Because it was a city that many schools passed through to get to Chantal, the stables were not far from the inn. Fortunately, it seemed that the sewage smell was magically treated somehow.
I looked around the bustling area, which was clearly more populous than the village I had visited before, and found the caretaker of the Odeltio’s dragon, Sir Reed.
Perhaps because the job of a caretaker was so rare and difficult, we had become acquainted.
Come to think of it, I remembered hearing a story about Sir Roche’s first dragon, Ina Dellaf, getting sick and dying after being crushed by a wild Sorentome much larger than itself.
“Doctor? It’s dangerous to be alone. What are you doing here?”
Damien Shore appeared behind me. Seeing him wearing a school uniform instead of travel clothes made me realize that we hadn’t yet arrived at our destination, Chantal.
Come to think of it, there were students wearing uniforms from other schools, using the common language or foreign languages, passing by.
In fact, I was wearing a doctor’s outer coat that indicated I was from the Amort Royal School, which I rarely wore over my coat.
“I was just taking a break and enjoying the scenery. Are you feeling better?”
Damien Shore burst out laughing and then quickly covered his mouth and laughed quietly.
“Oh, no. Not at all. My heart is still pounding,Doctor.”
I handed him a handkerchief and then turned around to check the location of the inn before heading down the stairs.
Damien Shore wiped his hands and quickly followed me.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes. How about you, doctor? Did you find the food to your liking? It seemed like you weren’t able to eat well, probably because the journey was tiring.”
“The dessert here was good too. The blueberry flavor was delicious. I recommend the blueberry sorbet.”
I casually walked in the direction of the stables.
As the cries of the dragons grew closer, the subtle smell of dragon excrement lingered in the air.
While the spell for absorbing the smell was not particularly difficult, the fact that the unfiltered smell was lingering meant that either part of the barrier installed due to the dragons’ movements had collapsed, or the spell was not effective.
As the smell became stronger as I approached the stables, it seemed to be the latter, so I needed to examine the barrier for an accurate judgment.
I had been studying in the attic for so long that I had developed a habit of pointing out flaws like this.
What’s wrong with me?
“Are you here to see the Tess Nigella?”
“No, I just ended up coming this way while walking.”
The stable we finally arrived at was huge. It was almost the size of just the inn where we were staying.
At a glance, it seemed that it could easily accommodate six or seven medium-sized dragons.
There was an office at the entrance to the building, and I could see the caretaker dozing off behind a small counter.
Perhaps because of the timing, there was no one standing guard, so I just walked in.
After walking for a while, the ceiling disappeared, revealing a sky with a hole in the middle, except for the central part of the building.
To prevent the dragons from breaking down the walls, there was a fence-like iron grate about twice my height away from the wall.
I fanned myself and stepped inside the iron grate.
As a habit, my eyes were searching for a space inside the stables where I could install a magical array, rather than looking at the dragons themselves.
As expected, there were traces of a magical array in the expected places.
These cleanliness spells and large-capacity absorption spells for dragon stables usually used the 3rd formula, but surprisingly, they had modified the 3rd formula to cast the spell.
As I was examining the array on the ceiling above the dragon’s head, Damien Shore called me.
“Doctor, the isolation ward seems to be over there. Would you like to go see it?”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I tilted my head in confusion, but soon I realized.
Damien Shore must have thought I had come to see Odeltio, who was sick.
I was about to say that wasn’t the case, but I decided to stop by since he had thoughtfully considered me.
Although the spell for absorbing the smell was a bit sloppy, the spell on the iron grate was reliable, so I didn’t think there would be anything too dangerous.
The isolation ward was in the most remote part of the building, and there were no other dragons except for Odeltio, so there was no need to search hard.
Bellpepper’s veterinarian, whom I had seen while wandering around, was struggling to feed Odeltio’s medicine with the caretakers.
His movements weren’t too intense, probably because his strength was greatly diminished due to the cold. I was about to ask about his condition and leave, but I could tell at a glance.
His weakened condition was evident, and although there was no danger due to the sturdy spell on the iron grate, I subtly grabbed Damien Shore’s collar and pushed him in front of me.
Looking up at Damien Shore, I said seriously,
“Shore, I know you’re incredibly skilled. If anything happens, you can lift me up and run.”
During a rest period, if it rained, Raiden and Sir Roche would come up to my and Dr. Ren’s carriage to take shelter.
Among the conversations we had at that time, Raiden also evaluated the students’ skills, and he said that Damien Shore’s level was surprisingly excellent.
When the departure of the Chantal group was confirmed and we had a dinner party, the teachers were not joking when they said that Sir Roche was eyeing Damien Shore.
Damien Shore chuckled at my words.
“What? Are you feeling sick?”
At that moment, a melodious voice and a strong citrus scent that suppressed the smell of the dragon’s excrement enveloped me from behind. It was a mana fragrance.
I was startled and took a step back.
A female mage with the typical black coat and cloak of a mage.
She was probably in her mid-twenties, like me.
The olive-colored eyes of the very attractive mage glanced at me and Damien Shore before she approached the caretakers, who had momentarily stopped moving in surprise at the fragrance.
“Is this Odeltio? Which school is he from? Is he one of Chantal’s dragons?”
“She’s from the Bellpepper Imperial Academy.”
“Oh? A candidate for the championship.”
Professor Reed, who had found me, nodded politely.
I returned the greeting in the same manner and took Damian’s hand, heading in that direction.
The mage went inside the bars without hesitation, looking at Odeltio, who was growling weakly, and placed her hands on her waist.
A middle-aged man who had hastily put on his uniform came running belatedly. He was in charge of the stable.
“Oh, Lady Reni! If you had contacted us first, we would have come to meet you.”
“Who did you contact to ask for repairs first?”
