Chapter 104 – Return of the Gold Dragon!
‘Mr. Menew, please come to the church at once.’
Menew received this summons from Seker shortly after the house incident, when they were making their way back to the town.
“Seker is calling us.”
“The god? Then we must go.”
And so they rushed back to the town. They ran through the plain, gray streets, and entered the church with loud footsteps.
Seker stood inside with a serious expression.
“Ah, you have come. Thank you.”
“You called, so of course, I would come. What happened?”
“We were being jammed after all. The gold ki is rising tremendously.”
“Gold ki… The gold dragon?”
“Indeed. I realized it once the lava started to flow into the sea. It will start to encroach on the water ki at this rate.”
The elements of this world were based on a concept similar to the Five Elements Theory.
According to this theory, metal is supposed to generate water. Therefore, if it was eroding, it was clear that the gold dragon must be significantly influenced by Apep in some way.
“I thought he was lying low, but he was doing such a thing…”
Mr. Wal said angrily.
Yes, after doing so much in the Vala forest, he had not done anything for some time.
So it made sense that it was because he had changed his approach.
“Mr. Menew. You must go to the base of the gold dragon. And somehow weaken its power without killing it.”
“Uh… Killing it would ruin the balance, right?”
He remembered it, because Mr. Wal had scolded him once before.
Dragons were phenomena. If they died, it would change the balance of the world.
It was a very troublesome thing indeed. If you had such an important role, it would be nice of you to avoid being affected so easily.
“The place…is here. The lava is flowing from the two mines that surround the golden city of El Dorado.”
Seker pointed to an island country that was to the southwest of Ramsteris.
Menew recognized the name.
“This…is the country that supported Magikargia during the war.”
“They have a strong notion of being the chosen people. And so you must stay hidden while you are there, or you may be executed.”
“Oh…”
While they were going to help, it did not seem like a lot of fun.
However, there was no point in complaining about that now, and so Menew turned to face the others.
“As you just heard, it will be a dangerous job. So, I can go alone…”
The other three sighed.
They looked at him with exasperation, as if to say, ‘Isn’t it a little late to be saying that?’ And even though Menew was bad at communicating, he could understand what they meant.
“I may not be that useful, but I will go too.”
“Kyan!”
Mr. Wal and Kanon were also enthusiastic.
“Please. Go and calm down the gold dragon.”
Menew nodded, and then they turned around and left the church.
They thought that they would then decide on their future direction, but then Menew continued to walk and went around to the back of the church.
While they didn’t understand, the others had no choice but to follow him.
Even by carriage, they would have to go through half of Nadar and Magikargia, before taking a boat. It was a long journey.
There were many preparations that had to be made, but…
“Hey, Menew…”
“I know. Still, we cannot spend too much time running errands.”
That was one way to describe a mission from god. Regardless, once he saw that there was no one watching, Menew took out his sketchbook.
“Secluded! Out of sight! Confirmed!”
He said, and then he began to draw something.
The others had a bad feeling about this.
Still, it was too late to intervene.
“Summon!”
Menew called it out. However…Ralph and the others could not see anything.
No, wait. The area in front of them did look like it was a little warped. And moving…
“Yes. So, here is the invisible pegasus carriage. Now, let’s go and get this over with.”
That was when Ralph realized it. Menew was a little upset in his own way.
“Invading Mr. Wal’s territory was bad enough. But this is going too far. It’s so troublesome. What is wrong with this dragon?”
He grumbled as he opened the door and gestured for them to go inside. Then he sat down in the driver’s seat. After that, Menew’s body became invisible as well.
(…It won’t matter if I say anything now.)
And so Ralph and the others sat inside the carriage quietly.
It was surprisingly spacious. Apparently, he had used spatial manipulation to make it larger on the inside. And it was filled with cushions to make things more comfortable.
The seats also came equipped with belts. While thinking it strange, Ralph decided to strap himself in anyway. And then Mofusen and Toto did as well.
It was because he had a feeling…
Mr. Wal was holding tightly to Totto, and both Kanon and Stan had their claws deep into the seats.
“All buckled in? Good. I made it easy to understand. Now, let’s go.”
Came Menew’s calm voice.
He then grabbed the reins, and the pegasus carriage rose upwards at a near right angle.
Once they were high enough, the carriage rushed forwards at an incredible speed.
Even though they were inside, they could feel the tremendous pressure on their bodies. Totto seemed to be protected by Mr. Wal’s magic. And Mofusen had cast a barrier.
Kanon moved onto Ralph’s lap and cast the same magic as well, which made things a little better. Stan was perched on Ralph’s shoulder.
While Ralph knew they were moving at a great speed, he had no idea that they were about to finish a one month journey in merely two hours.
“We arrived. Look.”
Look? Ralph was annoyed and exhausted. But he still managed to look out of the window.
“That’s…horrible.”
“I don’t think it was the dragon’s work.”
Totto was speechless.
It looked like black wings were stretching out from the island to the sea.
In fact, it was the hardened lava that had flowed out from the mines. As it was shining black, it clearly had metallic properties.
For some reason, the golden city on the center of the island was fine, but the black wings in the sea still looked ominous.
And then there was the gold dragon, flying around the top of the volcanic mountain.
The gold lizard had thorns of ore on its back, and it flapped its wings while breathing fire.
Sometimes, it would roar as the mountain erupted, and more lava flowed out.
“I won’t forgive it…”
Nature could suddenly turn its fangs on you. But these kinds of disasters, which were triggered on purpose, were a different matter.
Menew understood the horrors of earthquakes and tsunamis. After all, he had been born in such a place.
And so he drove the carriage towards the dragon who was causing the disasters out of greed.
Thanks for this chapter!