TEB Ch 19

As Liev stepped forward, someone spoke from beyond the door. 

“Young man, can I talk to you for a moment? There’s been a thief in another room. It’s not that we suspect you, but we need to confirm and make sure.” 

Liev hesitated for a moment. Should he believe this, or… It didn’t feel right. This was a trap. His instincts were telling him so. Though he was not an animal, his senses were more keen as he worked with animals more than people in his profession. 

Did it go well earlier? He hadn’t expected to reveal his origins through his shoes. Although they might have received information about their clothing on their side, the clothes he had brought with him were prepared by the village. 

“Ugh…” 

Now what to do? Just when he thought he could sleep well indoors, trouble found him within half a day. Liev sighed and scratched his head. 

What should I do? He must escape. 

The answer was clear. Liev quickly brought a chair and desk to block the door and pulled out Renard from under the bed. 

“Let’s go. Hold me securely so I don’t fall.” 

Then, holding Liev by his arms, Renard opened the window and looked down. As it was a two-story building, the scenery of the alley was visible at a glance. There didn’t seem to be any guards waiting in the alley up to the back door. 

“Hurry!” 

“Yeah!” 

With Renard’s help, they smoothly jumped into the back alley. Soon, the sound of someone forcing open the door was heard. Without stopping, they hurried towards the city gate. From a distance, someone shouted from the inn building. 

“Catch those two! They’re wanted criminals! It’s okay to let the tall one go, but the small one must be caught no matter what!” 

As expected, although Liev had been with Renard by his side, they were trying to specifically identify and capture Renard. Liev asked in a hurry as he ran. 

“Did you, by any chance, not change the memories about yourself?” 

As Liev asked with suspicion, Renard casually replied. 

“Yeah! Did I have to change mine too?” 

“……” 

Speechless, Liev couldn’t say anything more. Even if he didn’t explicitly tell him to change it, don’t you know what the intention was behind asking me to change the Count’s memories? He couldn’t understand whether it was a lack of intelligence to comprehend the intention or just if he was too innocent. Liev grabbed his throbbing head and said,.

“Ha… Fine, for now, we need to get out of here quickly! Can we break through without hurting anyone?” 

Since they were already being chased, it seemed like breaking the door wouldn’t be a problem. Running frantically through the narrow alley that seemed barely passable for one person, heading in the direction presumed to be the city gate, armed soldiers suddenly appeared right in front of the alley. Due to the narrow entrance of the alley, the soldiers who were rushing towards them fell like dominoes, causing a commotion outside the alley. 

“What’s happening? 

“What’s going on?” 

What should they do? In the moment of confusion, both of their bodies, which were moving at high speeds with Renard’s acceleration magic, suddenly floated in the air. 

“Wait, just a moment…” 

Startled, Liev struggled to maintain balance as Renard, with his entire body, lifted Liev into the air, hiding them both behind the city wall. The surprised soldiers shouted. 

“A magician…!” 

The people outside the alley also began to murmur. 

“What? A magician?” 

“What’s happening?” 

“It seems like something’s going on over there.” 

The soldiers, one by one, looked in the direction pointed out by the pointing soldiers. However, due to the chaos of soldiers tangled up among themselves to control the commotion, Renard had long since hidden with Liev beyond the city wall. Ultimately, the soldiers, who falsely pointed at the sky and shouted “magician,” received criticism from the people. 

“What’s this? They said a magician or something, but there’s nothing.” 

“What are you saying so early in the morning?…” 

“You can’t even catch young kids?” 

When other guards arrived and criticized the soldiers for not being able to catch even a child, all the soldiers could say was that they had flown away beyond the castle wall. The people ridiculed them for making baseless claims. 

“What nonsense is this? How can kids fly over the castle wall?” 

After all, how could they believe that the children flew away? The soldier protested his innocence, but it was of no avail. The fact that Renard, with black curly hair and blood-red eyes, was not an ordinary child was not revealed.

