◆ Chapter 19: Well, I Didn’t Expect That
“I still can’t get used to horseback riding even after all the expeditions… My butt hurts…” I groan.
“We haven’t stopped much since departing the capital after all. Please rest while Sir Rosso is scouting ahead.”
Four hours have passed since we left the royal capital. We’ve progressed without encountering much threat from the zombies and are finally before our destination: the Bebetor Mountain Range. We’re currently taking a break near the foot of a mountain. There are no zombies in sight, but the soldiers are on the lookout, which lets me rest without staying on high alert.
“S-Say, Mizuha? Are you certain it was wise to take that person with us?”
A frightened Nady sits beside me. I follow her gaze to where Iris is diligently polishing my statue while cackling. “Hehehe…I will make you pretty-witty!” Is she baby talking to my statue?
Though she joined last minute, I couldn’t make Iris the only person who went on foot, so I had her ride with Nady…and it sounds like she immediately made her idiosyncrasies known.
“She ordered me to ride directly behind you and was heavily panting the whole time. I honestly felt a little weirded out…” Nady confesses.
“Yeah, I’d say it was an unwise decision.”
“Wh-Whaaat?!” Nady is shocked by my instant affirmation.
“She’s not a bad person at heart. She just takes things a little too far.”
“Do her actions really fall under just a little too far?” Nady asks, skeptical.
“Correction: she takes it WAY too far.”
While that’s the case, I can tell—more than I want to—that she cares about me, so I honestly can’t hate Iris. I’m absolutely positive she will continue to do things that freak me out, but I hope we can continue to have a sort of friendship going ahead.
“Lady Mizuha, Sir Rosso has returned.”
Soon after Lex tells me that, I spot Rosso running down the mountainside. His speed and agility are still topnotch. Not many people can run without making a sound like he can.
“I have just returned from my scouting mission, Boss Lady.”
“Good work, Rosso. How were things on the zombie front?” I ask.
“I barely saw any,” he reports. “Not that there’s none, but we can push on without a hitch as long as we don’t make any loud noises.”
“It feels iffy that there’s none in the mountains when so many have taken over Cladorca…”
“Maybe they’re instinctively avoidin’ the more strenuous inclines,” Rosso speculates.
That will work in our favor if they are. I don’t know the real reason why there are so few, but that doesn’t change the fact. I look to Lex to make the call.
“Whatever the case may be, we cannot let this opportunity slip us by. We should advance as far as we can now,” he said, giving the go-ahead.
Thus, we cut our break short and resume our forward march. Once we reach the foot of the mountain, we dismount our horses and lead them up the gentle slope by foot. The trees become denser as we approach the midway mark. Not only are they covered in foliage, but most of the leaves are rotten.
“…The leaves haven’t fallen even though they have decayed?” Nady observes.
“Right? The leaves have fallen off mostly every other tree in the area.”
Lex stands beside me as I’m looking up at the tree canopy with Nady. “Master Pino purposefully selected this path for us because it is farther from Cladorca and this natural canopy is ideal for hiding from the dragon on the off-chance it comes after us.”
I bet Pino researched if the leaf canopy was still intact in advance. I have to take my hat off to our great scholar.
As I’m quietly offering my thanks up to Pino, I catch something disturbing out of the corner of my eye—Iris is swinging the bag with my statue in it so hard, I can hear it cutting through the wind.
“I will protect my goddess if the dragon comes!”
“Thanks... But I’m pretty sure that won’t work against the dragon, so don’t throw it. I wish you wouldn’t carry it around with you at all.”
“I cannot concede on that point,” she responds with a deadpan expression.
Will the day ever come when she will let go of the goddess—my—statue?
If nothing else, things are going smooth enough for us to have this ridiculous conversation. My feet are a little sore from walking uphill, but that’s nothing compared to being chased by hungry zombies. If this keeps up, we should arrive at the floodgate sooner than expected.
My hopes are immediately dashed by the sound of rustling leaves and the even louder sound of wings flapping directly overhead. It’s too loud and tumultuous to be naturally occurring wind.
“Hey, Lex? I have an extremely bad feeling about this.”
“What a coincidence—so do I…”
I look up at the sky with Lex. I glimpse a massive shadow flying overhead through the gaps in the canopy. Since this is my second time encountering it, I don’t doubt my eyes.
It’s the same threat I met in Cladorca—a dragon.