Chapter 295 – The Desert Princess and the Sword Master #2

Do you know someone?

It wouldn’t be strange if Rebecca was dating the princess of Jakarta.
For she was the daughter of the caliph, the priest of the Cult of the Sun, in her hometown.
There was a possibility that she had been drinking with the princesses, dancing, and taking a bath together.
I’ll be sure to ask her later why she’s so surprised.

“Why are you so surprised? Red-haired lady.”
“Oh, nothing.”

When Rebecca passed it over in a blunt way, Count Harold didn’t pay much attention and continued his explanation.
It would be hard to imagine that a woman who only works as an adventurer could have anything to do with her princess.

“I can’t just wait in the lord’s castle when the royal family is on their way to my territory. That’s why I decided to personally lead my soldiers and welcome the delegation. I was thinking of hiring adventurers as well in case of any danger, but you guys just came to mind. Let’s go together to greet the delegation from Jakarta.”
“Where can I go?”
“I heard that the delegation has just passed the border of Jakarta. According to the distance, it will arrive at the Amgur grassland in about three days. I made an appointment with the delegation to meet at that meadow.”

The Amgur Steppe was a passing road when entering Yoensu from the Habi Desert.
Monsters are roaming around, so taking an adventurer or two isn’t a bad choice.
Because the adventurer knew better than the soldiers when it came to beating the monster.

“The departure time is tomorrow morning. As much as hiring a first-class wizard, I’ll give you 150 gold for the request.”
“Okay. I’ll prepare to leave by tomorrow.”

One hundred and fifty gold coins was a huge amount for a short-term quest that could be completed within a week.
Of course, hiring a first-class wizard required that much money wherever he went.

‘I’ll have to collect money and make another artifact.’

If you collect more gold coins, you may be able to create an artifact that is superior to OPG.
Next time, I want to make armor that can properly protect the body.

“Please take care of me, young wizard.”

Count Harold left immediately after explaining the quest.
After that, we went out to the city of Yoensuu and bought the necessary items for the trip.
I had to leave tomorrow morning, so I had no time to relax.

After stopping at the store and getting all my travel gear, I asked Rebecca a question.

“I was surprised when I heard that the person coming for the delegation was Princess Selma. Is she by any chance familiar with you?”
“Oh…”

Rebecca mumbled, then nodded honestly.

“Yes, I’ve been close with Princess Selma since I was little. She often came to the Temple of the Sun to play and hung out with me a lot.”
“You mean childhood friends. Then it would be nice to meet again.”
“It’s nice… But when she ran away from her hometown, she jumped out without leaving a letter for the princess. I feel sorry for the princess.”
“If you’re uncomfortable with meeting me, would you like to take a break from this quest? Kate and I can go together.”
“No! I’ll follow you.”

I would have thought that the princess coming as an envoy was Rebecca’s childhood friend.
The scale of personal connections one can get to know when crossing Handa Bridge is beyond imagination.
Kate, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, opened her mouth with a look full of curiosity.

“Rebecca’s sister was from the Kingdom of Jakarta, right? I know she’s also of a very high status. I heard that she’s also known to the princess, right?”
“She knows her, so why?”
“I was just curious about what kind of person you are. I’ve always been curious about how princesses live. It’s only natural to eat well and live well, right? If I were to be born again, I’d like to be born again as a princess and play tango all day long.”
“Just because she’s a princess doesn’t mean she’s just playing around…”

Rebecca told Kate, who wanted to be reborn, the daily routine of her princess.
She likes to practice dancing and musical instruments. Unexpectedly, the schedule was tightly packed throughout the day.
Even after knowing the reality, Kate envied the royals.

“If you don’t want to do everything, don’t you have to? If you’re like me, you wouldn’t even step out of your bedroom. Oh, I’m envious! I’m going crazy with envy. Why was I born with a dirt spoon!”
“Kay, what kind of bullshit is a muddy spoon? Is there any other job where you can live as comfortably as a nun? You go for a walk every time you do a quest.”
“Then let’s improve the quality and call it a copper spoon. And Rebecca unnie! Taking a walk is the right of nuns!”

After all, human greed has no end.
After talking about this and that, we finished getting ready to go on a trip.

*

The next day we left Joensuu with Count Harold.
Of course, it wasn’t just my fixed party and Earl Harold leaving modestly, the count’s enlisted men numbering forty followed.

Among them was a knight who had reached the second rank as a soldier.

It was a knight named Hogan, and among the vassals under the count, he was the most accomplished soldier.
Among the superhumans that nobles use as enlisted soldiers, the highest rank is second-rate.
There is no reason to swear allegiance to an aristocrat once you reach the first rank. Even if you are independent, you will be able to live happily.

“Chief Luke. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Hogan, who’s serving Count Harold.”
“I’m counting on you.”

I chatted with Hogan as I rode away.
Hogan spoke to me with an expression full of curiosity, probably seeing a first-class wizard for the first time in his life.

