Chapter 261 – Kathe Came to Us

We left through the gate in the royal capital and traveled down the road.
It wasn’t the wide, main road, but a narrow, side road.
As hardly anyone passed through, there was grass growing here and there.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Ginny, who was walking ahead as the scout, suddenly stopped.
“Mr. Locke. Brother… That…”
“Huh? Hmm? I don’t think there was a hill here before…”
Ario tilted his head. Ario didn’t realize because his eyesight wasn’t as good as Ginny’s.

“That’s a…dragon.”
“I knew it… A dragon. Let’s retreat.”
“Surely not. Why would a dragon be in a place like this?”
Ario said with a laugh.
However, there was no doubt about it. There was a giant dragon a short distance away from the side of the road.

“We should retreat at once. Safety is the most important thing, and we need to report this to the guild.”
“…Yes. I’m sorry. This is a little awkward to say, but I know that dragon.”

When I said this, Ginny looked at me with disbelief.
The dragon that was sitting on the side of the road was Kathe.
She was supposed to be at my house. But for some reason, she was sitting here in her dragon form.

“Ah, Locke. What a coincidence!”
Kathe said happily. And then she rushed towards me.

“It’s definitely not a coincidence. You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”
“…No, not at all.”
“Why are you lying?”
“…Really, Locke. Why do you have such an over inflated opinion of yourself?”
“Then what were you doing here?”
“I was resting after my daily routine, which is the inspection of ancient ruins.”
“…Hmm.”
I thought that she was clearly lying.

After all, Kathe had asked me for the precise location of the village where the goblin hunting quest had come from.
And the reason must have been so she could wait for us here.
However, there was no point in poking further and trying to expose the lie.

“Gruff! Gruff!”
Grulf seemed very happy as he pounced on Kathe’s leg

“Oh, Gruff. You sure are excited!”
Kathe stroked Grulf with the back of her finger with a pleased expression.
I turned to Ario and Ginny, who were frightened as they stood behind me.

“This dragon is my friend. Her name is Kathe.”
“I see. That’s amazing…”
“Is-is that so. You certainly are full of surprises, Mr. Locke.”
But Ario and Ginny looked put-off.

“So you two must be Locke’s F-rank Adventurer friends?”
“I’m A-Ario. I’m a Sorcerer. I can use Fireball and Magic Arrow.”
“I’m Ginny. An Archer Scout.”

They sounded very nervous as they introduced themselves.
However, I was now worried that she would think his name was A-Ario.

“This is Ario and Ginny. They are my Adventurer friends.”
“Is that so! I am Kathe. I am Locke’s friend. It’s good to meet you.”
“It’s good to meet you too!”
“Yes, good to meet you.”

Ario was talking more formally than usual.
It must be because he was so nervous talking to a dragon. I understood how he felt.

Kathe seemed to be in a good mood as she wagged her tail.
“Hmm? So you are going to hunt goblins, are you not? It must be fate that brought us together. So I shall help you.”
“I see. Well, since you’re here, I suppose you can help.”
“You can count on me!”
“What?”
“What?”
While Kathe was wagging her tail, Ario and Ginny looked at me with confusion.

Was it really all right to have a great dragon help them fight some goblins?
In the first place, a dragon was scarier than any goblin.
That was what they were probably thinking.
Dragons were like the embodiment of terror.

“Gruff! Gruff!”
“You want some treats, Grulf?”

Even Grulf, who was now jumping on Kathe and wagging his tail, had been afraid of her when they first met.
And so Ario and Ginny would get used to her soon enough.

“Don’t worry, Kathe is a good dragon. There is no need to be afraid.”
“If you say so, Mr. Locke…”
“I-I’m not even afraid or anything…at all…”
“Calm down, brother.”
“I-I am calm. It-It’s you, Ginny, who needs to calm down.”

But Ario was clearly more unnerved than his sister.

“You sure are an interesting one, Ario. I know. Since you’re here. I will let you ride on my back.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”

I said. Kathe tilted her head to the side.

“Why is that? I am very fast.”
If we rode on Kathe, a three hour walk could be traveled in five to ten minutes.
It would be very efficient.

“However, Kathe. We are headed to a village where the people are afraid of goblins.”
Imagine how they would react if they saw a dragon.

“Then you can get off outside of the village.”
“No! No! We must be very cautious! Let’s walk!”
Ario protested passionately.

“Indeed. Ario may be right.”

Kathe’s suggestion that we could get off while still at a distance did make sense.
However, Ario and Ginny were still afraid of her.
And it would be bad to take them up into the sky in this state.

Besides, Kathe’s back wasn’t made to carry humans.
It was hard to keep your balance, and there was nothing to hold onto. It would not be easy to ride her.
Of course, I could help them and ensure that they didn’t fall, but their legs may become wobbly, and they might not be able to stand afterward.
And then they wouldn’t be able to hunt goblins.