Ch.121Dancing Red Wings in the Sky

“Mmm…”

As I opened my eyes to the ticklish sensation on my side, I saw golden hair spread like silk across the bed.

Beautiful hair that gleamed like gold in the sunlight filtering through the window gap.

The pointed ears peeking through and skin as white as white jade made me realize that she truly belonged to a race completely different from humans.

‘Looking at her like this, it really feels like I’m holding an elven princess in my arms.’

Although under the blanket, she was sleeping in a rather free position with one leg casually draped over my body.

Finding that gap between appearance and reality cute, I was poking her cheek playfully when her beautiful emerald eyes suddenly fluttered open.

“Are you awake?”

“So it wasn’t a dream.”

“Of course it’s reality. Though I’m not sure if I lived up to your expectations.”

“…It was the best.”

Phyllis blushed and burrowed into the blanket.

It seems last night’s female knight & slave merchant roleplay was thoroughly satisfying.

Toward the end, she had abandoned all pretense and clung to me like a child, endlessly begging for kisses, but thinking that it was because she enjoyed it so much makes me feel proud as a man.

“What time is it now?”

“Let’s see… it’s 8:40. Everyone else must be up by now.”

“That’s good, we still have time for breakfast.”

As Phyllis said this and sat up, her small but beautiful breasts, soft waist, and the curve leading to her hips were revealed before my eyes.

If Jessica could be described as sensual and Seti as radiating health, Phyllis’s body was like viewing a well-crafted work of art.

“…Stop it, you beast. After doing so much yesterday…”

“No, I was just looking. I’m aware that I went a bit too far yesterday.”

“Really? I’ll tell you in advance that I won’t be able to accommodate you for the next few days no matter how much you want it.”

“Oh… Did I push too hard? Are you feeling unwell?”

“N-no, that’s not it! Um…”

Suddenly startled and turning bright red, Phyllis bowed her head and answered in a tiny voice.

“…My body is changing, becoming one just for you…”

“Oh.”

How can her every word and action be so provocative?

I almost immediately started a “New Game+” right then, but with the determination not to burden Phyllis’s body, I barely managed to hold back.

After finishing breakfast, we set out toward Northern Fortress. As soon as we passed through the northern gate of Atlier, we all simultaneously grimaced at the acrid smell that wafted toward us.

“Ugh~ You can really feel how the air gets murky right after passing the city gate.”

“We might be fine, but I’m worried about Seti. Even at our fastest pace, it’ll take 3-4 hours to reach Northern Fortress.”

“It’s okay. Jessica prepared a solution.”

“Oh, really?”

“Hehe, you can look forward to it. Airy Curtain!”

As Jessica displayed a confident smile and used Airy Curtain, a gentle breeze wrapped around our bodies, and the acrid smell of the swamp was no longer perceptible.

“Wow, the smell really is gone. How did you do that?”

“I modified the spell formula of Airy Curtain to block odor particles. It’s just a temporary measure though, so I plan to revert it back to normal after we leave the swamp.”

“Is there really a need to revert it? We might face smell problems elsewhere too.”

“Blocking all smells could make it difficult to notice potential dangers in some situations.”

“I see.”

Considering how important Seti’s sense of smell is to our party, carelessly blocking that ability would be a significant disadvantage.

As Jessica said, it’s best to think of this as a temporary measure until we leave the swamp.

With Jessica’s magic blocking the smell and Seti wearing new shoes, she could actively participate in combat, significantly enhancing our party’s breakthrough power.

The three-set of mosquitoes, lizards, and frogs were no match for our party, and the less common Mud Men were instantly surrounded and eliminated upon discovery.

Even the Swamp Troll was blown away by Phyllis’s Fireball.

Our smooth journey hit a snag when we were on the hill path with Northern Fortress in sight.

“That must be Northern Fortress over there. It looks more like a watchtower than a fortress.”

“Hmm? Something’s flying around in the air.”

“…Dragons?”

Three dragons were circling above Northern Fortress, which was surrounded by sturdy stone walls, and white magic bullets were being fired intermittently from the walls toward the dragons.

The fortress garrison seemed to be engaged in a defensive battle, but the dragons were dodging the attacks as if they were trivial and shooting small fireballs from their mouths to attack the fortress.

“Fire Drakes. They’re said to be relatively weak among dragonkind, but this is my first time seeing them in person too.”

“They’re allowing one-sided attacks. At this rate, the fortress side will gradually be pushed into a disadvantageous position.”

“We need to help take them down before that happens. Let’s go!”

We ran up the hill path to rescue Northern Fortress, which was under attack by Fire Drakes.

As we got closer, one of the Fire Drakes seemed to notice our approach and flew away from the fortress airspace toward us.

“One’s coming! Everyone be careful!”

“Stone Bullet!”

“Bang! Bang!”

“Tang!”

As everyone simultaneously opened suppressive fire, the Fire Drake couldn’t dodge everything and took several hits to its body and wings.

But even if they’re called “relatively weak,” they’re still dragons, and it seems impossible to shoot down a Fire Drake with just a few bullet wounds.

The Fire Drake regained its posture in mid-air and began to shoot small fireballs with its mouth wide open.

“Kraaaa~”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

“Kyaaaa! What is this?!”

“Kuk, it can rapid-fire magic without preparation time?”

The fireballs shot by the Fire Drake spread flames at their impact points like demonstration flares.

It’s fortunate we didn’t encounter them in the forest.

“This isn’t… magic. Then…”

Jessica looked at the flames burning and emitting black smoke, then reached out to me and used an enchantment spell.