“Seriously, I can’t prove that I saw it with my own eyes. It’s driving me crazy!” 

“At any rate, enough with the bluff. If you can’t even handle a couple of kids properly, do your job right.” 

“Really, it did happen! Hey, didn’t you see too?” 

In a situation where a considerable number of people were pressing on them, instead of sticking to an unbelievable claim, it was better to retract the statement. Other soldiers did the same. 

“Well, I’m not sure… I might have seen it wrong. 

“Hey! You saw it clearly too! Why are you suddenly making me look like a fool?” 

Meanwhile, Liev and Renard were distancing themselves from the city at the maximum speed Renard could change into his dragon form. Since it was midday, transforming into a dragon and soaring through the sky would be too conspicuous. Could they reach the Impassable forest in just one day? Anxious, Liev asked,

“Renard, how much longer can you fly like this?” 

Currently, Renard was flying low through the forest while embracing Liev with his entire body. Since he was maneuvering through the branches, it wasn’t as fast as when flying in his true form, but it was slightly better than riding a horse. There was still a possibility of being caught again if they continued like this. When Liev asked with a worried face, Renard, trying to appear composed, resisted for a moment but soon answered with a weary expression. 

“I… I can’t go on much longer!” 

Well, he expected that. Liev chuckled tiredly and said,

“Don’t push yourself any further.” 

“Ugh…” 

Renard, as if sulking with wounded pride, pouted his lips and descended to a place between massive rocks forming a gap in the canyon. 

Here, Liev could momentarily relax and rest. Sitting on a suitable-sized rock, Liev finally relaxed, and Renard naturally climbed onto Liev’s thigh. 

It seemed so natural, almost comfortable, that Liev was dumbfounded. Was he a cat that felt at home anywhere on his lap? Suddenly, the thought occurred to Liev that there might not be much time left for him to have such thoughts. Instead of pushing Renard away out of embarrassment, Liev gently patted his head. 

“Did I do well?” 

Renard was asking for praise as soon as Liev finished fixing his disheveled hair. Liev chuckled and nodded approvingly. 

“Yes, you did a good job.” 

“Now, how much further do we have to go?” 

At first, the guy who was excited to fly for a long time seemed to have already become sick of it. To ask about the remaining distance to the left of their destination, Liev momentarily recalled the map stored in his mind. The city they heard about a while ago was about two-thirds of the way. They had flown for about 30 minutes from there, so they were slightly beyond two-thirds. Assuming Renard couldn’t fly the remaining distance in one go, Liev answered after some calculations. 

“If everything goes well, we might arrive tomorrow. Can we fly as soon as the sun sets?” 

Since there was still some time before the sunset, Liev asked with a hint of uncertainty, and Renard confidently nodded. 

“Yeah! As long as I rest a bit more, no problem! I can fly as much as Liev wants!” 

Whether to believe that statement or not, Renard, like most young children, had a small but quickly charging battery. If things went well, they might arrive before dawn tomorrow. Feeling a mix of regret and excitement, Liev looked down at Renard, who, unaware of such emotions, asked again. 

“What are we going to do once we arrive there?” 

Even though Liev had explained it probably thirty times before their escape from the mansion, he willingly answered the question again. 

“We’ll meet another dragon there. A really big, strong, and magnificent one.” 

Maybe. He can’t guarantee it since he hasn’t met the person himself. Anyway, it should be, as described, a benevolent being that has been of great help to the main characters. Liev looked at the distant mountains with a prickly heart, and Renard asked again. 

“A dragon? Why are we meeting him?” 

“Because he is the one who will help you in the future.” 

Renard tilted his head once again. 

“Huh?” 

“Because you’re a dragon.” 

“What does being a dragon have to do with it?” 

“There are limits to the knowledge I can teach you. Dragons know the most about dragons, so they can provide you with information that I can’t.” 

He thought he had explained it well, but Renard still seemed to not understand.