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Among the Four Heavenly Kings, we’ve now made it through half. Of course, there are still two left, and beyond that, there’s the colossal barrier known as the Demon King, but it’s still somewhat encouraging.

Thanks to this, humanity was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Lilith’s followers were busy running around searching for the missing Lilith instead of focusing on their goal to conquer humanity, and Vulcan’s army, which had posed a threat to humanity when properly assembled, had become a disorganized rabble after losing their leader, no longer instilling fear.

That said, there were still many Demonic Monsters and Demonic Beings left alive, and it was also true that they were still causing significant damage, so we couldn’t afford to slack off.

“Guwack…”

Somehow, it was a scene I felt I had seen before. Upon using the Teleport Gate in Eldora to move to the next city, Luna, who still hadn’t adjusted, was leaning against the wall and dry-heaving.

“Here. Drink this; it should help a bit.”

I handed her the drink I had prepared in advance, expecting this scenario to some extent. Although it wasn’t alcoholic, it contained a slight amount of alcohol, so it wasn’t a drink I would normally recommend to Luna, who was technically still a minor. However, in this situation, it would likely be better for her to lean on the power of alcohol.

“Ah, thank you, senpai.”

Luna took the drink I handed her without question and gulped it down immediately. She drank so hurriedly that a stream of the drink spilled out of her mouth, running down her neck. I pulled out the handkerchief I always carried and wiped the drink off her neck.

However, what I overlooked was that Luna was an assassin, just like me.

Assassins are quite sensitive about death. This is partly because they bring about the death of their enemies, but conversely, it means they are equally perceptive about their own demise. And the neck is one of the most accessible vital spots to target, alongside the heart.

So, it was completely expected that Luna would be startled when someone else’s hand touched her neck.

Thus, it wasn’t surprising at all that the drink she had been holding in her mouth was immediately sprayed all over me, standing directly in front of her.

“Puhuh!”

“Uh… um…”

Both of us were caught off guard, so I couldn’t avoid the drink that Luna sprayed on me either. As I retrieved the handkerchief I had used to wipe Luna’s neck and slowly wiped my face, Luna was still in a daze.

“Cough, cough!”

“I’m sorry. My hand moved before I thought. You were really startled, weren’t you?”

“Gack! Ah, no, senpai! I’m the one who… cough, cough…”

To be honest, what could Luna possibly have to apologize for? I just needed to wipe my face, but Luna must have genuinely been shocked. As she continued to cough, her face turned bright red, likely from both shock and perhaps a racing heart. Surely, she couldn’t be getting drunk just from that slightly alcoholic drink.

“What are you two doing? If we want to arrive before sunset, we can’t afford to dawdle, so hurry up!”

Seeing us wandering in the corner, our friends who were organizing the luggage called out. As Yuli said, we needed to hurry if we didn’t want to be late.

“Apologies aside, let’s get moving. If we keep dawdling, our friends will get mad.”

Of course, they wouldn’t truly get angry, but at least we’d hear a bit of nagging. My pride as a hero wouldn’t allow me to appear ridiculous, so I swiftly grabbed Luna’s hand and began to walk back to our original position.

“I was just checking on Luna since she looked really bad. Sorry for making you worry unnecessarily.”

“No, it’s all of our concern. By the way… if she’s really not doing well, should we call the Saint?”

“It’s not that serious. It’s just motion sickness, after all.”

Answering instead of the still-coughing Luna, I shrugged, and Selian turned their gaze away from Luna. Sure, it might be more than just a bit of nausea, but it wasn’t to the extent that Mariel’s sacred magic was necessary.

“By the way… we rushed through the gate, only to hear some bad news.”

“Bad news, you say?”

While Luna and I had been dawdling, Selian had already finished packing up and seemed to have gathered some intel.

“You know we need to cross the Dragon Valley to reach our intended destination, right?”

“That’s why we hurried. It’s too treacherous to pull a carriage, so we have to go on foot.”

Dragon Valley might be called a valley, but in reality, it encompasses the entire mountain range. Explaining its etymology would make for a boring history lesson, so let’s skip that. The important point is that there really are dragons living in Dragon Valley.

“However, due to the fog in the mountain range… we can’t pass until it clears.”

“Just fog, huh?”

“There’s no way you can pass just because it’s fog.”

As I questioned this unexpected situation, a middle-aged man walked over, raising an objection.

“I am Balton, the lord of this territory.”

“The lord… Count Crozel?”

“That’s one way to refer to me, but if possible, just call me Balton. Crozel feels distant.”

I wondered if it was necessary to close the distance with this middle-aged guy, but since there was no harm in addressing him by name, I had no reason to refuse.

“Since you say so… So Count Balton? What do you mean about the fog you mentioned earlier?”

