Chapter 94

I decided to take the spices and dried vegetables from the storage room, just in case. You never know what might happen.

They’re all in jars, so they take up quite a bit of space.

Amelia’s supplies have been securely transported. As expected of the幻獣保護局 (Monster Protection Bureau). They work quickly.

“Quack quack~”

Amelia, looking cheerful as always, packed dried fruits and other items into her special bag. The bag had shrunk and could no longer be carried on her back. I would have to make a new one for her. This time, I could use sturdy leather and add frills and ribbons; she might like that. I should consult with Zara too.

While I was thinking about this, a voice came from the leather pouch hanging from my belt.

“Do you want to carry the luggage, Album-chan?”

“Is it okay?”

“It’s fine.”

Taking advantage of the offer, I asked Album to carry the luggage.

“Quack quack!”

Amelia apparently wanted to carry her own luggage on the saddle.

“Then, could you please carry the bottles?”

“Got it~”

Albus created a magic array and stored the bottles, which he had gathered in one place, into a different space.

“Thank you, Albus. I really appreciate it.”

“Well, well, it’s nothing, nothing at all!”

Though his words were casual, he was blushing and fidgeting, so he must have been flustered. Since I was grateful, I gave him emergency rations of biscuits.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes, please.”

“Thank you~”

Albus, who received the box of biscuits, hugged it with both hands and thanked me with sparkling eyes. He was so happy with the cheap biscuits. When we get to town, I thought about buying him some better sweets.

Albus opened the bag with the arabesque pattern he was carrying. It was filled with nuts. He had stored them using a storage spell. I watched to see what he would do with the furoshiki and the biscuits. He wrapped the furoshiki around the long box of biscuits and tied it tightly. Then, he said, “Yoi se!” and lifted it.

“No, let’s store the biscuits.”

“But, I want to carry them since I received them.”

“The biscuits won’t fit in the leather pouch.”

“Oh!”

It seemed he was particular about carrying things, but when he realized they wouldn’t fit in the leather pouch, he gave up and used the storage spell to put the biscuits in a different space. I wondered what he would do with the empty furoshiki. Albus glanced up at Amelia, who was wearing a bonnet. For some reason, he wrapped the furoshiki around his head. It looked... very much like a burglar. It seemed he thought Amelia’s hat was cool. I should make a hat and a bag for Albus too, if I have time.

By the way, I also prepared some anti-motion sickness measures. I wrapped dried mint leaves in a handkerchief and sniffed them. The refreshing scent made me feel better.

“Albus-chan, too!”

“Sure.”

“Wow, soothe, soothe.”

With this, the motion sickness should be fine. Probably.

Anyway, the preparations were complete.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Quack~”

“Okay.”

Albus got into the leather pouch, which I then put into my shoulder bag. I carried the bag and the pot and headed to the meeting place.

I was the last one to arrive. I joined the line.

“Alright, everyone is here.”

The dragon carriage was apparently waiting in a square behind the Monster Research Bureau. Speaking of which, the Monster Research Bureau... it sounds a bit off. I remembered the factory manager from the slime factory. If all the bureau staff are like him, hmm...

“The Monster Research Bureau... I didn’t really want to go there.”

Zara’s words made me flinch. It seemed she had been thinking the same thing.

“By the way, Zara, did you ask the earl to take care of Blanche?”

“Yes. When the expedition mission was announced, someone from the幻獣保護局 (Monster Protection Bureau) came to ask what to do, so I asked them to take care of it.”

“I see.”

It’s a convenient system. Usually, missions are decided suddenly, so I was curious about how it worked.

“We are moving to the Monster Research Bureau.”

With a salute, we began our action. The Monster Research Bureau is apparently located on the outskirts of the capital. They don’t seem to do monster research in the middle of the city, which is sensible. We moved in a carriage provided by the Monster Research Bureau. I rode on Amelia and followed behind. After about thirty minutes, we arrived at a facility surrounded by high walls. I thought it would be a more ominous place, but it had white walls and a well-maintained garden, and it was quite a nice place—though.

“Kiee, kiee”

“Gurururu”

“Hiooooo”

...Yeah. Normal monster sounds. Amelia was on alert, her feathers puffed out. Albus kept muttering that he felt cold. I wondered if he was okay. We got off the carriage at the gate, and someone from the dragon carriage team of the Monster Research Bureau came to greet us.

“Thank you for waiting.”

He looked to be in his forties, wearing an ironed white coat, a regular uncle. However, since all my previous encounters had been with weirdos, I naturally became cautious. He asked if we wanted to have some tea, but the captain declined, saying we wanted to go to the scene and solve the case as soon as possible.

“Indeed, a small but elite team.”

Small but elite. It’s all in how you say it. Well, let’s go with that.

We didn’t enter the facility but went directly to the square where the dragon carriage was.

“—And this is the artificial winged dragon.”

“Wow~”

A huge dragon with green scales and large wings on its back—this is an artificially created being. It was so big I had to look up. It was flicking its tongue, with shiny scales and wings like a ship’s sail, a long tail, and a look more like a lizard than a dragon. They apparently raise winged monsters from eggs, feeding them special food and raising them to be obedient to humans.

“It really looks like a lizard.”

Lieselotte’s reaction was mild. It’s not a fantasy dragon, after all. However, I was worried. Is it really okay? The captain, who seemed to be concerned too, asked a question.

“How long have you been conducting flight tests?”

“About twenty years. There haven’t been any accidents in the past fifteen years.”

Leaving aside the comment about accidents in the past, it’s surprising that they had a plan twenty years ago. Well, if there haven’t been any accidents in fifteen years, it should be fine.

The captain and the others got into a box-shaped vehicle. I mounted Amelia.

From the artificial dragon’s shed, people dressed like knights, leading small dragons, appeared. They were clad in full armor, holding spears in their hands. They were apparently the ones who would ride the artificial dragons and guard the dragon carriage.

“Those dragon knights are excellent warriors. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“What’s there to worry about?”

“There are monsters in the sky too.”

What!?

But I had encountered a giant eagle a few days ago. Right, there are monsters in the sky too.

“It’s okay. They will protect us.”

“Oh, yes.”

I was worried. While we were having this conversation, the artificial dragons started to flap their wings. First, the armed dragon knights. They rose gently into the air. Then the dragon carriage. It slowly floated up, and the vehicle was lifted. The angle of the vehicle was surprisingly stable. I thought it would be wobbly, but it was unexpected.

As soon as we took to the sky, I called out to Amelia and Albus.

“We’re going.”

“Quack!”

“Ah, yes...”

One person wasn’t really enthusiastic, but I ignored it and took off! Amelia took a running start, flapping her wings, and took off.

“Hiiiiiiii!”

“Ugh...”

As always, I couldn’t get used to the floating sensation during the ascent. My stomach churned. However, once we were in the open sky, the nausea subsided. Maybe it was the mint leaves. Looking down at the ground was scary, but looking up at the sky felt refreshing.

The artificial dragons were moving faster than I expected.

“Amelia, can you go faster?”

“Quack~”

It seemed easy for her. She glided smoothly through the sky. For a while, everything went smoothly without any issues.

However—

“Quack quack!”

“Huh?”

“Quack~!!”

“Oh...”

Amelia cried out. There was a monster ahead. Our luck was bad.