TEB Ch 13

For the past 9 years. From small change in coat pockets to buttons made of gold or silver and even small accessories, the Count and Lady Priscilla never thought that the reason for the disappearance of items from time to time would be Liev. 

For Liev, it was a funny thing. Thanks to this, he could save a considerable amount of money for two children, but for the two people who would soon find out about this, it would be a complete surprise. 

“If it’s this much… it should be enough to ask to be taken as an apprentice in any workshop.” 

It was a realistic problem. No matter how good he was, to avoid being seen as someone barely seventeen, he had to avoid getting into trouble. It was also an unexpected stroke of luck that Renard had grown enough to carry Liev and save money for carriage costs. 

“If the two were going to rent a carriage to go there together, he would have had to spend quite a bit of money on the carriage fare, so it was a good thing.” 

Finally, on the day they decided to escape, about two hours after the Count and Lady Priscilla left the mansion, Liev and Renard set fire to the mansion. Although he had put a lot of effort into it, the wooden house, fundamentally lacking in construction due to technical skills, soon burst into flames just by setting fire to the door. 

“Hurry, let’s go. We don’t have much time.” 

Pointing to the mountain range visible in the distance as a landmark, Liev shouted confidently as Renard, who had grown to the size of a ten-year-old boy, responded. 

“Yeah!” 

Because Renard wasn’t human, his growth was surprisingly fast. In his human form, he matched his age but his dragon form had grown to the size of an average bus, resembling the classic image of a dragon. Despite his relatively small human form, he consumed as much meat as an entire cow, so his rapid growth was natural. It was astonishing that Renard’s body had grown so much that even with both arms spread wide, it was impossible to hug his neck, making it hard to believe he hadn’t finished growing yet.

“Come on, get on quickly!” 

As his gigantic body flapped its wings, a gust of wind blew, and his hair fluttered wildly. From frightening claws to the length of a finger to large scales, it was hard to believe that his growth wasn’t over yet. 

When he’s fully grown, he will be much more impressive than this. 

Kevades, as described in the novel, is the size of the average castle, and when he wraps his entire body around a building, it looks like night has come because of the black scales visible through the window. As the saying goes, the entire body seemed to melt into darkness as if it were all black, with the exception of his bright red pupils, which seemed to burn like embers due to the black scales absorbing all light. If he flew into the night sky like this, people on the ground wouldn’t even recognize something passing above them, and they would only see the dark night sky with no stars. 

“Yeah, let’s leave quickly.” 

Liev, wearing a dark brown robe he had stolen earlier with Renard’s help, climbed onto the back of the giant beast. Wrapping his arms around the sharp scales along Renard’s spine, he tightly secured himself with a rope. All preparations for flight were complete. As smoke rose high in the sky, Renard spread his massive wings. The moment he leapt into the air, the powerful wind from his thick wings created a strong breeze. Liev felt his heart drop at the sight of the ground moving away from his feet in an instant. 

Whoa, it’s okay, it’s okay…

Suppressing his pounding chest, Liev looked down, and the forest below had become so distant that it looked like a miniature model. Even the forest with the rising smoke had become so far away that it could no longer be seen, giving it a strange feeling. 

“Look, I’m so fast! Are you scared?” 

Renard was so excited just by the fact that he could fly freely at any speed he wished, but Liev felt differently. Ever since he fell into this ridiculous world, he has been confined to the mansion. There were brief occasions when Lady Priscilla needed help or when they temporarily moved due to circumstances, but for the most part, he spent almost all of the past ten years confined to the mansion. Escaping completely from the watchful eyes that he could never break free from gave him a frightening yet inexplicably liberating experience. Is it really okay? Can I take Renard to the Divine Dragon without getting caught? What if we both get caught and things go wrong for Renard and me? Regardless of whether he worried about it or not, Renard soared higher into the vast sky. 

“Did you see down there? The trees look like grains of sand!” 

Having ascended to the point where the air was becoming thin, Liev, unable to absorb the scenery any longer, pulled the rope around Renard’s torso, clutching it tightly. 

“Wait, just a moment! I can’t breathe! Lower down a bit!” 

“Huh, ah, okay!” 

Responding to the request to descend immediately, as if he would fall, the wind blowing from lowering the altitude made Liev grab the rope again, frightened. 

“Go down a little! You don’t have to go down that much!” 

When they finally found the right height after various ups and downs in the high sky where even birds were not seen, they had already crossed one mountain range. Renard was still excited, but the speed had clearly decreased compared to when they first started. It was gradually approaching the time when this stamina had reached its limits. 

The desert where the Divine Dragon Mahatra lived was in the central part of the continent. The western majority of Atreik, a continent twice the size of Eurasia, was ruled by the Empire, and the small Airen Kingdom was in the southeast of the continent. To reach the white desert where Mahatra lived, they had to cross the border of the long Airen Kingdom and cross the “Impassable forest” that even the Empire had given up occupying. 

The Impassable forest. The landscape of the vast rocky desert beyond the mountain range, where humans had refused to settle, was always a source of fear for the nearby residents. 

It wasn’t that humans had not lived in that land from the beginning. Long ago, in ancient times, dragons lived harmoniously with humans. However, as time passed, greedy humans tried to use the dragon for political gain, and tired of it, the dragon climbed to the top of the mountain range, creating a cursed land where no life would be born anymore.

Choosing the desolate wasteland of nothing but rocks and stones was both a warning and a defensive barrier, telling others not to approach anymore. The border between the land where humans lived and the impassable forest was the journey from the mansion, which took a full month. 

“Considering how much we would have had to walk, things are much better now that he can fly”

Since they had just crossed one mountain range a little while ago, we’ve already covered about one-fifth of the distance. How much longer can they fly like this?’ Liev, holding Renard’s rope, estimated the remaining distance to the Divine Dragon’s lair. 

“How much longer can you fly forward, Renard?” 

Considering that the speed was gradually slowing down, it seemed that his limit was approaching. Since he hadn’t flown freely since becoming bigger, he probably didn’t know exactly how much stamina he had. If he pushed too hard and collapsed, it would be a disaster, so if it seemed difficult, he should stop. Liev asked in a concerned voice. Renard answered. 

“Um… I don’t know well. Maybe ten… 

“Ten minutes?” 

“Nine, eight, seven.” 

“What…?! Hold on, Renard?! Renard! Wait! Hey!!!” 

When Liev, in shock, tightly hugged Renard’s torso, they were already rapidly falling towards the ground. 

*** 

“Whoa… Whoa… Please, from now on, if you’re having a hard time, just say it’s tough!” 

Half-dazed from the sudden fall, Liev regained his senses and fortunately, he landed on the ground without being spit into two or crushed. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Although the sound of the heavy body crashing into the surrounding trees and bushes was heard, it didn’t result in major injuries. Renard, who had quickly transformed back into a human form, pouted his lips. 

“It’s my first time too, so I didn’t know what to expect! I’ll do better next time!” 

Well, he always says that he’ll do better next time. Liev, while comforting Renard, who was a mess, dressed him in the clothes he had brought. Unlike experienced dragons who could magically create and store their own clothes, it wasn’t reasonable to expect Renard, who had only properly tried flying such a long distance today, to do such things for the first time today. 

“At least for today, we’ve come this far.” 

While Liev had a rough idea that this was somewhere north of the Leu Mountains, he couldn’t determine the nearest house or if there was one. 

“We’re stranded…?” 

In this forest, where nothing was visible, they had to spend the night there.