Chapter 128: The Delivery Race (3) "I would have liked to see the face of the person he chose as his mate instead of Ellis, but it was so long ago that it's impossible now. What a shame."
Recalling Keyroad I staring at Ellis, who stood alone apart from the other female Centaurs approaching him, Charlotte gave a bitter smile.
"So, Keyroad is gone too."
Charlotte lifted her gaze to the sky.
Unlike her, who had to live an endless life, she had always known that Keyroad, a Centaur, would leave the world before her.
But hearing it from someone else's mouth—especially through the descendant of the deceased—made her feel unsettled, even after living for thousands of years.
"And instead, you appeared before me."
Charlotte reached out and slowly stroked Angelica Crudian's brown hair.
After her coming-of-age ceremony, Angelica Crudian disliked being treated like a child, but she did not reject Charlotte's touch and stayed silent.
Not because of a dragon's overwhelming strength, but because Charlotte's eyes were exactly like a grandmother looking at her granddaughter.
Even though her actual appearance was closer to an older sister.
"It feels like just yesterday they and the other companions were chatting noisily in my lair, but time really has passed."
"A dragon's lair… Just imagining it makes my heart race."
"Hey, it's not some grand place. Well, since it came up—do you want to come see my lair too, like your ancestor did? We can talk more while we're at it."
"I-Is that all right?"
"Of course it is. No, better yet—should we take a lap around the entire Doren Kingdom while we're at it? You people like wandering around everywhere, don't you?"
Paaat.
Charlotte transformed back into a dragon, and just like when she once carried the fishermen of Orte Harbor, she had a large saddle strapped to her back.
"But you said you're a princess, right? It'd be a bit much to take only you around, so I should bring a few more along."
Having decided Angelica Crudian's companions entirely on her own, Charlotte looked around for suitable candidates.
"Who wants to tour the Doren Kingdom with me? No—regardless of race, are there any little creatures who want to come with me? Don't hesitate—raise your hands! If not now, when will you little creatures ever get to ride a dragon and fly through the sky?"
Those who heard her could not even respond; they only gaped with their mouths wide open.
"You know, that thing—you said you're running some kind of tourism business here? I'm going big: I'll take you around the entire Doren Kingdom, so hurry up and climb on. I'll guide you through every place I've had my eye on while living bored out of my mind on the Francia Continent for thousands of years."
She tapped the large saddle with her hand, urging them to get on.
"Traveling the Doren Kingdom with Lady Charlotte? I can't miss a chance like this!"
"What if you fall? And I hate high places."
"Think about it! You can ride a dragon and cut through the sky while roaming the continent! You couldn't buy that with mountains of gold!"
"Now that you say it like that…"
"Still, I can't. It's too scary…"
Those gathered around Charlotte wavered, unable to decide between curiosity and fear.
In the chaotic atmosphere, people began raising their hands one by one, and Lee Jinseo—arriving late—opened his eyes wide at the sight of them climbing onto the large saddle.
"Lady Charlotte, what is going on?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just going to take this kid and tour the Doren Kingdom for about a week."
"What?"
Including Angelica Crudian, a total of ten people joined the trip Charlotte had planned on a whim.
There were many voices of concern about suddenly setting off on a journey with a nation's princess, but since the dragon—stronger than any living creature—was taking them, there was no need to worry about safety.
More than that, since no one could stop a dragon who had decided to do something, all they could do was let them go and be at ease.
Lee Jinseo hurriedly provided all sorts of bunsik and food supplies so they would at least have no issues with meals, and Charlotte put them into interspatial storage and soared high into the sky.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Uncle Jinseo! We finished all the deliveries!"
"We got additional orders for tomorrow lunch—same orders! From all three places we visited!"
"And today we finished safely again without a single accident!"
"Good work."
When the three Centaur boy delivery riders removed their motorcycle helmets at the same time, heat rose from their heads like steaming vapor.
They gathered at a table with bottles of cider they had pulled from the vending machine, and Lee Jinseo set curry rice down without being asked.
Not in single portions, either, but an amount equal to three servings.
Munch, munch.
The three delivery boys wolfed down the curry rice as they filled their empty stomachs.
For them—who went out on deliveries once each before breakfast, lunch, and dinner—the time after deliveries, eating curry rice, was precious and blissful.
"Uncle Jinseo! One more bowl!"
"Yes, here you go."
As if on cue, after finishing those three servings at the same time, the three immediately began eating the extra curry rice.
"Still, she said she'd come today… It's almost dinner time already, but she hasn't come."
Elios, who had returned after finishing deliveries to match the Food Truck's break time, looked up at the sky and voiced concern.
"You don't need to worry. I'm in constant contact with her."
"Even so, it's hard not to worry when someone who's always here isn't in sight."
"That's true."
Since Lee Jinseo contacted Angelica Crudian daily through Owl's long-distance communication, there was no real reason to worry.
