Being as we were already aware of where our foes would appear, thanks to Direwolf Etigra’s prediction, we proceeded in our human forms rather than turning into dragons. We didn’t need the mobility, and our dragon forms would have drawn far too much attention. If our foes noticed us and chose to cancel their plans, the entire endeavor would be rendered meaningless.
“By the way,” I said to Sadie as we walked, “what exactly is it the offenders have been doing wrong? In retrospect, that seems rather significant.”
“You’ll understand when we arrive,” said Sadie. “And while I’m at it, I would like you to serve as our bait, Miss Laika.”
“…Pardon?”
Not only is she not giving me an explanation, but she’s also assigning me decoy duty on top of it? Why does it feel like I’m being mistreated…?
“It’s a role you’re well suited for,” Ricuen explained. “Not only are you my superior, but you’re also the previous president’s little sister. A group of arrogant punks like them are all but guaranteed to try to pull something on you.”
Not that it matters in this particular moment, but I did just ask her to stop calling me her superior, and she’s certainly showing no sign of complying.
“D-do you think so…?” I replied. “I don’t mean to boast, but I have defeated my sister in single combat. If these ruffians are truly as cowardly as I’ve been led to believe, would they not be wary of me…?”
Ricuen was usually on point with her analysis, but in this one case, I felt she might have made a misjudgment. If I was used as bait, and the plan failed as a result, it certainly wouldn’t reflect well on me. Of course, then again, our bait would by necessity be a member of the student council. Ultimately, it might make very little difference who we sent…
“Yes, they are indeed likely to be a cowardly bunch,” said Ricuen. “That’s why we can expect them to take the chance to come at you—an individual of no small renown—in numbers. They’ll believe it’s their chance to engage you five-on-one rather than one-on-one.”
“Oh, I see now. From their perspective, being able to surround me would be desirable. Just how devious of a group are we dealing with…?”
“If they pull a stunt like that in the vicinity of the school, the risk of them being caught increases dramatically. They would earn no prestige from the story getting out—if anything, it would damage their reputation. Far from the school grounds, however, that would not be a concern in their eyes.”
The more I heard about the perpetrators, the lower my opinion of them sank. I knew, however, such fools had always existed, and always would. Dragons in particular were prone to such foolishness—we were mightier than the average race, but that meant we were more likely to be lulled into arrogance by our own power.
“Once we reach our destination, Miss Laika, I would like you to assume your dragon form and fly at a reasonable pace,” said Sadie. “I believe that will attract our perpetrators in short order. Once they arrive, we will move to assist you.”
“Understood,” I said. “I will not fail you!”
✦ ✦ ✦
I shifted into my dragon form and slowly ascended into the sky. I knew if I flew too far, my compatriots on the ground would lose sight of me, so after flying a relatively short distance, I turned around and flew back the way I’d come.
A few minutes after I started flying my circuit, a number of other dragons flapped their way toward me—and flew so close to me, it seemed like they were deliberately trying to collide with me!
“What’s the fun in flying like that, slowpoke?!” “Better hurry up, or I might just rear-end you!” “Oh wait—guess you can’t, with me up ahead of you!” “You look young—bet’cher from the academy, right? In that case, you’re goin’ down!”
The dragons started heckling me relentlessly.
✦ ✦ ✦
Is this what the culprits are guilty of?! Sky rage?!
✦ ✦ ✦
I was being subjected to one of the many methods dragons used to harass each other mid-flight. The harassment was outrageous enough in and of itself, but when you took into account the danger of doing so in the air, it became a truly inexcusable act!
I see now what our rule breakers have been up to! They’ve been targeting students who fly home on their own!
“You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” I roared. “Perhaps we dragons would come out with a few light injuries if we collided midair, but if one of us fell on a village, we could inflict untold damage upon it and its inhabitants!”
“Who friggin’ cares?!” “Come on, we’re sixth-years! We deserve to have a little fun for once!” “And besides, you’re the last president’s little sis, right? We’ve got a score to settle with you!”
They’ve crossed far too many lines… This is misbehavior deserving of a harsh punishment indeed.
The delinquent dragons kept flying close enough to graze me and cutting in front of me without warning. One of them was flying right behind me as well, meaning I couldn’t slow down to escape. It was a textbook example of reckless flying if I’d ever seen it.
“Better pay attention, kid! Let yourself get rear-ended, and you might fall on something important!” “Are those people I see walking down there? Bet you don’t wanna give them a bad day, huh?” “We’ve been holding back ever since the last president took over! Now it’s time for us to cut loose, and we’re gonna have you make up for all the time we wasted!”
They’d finally said the words I wanted to hear the least. “What utter stupidity…,” I muttered. “You’re supposed to be upperclassmen! The least you could do is give me some small reason to respect you!”
I was under no illusions my scolding would prompt a change of heart. I said it because, frankly, being subjected to their sky rage was more than a little irritating… Had I been alone, I likely would have thrown caution to the wind and launched an attack at the dragon in front of me, spewing flame like no tomorrow. The only reason why I was able to hold myself back was I knew I was working as part of a team.
Now then—they should be along any minute, I’d think.
“Gah! Who the hell’re they?!” “Whoa! Watch it, pal!” “Hey, I’m above you, here! You’re gonna make me lose my balance!”
I heard the panicked and bewildered shouts of the delinquent dragons and looked downward. There I saw a number of other dragons launch themselves up from the ground, flying swiftly in our direction. The other members of the student council were here to help me!
The other members had no interest in letting the delinquents’ reckless flying go on for any longer than it already had. They went on the attack immediately, grabbing on to the delinquents’ tails, forcing them downward toward safe, empty patches of land, and generally attempting to ground them.
“What’s your problem?! Cut it out!” “I can’t fly like this, you jerk!”
It seemed for all their reckless and aggressive flying, the culprits were less than skilled when put on the defensive. They soon gave up on staying in the sky and clumsily touched down in an unpopulated area. At the absolute least, we had forced them to put an early end to today’s midair harassment campaign.