I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Strolling leisurely through the city as if sightseeing, Viretta and Iola slipped into a hidden spot when no one was looking.

The hideout she led them to was the Philos Trading Guild.

Inside the trading guild bustling with merchants, the branch manager promptly escorted them to a private room upon recognizing Viretta.

"I’ve arranged everything we need. We can leave right away. Do you need a carriage?"@@@@

"I don’t think we should go that far. It would be a problem if Father caught wind of it."

"Always so considerate. Are you planning to sell those clothes and jewels as well?"

"Yes, and make sure to set a high price. My grandfather will surely buy them at a premium."

Viretta waved a necklace with a large ruby pendant that sparkled as she spoke. It was a piece she’d inherited from her grandmother specifically for the engagement ceremony, but she showed no hesitation in selling it off.

"I wondered why you were dressed so elaborately. So, you planned to sell everything," Iola remarked, taking off bracelets and brooches one by one and setting them onto a silver tray. Viretta had already removed her long drop earrings and anklets, leaving no accessory behind.

"I’m not sure if the money I’ve saved will be enough. It’s a long way to the mines, and who knows what might happen on the way."

"Did you bring your entire savings with you?"

"This is a formidable challenge. I wouldn’t mind spending everything I have."

Iola shivered in awe. Now nearly finished changing out of his engagement clothes, he turned around, wrapping himself in a cloak.

"You’re not fully dressed yet!"

"Apologies. But why are you facing me...?"

"Well, you could have accidentally looked over here."

Partly worry, partly... curiosity, but there was no need to go into detail about that.

Dressed in comfortable everyday attire after shedding the ornate gown laden with fine fabric and lace, Viretta lifted the cloak from Iola’s face.

Blushing, Iola took her hand.

"I apologize. For a moment, I doubted your intentions."

"Doubted me?"

"Seeing you preparing for the engagement, I thought perhaps the dragon hunt was just a metaphor. Or that maybe you’d given up on it."

"N-Not at all."

"Truly, I apologize. I’d accept any punishment you see fit for someone so lacking in faith."

"It’s alright, Iola. Anyone meeting someone as eccentric as me might easily make that mistake."

Viretta forgave him generously. She didn’t want to appear unkind.

And considering he’d been half-right, her conscience pricked at her slightly.

"The way you’ve prepared to hunt a dragon without hesitation is remarkable. It’s as if I was meant to come to Phillion to meet someone like you."

"Hunt a dragon?!"

The branch manager, who had been eavesdropping, cried out in a high-pitched voice. Viretta and Iola didn’t so much as flinch.

"Thanks to you, I’ve steeled myself not to settle for an ordinary, blissful marriage but to dive into the whirlpool of dangerous adventure."

"If that makes you happy, then I’m glad too—but is that truly something to be glad about?"

Though his expression was one of a man entranced by his lover, every word he spoke was like a dagger.

"Yes."

"Then, I’ll take it as such."

Lanken wished he could give the Medleridge family a stern complaint about their parenting.

"Just go along with it! Please, for once, listen to your father!"

"Never! I, Viretta, take pride in never yielding to outside pressure!"

"That’s not an outsider—it’s your father!"

"To me, he is."

Well, fair enough! Still, how can you say that when you’re living off your father’s money! He shouted this silently, as the giant, now resembling his mother, transformed into a dragon.

He couldn’t be sure if it was a dragon, a creature like a black-and-red lizard. After all, he’d seen lizards, but never a dragon.

Yet it was a dragon. The dragon that Viretta intended to slay.

But why a dragon? Why should they hunt a dragon? Why all of a sudden?

As he fumbled for answers, lost in a fog, his vision blurred, and his body was jolted awake by a sharp pain in his stomach.

Aah...

"Aah!"

He opened his eyes to find a continuation of his nightmare.

"You’re awake? What a sleepyhead! I called you so many times, but you wouldn’t wake up. Come on, pack your things."

In the dead of night, Viretta Medleridge had broken into his home.

"Wha... what...?"

Still groggy, he looked around, unsure if he’d been napping, only to realize it was pitch dark.

He was in his home, in his room, with only the faint moonlight seeping through the window.

Yet there was Viretta, fully dressed for a night out, pressing down on his stomach.

In someone else’s home, in the middle of the night!

"A nightmare...?"

Was he still dreaming? Lanken rubbed his eyes.

"Nightmare? If I’m here, it’s a good omen! We don’t have time to waste, Lanken! Hurry up, before someone comes after us. We’ve got a dragon to hunt!"

"Wait... a dragon? Why are you talking about dragons?"

"It’s quite simple."

Someone else appeared in Lanken’s line of sight, a man with a peculiar hairstyle but a cheerful demeanor.

Realizing that Viretta wasn’t the only nighttime intruder, Lanken jolted awake, fully alert.

His father and siblings were asleep in the house. Even if the intruder was Viretta, this was unsettling. He sat up, his upper body straight, prepared to confront them.

At that moment, Viretta on his left and Iola on his right met his gaze and spoke in unison.

"“We need to break off the engagement!”"

"...Is this still a dream?"

Or was it a joke?

Half-asleep, Lanken pulled the covers over his head, but Viretta and Iola yanked him out of bed.

"Let’s go, Lanken! You’ll be our officiant and witness for our glorious breakup!"

"What the hell are you talking about—!"

His shout echoed throughout the neighborhood.