Chapter 20

"The world is dyed a deep red, Your Grace!"

To my right, a large red sun was setting. The clouds and the earth turned red, and so did I, Your Grace, and the dragons. Everything was bathed in red.

"I've never seen such a beautiful sunset before."

"Yes, it's beautiful. It reminds me of your hair color."

"W-Well, my hair isn't that beautiful."

"No, it is. When you activated that magic circle, your hair shone just like this... It's beautiful."

Your Grace touched my hair. I felt embarrassed and hid my face in Your Grace's coat, my heart racing. It seemed that Your Grace really liked my hair. I had heard from Chaos that "Your Grace likes fluffy little animals," so I didn't mind being touched, but it was still embarrassing!

While we were talking, the sun quickly disappeared behind the distant ridge, and the sky, which had been red, grew dim. Birds can't see well in the dark, but I wondered about the dragons. Curious, I asked Your Grace.

"Can dragons see in the dark?"

"To some extent. But we rely on our experience to fly."

"Wow, it's amazing that you can fly safely at night with practice!"

Being able to ride a dragon is rare enough, but Your Grace and the others are truly exceptional.

"I'm glad you trust us, but I can't put you in danger. Please bear with it until we reach our lodging."

Your Grace recited a short spell, and the decorations on the dragon's horns and tail began to glow faintly. The dragons in formation also started to glow, with the tips of their tails blinking.

"Oh, how cute."

"They help us confirm our positions. We're not in combat now, so safety first."

Soon, it would be a starry night. From below, this light might look like stars. Perhaps someone seeing this light might mistake it for a shooting star. A dragon shooting star... Yes, I think it's a beautiful idea.

The dragon flight was very fast and comfortable.

Your Grace used magic to block the cold air, and there was no jolting like in a carriage. Additionally, the luxurious saddle Your Grace used was so soft that my bottom didn't hurt at all.

We had left the Marshell Raid territory in the afternoon and passed through several territories. Although it was fast, we still needed breaks. We had stopped twice to rest the dragons, but the sun had set by then, and we were now hurrying to our lodging.

After the moon had risen for a while, a large city appeared on our left. It seemed to be a lively city, with many lights shining in the center, sparkling brightly.

"Is that the city?"

I leaned forward a bit to get a better look at the city of lights spread out on the ground. Your Grace's left arm was firmly around my waist, making me feel very safe.

"That's the port city of Avnil in the royal territory. Our destination is the Littlewood fortress at the border, but tonight we're heading to the fortress with the drakons..."

"Fortress?!"

When I heard "border," I became restless. Generally, borders are surrounded by forests, rivers, and mountains, where many monsters live. If I could capture a small monster... Thinking about this, I noticed that Your Grace seemed hesitant to say something. I wasn't sure about this kind of journey, but I assumed we would resupply at the fortress.

"So, Melfiela, we could stay in the city, but because of the drakons' food and reception, I think it's better to go with me to the city."

"Are there forests and rivers at the border? Will we be cooking outdoors for dinner and breakfast tomorrow?!"

Interrupting Your Grace, I asked eagerly. Your Grace looked surprised.

"Littlewood is by a river... Are you not excited about staying at the fortress?"

"Not at all. I'm actually a bit excited. It's easier to get food for the dragons."

"That's true, but the fortress only provides a place to sleep. The only food available is rations. I think it's also fine to eat and stay in the city."

"Right now, the magic fish are well-fed because it's their spawning season. And if we go into the forest, we can get fruits from magic trees, right? If the forest and river at night are dangerous, I'm fine with rations."

Stopping at the city would take time, and it would be less stressful to go straight to the lodging. We had traveled quite far south from Marshell Raid, and the forest still had a strong autumn feel. If there were monsters I had only seen in books or encyclopedias, I would definitely want to try capturing them. When it came to monsters, I often lost my sense of judgment, but the fortress was definitely more exciting than the city. With the excitement of heading to new lands, I couldn't contain my anticipation and looked up at Your Grace.

"I see, the magic fish. This season, the 'Zanas' should be around. They are pests that destroy other fish's spawning grounds, so no one will complain if we capture them."

"Zanas... Zanas... Oh, they're the magic fish in their breeding season, right?!"

