Don’t Run Away My Lord

36 – The Great and Beautiful Tower (9)

I vigorously flapped my wings and took off.

A strong gust of wind lifted the grass that had sprouted from the ground.

“Kyaaack!”

“Hold on tight, Miss Riana! The door is closing!”

Loud cries from Riana and Kaita could be heard from behind.

I could roughly guess the distance… Should I give it a try?

With just one flap of my wings, the cabin was far behind.

I arrived at the place where it was presumed that there would be a barrier of magic after two flaps, and on the third flap, I spewed breath in front of me.

The Black Dragon’s breath can dissolve any substance in the world with its acidic properties.

Even if it was made of magic.

This is why the Black Dragon is known as the strongest among dragons.

Overwhelming physical abilities and magic, and breath that can dissolve everything, even magic.

Just like the saying that when all colors are combined, it becomes black, even if other dragon species attack, they can’t defeat a single Black Dragon.

The Black Dragon is the strongest, and I am the strongest successor of the Lord who can control all Black Dragons.

Spewing breath, I soared upwards.

Explosively releasing deadly steam, the acidic breath drew a diagonal line through the air.

As I expected, before the breath could reach the faraway horizon, it was blocked by an invisible barrier and spread in all directions.

And…

“Kaita-nim! Look over there!”

“Uhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh?!”

As I returned to my original form, I could hear the screams of the two women in the cabin with my heightened hearing.

The place where Breath passed began to twist strangely.

The empty space that distorted the view like oil floating on water, clumped together and suddenly slipped away.

Having blown Breath up to the top of the magical barrier, I quickly landed on the ground by somersaulting in the air.

The lower part, which had already been hit by Breath, was melting and revealing the actual backside, which had been covered by a blurry illusion.

It was some old and worn-out wall.

A murky, dark gray wall gradually revealed itself.

At the same time, the background that had consisted of low hills and small mountains and the ground I was standing on also changed to a similar material.

It seems illusion magic was cast on the inner walls of the tower…

I looked up at the ceiling that was gradually changing.

Even in its original state, the ceiling, which was far above, was clearly much higher than what I had seen from the outside of the tower.

It seems space distortion magic was also cast.

But how come I can’t feel any magical waves at all?

With magic of this scale, I should have collapsed from a severe headache as soon as I entered the tower…

Who on earth cast such magic and erased the waves?

They must be a mage of an unparalleled level in history.

It wouldn’t be strange if there were at least one artifact-like thing.

But…

As I looked at the wall that was becoming visible like a spreading fire on the plain, I had to correct that thought.

I thought some complex structure would be revealed, but it seemed like just an empty tower with nothing at all, judging by the current trend.

A wide and round floor and a cylindrical tower that became narrower as it went up.

What on earth made such a strange structure?

A tower suddenly appeared in Count Goda’s territory.

If you go along the long corridor with traps set up in a straight line, you will come across a hut in the forest.

Every time the door of that hut opens and closes, it moves to a random place in the world, but in reality, all those places are illusions.

Keita has been seeing changing illusions by opening and closing the door in the middle of the empty tower.

Wait a minute…

So, in the end, it means we are in the same confined space, then that huge dog…?

As soon as I turned my head towards the hut, I spotted Rianna and Keita running towards me as if they were crazy.

“Lord Erga! The dog appeared!”

“Ugh! Kill it!”

Behind them, a huge dog, with foam dripping from its mouth, revealed itself and growled.

Its eyes were burning red, and smoke kept rising between its jaws.

Its gray fur stood straight, and its four legs, as thick as palace pillars, firmly stood on the ground.

With a size surpassing that of any large demon, it didn’t seem like a normal living creature.

Is that also an illusionary creature? Or a creation formed by magic power?

But… where is the hut?

The hut was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a dog standing in the place where the hut used to be, and underneath it, there was something small.

Upon closer inspection, it was… a crown…?

“Keita, quickly, go between Lord Erga’s front legs!”

Before I knew it, Liana had dragged Kaita towards me, trembling with excitement.

But Kaita, looking pale, vehemently resisted, hitting me recklessly.

“I don’t want to…! We could get crushed!”

“Why is Erga trying to crush us? Come inside quickly, unless you want to be bitten by the dog!”

Liana grabbed Kaita by the collar and pulled him down below me.

The dog growled so fiercely that the ground trembled, but it didn’t immediately charge at us.

It seemed to be because of the dragon standing in front of us, or perhaps because of the barrier beneath it.

“Liana, where did the hut go?”

“The dragon spoke!!”

“It’s too noisy, Kaita! You’re not hearing a single word Erga said!”

Once again, Liana replied that she didn’t know.

“After Erga broke down the magical barrier, the hut suddenly disappeared. Then the dog appeared and ran all the way here.”

