Chil Dragons were, by nature, dragons that formed swarms.
You'd never encounter them individually, and even the Mourning Specter had once engaged in a desperate battle against a massive swarm.
But the contrast between a sky packed with Chil Dragons and the townscape below was enough to make even Liliz Smart — someone well-acquainted with Monsters — think of the end of the world.
The swarm, of completely unknown size, ignored the houses and fleeing residents alike, heading straight for the inn where the Emperor's party was staying as if drawn by some invisible force.
An obviously abnormal scene.
An inn roughly a kilometer from where the Emperor's party was staying. Liliz, observing from a second-floor window, spun around and shouted at the person behind her.
"Hey, Citry! No matter how you look at it, there are way too many of them! Are you trying to get the Emperor killed?! How many times are you gonna pin this on me?!"
"Don't blame me! I only set up eleven of them, and I did that before we even went, so... you saw it too, right, sis? Besides, I don't have enough medicine to set up that many Chil Dragons..."
She was right. Liliz and the others had tracked down a Chil Dragon nest in a nearby mountain and abducted the dragons inside. Then they'd laced them with medicine.
It was all for their leader. If dragons were going to appear, they had to cooperate as friends.
And it had been only a half success.
Turning her gaze away from her sister, who was making excuses with an aggrieved look, Liliz looked toward Luke, who was — annoyingly — practicing sword swings inside the room.
"So is it Luke's fault?"
"Yep! How many should I cut down?"
"That's not it... Where did they come from? Maybe we didn't even need to catch them in the first place?"
Liliz changed posture, resting her elbow on the windowsill and gazing out at the noisy townscape.
She'd spent considerable effort tracking down and capturing the dragons, but it might have been unnecessary trouble after all.
Furrowing her brow, Lucia — standing beside Liliz and looking up at the sky — spoke in an irritable voice.
"Maybe it's retaliation for us capturing part of their swarm..."
"We completely destroyed the nest we captured them from, and Chil Dragons shouldn't have that kind of habit... I don't know."
Citry answered hesitantly, but the massive swarm of Chil Dragons was undeniably real, and on top of that, it was heading in a straight line toward where Cly was.
In the past, Monsters had always attacked Liliz and the others, so having one fly right past them was quite the unusual sight.
"I wonder if Cly's okay... Should we thin them out a bit?"
But while shooting down ones that attacked was one thing, chasing down a high-speed swarm of Chil Dragons and picking them off would be a serious hassle.
At least, too difficult for Liliz alone.
"Kilnight is there, and with Stillwater around, I think it'll be fine, but... with something this big happening, the escort mission might get canceled."
It was a prestigious assignment. There was even a chance it could lead to a boost in her certified Level.
Most of the swarm wasn't what they'd set up, but it could have been the trigger. As a rare look of hesitation crossed Liliz's face, Luke cheerfully shouted out, without a moment's deep thought as usual.
"Can't tell! We wait for Cly's decision!"
"That's all we can do, I suppose... Well, Chil Dragons aren't exactly a big deal anyway."
"...Mm."
Chil Dragons were weak, as far as dragons went. They were Monsters that attacked through sheer numbers.
If the Mourning Specter had encountered them during her travels, she would've been thrilled to see something rare — that was all they were worth.
Liliz confirmed once more the Chil Dragons filling the sky, then let out a helpless sigh.
§ What on earth was going on?
Everything had defied expectation. The man in black sat alone in his room, expression clouded.
The swarm of Chil Dragons summoned by the curse had been annihilated by Stillwater's power. That much had been predictable.
Even if they were a type of dragon, they'd be easy prey for a Level 7 Hunter. And the fact that Chil Dragons — a species with weak individual abilities — were the ones attracted made it even more one-sided.
So up to this point, everything was fine.
He was surprised the attracted species had been the rare Chil Dragons, and even more surprised that the numbers exceeded expectations, but a curse couldn't choose its targets, so there was nothing to be done. The fact that the knight order hadn't suffered a single casualty was unexpected, but that simply meant the guards' abilities had exceeded projections.
But what came after that was entirely unpredictable.
The Thousand Transformations — of all people — had recommended continuing the journey. And what's more, it had been accepted.
It made absolutely no sense. The person currently being escorted was the Emperor of a great nation. Normally, when an incident like this occurred, canceling the journey would be the obvious course of action. The knight order commander and Stillwater's judgment would naturally support that, and the man had assumed the journey would end here too.
A man certified as a Level 8 couldn't possibly fail to understand that.
But that recommendation from the Thousand Transformations had come without the slightest hesitation. Despite the dragon attack, his attitude was unchanged from before the assault.
