Chapter 26
With a mischievous flap of wings, his new form soared high into the sky, disappearing into the distance beyond sight.
“Uooooh!”
“U-uuoooh~!”
The ogre group, unable to contain their boiling anger, stomped their feet and chased after the carriage driver.
For the first time in her life, Heidi found herself sympathizing with the feelings of the ogres. Then, from a distance, a clear cry reached her ears.
“Kyuuuu!”
From within the bushes, Drake was looking around and crying. The sound didn’t match his large, imposing frame, but somehow it was cute.
“Let’s go to him, okay?”
Teo’s tiny little feet tugged at Heidi’s sleeve.
Right, she had been so distracted by the carriage driver that she’d momentarily forgotten—she needed to rescue Drake and collect the mandrake.
“Yes, let’s go!”
The group walked over to Drake. By the time they were close enough,
“Kyuuut, kyut!”
Drake, who had been watching them, stretched out his round, fluffy front paws and bowed his head deeply, almost like a human nodding in greeting.
“It’s like he’s saying thank you for saving him,”
Heidi felt a lump in her chest. Many humans don’t even know how to express gratitude, yet a monster shows appreciation? Even better than humans.
“Isn’t that just an action we’re reading too humanly into?”
“No, it’s possible it really is that. Drake is a cousin to dragons, so his intelligence is higher than ordinary monsters, and he’s classified as a separate pseudo-dragon species.”
“Ohhh…”
“Ancient records say they were even trained to pull carts.”
“Wait, so the carriage driver’s wish to ride Drake earlier—was that actually possible?”
“Yes. Though personally, I would already be dizzy enough with an ostrich carriage…”
Heidi shivered at the thought of the carriage driver harnessing Drake to the cart and going on a wild, frenzied run with his characteristic laugh.
“Kyahaha! I can say thank you later!”
Meanwhile, Teo jumped out of her arms and patted Drake’s head.
“Kyuu, kyut!”
Drake looked at Teo with eyes that seemed quietly moved.
‘Hmm…’
Of course, it wasn’t Teo who had saved Drake, but seeing Teo’s fluffy little tail wagging in delight was so cute that Heidi decided not to argue.
“Kyuu!”
Then, Drake slowly rose and stepped back.
Thanks to that, the group could finally see the cluster of rainbow-colored plants hidden behind his massive body.
Heidi’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, those are mandrakes!”
“Drake must have been saying thanks by showing us the mandrakes!”
“Kyut, kyut!”
Drake seemed to agree, extending his front paw to point at the mandrakes.
“Thank you! I was just looking for these! Could I take some?”
“Kyut!”
Drake nodded vigorously. Intelligent pseudo-dragons repay favors with the exact herbs you need—truly remarkable.
Heidi took a trowel and rice paper for harvesting the mandrakes from her bag. Sitting near the plants, she slowly surveyed the surroundings.
If she observed the habitat in advance, she could replicate a similar environment when cultivating the mandrakes back at Rium.
‘Shaded area. Misty and damp, surrounded by moss. Plant deep enough to cover the roots, and keep the soil moist…’
She scooped soil and moss into a glass jar she had brought along.
“Shall I help?”
Just then, Berg asked.
“That would be helpful. Good thing I brought an extra trowel. Please be careful not to damage the roots.”
“Yes.”
As Heidi and Berg dug up five of the ten roots, she watched her diligent worker with a pleased expression.
“Uooooh!”
A sudden scream came from behind. Startled, Heidi turned around.
An ogre was charging straight toward them. For a moment, she was shocked by its enormous size.
‘Huh?’
The ogre had a terrified expression, running as if chased by something.
“Guuuuh!”
The cause quickly became clear. Behind the ogre, kicking up a whirlwind of dust, the ostrich was chasing furiously.
With legs more muscular than the ogre’s arms, the ostrich, appearing as the top predator of the magic forest at this moment, was Tasun.
“Hehehehe! Tasun, let’s eat, mamma!”
“Guuuuut~!”
And when Heidi saw the carriage driver riding atop Tasun, tightly holding its neck with his flaming wings flapping, she realized one thing: no monster could ever match human madness.
She understood.
Monsters only exist when intelligence is present!
Once the absurdity overtook her fear, her perception sharpened. Tasun’s figure was getting closer.
Specifically, toward her precious money—or rather, the mandrakes.
And Heidi realized Tasun was a straight-runner. That is, once it started sprinting, it wouldn’t stop. Who could stop a runaway ostrich?
“Oh?”
I have to stop it?
If the chase continued, the ogre would keep fleeing and her mandrakes would be trampled.
Feeling a surge of urgency, Heidi sprang up and shouted,
“Nooo, stop!!! You can’t trample the mandrakes to death―!”
Never since her first breath had she felt such desperation.
At that moment, Berg’s strong hand grasped her shoulder.
“They’re going to collide.”
He calmly pulled her behind him.
‘Ah…’
Realizing her mistake, Heidi scratched her cheek awkwardly. She had been so focused on the mandrakes that she forgot the priority. Right now, the most important thing was her life.
“Thank you for saving me!”
Heidi shouted loudly into Berg’s back as she quickly stepped aside, out of the ogre’s path.
“Stop immediately.”
Berg muttered as he drew what appeared to be a blade wrapped in white bandages from his back. Though his voice wasn’t loud, it carried an unmistakable warning.
Though he was usually gentle around her, in his profession he was a fearsome man.
“Uwaaaa…! Don’t cut our Tasun’s neck, you butcher!!!”
The carriage driver swallowed and held Tasun’s neck tightly.
Screeeeeeek―!
Tasun skidded to a stop, kicking up dust. Even a straight-runner couldn’t ignore an immediate threat to its life.
Its survival instinct overpowered its desire to run. Amazing!
Having dealt with the first threat, Berg now turned to the ogre.
“Uooooh!”
It didn’t know how to stop running. If this continued, her precious mandrakes would be crushed.
Clearly, cutting it off was the best option.
Whirr—
As he tugged at the end of the white bandage, a long silver object was revealed.
‘Finally, can I see the sword of a first-class mercenary?’
Heidi’s heart skipped a beat.
But the object wasn’t a sword.
One end curved like a bird’s beak, the other flattened like a hook—it was clearly…
‘A crowbar! A tool used for pulling nails at construction sites!’
Why were there no sane people around her, including the carriage driver?
No, it was too early to be disappointed. This was Berg, who had flawlessly executed every task so far. Maybe he could even use that crowbar as a weapon…
While trying to justify Berg, she remembered street thugs in Rayben who wielded crowbars as weapons—it had looked pretty threatening.
That’s right. There’s no way her worker would do anything strange. Everyone has their own weapon. If it’s a tool that can defeat an enemy, it’s a weapon—form doesn’t matter.
Glancing slightly, she saw a mage still spreading red wings wide.
‘Hmm…’
Apparently, she still lacked experience for first-class mercenary thinking.
The world’s pace is too fast! Will I be left behind in the countryside…?
“B-Berg! Hang in there!”
Vwoooom―!
Responding to her encouragement, the crowbar resonated and glowed blue.
‘My goodness!’
