Chapter 343 - Episode 335: Encounter and Urgent Report
The warm weather continued through late July. Noein was spending peaceful days, staying within the country and devoting himself to his duties.
Trade acting as a bridge between the Kingdom of Lordberg and the Kingdom of Lancel had begun to stabilize and get on track, and the development of the trade route connecting the Kingdom of Reuveland and the Grand Duchy was proceeding as planned.
Things were going perfectly in his private life as well. His daughter Philia, born early this spring, grew day by day, and his son Eleos had turned four, gradually becoming more like a "Big Brother."
Amidst days where absolutely nothing was a problem—today, Noein was in the mood to be pampered by Matilda.
"...Matilda."
"Noein-sama."
In the reception space in the corner of the Lord's office, used for brief discussions with subordinates. He had Matilda sit on the sofa placed there, and he sat beside her, embracing her. They gazed at each other, calling each other's names as they exchanged kisses.
"Hey, just like this, let's..."
"...Yes."
When Noein, having pulled away from Matilda's lips, spoke in a whispering voice, Matilda nodded, understanding what her beloved master desired.
That they occasionally exchanged love in the office—a room originally meant for work—seeking the transgressive thrill of the extraordinary, was a secret known only to Noein and Matilda. Of course, this was limited to outside of working hours.
Today it was nearly evening, it was a period where he wasn't particularly busy, and he had already finished his scheduled duties. Having wrapped up his work, he was about to spend a secret moment as usual—
"Noein-sama, it is Pence. Are you in?"
Along with the sound of a knock on the door, the voice of the Guard Captain, Sir Pence Schoenberg, was heard.
Noein jumped slightly, hurriedly pulled away from Matilda, and rushed back to his desk. Matilda also stood up instantly, wiped away saliva—whether it was hers or Noein's, she didn't know—and bounced silently back to her designated spot at the adjutant's desk.
"You can come in—"
Then, Noein called out to the other side of the door, striving for a calm tone. Pence, having entered after receiving permission, did not seem to notice anything particularly strange about Noein and the others.
"Did something happen?"
As Noein asked, feeling relieved by that fact, Pence straightened his posture and reported with a grim expression.
"A problem has occurred at the development site of the trade route in the Lestio Mountains."
Hearing this, Noein's expression tightened. Beside him, Matilda had already shifted into her face as an adjutant.
"Tell me the details."
"...It seems a wyvern appeared at the development site."
"What!?"
Noein raised his voice at the truly unexpected answer.
Noein knew the name of the wyvern. A lower species of dragon, whose strength was incomparable to ordinary monsters. He had learned from books that they flew through the sky with massive bodies, easily attacking and predating not just humans but even orcs and anything else, and even destroying trees and buildings.
However, he had never seen a real one. In the first place, even in the overall history of the Kingdom of Lordberg, information regarding encounters with wyverns should not be very common.
"The crew working on the trade route development apparently returned to Kilde suddenly around noon. When asked what happened, they reportedly answered that they were nearly attacked by a wyvern. Dant put the squad leader of the soldiers on guard, the puppet mage, and the guide from the Kingdom of Reuveland in a carriage and sent them here. Since there is a foreigner among them, they are currently waiting in front of the mansion."
"...Then, bring them into the conference room immediately. Let's hear the details."
As he spoke, Noein stood up and moved to the conference room along with Matilda.
.....
In the mansion's conference room, Noein faced the witnesses of the wyvern: a Grand Duchy army soldier, a puppet mage, and a person from the Kingdom of Reuveland who served as the trade route guide. In addition to Noein and Matilda, Pence and the Chief of Military Affairs, Baronet Yuri Granat, were also present.
"First, I'm glad you were able to return safely. I hear there were no human casualties, including the laborers. It's thanks to you all, thank you."
"...N-no. We didn't do anything."
When Noein spoke to them, the Grand Duchy army soldier answered. His reaction was somewhat sluggish, and he was clearly exhausted. The other two also had expressions of total depletion, showing how desperately they had fled back.
"Now, first drink some tea and calm down a bit. It will soothe your mind and give you energy."
The three of them drank the herbal tea that Noein had instructed Kimberly to brew. After a short while, their expressions calmed down somewhat.
"Now then, could you tell me as detailed as possible the situation when you encountered the wyvern? I know you're tired, but please do your best. We are relying solely on your story."
"...Understood."
The three began to recount what they had experienced bit by bit. Perhaps they felt fear remembering it, as there were some slightly confused parts, but the general situation became clear from their story.
First, they had been carrying out the trade route development with a total of seventeen people: ten laborers, four guard soldiers, two puppet mages, and a guide who was an attendant of the Reuveland royal family.
Then, a Great Boar appeared. While it was a powerful monster rare in the Lestio Mountains, they still encountered them occasionally. For such times, they were equipped with small vials of Angel's Honey. Treating it as an expected situation, the soldiers and puppet mages attempted to handle it.
However, at that moment, a tremendous roar was heard from above, and everyone present froze with instinctive terror. Even the Great Boar froze.
In the next instant, a wyvern flying in from the sky snatched up the largest prey among those frozen—the Great Boar, whose height exceeded that of a human—with its talons and carried it away.
Whether the wyvern decided that one Great Boar was sufficient for the day's meal, it paid no mind to the development workers and guards. Thanks to that, they survived and fled, taking only the minimum amount of water and food necessary for the return journey.
