Chapter 68
"I-is this really safe? We won't get thrown off right?"
"T-traveling on a dragon's back, I wonder if it's really safe . . . "
"No problem . You can hold on many things there after all . "
Not limited to Iris, a dragon's back is rugged, so there are many places where you can hold on and sit down .
It'd get cold if we fly too high, but there should be no problem as long as Iris doesn't suddenly accelerate too fast .
"But, it must be hurt if we grip too strongly . . . . "
Alma pointed at one of the protrusion on Iris's back .
However, a dragon's crust cannot be broken by just being gripped by humans normally .
"I'll be fine, please hold on without worrying about it! If you got thrown off by some mistakes, Mathias-san would murder me . . . . "
Un . If I have to say, that should be what you're worried about instead .
Killing our mean of transportation would lead to many problems later on, so I don't really have an intention to though .
"Th- . . . then, excuse me!"
Ruli said that as she grabbed an easy-to-hold protrusion on Iris's back .
By the way, Alma already did from the beginning without worrying about it .
"So, where should I go from here?"
"To the opposite side . The distance is about 4500 kilometers . Move at a speed humans can endure and remain at less than 1000 meter high . "
"4500 kilometer, this will be quick! Well then, a speed that humans can endure is . . . "
Iris spreads its mana into its wings .
And, accelerates--
"Hold up . "
When I saw the amount of mana Iris poured, I quickly constructed a spell and shot it at its wings .
The spell I shot was a magic to stop the acceleration by disturbing the mana movement on the wings .
"Au!"
"Kyaa!"
"Uwaa!"
Iris's wings instantly lost its buoyancy, its body shook .
The two riding on Iris back and Iris herself were surprised all at once .
"W-what are you doing!"
"That's my line! How fast were you trying to accelerate just now?"
"Err, to a speed that humans can endure . . . . "
That didn't look like it no matter how .
That was a speed to make a mince meat out of the humans on its back .
. . . . No, wait .
" . . . Hey Iris . Whose standard did you use for 『a speed humans can endure』?"
"Err . . . Since Gaias-sama's would be too much after all, I based it off Loita-san's . . . . "
"Isn't that practically your full speed?"
Loita was a sword nerd who lived in the same era as the past me .
The next strongest one after me amongst humans .
Of course, the standard for 『a speed humans can endure』 would be way off .
"Why did Magic God Gaias-sama and Sword God Loita-sama's names appear there?"
"It can't be, this dragon is really the Dark Dragon Iris that appeared in the myth . . . . "
By the way, the names of gods people believe in the current world are the same as my past one and Loita's .
Whether this is a coincidence or not . . . . God only knows .
"But I have never met other humans . . . . "
. . . . Come to think of it, this dragon never interacted with other humans .
Everyone was afraid and dared not to come close to it .
"Listen here ok? A stone falls down if you throw it like this right?"
"It does . "
"This much speed is enough . To begin with, your wings would be broken if you used that much mana at your current state . Only 1/500 of the circuits are connected compared to the past you, got it?"
Iris's treatment is ultimately a temporary repair .
It's not fit for full speed flight .
"I did think it was hard to fly, so my wings were in that bad of a state . . . . I'll comply and fly slowly . . . . "
And then, Iris began to accelerate little by little .
. . . . That said, it's still overwhelmingly faster compared to horse or human .
"Yea, you should never exceed 80% of the speed of sound . At the current state of your wings, more than that is dangerous . "
"Yes!"
I'm using magic to nullify the air friction that assault us three, but Iris's body is too big, I can't apply it on it .
--Several hours later .
" . . . Not long now . Reduce your speed . "
We safely arrived at a place pinpointed from the trace .
"Um . . . . "
"What's wrong . "
"Will we be alright if we reduce our speed . I feel like we'll be detected somehow . . . . "
Iris asked me back when I told it to reduce the speed as we got closer to our destination .
"Yeah . We will be . They probably haven't found us yet . "
Just as Iris said, mana from 【Active Detection】 type of magic is being circulated in the vicinity of our destination .
It's a plain and obvious spell art without concealment or anything .
The past Iris should be able to point the exact location of the spell user, not just 『Somehow』 feel it .
As I thought, Iris's detection capability has considerably decreased because of how bad its magic circuits have become .
It's probably also the reason why Iris didn't notice my mana when we first met back then .
" . . . I can't move that agile right now, you know?"
"Well, I'll do something about that . Lend me the control of your wings . "
"I-I understand! If it's Mathias-san, I'm sure we will slip pass them without getting detected . "
The mana in the dragon's wings can be moved externally .
Normally, such an act is pointless, but the current Iris can't move its own wings that well after all .
Letting me do it should allow them to move better .
" . . . . But, was Mathi-kun the type that would do that?"
"Far from slipping through, it feels like he will happily plunge into the demons instead . . . . "
" . . . Ah . "
At Alma and Ruli's words, Iris sounded like it was going to say, "Oh no!" .