So, was the hut an illusion too…

What exactly exists inside this tower?

Are the mysterious barrier and the enormous dog all there is?

Before I knew it, the illusions had shrunk to within a few meters of the dog and the barrier.

Even the floor turned into a dull gray stone slab with weeds growing, and the tower returned to its original form.

The light coming through the large hole in the ceiling illuminated the dog, and in response, the dog lowered its guard and slowly lowered itself.

With the barrier placed between its front paws, the dog rested its chin on the ground right next to the barrier.

“What on earth is that…? Why is the dog so protective…?”

“When I look at it from here, it seems like a tomb. I’m not sure what’s inside.”

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Upon hearing this, Kaita hesitated for a moment and stepped forward.

“I’ll use reconnaissance magic to see what’s inside.”

As an eyeball appeared in front of her, Liana gasped.

“Oh! What is this…?”

“It’s reconnaissance magic. I can see what this floating eyeball sees.”

“Wow, that’s really amazing…”

The eyeball slowly moved towards where the dog was, following Kaita’s will.

Upon seeing it, the dog growled again and lowered its head.

Kaita cautiously approached the eyeball, tapping her finger.

“Hmm… If we go a little further, we might be able to see…”

But the dog snarled as if it were about to swipe the eyeball away with its huge front paw, causing Kaita to break out in a sweat.

“Let me help you a little.”

As a short and intense lightning bolt appeared behind the dog, it jumped and turned around.

In the meantime, Kaita moved the eyeball just above the tomb.

“Oh?!”

“What’s wrong, Kaita?”

“There’s a skull…? It’s obvious, but… huh?”

Just as the dog confirmed that there was nothing behind it and turned around, it crushed the eyeball with its front paw.

“Oh my! The dog saw us!”

“Don’t worry, Riana. I don’t think I’ll be too far from that tower.”

“Why? What do you mean, Keita?”

Keita looked at me and Riana, then explained what she had seen.

“There was a skeleton in the tower. It seemed very old, and even the clothes it was wearing were practically rags.”

“Could it be the owner of this tower?”

“That’s a strong possibility. They were holding a letter in their hand.”

“What did it say?”

Keita remained silent for a moment.

Impatient, Riana tried to interrupt, but Keita spoke up.

“It said, ‘Please don’t harm the kind dog.'”

“What… did it say…?”

“Well… it seems like the owner of this tower was also the owner of that dog…”

The message on the exterior wall and the letter held in the hands of the deceased owner.

They must have had a strong affection for that dog.

“What language was the letter written in?”

“It was ancient. It must have been at least a thousand years old.”

A strange, indescribable silence fell.

Was that dog left alone in this tower, guarding the owner’s remains for all those years?

Perhaps the cabin apparition was the house where the owner lived while alive.

Or maybe they occasionally looked out the window, hoping to see their owner.

“Poor thing…”

Liana sniffled.

“Well then… let’s go… without tormenting the dog any further…”

Kaita murmured in a slightly choked voice.

But how should we get out? It seemed like we would have to break through the walls since there was no exit…

Ah, no. There it is.

A black exit stood on the wall of the tower.

It was exactly as Liana and I had passed through it at first.

Kaita screamed and covered his eyes as I transformed back into my human form.

“Erga! Why do you turn naked?!”

“I apologize, Kaita. My clothes tear apart when I return to my original form.”

“Then carry spare clothes with you or something! Seriously, seriously!”

Meanwhile, Liana sneakily stole glances at my body with a content expression.

“hehehe… You truly are amazing…”

“Let’s get out for now. We confirmed that there’s nothing inside, and we need to wrap up the mission like that.”

We entered the exit that led to the corridor.

Looking back, the dog was still sitting in the same spot, not even flinching.

* * * * *

“We’re finally getting out of the tower. Ah, I really thought I was going to die, but miraculously, I met all of you and survived. I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

Kaita chattered incessantly as we walked through the dark corridor.

“If you’re grateful, please give me the gold coins you have. Repayment in money is the most certain, isn’t it?”

Kaita responded to Liana’s proposition with a slightly awkward tone.

“Well… gold coins? I don’t have any gold coins…”

“Why not? Magicians earn money easily, right? They open a dimensional gate and can take several months’ worth of salary all at once.”

“What are you talking about, Liana? What magician opens a dimensional gate and takes money?”

Kaita replied as if she had no idea what Liana was talking about. In response, Liana tilted her head.

“You take money. Why don’t you take it? It’s all listed in the standard fee schedule announced by the Magic Union.”

“Magic Union? What’s that?”

“Uhh… the Magic Union. All magicians are supposed to join, of course.”

“What nonsense, seriously…”

Kaita grumbled, clearly not understanding.