CH 27

[I was Taught How to Ride a Wyvern]

“Good morning- EH!? Noelia!? Your face looks terrible. What’s with the dark circles under your eyes!?”

When I was cleaning up my sleeping bag, I heard a scream from Gawain who entered the main building first.

At Gawain’s panicking voice, I thought something happened to Noelia, who was in the main building, so I threw my sleeping bag and rushed in.

“Noelia, what happened?”

When I went inside, there was Noelia with a huge dark circles under her eyes.

“Frick-sama!? …I-it’s nothing. I just stayed up late to wrote a letter to send to the Magic Research Institute.”

When she saw me, Noelia panicked and hid her face with her hands.

I only saw it briefly, and it seems that the dark circles under her eyes are pretty distinct.

When it comes to magic, Noelia was an enthusiastic girl and often forgot time.

“I see, but I think it’s better for you to get a proper sleep. Although magic research is a job given by the Kingdom, lack of sleep is bad for your body after all.”

Noelia, who covered her, trembled at my words.

She’s trembling? Eh? Perhaps my words were a bit harsh…

“!? Thank you for your concern. I will be careful from now on. I have already prepared the breakfast, so I’ll go get some sleep now.”

“Y-yeah. You should do that.”

“Then, I can carry you in my hug――”

Gawain meaninglessly appealed his muscles.

“I’m not a child, so I’m fine.”

Noelia who was unsteady on her feet and flatly refused Gawain’s offer, left for the room with the bed.

“Frick, don’t you think Noelia’s attitude toward me was cold? She wasn’t that kind of girl in the past though.”

I think that’s because you always cared to appeal your muscles and to avoid skinship with you as much as possible so as to not get injured.

However, I felt that Gawain was likely to be shocked if I told him that, so I decided to be vague as much as possible.

“Noelia is already an adult woman after all. She might feel embarrassed to people who knows her childhood.”

“I don’t know because I’ve never had a child but, is it like that?”

“Neither have I, but I think that’s how it is.”

“I see, then it can’t be helped. Well then today, after we done eating the meals, we’ll go hunting monsters to get you used to the Body Strengthening magic. In addition, we’ll also gather materials for your sword.”

Gawain said that, then he took a seat and started to eat the large amount of breakfast dishes that Noelia made.

“How far we’ll go to subjugate the monsters?”

“We’ll enter the Demon Forest. If it’s from here, we can make it back in a day trip. There are many materials that I lack to make a sword that suits you.

We’re going into the Demon Forest huh…

Although we would enter from the opposite side to the one I entered together with Lloyd and co, I’m sure that strong monsters also wandered there.

However, it is a good opportunity to see how much my swordsmanship would improve by using Body Strengthening magic.

“Okay. If we will go to the Demon Forest, then we’ll have to finish our meals quickly and get ready.”

I also sat down on the seat, reached out for the prepared breakfast, hurriedly ate, then quickly finished the preparation for going to hunt.

Because he said we were going to explore the Demon Forest, I thought we would walk to the forest, but――

“I’m also getting old after all. I think I should take it easy. So, you can see the Wyvern over there, right?”

Gawain, who was carrying a large bag for storing the materials and was walking in front of me, suddenly picked up a fist-sized stone at his feet.

I get a bad feeling about this.

Although I moved my hand to stop him, I couldn’t make it in time, and the fist-sized stone was thrown from Gawain’s hand toward the Wyvern at a tremendous speed.

“What are you doing!? You’ll make the Wyvern come here!”

“That would save us some time. Hold this.”

Gawain gave his bag to me, and ran toward the Wyvern that was heading this way with only a thick straw rope in his hand.

As always, he does something reckless.

However, since there is only one enemy, he should be able to handle.

I put the bag on the ground, and prepare to shoot magic to support him.

“I’ll support you.”

“No need, this simple task isn’t even enough for a warm up. If you live as an adventurer, it’s better for you to be able to use a Wyvern instead of your feet.”

Gawain, who refused my support, dodge the attack of the Wyvern who was diving down furiously, and made it hold the thick straw rope in its wide-open beak.

Then, pulling the rope that was held in the Wyvern’s mouth with both hands, he rode on the back of the Wyvern.

“It’s roughly like this. After that, do this―”

Gawain, who got on the back of the Wyvern, kicks it’s back with his foot.

The Wyvern continued to make sharp turns and dives in order to shake off Gawain, but he continued to kick it’s back without being shaken off.

