Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

28.2. Long Vacation 1

Afterward, as previously communicated, the large-scale training was announced to the members of the Iron Dragon Knights. At the same time, Nord was informed that he would be given a long vacation. His instructor warned him, “If you let your skills drop after the break, you’ll regret it,” and a senior dragon knight asked him, “You’ve got a long vacation, huh? How will you spend it?” When Nord replied, “I’ll take on some quests,” he was met with another round of disbelief. The days passed without incident, and Nord was soon on his long summer vacation.

Nord decided to spend his long vacation on adventurer activities, just as he had told his senior dragon knight.

On the first day, Nord took on a monster-hunting quest at the Adventurers’ Guild. The request, made by a Crystal-ranked adventurer named Crystal, was to exterminate a nest of killer bees that had proliferated in a forest. Since it was his first proper extermination quest in half a year, Nord made sure to gather information about the killer bees. Since they were said to be highly poisonous monsters, he took extra precautions and bought plenty of antidotes before heading out.

The result was an easy victory. The target was a monster-sized bee, about the size of a human head, which had claimed the forest as its territory. The killer bees, buzzing loudly, charged at Nord one after another, attempting to stab him with their toxic stingers, which protruded from the tips of their red and yellow shells. For low-ranking adventurers, their armor would likely be pierced by the attack, but in Nord’s case, the bees never even got close before being cut down by his sword. The moment a killer bee entered his sword’s range, it was cleaved by the flash of Nord’s blade.

Although he had heard that the killer bees’ exoskeletons were tough, Nord’s sword sliced through them effortlessly. Each time the emerald flash of his sword gleamed, the killer bees fell in numbers, and after Nord passed, the ground was littered with their carcasses. When Nord found the nest, he fought against a particularly large killer bee, called the Royal Guard, as well as the queen bee, dispatching them easily as well. In addition to the bee wings, he also collected golden honey and beeswax from the nest as by-products. The wings could be used as arrow feathers, and the golden honey was a highly sought-after delicacy.

After returning, Nord sold the materials at the guild, collected his reward, and made his way home. The round trip for the quest had taken four days, but the battle itself was over in just a few hours, so most of the time had been spent traveling. When he returned home with a jar of golden honey as a souvenir, he heard a familiar crying sound from inside even before opening the door. It was Newt, as Nord had expected. When he opened the door, he was met with a strong impact against his chest.

“Kyaa! Kyaa!!”

It was, without a doubt, Newt. However, there was one thing Nord hadn’t expected. It was Newt’s behavior. The dragon pressed its body firmly against Nord’s chest, rubbing with panic-like energy. Its expression was full of anxiety, not a sign of affection.

Nord asked his younger sister, Iris, who had chased after Newt, what had happened. While gently stroking Newt’s deep green scales, Iris explained. According to her, it all started when Nord had left for his adventure. The first day had been fine, but by the second day, Newt had begun searching the house for Nord. On the third day, it started to make anxious sounds, and today, the fourth day, it refused to eat. While Iris had tried to comfort it, Newt still seemed anxious, and then, just as Nord had returned, the dragon suddenly flew toward the entrance and cried out. That’s when Nord had walked in.

“It missed you and was lonely.”

By the time she finished speaking, Newt had calmed down considerably, but even as Nord tried to pull the dragon away, it resisted. Reluctantly, Nord handed the jar of golden honey to Iris and, with Newt clinging to him, he carried the dragon to his room.

That night, Nord ended up sleeping in bed with Iris and Newt, the three of them together. The next morning, Nord awoke from a nightmare, and found that one dragon and one person were curled up on top of him.

§

“Ahaha, that was quite a disaster, huh?”

“Professor, this is no laughing matter…”

The next day, Nord was at the research facility in the royal capital. He had submitted a daily report on Newt’s observation log and came to consult about the incident that had occurred—Newt’s panic attack after being separated from Nord for just a few days.

Inside a brick building, surrounded by shelves filled with numerous materials, Nord was having a conversation with someone. The person was wearing a white lab coat. A gentle-looking man with blonde hair, neatly parted down the middle. He wore silver-framed glasses, suggesting he might be near-sighted. He looked to be in his thirties. His scholarly appearance, unburnt by the sun, gave off an air of intellect, but Nord, who wasn’t used to interacting with this type of person, couldn’t gauge his age very well. This person was the dragon research scholar to whom Nord had been submitting the reports on Newt. As a researcher of flying dragons in the kingdom, he worked in collaboration with the Iron Dragon Knights on dragon breeding research. Nord had been told his name but always referred to him as “Professor.”

“Professor, can’t we do something about this?”

“We can’t really do anything, can we…”

The subject of their discussion was Newt. After spending the night cuddled up to Nord, Newt had returned to its usual self today. However, Nord still felt that Newt seemed somewhat overly concerned about his whereabouts.

“But this will be a problem every time I go on a quest,” Nord said, worried. He hadn’t expected Newt to lose its composure just from being apart for four days. Recently, Newt had gotten quite attached not only to Nord but also to his younger sister Iris, so Nord had thought there would be no issues. He was wrong.

“Well, what can you do? It’s still small,” the Professor replied. “Yes, but…”

It was true that Newt had grown. Its body had gotten bigger, and its training was going smoothly—it had started obeying Nord more regularly. Newt was also getting along well with Iris, and even when Nord left the house for half a day, there was no issue. Because of this, Nord had resumed his adventurer activities, albeit on a limited basis. But with Newt acting like this, he couldn’t even leave the house for long.

“Even though it’s grown, that dragon has only been alive for a little over half a year. It’ll take another two years before it can carry a rider. Considering that, it’s still like a baby dragon,” the Professor said. “…I see.”

Indeed, if it would take until the age of eighteen for a flying dragon to carry a rider, then Newt was still around four or five years old. In human terms, that would be younger than Iris, who was six. Nord imagined how his younger siblings still hadn’t been able to separate from their parents and realized it was natural for Newt to still be somewhat dependent.

“And in about a year, maybe six months, Newt will have grown too big to be kept inside. By then, it will naturally start to become independent,” the Professor continued. “But…”

It was true. In about six months, Newt’s body would probably be twice its current size. Its torso alone would be roughly as large as Nord’s. Considering its wings and tail, the Ferris family home would likely be too small for it by then. At that point, Newt would have to move to a different space. That new place would be the Iron Dragon Knights’ dragon stables. “Being surrounded by other dragons will help with the loneliness,” the Professor said. However, Nord still had concerns.

“That’s still months away… I’m in trouble now. I can’t exactly take it with me on a quest.”

“Why not take it with you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s the problem?”

“Well… the food, for one thing?”

The Professor gave him a look of disbelief.

“You could just feed it the game you hunt yourself.”

With an exasperated look, the Professor continued, clearly surprised by Nord’s hesitation. Meanwhile, Nord was left feeling more confused than ever.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s a good idea. After all, dragons teach their young how to hunt… So, Nord, go ahead and do it!”

Before Nord could protest, the Professor had already made up his mind and was continuing to talk as if Nord were invisible. Without giving Nord a chance to speak, the conclusion was drawn: he should take Newt on his quest.

The Professor then suddenly dashed out of the room with surprising energy for a scholar. Less than an hour later, he returned, holding a document. The paper contained instructions to “take the young dragon on a hunt and report on the experience.” The document had the Professor’s official seal, which meant it was a formal order.