Manowa Chapter 237

That day, a huge surge of magical power that could even be detected in Hyvern's capital city Deer South covered Mt. Konron. That excessively large amount of magical power frightened the animals in the whole region, but it wasn't a state of emergency.

This was more like the usual state of affairs finally being revived. In other words, the great barrier that protected East Dragon Village Zegan was reborn.

The Great Dragon Palace in the center was the focus, and the four cardinal direction Seal Shrines demarcated the range of the Mist Barrier. The mist was generated by absorbing the mana of the local Naga Line. Kazane and the others were watching that situation from the front hall of the Great Dragon Palace. They were told the spectacle would basically be just gradually watching the sky become slightly green, but it was certainly a sight worth seeing.

「Ooh, a superb view, isn't it? A superb view, isn't it?」

Kazane exclaimed in admiration as she watched the surrounding mountains become covered with fog. And it was the same for her other companions.

「How huge is the barrier's range?」

「Honestly, it's ridiculous.」

Even Jinrai and Louise, who had been on many adventures, had never seen such a large barrier. But Kazane felt deja vu at the sight.

(Ah, I see. I've seen this before.)

As a matter of fact, she had heard from Ao, but it seemed this Mist Barrier was the so-called Boss Room itself.

In other words, this Mist Barrier was a practical application of the battle s.p.a.ce that Naga as a boss character from Zexiaharts could create. In the game, it was a battle s.p.a.ce for fighting Naga and his subordinate monsters that couldn't be left once entered. And the four cardinal direction Seal Shrines were like target points that indicated the battle range.

(Well, in the end it's a barrier originating from Husband, isn't it? Has Tatsuo inherited that?)

Tatsuo tilted his head when Kazane looked at him.

『Is something the matter, Mother?』

「Yeah. It will soon be time to say goodbye to this village for the meantime. Tatsuo should watch this scene closely. This is the original form of Tatsuo's birthplace, and it's the world that Husband is protecting.」

『Yes, Mother. Father is great.』

Tatuso answered with a kuwaa, and Kazane said「That's right」as she stroked Tatsuo.

So Kazane said, but that didn't mean Kazane had no reluctance to leave her husband. Forgetting about the original world and living here with her husband and Tatsuo wouldn't be bad. That was also an option.

But Kazane shook off the thought. She might do that one of these days. But not now. She hadn't savored this world to the end yet. She also hadn't abandoned her dream of returning to the original world. Besides, there was also Tatsuo's matter. Because of his rarity, it would probably be difficult for Tatsuo to leave the village once he had grown. In that case, she wanted to show him the outside world now. She also wanted him to personally experience how wide the world was. Naga was of the same opinion.

And they had decided to depart 3 days after the revival of the Mist Barrier. During that time, Kazane and the others would prepare for the journey.

Also, speaking of prerequisites for traveling: money. Kazane and the other had accomplished battle requests against various enemies on their way here. And those had rewards......

The original purpose for coming here was to transport Hagasu's Heart. And although it was taken away afterwards, that was after Kazane's party handed it over, which accomplished the request. In other words, the request itself was a success, and the degree of difficulty was much higher than expected, so the reward was increased accordingly.

However, that request was through Mins.h.i.+ana's Adventurers Guild, so the reward would also be received in Mins.h.i.+ana.

Naoki's magic sword『Fang Blaze』was also counted as part of their reward.

After that was the reward for the Beared Dragon and Dragon Bear subjugation. That was under the jurisdiction of Hyvern's Adventurers Guild, so they would receive that in Deidona City. Also, the Beared Dragon material collection and handling was entrusted to the Guild. The amount they had taken with them was already used for Jinrai's prosthetic arm and Lyle's armor. In addition, there was a huge amount of material from the Dragon Bears, so the proceeds from selling that would be lumped in as well.

And everything about waking up the Queen of Mins.h.i.+ana was behind-the-scenes action, so any reward would be at Yuuko-nee's discretion. Though it was certain that Kazane would receive a scolding about the email matter. In a sense, that might be the most helpful reward for Kazane's growth.

Finally, there was the mountain hunting and Dragon Eater subjugation. Those were requests from the East Dragon Village through the Adventurers Guild, so remuneration was received on the spot. They received a considerably large sum, but considering the scale of damage Dragon Eaters could cause, they had probably saved the village, so it wasn't necessarily an excessive amount.

Also, even though it was damaged, they obtained materials from two Dragon Eater bodies, so their purses were even fatter. Emily was saying she felt like she would go crazy, but her money sense going mad was understandable. Incidentally, the number of royals in the party had increased, so there were various political issues as well.

Also, Kazane's『Information Link』had reached Lv2 in the middle of the Dragon Eater subjugation. It seemed that Kazane could now restrict what information would be shared. With this, the previous problem of information overload degrading their ability to concentrate could be prevented. The unified opinion within the party was that conversation alone would usually be sufficient; it was probably fine to only exchange visual information and the like as necessary.

◎ G.o.d Dragon Empress Room

『Therefore, it's a party meeting.』

This was a meeting to decide the future route of the White Party. The location was Kazane's room.

And Kazane was not in her usual figure. She had transformed into a dragon with Dragonization. She was sitting up, and Tatsuo looked tiny as he sat on Kazane's head.

「What's with that figure?