Eventually, the Wyvern let out a scream-like voice, and stopped making sharp turns and dives, and began to follow Gawain’s instructions.

“That’s how it is, so Frick can also try it using the straw rope that was left in the bag. If you use these guys instead of your feet, you can also move around easily. But don’t get off inside a city, okay. Because they would mistake it as a monster’s attack and fire arrow at you.”

I thought there’s no way, but was the reason why there were arrows sticking to the wings of the Wyvern from yesterday was because he flew until Youg Hannotes and was mistaken as monster’s attack?

Perhaps, Gawain set up his workshop at Yasuba’s hunting ground because he made various troubles and couldn’t live in Youg Hannotes?

It’s possible… It’s just been two days since we met, and various things already happened, so that possibility is very high.

I watched Gawain who was riding the Wyvern and seems to be in a good mood, and reached such a conclusion.

Even so, traveling with Wyvern like this is much faster than walking.

It is a great way to shorten the travel time.

Although I couldn’t get down in the city, it seemed that I could save time, magic power and stamina rather than walking carefully in the Demon Forest.

“I understand. I’ll try.”

I picked up a fist-sized stone at my feet, and activated Quickness and Strength.

Then I throw the fist-sized stone to another Wyvern who was circling around the sky searching for prey.

The stone hit it right on the mark, and the Wyvern, who noticed my existence, raised a threatening voice and dived down.

I hold the straw rope in both hands, and carefully watch the movement of the Wyvern who was coming down.

It’s figure gradually gets bigger…bigger…BIGGER!?

Isn’t it too big?

“Not bad. To think that you would challenge that guy who even I gave up on because I thought it was too big. As expected of Frick. The man who I allowed to have a skinship with me.”

“Eh!?”

The huge Wyvern instantly descended right in front of me with a ferocious look on its face.

There was no time to hesitate.

Now!

Avoiding its sharp beak, and taking the opportunity when its mouth opened wide, I made the thick straw rope caught at the end of the Wyvern’s beak.

“OK, I can do this!”

I firmly grasped the straw rope, turned around and jumped on the back of the huge Wyvern.

“Wawawa-! I’m being shaken off!”

“Persist. If you’re shaken off, you’ll be pecked by its sharp beak in the air. If that happens, it’ll hurt considerably.”

That means, it’ll hurt considerably because I’ll be severely wounded, right?

I wanted say that to Gawain, but I was doing my best to not get shaken off.

“Damn it, listen to me!”

Following Gawain, I pull the straw rope held in its mouth to the limit, and kick the Wyvern’s back strongly.

However, contrary to my intention, the Wyvern continued to make sharp turns and steep dives to shake me off.

It’s useless, it didn’t listen to me at all.

How can I make it listen to me…?

While I desperately clinging so that I wouldn’t get shaken off by the Wyvern, I thought about how to make it obedient.

Would it listen to what I said if I numb it with magic?

It wouldn’t open up to me just by kicking it, and if I was shaken more than this, I will fall.

I have to try it.

I decided to use the attack magic of lightning that I learned from Noelia to paralyze the Wyvern who doesn’t listen to me.

“Become a small lightning and manifest from my own hands. 《Electric Shock》”

Seeing the chance when it just turned, I put one hand on the Wyvern’s back.

Purple light was emitted from my hand, and the electrocuted Wyvern screamed loudly.

However, it seems that it hasn’t given up resistance yet and starts to rise again and tries to shake me off.

“Then, one more shot. Become a small lightning and manifest from my own hands. Electric Shock.”

When the second Electric Shock entered the Wyvern, it screamed even more loudly than it did before, and it stopped its sudden rise and began to fly towards where the rope was pulled.

“Huu, it finally obeys me, huh.”

“Ohh, it looks like you managed to subdue the Wyvern. These guys are obedient to the people who take their back and submitted to. If you take care of them properly, you’ll be able to call them with a whistle. They are a bunch of very useful guys who you can use as means of transportation and emergency ration.”

Is that so…

But Gawain would ate that Wyvern…?

Now that he said it like that…I don’t think I’ll be able to eat it.

I felt a little bit of pity for the Wyvern who hold a straw rope in its mouth instead of a rein.

It’s fine.

I probably won’t eat you.

“Now then, we’ve got the means for transportation, so let’s rush to our destination.”

“Yes, please take the lead.”

With the Wyverns we got, we flew straight toward the Demon Forest.