Level Eater

Chapter 104: On the Way

Salman, Ai, and Tatsuro who were unfamiliar with the next mayoral candidate for Lyadas, lightly introduced themselves to Marikka Shurjaniemi.

"Tatsuro-kun, Ai-chan, and the monkey! I have memorized your names perfectly! Nice to meet you!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Y-y-you don't remember at all!" (Salman)

"Nice to meet you!" (Ai)

"You guys, don't just stand there!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Ignoring the noisy monkey, the attention of Tatsuro and others turned to Marikka's partner, Yorn.

Upon doing so, they were met with an aggressive gaze and found it strangely refreshing compared to the affectionate aura they usually received from Cardina and Jeanne.

"Hey, Yorn! You can't look at them like that!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shhhh."

Ignoring the green sub-dragon Yorn turning away as if saying he didn't care, Marikka puffed her cheeks and angrily moved her wings on her back.

In the midst of this, urged by Neville, Marikka blushed and her wings drooped in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. We should go to the Lord's place as soon as possible. Well then, please take turns riding Yorn." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Where will Marikka-san ride?" (Ai)

Despite Yorn being controlled only by Marikka at the moment, Ai was curious and asked why Marikka wasn't getting on first.

"I have my wings, so I'll fly with them. No matter how strong, carrying this many people is tough." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Then, then, can I ride in the front?" (Ai)

"Hehe, sure." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Yay!" (Ai)

"Congratulations, Ai." (Tatsuro)

With Ai happily in the lead, followed by Tatsuro, Neville, Reginald, Gillian, Salman, and the woman in a robe, they each straddled Yorn's back in order, securely winding the rope extending from Yorn's collar-mounted device around their bodies.

"So, hold on tight so you don't fall." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Yes!" (Ai)

"Hehe, a good answer! Yorn, please!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shaaa!"

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Seeing Yorn respond matter-of-factly to Marikka despite his indifferent attitude, Tatsuro, and the others thought, "He's a tsundere sub-dragon." Meanwhile, Yorn slowly ascended, fluttering his small wings for his size.

It was a rather strange sensation compared to the usual roller coaster descent from the start.

As the Sub-dragon soared into the sky and gained a moderate altitude, he turned his head in the direction of the Lord, and then slowly began to move.

Although they could fly at a leisurely pace, it only consumed extra magic power, so while enjoying the unfamiliar floating sensation, Ai spoke to Marikka, who was flying beside her, flapping her wings.

"Hey, Marikka-san. Yorn here is a sub-dragon, right?" (Ai)

"That's right, Ai-chan. This child is a magical creature called Shuracel, among the sub-dragons." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Is a sub-dragon different from a regular dragon?" (Tatsuro)

As the topic they were curious about came up, Tatsuro also joined the conversation.

"A sub-dragon is not a dragon species, but it's a race very close to it. To put it more simply, they are not as superior as creatures to dragon species, but they can learn skills exclusive to dragon species, albeit at a low level. Some people don't like to say it this way, but they might call them degraded dragon species." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shaaa!"

"I've never thought of it that way. Yorn." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shhhh."

The term "degraded dragon species" angered Yorn, thinking it was an insult directed at him. However, Marikka quickly calmed him down with gentle strokes.

"Can he understand words?" (Ai)

"Yeah, to some extent. It's not as if a full system is installed, but he seems to understand somehow. Right, Yorn?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shh."

"They get along well." (Tatsuro)

"Hehe, thanks. But we are not a match for you guys." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Saying so with a smile, Marikka shifted her gaze to Tatsuro, who was holding her waist behind Ai. The two blushed but couldn't hide their somewhat pleased expressions.

While asking about Yorn and expressing frustration at the slow speed due to the number of passengers, Yorn continued to move forward slowly.

Then it happened. The woman in a robe at the rear, Penny, who had been riding, sounded the alarm.

"Something is approaching us at high speed!" (Penny)

"Even if you say it's approaching, we're in the sky, Penny. Why are you so alert?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"It's not an ordinary human!" (Penny)

To the carefree Reginald, Penny in the robe, now anxious, used detection magic to gather more information.

With a worried expression, Reginald, who usually remained calm, sent a glance to Marikka, the handler of the sub-dragon, to seek her judgment.

"Having that look doesn't help, Reginald-san. As you can see, at the moment, he can't go fast due to the weight, and he can't fight because he's carrying people." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Is it possible to increase the altitude further?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"I'll try. Yorn, go higher!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Shh!"

While Yorn stopped for a moment and slowly ascended, Tatsuro took out the larval (Small) form of Cardina in his palm and, using a combined magic of dispel and darkness, expanded the detection magic to confirm what was approaching.