First of all, Yumika acted as representative and asked Kazane.

『Tatsuo said he had never seen my dragon appearance, so I decided to show it to him for a bit. After that, for some reason this way is popular with the bodyguard dragons. Is it because it's beautiful? Is it because it's beautiful?』

Yumika felt irritated at Kazane emphasizing beautiful twice. But right now she pointed out a different problem.

「I think it's probably because the Dragon Eater smell is oozing out of your body. You smell a little sweet to me as well.」

『Seriously?』

Seriously.

The『Dragon Pheromone』Skill obtained from the Dragon Eater was actually a Dragon Skill. From tracing their origin, it was conceivable that the new kind of monster called Dragon Eater was born from a parasitic plant hijacking a special dragon called a Wood Dragon in the Orient.

So it wasn't strange that Kazane could use the Skill even after becoming a dragon.

It should be noted that exercising Skills when Kazane became a dragon wasn't a function of the Window; she had to control the Skills by herself like Tatsuo. It finally settled down when Kazane concentrated on stopping the smell.

『Fuu, not good, not good. I'm an excessively devilish woman.』

(Limited to dragons, though)

Yumika retorted in her mind after Kazane's words. Kazane's retaliation to a retort could be a matter of life and death when she was in that form, so she didn't say it.

『So then, it's about our route from now on.』

Kazane skillfully moved her claws and spread a map.

『It will basically be the same route until we reach Deer South. Stopping in different cities is fine, but we have to receive the money from the sales in Deidona City, so stopping there is part of the plan. And then we'll receive Naoki's weapon in Dolmu City, where I also plan to have my tonfas created.』

「The aforementioned Black Rock Dragon horn things?」

Jinrai seemed very interested and asked. Kazane nodded.

『That's right. By changing from spell daggers to tonfas, I finally decided to give up being a Magic Swordswoman.』

I don't think you were ever a proper Magic Swordswoman... all members left their retorts in their minds, and Kazane continued speaking.

『Ah, that reminds me. I put one of my magic swords inside Jinrai-san's prosthetic arm, didn't I? What happened to it?』

「Hmm. As might be expected, I'm not used to it, so it's still detached for now.」

That was about Kazane's Adhesion Sword Gum, which she never used in the end. As a matter of fact, in chapter 226 it was removed from Kazane's equipment. It was used as an attachment for Jinrai's prosthetic arm, but it seemed Jinrai was also still racking his brains on how to use it.

『Muu, regrettable. After that, we'll briefly return to Deer South, and after reporting to Cindy, going to Jinrai-san's hometown Sorae Village is fine, right?』

「Mhm. It's been a long time since I returned home. I'm glad we'll be stopping there.」

Jinrai nodded after Kazane's question.

『And from there we'll be going to Elsta Floating Kingdom.』

After Kazane's subsequent words, everyone but Yumika gasped.

「????」

Yumika had basically only heard that it existed and didn't think anything else of it, so she made a confused expression at the surrounding people's reactions, but Elsta Floating Kingdom was a floating island that couldn't be reached without riding a dragon. It was an unexplored region that adventurers living in Hyvern thought about exploring someday.

Of course, Jinrai, Louise, and Mefirus were familiar with the name, and Tiara had also heard about it. Naoki, Lyle, and Emily were Hyvern adventurers, so naturally, they had dreamed of going there.

「You're planning to immediately head towards the island instead of via Dragon Boat?」

『Yeah, I'm planning to become a dragon and have everyone ride the Thunder Chariot as I hold it while flying.』

「There are Griffons in the area. I've heard it's considerably dangerous.」

There being a flock of Griffons surrounding the floating island was a famous story, and was also the reason people like Wyvern riders couldn't carelessly approach.

『I'm planning to drive them away with Breath, but we have Louise-san, Emily, and Tiara's winged knight, so I think we'll be able to manage somehow?』

The woman corps nodded with nervous expressions. There were few things the vanguards like Jinrai could do in the air. If Jinrai tried something like shooting the Railgun, the recoil would probably make the Thunder Chariot fall out of Kazane's arms.

『Fu, I never expected that I would finally reach the place I once dreamed of after becoming this figure.』

Jinrai nodded deeply after Mefirus' words. The final goal of Mefirus' former party was reaching Elsta Floating Kingdom, but they weren't able to reach it in the end. That might finally come true after a long time.

So Kazane understood why he and Jinrai were excited. But Kazane had one question.

(Why is the game's Birdman tribe's Floating Island『Fulmierche』in Hyvern?)

That was something she had wondered before. In the game, the floating island was near Miruga Glacier, which was much further north than Hyvern, past the destroyed Reivel Kingdom.

It was now in Hyvern's territory. Was there a reason for that? Or had it simply drifted naturally during the last 1000 years? That was what Kazane was worried about.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Draghorn Tonfa (Incomplete) x2, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Eating Ogre King's Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring

Level : 33

Health: 135

Magic Power: 260+420

Strength: 57+20

Agility: 52+14

Endurance: 33

Wisdom : 65

Dexterity : 41

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror s.h.i.+eld』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior's Memory』『Night Vision』『Crus.h.i.+ng Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material s.h.i.+eld: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』

Yumika:「Unlike those strange dungeons, this feels more like a genuine dungeon, doesn't it?」

Kazane:「I'm looking forward to it.」