“Airy Curtain, Break Enchant!”

“Huh? Just me?”

“Will! Shoot down the Fire Drake’s flame bullets! Magic bullets with Airy Curtain’s properties should be able to intercept them!”

“Haha, you make it sound so easy…”

She’s telling me to shoot down high-speed flame bullets spewed by a flying dragon with a pistol.

“Think it’s too difficult?”

“Even if it’s hard, I have to do it! It’s a request from none other than Jessica.”

“Kraaaa~”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Boom!”

I fire my single-action revolver at the three flame bullets spewing from the Fire Drake’s mouth.

Since I haven’t fully grasped the bullet speeds of both sides yet, two shots missed, but when the remaining green magic bullet collided with a flame bullet, a small explosion occurred, and the flame bullet scattered in mid-air.

“It worked, just as I expected.”

“Would you mind explaining what just happened?”

“Those flame bullets are burning oil secreted from glands. When a wind-attribute magic bullet hits, it creates a small shockwave, and combined with Airy Curtain’s liquid-blocking effect…”

“It can repel the burning oil itself. So should I focus on interception like this?”

“Please do. If we can just block the flame bullets, Phyllis alone has enough firepower.”

“OK.”

Once we had a countermeasure for the flame bullets, the battle situation gradually began to turn in our favor.

After I became accustomed to the flame bullets’ speed, I intercepted all of them without missing, and Phyllis’s rifle, imbued with earth attributes, made the Fire Drake stagger even with just a grazing hit.

The Fire Drake, with a large hole in its wing, eventually lost its flying ability and crash-landed on the ground, where Seti’s spear, which had been waiting for just that moment, pierced its heart, ending its life.

“Great! One down~!”

“The remaining two are coming this way.”

“Too late. They should have attacked all at once from the beginning.”

Even though I say that, if both dragons start spewing flame bullets simultaneously, interception might not keep up, but that’s only if they safely reach a distance where they can attack us.

“Blow them away, Phyllis.”

“Are you sure? If I use it now, I won’t be able to contribute much afterward.”

“It’s fine. If necessary, I can keep intercepting for 10 minutes to buy time.”

“Understood.”

Having received confirmation, Phyllis aimed at one of the two Fire Drakes flying toward us and used her trump card spell.

“Lightning Bolt!”

“Crackle!”

The dazzling flash extending from the muzzle pierced the center of the Fire Drake’s chest before it could even react.

The Fire Drake, suffering from critical lightning damage, paralysis from electrocution, and the impact of crashing onto the stone ground, couldn’t move until Seti, who had rushed to the landing spot, beheaded it.

“Kaaaa~”

“Sorry, but that won’t work.”

“Bang! Bang!”

The other Fire Drake spewed angry flame bullets at Seti, who had ended its companion’s life, but couldn’t break through my single-action revolver’s anti-air defense, and,

“Tang!”

“Kieeek!”

Mina’s large-caliber pistol, which rivals Phyllis’s rifle in single-shot power, punched a large hole in the Fire Drake’s right wing.

The Fire Drake, having lost lift, had no choice but to crash-land, and unlike the first one that was helplessly killed, it quickly regained its posture and charged at Phyllis, who was closest, trying to bite her, but—

“Stone Bullet!”

“Thud!”

“Kieeek!?”

“Bayonet Phantasm!”

While the Fire Drake was staggering after being hit in the forehead by Stone Bullet, Phyllis’s light bayonet dug into a vital spot below its neck, and almost simultaneously, Seti, holding her spear in reverse, fell like a meteor onto the Fire Drake’s head.

“Thud!”

“Kyaaaaaaak~~~~!”

The Fire Drake, pierced from above and below, ended its life with a miserable scream.

It was a battle that reconfirmed that the gradual commitment of forces is the worst tactic even in battles against large monsters.

“For a moment I was worried, but once we blocked the flame bullets, it wasn’t much.”

“Shall we extract the magic stones then? Surely they won’t argue that they should have them since they were fighting first?”

“If both sides had landed effective hits, maybe, but if one side didn’t contribute at all, there’s no room for them to interfere.”

“True, they barely landed any hits… Hmm?”

As I was looking around to check for other enemies, I spotted a silhouette running breathlessly from Northern Fortress.

It was a dwarf man in overall dark clothing with a hood and an unkempt gray beard.

“Hey! Were you the ones who just took down those Fire Drakes?”

“What about it?”

“Please, would you sell me the materials from these creatures? You can keep the magic stones, but I’d like to purchase all the materials like teeth, claws, and hide!”

“Sure. You’ll handle the transportation, right?”

“Of course! I’ll bring a cart, so please wait while extracting the magic stones!”

As soon as the dwarf man received Jessica’s approval, his face lit up with joy, and he ran back toward Northern Fortress.

“Is that the Korkas-born dwarf who’s stationed at Northern Fortress?”

“Seems like it. It’s fortunate he wants the Fire Drake materials.”

“Planning to sell them at a high price?”

“The opposite, Phyllis. If we sell him the materials he wants at a low price, wouldn’t he be more likely to grant our requests later?”

“I see. To facilitate favorable negotiations in the future.”

I’m not sure how valuable Fire Drake materials are, but our main objective is obtaining titanium.

If we can get information about deposits or opportunities to contact local dwarves, we can certainly compromise on material prices.

“Anyway, let’s extract the magic stones and head into Northern Fortress. That dwarf will take care of the remaining corpses.”

“Got it.”

We extracted the magic stones from the Fire Drake corpses and walked toward Northern Fortress, where flames and smoke were rising.