Ch. 149: The Wizard on the Way
It was the day after Igni made the iron-clad solemn oath to himself.
Early in the morning……well, Igni was in the worst of conditions at this time of day, but Yoori managed to wake him up, and they both headed to the Castle.
Sara wanted to come along at first, but facing off with a Dragon would be extremely dangerous, and Igni begged Yoori to keep Sara safe here.
Igni: (I should take her to some fun place after this…)
Igni thought about how to make it up to Sara afterwards as he boldly reached the main gates, and as he entered, he met with Sabastian and got onto the horse carriage they had ready.
Igni: “I guess it’s just us two in the carriage.” Alicia: “Just inside the carriage.”
Alicia was no longer wearing the dress she had on inside the castle. She instead wore the Rolmod Academy school uniform. Igni also had brought his school uniform with him just in case and had it on.
Because the Rolmod Academy was a Wizard’s Academy, the school uniform doubled as a combat-ready clothing and was specifically created with that purpose in mind.
It was made from exceptional materials with blade and magic resistance properties, so it held up better than poorly made armor, it was light, and had high defensive attributes. Even so, they were clothes in the end, not armor. It would do very little against heavy impacts and slashes.
In general, Wizards fight from the back of the lines, and not with the vanguards on the frontlines.
Alicia: “Let’s go.” The carriage driver whips the horses into motion, and they begin to slowly move forward.
As they sit alone inside the carriage, they remain silent for a while.
It was Igni who broke the silence first.
Igni: “The Dragon…..Hayem. Is there any news?” Alicia: “Yes. Let’s start with understanding what we both know about the Dragon.” Alicia seemed a little nervous at first, but she let out a breath of relief as she responded.
Alicia: “Firstly, the Dragon is 50 meters (～54 yards) tall. It’s body is a bluish-white color, and in fact, close to silver in hue. There are no reports of any exterior damage to its scales anywhere.”
Igni: “No exterior damages or wounds, huh. That’s not good.” Dragons live a long time.
And with its long lifespan, it would have fought with other species and Dragons.
Against a human seeking fameーー
Against a Vampire looking for territoryーー
Against Dragons who just happened to pass by and decided it was a good day to fightーー
The Dragon would have to face all of these adversaries at one point or another.
Because of their extremely long lifespan, they would encounter more battles, and as a result, acquire more wounds over time.
That’s why knowing where a Dragon might be wounded is critical information.
That usually indicates its weakness.
Alicia: “From the information I gathered from the preliminary assault team, even if they managed to wound it, it healed all its wounds over time.” Igni: “So it can use [Healing] Magic. That’s problematic.”
Alicia: “Also, it speaks.”
Igni: “It speaks? The Dragon?” Alicia: “Yes.” Igni: “So it’s been alive for that long then….”
Although a human being would spend a single lifetime trying to master one Magic Type, with a Dragon’s long lifespan, it has the ability to master several Magic Types.
Hayem, the [Frozen Winter], is adept at using her own [Unique Original] Magic Type: [Winter]. But she must also be very adept at using the Healing [Life] Magic Type.
And if the Dragon speaks human words, that means that it is highly intelligent.
Igni: “........I see……this will be difficult.”
He has tried to find a way to identify its strength, but no matter how far he underestimates his opponent, she’s at least an [Extreme] class.
Igni: “Is there any other critical information?” Alicia: “The blizzard surrounding Hayem will make it impossible to see.”
Igni: “I can blow that away with my {Fireball} so that won’t be an issue.”
Igni nonchalantly spoke about using a Disaster-Scale Magic Spell.
Although it’s not something to be casual about, for him, it was just the beginning.
Alicia: “Lastly, it appears that Hayem’s sex is……..a female…..”
Igni: “.......huh?!”
Igni was instantly pushed back to a memory in the distant past.
<<<<>>>>
[GーGrandpa! This book is amazing!!]
It was when Lucas, who was trying to give Igni some form of an education, was reading a book of fairy tales.
[What is it? Ohhh, you like the story about the Black Knight and the Red Dragon?]
Since Igni had no habits of reading books, his grandfather started with a picture book.
And the book Lucas bought was a very famous story.
The gist of the story is, a kind-hearted Knight in Black befriends a baby Dragon, and at the end, the baby Dragon transforms into a girl, and the story ends there.
[DーDo things like this really happen?]
[Igni, that is only a fairy tale. It is not talking about a true story.]
[........oh, I see…..]
And Igni fell silent in shock.
[But well, there are still many mysteries surrounding Dragons.]
[........thーthen……….?]
[I’m just saying that there are possibilities.]
[ThーThen maybe one day, I would be able to be friends with a Dragon who turns into a girl?]
[FOOL!!]
<SLAAAAPPPPP!!!>
And Igni flew back several meters.
[HーHey! What was that for!!]
[You think you can befriend a Dragon when you can’t even befriend a girl?!]
[.........?!?!]
[It is okay to dream! But do not forget, it is only that…..a fantasy!! You must look at reality, and then dream on top of that!!]
[...............!!]
Igni chewed on Lucas’ words carefully.
[It’s true that you are free to dream whatever you like! You can do as you please! But….Igni!
Fantasies blind and cloud people’s judgment!”
[IーIt clouds your judgment…..?]
[That’s right! And this also relates to becoming Popular……!]
[Huh? Really?]
[You may have fantasies about women. That is fine. But do not forget! It will just be a fantasy in the end……! There are many men who will compare women with their fantasies and become disenchanted.]
[?!?!]
Igni flinched as he thought of how much the words applied to him.
[What’s important is that you keep looking at the reality in front of you. You must not forget this……]
<<<<>>>>
Igni: (GーGrandpa…)
Igni: (I can’t believe that fantasy might become reality soon….)
And Igni grips his fist into a tight ball as he gets excited at the prospect.
Igni: “HーHey, Alicia…]
Alicia: “What’s wrong?”
Igni: “If the Dragon can talk, do you think we can converse with it?”
Alicia: “.........converse? Well, hold on.”
Alicia reached for her bag and pulled out a stack of documents and quickly glanced through the information.
But she couldn’t find any records indicating if that has ever occurred and let out a sigh.
Alicia: “There’s……..no record of any conversations with the Dragon.”
Igni: “Then isn’t this something we could resolve by talking with it?”
If you were to speak to the Dragon and convince it to stop wrecking the country, that alone would deserve recognition as a Hero.
It would be much better to resolve this with words rather than combat that would drain both sides.
And Igni scrambled for some reasonable excuse so that he could just become friends with a hypothetical girl.
Alicia: “Hmmmm, well, I can’t imagine the Dragon engaging with us in conversation though.” Alicia spoke as she placed her chin on her hand and rested on her elbow.
Alicia: “But if no one’s done it before, maybe it’s worth trying.” And chuckled at the prospect.
And they rode the carriage for quite some time.
Igni then noticed something cold wrap around and chill his body.
His breath became a white cloud, and looking outside, the sky was covered in clouds.
He occasionally saw townspeople wearing long sleeves and several layers of clothing. It did not look like someone who was walking outside in mid-summer.
Alicia: “Igni, here. Here are some winter clothes. It’ll keep you warm.” Igni: “Thanks.”
Igni took the winter gear and put it on.
The navy blue colored material would stand out from the snow.
On the other hand, Alicia was wearing a puffy, white material that kept her warm.
It was something the Empire prepared in order to slay Hayem, and it was made for combat, and yet it was still quite stylish.
Igni: “Those clothes look really good on you.”
Alicia: “Huh? Oh, rーreally?”
And Alicia blushed at Igni’s honest feedback.
