Chapter 128: Flying Around (Patreon)

Sunrise spent a few days relaxing at the Queen’s villa. After the madness of the last few days, everybody needed a rest. While the concept of mental health wasn’t as well known in this world as it was on Earth, people still understood that constant stress combined with rapid emotional ups and downs was unhealthy. Jessica put on her slummin’ pants (what she was calling her fancy pajamas) and refused to do any real work. Melia couldn’t blame her; they did look rather comfy.

Speaking of new clothes, Melia didn’t know what to expect from a professional fitting at a real-life [Tailor] shop. The closest she’d heard of was people getting measured for tuxedos and wedding dresses. But for everyday clothes, most people bought premade stuff from box stores.

Ebonvale didn’t have box stores, but it did have tuxedos and wedding dresses. It also had many other popular items from the cosmetics shop that, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t exist in a fantasy world.

Such as hooded onesie pajamas with animal ears.

Melia didn’t feel like cosplaying a [Kotokoko], Fantasy Online’s version of a nine-tailed fox prankster spirit, even though the [Tailor]’s magic gave the costume's tails a life of their own. In fact, because Melia’s fitting turned into dress-up time, the [Tailor] insisted on stuffing Melia into one. She had to admit it was cute, but Melia already had a hard time getting people to take her seriously as-is, so adding an adorable outfit that made her look like a kid getting ready to trick-or-treat wasn’t doing her any favors.

Instead, Melia settled for this world’s version of jeans and a T-shirt…which were startlingly similar to the jeans she knew from her time on Earth. With Jessica in sweats, Melia in jeans, Alastair wearing cloth pants and a tunic, and Ellesea in a gown with a kirtle, anyone peeking into the parlor where they lounged would see a bizarre mix of contemporary and ren-faire.

But none of that really mattered, since everyone was content to be on leave until they were ready to move on. Enough people hounded Ellesea at school about her [Flying Carpet] that she was asked to give a lecture on it. Melia thought that was both amazing and hilarious, so she decided to tag along. She considered going in disguise, but nobody would recognize her in her normal clothes anyway, since the last time she popped by the Academy, she wore her full [Mage] gear.

Amusingly, more people gave her weird looks for her jeans-and-shirt combo than they usually did for her [Reverie] or [Dancer] gear. Maybe if she had a hot cup of brand-name coffee, she’d fit in perfectly at a modern university, but here she was just a weird gnome. Since that wasn’t really different from normal and it didn’t bug her at all, she wrote it off as moot and gleefully followed Ellesea to an outdoor presentation courtyard.

Despite her initial nervousness, Ellesea was a natural teacher. She looked much more at home in an academic setting than she did slaying monsters, which was really saying something because, as far as Melia was concerned, she was a fine spellcaster. Standing on a little stool behind a lectern, Ellesea had her voice magically magnified so nearly 100 students and faculty members could hear her clearly as she explained in remarkable detail what went into making a [Flying Carpet]. And not just the [Enchanting] part, but the materials and composition of the rug and the little crystals that acted as a mana battery, too. It seemed she paid much more attention than Melia gave her credit for.

Melia was a good lecture attendee, nodding seriously as Ellesea made salient points or clapping and gasping during impactful demonstrations. Near the end, when Ellesea finally gave a live demonstration of flying around, everyone was on their feet, pointing and chattering excitedly, and Melia was no exception. As Ellesea rode off into the (not quite) sunset, Melia couldn't be prouder that her place in this generation’s magic users as “The [Mage] who achieved flight” was firmly cemented. The only problem was…Ellesea was gone, and it didn’t look like she was coming back. They’d flown to the academy together, but Melia needed to find her own way home.

Ever since she visited the divine realm, Melia had an epiphany. Or maybe it was less an awed realization and more that something inside her settled…like getting comfortable in a hard plastic chair or finally admitting she didn’t actually care about most people’s perception of her, as she originally thought. With the revelation that she had a job, a real, genuine commission from the potential creator of this world, she was finally starting to value her identity as a dragon. It would never be as strong as a “real” dragon’s (re: one born in this world), and if she had to create a tier list of how she saw herself, it would fall below both human and gnome, but it wasn’t something she could hide forever. Nor was she going to try. So Melia did something she never would have considered during her first days on this world…she transformed back into her real body and took a sightseeing tour from the skies above Horizon.

