After Dorgo talked about the succession for a while, we moved onto a lighter subject.
Then I turned to Drogo and said,
âNow, as for this water dragon settlement. I think we should head for it as soon as possible.â
âOf course. There is not much time.â
âStill, there are preparations to make, so it cannot be right now⌠But what about tomorrow?â
The water dragon settlement was on the edge of the kingdom. That put it quite far away from the capital.
It would still take several hours if Kathe took us.
So it would be too late if we headed for it after the attack started.
While it didnât seem likely that a large scale invasion had begun already, we had to go as soon as possible.
âNo, Mister Ruck. Please wait.â
âHmm? What do you mean?â
âThere are things that need to be done first. I have to explain things to the water dragons as well.â
The water dragons would be confused if humans suddenly stepped into their territory unannounced.
It might hurt their pride.
And so Dorgo needed to come between them and explain.
âI suppose you are right. After all, they had asked the Wind Dragon Ruler for help, not us.â
I said and Goran nodded.
âYes. The water dragons may not want the help of some puny little humans.â
âNo. I do not know about me or Goran. But surely they would not deny Ruckâs help.â
I had no idea why Eric would think such a thing.
âHmm. Eric is right.â
âYes. Even if they were not particularly happy, they should not be angry.â
Kathe and Dorgo agreed.
âI donât think thatâs true at all⌠But I understand that you need time.â
âYes. Sorry to make you wait like this.â
âJust tell us when you need our help. We will go at once.â
Milka had been listening too, and here she muttered,
âBut if Mister Locke leaves, wonât the capital be unsafe?â
âThatâs true.â
âIâd be quite worried.â
Shia and Serulis said seriously.
âEric and Goran will be here. Itâll be fine.â
âYes, butâŚâ
âAnd the divine barrier. Right, Eric and Goran?â
I looked at them.
âIâll have to brace myselfâŚâ
âAye, Iâll give it my all.â
I didnât think they needed to do anything out of the ordinary.
As we talked about it, Dorgo said,
âAlsoâŚMister Ruck. This is very hard for me to say, butâŚâ
âWhat is it?â
âI heard that you put a lock on the palace of the Wind Dragon King, which I am very grateful forâŚâ
Dorgo hesitated.
It wasnât just Katheâs house. It was the Wind Dragon King palace.
Perhaps there was some rule that I had broken.
I became worried.
âShould I not have done that?â
âNo! I am very grateful. Such a secure lock would have been hard for even us to do.â
âRight? A lock that Ruck put in place will keep out all of the dark ones!â
Kathe said proudly.
Her tail swayed.
âThatâs a relief then. Was there some other breach in etiquette?â
âEtiquette? Of course not! Right, dad?â
âYes. There is nothing of that sort. ButâŚâ
Dorgo hesitated again. I patiently waited for him to continue.
âThis is truly embarrassingâŚbut I am unable to enter.â
âOh.â
Now that I think of it, he had not been registered.
âEven dad couldnât get inside, huh.â
âAt first, I thought that there was no way I should not be able to go through if Kathe had created the lock. But it made sense once I found out that it was you who did it.â
âThat is nothing to be embarrassed about, dad!â
Kathe said happily.
âOh, I am not embarrassed⌠I am truly sorryâŚbut if you could also register me to that doorâŚâ
âWell, we must do it immediately then. Let us head over to the palace right now.â
âThank you! I will take you there myself. You must ride on my back.â
âWhat! Ruck should ride on my back.â
âNo, he should ride on the fatherâs back.â
âButâŚâ
âKathe, you already carried him before, havenât you? Donât you think you should let me have this one?â
After much debating, they agreed that I should ride Dorgo.
âI will write you a travel permit for the gate.â
Eric said as he began to write.
This was a temporary one, as the official ones took time to issue.
And so we left the city and moved away from the walls.
There, Dorgo transformed into a dragon. He was even bigger than Kathe.
Then I got onto his back and rose into the air.
âWell then, here we go.â
âThank you.â
Dorgoâs speed was intense.
âAhaha. To think that the day would come that I would fly while carrying you, Mister Ruck! It is the greatest honor.â
âNo, thank you.â
We reached Katheâs palace in no time.
Once we were there, it was easy enough to register Dorgo to the door.
âItâs finished.â
âThank you so much. I will now take you back to the city.â
After taking me back to the capital, Dorgo then flew straight for the water dragon settlement.