In the slightly misty grove, a small figure walked.
A young blue dragon with a long tail and wings that seemed too large for its body.
And though he struggled to carry the bundle of sticks under his arms, he continued to walk desperately.
Eventually, he arrived at his destination and sighed tiredly.
“Ah…that was heavy…”
Fi turned his head to look at the sleeping kobold child. It was curled up by the roots of a tree and sleeping soundly.
“Hey, Yuneri. Wake up.”
He called, but the kobold showed no signs of getting up. Fi picked up one of the sticks and poked the kobold’s cheek.
“Wake! Up!”
“Mmm…mm…”
“If you don’t get up, I’ll pour water on you!”
“Hah…mmm…”
Still, the kobold did not stir.
Fi then pulled out the water bag from the saddle.
“Hyaah!”
“AHHHHHHH!!”
Fully drenched now, Yuneri looked up as if about to cry.
“It’s cold! So cold! Stupid Fi!”
“I told you to get up when I say so!”
Without listening to the protestations, Fi threw the sticks into the furnace he had prepared, and then lit it with a flint.
“Now, sit over there. You can dry off while we eat.”
“Uu…”
The child glared at him, but quickly wagged its tail happily when Fi offered a skewered river fish.
“You’re a real mercenary. Next time, you should help me catch them.”
“Okay!”
Fi wasn’t sure the child actually understood. But he added more skewers to the fire anyway.
Just then, the white wolf rushed through the trees on light feet and approached him.
“Woof.”
“Good work. It looks like you weren’t followed.”
He tossed fish into the air, and Guto caught it skillfully and began to eat.
This morning routine was quite familiar now. By the time Guto returned from the night watch, Fi would also be back after gathering fish and tree branches, and they would eat together.
It was not the third day after they escaped.
Fi did what he could to console Yuneri, who had survived the tragedy. And they continued to walk towards their destination, which was the Elephas mountain.
The biggest problem was gathering food, since he had relied on Sheto for that. But Fi was able to get fish from the river, and Guto would occasionally bring some birds and hares.
“I wonder what he’s doing…”
He picked up the smartphone that he hadn’t touched since that day.
They might be discovered and killed. That fear made him focus on running away.
During that first night, had Yuneri not been there, clinging to him and shivering, Fi would have been screaming.
“That’s…what I was doing.”
Perhaps he had also had that terrible look. Those eyes of the villagers.
Hurting others. Consuming them. The greed.
“Fi! The fish will burn!”
“Huh!? Ah, oh!”
Fi quickly turned the fish around and shook his head.
Right now, he had to focus on survival.
After passing out the cooked fish, Fi made the call.
“Hello.”
‘…You’re…alive.’
“What? Why so calm? Were you worried about me?”
‘Well, you certainly sound like you are fine.’
Fi was glad to hear the dragon god’s voice again. And like that, he explained the situation.
“We’ve managed to move without being found by the Seer’s army or the monsters. I think we should be able to reach Elephas in two days.”
‘I see. I’ve heard that Sheto has awakened. You should contact him late.’
“…He’s…pretty lucky.”
‘You know more than anyone. Just how strong his luck is.’
While Fi could not laugh at the joke, he still sighed with relief.
“How about Keita?”
‘I do not know, as I still cannot contact Canila. You should try later. If it takes too long, then I’ll see what I can do.’
“And…what should I do now?”
‘First, we should continue as planned. Whether you save Sheto or return to your world, you cannot just abandon that child, can you?’
“…I know.”
‘As for after that, I will think about it. Right now, you should prioritize your escape.’
After he hung up, Fi saw that Yuneri was watching him with a puzzled expression.
“Fi. Who was that?”
‘My boss…uh, someone I know… Well, something like that.”
“Fi…are you, going?”
The kobold looked anxious. He must have heard part of the conversation.
“Don’t worry. I’m going to take you to where the others are.”
“Can I…meet ma again?”
Fi paused for a moment but then nodded with a smile.
“Yes. I’m sure they are all fine. So we just need to keep going.”
“Okay!”
When breakfast was finished, Fi put out the fire. And then he checked their belongings and put the saddle on Guto, and Yuneri on top of it.
The sun was high in the sky now. Considering the child was not used to traveling, they should depart soon.
“You two. Be safe.”
Fi thought about his two friends, who were growing farther away, as he left the campsite behind him.