Don’t Run Away My Lord

6 – A Dragon Hunting Dragon (2)

The man, who looked as young as me with a polymorphic appearance, had brown beard covering his face and a bandage tightly wrapped around his left hand.

The bandage, covered in blood and dust, was in a very dirty state.

“I’m on my way to the Lord’s Castle.”

If what Liana said was true, then I should use honorific language, but since the other person spoke informally first, it would be appropriate for us to speak informally as well.

“You two, in the middle of the night? These are very suspicious characters, aren’t they? And what’s with that attire? Are you from the Southern Slave Market?”

“No. It’s something we coincidentally obtained. We came up from the southern desert.”

“Hmm. The more I hear, the more suspicious I become…”

Liana, who was right beside me, spoke.

“You’re shepherds, right? It seems like you’ve misunderstood us as sheep thieves, but we have absolutely no interest in sheep.”

Until just a moment ago, I was so hungry that I thought about catching one and eating it.

In response to Liana’s words, the shepherd twisted his tail as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Sheep thieves? What nonsense is that? Are there even sheep thieves who roam around in pairs?”

“Hey, mister. We came here because we were worried about you guys.”

“What are you worried about? Us?”

The shepherds answered my question with another question.

“Is this your first time here?”

“It is.”

Upon hearing that, the shepherds finally understood and looked at each other with a knowing expression.

“You seem to know nothing. In that case, you definitely can’t be left alone.”

The shepherd snapped at me, tapping his finger on my shoulder.

“Follow us.”

“Why should I follow you? Who would follow you just because you say so?”

“hahahaha. You must be really eager to die. Hey, if you want to commit suicide, there are better ways. You don’t have to die painfully here.”

The more I talked with the shepherds, the more I couldn’t understand anything.

“You’re not coming with us? It’ll be too late to regret. You’ll probably be torn to shreds and become eagle food before the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Is it because of the Black Dragon?”

“You knew? And yet you’re wandering around like this? Are you fearless or just insane?”

“I just arrived here today. I heard about it when I encountered a group of mercenaries earlier.”

“Mercenaries? Ha! That’s not even funny.”

The shepherd chuckled as if it was beneath him.

“Anyway, follow us. We still have a long way to go from here to the lord’s castle. Anything could happen in the meantime.”

“How long will it take?”

In response to Liana’s question, the shepherd wrinkled his nose for a moment before answering.

“If we walk, we’ll arrive around sunrise.”

“Why go to such lengths for a small task…?”

“This is the border of the domain. And no matter how low-ranking the lord may be, nobles are nobles.”

“What should we do, Erganim?”

“Judging by your appearance, your clothes are thin and you haven’t eaten properly. We were just thinking of taking a break and having a meal. Why don’t you come with us?”

The shepherd’s suggestion was quite appealing.

Upon closer examination, there was no need to rush and go to the lord’s castle.

Liana needed rest right now, and she might be able to obtain useful information from the shepherds…

Well then, let’s follow those shepherds for now.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Then get on quickly. Don’t dawdle like a slime.”

As the shepherd took my outstretched hand, he roughly pulled me up and seated me behind the saddle.

Liana mounted a horse ridden by another shepherd.

“Let’s go!”

With the shepherd leading the way, they turned back on the path they came from.

As they approached the place where the flock was, they could see other shepherds.

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They were herding the sheep in a specific direction, accompanied by dogs.

The shepherds shouted and swung long staffs, while the dogs kept the stray sheep in check.

The large dogs, almost the size of wild wolves, all wore spiked collars around their necks.

“Do we move even at midnight?”

“No. We’re not moving, we’re hiding the sheep.”

The shepherd pointed across the hill with a rope in hand.

There, a thicket slightly taller than a person had formed, and the sheep were entering it one by one.

“We have to hide the sheep so they won’t be seen at night. Otherwise, we’re screwed.”

“What do you mean we’re screwed? Is it because of that damn Black Dragon?”

The shepherd sighed and replied.

“Yes. That damn Black Dragon. It’s all because of that f*cking lizard bastard. I’ve never had such a hard time in my life because of one damn reptile.”

Although he probably didn’t know I was a dragon and was saying these things, it was quite embarrassing to hear them face to face.

As they approached the thicket, other shepherds who were herding the flock looked this way and asked.

“What about the woman who rode behind you?”

“She said she’s walking all the way to the Lord’s Castle, so I brought her along, in case she dies.”

“What? From here to the Lord’s Castle?”

The shepherds stared at me intently, their expressions serious.

“You don’t seem like someone who’s lost their mind… Are you from around here?”

“This is my first time here. I’m an outsider.”