However, when a message had suddenly appeared in the Status Window the evening before yesterday—saying Owl's grade had increased—his heart had nearly dropped.
The only time the companions of the Mobile Cooking Facility gained grades was after defeating a powerful monster.
I only relaxed after confirming through Owl that she wasn't injured at all. Still…
Lee Jinseo reached out into the air and opened the Status Window.
{The fourth helper of the Mobile Cooking Facility, Angelica Crudian, has successfully completed a delivery. As a reward, 1,000 mileage and 1,000 experience have been obtained.}
{Helper Angelica Crudian has successfully completed a delivery. As a reward…}
Lee Jinseo scrolled down through the messages filling the Status Window, checking each one.
Did she sell bunsik even while traveling? Snacks and carbonated drinks—Lady Charlotte probably has plenty stored, and I made as much bunsik as I could for them, so there might be leftovers… but I didn't think she'd do that even while traveling.
Unlike the other three delivery boys, Angelica Crudian was formally registered as a helper, so mileage and experience accumulated each time she delivered.
In addition, mileage also accumulated when traveling beyond a certain distance during deliveries, so Angelica Crudian's sudden trip benefited Lee Jinseo in many ways.
"It's such a shame. If I hadn't gone out on deliveries at that moment, I would've followed the princess on her trip no matter what."
Elios sighed, lamenting that he had missed his chance to ride a dragon.
"Me too. What would it feel like to fly? Would it be even more thrilling than running?"
"If only we could cut across a sky that wide… Huh?"
Serkin stared blankly at the sky as if bewitched.
"Am I seeing things?"
He rubbed his eyes, then focused hard and looked up again.
The massive dragon in the center of his view was unmistakably Charlotte.
And the moment he saw the face of someone flying alongside Charlotte, he dropped the fork that had been stabbing pickled radish.
"Elios! L-Look over there! The princess is flying in!"
"Well, of course she's flying in—she's riding Lady Charlotte, a dragon. What else would she do, walk over here?"
Serkin patted Elios's back and pointed at the sky with his right index finger, but Elios didn't even turn around and just kept eating the remaining curry rice.
"No! She's flying by herself! Not riding on Lady Charlotte's back—she has her wings spread!"
"What are you talking about? That's impos—"
When Elios finally turned, the spoon in his hand clattered down.
"…It's possible?"
A pair of translucent wings fluttered beside Angelica Crudian's shoulders.
Flying through the open sky alongside Charlotte, Angelica Crudian looked like a winged white horse—like Pegasus.
Drawing every delivery boy's gaze as she flew in, Angelica Crudian stopped midair, then slowly flapped her wings and began descending toward Charlotte's private landing area.
Elios and the other delivery boys ran toward Angelica Crudian, and the humans and dwarves who spotted her late followed after them.
The moment Angelica Crudian landed on the ground, the translucent wings scattered and vanished.
Paaat.
With a brilliant flash, Owl appeared and softly settled on her left shoulder.
"Your Highness!"
The Centaurs who had seen Angelica Crudian flying were overwhelmed with emotion, calling out to her repeatedly.
"H-How did this happen? You—you flew, through the sky!"
"Hahaha. Is it that surprising?"
"I can't believe it! We Centaurs, permitted only to run upon the earth, flew through the open sky!"
"Did you learn the magic humans and dwarves use?"
"As if! If such magic existed, I would be the first to learn it!"
Answering in place of the mages, Angelica Crudian shook her head at Elios's question.
"Calm yourselves. The only reason I could fly just now was thanks to Owl."
Angelica Crudian smiled as she gently stroked Owl's head with a fingertip.
What? Was "Fusion" that kind of ability?
During this trip, when Owl's grade increased, Lee Jinseo had been given a chance to choose an additional ability.
Among the three options, one stood out: "Fusion."
There wasn't a detailed explanation, so I didn't expect much… but it gave Her Highness the ability to fly…
"Right—Jinseo, here. This is what you asked for."
Angelica Crudian handed Lee Jinseo the diary hanging at her waist.
It was the diary Lee Jinseo had given her before she left, asking her to record anything from Charlotte's stories that she considered important.
"Uh… you wrote a lot."
Lee Jinseo was at a loss as he saw Centaur script densely filling every page of the diary.
"They are the stories of a great being, so I recorded every word without leaving anything out."
"What? She must have explained without stopping, and you wrote all of it?"
"Yes."
"Seriously… you worked hard."
Charlotte would have explained stories only she knew about each region whenever they visited, and Angelica Crudian had written down everything that poured nonstop from her mouth.
Lee Jinseo found that far more impressive than the wings she had flown in on.
"Oh, one moment."
Angelica Crudian flipped through the diary quickly, then tapped a page with a folded corner.
"Make sure to show what is written here to Painfolt."
"What is it?"
"The great being said it may help in finding Rainfolt's whereabouts—the benefactor of my two elder brothers."
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