Morning came as always too early, thank God, this time it only knocked on the door with all its might. I made my way to the door with difficulty; it was only nine in the morning, but Katrina was full of energy, as long as she didn't unleash lightning in all directions.
"I'm up, I'm up. What else?" I asked.
"How much longer are you going to laze on the couch? Get dressed, grab your weapons, and let's go!" Her cheerful, joy-filled voice didn't bode well.
"Go where?"
"What do you mean 'where'? On our first assignment!" With these words, Katrina handed me a piece of paper.
Destination: Rigdale Village, northeastern region of Verania.
Advance payment: 50 gold coins.
Payment upon completion: 500 gold coins.
"Oh, I don't like this price difference. Usually, the advance payment is half the total sum."
"Oh, don't worry so much! I read that green dragons are the weakest, so I can handle it easily, and you can stand aside."
"Even so, it's a dragon, and if you don't take it down with one strike, there won't be a second chance."
"Then I'll make sure to strike first."
"And won't there be any problems with the dragon rulers?"
"Don't worry, green dragons are wild, not as intelligent as the others, so we can kill them if they harm people."
"That doesn't sound very noble. What if the people intruded into the dragon's territory first?"
"Well, I don't know. But I guess they wouldn't treat the poor dragon so badly."
Naive soul! You might as well say that if people hunt in the dragon's domain, they leave a portion of the spoils at its lair.
"That's nonsense! I never signed up for anything like that. You found a fool!" It was yet another unsuccessful attempt to avoid unnecessary trouble on my unfortunate head.
"Hoo, well, you have a choice: either come with me on the mission, or turn into a handful of ashes right here," the princess said, beaming with a radiant smile.
To say such cruel things with such a smile on her face... Girls are terrifying creatures!
There was no way out. All that remained was to follow her, even if it cost me my life.
After gathering my belongings, I followed Katrina to the stables of the Academy. Thanks to our thoughtful rector, we could always hire horses, a carriage, or a cart to any point on the continent, at any time. It was very convenient, as small guilds rarely could afford personal transportation.
And here they are! These two horses will carry us to Rigdale in about three hours.
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"What's the matter?"
"So, you completely forgot about your little issue?"
"W-w-what rudeness! I'm a princess, and I know how to ride a horse, even if I've never done it before. Don't think that I won't be able to ride to Rigdale on one." Katrina lowered her gaze, and it seemed like she was about to cry. It was evident that riding a horse had been her long-time dream. We'll find a solution to this problem somehow.
"Maybe it's better to take a simple carriage for now?"
"But I'm a princess; I need a decent carriage."
"Forgive me generously, Your Highness, but the 50 gold coins you received as an advance payment will only be enough to hire a carriage to the Academy's border."
"Fine, I get it. Let's go with the carriage."
We could hire the carriage from a neighboring stable, which was much larger; apparently, it was the most popular means of transportation in the academy.
I decided to approach the nearest coachman, wearing a flat hat, who was drawing strange black and yellow squares on his carriage.
"Are you available now?"
"Of course, dearie! I'll take you to any corner of the world if you show me the way."
The suspicious, mustachioed coachman seemed too cheerful for his unreliable profession.
"We need to go to Rigdale."
"Ah, a nice peaceful town. My sister's father-in-law's second niece's cousin lives there," his incredibly fast speech left no time to contemplate the meaning of his words. "A quiet peaceful village, an excellent place for a honeymoon. Hop in, and we'll be there by evening."
"What honeymoon?!" Katrina's almost ultrasonic voice mercilessly killed our eardrums. "We're on a mission!"
"S-s-sorry, milady, I was just joking. Sit down, and we'll arrive by evening."
He should be more careful with his jokes; otherwise, he might end up catching a lightning bolt.
Upon reaching the nearest relay station close to Rigdale, the coachman showed us the way and said that if we ever needed his services again, he would wait here for three days.
The village was half an hour's walk from the relay station, deep in the woods. It seemed to be a village of lumberjacks, rarely visited by passing merchants. It was unlikely that any feudal lord cared much about such a small village. If a dragon attacked them, their only hope was to gather all the village's money and hope it would be enough to hire adventurers like us.
When we reached the village, the sun was setting. People started retreating into their homes, indicating that the dragon visited them quite often. Spotting two people in the Academy's attire, the villagers came out onto the street to quench their curiosity. It seemed like it was their first time seeing real mages. From the crowd emerged a man with a bald spot and a gray beard, looking about sixty years old, but his strong, muscular arms revealed his past life as a lumberjack.
Greetings, travelers, I am the elder of this village. Only one reason could bring you here, and I hope my guess is correct.
