“Huh, crazy bastards.”
Volpete, who was staring blankly at the ship, couldn’t help but curse. The two girls also gaped, unable to swallow the gust of wind blowing towards them.
“Wow, wow.”
“The ship is floating in the sky.”
The impact was so fresh it felt like their heads were splitting. Since neither had ever imagined a ship flying, they couldn’t tear their eyes away.
Of course, once the bombardment began, they had no choice but to flee again, but their gaze remained fixed skyward.
Other ships, resembling constellations, followed closely behind the largest vessel.
It wasn’t just one ship; they were lined up like a fleet, indiscriminately raining down bombs.
“Ah, what are they going to do, just shooting like that?”
Shouting half in frustration, Tana exclaimed while Volpete replied, pointing above his head with both hands.
“The sealed dagger won’t break or even leave a scar, no matter the shock, so Aaaah!”
Boom!
As he was speaking, debris from the bombardment flew towards them. Hayun quickly drew her sword and swung, narrowly avoiding an instant death.
Standing in front of Volpete, Hayun gripped her sword tightly and said, “For now, let’s keep running. Thanks to the carriage, we’ve come this far, and if we can run into the kingdom’s territory, the dwarves shouldn’t be able to follow.”
“We just need to run for about an hour!”
“That’s because you’re an old man! We can arrive in under 30 minutes!”
“Ugh…”
Looking down at his stubby legs and his stout, barrel-like frame, Volpete couldn’t even muster a wry smile.
In the end, he took the sealed dagger from his possession and handed it to Tana.
“I’ll try to keep up as best as I can, but you two are definitely faster. It’s better if you keep this dagger.”
“Volpete, Uncle…”
“…”
Knowing that the dagger he handed over contained various complex emotions breaking his stubbornness as an artisan.
Hayun quickly snatched Volpete and tucked the dagger into her waistband. Even though she was about the size of a young boy, the muscles made it noticeably heavy.
“Stop with the weird talk and just hold on tight.”
“You, you…”
“Hayun is so cool!”
Touched, Volpete was met with Tana’s exuberant hops. Hayun began running through the forest, gripping his belt tightly.
‘First, we need to escape the bombardment range as fast as possible.’
For the moment, they were hidden among the thick trees, making it difficult for the enemy to aim precisely from their position.
“There’s a limit to the number of shells, and it takes a while to reload. Let’s slip out of the forest in that gap.”
Reduced to a burden, Volpete analyzed the airships as best as he could during their run.
Just as he said, after a fierce barrage, there was a brief pause.
‘But even if we run away like this…’
Before entering the kingdom’s domain lay a barren plain. The dwarves’ free-spirited nature meant they didn’t block things off like fences at the Dragon’s Boundary.
If they came out into the field, they’d inevitably be spotted by those airships.
“Huh, they’ve even put dragon heads on the ships. Were they made using that terrifying dragon as a motif?”
“Ugh, ugh.”
“Mana is starting to accumulate in the cannons. They’re going to bombard us again.”
“Gah! Can’t you be quiet for a minute?”
It was irritating to keep hearing chatter when he was already dead tired.
His hands trembled from the duel with Gromhelter, yet here he was putting all his strength into dragging the dwarf along.
‘Reminds me of training back in the day.’
He suddenly recalled doing exercises at dawn with Daniel and the other female students at the academy. Daniel McLean always said endurance was key, pushing them to run until they were about to throw up.
“I never thought I’d be thankful for Daniel’s morning exercises!”
Tana seemed to have the same thought, shouting furiously but not slowing down.
They hadn’t even graduated from the academy yet, and they were about to start their fourth year.
Strangely enough, he felt nostalgic for the Aios Academy.
“You’re smiling; I’ve never seen that before.”
“Excuse me?”
Volpete, who was twirling his mustache with his index finger, caused Hayun to grimace at the sight of the not-so-cute miniature figure.
However, Volpete nodded knowingly as if he understood something on his own.
“So, you have someone you love. Daniel? Is that guy the one? Seeing a smile on your usually stoic face means he must be quite the catch.”
“He’s so popular!”
Tana shouted playfully as she ran beside them, making Volpete look a bit surprised.
“Huh? I thought you liked the hidden gems over popular guys?”
“…That’s that guy.”
She didn’t want to jump into the conversation but talking about him made her feel at ease and filled her with energy.
It was like recalling the reason she needed to survive.
“What was so appealing about that guy that it captured our inspector’s heart?”
“Ugh, really! You’re so noisy!”
Hayun shouted in annoyance.
But Volpete continued to look at her with a mischievous smile.
“Ah… it’s nice to work hard.”
“Working hard?”
“Being upright is good too.”
“Huh, that’s totally your reason.”
When did she start liking Daniel McLean?
To be honest, she didn’t know.
Maybe it was because they spent a lot of time together while getting advice from Eris about love, gradually leading her to like him.
‘How sneaky.’
Since the time they first met at the academy, he had saved her from her uncle’s curse, uncovered the true culprit behind the destruction of the Len clan and the assassination of her parents—Time’s Priestess—and even helped in her revenge.