“Literally what I said. Do you know that there are really dragons living in Dragon Valley?”

“I’ve certainly heard rumors about sightings.”

Unless we were talking about the ancient times when dragons ruled the continent, there’d be no reason not to know, especially since Dragon Valley is now the only known habitat of dragons after most vanished from the continent.

Of course, some people who have nothing to do with Dragon Valley often say there are no dragons in today’s world, but dragons definitely exist. That’s an undeniable fact.

“While dragons are indeed feared, they are also not something to be overly frightened of.”

As long as one doesn’t violate taboos, as Balton spoke in a storyteller-like tone.

“Surprisingly, the dragons living in Dragon Valley are quite tame and do not attack people recklessly. However… that’s only if you stick to the permitted paths. If you step even a little into the unpermitted areas, you’ll incur the dragons’ wrath. This applies to both humans and Demonic Races.”

This was something I had never heard before. It seemed to be a story passed around only in the vicinity of Dragon Valley. Then again, there wouldn’t be many opportunities for someone to cross Dragon Valley intentionally.

“So the fog can’t be ignored? But even so, it shouldn’t be that easy to get lost just due to fog…”

“That’s something you’re saying out of ignorance. Continuing my explanation, the fog that settles in Dragon Valley isn’t normal fog. It’s so thick that you can’t see a hand in front of you, but more than just obscuring visibility, it can even deceive people’s senses.”

“His words are likely true. The taboos regarding Dragon Valley are well-known tales in the Information Guild and among elves. I just didn’t expect fog to roll in today…”

As we stood quietly listening, Lindy stepped forward and spoke. Given that she was the oldest among us and certainly knowledgeable, there was no reason to doubt her words.

“Because the fog rolling into Dragon Valley has no predictability, it’s only natural that you wouldn’t see it coming. We locals are frequently caught off guard too.”

“…It looks like we’ll just have to wait for the fog to clear.”

Although there is a route that goes around the mountain range rather than crossing the valley, doing so would mean taking an excessively long detour. It’s much better to wait for a few days until the fog clears before attempting to traverse Dragon Valley.

“That’s a wise choice. I can provide you with lodging as much as you need. Whether you want to stay in the mansion or if you feel uncomfortable and would rather stay in an inn within the city, just speak my name, and I’ll even have a room made for you if necessary.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Count.”

“For a hero who will save the continent, this level of kindness is expected. Rather, I’m grateful you’re not insisting on crossing the mountains. After all, we can’t afford to lose a hero who will save the continent to a dragon in a foolish way.”

That sounded pretty ominous as a joke, but thinking about it, it did give me a chill.

“Oh my, you’re the lord’s guest. Welcome to our inn! I’m embarrassed to say this myself, but this is the best inn in the city. As luck would have it, the best room is available, so let me show you right away. Come, follow me!”

Instead of staying at the lord’s mansion, we decided to stay at an inn right in the middle of the city. Perhaps because the lord was loved by the townspeople, the innkeeper beamed at us when we mentioned the lord’s name and gave us the best room. Even when it came to the lodging fee, he insisted he wouldn’t accept it, so it took a bit of convincing to finally slip the money into his hands.

Unless we didn’t have money, we didn’t need to act like we were overly keen on free stuff, considering we weren’t financially constrained under the royal family’s direct support. Money should flow for a virtuous cycle.

“Well then… I’ll get up first. Luna should have her wits about her by dinner time.”

One reason we chose not to stay at the lord’s mansion was that Luna, who was clinging to my back, played a big part.

I had handed her a drink while she was suffering from motion sickness crossing the gate, but she ended up getting drunk off of that alone. Even though it was a drink with low alcohol content, I never imagined someone could get drunk from just that. Luna’s tolerance was beyond my imagination.

“Senpai, you’ve been ignoring me way too much lately! Today, I won’t let you out of my sight!”

Luna shouted this as if declaring her independence while sticking to my back like a leech and showing no signs of letting go. In this situation, how could we accept the lord’s invitation?

Of course, there are ways to magically expel drunkenness, but relying on that from a young age would only lower Luna’s tolerance even more, so I had to persuade the group on her behalf.

Above all, Luna’s drunken admission hit me right in the conscience.

It’s not that she didn’t have a good relationship with the other friends, but I had a significant share in Luna joining our party, especially since she was still young. And I was completely oblivious until she poured her heart out in her drunken state, so there was no room for excuses.

In the end, I decided to indulge in Luna’s whims for the day. Whether she would remember after sobering up was uncertain, but I couldn’t just ignore it.

“Hehe…”

Seeing Luna giggling and stumbling on my back, I was rather relieved that we were stuck because of the fog.

 

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