Chapter 168

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Editor: Anna

Proofreader: Xemul

“I’M SO SORRY!!”

“For how long are you gonna apologize?! Just use the thing already!”

‘The thing’ referred to the Limit Breakthrough Craft Circle, kept within the Adams household mansion.

The first time I had seen it, I was quite surprised by how it was just right there; Polco had said that he wouldn’t mind me using it as often as I pleased.

These people sure had some unexpected possessions… One of the traits of being an aristocrat, I suppose.

Level-up fanfares were usually delightful, but under the urgent circ.u.mstances now, I found them to be annoying.

“Mine is done, sir!”

“All right!”

NAME: ASLEY

TITLES: The Eternal Fool, The Polarizing, Hermit Candidate, Great Mage, High-class Alchemist, Staff Grandmaster, Six Archmages (Tentative), Honored Teacher, Rank S, Top Student, Papa, No Guts, SS Slayer, Guardian Mage (Tentative), The Strong, The Swift, Below Familiar, Ancient Slayer, Devil King (Tentative), Mad, Forbidding Breacher.

LV: 141

HP: 7,150

MP: 82,190

EXP: 33,194,500

SPECIAL SKILLS: Attack Magic (Skilled)Support Magic (Skilled)Recovery Magic (Skilled)Purification (Skilled)Fortify StrengthFortify ResilienceTempestLight BodyFortify Mind

NAME: POCHI

TITLES: Advanced Familiar, The Powerful, Avian, Mage, One Who Requires Earplugs, Godparent, Sweet Tooth, The One Raised by the Fool, Wind Deity, The Strong, Ancient Slayer, Sweets (Tentative), Violet Phoenix

LV: 150

HP: 24,084

MP: 9,106

EXP: 46,022,409

SPECIAL SKILLS:Breath Attack (Zenith)Air ClawGigantificationBlinding SpeedFortify StrengthFlightLight BodyFortify ResilienceAttack Magic (Intermediate)Support Magic (Intermediate)Recovery Magic (Intermediate)Arcane DrainFortify Mind

…I’m seeing a few new titles; couldn’t quite tell what they were, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

We rushed outside; the guards had gathered around Guile and were now listening to his instructions.

“You find out anything, Poer?!”

“Yes; I think it’s likely that Lady Ferris and Master Bright have gone to the Blazing Dragons’ mountain!”

Those last few words froze the brawny guards over, if only briefly. Although they were relatively low in this time period, these were warriors with levels over a hundred.

Yes, there was no way they didn’t know how scary the Blazing Dragons were. Especially for someone without the ability to use magic; once one was in the sky, it was impossible to hit.

And the frightening thing above all else was their ferocity. To be specific, what the guards feared was where that ferocity would end up being directed at. Even if we were able to get Bright and Ferris out, entering the Dragons’ territory was equal to declaring an attack.

Even if we successfully escaped with Bright and Ferris, all of the Dragons would still come after us.

Even if we were to hide from those Dragons with Bright and Ferris, there were still other humans living in the region.

And that was… Kugg Village.

“Inform the villagers! Lead them to hide in the forest to the east”

“”Yes, sir!””

“Kadaff and Linnets, get the mansion’s people there, then protect this place!”

“”Yes, sir!””

Guile, being the first to think of a plan, ordered his fellow guards to act quickly.

“Poer! Let’s go!”

“Huh?! You’re going with us, Guile?!”

“Of course!”

“All right, then! Get on!”

Pochi normally would be absolutely against giving a ride to two people at once, but she permitted it this time, having considered this at least partially her fault.

Guile promptly hopped on, then shouted,

“Full speed ahead, you bastards!”

“”OOOHHH!!””

“All Up: Count 3 & Remote Control!”

Pochi readied her feet, then howled,

“AWOOOOO!!”

It took just a second for Pochi to reach the speed of sound; Guile was knocked out cold.

We rushed to the Blazing Dragons’ mountain; all the way, I grabbed Guile by his leg, protecting him from being blown away by the wind.

Hang in there, bean man!

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“…What should we do with him, sir?”

“What do you mean, what should we do? Going at that speed, you’re – wait, no time for that. Let’s just… leave him here. Yeah. We can just pick him up on the way back.”

“All right, then. Also, is the Telepathic Call not going through, sir?”

“I knew it wouldn’t work with a monster nest this close by.”

Yeah, I hadn’t noted this before, but the Telepathic Call was not usable near groups of monsters.

It had been the case back when I had used it to call Ryan that one time, too.

But, well… Ryan being on the verge of death was a factor as well.

