Chapter 8

The carriage then left Sol and arrived in the town of Nate in half a day.

This was the town where Christan and Eina lived.

It was a town that we always passed through when traveling to the royal capital.

“We will depart tomorrow morning. You can do whatever you like until then.”

“Thank you.”

“I will bring the carriage to the front of your inn in the morning.”

The driver bowed his head and then drove off.

I suppose he was going to park it somewhere.

“Now, I should go and see my sister.”

I had only swayed inside the carriage for half of the day, so the sun was still high in the sky.

The next town would take an entire day to reach.

So I always knew that we would stay here for the night.

“Sister. Are you here?”

I entered the store from the back and called to her.

Christan’s family ran a general goods store in this town.

“Oh, if it isn’t young Leon. Welcome. Are you heading for the Dragon Academy then?”

“Hello, Mrs. Yolan. That’s right. …Though, I would prefer it if I didn’t have to go.”

“Oh, my. Every little boy and girl in the country wants to become a Dragon Master. You sure are an odd one, Leon.”

“I always intended on becoming a baker. Oh, this is from my father.”

I offered the bread that had been baked this morning.

“You’re always so kind. Your sister is out shopping for dinner right now. But she’ll be back soon. You should wait here.”

“I see. Don’t mind if I do then.”

Mrs. Yolan was Christan’s mother. She managed the store.

Her husband was Mr. Dordof, and he usually worked at the counter, so he was likely in the front right now.

Mr. Dordof had hurt his leg and had to walk with a cane, so Mrs. Yolan did all of the work in the back part of the store.

Apparently, Mr. Dordof had once been the queen’s Right Foot. He was a shadow that not only moved between towns, but sometimes took information straight to the castle as well.

But he was attacked by the enemy during a mission, and his leg injury forced him to retire.

My sister and Mrs. Yolan were not aware of Mr. Dordof’s secret job.

And so they thought he had been attacked by bandits while carrying luggage.

They didn’t know about brother Christan’s work as a Right Foot either.

“Oh, Leon. You’re here?”

“Welcome back, sister.”

“Hello. …Are you really on your way to the Dragon Academy?”

“I am. How did you know?”

“My husband brought back some of father’s bread last time. He visited you in Sol, didn’t he? I heard that you would be coming soon, but not this soon.”

“It seems like they send out a carriage to every student. I think everyone is waiting for their turn. After all, there is still some time left before school actually starts.”

“Still, you, a Dragon Master, huh? I didn’t believe my ears when I first heard the news.”

“I didn’t believe it either. It was such a shock.”

“Well, you do your best. It must have been your fate to become one.”

My sister said with a laugh.

“Maybe. Oh, I gave some of father’s bread to Mrs. Yolan.”

“Thank you. …So, will you be staying with us today?”

“I’ll be staying at an inn. And then we’ll leave tomorrow morning. The carriage has a strict schedule that we have to follow.”

“I see. But you must have dinner with us, at the very least. It’s too bad Christan isn’t here. He said he had to buy supplies from the capital and just left. I don’t know what to do with him sometimes.”

Christan had gone to deliver my report.

As he traveled faster than the carriage, he would be arriving in the city very soon.

“Okay. I’ll go say hello to Mr. Dordof. Then I’ll go back to the inn and tell them that I won’t be eating there tonight.”

“Come back quickly. We’ll be waiting for you.”

“Understood.”

I enjoyed Eina’s cooking for the first time in a long while that night, and then I returned to the inn.

Unsurprisingly, when I told her that I may not see her for years even after graduating, she told me in very strong words that I must return no matter what.

You studied at the Dragon Academy for two years. And you acquired a dragon at the end of the first year.

The dragon welcoming ceremony took place during the new year.

Your second year at the academy was all about getting used to your dragon. And getting used to fighting.

Once you graduate, you could choose to join the army or become a free Dragon Master. But most people chose to join the army. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about money.

It was the most profitable option unless you happened to be incredibly rich.

I hadn’t decided what I would do yet. But I preferred to be free. I wanted to live in some corner of the frontier lands.

Whether or not I could do this, would also depend on my patron.

I was also worried about brother Christan.

According to my sister, he was constantly moving around in order to buy supplies.

Which really meant…he was busy with work relating to being a Right Foot.

He had once told me that this town of Nate was good for monitoring people who went in and out of Shoukoku.

It was half a day’s journey from here to Sol.

So, if you were headed to the capital, you would stop here, regardless of what carriage you were using.

On the other hand, Sol was one of the seven great cities of Ryukoku. It was large and had a large population.

And so if you wanted to monitor people leaving and entering, it was easier to do it from the neighboring town, which was Nate.

Because of this, in spite of its size, there were a lot of Shadows here.

And yet, Christan was incredibly busy. There must be a reason for that.

I would have to ask him the next time I saw him.

Though, I wasn’t sure if he would tell me.

The next morning, we departed from the town of Nate.

There were still 4 more days of traveling left.

Eina, Mrs. Yolan, and Mr. Dordof saw me off.

Before I left, Mr. Dordof secretly told me that Christan was waiting for me in the royal capital.

There was something mischievous in his smile. And then he told me to be careful.

Yes, I would try not to get too comfortable.