to find her nose bleeding profusely. And there were times when she lost consciousness and collapsed.
Carrying Cecilia like that could have caused significant problems… but it didn’t.
Because if Valkvogel carried her, that was that.
So it’s not a big deal, but why she’s sick, I don’t know, because she won’t tell me when I ask. I could probably heal her if I had any information, but for some reason, she refuses to say. If it’s something like a contagious disease, it would be better to speak up sooner rather than later.
As a result, my own health started to creak a little. After all, taking care of the sick was my responsibility.
Well, by the time we got out of Mt. Muak, she had improved enough to walk on her own.
And before we left Mt. Muak, I had stopped by the place where Master had stayed.
I thought I should bury her if I found her body. For some reason, I felt like I had to.
Of course, I couldn’t find the body.
By the time we got to the dojo, Master’s remains were gone. Enough time had passed that it wouldn’t have been strange if magical beasts had taken her away. There’s also a chance that someone cleaned up, given that the bloodstains that had been all over the floor were gone.
The magical beasts might have eaten the dried blood on the floor, but… at least I decided to think that way and descended the mountain.
And somehow, after passing through Frontis, where the Blood Tribe was often seen, we continued for a while.
We moved cautiously, avoiding the eyes of the Imperial Army.
Without getting caught up in any major incidents, we arrived.
At the place where our journey would end, the Dragon Kingdom.
*
Half a year.
It’s a long time if you consider it half of a year, but a short time in the perspective of a human lifespan.
So, for me, it can be considered a long time.
And it was with such precious time that I was able to reach the Dragon Kingdom.
It was a tough journey.
It wasn’t too difficult this time because the rest of the companions helped, but it was still a very tough journey.
Dragon Kingdom.
The city of dragons.
Before humans usurped the continent, they ruled everything on earth. The deep sea was ruled by sea dragons, the land by earth dragons, and the sky by sky dragons. It feels like they’re unified into one species now, but initially, that’s how they were distributed.
These mighty dragons eventually fell and established a nation in the image of the humans who dethroned them.
And they are slowly building their strength, striving to reclaim their past glory.
There are various historical events in between, but they’re useless to me now. Who cares about the history of dragons?
Valkvogel and Cecilia explained some of it to me, but I don’t remember any of it.
Ah, maybe there’s one thing.
The place where the Dragon Kingdom is located has a high concentration of magical power, which affects the body.
I don’t know the principle behind it.
Something about adaptability… To put it simply, it’s hard for a normal body to endure, kind of like altitude sickness.
The moment we entered the territory of the Dragon Kingdom, the atmosphere changed, and that alone is worth remembering.
It might even affect any battles that could arise.
Not that we’re planning to fight right now.
“Flan, we’re starting to see people.”
Before we knew it, we had arrived on the main road leading to the Dragon Kingdom.
Unlike when we were moving in secret, this was the only place where you could enter the Dragon Kingdom. Even if we didn’t want to, we had no choice but to come here.
So, we had to wear masks.
We’re celebrities, after all, and to avoid getting tangled up in troublesome matters, it’s a necessary act.
Well, I don’t particularly mind wearing a mask.
“Alright, then it can’t be helped.”
As I took out my mask, Cecilia silently pulled her hood over her head.
Valkvogel, on the other hand, took off the hat she had been pressing down and spread her wings and tail wide.
Her wings, riddled with wounds and looking rather unsightly, and her once-thick tail appeared somewhat hollow and damaged.
Still, she seemed to be smiling.
It must have been hard for her to keep her wings folded and her tail coiled up.
To enter the Dragon Kingdom, you need a dragon, so it’s fine to be out in the open like this.
In fact, moving around in a subdued manner would only arouse suspicion.
The people nearby didn’t pay much attention to Valkvogel. Occasionally, they glanced at her damaged wings, but those looks were fleeting.
And so, we walked until we reached a section where the procession thinned out.
And then we arrived.
We reached the immigration office.
Despite the strict security, it was surprisingly empty. Just two people and two chairs were left out in the open, making me wonder if they were really going to conduct a proper inspection.
Does this mean that a dragon with real power wouldn’t care how many people attacked?
With that thought, we entered the immigration office.
The first thing that caught my eye was a soldier with red hair in dazzling armor.
Even a mere gatekeeper was dressed like that.
“They must be rolling in money.”
“Ah, well, you see, immigration here is more important than in other places, so…”
As that thought slipped out, Valkvogel responded. According to her, the gatekeepers here hold quite a high position.
It’s because immigration is strict.
Would that be akin to the Imperial Guard if we were to compare it to the Empire?
It feels like a high-ranking civil servant if we were to compare it to a person.
Thinking about it that way made me a little nervous.
I hope we don’t get caught on some strange technicality.
Well, that shouldn’t happen!
“…You’re a dragon, you say?”
The red-haired dragon said that.
“Hmm, I cannot acknowledge that.”
He said that he couldn’t grant us entry.