“Excuse me, but I have a question for you, magistrate.”
“What are you curious about?”
“Why are you working as an adventurer even though you’re a first-class wizard? Even if you open the palace door right now and enter, you’ll be able to get a contract from the King.”
“Because adventurer work suits my taste. I don’t have a strong desire to make money like a stubborn person. I just want to study magic leisurely.”
“That’s right. You sound like a wise man who has been liberated from worldly desires. I became a knight purely to earn money. I’m a little embarrassed.”
“Is there anything to be ashamed of? If you want to earn, you earn.”

Obviously, when I was a rookie adventurer, I worked like a dog to save money.
As I became able to eat and live well, my greed for money greatly diminished.
It was more important to study magic and spend time with lovers.

“Mister Luke, are you familiar with the Amgur Steppe? They say subspecies of dragons live in the steppe. They say it’s a dragon without wings… If you meet them in person, they’ll look pretty frightening.”
“Are you talking about Drake?”
“That’s right.”

Drake meant a monster that was treated as a subspecies of dragon. Because they do not have wings and run around the ground, they are also called Earth Dragons.
Among the monsters, they were classified as high-ranking monsters, but there was no need to worry about fighting.

Curiously, Drake rarely attacks people.
Although there are cases of hunting and eating monsters and beasts, it rarely attacks people.
If they accidentally attack, they just let go of the injured person and go on their way.

Should we say they are like dolphins on land?
Dolphins rarely attack people unless provoked on purpose.
Drake seems to be a similar case. Of course, why it doesn’t attack people has not been clarified. Maybe it’s because they pass on their memories of people to their descendants. Although there are several hypotheses.

‘Drake is a human-friendly monster.’

As this fact was popularly known, we were able to leave for the Amgur meadow with peace of mind.

However, the moment we arrived at the meadow, we faced an unexpected situation.

[Churr.]

A drake started to circle around us from the moment it touched the ground in the meadow.
The pressure of a monster the size of a house hovering around is no joke.

“U-Isn’t that Drake? Why is he following us?”
“Sometimes it is said that a curious entity hangs around a person. If it gets tired of staring at it, it will leave on its own.”
“Is it coming because of curiosity? No matter how I look at it, its eyes are fierce.”

Drake’s mood was unusual. As if he had taken drugs, his eyes were blurry and he looked like he was completely insane.
While the soldiers were talking, I couldn’t help but watch Drake nervously.

‘It’s fucking scary!’

Drake is virtually no different from a living dinosaur.
If Tyrannosaurus, the tyrant of the Cretaceous period, were alive, it would definitely look like that.

Brilliant eyes, rough and sharp teeth, and a muscular body!
Reminds me of the Tyrannosaurus I saw in the Jurassic Park series when I was a kid.

Even a first-class wizard is afraid of dinosaurs.
I trembled as I mounted the horse.
I was already wearing OPG to prepare for any unexpected situations.

Being prepared was the right choice.
Because after some time, Drake started to reveal his ferocious nature.

[Kururrrr.]

Drake, who suddenly let out a roar, rushed at Earl Harold, who was advancing at the head of his party.
Drake’s majesty of sprinting while dragging his long, heavy tail is no joke!

It’s almost like I’m mistaken for a time slip back to the Cretaceous period!

“I-stop that guy!”
“Is that crazy!”

Drake was clearly mad.
That guy is no longer a human-friendly monster.
It was just a monster full of killing instinct.

The soldiers lined up in a row tried to block the drake with their spears in front. However, the spearhead looked like a toy in front of the giant drake.
Before any needless casualties, I had the OPG activated.

‘This is the first time I’ve used it in real combat.’

The magic core embedded in the back of OPG’s hand lit up.
It was a sign that magic power had begun to be supplied to the gauntlet.
At that moment, the strength of the whole body was strengthened, and it was possible to exert the same power as an ogre.

“Thurisaz.”

I moved to the front of the rushing Drake using Space Leap.
Seeing me suddenly appearing right in front of their eyes, the soldiers shouted with frightened expressions.

“Oh no, Mister Luke?! How did you suddenly appear?”
“It’s dangerous there! Get back!”

I watched Drake charge as he clutched his quarterstaff.
The distance to him rapidly decreased and its huge body became more visible.
It was scary, but it’s too wasteful to retreat here. It was a good opportunity to test the power of OPG.

Thump thump thump thump thump!!

The moment Drake finally got right in front of him, he swung his quarterstaff.
The quarter staff, with OPG’s strength correction added, collided with Drake’s body as it tore through the wind.

A monster the size of a house was received from the front.
In common sense, it would be horribly smashed like a small car hit by a truck.

But what actually happened was the exact opposite.

Pew!!

The sound of skin cracking echoed like an explosion.
It was Drake who was crushed, not me.
The moment he was hit by the quarter staff, his huge body was helplessly pushed back.

[Kyaaaaa!!]

“Kenaz!”

I held out my OPG palm towards Drake who was rolling on the meadow.
When he activated the rune flamethrower, flames spewed out from the center of his palm.
It didn’t take long for the giant drake’s body to be covered in fire.

Hogan spoke from behind with an absurd expression.

“That’s a first-class wizard…? If you’re a first-class wizard, can you deal with monsters with force? I think you could have beaten them without using magic. It’s amazing physical power!”

It seems that I am misunderstanding.
I just used magic.