Chapter 49: At the Rear of the Line

Before entering the rocky section, the group stopped.

I had accepted one cart, but behind Rody’s vehicle came a merchant with a packhorse, two travelers who joined on foot, and another packhorse owner.

Rody walked down the line.

“Follow if you wish, but don’t crowd the cart! Keep space between the horses! If something appears and they all panic together, it’ll be worse!”

Some looked displeased, but none left.

I understood why they wanted safety in numbers. Yet crowding wasn’t necessarily safer. My wings alone frightened horses; magical beasts could make several bolt at once.

When spacing improved, I took off.

Flying at cart speed revealed every bend and hollow. I moved ahead, slowed, and checked both sides.

Nothing visible meant only that—woods and rocks hid much.

Rody’s two guards watched from beside the cart.

Then a horse screamed at the rear.

One packhorse twisted sideways.

I circled and spotted two horned gray beasts on a higher rocky slope. They ran west along the boundary of trees and stone, never turning toward the travelers. One had already vanished when I changed course; the other disappeared moments later.

I didn’t chase. I couldn’t tell whether they had approached the people at all.

But the sight and scent were enough below.

The packhorse bucked. A tied sack slipped and fell.

Its owner looked toward the cargo at the wrong instant. The horse jumped again, pulled the reins free, and galloped west.

I didn’t pursue.

I might catch it from above, but an Adult Dragon diving behind a terrified horse could drive it farther. More importantly, leaving meant abandoning Rody’s cart.

I landed at a safe distance.

“…Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. The horse!”

The man asked me to chase it.

I confirmed no person was injured, then looked toward Rody’s cart.

“…I’m guarding that.”

“Surely you can chase one horse. You can fly.”

“…Don’t know if quick. Humans in danger, I help. But can’t protect every horse and all cargo.”

The man was upset.

Rody interrupted.

“You came because the dragon was here. That’s what taking advantage means.”

“The road belongs to everyone!”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t use it. Don’t assume Val guards your load.”

Two foot travelers put down their packs and offered to search back along the road, but not enter the forest. The horse owner thanked them.

Humans could solve some things without me.

Three people left the procession.

Rody returned to his cart. Its horse had calmed.

“Let’s move while we can,” a guard said.

They resumed. The remaining followers now kept more distance without being told.

The gray wolves had never attacked, yet a packhorse was lost.

Guarding a road wasn’t only fighting.

At the small bridge where the earlier attack occurred, I scouted ahead. No wolves were visible, though the forest remained opaque.

“…None where I can see.”

No one concluded the road was safe. Weapons ready, they crossed with careful spacing.

Beyond the bridge lay the area I had previously scouted. I saw a possible gray movement deep in foliage but didn’t descend to pursue it.

At a familiar curve, I landed and waited.

“Anything?” Rody asked.

“…Nothing visible now.”

“Then can we go farther?”

“…This is the end.”

“The end?”

“…Our agreement. As far as where I scouted before.”

Rody looked ahead.

“Oh.”

A guard laughed. “The employer forgot his own terms.”

“I didn’t forget. Nothing happened, so I hoped he’d go farther.”

“…Today, only here.”

“More dried meat?”

I wanted it—but that wasn’t the point.

“…I don’t know land ahead. And need enough to return.”

My wings and magic weren’t endless.

Rody accepted the boundary.

The followers protested that wolves might still lie ahead and asked what they should do.

I didn’t answer. It wasn’t my choice.

Rody told them to decide whether to continue or return; he had hired me only this far.

Rody and his party discussed their own next move.

My work was finished.

“…Reward.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Rody said. “When I return to Sedol, you’ll get the promised dried meat. You may return first.”

“…Even though I killed no wolves?”

“I never asked you to. You watched the route and accompanied us this far. That’s what I pay for.”

So that was how the work ended.

Rody asked whether he could hire me again.

“…For what?”

“Next time, I’ll explain that first.”

“…Then I’ll listen.”

I took off westward.

Behind me, the group remained undecided, smaller than when it left town and no longer composed only of the original travelers.

I stopped watching.

Getting myself home was part of my own responsibility.