I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon-Chapter 71

Viretta shouted toward the tiny figure of Ranken, barely visible beyond the bars.

Though small, she could see Ranken, Moslin, and Saffron standing together. The other three had also avoided being harmed by the dragon.

"Thank goodness they’re all safe—Ugh!"

The narrow crate rocked again violently.

Viretta’s body shot upwards, and she hit her head hard against the ceiling. As the crate crashed back to the ground, her backside slammed into the floor.

This had already happened three times. Iola clicked his tongue, pulled Viretta toward him, and spread his legs wide.

"Sorry, I’m going to have to do this!"

He sat Viretta down between his legs, wrapping his arms and shoulders around her.

"Ah?!"

"Stay still. You’ll get hurt."

Though the crate might open, or they might be shaken further, they risked breaking something or getting seriously hurt if they kept bumping into each other.

Iola held Viretta tightly, pulling his arms forward in a defensive posture to ensure they wouldn’t injure any limbs.

The effect was immediate. Viretta’s body was safely enclosed in Iola’s arms.

Although Iola’s back and head continued to collide with the crate, the impact wasn’t as severe as when he was alone, perhaps because of the added weight.

Hearing the sound of Iola’s head hitting the crate, Viretta took off her cape and handed it to him.

"Iola, use this to cushion the back of your head."

"Got it."

Iola folded the cape roughly and tucked it behind his head. He then pressed against the crate, and the pain in his head was greatly reduced.

"Thank you."

"Thank you, too."

After the exchange of thanks, there was a quiet lull. To make matters worse, the crate now moved steadily without shaking.

Lying slightly on her back, Viretta looked out through the bars and saw the blue sky.

They found themselves thinking about when to release the embrace. The first to speak was Viretta.

"We don’t know when it will shake again, right?"

"Yes."

Well, there's nothing to be done about it. Viretta relaxed her neck and leaned against Iola.

"Phew, you’ve been a big help."

"It’s nothing."

A conversation continued, each trying to hide the awkwardness.

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

Her heart raced. The higher they flew, the harder it became to breathe. Iola summed up his own situation with one word.

"Stepping stone effect."

This was the typical stepping stone effect. Being unfamiliar with women and now flying through the air, it was inevitable that excitement wouldn’t subside.

Born in a mercenary city and raised as a noble, Iola had little experience with women.

As a child, he had been a rare young master, and as he grew older, he wandered the battlefield as a mercenary. Since becoming an adult, he had lived abroad as a student.

He had never been in an environment close to women, nor did he have a temperament that encouraged such relationships. If Viretta hadn’t been his fiancée, he probably wouldn’t have held her so close.

In his arms, Viretta’s neck seemed to emit a strange scent.

The subtle fragrance carried by the strong wind tickled her nose, lingering longer than the scent of scorched skin.

"Viretta, you have a unique scent."

"What?! Do I smell?! Is it the smell of the crate or the dragon?!"

"No. I’ve noticed it before, so it must be your scent, Viretta."

"I washed up yesterday... Oh, you mean the scent from my perfume or clothes? Please call it fragrance, not smell!"

Viretta grumbled, almost pulling away from him, but she stopped herself, realizing she might escape his embrace.

"Your scent is unique."

"So, you mean you like it?"

"Yes. I like it."

Viretta clamped her lips shut at the directness of his words. That was quite rare for her.

She wanted to look back at Iola’s face, but she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to or not. Instead, she kept looking out at the sky.

The sky looked calm, and a cool breeze blew through. In the distance, she could see mountains and the mine. The dragon wasn’t as fast as expected, and it was a more refreshing feeling than when riding a horse.

The crate was still flying through the sky.

She didn’t understand how it was possible. Had her hidden power been awakened?

Nonetheless, flying inside the crate was an astonishing feeling. It felt like they could just soar into the sky. They were truly flying, after all.

"This is what flying feels like."

Viretta murmured, enchanted.

