Goran was in the lead as we ran.
Me and Eric were trying to avoid drawing any attention.
And so we had hoods pulled over our faces and wore masks.
“Don’t you have to cover your face too, Kathe?”
“Why?”
“Nothing, just wondering.”
Kathe was running behind us.
As expected from a dragon, she was very powerful even when in human form. She had no trouble keeping up.
There were guards standing watch at the gates all day long.
They saw us running and looked surprised as they called after us.
“Lord Morton. Has something happened?”
“An unofficial emergency quest, that’s what it is. Let us through.”
“Understood.”
That’s the grand master of the guild for you.
We were able to leave the city without further questioning.
“Can I go back to normal now?”
“No, not yet.”
Kathe tried to return to being a dragon as soon as we were out, so I remonstrated her.
We didn’t stop running until we were well away from the main road.
“Kathe, you can turned into a dragon now.”
“Oh, really?”
Kathe started to take off her clothes.
“Hey, why are you taking your clothes off?”
“Because they will rip! That would be a waste.”
That made sense.
Kathe then took in a deep breath and transformed into a dragon.
“What a great dragon.”
“Aye, amazing.”
Eric and Goran sounded impressed.
Yes, Kathe was an impressive dragon.
“Oh, you.”
Kathe scratched the back of her head with her claws.
She had oddly human gestures for a dragon.
“But more importantly, hurry up and get on my back.”
“Excuse me.”
I said as I got on top.
Goran and Eric also jumped up onto her back.
“Now, let’s go.”
Kathe quickly rose into the air and accelerated forward.
“I didn’t expect to ride on a dragon twice today.”
“Gahahaha! And I didn’t think I’d be giving humans a ride twice today.”
Nia was with us during the morning, and so Kathe had not been flying so fast.
Now she was going at double that speed. The wind blew against us hard. I could do nothing but hold on for dear life.
“Kathe, this is too fast!”
I decided that shouting would be of no use, so I used Telepathy magic.
“Of course, it is. I am a Wind Dragon!”
“Is that right? I thought you were a fire dragon?”
Kathe used fire breath when we first met her.
And she also talked about using it when fighting the machines.
So of course, I would assume she was a fire dragon.
“Gahahaha! I am a Wind Dragon. That is why I am fast!”
Kathe flew happily.
Eric and Goran were also gritting their teeth and clutching to her scales.
“We have arrived. Can you see it from here?”
Kathe pointed as she hovered in the air.
As she was flying so incredibly fast, it did not take long to reach our destination.
“…How far is it from the capital?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look at those mountains. Isn’t this the dragon mountain range?”
“Then it should be three days by foot? I think?”
“Yes.”
As we talked like this, I cast Night Vision magic on myself and Eric and Goran.
It was already evening, which made it hard to see far away with the naked eye.
With the help of Night Vision, I could clearly see Kathe’s palace.
There were a series of very high mountains.
And the two tallest mountains were connected by a smooth ridgeline.
And on that ridge was a building that looked like a hill or half sphere.
It was wider and taller than Eric’s palace.
Pieces of what appeared to be a door were scattered everywhere.
It was the remains of what had been a very strong iron door.
And around it walked spider-like creatures that had four legs and were made of metal.
I could see three of them.
“…Are those the magic machines?”
“Those moving things? They seem very large and powerful.”
“Yes. My fire breath did nothing.”
“But, you’re a Wind Dragon, right?”
“I am.”
“So why not use wind breath?”
Kathe fell silent for a moment.
“…Because, my wind breath is very strong.”
“Well, that’s to be expected.”
Considering how powerful her fire breath was.
As her real attribute was wind, it should be even stronger.
“It would completely wreck my poor house.”
“…Ah, that would be a lot of trouble.”
“Right?”
I understood how she felt, but it really did not seem like the time to care about such things.
“But these magic machines are really strong, right? Why don’t you just use your wind breath, and we can help you clean up afterward?”
“What?”
“Don’t act so surprised. There are many of them in there, right? We should do this quickly.”
“…But I don’t want to destroy parts of the ruin.”
“I see.’”
Well, I guess we couldn’t force her to do it.
“Alright. I will lure them out of your house. Then you can use your breath.”
“But…but…”
“Your house won’t be destroyed that way, right?”
“No, but it might blow you away.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Kathe’s fire breath had been quite strong.
And even if her wind breath was much stronger, I would be expecting it.
There were many things I could do to prepare.
“You will be fine then? You won’t die, Locke?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that weak.”
“You better not die! I would not like that!”
“I’ll be fine. I won’t die. So don’t hold back.”
“Very well.”
“Good. Now get a little closer and descend. I’ll charge in there and draw them out.”
Eric looked worried.
“Anything I can do?”
“I don’t mind being bait.”
Goran looked serious.
“I should do it, since I was hit by Kathe’s breath before.”
Eric and Goran were very strong.
But when alone, I had the highest chance of survival.
I was pretty sure that I also had the best defense ability.
“Eric and Goran. I want you two to charge in after Kathe unleashes her breath.”
“Alright.”
“You be careful.”
And with that, I jumped off of Kathe’s back.