Chapter 184 - Purification

Naofumi: “Time to go home!”

Sadina: “As I thought, tagging along with you sure gets interesting.”

Naofumi: “Sadina, stop laughing and use some purification magic already!”

Being cursed still hurts you know!

Be at least a little bit considerate.

Sadina: “Can’t be helped.”

And so, Sadina uses holy water and casts magic on me. It seems like special magic, the fact that it’s effective on this curse is amazing.

Sadina: “Ah, Naofumi. Would you hand me a magic potion? I'm running on empty here.”

Naofumi: “So what? We don’t plan to fight anymore.”

Sadina: “Ahh, it’s really troubling for me though. Please!”

She goes on and on, but I ignore her and walk away.

Naofumi: “Firo, we’re leaving.”

Firo: “Kay.”

Gaelion: “Kyua!”

Once again, Gaelion clings to my leg.

Naofumi: “It’s hard to walk. Move!”

Gaelion: “Kyuaaaa!”

Suddenly, Gaelion's body starts shining, and he returns to his original size.

Even larger than before actually, probably up to 40 meters.

He takes flight with me on his back, grasping Taniko, Sadina, and Rato around his tail and his hands.

Firo: “Ah, AHHHH-!”

Firo lets out a cry filled with fear.

Raphtalia: “Naofumi?!”

Raphtalia is taken aback. Even I have no words for this!

Gaelion can transform?

Gaelion: “Kyuaa.”

Gaelion shifts everyone onto his back and provokes Firo.

Firo: “Mu!?”

Gaelion: “Kyuaa.”

His flight-path takes us descending down the mountain.

Firo: “Raphtalia! Hurry up! Master belongs only on my back!”

Firo, refusing to be defeated, takes off running.

Even without a cart, her speed is no match for Gaelion.

Though he's my slave, even when I order him to let us down, he won’t listen.

I can’t activate the slave crest either, or we'd fall.

Rato: “Jeez. This kid is too out of control, huh.”

Naofumi: “Rato, were you aware that dragons grow up like this?”

Rato: “I’ve seen it often in my research, but I don’t know if the possible variations are to the same extent as that of the Filorials. Kids around the Count always seem to grow in interesting ways.”

Naofumi: “That’s not the problem…”

From the sky, I look down. I notice that the air of pollution was dissipating.

Rato: “Did the Count notice too? I wanted to inspect the surroundings influenced by the berserked Gaelion, but I guess there's no chance of that now.”

I see. With this, the land also returns to its peaceful state.

I wonder if I could use Portal Shield.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Let's test it.

Naofumi: “Portal Shield!”

Alright. Looks like there's no problem there. Just to be on the safe side, I'll fly in and check the situation with the village.

Are we out of Raphtalia’s range? I’ll need to think about how to fly in here later.

Sadina: “Ah… Naofumi. I’m begging you, would you give me a magic potion?”

Naofumi: “Why should I?”

I turn towards Sadina and suddenly Rato, Taniko, and I are all at a loss for words.

Sadina: “Please?”

Sadina… was pleading, no longer as a giant, but in the form of a human.

Huh?

Naofumi: “Who are you?”

Sadina: “That’s why I've been asking for a magic potion, else I can’t keep up my appearance. Even alcohol will do.”

She has long black hair, and skin and a face that would rival even Raphtalia.

A beautiful traditional Japanese-style woman.

It was so surprising to see such a beauty ask me a favor.

Naofumi: “Can’t be helped, eh?”

I throw her a potion.

Naofumi: “I guess I should have realized something was up when Gaelion brought you too.”

There’s no way he could have flown with a four-meter giant on his back.

Naofumi: “Don’t drink it now. We’ll crash.”

Sadina: “Naofumi, you’re not surprised?”

Naofumi: “I am.”

Sadina: “Don’t cry for me.”

Naofumia: “Who would.”

Rato: “Do the Ruka have this ability?”

Sadina: “I’m not a Ruka.”

Sadina answers Rato’s question.

Rato: “Are you something else?”

These two are about the same age, figures their personalities would clash.

Well, Sadina looks a little older though.

Whatever.

Sadina: “I’m from the Sakamata race. Ruka is close, but they’re different.”

Rato: “How are they different?”

Sadina: “Can’t you tell just by looking?”

Well, if she can transform, she could have been anything.