He hadn't fought at all during the attack this time — but was that because he had supreme confidence in his own abilities, or perhaps— The plan didn't need to change. The continuation of the escort was, if anything, even more convenient for the man.
Inside the imperial capital, the Emperor's escort was airtight. Killing Radlick Atorm Zeburdia — holed up in his castle and personally possessing formidable sword skills — would be extremely difficult.
Outside the capital, with thinner guard coverage, and with a man who could use the unconventional power to summon dragons — those conditions offered real opportunities.
The plan wasn't urgent. Chipping away at Zeburdia's strength even slightly would be enough.
But it was deeply unsettling. The situation was developing entirely in the man's favor. It was practically asking to be killed.
...What are you thinking, Thousand Transformations?
He had completed all manner of difficult missions. Some had failed, and he'd nearly been killed more than once.
But it had been a long time since he'd been this shaken.
The man clutched his head and muttered quietly to maintain his composure.
Everything was the same as always. Just focus on the objective, and faithfully execute the mission — that was all he had to do.
§ § § "You weakling, what are you thinking?! We're fellow Clan members, so we should be discussing this properly!"
"Now, now, calm down."
"On top of that—! Why are you riding my horse again?! Get off!"
"Now, now..."
One night after the dragon attack, we departed the town.
Fortunately, the summit hadn't been canceled. If I hadn't been a Level 8 with influence, it surely would have been, so you could say we barely scraped by. I suppose power has its uses now and then.
Perhaps because everyone was on edge, the carriage moved a bit slower than the day before.
I clung to Clus's back, serving as rear guard.
The weather was so nice it was hard to believe what had happened yesterday. The horses were happily clip-clopping along.
It was wonderfully comfortable. See, Citry, this is how it should be.
Come to think of it, Tino had said something about white crows or whatnot — so this was probably what he meant... I'd have to have a proper talk with him next time.
The journey went smoothly. After all, there were precious few fools who would try to attack an Emperor.
Even if there were troublemakers, one look at Term would make them realize how suicidal their actions were.
Today I'd placed Term at the front.
I'd expected him to be strong, but Term exceeded all projections. The way he'd overwhelmed that swarm of Chil Dragons — he might even be stronger than Lucia.
With whatever came our way, as long as Stillwater was here, this escort request was in safe hands. I really needed to go thank the Abyssal Fire Extinguisher next time.
"The weakness of Chil Dragons is fire, you know! Are you making fun of me, you weakling?!"
"Now, now..."
"...Why are you so unmotivated, you weakling?! I'm always saying—"
Mm-hmm, that's right.
With Clus's lecture as background music, I let out a huge yawn.
I was completely relaxed after yesterday's display of Term's power.
There was nothing easier than an escort mission with a powerful guard. Was it really okay to accept such a wonderful carpet for doing this kind of work?
Today, too, the carpet was floating gently behind the horse. Without anyone riding it, it was perfectly well-behaved.
I held onto Clus's waist firmly and turned around with a carefree expression.
Then I froze.
The carpet that had been flying behind us moments ago — was gone. Not a trace of it anywhere I could see.
I frantically squeezed Clus's waist.
"Clu— Clus, stop! Stop for a second!"
"Wha— What is it, you weakling?!"
Clus panicked and pulled the horse to a halt.
I laboriously dismounted and strained my eyes.
The carpet I had just obtained was gone! Gone without a trace! And I hadn't even gotten a proper ride on it yet!
The carpet was a Treasure Weapon. No matter how unruly it was, it wouldn't run away from me. That was what Treasure Weapons were.
If that was the case, there was only one possible explanation.
It must have... run out of charge.
I'd had the Barrier Ring charged, but I'd been so busy that I'd forgotten to have the carpet charged too.
The carriage was pulling further and further ahead, leaving us behind. Perhaps because we'd been serving as rear guard, they hadn't noticed we'd stopped.
For a little while... just a little while, the escort would be fine without us. I was non-combat personnel anyway, and the strongest fighter, Term, was still with them.
I made my decision on the spot.
"Clus, we're going back."
"?! Huh?! What are you talking about?! What about the escort?!"
I had to find the carpet! It was an important carpet! Not much time had passed since I'd last confirmed it was there, so it couldn't have fallen too far.
I would find it. I absolutely had to find it! It would be fine — I'd find it and come right back! The carriage was moving slowly today, so we could catch up even from behind!
If I lost the carpet, what would even be the point of taking this escort job?!
At my unprecedented display of desperation, Clus's eyes went wide.