“Damn it… Master! Please forgive me!! For my incompetence in failing to protect you! It seems I shall be dismembered here by these vile followers of the Calamity King! Ah…! My ancestors! “Flame King” Melmas!! In exchange for my flesh and soul, please save my master!”
This wyvern sure talks a lot.
What should I do? It seems to have some grand misunderstanding…
“Uh, hey… Wyvern-san? Can we talk for a—”
“Grr!! How despicable… To instantly slay those goblins, you must be a high-ranking follower… no, a priest… Could you be… one of the Calamity King’s army, an Evangelical Demon General…!?”
This one’s hopeless.
Seems like the type of wyvern that won’t listen to a word anyone says.
“Y-you… you scoundrel! I’m not afraid! Not afraid at all! Even if you’re one of those god-defying Calamity King’s army!! I bear the flame’s protection!! Oh, ancestors! Flame King! Protect me from the Calamity King’s poison!”
The wyvern spreads its wings wide.
Wait, are those tears in its eyes?
Still… “follower of the Calamity King”…
That phrase sounds familiar.
Maybe I should just play along.
Follower, priest… not sure about this “Evangelical Demon General” thing…
But from its perspective, I must look like some suspicious cultist.
Then…
Should I act the part?
It’d be too much trouble to clear up the misunderstanding.
“…*Ahem*. Listen, mighty Dragon. Thy fate has not yet reached its end.”
…What am I even doing?
This is embarrassing, at my age.
As if roleplaying could solve this situa—
“What!? What dost thou mean!? Answer me, small one!”
It worked! Communication established.
Is this really the right way to talk?
“…The goblins are gone. Answer me, Dragon—what befell thee?”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrlrlrl”
Huh? It’s back to growling.
Did I say something wrong?
It was so responsive just a moment ago—
…Don’t tell me.
“*Ahem*, mighty Dragon , answer mine inquiry.”
“Curse thee!! Think not that wounded makes me weak, thou who rebels against the gods!! I shall thank thee for clearing those goblins! But this is no time for idle chatter with thee!!”
Alright, alright, I’m starting to get your quirks.
Looking closely, its body’s trembling and eyes teary.
Not so scary after all.
“Hoh… Does this relate to the empty saddle upon thy back?”
“…Thou!! Ah, thou art correct! My lady of moonlight was taken to the goblins’ nest while I was dazed!! Damn them, those filthy goblins!! I must hurry, lest my moonlight be defiled by their vulgar desires!!”
The wyvern tries to lift its battered body.
But its wounds are too severe.
Blue blood drips steadily, staining the grass beneath it.
“Gah…”
The wyvern collapses.
It lacks even the strength to support its own weight.
At this rate, its life might be in danger.
—I’ve mostly pieced together the situation.
This wyvern has a rider.
They got separated during the crash, and now the rider’s been captured by goblins.
Given fantasy tropes, we all know what happens to those taken to goblin nests…
And from the wyvern’s wording, the rider seems to be female.
Time is of the essence.
“Damn it… Move, why won’t thou move… Useless wings, useless scales… Ah, my lady, my moonlight… This is too cruel… To have wandered from my own world, mustered courage for my kin, only to become some goblin’s plaything… Too cruel…”
“A distant world…? Wait… *Ahem*! Mighty Dragon… Could thy rider perchance be… a transferred one!?”
“What…? Nay, my lady is… a vee, vee-tuber. I know naught of transferred ones…”
“Oh crap”
This is REALLY bad!!!!
“Vee-tuber”—it just said Vtuber, didn’t it!
The dragon’s rider is a transferred person, a Vtuber!
And she’s been taken to a goblin nest!
Because of my actions, the dragon was shot down!!!!
This is my fault!!
I feel sick!!
No, this is bad.
Extremely not good!
“…Mighty Dragon, answer me—where lies the nest that took thy master?”
“I… cannot tell thee. Calamity King… thou who fearest not even gods, arch-traitor… apostate who sought to spread forbidden medicine across the world… I cannot let my master meet one who follows such. Besides, my vision blurs, my scent fails… I… can go… no further…”
The wyvern closes its eyes.
Wait wait wait!
Is it trying to do that “event death” thing!?
That classic character death to introduce a quest!
Not on my watch!
This is reality!
If you die, finding that goblin nest will take forever!
“Apothecary’s bag!”
I thrust my hand into the apothecary’s bag slung over my shoulder.
A storage item that’s practically a pocket dimension.
From it, I withdraw what I’ve spent every spare moment of this past week preparing—
“Recovery Potion!! Take this!!”
“Huh?”
“Here!!!!”
The glass bottle filled to the brim with green liquid.
I hurl it straight at the wyvern’s face!
CRASH!!
The potion bottle shatters against the wyvern’s snout, the green liquid absorbed by its scales.
“Gwaaaaaaah!! Ah, hot! Curse thee! Follower of the Calamity King! Now thou showest thy true colors! My scales!? My fangs!? Or perhaps my eyes!? I’ll not become ingredients for thy foul concoctions!!”
“Shut uuuuuup!! Injured lizard! Just drink the damn medicine!!”
I throw another potion at its wounds as it thrashes.
Good thing I’m throwing them! Getting close to that flailing tail or wings would mean instant game over!
“Grrrrrrrl! —Wait… what hast thou… done…!?”
The wyvern suddenly calms.
Seems it finally noticed.
“My… wounds—!?!?”
Sssssssssss.
They’re healing rapidly.
“I-im… impossible… This is no sanctuary of the healing god. No clergy, no divine emblem, no words of prayer… nothing…”
The wyvern opens its mouth…
“Wh… what art thou…?”