15. Beyond the Barrier

It's been three days since we were snatched away in the night. This is the third person to take us captive. This third man seems to be in quite a rush, and since he won't let us take a proper break, we were already exhausted, but now we're absolutely spent. After somehow managing to get us out of the carriage to eat lunch, Hannah and I were forced to ride the dragon for several more hours; it's safe to say our consciousness was starting to fade.

Just then, our dragon, which had been gliding along quietly, ...

"Kieee!"

...let out a cry. Hearing that sound for the first time snapped me back to my senses. It seemed like the dragon slowed its pace as soon as it heard the cry.

"Tch, what are you doing?! Just a little further! We're almost at the Frontier!"

The man shouted, but the dragon gradually slowed down and came to a halt. He scrambled off the dragon and came stomping toward us.

"What did you two do?!"

Even as he yelled, it should have been obvious that Hannah had no life left in her and wasn't in any state to do anything. The man looked at me, but there's nothing a baby can do. The dragon gently nudged the man's back with its head.

"What do you want?"

"Kie!"

The dragon swayed the basket.

"...So you're saying we should let her rest?"

"Kie!"

It seems dragons share a significant amount of consciousness within their herds. Once I was recognized as part of the herd, the dragon continued to treat me with great care even after they swapped mounts. In other words, they wouldn't let me go far enough to use the bathroom. It seems this dragon decided that traveling any further would be too dangerous for me—the herd's precious little baby.

"...But we're almost there..."

The man looked ahead. The mountains that had been far off in the distance were now quite close, and he was making the dragon gallop along the edge of the forest. All I could see were endless forests and grasslands; I couldn't see where the barrier ended, but the man must have some kind of sign to guide him.

I didn't have the strength to stand anymore, and Hannah collapsed onto the ground as if she'd fallen right out of the basket.

"Mofuh..."

"What was that?"

"Han-nah, blanket, pwease."

*Tsk.*

The man clicked his tongue, but he did pull out a blanket for Hannah. Once I tucked her in, I spread the blanket out and lay down beside her. The dragon lowered its head with a worried look. I just wanted to sleep, just for a little bit.

"Hey, wake up!"

I think I only slept for a split second. The man didn't just shout; he forcibly woke Hannah, shoved her into the dragon's cage, and tossed me in right after her.

"The pursuers are here."

With just that single mutter, he began to drive the dragon with everything he had. Pursuers. I stood up on Hannah's lap, let her hold me, and looked back over her shoulder. I couldn't see clearly, but I was certain I saw several shadows heading our way.

The man said we were almost at the Frontier, but what exactly was the Frontier, and was there something waiting for us there? The shadows of the pursuers were definitely getting closer.

"Just a little further, just a little further!"

The man's loud voice reached all the way to the back. But I just clung to Hannah, watching the pursuers. They were fast. Was that black clothing a military uniform? Among them, I spotted one person wearing gray. And they had bright hair that was almost the same color as the gray clothes.

“Dada!”

“Lia!”

My voice had escaped me in a desperate scream, but Father’s voice came back in response. He came! He actually came for me!

“Target spotted! Flank them!

With that shout, the unit behind us scattered, likely attempting to intercept the dragon ahead of us.

“Waaaaah!”

Even as they tried to circle around, the man kept charging forward. Then, Father’s dragon pulled up alongside mine. Our eyes met. I couldn't reach him, but I stretched my hands out as far as I could. Just a little more, just a little more... Suddenly, the man ahead was sandwiched between two dragons, pinned down, and knocked right off his mount. But the dragons didn't stop; they kept racing forward.

“Kiee!”

My dragon suddenly surged ahead in speed. Father couldn't keep up in time and began to drift backward.

“Dada!”

"Lia!"

We flew past the man in black and the other guy, who both stood there completely stunned. Suddenly, the air itself seemed to shift with a sharp, piercing ring.

"So, this is..."

When I looked back, I saw Father being swarmed and held down by the man in black, with the dragon right there in the middle of it all.

"You're letting her go! Why?! Lia! Lia!"

"Dada! Dada!"

But the dragon wouldn't stop. And Father had come all this way just to pick me up. I could only stare blankly as he drifted further and further away. Eventually, the dragon kept racing until it got dark, and only then did it finally come to a halt. Luckily, maybe because the man was in such a rush, he hadn't locked the cage. When Hannah pushed against the side, it popped open without any trouble.

Hannah and I stumbled out of the cage, our legs shaky. The two dragons stayed close together, resting quietly.

"Lady Lilia, what are we going to do?"

Hannah was so exhausted and broken that she was actually relying on a one-year-old for support.

"Go back. Ride the dwagon."

If they aren't coming to us, we'll just have to go to them. But how on earth am I supposed to direct a dragon that doesn't even have a saddle?

"Hannah, can Lia wide the dwagon?"

"It's impossible. I might manage a basket, but I've never even sat on something that massive before..."

"Lia, can wide it?"

"Lady Lilia, I can't! I won't even be able to stay seated!"

I suppose that makes sense. Well, if we walk, maybe the dragon will follow us.

"Stay here."

Right, he told me not to wander off. Now I'm in a real bind. For now, this is the only thing I can do.

"Hannah, give me witer and bwanch."

"Uh, yes."

Hannah was rattling around in the basket opposite ours.

"Lady Lilia, I can't. The lock won't budge."

"Hit it... hit it with a stone. A big stone."

Hannah found a large stone that could be held in one hand and smashed it against the lock. The dragon gave us a look of pure disgust, but there was nothing we could do about it.

"It's open!"

"Out. Wata. Pan."

Hannah prepared some solid dragon feed and water, then brought out our bread and water flask; finally, we were able to move properly. We sat down and ate together. Since we didn't know what might happen next, we filled the flask to the brim from the water supply and each took one. I tucked a small piece of bread into my pocket.

"Ah."

"Lady Lilia?"

There was a paper-wrapped parcel in my pocket. The man had given it to me in the first town. When I opened it, I found some beautiful candies inside. So, this world has candy too.

"Hanna, candy!"

"Oh, dear..."

Even though she looked like she was about to burst into tears, Hannah took the candy I offered. As we both popped them into our mouths, the sweets melted away instantly. As long as the dragon didn't move, we couldn't move either. We decided we might as well try to get some sleep, but just as we were getting ready, it happened. This long, long day wasn't over yet.