I was flying.

Not by my magic.
I was astride the back of a giant creature.
The creature was flying powerfully, tearing through the sky, above the majestic landscape, with the wind whistling through it.

The creature flaps its scorching wings with a single flap.
A shimmering glow of magical power danced from its wings, lifting the creature's massive body into the air.

With its bright red scales, the creature's reptilian appearance could not be mistaken for anything else.
A dragon.
I was flying on the back of a dragon.

'Hey, Will~'

Then a familiar voice.
I turned around and saw the girl behind me.
A dark-haired girl dressed in a kimono hakama.

When I asked her what she was doing, she shook me and said something like this.

'Will, it's time for you to get up. Get up or I'll kiss you.

...... Wake up?
What the hell are you talking about?

I try to say it, but I can't get it out.
Then you realize.

Oh, okay, this is...

I'm out of the dream world, and I'm awake.

'Are you sure, Will~, I'm really going to kiss you~. Mmmm. ......'

'How can it be okay?

I pushed Satsuki, who was trying to cover me, away with my hand.

'Kyan!

Satsuki rolled over and fell off the bed.

I lifted myself up from the bed where I had been sleeping.
It was a room in an inn.

It was an ordinary room with nothing but a bed, a desk, a chair, a wardrobe, a wall lamp and a window.
Seeing this scene, you are pulled back from the fantasy of your dream to reality at once.

Anyway...

'...... What are you doing, Satsuki?

'Oh, good morning, Will.

The girl who tumbled out of bed gave me a lopsided smile.

She was wearing a sky-blue kimono and hakama, and had a sword on her hip, a weapon unique to samurai.
Her ponytailed black hair and eyes of the same color indicated that she was from a faraway land in the east.

This is Satsuki, my fellow adventurer.
She is an excellent swordswoman, and has recently improved her skills even further.
As a companion, he is very reliable.

But that doesn't mean that this situation is normal.

This is not a 'good morning'. This is supposed to be my room.'

'Because it's already noon. And the room was unlocked when I came to call for you. But it's unusual for Will to sleep in.

'Mmm ......, you slept until that time?

By the way, did you stay up all night last night?
The scrolls I received in my last adventure were so interesting that I got carried away when I started reading them.

I finally succumbed to sleepiness late at night and went to bed in a daze, which is probably why I forgot to lock my door.
I am sorry for my lack of self-control, but .......

I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.

'No, no. I'm kidding. I'm just kidding. You wouldn't really do that.

'............'

'......Oh, no, I was watching ......Will's sleeping face, and I got carried away. ......I gave in to my weak heart, I guess. ......'

I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I've been so impressed with your work.
It's all .......

'Well, it's my fault for forgetting to lock the door to my room. Let's consider ourselves lucky that it was Satsuki who came into the room and not the thief.

'Yes, yes. I'm the goddess of luck! Ouch.

I lightly hit Satsuki's head with the tip of my cane and kicked her out of the room, then I prepared for the morning.

But even though I was preparing for the morning, I opened the window and looked outside to see that the sun was indeed shining directly above me, and there was no doubt that it was just before noon.

'...... I'm sorry I made you wait so long to leave. I have to apologize to Mee and Cyril.

I left the room talking to myself and headed downstairs where my friends were waiting for me.


* * * * *


'It's unusual for William to be a sleepyhead.

'Yes, sir. Mee thought that regularity was William's hobby.

They walked down to the dining room on the first floor, where Satsuki and two others were waiting at a round table for four.
They were Cyril, a Holy Order girl, and Mee, a thief and a beast girl.

'Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. The scrolls I started reading were so interesting that I stayed up too late, and that's why I lost.

'Hmm. I guess it's typical of William to stay up late reading. I'm pretty sure that scroll was given to you by that guy during your last adventure, right?

Cyril says and offers me a seat.
I followed her advice and took a seat at the same table as the girls.

Cyril, a Priestess (Holy Order), is a beautiful girl with a maternal silhouette wrapped in a white priestly robe.
Her platinum blonde hair is kept semi-short, and her purple eyes have a glint of intelligence in them.

She must have been seventeen years old, the same age as me, but her soft smile and gestures gave me the impression of an older sister.
In my last adventure, I also caught a glimpse of her infant-like side. .......

'Oh, that's it. To my surprise, the contents of the book overlapped with the topics I was researching when I was a student at the Academy of Magic. I was absorbed in reading it.

'Ah, I see. I can see William devouring it like a boy.

It was the beast girl, Mee, who added her voice.

She has the small frame of a human child, and wears clothes that emphasize the ease of movement typical of a thief, with a dagger in her waist belt on each side.
The hairy cat ears on her head, the tail sprouting from her buttocks, and the double-teeth glimpsed in her mouth, expressed the girl's loveliness to the fullest extent.

I replied frankly to her.

'I'm embarrassed to say that you're right. I couldn't stop the excitement of reading it. Maybe that excitement is what led to my dream this morning.

'...... hmm? Is it a dream? What kind of dream?'



'What dream ...... do you remember is the sight of flying on the back of a dragon. I feel like a child.

'Oh, on a dragon. That could be a prophetic dream.

Satsuki, who interrupted our conversation, laughed at me.

I can't help but imagine it.
A premonition: ...... No, seriously, that's impossible.

A dragon is said to be the king of all magical beasts and the top of all living things.
It's also a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your money.

Well, there are countries in the world that have dragon knights.
It is said that they tame infant dragons of five or six meters in length by secret means and ride them in battle.

But that's the exception to the rule.
In addition, I have never heard of flying on the back of a large dragon like I have seen in my dreams, only in the world of fairy tales.

If anything, it would be more appropriate to say that dragons are hostile to us adventurers.
Even so, they're not the kind of enemy a young party of E rank adventurers like us should be dealing with. .......

What's more.
It seems that we now have a fearsome enemy that we need to deal with before the dragon. ......
The reason why I say 'apparently' is because we are on our way to the royal capital to hear more about it.

'Well, that's fine. If you're awake, we'll head for King's Landing as soon as possible. The 'demon king' that Irene was talking about, that's a big deal, isn't it?

Mee said and jumped out of her seat.

You're leaving early.
I woke up and felt a little hungry, but it was my fault for oversleeping.
I can't cause any more trouble for everyone.

'Oh. It's so important that it's a wonder we're even in the loop. At least they're not lying about the fact that they're going to give us a well-paying job.'

With that, I was about to stand up, but then...

Ugh. .......
I heard a slight growl of hunger in my stomach.

Cyril, who overheard it with a keen ear, smiled at me with genuine amusement.

'Oh, you're a sleepyhead and now you're a hungryhead? That's really unusual for William.'

'...... Sorry. Maybe it's because I was so engrossed in reading the scrolls last night that I didn't eat or drink.'

'Well, it's usually lunchtime. It still takes about half a day to get from this city to King's Landing, right? Let's get something to eat before we go.

Everyone agreed with Satsuki's suggestion.

After having lunch at a reasonable restaurant, we started our journey to the capital, and arrived at the capital, Graceburg, at dinner time that day.