Wyvern Knights

Walls, pillars, and ornaments that clearly bore the marks of time. A space where it felt miraculous that it had not collapsed.

A great hall so foreboding that anyone with only average courage would probably not dare enter for fear it might collapse.

Everywhere the traces of time were deeply rooted, but only one thing shone alone: the ornate, wide chair on the high dais at the far end of the great hall.

The dragon throne.

The broad seat on which a king or emperor sits is flamboyantly shining on its own.

This ornate dragon throne shines by itself in a place where not a single ray of light enters. Is it an artifact? Just looking up at it stirs an inexplicable fear.

But that is probably not only because the throne is a magic item. It is because of the black mist rising from the center of the dragon throne, and whoever is inside that mist flashing with an ominous color.

The reason I say ‘someone’ is because, at the edge of the black mist writhing as if breathing, two shoes and a black dragon robe can be glimpsed here and there.

“…….”

“Failed, you say?”

Would two pieces of rusted iron make a sound like this if scraped together? A rough, chilling voice echoes through the great hall.

The being prostrating itself before the one on the dragon throne. Its face was bone, a skeleton, but the hand extending from its sleeve was pale, yet definitely flesh.

An archlich said to rank among the highest of the undead.

“…….”

“Ho? The Bone Dragon? Impressive. Heh, heh-heh…”

He laughs about the failure as if trying to seem bold, but the dense killing intent is enough to make the mist wrapped around part of the throne scatter slightly.

For a brief moment the mist parts, and what flashes into view is a golden crown.

Silence hangs over the great hall. No, it is tension on the verge of eruption and a chill masquerading as silence.

An archlich, said to have no equal among the undead, placing the back of its hand on the floor while its outstretched palm trembles like a poplar leaf—that is proof enough, isn’t it?

“Heh-heh-heh.”

With a laugh like iron scraping against iron, the killing intent and madness grow even thicker. Soaked in corrupted divine power, the fearless archlich trembles even more fiercely.

“Good, good. So you are the one who rendered the plan I devised useless… Yes, I expected as much. Aren’t you the messenger of some petty god? Though you’ll be a dead man soon enough… Heh-heh-heh. Now then, what should I do next?”

“…….”

Even now the archlich was still bowing its head, trembling faintly.

Even so, whatever conversation passed between the two, an unpleasant voice scraping like metal—‘Ahem, ahem!’—drifted out from within the mist.

“I see, yes. We did have our empire’s proud special task force, the ones who even hunted dragons. Heh-heh. Add the magic tower’s strength to that as well. Let’s see whether you can stop this too. Ah, the location should be there. A place where the winds of death blow all year round. Heh-heh, heh-heh-heh…”

Just as the black mist seems to ripple for a moment, an enormous divine power stirs.

The instant the tainted divine power moves, the archlich rises, folds at the waist and knees in a formal deep bow, then disappears.

Only the eerie laughter remains hollowly in the great hall.

“Companion… are you perhaps planning to go somewhere without us?”

I didn’t know what expression to make at Hazel’s sudden words. They were so out of left field that the thought I had been mulling over in my head blurted out before I knew it.

“Did Arun send you?”

“…Pfft!”

“Companion!”

Seeing Lee Hyo-ju laugh and Hazel bristle, I guess not. Then this isn’t some hidden-camera prank or anything like that…

“Then what are you suddenly talking about? It makes no sense.”

“No… isn’t that how you are acting? As if you’re someone trying to give away as much as possible before leaving.”

At Hazel’s words, Lee Hyo-ju nodded in agreement. So that was the reason she’d been acting awkward all this time? Not because I had assigned her difficult battles?

“So that’s why you were so distant all this time?”

“W-What! It wasn’t only because of that!”

Seeing Hazel stammer and fluster herself, it must be because of that.

I wrapped an arm around Hazel’s red, flushed shoulders and continued.

“Yes, if I have to go somewhere, we’ll go together, so don’t worry too much. The reason I push the members so hard is…”

At the two women’s tense expressions, I had to strain to suppress the chuckles trying to leak out.

“You both saw him too, right? That strange being that attacked us at the beginning of the expedition. The man named Button.”

“Ah…!”

“Hmm…”

Hazel is startled, and Lee Hyo-ju falls into thought.

After waiting a moment for the two to gather their thoughts, I continued.

“When such a being appears, there could be situations where other representatives swoop in from around you. Or what if, like then, a magical beast had charged in together with Button? In cases like that, you’d have to resolve the situation entirely with your own strength, without my help. I’m preparing you for that. More than anything, the undead of this Land of Death are bizarre, aberrant beings. You couldn’t ask for better practice opponents.”

“…Companion.”

“…….”

The two women’s eyes were brimming with emotion.

Those two sparkling pairs of eyes were so burdensome that I deliberately looked away.

The two women who had been laughing ‘kya-rrr’ for a long while continued chatting beside me for quite some time afterward before falling asleep.

Without anyone’s interference, the members rested well for half a day.

Perhaps because they had been able to rest thoroughly in an environment completely different from the Land of Death thanks to the barrier raised by the highest-grade water and earth spirits, or perhaps because they had truly slept for half a day straight, everyone was full of energy.

“Boss! Boss, boss!”

More than anyone, this guy, Naruan, seems to have found his own world. He jumps around by himself, spinning in circles around me and repeating ‘Boss!’ over and over.