"It's Ennio." (Tatsuro)

"No way, isn't he coming too fast!?" (Ai)

"If he uses his full physical abilities, he might manage to arrive early." (Tatsuro)

As Tatsuro said, Ennio, without worrying about the lack of a proper path, rushed straight to Lyadas, using the shortest distance.

And the person was moving at a speed faster than any creature they had encountered before, bouncing on the rooftops of buildings towards them.

Judging by that leaping ability, at the current altitude, it was a distance that his claw slashes could reach. However, due to the weight of Reginald, a muscular mass, and Gillian, the fleshy mass of the Mac Dermott parent and child, Yorn's power load capacity was exceeded, and they could only ascend slowly.

"At this rate, it's going to turn into a fight for sure. But if anyone other than us gets involved, there's a high chance someone will die. What do you think, Ai?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, there's no help. Let's catch him here, and we can explain properly later, right?" (Ai)

"Alright then, let's do it quickly." (Tatsuro)

Having made up their minds to confront Ennio, the two saw him closing in beneath Yorn.

"Reginald-san and the others, please go ahead. We'll handle him somehow." (Tatsuro)

"Seems like there's some issue. Alright, I'll leave it to you two." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Wait a minute, Reginald-san!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

While Marikka criticized Reginald for leaving it to just the two of them, the others reassured her that it would be okay, and she reluctantly agreed.

In the midst of this, the eager-to-deploy duo, looking down, waited in anticipation for the impending claw strikes. As Ennio approached right beneath Yorn, using the rooftops as platforms for a leap.

"He's here. So please go ahead. See you later, Marikka-san." (Tatsuro)

"Wait a minute. You're going to jump from here without wings!?" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Of course." (Ai)

"Ah!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

Without a chance for Marikka to stop them, the two slid down from Yorn's back, exposing themselves to gravity.

Then, Tatsuro requested Cardina.

"Cardina, release the larval form! Go in full form!"

"Peep!!" (Cardina)

Upon hearing Tatsuro's words, Cardina, in free fall from Tatsuro's hand, transformed into her true form.

Her appearance was that of a griffin with reptilian features covered in dragon scales. The two jumped onto her back, soaring through the air.

"Amazing! You really can ride her now!" (Ai)

"I thought it might work once she grew this big, and as expectedhere he comes!" (Tatsuro)

Ennio, who had unbelievably leaped up in a single bound, sent a claw slash towards them. Cardina dodged it herself.

Then, as Ennio had no choice but to fall, Ai restrained him with a whip in her hand, and Tatsuro used magic to pacify and stun him, trying to close in at once.

However, Ennio, who thought he had no choice but to fall, kicked the empty air and propelled himself even closer.

"[Air Walk]]!? Is Ennio skilled in body techniques? Ai!" (Tatsuro)

"I got it!" (Ai)

Cardina, facing Ennio who approached by kicking through the air, immediately switched to ascent.

With Cardina dedicated to movement, Ai broke the second claw slash with her gem sword.

"Gruaaaaa!" (Ennio)

"He's losing it. Once it goes this far, the toy I gave him won't work." (Tatsuro)

"Well, let's make him behave for now!" (Ai)

"Agreed. Cardina, be cautious of attacks and get closer." (Tatsuro)

Upon those words, Cardina roared in agreement and infused dragon power into both wings, utilizing the ability of [Dragon Flight] to fly around Ennio. Ai, from atop, attempted to entangle and restrain him with a whip.

However, Ennio, whether by wild instinct or skill, adeptly dodged Ai's whip attacks while descending through the air. As he touched the ground and rebounded with another leap, he approached them again.

"Oh, he's so nimble! If he keeps moving like that, I might end up attacking!" (Ai)

"Calm down. Let's create some distance first." (Tatsuro)

"Huh? Are we running away?" (Ai)

"No, no. I want to use magic, so I want to create some distance." (Tatsuro)

Saying that, while asking Cardina to ascend a bit, Tatsuro held a staff in his right hand and Ai's waist in his left hand, casting a spell.

The magic was a combination of water, life, and curse, imbued with the calming effects of life and curse magic in water. It was an attack-free pacification magic.

With a sound like pouring rain, raindrops filled with calming magic rained down on Ennio, seeping into his body one by one.

"Gruuuuaaa ah?" (Ennio)

"It seems he's calmed down." (Ai)

"But he's still glaring at us." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah. Well, let's try talking. Cardina, please land on the roof of the building where Ennio is standing, but stay cautious."

As per his words, Cardina, gracefully dodging the claw slashes sent their way, landed exactly five meters away from Ennio on the roof of a building.