Of course, Melia waited until the courtyard was mostly empty and she wouldn’t crush anybody under her incredible bulk. But she made the conscious decision not to [Stealth], and she ignored all the yells of surprise and the few surges of mana as people tried [Inspecting] her. She floated up lazily, as if to demonstrate that she wasn’t a threat, and began slowly floating around. She didn’t really have a specific destination in mind and was almost listing where the wind blew her, though she would eventually return to her people in the castle grounds.

Melia found herself hovering over the Trade District and seriously considered landing in front of the Post Office. What would they do if she blocked all the mailboxes again? The thought would never fail to bring a smile to her face, which probably didn’t help her image as a huge, terrifying dragon looking for a quick meal. She saw some of the [Postal Workers] gathering in the square below, falling into surprisingly coordinated formations, and decided not to press her luck. Apparently, the trauma she inflicted upon them was legendary and they could use a little break.

…For now.

Melia had no doubt her self-control would falter eventually, and she’d return with another epic troll to pull one over on Bartolo Andrini.

She beat her wings, gained some altitude, and started pondering where to visit next. Horizon offered so much to see! In such a relatively small area, they had an incredibly diverse ecosystem and topography! For instance…water. It wasn’t just the ocean; a river split into canals that ran through the city, along with impressive fountains and displays. And that didn’t even start with the ocean! Melia had already visited her home on the beach, but there was still the harbor! Not only was there an impressive wharf with a legendary fish market (which, yes, technically she’d visited day one with Jessica for some street food), but there was an entire harbor. All sorts of ships, from shipping ships to little fishing boats to naval warships…Melia knew she butchered all those names, but she knew less about boats than she did about cars and carriages, which was practically nothing. She only knew they had interesting and funny names. Galleons, schooners, yachts, dinghies…and if the stories her mom used to read to her when she was a child were to be believed, there might be punts and junk, too.

Melia had no idea what any of those were, except perhaps a galleon, and even then she only had the vaguest guess linked to the image of a pirate ship.

Yes, maybe she’d visit the harbor. She could even land in the water in her real form to get an up-close view of all those tiny boats!

But before she could do so much as fly a few yards and scare even more poop out of the seagulls, she was quickly surrounded by a dozen soldiers on gryphons. 12 men, each suited up in shiny plate mail, and even the mounts wore what looked like medium armor. Some gripped long, heavy spears, while others adjusted quivers full of throwing javelins; a few drew swords, and one raised a wand.

One man, one of the sword-havers, wore a fancier helmet and a badge of office.

“Hello,” Melia greeted them, feeling like it was the polite thing to do. The fancy man, whom she guessed was in charge, opened his mouth but paused. He shook his head and quickly started over.

“Halt, dragon!” He called. “Identify yourself! And explain why you’ve invaded Horizon! Prepare to be detained; we will use force if necessary!”

Melia simply stared at the man. The whole group of soldiers was little more than a nuisance to her. She could blow them out of the sky with a single blast from her powerful wings. They had to be insane to think they had a chance against her…though she did give them credit for doing their jobs.

“Explain what business you have in Horizon!” The man repeated. “I am Captain Ishmael of the Horizon Citadel Guard, and I demand an answer!”

Was that all? Melia had no problem giving him that.

“Sightseeing,” she said with a massive grin. She raised a claw and waggled it at the Captain, inviting him to come forward. His gryphon looked highly hesitant, but the man must have used a skill to bolster everyone’s fortitude and he bravely approached. Melia used the same claw to draw a small circle in the air, pulling something from her inventory. It was a [Pictobox], the tool used to create screenshots in the game, and functioned exactly like a fantasy instant camera. It was far too tiny for Melia to physically grab; in fact, it was hardly a speck against her nail. So she hovered it in front of her with magic, bent her neck low, and tilted her head to the side as if she was actually able to see through the viewfinder…and snapped a picture.