The shepherds nodded in response to my answer.

“Well, then it’s not completely incomprehensible why someone with a twisted mind would do such things.”

“Alright, enough chatter. Once we’ve gathered all the sheep, let’s go inside quickly.”

We dismounted and entered the thicket.

The thicket was filled with sheep, leaving no room to move.

The sheep were tangled together, constantly bleating in a mournful tone or gnawing at the bushes with their teeth.

The shepherds, who had tied the reins of their horses to a tree, took out their weapons and scattered around.

They never left the boundary of the thicket, sitting or standing guard over the sheep.

Together with the shepherd who had ridden with me, we found a spot to sit under a low shrub.

He handed me a set of clothes similar to what they were wearing.

“It’s alright, it’s not cold.”

“Really? That’s strange. If frost settles on your head in the early morning, you’ll probably regret it.”

“I have a resistance to the cold.”

“Well, fine. Put it on over there.”

The shepherd threw a windbreaker to Rihanna, who was sitting next to me.

“hehehe, thank you.”

Rihanna happily put on the windbreaker over her original clothes.

“Alright, let’s start by chewing on this and talking.”

The shepherd took something flat and tough out of his pocket and handed one to me.

“What is this?”

“What?”

“What is this?”

“It’s jerky. Don’t you know jerky?”

Seeing that I didn’t say anything, the shepherd chuckled as if he knew.

“Oh, I see. You were curious about what kind of meat it’s made of. It’s made from lamb. It’s not common, but the taste is guaranteed.”

“Lamb? Weren’t you taking care of sheep?”

“So, are we supposed to starve and not eat anything? We catch them because we can’t take care of all the old and sick sheep.”

“I understand.”

I took the jerky from the shepherd and bit into it.

Based on the texture when I held it in my hand, I thought it would be tough, but surprisingly, it tore smoothly and wasn’t bad at all.

Not only was it moderately savory, but as I chewed, a refreshing juice flowed out, and the taste was really good.

As a first taste of human food, it passes the mark.

“It’s delicious.” “It’s really delicious!”

“Right? It might have a strong smell, but lamb jerky is pretty good.”

Yeah, it did have a bit of a gamey smell, but well, when it’s the whole animal, I used to chew on it without any problem.

“My name is Baphelt. And yours?”

“I’m Liana.” “Ergaduk. You can call me Erga.”

“Ergadook…? That’s a really strange name. Definitely doesn’t seem like someone from around here.”

Shepherd Bafelt muttered as he roughly summed it up and asked.

“By the way, what kind of people are they, wandering around fearlessly in the middle of the night? Are they a traveling couple?”

“No…? We just happened to meet by chance, we’re colleagues.”

“Is that so? It’s a really interesting combination.”

He continued speaking while tearing at the jerky with a grimace.

“Anyway, we’re lucky to have met. If not, we would’ve been dead without a doubt.”

“Could you explain? Earlier, the mercenaries mentioned a dragon, a black dragon at that. Did a black dragon really appear?”

“Hmm. I couldn’t believe it at first either. Black dragons are supposed to be creatures from legends, right?”

Bafelt chewed on the jerky in silence for a moment, then petted the dog sitting beside him.

“But there really was a dragon.”

His expression became serious, and his voice became low.

“The wings were as big as from here to there, and the tail and limbs were almost as long. It was like… what should I say? A winged lizard?”

“You saw it with your own eyes?”

“One night, it suddenly swooped down from the sky and attacked us.”

Bafelt shivered as the memory of that day came back vividly.

“The giant creature swept away the flock of sheep… and in just one attack, dozens of sheep and a few foolish comrades standing there were turned into minced meat.”

“How many wings did it have?”

“I don’t know. It was a dark night with no moon, and it was too fast to confirm that. This is what I got injured from back then.”

Bafelt lightly lifted the bandaged left hand.

From the description, it seems like an unmistakable dragon… though it’s not certain if it’s a black dragon.

Regardless of what it is, we need to confirm exactly who it is and why they’re here.

What on earth could it be? A dragon attacking a flock of sheep…

Riana, who had finished eating a strip of dried meat and was sucking on her fingers, spoke up.

“Shepherd. Give me your hand.”

“Hand? Why? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll treat it for you. Let me remove the bandage.”

“No, if I remove the bandage, my thumb might fall off.”

“What?! It’s that bad of an injury?!”

Riana stood up from the ground and forcefully tried to see Baphelt’s hand.

“Hey! Don’t! It f*cking hurts!”

“Give it to me!”

At that moment, the shepherd dog sitting next to Baphelt suddenly perked up its ears and stared intently in a specific direction outside the thicket.