Zanas are large magic fish that migrate upstream from the sea during their breeding season. They are omnivores that eat anything, using their long whiskers to channel magic to catch prey. They eat small fish, other fish's eggs, insects, and small animals, which makes them seem like a fish version of me. Despite their different appearances, I felt a strange sense of familiarity. If I could capture a Zanas, I would love to try eating it.

"You'll need to set traps to catch them, not just fish for them."

"That's a shame, but we don't have the time this time."

Our destination is the Galbreath Duke's territory, so I'll have to give up for now. There will be other opportunities, and Zanas should also inhabit the Duke's territory. My disappointment must have shown in my voice, as Your Grace gently patted my shoulder.

"Don't be so down."

"I'm sorry. I just get carried away when it comes to monsters."

"I don't mind. In fact, I get carried away with monsters too. The fortress should have traps for capturing. We can set them up tonight and check in the morning."

"Is that okay?"

"Fresh, warm food is definitely better than pre-made rations. I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow."

Your Grace was so kind, even in these moments. I was worried if he was going out of his way for me, but perhaps the Galbreath Duke's territory was more lenient about eating monsters than Marshell Raid. I recalled that Your Grace had mentioned eating monsters to survive. Curious about how they were prepared, I asked casually.

"By the way, Your Grace, you've eaten monsters you've captured, right? What kind of monster was it? How was it prepared? What did it taste like?"

"Umm... I'm not sure if you can call it cooking."

It was dark, but Your Grace's face seemed to turn pale. He moved his fingers as if unsure how to describe it, then looked at me seriously. His brows furrowed deeply, as if he had tasted something very bitter.

"Very..."

"Very?"

"Very hard."

Your Grace's muttered words made me understand the situation.

"Also, it was smelly."

"It was a carnivorous monster, then."

"Pretty much. But just cutting the meat and sprinkling salt on it and cooking it isn't really cooking. We thought it might upset our stomachs, so we cooked it well, but everyone still got sick."

They probably got sick because they ate the meat without removing the magic. When the magic was extracted from the Loyamoodler using a magic circle, Your Grace was quite impressed. Even the Galbreath knights, who hunt monsters for a living, couldn't neutralize the magic they absorbed from outside. No, perhaps because they were Galbreath knights, they only got sick. Ordinary people would probably have been bedridden.

"What kind of monster was it?"

Such formidable monsters roamed the Galbreath Duke's territory and the Elsenie Great Forest. I was curious about the type of monster Your Grace had eaten.

"The very hard one was 'Belvear.' The smelly one was 'Screemwood,' and the one that couldn't be eaten was... 'Gargantus.' That one is definitely not edible."

Recalling the terrible experience, Your Grace shivered and became somber. Belvear is a four-legged magic beast, a subspecies of Backhorn. It is much more aggressive and territorial than Backhorn, and as a carnivorous magic beast, its meat is naturally very tough. Screemwood is a magic tree that disguises itself as a dead tree, emitting a screaming sound from holes in its trunk. Its fruit looks deliciously red, but the sap that comes out when peeling the skin is extremely smelly. I had never seen or heard of Gargantus, but if Your Grace brought one, I would like to try eating it after removing the magic.

"I wonder if it would be edible if I removed the magic."

"Belvear and Screemwood might be edible with effort."

"Indeed, in Marshell Raid, the medium-sized magic beast 'Yakul' is not suitable for eating, so Gargantus might be the same."

"Gargantus is covered in burning flames and rocks. The inside was gooey, but I don't remember if I actually drank it, I was so hungry."

Your Grace told me this as he pulled the reins, starting to descend the dragon. In the direction the dragon's head was pointing, a dark forest and a large river were visible.

"At least the Zanas we can catch in the river at Littlewood's fortress looks normal and should be tasty. Melfiela, hold on to me until we land at the fortress."

"Y-Yes!"

I did as Your Grace said, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding on. My tied hair came loose, and my travel skirt flapped in the wind.

(Zanas looks thick, so a hearty cooking method might be good.)

If we catch it, I might try deep-frying it with a batter. That way, Your Grace and the knights would be satisfied. Rations are nutritious but have a mushy texture and aren't very tasty.

(If we don't catch Zanas, I'll serve my special salted meat.)

We landed quickly and were greeted by the fortress knights, who looked at me in shock.