Fearing that the wyvern might appear again, or that they would be eaten this time, they traversed a journey that would normally take four days in a forced march of two and a half days, somehow arriving at Kilde.
While confused by fatigue and fear, they managed to explain to the person responsible for Kilde's security, attendant Dant, that "a wyvern appeared," and these three, who were the responsible parties at the site, were sent to Noeina to report.
This was the full extent of the situation.
"That... must have been terrifying. I'm glad you managed to come back alive."
Noein answered, though he was stunned. If the wyvern had flown in under circumstances where they hadn't encountered the Great Boar, they likely wouldn't have escaped unscathed. It was truly fortunate that there were no human casualties.
"By the way, about how large was that wyvern?"
When Yuri interjected with a question from the side, the three spoke of the wyvern's size in turns. However, the content did not align. Opinions varied, with some saying it exceeded ten meters from head to tail, and others saying it was over twenty meters.
It seemed that due to the terror of the encounter, some felt the wyvern was larger than it actually was.
The soldier who claimed it was over twenty meters seemed to be the most terrified of the three, so his opinion was not very reliable. Noein and the others thought that the statement "over ten meters but not reaching fifteen meters" given by the Reuveland guide, who seemed the most calm, was probably accurate.
"I understand roughly now, thank you for the explanation. I've put you through a lot while you're tired. From now on, we will think of how to deal with the wyvern. For the time being, the development work is suspended. As for you from the Kingdom of Reuveland... I will arrange a room at an inn. You won't be able to return to your country until this matter is settled, so please bear with us."
"Y-yes. I believe this is unavoidable."
The Reuveland guide, spoken to by Noein, nodded with a humble appearance.
Afterward, Noein permitted the three to leave the room and ordered the housekeeper Kimberly to arrange lodging for the guide.
Once only himself, Matilda, and his close aides remained in the conference room, he broke his posture and leaned sloppily back into his chair.
"...This is a pain."
"Of all places, a wyvern to the true north of the Grand Duchy."
"It's simply unbearable."
Yuri rested his elbows on the conference table, and Pence scratched his head. Everyone was tired just from hearing the story.
Wyverns. As living creatures, they were objects of terror second only to dragons.
The handling of dragons differed by country, but in the southern part of the Adleon continent, they were generally spoken of as calamities. Like natural disasters, they were things where one could only say they were unlucky to encounter them.
However, while dragons were numerous in the mythical era of long ago, it is said that only a few remain in the world now. They are said to repeat a cycle of sleeping for decades to accumulate power, waking to be active for decades, and then sleeping for decades again, so the possibility of actually encountering one is infinitely low.
In fact, the last time a dragon was sighted on the Adleon continent was about thirty years ago, further west than the Kingdom of Lancel.
Therefore, if someone worried about encountering a dragon on a daily basis, they would be laughed at for being overly anxious, but wyverns were different.
Wyverns, said to live while repeating dormancy and activity every few years to a decade, primarily inhabit mountainous regions. They also inhabit the Lestio Mountains, and there are reports of encounters. However, perhaps because encounters often led directly to death, such examples were not many even in history.
Their lifespan was too long for details to be known, but it was said they lived for over a thousand years, or that they did not die unless killed.
And they were strong.
Excluding dragons, they boasted the highest level of strength as individuals, and it was said that humans or ordinary monsters were no match for them. There were stories that as humans developed civilization, they utilized organizational power and devised tactics to subjugate wyverns, but actual examples were few. Even in such cases, they usually involved many sacrifices.
Wyverns circulated a massive amount of magical power accumulated during dormancy within their bodies, and their scales filled with that magic were hard, resisting not only arrows and swords but even half-baked attack magic. They even used techniques resembling wind magic as an aid to fly with their massive bodies, snapping trees with a swing of their tail and tearing through anything with their powerful legs.
That was the extent of the information Noein knew about wyverns.
"But we can't just not deal with it... considering where it appeared, and thinking about the future."
It had been decided that the management of the trade route would be split equally between the Arqvist Grand Duchy and the Kingdom of Reuveland. In principle, if a problem occurred on the trade route that needed to be resolved quickly, the country responsible for management would handle it. Regarding this wyvern, the responsibility for response clearly lay with the Grand Duchy.
Above all, there was the possibility that the wyvern would descend into the inhabited areas of the Grand Duchy.
Prey in the form of humans, who were not there the last time it woke, now lived by the thousands if it crossed to the south of the mountains. For a wyvern, it would be an unparalleled hunting ground.
There were actual examples of wyverns leaving the mountains in search of food and devastating villages and towns. Most examples of wyvern subjugation occurred in such situations, where humans faced them with desperate resolve to prevent further damage and emerged victorious.
And it seemed Noein and the others were now in a situation where they should join those examples of subjugation.
"...Shall we fight?"
"...Let us fight."
Yuri and Pence, who muttered those words, Noein, who gave a wry smile at that, and the expressionless Matilda, all hardened their resolve, which resembled resignation.
"For now, we should send reinforcements to Kilde. Even if the possibility is low right now, we don't know when the wyvern might descend."
"True. All off-duty Claymores in the capital city Noeina. All soldiers from the squads in periodic training and off-duty squads. Along with ballistas."
Yuri nodded at Noein's proposal and decided on the response immediately.
"Next, an emergency meeting. With Clara, everyone with a peerage... and I'd like to call Daphne too."
"Understood. I'll use the Guard to send out the notifications."
Pence stood up while nodding.
"Alright, then let's move."