Seeker 384

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Chapter 384. Journey To The Capital

After completing the vampire subjugation, we left Zerke City the following morning, though we slept in a bit.

Next, we were headed to the royal capital, Cradvalze, further to the north.

Once we reach there, our next destination, Ice Castle, will be just within reach.

The country we are traveling in now—the Northeria United Federation, located in the northeastern part of the continent—is a nation formed by a collection of small countries, including city-states.

It seems that the autonomy of each region is quite strong.

It’s akin to the United States, with its multiple states, or perhaps even more localized in its governance.

On the flip side, this means the authority of the king, who governs the entire country, is weak.

Although the king's name is used in title, his power is hardly different from that of the lords ruling over each region.

And now, we are on the road to Cradvalze, the royal capital governed by such a king.

Kazane shivered and rubbed her hands together in front of her face as if in prayer.

“Ugh... It’s getting colder, huh?”

“Totally. Even our breath turns white. Look.”

Yuzuki opened her mouth wide and exhaled, showing her breath turning white, just as she described.

Whether it’s the season, the region, or just the day-to-day variations, I can’t tell, but it seems like it’s gotten significantly colder since we left Zerke City.

Incidentally, I’ve heard that the area surrounding Ice Castle, our destination, is a snowy field covered by constant blizzards throughout the year.

The climate in this world seems to be influenced by the powers of spirits and such, causing dramatic changes even over short distances.

Apparently, stronger powers from cold-related spirits make the temperature drop.

“Senpaaai, take off that Gaia Armor and give me a warm hug! It’s your duty as my boyfriend!”

“Yeah, yeah! Daichi-kun, as our boyfriend, it’s your obligation to keep us warm!”

Yuzuki and Kazane began some strange form of protest against me.

“Sure, I’d love to do that, but what if monsters show up?”

“Come on, it’s fine! No way we’d lose to any run-of-the-mill monsters at this point.”

“Besides, Daichi-kun, you’ve been acting too relaxed lately. You used to be so eager at the start. Where’s the beast inside you gone?”

It’s here, okay? It’s always here.

I just keep it sealed because it would be a problem if I let it out all the time.

“For real, though. Kazane-san, we’ll just have to warm each other up!”

“Yeah, Hotaru-chan. If Daichi-kun won’t do it, we’ll just warm each other up. Come here!”

“Kyuu~!”

Even Griff, our pet, joined in, snuggling between Kazane and Yuzuki as they hugged each other tightly.

Damn it, leaving me out while you get all cuddly and fluffy with each other.

I envy your armor-clothing hybrid. I want in on that too.

And so, with such pointless banter, we continued walking toward the royal capital.

“Huh? Something’s coming from behind—”

Kazane muttered as she turned to look back.

Yuzuki and I followed her gaze slightly later.

In the distance, beyond the trees on the curving road, something was approaching rapidly.

“Riders on horses—is that a group of adventurers? Or maybe knights? Looks like four of them.”

“And what’s flying behind them... is that a dragon?”

Four armed individuals charged toward us on horseback.

One was a young woman dressed as a mage, and the other three were men in warrior-like gear.

They occasionally glanced behind them as they headed our way.

Chasing them from behind was a flying creature resembling a dragon.

It wasn’t a type we had encountered before, but I had seen it in the monster compendium—a Snow Dragon, native to cold regions.

The riders soon reached us, stopping their horses abruptly.

The young woman dressed as a mage, who seemed to be leading the group, addressed us urgently.

“You’re adventurers, right? Please help us take down that dragon! We’ll pay you fairly—please!”

She was a striking figure, probably around our age—about twenty.

Her mage attire, possibly custom-made, was elegant and ornately decorated.

She was undeniably beautiful, with long red hair reminiscent of flames and eyes of a similar hue.

Her refined demeanor and appearance exuded an air of nobility.

Clearly not an ordinary person. At the very least, she seemed to be the leader of the group.

But back to the matter at hand.

The Snow Dragon chasing them was almost within combat range.

I remembered that we were just one dragon away from completing our dragon-slaying mission.

There wasn’t time to discuss with Kazane and Yuzuki—this called for a swift decision.

“Understood. We’ll take it down. But on one condition.”

“Name it!”

The mage woman’s anxiety was evident as the dragon closed in.

It was best to be upfront right away to avoid complications.

“We’ve surpassed our limits and are all in the high 50s level-wise. You are to stay out of the fight. That’s the condition.”

“Uh... what?”

The mage woman blinked, looking like a pigeon hit by a bean.

Her companions, who had caught up, wore similar expressions.

“Make a quick decision. Do you accept?”

“Y-yes.”

“All right. We’ll handle the dragon. Stay back. Let’s go, Kazane, Yuzuki.”

“Got it, Daichi-kun.”

“Roger that, Senpai!”

And so, we took on the dragon.

Within moments of the Snow Dragon’s arrival, we overwhelmed it, defeating it in about ten seconds.

Kazane delivered the final blow, causing the massive dragon to dissipate into black mist, leaving behind a magic stone.

I picked it up and healed the cold-related damage we had sustained with healing magic.

The mission completion notification popped up:

───────────────────────

Mission 'Slay 4 Dragons' completed!

Party members earned 100,000 EXP!

New mission 'Slay 10 Dragons' (Reward: 250,000 EXP) added!

Musou Daichi leveled up to 57!

Current EXP:

Musou Daichi...3136404/3443048 (Next level: 306644)

Kodachi Kazane...3011236/3133157 (Next level: 121921)

Yuzuki Hotaru...3287951/3443048 (Next level: 155097)

───────────────────────

Nice, everything’s going smoothly.

But ten dragons next? The reward is big, but it’s going to take a while.

Turning to the riders, I saw they were all dumbfounded.

I approached the mage woman and spoke.

“It’s done.”

“Ah...! Th-thank you so much. You saved us.”

“No problem. We’ll keep the magic stone, right?”

“Yes, of course. Still... that was amazing.”

After that, we learned that they were also headed to the royal capital.

Thus, we decided to travel with them to Cradvalze.