“It’s a feeling of unexpected gifts continuing to come.”
“Yeah, you really do like him, don’t you?”
Volpete’s sudden shift in tone made Hayun’s annoyance rise, but he twisted his body and slipped out of her grasp.
“Alright, this is it. Even if I escape their bombardment, I’ll definitely be caught in the plains leading to the kingdom. I’ll draw their attention myself.”
Now checking the sealed dagger in his bag, Hayun wanted to say something but…
“Don’t you think it’s fine to act with a sense of pride because it’s for saving the world? At this age, to ponder topics like love and friendship? This burden is for the old man to carry.”
She wanted to say something.
She didn’t particularly like Volpete, but she didn’t want to witness him sacrificing himself alone.
But Hayun couldn’t think of the right words to say. It was a desperate situation, yet there was no suitable answer.
It was as if he smiled, acknowledging the emotion that fit the age perfectly.
“Stop with the nonsense!”
Tana kicked Volpete in the back to deny his words.
“You said you’d solve the riddle of the sealed dagger! Why are you giving up alone? Is that all you dwarves are worth?”
“That’s…”
“If you’re gonna surrender, then let’s all surrender together. It’d be better than dying from bombardment and ending up in prison.”
“That would lead to absolute capture. The dwarves’ inferiority complex towards the dagger runs deeper than you think.”
It wasn’t worth sending the humans who learned their secret away recklessly. But Tana answered with a smile.
“My friend will handle it. He’s more than capable.”
“Friend…?”
“Daniel!”
Saying the name of the boy Hayun liked made Volpete freeze in surprise.
“Huh… You don’t mean you like that guy, do you?”
At that question, Tana frowned for a moment before shoving her hands deep into her pockets.
“I gave up on him.”
Hayun was taken aback.
She knew Eve liked him, but Tana too?
But the way she said she had given up sounded oddly pitiful.
“So don’t die; find a way to survive. Daniel will somehow manage.”
“He always does the unexpected.”
Hayun added, standing beside Volpete.
As the airships prepared to bombard the forest, the surroundings were already engulfed in smoke from the bombardment.
She felt sorry for Daniel, but there was no other way.
Facing the two options of death or becoming the enemy’s prisoner, a struggle prepared for death was not what Daniel wanted.
‘I’m sorry for putting this on you.’
Quietly closing her eyes, Hayun silently apologized.
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed in the ears of the three who were moving to surrender.
*
“Are you really okay?”
“Huh?”
Eris, sitting beside me, fortified by a hearty meal. In the back, May was grumbling about how she would have sat next to me.
“What’s that about?”
The quality of the food at the royal palace was exceptionally high. If she got accustomed to this, living wouldn’t be easy in the future.
As I asked while spooning a rich cream soup, Eris’s expression darkened.
“The dwarves. Hayun and Tana are in danger.”
“Hmm, even so, there’s nothing I can do by rushing over now.”
“That’s true, but…”
Eccentric and other mages using Warp magic didn’t have markers for the dwarves’ combination.
I chuckled and shook my head.
“Don’t worry; I already sent someone to help.”
“Did you already?”
“Yeah, and it’s someone really fast. They’ve been waiting around after losing their job, so they should’ve arrived by now.”
Eris glanced around. Sending someone meant it must have been a powerful figure like Kurika, but as she sensed his energy still solidly in the palace, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Who did you send?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit hard to explain. Just someone in charge of the dwarves’ team. It’s perfect; this guy needed to loosen up a bit.”
“Loosen up?”
I didn’t understand what she was saying, but Eris’s cute confusion made me smile and nod unconsciously.
“Yeah, he’s been sleeping for quite a while.”
Technically, it was playing dead.
*
“……”
“……”
“……”
Just moments ago, contemplating surrender, Hayun, Tana, and Volpete slowly walked out of the forest.
Now they just had to cross the plain ahead to enter the kingdom’s territory. It was visibly close.
ROAAAAAAR!
At the sound of a furious roar from behind, the three turned around simultaneously, regardless of who went first.
There, the dwarves who had arrogantly looked down upon the land, bombarding it, were crashing to the ground, smoking and ablaze.
Taking their place was an entity referred to as the master of the sky for ages.
– “You barbaric fools! How dare you invade my territory while the lord of the skies glares down upon you!”
Having lost one wing, the majestic golden dragon spewed mana impressively, beginning to unleash its breath upon the sky.
“Daniel was heading to the dragonkin’s land, right?”
“Yeah…”
Hayun nodded at Tana’s question.
Having had a firm resolve moments ago, the atmosphere grew slightly awkward.
“It always seems to be like this.”
As if a heavy burden had been lifted, her heart felt light, and a smile appeared on her face.
“Huh, the guy you all have feelings for sends unexpected gifts.”
Volpete was beyond astonished, almost dumbfounded. He felt so surprised that his emotions seemed to stop.
“Looks like I might end up liking him too.”
Nodding as if in acknowledgment, Volpete received a swift slap on the back from Hayun.