Rato: “Not at all. It looks like you can transform with magic somehow. I mean, we're riding a living example right now.”

Sadina: “Well, it’s too bad that you can't tell the difference. That’s all you get, I don’t have much of a migratory diet.”

By the way, I’ve read that Orcas are split into three types back in my own world. It feels just like I had seen it, but I think I remember something about their genes differing as little as between an average dog and a wolf. [1]

Gaelion: “Kyua!”

Taniko: “Gaelion, grow up to be handsome… Become a fine dragon like my father.”

Gaelion: “Kyua!”

Naofumi: “That father of yours is feigning innocence.”

Taniko: “What are you talking about? Father… is dead.”

Taniko interrupts me and refuses listen to anything else I have to say.

Before returning to our village, I land by the Eastern village.

The Eastern villagers are content with the mountain's return to normalcy.

'As expected of the Shield Hero!' Trying to flatter me, but I won't be fooled.

To be blunt, from what Taniko and Gaelion said, I think they got what they deserved.

My inner evaluation of the eastern village’s people dropped quite a bit.

They can just go to hell.

Firo: “Master rides only on my back!”

Gaelion: “Kyuaaa.”

Once everyone reassembles at the village, Firo and Gaelion’s bout continues.

Gaelion had transformed back into his small form.

Naofumi: “Yes, yes. That’s enough.”

Firo: “No, it’s not!”

Firo is still fixated on being my only mount.

Naofumi: “Ha… For now, I’ll play with you from today onward Firo, so chill out.”

Firo: “Yaaay! But master...”

Naofumi: “If you dwell on it any more, I won’t play with you.”

Firo: “No!”

Gaelion: “Kyua...”

Naofumi: “You’re the one who caused all this, so you’ll be disciplined for a while. If you have time, I’ll let you play with Firo, so be obedient.”

Gaelion trots over to Taniko to cry.

Gaelion: “Kyuaaaaa.”

Taniko: “Why are you covering for that bird, why do you pick on Gaelion?”

Naofumi: “You don’t understand? It’s punishment.”

Taniko: “Uu…”

Teary-eyed Gaelion glances over to me.

It’s like a child faking tears to get what it wants.

Naofumi: “No way.”

Gaelion: “Kyuaaaa…”

Gaelion begins to cry earnestly.

Firo: “Yaaa-y! Serves you right!”

Naofumi: “Firo.”

After warning Firo, she turns her glance away and starts singing.

I swear, she’s still a child. I wonder if she's aware of the trouble she caused.

Raphtalia: “Then I’ll be heading back.”

Naofumi: “Ah, you saved us.”

Raphtalia: “No problem. If anything, I apologize for being late.”

Naofumi: “It couldn’t be helped. I can't even imagine what we would have done without you.”

With that, I express my thanks to Raphtalia, and see her off.

That reminds me, Rishia took a liking to the old hag, didn't she?

In my head, Rishia turns into a muscle freak.

Rapthalia: “What you're thinking is probably wrong, you know.”

Naofumi: “You know me so well.”

Raphtalia: “Well, we’ve been together for a long time now.”

It’s that thing where we understand each other by breathing the same air, huh.

Naofumi: “I see. Then, I'll make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Next time, report to me where you'll be training.”

Raphtalia: “Got it.”

Naofumi: “Your level… hasn’t risen all that much.”

It looks like there's more to her training than fighting fierce monsters.

Is there some sort of standard for survival when training in the mountains?

Now that I think about it, I need the old hag to teach me too.

Raphtalia: “Ah… If there's time, your training will begin after ours ends.”

Naofumi: “Somehow, I feel commonplace.”

Raphtalia: “You're the type of person that learns through actual fighting experience, so she was saying something about your qualities already showing results.”

Naofumi: “What?”

Raphtalia: “No offence, but you can’t afford a haphazard defense. You can't counter forever either, but if you remember the basis for parrying, it’ll be enough to apply it later… I don’t really understand it though.”

Naofumi: “I don’t really get it either.”

Well, I heard that I should remember the technique to draw out the destructive power within…

Thinking back, though Atlas is blind, she could see the flow of ki.

If I ask her, she’d probably agree be my practice partner.

I’ll go ask her after we're done here.

After finishing our talk, Raphtalia leaves the village, albeit a little reluctantly.

I look forward to her returning after her training is over.