151 - - start of a second attempt

Two days later, Thor and his friends, after making various preparations and completing some small transactions, headed for the flying dragon boat yard owned by the A-rank party "Platinum Flame".

The carriage, with Garud serving as its driver, arrives at its destination in less than ten minutes.

"See you in five days."

"Yeah, take care."

After a short greeting, Garudo snapped his whip and returned.

Now that Saralisa has been forced to join Bettina and the others in their search for the rocky fortress of the beast demons, it seems that she is busy taking them to and from the fort.

She helps Yuril and Sora to the stables with Moe attached to her head.

It was early in the morning, but it seemed that the other participants had already gathered.

"Hello again, my friend!"

Stratchia, clad in tight-fitting black scale armor, greets me with a dazzling display of white teeth.

Her tall, slender figure, standing out in the morning sunlight, attracts the eye.

Moo reacts immediately, slipping down Thor's body to the ground and rushing straight to the black-armored swordsman.

The child looks up at the red-haired beauty and squeals with delight.　

"Ni-chan, do you happen to like rhinoceros beetles?"

"Well, here comes the little lady. Hmmm... Rabbit worms?　I don't know much about it, but what is it like?"

"Black and round, and then, a pinprick!"

"Well, this is an exciting and formidable foe. I'd like to have a go at him."

"Moo's a very strong man. He won't be overturned so easily."

Straccia looks at Moe with amusement as he taps him on the thigh with a familiar smack.

He interrupts and introduces the other two, who are likely to continue talking endlessly about their misunderstandings if left alone.

"Sola, we've met before, haven't we?"

Yes, it's nice to meet you today.

This is Mr. Euril. Please don't be rude.

"You are beautiful ladies, brother. My name is Straccia. Please make my acquaintance.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Straccia. ....... I don't know what to say about your name. "Straccia, the ice-melter."

As a servant of the ice god Stragin, it is probably not a very favorable name for me.

The prince of the desert country lifted the corners of his lips silently at Yuril's suggestion.

The reason I invited Stratchia for this search was because of her performance as a vanguard.

Basically, the ants come in numbers.

Therefore, we decided that the role of a shield to draw them forward was inevitable.

There was another reason as well. Sacco had told us to make sure that one of the Red Tails would accompany us when we conquered the ant nest.

Although Ninessa's firepower was also a great asset, this time Yuril would be with us, so by a process of elimination, a swordsman was chosen.

He also called out to one more person today.

"Good morning, everyone.

The Soukei girl, her cocky tone completely gone, bowed her head gracefully to Thor.

She too had black hair that shimmered blue in the sunlight and a fine-looking face.

Combined with her slender body, she is quite good-looking.

Her eyelids are slightly swollen, probably due to the fact that she could not hold back her tears of regret after the disappointment of the previous search.

Rummella looked up, looked slightly at Yuril and Sora behind her, and then looked at Moe at her feet with a puzzled look on her face.

"Why is there a child here? ....... Lost?"

"Another fool who underestimates Moe. Tei!"

"Ow!　What are you doing, you little shit!

"Oh, Moo, you can't do this!"

Rummella, who was suddenly slapped on the buttocks from her clothes, shouted out in surprise.

Moe, the one who had been slapped, also let out a comment with a twinkle in his eye.

Your buttocks are as soft as white bread!

"Oh, no, don't rub it!"

"You look so soft and delicious!"

"I care about that. Don't say it!"

Thor nodded without saying a word as the two became fast friends.

I asked Ram Merulla to accompany me for three main reasons.

The first is that she can cure all the anomalies that occur when moving from one level to another.

If Thor, who does not have , were to do the same, he would use up nearly half of the available number of times he can use .

In addition, the ability to compensate for the strength of the user while on the move and to deal with injuries in case of emergency are also not to be overlooked.

Second, you don't need a map.

We cannot afford to leave out a guide who knows the details of the complex structure of the ant's nest.

Moreover, a complete memory of the terrain was especially important for the plan that Thor had in mind for this trip.

And thirdly...

Ram Merulla, who had given up trying to deal with Moe properly, came up to Thor and put his mouth to his ear to keep his voice down.

"Is it really ...... true what you said the other day?　You even brought a child this young."

Yeah, I'm on it. Besides, Moe is essential to this search."

"Is that so?　I can't believe it. ......"

Rummella, holding Moe's head with her arms outstretched, muttered back, her mouth unable to hide her anxiety.

Despite the girl's reaction, Straccia, who looked as if she couldn't wait any longer, came up to her and offered her something.

"Take this before you leave, brother."

Straccia handed me a sword machete with a blade that stretched from my fingertips to my elbows.

The tip of the blade was wide and tapered, with a prominent curve in the middle.

When pulled out of the sheath and swung, the tip of the blade moved quite quickly because the center of gravity was in front of the blade.

But the most remarkable thing was that the blade was so black that it seemed to absorb even the sunlight.

"Wow, it's so black!"

"It looks like an unusual material. It doesn't seem to be black steel ......"

"These are the fangs of a rotting dragon. Are they good?　I know it's expensive."

I apologize for the other day and thank you for my armor. I'd appreciate it if you'd use it."

I see. Then be my guest.

The apology for the other day was for the shattering of the tip of Thor's favorite sword when he confronted the Black Queen Ant to buy time.

And the thanks for the armor was for mending Stratchia's spilled sword and torn armor, now that the was available again.

Thor accepted the sword and machete and hung them on his waistband.

When the group arrived at the stables, the doors had just been opened.

A huge flying dragon quietly emerges from behind the wide-opened doors.

The three of us who were seeing it up close for the first time let out a collective gasp at the sight of its majestic form.

"What's this, Tor-chan!"

"Wow!　It really is a dragon!"

"I was surprised. It's the first time for me to ride a boat, too, so I'm very nervous."

Thor nodded a little proudly to Yuril, who was holding his hand gently.