At the place where we first met Simone, a new figure awaited us: a dragonkin girl we had never seen before.
「W-Who are you? What are you doing here?」
I kept my tone light and friendly, careful not to alarm her. Last time, a loud voice had startled Simone and driven her to flee. This time, I hoped to avoid repeating that mistake.
The girl, clearly nervous, hesitated but eventually inched closer, seemingly assessing that we posed no threat. I resisted the urge to approach her hastily, instead allowing her to close the distance at her own pace.
After a tense silence, she finally spoke.
「M-My name is Eselda. I am a dragonkin. I was told to wait here, and that a man named Bale Orlando would come with his companions…」
「I’m Bale Orlando.」
「Y-You are? Oh, thank goodness…」
As the words left her mouth, Eselda’s tension seemed to break, and she collapsed onto the ground, sitting with a trembling frame. It was evident how much courage it had taken for her to approach us and speak.
Much like with Simone, I couldn’t help but think about the challenges dragonkin face in interacting with humans. Some nations consider dragonkin to be dangerous, a perception fueled by their association with dragons, creatures often equated to natural disasters.
But that view applies mostly to wild, instinct-driven lower dragons. Dragonkin, endowed with higher intelligence, rarely attacks humans unprovoked. While I can’t claim this is true for all dragonkin, Simone and now Eselda seem to embody this peaceful nature.
Returning to the matter at hand, I asked Eselda about the person who had instructed her to wait for me.
「It was a dragonkin named Simone.」
「I knew it…」
The timing made it almost inevitable, but hearing it confirmed was still a relief.
Now, the pressing questions were: what was Eselda’s connection to Simone, and where had Simone gone?
I decided to start with the latter.
「The Simone you met is a dear friend of ours. Do you know where she went?」
「She went to Yabel Valley.」
「So, the hunch was right…」
Charlotte’s earlier information was spot-on. And if this was accurate, the rumors of a dragon in the valley were likely true as well.
「Eselda, does that mean there’s a dragon in Yabel Valley?」
「Y-Yes… I used to live there, but… one day, a very strong dragonkin attacked us…」
At this, Eselda’s voice trailed off, and she cast her gaze downward.
The pain in her expression told me all I needed to know: the attack had been a traumatic event.
And now Simone had ventured into that fraught valley.
「Bale, we don’t have time to sit around.」
「Indeed. We must follow at once, Bale-dono.」
Kiara and Martina are both ready to go.
It wasn’t just them; Charlotte, Hanon, and Ailia all shared the same determined look.
「…Alright. Let’s go.」
There were preparations to make, but we would move swiftly.
Our next destination was clear: Yabel Valley.
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