A thick cloud of purple smoke puffed out of the boxy tool, and even though it looked like one of those ancient cameras that used real glass plates, this thing did none of that, instead ejecting a slowly developing piece of paper from the slot under the lens.

Melia caught it with magic and hovered it over to the Captain, who stared at it with a deeply conflicted expression.

…Probably because the picture showed him and his gryphon, looking supremely dumbfounded. One of the other soldiers flew over, took a look, and let out a good laugh. Melia grinned at them encouragingly.

“Be that as it may!” The man did his best to recover his dignity, sitting up straight on his proud gryphon. “In the name of the Horizon Citadel Guard, I order you to cease flying at once! You have entered into restricted airspace and must be detained!”

Melia stared at the man, impressed. She felt bad for his gryphon, having to carry this dude and his massive pair of balls. No, honestly. What was he thinking? Did he not stop to compare their sizes? This had to be Ebonvale’s equivalent of that atomic bomb vs coughing baby meme.

“No,” Melia said, still grinning.

What were they going to do, attack her? Let them. The highest level among them was 800. They wouldn’t scratch her hide, and since she didn’t see Moeldywn around, they’d tire themselves out long before they could do any real damage to her.

But if Moeldywn did show up and ask her to stop…Melia supposed she could cut her fun short.

Well, it looked like they had some brains to share among them, because they didn’t move an inch. None of them reached for their javelins, nor did they ready any spells. In fact, all the grunts stared at the Captain, who was clearly at a loss for words.

But before this farce could go any further, a pair of familiar bats flapped up, intruding on Melia’s personal space.

“Lady Meliastraza, is that you?!” One of the red bats called out. She had a distinctly feminine voice; this had to be Raztara. Compared to when Melia was enraged, they were slightly easier to see, and thus, identify. Now that they were roughly the size of her head (as opposed to being smaller than her eye), she could make out their features without enhancing her vision to zoom in.

“Raztara, Malorion,” Melia greeted. “You’re looking quite well.”

Melia wanted to joke about them growing up after their feast of sandwiches, but she wasn’t sure how much the Reds would enjoy being called out in front of witnesses. Speaking of, the guards seemed to recognize the new dragons, whom they treated with utmost respect.

“Madame Ambassador!” Captain Ishmael gasped. “Do you know this dragon?”

“Do I know her?” Raztara scoffed. “Soldier, this is the greatest of all dragons! The Archdragon! Of course I know her! She is a friend of the Ariad clan!”

Melia frowned. She remembered their last meeting…slightly differently, it seemed.

“You’ve met her all of two times,” Malorion grumbled. “You’re really going to claim her as a family bond?”

He earned himself a swipe from his mate’s claw for his cheek, but Melia heard him and she grinned. Apparently, Raztara was just being boastful. But this could be useful, since Melia meant to check up on them.

“Ooh, I’m glad you’re here. Since I was in the area, I wanted to stop by, and this saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Streets are such a pain to maneuver at this size.”

“Please don’t destroy more of the city,” Malorian groaned, earning another swat.

“Very well,” the Captain said, still addressing the Reds instead of cowering before Melia. “If she’s an [Ambassador]’s guest, I suppose this dragon has a pass. Be warned! You are not granted diplomatic immunity, so next time, be more careful!”

The group hastily flew off and Melia could hear the gryphons squawking in relief. She watched them for a moment before turning her attention to the bats.

“I know it’s sudden, but I really did want to visit,” Melia explained. “I don’t want to drop in on you if it’s too much of a hassle, so maybe we could schedule a time for lunch?”

“You’re welcome in our home any time,” Raztara said with a dip of her proud head.

“Especially if you’re the one making lunch,” Malorion added. This time…Raztara did not swipe at him. Instead, she nodded fervently. Melia let out a mirthful laugh.

“Ahaha! Did you enjoy the sandwiches I left you? I admit, my group saw you later, and it looked like you were giving that poor [Manservant] the runaround. Why were you on leashes?”