“I didn’t sense those two on the way here, so they must still be ahead of us…”

“Yeah, and I can already see the Blazing Dragons clearly. They could attack at any moment if we go further…”

After I swallowed a lump in my throat, Pochi and I turned to look at each other, and the nodded.

“We’ll walk from here. Be discreet… but faster than Bright and Ferris.”

“Yes. Well, go on ahead, Master!”

“No, you’re the one leading the way here!”

“Why me?!”

“…L-ladies first!”

“Oh, my! Thank you, but no, thank you! Go ahead, sir!”

Damn it, Pochi at this point is stronger than me; logically, SHE should be the one in front…

So why must I lead the… hmm?

Why’s she jumping on my back?

Oh? Her front paws are clinging onto my shoulders-

“-Okay, fine, I’ll lead, but why in the blazes do I have to carry you around as well?!”

“I’m SCARED! You have a problem with that?!”

“You know what? You’re too damn honest this time, so I won’t say anything, stupid dog!”

“Go, go, go!”

“Then stop kicking my ass, damn it!”

Why am I being ordered around by my Familiar…? Seriously, I don’t get it.

Pochi, riding on my back, kept kicking my buttocks while muttering ‘Blazing Dragon scary’ over and over.

I advanced up the mountain, hiding behind the shades of boulders.

Discreetly… Discreetly…

Each time I saw the Blazing Dragon flying over the mountain, I forced myself to stop my progress.

If they were to see me, I planned to run in a different direction from the village. Then there would be no harm done to the villagers… hopefully.

But then the boy Bright and Miss Ferris would still be in danger.

Discreetly… Discreetly…

“Ah, what’s for breakfast tomorrow, sir?”

“……”

Pochi, riding on my back, kept kicking my buttocks while muttering ‘breakfast’ over and over.

She’s not scared anymore, is she?

After a while, Pochi – still on my back – started whispering something to me.

Turning to look at her, I saw that her ears were pointing up.

It seemed that her sense of hearing hadn’t worsened much. Could this be a special characteristic of the Avian archetype…?

“What is it, Pochi?”

“A voice from over there…”

Cautiously, I advanced in the direction Pochi was pointing.

Both of us kept our voices low as Pochi navigated.

Eventually, I saw footprints – ones out of place for a mountainous region.

It seemed that they had scr.a.p.ed along the earth, their direction suggested that they had subsequently fallen off a little cliff.

“Did they… slip off from here?”

“Looks like it, sir.”

I checked the foothold below and slowly made my way down.

And then… aha, found them!

I landed silently on a boulder; seen nearby was Bright, standing up, and Ferris, lying on the ground.

First things first, I looked to confirm how Ferris was doing.

“Instructor Poer-“

Getting a surprising reaction from Bright, I signaled him to be quiet; he held his hands over his mouth and nodded.

Young Ferris was unconscious.

From the impact upon falling from above, most likely, though she did look perfectly fine otherwise.

…Hmm, it looked like Bright had already used some recovery spells on her.

Her clothing was a little torn, but she didn’t suffer any injuries. It seemed that Bright had a good grasp of their situation.

Kid must’ve been forced by Ferris to come along; the girl probably would drive him nuts otherwise.

Poor guy…

“All right, we haven’t been detected yet. Let’s go get Guile and return to the village.”

“”Yes, sir.””

I carried Ferris on my left arm, Bright on my right, and some random stupid dog on my back… and started our descent down the mountain.

Damn it, Pochi! You were supposed to have gotten off my back by now!

She’s in for some good punishment later. Young Ferris and Bright, too, of course.

Nothing happened on our way down.

By the time Pochi’s mutterings had changed to ‘night snack, night snack,’ we managed to get back to Guile.

He was still unconscious – at first, I had thought he was a wild giant fava bean.

At the same time, I sensed something.

A flickering sensation – of arcane energy – coming from behind me.

I turned around and saw… a woman, astride a Torrent Dragon.

“Chiquiata…!”

For a brief moment, Chiquiata glanced in our direction and smirked at us.

At the same time, I felt arcane energy gathering inside the Cobalt Dragon’s mouth.

For a second there, I didn’t know what to expect. That was particularly because neither Chiquiata nor the Cobalt Dragon had any hostile intent.

The Dragon opened its mouth wide… and the pointed not at us, but the mountain’s summit.

By the time I realized what it was going for, it was too late.

“No no no-!”

“GAAAARRRR!!”

A zenith-level breath attack was unleashed at the Blazing Dragon’s nest.

A gigantic stream of blue flame hit the summit… prompting at least two hundred thunderous roars to reach our ears, all at once.

(Anna: Welp. Ganbatte, Asley!)

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