I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon-Chapter 68

It felt like dozens of insects were crawling all over her skin.

The huge body of the dragon, covered in scales, moved above her head, smooth and heavy.

It felt terrifying and destructive, as if the entire mansion was moving.

"This is..."

This is a dragon.

A beast that strikes fear into people the moment it flaps its wings.

"This...?"

Is this really something I can hunt? How?

One of its paws is as big as a small room.

If a huge paw descended above her head, she’d faint instantly.

It wasn

’t even showing its fangs, and it was just big—but the pressure it created simply from its size was enough to make her feel crushed.

The dragon, slowly flying overhead, completely overshadowed the five of them.

"Dragon..."

Even Iola, normally loud and confident, was staring up at the dragon with a statuesque, pale face.

Just staying seated on the horse seemed like a miracle, considering how shaken his heart must have been.

It was a feat not to scream when a massive dragon appeared overhead, but perhaps if he had seen the claws or teeth, much bigger than his own body, he would have screamed.

Viretta couldn’t close her mouth, gasping for air.

What the others had said was true. Iola’s father, who had refused to hunt dragons, was no coward.

A mercenary who had won battles against ten men couldn’t guarantee a victory against a dragon.

A dragon was a creature beyond human reach, the strongest living being on Earth.

Even if a few people shouted in bravado that they could hunt it, they would never stand a chance.

The dragon still hadn’t passed over them. It wasn’t that it was flying slowly—it was that time felt like it was passing in slow motion, as though one second lasted ten minutes.

Viretta didn’t know much about dragons, but it seemed no one else did either.

The fact that no one seriously tried to stop them from going after the dragon meant that none of them truly understood what a dragon was.

Everyone only knew dragons as an abstract fear.

It was a creature so enormous that even a single stab of a spear would likely be useless.

Whether the dragon was exceptionally large compared to others or if large creatures naturally overwhelm when seen in person, Viretta didn’t know. But one thing was clear—they had never seen a beast this massive before.

Not only Viretta, but everyone was speechless in that moment.

An animalistic and instinctive fear settled heavily on their chests.

‘No.’

The feeling of despair, or the realization that their plans would fail, didn’t even arise.

All she could think about was that they had to run right then and there in order to survive.

Even Moslin, who had rolled through battles, and Iola, who seemed fearless, were equally terrified.

And this fear was shared by the horses as well.

Heeheeheeheeing!

The horses, which had been still, suddenly reared up in panic.

The ones that had been silent for three seconds, pressed down by the dragon’s roar, now broke into frantic, fearful movements. The horses, as though in a panic attack, lifted their front hooves high.

With the exception of the horse Moslin had quickly paralyzed with a jolt of current, the other four horses were gripped by terror.

"Uh, uh."

"Viretta!"

The four horses bolted in all directions. Ranken’s horse ran away from the dragon’s direction, Saffron’s horse headed towards the woods where it could hide, and Iola’s horse stood there, stamping its feet like a fool.

And... Viretta’s horse turned toward the mine, stumbling as it lost its footing on the steep slope.

"-?!"

"Viretta!"

The stairs cut into the slope to mine the minerals.

Viretta’s horse, losing its footing, galloped wildly down the steep slope toward the deepest part of the mine—the dragon’s nest.

"Virettaaaa!!"

On a slope as steep as that, it couldn’t stop.

Once the horse had lost its footing, it had no choice but to leap further down to avoid falling.

The horse didn’t stop and raced toward the bottom of the mine, where the dragon’s nest was located.

The wind howled, and Viretta’s hair and cape whipped wildly behind her.

The only thing fortunate about this terrifying plunge toward a bottomless abyss was that Viretta hadn’t lost consciousness.

At the moment the horse charged toward the mine’s bottom, the clarity of her mind surged to the forefront, overcoming the instinctive fear.

The immediate situation was far more urgent than any vague fear of the dragon.

As the horse slid down half the slope, Viretta seemed to realize the danger, and its running method shifted into something more stable.

Without Viretta pulling the reins, the horse leaped over the treacherous terrain, showing off its impressive skill.

Viretta lowered her posture to stay as close to the horse’s back as possible, making sure not to pull the reins unnecessarily so as not to disturb the horse.

The two of them, a single rider and horse, worked in perfect harmony to navigate the crisis. The only problem was that their final destination was the dragon’s nest, towering above them.

Viretta, landing safely at the bottom of the mine, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

The race, which had felt like it lasted an eternity, finally ended after 1 minute and 5 seconds, and she and the horse had survived.

If the dragon landed in its nest, they would likely die, so it was a very short-lived victory.

"Hah, heh, 1st place..."

Even in the midst of this, Viretta’s tendency to maintain humor never wavered.

A liquid, unclear whether sweat or tears, shimmered at the corners of her eyes. Wiping it away, she held her breath as though it might kill her, when she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

A voice that shouldn’t be heard at this moment.

"I... came second."

Iola, catching his breath, looked up at the dragon’s nest.

Viretta’s mind went blank at the impossible sight.

"Why are you here, Iola...?"

The last time she had checked, her dumb horse had bolted toward the open mine.

The other horses had wisely fled toward safer areas, away from the dragon’s nest.

But the fact that Iola was now here, beside her, after running down the steep slope was completely absurd.

"You were running, so I couldn’t leave you behind."

Iola, drenched in sweat from running down the dangerous slope, smiled brightly.

It wasn’t the time for it, and Viretta nearly had a heart attack.

The bottom of the mine. The death trap that would require immense effort to climb back up without the miners’ help.

Right in front of the dragon’s nest, capable of easily crushing and devouring a human.

What a mad thing to do.

No one had ever done something like this before.

Well, maybe they hadn’t ever faced such danger before.

In any case, no one had ever risked their life so casually for her.

"To do something so, so dangerous... for someone like me..."

"Someone like you? You’re my fiancée. I can’t just leave my fiancée unprotected."

Iola smiled brightly and jumped off his horse. Viretta, relying on his extended hand, carefully dismounted as well.

The horses were uneasy, their tails twitching anxiously, as the dragon circled above them. They could bolt at any moment.

"I should have realized the horse might be scared of the dragon."

"It’s no problem. I picked a foolish horse, after all. Anyway... thank you, Iola."

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Viretta, still holding Iola’s hand, hesitated for a moment before firmly gripping it.

She pulled him closer, making sure their hands didn’t separate.

Iola didn’t pull away, instead taking two steps toward her willingly.

Viretta’s mind was as clear as it had ever been. Despite the dragon circling overhead, all the terror that had filled her was now gone.

Iola’s devoted actions had completely numbed her mind.

Still holding his hand with the other, Viretta looked up at him.

"I... I’ll catch the dragon!"

In response to the greatest act of devotion in her life, Viretta’s choice was to ‘return the favor.’

Her logic, a miraculous chain: "I’m so grateful to Iola → I’ll do something he likes → Let’s hunt the dragon!"

"We’ll definitely catch the dragon! I’ll risk my life to catch it!"

It was a perfect moment for a declaration of love or a promise to repay the favor, but Viretta’s confession was anything but sweet.

"If we survive here, then we’ll do it."

At that very moment, the dragon descended onto its nest.