“Surely you remember how unruly whelps can be?” Raztara asked with a tilt of her head. “Oh, but wait. The Queen did mention that you weren’t raised in a rookery, were you? That explains it. A developing whelp’s curiosity must be contained, lest they flounder into trouble and hurt themselves. What better way than to keep them on a short leash? It’s practical. And stylish! There’s no shame in keeping your first collar for nostalgia’s sake.”

Malorion grinned and Melia wondered if the play on words was intentional. She also wondered if normal dragons took their kids out on walks. Perhaps, someday, she’d need to find out.

For the moment, though, Melia was content to follow the reds back to their mansion, where she could land in their yard. It was a tight fit, but at least there wasn’t a forest to sit on. Melia felt a smug smile tugging at her lips; she was getting better at this landing business.

They went inside, offered her some tea, and the [Manservant], who looked just as ancient and haggard as ever, served them with a pep in his step. Melia had to wonder if people who served dragons just really got attached to the dragons they served. Her [Retainers] were just like this guy…only better. Because they were hers.

Melia stealthily checked her treasure sense and saw a few [Feather Dusters] bustling about the castle. She didn’t see the [Feather Toy], but she had faith her tigerkin wasn’t getting into trouble. Melia was never great at starting conversations, so she let the others talk for a while, which was a good call, since they seemed to have an endless supply of things to talk about. Mostly about themselves, which, admittedly, tracked. Dragons. What else would they talk about but themselves?

As [Ambassadors], however, they weren’t entirely self-centered. They gave Melia snippets of news about current affairs in World’s End, which was fascinating even though none of it made any sense. She wasn’t familiar with any of the people, though the Dragon King was still the same guy as it had been in the game. Few players got to meet him, as he mostly showed up in random cutscenes to prove how strong he was without lending much support. He couldn’t take away the spotlight from the players, after all.

Melia did remember the location, and the jagged, spiky spires of the World’s End mountains reminded her of a pin cushion or sea urchin. Melia hoped to visit it someday, and maybe take her team with her. She’d have to make sure they’d let everybody in; back in the game, it was entirely closed off.

Eventually the tea was drunk and the cookies consumed, and with a heavy sigh of regret, Raztara hinted that they needed to get back to work. They’d come out in the first place because it was so rare to see an unaffiliated dragon appear so suddenly in the middle of the city. Melia thanked them for playing and, remembering she was supposed to be sightseeing, had an idea. She handed the [Manservant] her [Pictobox] and had him take a few pictures. She gave one to the Reds and kept the other for her stash. She watched the picture slowly come to life, smiling at the small gnome standing on a couch between two tall, beautiful humans. Friends. She made more friends.

Before she left, there was something on Melia’s mind she needed to know.

“How did you like the sandwiches?” She asked. “From what I saw that night, it looked like you made the best use of them.”

“Oh, to be young again!” Raztara gushed. “Lady Meliastraza, you have no idea what a gift those sandwiches were! I haven’t felt the thrill of youth like that for…decades!”

“Or the thrill in bed,” Malorion added, giving his wife a smoldering look. Raztara batted her eyes and tried to cover her faint blush. “It’s a pity they ran out so soon. You wouldn’t happen to have any more, would you?”

Suddenly, Melia was thinking she really needed to let the [Ambassadors] get back to work.

“Sorry, fresh out!” Melia grinned. “But if you’re really hankering for them and you don’t mind a wait, give me a heads-up next time and I’m sure I could make a delivery. Or, if I’m out traveling and you can’t reach me, try Penny’s. You know the restaurant, yes? The [Chef] knows the recipe.”

“Of course we know Penny’s,” Raztara scoffed. “We reserve a table at least once a month.”

“Did you learn the recipe from her?” Malorion asked. “I wonder if she’d be willing to train our [Cooks]....”

“Unlikely,” Raztara lamented. “You know how she is. She’s so secretive about those recipes she learned from her master. Especially the ones with extra effects. They can’t be found in modern cookbooks; she’s the only one who knows them.”

Melia wondered how they’d feel knowing she was Penny’s master. Perhaps on her next visit, she’d let something slip. Throw a hint out there. But now it was time to get back to the team, so Melia stood up to leave.