She didn’t understand how they were flying, and she realized they could fall at any moment, but there was no fear in her heart.

Flying.

Could there be anything more joyous and exhilarating than this?

"It’s such a freeing, blissful feeling. The idea that humans can fly... it’s not a lie after all."

Iola behind her repeated the same words. He, too, had buried any lingering worry and was savoring the joy of the moment.

"It feels like a dream."

Iola gently embraced Viretta and rested his forehead on her head.

Meanwhile, on the ground, hell had unfolded.

"AAAHHHHHH!!"

As the dragon rose after being struck by lightning, Ranken screamed in agony, his voice nearly ripping his throat.

It was such a loud scream that he couldn’t even worry about whether it would attract the dragon’s attention. His tear-filled wail filled the air.

Ranken tore at his hair, looking up at the dragon soaring into the sky.

"It’s crazy, it’s crazy, it’s crazy!!"

It was insane. Everything was insane.

The plan to hunt the dragon with maximum output lightning to rescue Viretta and Iola, the failure of that plan, and now, the dragon was flying off unharmed. It was all utterly insane.

"It’s... crazy! That dragon bastard! Viretta! Agh, Viretta!!"

The scorched dragon didn’t glance at them, flapping its wings in the air.

Since seeing Viretta’s horse running toward the mine, the stress built up and exploded.

"Did... did she survive?! Viretta, do you see her? What do we do?! Agh! Aahhh!"

Ranken, unable to control himself, had tied his horse to a nearby tree to prevent it from charging into the mine. He was spiraling into madness, pacing around or moving back and forth in frenzy.

From the moment Viretta fell into the dragon’s nest, Ranken lost control, screaming at Moslin.

But Moslin, a specialist in lightning magic, was the only one capable of using such a spell.

There was no way to rescue Viretta and Iola from the bottom of the pit.

So, he decided to proceed with his original plan in desperation.

The distance was a bit far, but there were no obstacles. He would cast the strongest lightning spell, or if the dragon noticed before it was ready, he would aim it elsewhere to startle the dragon.

Luckily, since the dragon had never seen lightning magic before, it was confused, allowing him to successfully cast it.

But the result was a total failure.

The dragon’s tough skin was barely scorched. The lightning didn’t even make it faint. The dragon, roaring a few times, flew into the sky.

"Hah, ugh, uh, cchhh."

Ranken, pale-faced, stared up at the sky, tears flowing steadily down his cheeks. The other two beside him also looked up, but their reactions were in stark contrast to Ranken’s.

"…………………"

"Heh, it’s a failure."

Saffron had a clean, expressionless face, and Moslin wore a smile like a defeated general.

"My strongest magic didn’t work. I’ll need to start from scratch with a new plan."

There was no bitterness. It was a pure loss with no tricks or luck involved.

Moslin’s lightning, which was supposed to be strong enough to kill the dragon, wasn’t enough against the dragons of the Root Mountain Range.

The distance had weakened its power, but it was still the best chance they had.

Having risked everything to cast the spell, the dragon flew up easily, not even losing a single wing.

"It’s my defeat. That huge lizard. Next time, I’ll teach you a lesson. Heh, even at my age, I’ll still get burned."

"What do we do now?! It should’ve been a one-shot kill! You should’ve killed it!! Agh! Viretta’s down there!!"

Ranken couldn’t take it anymore and lunged at Moslin, grabbing him by the collar. He knew it wasn’t Moslin’s fault, but he couldn’t keep his mind straight without grabbing onto something.

"Calm down. The nest hasn’t collapsed that much. If we’re lucky—"

"Ranken!! I’m flying!!"

Viretta and Iola were hiding beneath the nest. They might still be alive.

Moslin’s words were drowned out by Viretta’s cheerful voice from the sky.

"………………."

The three of them looked up at the sky in unison.

They could see the crate tangled with the dragon’s claws.

Ranken, never missing Viretta’s voice even in a crowded market, didn’t miss the faint glimpse of her face between the crates.