"You're not mistaken," the princess nodded happily. "I am the leader of the Storm Glaive guild, and we... with my companion, came here to hunt the dragon terrorizing your village."
"Thank the gods! We had almost lost hope. But how many more people will be in your group?"
"The two of us will be more than enough. You might not be able to tell by appearance alone, but I am a very powerful mage, and I'm confident I can defeat the dragon."
"I've seen many young and eager ones in my lifetime. It's your right to risk your life for glory and gold. The journey was not short; please rest in my home, and in the morning, you can set off on the hunt."
The villagers looked at us with admiration and perhaps even fear. It wasn't very pleasant to be in such an atmosphere, so we hurriedly made our way to the elder's house.
It was the largest building in the village, a two-story house with a sloped roof. The center of the ground floor held a spacious room, likely used as a meeting hall for important decisions, connected to the kitchen and storage rooms. The bedrooms were on the second floor.
The elder invited us to wash off the road's dust, and soon, we were invited to the table. The table setting was not as fancy as in the Academy, but considering the simplicity of ingredients, it was quite decent. For my hometown, it was ordinary food: vegetable soup and roasted turkey brought out for our arrival. I thought it might be too simple for a princess, but she regarded the food as an exotic creature brought from distant lands. Apparently, it was her first time in such conditions, and I found it hard to imagine how noble ladies like her actually lived.
"I'm glad that someone agreed to take on this task. But let me warn you – this task is deadly dangerous, and I don't want to be responsible for your demise. If you're unsure of your abilities, it's better to return to the academy. There's no need to risk your life in vain."
"As I said before, you shouldn't doubt my abilities. I am confident in victory, and you shouldn't lose hope."
"Hey, hey! I'm not so confident in my abilities, so don't lump me in with you!" Of course, if I said this out loud, I risked getting a couple of electric shocks, but I was starting to understand the feelings of cannon fodder.
"Then let me tell you the story of our village. We are simple people, and there has never been much money in the village. The forest and the animals living there are our only wealth. But a couple of years ago, a dragon settled in our area. The vast expanse and small number of people make it an ideal nest for such a monster. At first, our farmers' sheep disappeared, and we thought it was wolves or bears. However, the fences were always intact, and it was unclear how the predator got inside, unless it could fly through the air. Everything became clear when one of the farmers saw a huge shadow flying over his farm, and the next day, more sheep disappeared. People started to fear going outside at night; we lived in terror. And two weeks ago, the situation worsened: people began to disappear. To date, three people have gone missing, all of them young girls. Witnesses say they saw a massive shadow over the village again during these days."
"I apologize for interrupting, but this had to be clarified, as the success of the entire mission could depend on it: In the announcement, it was mentioned a green dragon, but why are you so sure it's him when you couldn't see his color in the darkness?"
"Yes, you are right. At first, we didn't know which dragon was besieging our town, but recently, on the outskirts, we found green scales of enormous size. They undoubtedly could belong only to a dragon."
"So, you have no direct evidence, and it could have been any large reptile?" I interjected.
"Krito! Be quiet, these people are already going through a lot. We will help them, and the color of the scales doesn't matter!" Katrina couldn't hold back and stood up from the table. "We must help all those in need, and we have more than enough money for it!"
"How lightly you value your life," I sneered.
"Please, let's not argue over money. If needed, we can try to take a bit more," the elder raised his hands in a conciliatory manner.
"Oh, by the way... Even 500 gold coins are a considerable sum for your village. Where did you get them?"
"Well, actually, it's not our money. The local merchant, Rikhar, who sells our goods at the city market, offered to give us the money if, for the next five years, we agree to give him a higher percentage of our transactions. It's a heavy blow for us, but we agreed if it will save the village."
"You said that the dragon always comes at night. Maybe we shouldn't sleep now and wait for him, then attack when he appears?"
"You misunderstood. The dragon doesn't appear here regularly. Sometimes he comes every day, and other times he doesn't show up for several months. It's pointless to wait for him all night, but we might know where his lair is. If you go there during the day, you might catch him off guard."
"Katrina, there's no need to rush into battle," my heart sensed that I needed to stop her before she recklessly charged into battle. "We are greatly exhausted from the long journey; right now, you probably wouldn't even be able to defeat him."
"Alright, do as you wish," the girl reluctantly agreed.
"Then let me show you your rooms, and tomorrow, I'll take you to the guide. She lives near the forest and knows it like the back of her hand; she'll be able to lead you to the dragon's lair."
Escorting us to the second floor, the elder showed us two guest rooms across from each other. The beds were a bit firm; I thought the princess wouldn't be able to sleep on them for a long time. For me, compared to sleeping on the guild headquarters floor, it was like paradise.