…Reds were all about fiery passion, right? Melia thought of something devious, dastardly, and downright insidious. Judging from her first encounter, where Malorion was painting Raztara as she lounged on a couch naked, they were probably into some really kinky stuff.

“Oh, by the way,” Melia asked, turning around as the [Manservant] opened the door for her. The two Reds were already cuddling on the lounge and any concerns Melia had flew right out the window. Was this a bad idea? Almost certainly. Was it potentially the greatest troll she could ever pull on a dragon? Absolutely. “I’m really curious. How do you feel about princesses?”

“As if you have to ask!” Malorian laughed, his wife nodding dreamily alongside him. “Can you really call yourself a dragon if you haven’t kidnapped a princess or two? It’s one of the harder parts of the conditioning an [Ambassador] must go through. We cannot allow our base instincts to react in the presence of foreign royalty.”

“I know what you mean,” Melia gave an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do without my princess. She’s far too precious.”

“Perhaps someday,” Raztara said dreamily, looking out the window toward the palace. Melia might need to warn Moeldywn, though she didn’t need to worry about her princess’ safety.

“I don’t know how well it works,” Melia said, “But I think there might be a good substitute. I hear Penny added a secret item to the menu recently. Next time you’re there, ask for the [Noble Indulgence]. But, ah, only one of you should eat it at a time. Trust me, I think it might be right up your alley.”

Either that, or she was about to introduce a new illegal substance into the draconic ecosystem. Honestly, if it weren’t for the possibility of real pandemonium, Melia would actually want to see what might happen if a random dragon in World’s End turned into a [Princess] for a couple of hours. Absolute mayhem, she was sure, and if Melia’s hunch about the Reds was correct, an ungodly amount of pampering.

They looked intrigued, but Melia said no more and headed back to Moeldywn’s estate.

​

“There you are,” Ellesea said as Melia walked in. “I was getting worried. We didn’t exactly coordinate our exit very well, and I was afraid you got stuck at the Academy talking to stuffy old professors. I was going to head back and look for you if you didn’t return by dinner.”

“Worried?” Jessica cackled. “Please. Nothing’s gonna happen to Melia. She could get hit by a carriage and she’d need to pay them for damages. And you really think she’s going to miss dinner? Out of everybody? Please.”

“It’s nice to know you’re loved,” Melia said, watching Ellesea squabble with Jessica.

The whole group was there, and it finally looked like they were ready to get back to work. Vacations were great, but they didn’t want to stagnate. Aside from Y’cennia, who’d slowed down and made only a few batches of potions today instead of dozens, everyone else looked ready for a good fight.

“So, are we still doing this?” Melia asked. “Continuing the training plan? We don’t have the pressure of taking down a Dark Lord, so we don’t need to rush. Do you guys still want to stick to the plan we laid out?”

“And go back to the pace we had before we left Gold Coast?” Jessica asked. “No thanks. Besides, didn’t you say you needed help exploring dungeons? For the gods? Sure, we don’t have [Eluna’s Quest], but we traded one godly mission for another. If you think about it, not much has changed. Look, Melia. I don’t know what madness you’ve got cooking up with the big guys upstairs, but it’s gonna be crazy and I wanna be part of it.”

“And if Visitors start showing up again,” Alastair added, “I think it’d be wise to prepare.”

“You think the world is going to enter a new Age of Uncertainty?” Y’cennia asked, sounding worried. Alastair shook his head.

“From what I understand, last time, Visitors weren’t the problem. They were the god’s solution. From what Melia’s said, I don’t think we’re on the brink of another calamity.”

“The problem is uncertainty,” Ellesea agreed. “I can see that. There’s no telling what Visitors might do.”

“If they’re anything like Eluna, I say the more the merrier,” Jessica grinned. “Damn, I miss the strawberry.”

“You and me both,” Melia sighed. “But if you want to bring her back sooner, the best way to do it is by making Order happy. And to do that, we’re gonna need to run a dungeon. [Az-tiki], here we come!”