If you ask such a Naruan, ‘Why?’…

“Hehe. Just because!!”

Something like that. Maybe he heard something from Hazel and Lee Hyo-ju?

It’s not just Naruan. The atmosphere across the whole group is very bright.

That atmosphere continued the entire time we moved. It felt more like we were heading back to the legion house than staying in the Land of Death.

And then something happened that made the party’s mood even brighter.

“Gyaa…“

The Ja-ryong that had been sleeping soundly on top of my head all this time without falling off, as if dead, finally woke with its distinctive cry.

The moment it recovered, it half-opened its eyes and looked around. Then, flapping its wings with difficulty, it came down from my head and slipped into my arms as if dropping there.

Clearly, the time had been too short for a full recovery, because it fell asleep again as soon as I held it in my arms.

Seeing that, it was only natural for the women to squeal. Among them, Hazel wore a satisfied mother’s smile, unlike the others.

“Why?”

“I think I said this before, but you would really make a good father.”

I ignored Hazel’s words, spoken with a satisfied smile as if she were making a proclamation, and urged us onward.

A full day after setting out, we still hadn’t been disturbed by anything.

However, no one in the party felt at ease about it. As time passed, everyone made preparations, as if bracing for an approaching typhoon.

As time passed, the Ja-ryong returned to normal. Enough to fly around me with utmost swagger, going ‘Gyaa~!’

In the midst of that, the party’s attitude toward the Ja-ryong split into three groups.

The largest group cherished and doted on the Ja-ryong even more than before, as if it became even more lovable after they realized the cute child was also smart.

Most of the female members fell into this category. Naturally, that included the women who couldn’t resist anything cute, but it was unexpected that even a guy like Ostum had joined them.

Next were those who were a bit wary and couldn’t treat it carelessly.

This group, centered on Merus, no longer regarded the Ja-ryong as a cute pet, but treated it like Naruan or Arun—those who may be a little lacking in everyday life(?) but are skilled in battle—on the level of a squad leader.

Lastly, there was one person who showed a peculiar reaction.

He walked up to the Ja-ryong, which had recovered and was kneading and eating the dried fruit handed to it by Lee Hyo-ju, and suddenly said this.

“I acknowledge you. When we return to the legion house later, may I request a spar?”

“…Gyaa!”

Perhaps taking the Ja-ryong’s nod, after it had tilted its head, as consent, the man named ’Proy’ smiled in satisfaction and laughed loudly, praising it as the bearing of a true strong one.

“Gyaa, gyaa!”

“As expected! So that’s it! Amazing!!”

“Gyaa!”

“Right, I think so too.”

I seriously doubted whether they could even understand each other, but the two hit it off and kept chatting away.

The taciturn Proy spoke at length, and the Ja-ryong replied by nodding or giving different intonations of ‘Gyaa~!’ as the two conversed, and for quite some time Proy’s laughter never stopped.

Wasn’t it only natural that the sight of the two became entertainment for the legion members? They were the first-rate contributors who made the tedious march something we could laugh through.

“Why… do all the handsome men in legion turn into idiots?”

I had nothing to say to Hippoly’s words, which had somehow come close by. I can admit that Proy had become very Arun-like. But wait.

‘Handsome… men?’

I could accept Arun, but Proy wasn’t exactly handsome, was he? While tilting my head, I remembered the true name I had seen in Hippoly’s status window not long ago.

‘A girl who had begun a one-sided love.’

‘So that one-sided love was for him? What a taste…’

To like battle idiot Proy… tastes really do vary, and even a straw sandal has its match.

If Hippoly had heard Kim Han’s inner thoughts, she would have replied like this.

‘It’s my taste. Please respect it. And the commander isn’t any less of a battle idiot,’ she would have said.

A lot happened, but we spent more than a full day without an undead attack.

Because the spirits, including me, handled the watch while they rested or slept, the members still looked to be in good condition even now, two days after meeting the Bone Dragon. Except for two people.

“Ughhh! Why isn’t anything appearing?”

“I know, right… It’s exhausting.”

Joel and Schumix were different.

“Ah, I want to try this and that with dragon bone…”

“Me too… If we made a death knight from dragon bone!!”

The two muttered words like ‘diligence,’ ‘showing results,’ and ‘expectation,’ then waited anxiously for undead to appear.

However, as if mocking their wait, the undead showed no sign of appearing for two days.

“Still, Lord Schumix was active enough, but I… Ugh!”

Juil despaired while comparing himself to Schumix, and as time passed his fingernails grew shorter and shorter, stained with saliva from biting them so much.

Had their desperate feelings finally been heard? From far away, I could feel a group approaching, emitting killing intent that was remarkably refined for undead.

This time, the Ja-ryong sensed something before Naruan and jerked its head up.

“Huh? Enemy!”

And Schumix, who had been desperately waiting for undead, was the first among the members to notice.

The moment Schumix issued the warning, he took out a talisman and began muttering and reciting a spell.

As one by one we noticed the direction the enemy was approaching from and drew our weapons to prepare, Lee Hyo-ju’s expression grew serious.

“T-This is…?”

Lee Hyo-ju’s reaction was natural. Anyone would be flustered like her the first time they saw this undead.

As the enemy slowly revealed its true form, the members were so dumbfounded they couldn’t speak, and the Ja-ryong growled, raising its spirit.

And I met the second honey pot I had planned for, letting out a silent cheer.