Chapter 20

Traveling by Wyvern was so fast it made the previous carriage journey feel like a lie.

I couldn’t help but think we should have just used these from the start, but apparently, the use of magical beasts is prohibited everywhere except for this general vicinity.

“Whoa! It’s so fast! This is amazing!”

I had been in high spirits the entire time.

“Wyverns take some skill to ride, but they are significantly faster than a Pegasus. Riding beasts are trained to generate a magical barrier, which allows them to travel at high speeds without the rider feeling the air resistance.”

“So magical beasts aren’t just all bad. They used to show up in the Marquisate of Eventail occasionally, but my father was always furious because they’d ruin the citizens’ vegetable patches.”

“Agnes, aren’t you scared at all, flying through the sky at this speed?”

“No, I seem to be perfectly fine.”

“That’s incredible. Usually, unless someone is quite used to it, traveling by Wyvern is an exhausting ordeal.”

Despite saying that, Lord Nazel looked perfectly composed himself.

He mentioned having trained to ride them, but he must have been incredibly busy with his prince-consort education. I doubt he had the chance to ride them very often.

And yet, his sense of stability was exactly what I’d expect from Lord Nazel.

For a while now, Tony—who was flying ahead of us—kept turning around to look back at us over and over.

He doesn’t need to worry; Lord Nazel isn’t going to get lost!

After several hours of non-stop flight without a break, a town that looked like our destination finally came into view below us.

“Is this the heart of the Sutrena Territory?”

The center of Sutrena was a desolate town, incomparable to the Royal Capital.

Wooden buildings were scattered haphazardly across unpaved ground, and at the back of a plaza where people gathered stood an old stone fortress.

Further off, I could see a building that looked like a noble’s manor.

The population was small, and there were almost no shops. Even Roca, which I had thought of as a rural town, was more prosperous than this.

To the south of the town, grasslands stretched out, and beyond them flowed a massive river. I was told that once you cross that river, you are in the land of the neighbor, Porpistan.

As I took in the scenery, Tony’s Wyvern began to descend toward the fortress.

“Agnes, we’re descending. Hold on tight.”

“Yes, Lord Nazel!”

I clung to the Wyvern’s body. Lord Nazel wrapped his arms around me, holding me securely. Come to think of it, he had hugged me tightly like this when we first took off, too.

Sigh, Lord Nazel… he’s so dependable. And he smells so good… how wonderful!

While I was lost in my own world, the Wyvern landed on the roof of a building. Even the descent hadn’t been very scary.

Tony and Kelly had already reached the ground ahead of us. Kelly looked safe as well.

Having hopped down to the ground quickly, Lord Nazel reached out his arms toward me.

“Come here, Agnes.”

“Um… Lord Nazel? Could it be…?”

“It’s alright. Just jump into my arms.”

“…!”

Diving into Lord Nazel’s chest is way too high a hurdle for me!

As I hesitated, the Wyvern—perhaps getting restless—started to shift under me.

“Whoa! I’m going to fall at this rate!”

Feeling my balance slip, I gave up and jumped toward Lord Nazel with a desperate “Eiyah!”

Even though I flew at him with quite a bit of momentum, Lord Nazel caught me effortlessly. He looks slender, but he’s surprisingly strong.

“You’re light, Agnes.”

Lord Nazel smiled broadly while still holding me close. It might be because my clothes are so light today.

But even so…

“U-Um…”

Lord Nazel, you don’t seem like you have any intention of putting me down on the ground.

At this rate, he might realize that my heart is thumping like a drum.

“Your heart is racing, Agnes.”

HE FOUND OUUUUUUT!

But… for some reason, Lord Nazel looks happy about it.

While I was panicking internally, another person emerged from inside the building. It was an official wearing glasses, and he looked a bit pale.

The moment he saw the two Wyverns, his face turned even paler.

“Tony! Why are the Wyverns…!”

At the sound of his voice, Tony blurted out, “Oh, crap!” and tried to make a break for it.

However, we were on the roof. Unless he hopped back on a Wyvern or used the door behind us, there was no escape.

The official turned his gaze to us and spoke in a flustered tone.

“I am terribly sorry. It seems my subordinate prepared the wrong riding beasts. We had intended to arrange for Pegasuses.”

This man is bowing and scraping quite a bit. He looks so sickly, is he going to be okay?

Lord Nazel, receiving the apology, replied cheerfully.

“I’m perfectly fine. I can ride Wyverns as well. My wife and I had a very pleasant journey through the sky.”

The pale man dragged a captured Tony along as he guided us inside the building.

I noticed Lord Nazel’s manner of speech had switched to “work mode.”

Once we were shown into a relatively clean room, the pale man introduced himself properly.

“Welcome to Sutrena. I am Henry Birkett, the local official serving here.”

“I am Nazelbert. And this is my wife, Agnes.”

I gave a polite bow.

Still, Mr. Henry looks awfully pale. It might be better to wrap up this conversation quickly so he can get some rest.

“As you are likely aware, Sutrena currently has no lord. I was dispatched from the Royal Capital to manage the frontier as a deputy.”

Apparently, Mr. Henry is the third son of a Viscount family with no land of their own. He used to work at the Royal Palace, but after a disagreement with his superior, he was sent away to the frontier.

What is this feeling… this sense that being assigned to the frontier is a punishment?

Is this place really that awful?