Ed closed the diary and was stunned for a long time before patting the ice dragon on the neck.

"Is," he said, "shall we fly a little west?"

"What are you going to do?" the ice dragon flicked his tail in dissatisfaction, "Didn't you say you want to go back as soon as possible?!"

“...... "Muru's diary says that he once told a little girl from Nouah that if he found an answer, an answer that would make him answer 'Why believe in God,' he would come back and tell her...... He can't come back, but isn't his diary also the 'answer'? I'll give them all to that little girl, and you won't have to carry these two bags!"

For him, of course, the former is important, but for the Ice Dragon, the latter is probably the more satisfying reason for it.

They came diagonally from the north-east side of Hertland, rather than reaching the coast due north first, as merchant ships do. In fact, they crossed the realms of centaurs, lizardmen, minotaurs, and halflings, the realm of the Noua, the most similar to the human world, and they only skimmed over the edge.

Ed didn't actually intend to pass through the territory of the Noahs. His father had told him that the Nou's harbour was almost as prosperous as Neo's—at least not as prosperous as Rainbow Bend. In that kind of densely populated place, the ice dragon flies too high and he can't see anything clearly, and flying too low is likely to cause panic, which is really unnecessary trouble. It's better to take a shorter distance and fly straight to the edge of the world.

But now, he has a strong curiosity about the Noas—who are so similar and yet different from humans. After nearly thirty years of trading with the Eastern Continent, what will they become? Will their desires be swelled by the growth of wealth? Will they still maintain the firmness and calmness that makes Muru regret but compelled to write words of appreciation?

He really wanted to know.

The ice dragon leaned slightly to the left and flew westward. At this time, they had just flown to the mountains in the middle of the continent, and Ed poked his head out and searched carefully, but he didn't see any lizardmen, only vaguely saw places that looked like camps or nests...... It seems that as Muru said, this race with gray-green scales that blends in with its surroundings is very good at concealment.

He sighed regretfully. Moments later, the ice dragon sprinted downward, almost hitting the rocks. When it rose rapidly, the mountains and forests began to stir, and before Ed could see the swaying figure, a strange creature had fallen in front of him.

- A lizardman.

It was caught in the ice dragon's long, flexible tail and fell before his eyes, struggling desperately. As Muru described, it had a human-like body and a fat tail...... and the head of a lizard. The mouth full of sharp teeth was wide open, but the sound it made was extremely sharp and thin, piercing the human brain like a needle.

Ed leaned back with a black face, almost screaming. Even though his nerves were much stronger than before, he couldn't withstand such a sudden start!

"What are you going to do?!" he roared as he kicked the ice dragon in the neck.

“...... Don't you want this?!" The Ice Dragon's tone was a little aggrieved in annoyance, and Ed almost believed it—if it hadn't been able to hold back its snarling and trembling laughter.

It was intentional, of course, even if the stance threw it off balance and flew crookedly like a drunk.

"I don't want it!" Ed muttered, looking curiously a few more times, until the fierce creature staggered and fell and tried to pounce on him and bite his head.

“...... You'd better put it down. His voice tightened out of breath.

The ice dragon's tail shook and casually let go, allowing the lizardman to plummet into midair.

It was thrown too quickly and too randomly, like throwing away something inconsequential...... That may seem irrelevant to it.

It was too late for Ed to react, and after a little hesitation, the lizardman smashed into the rock, and there was no movement.

Ed withdrew his gaze, shrank silently, and said nothing. He felt a little guilty and uneasy, even if that guy was evil by nature, he didn't provoke them in the end...... And, are there really "evil by nature" creatures in this world?

The dragon is a symbol of evil, and countless people think so. If Iss hadn't been raised by Scott, he might have grown into a truly evil creature — at least evil to humans. If a dragon could change, the lizardmen would ...... Even what he had been trying to forget, the goblin he had bought on the streets of Balach, must have been immutable?

He was in a mixed state of mind, thinking about these unanswered questions. He didn't know if he had the same chance as Muru...... and courage to find answers.

.

Closer to the forest, the Nooan villages are scattered across vast fields, and look almost as peaceful as the halfling villages, except for the wooden houses that have been dug out of the hillside hills...... Lack of defense. Even the more prosperous, town-like places do not have the high walls of hedges or stone bricks that are common in human towns, as if they are full of trust in their powerful neighbors in the forest, and they are not half wary.

The farther north you go, the denser it becomes. Larger cities have towering stone towers, magnificent buildings...... But there are still no walls, only roads that extend in all directions. The people looked up in surprise as the ice dragon flew by, pointing to the sky and shouting, but there was not much panic - soldiers armed with spears in light and brightly colored leather armor quickly appeared in the streets, silently and vigilantly watching them fly by, and did not rush to attack.

“...... They didn't even ring the bell!" Ed couldn't help but be excited and nervous, "Father told me that the Noas ring the bell to warn them when danger might come...... They don't see you as an enemy!"

He had thought about letting the ice dragon find a place to turn back into his human form and then go to the girl, but maybe it wasn't necessary?

As River described, the northern coast is no longer what Muru had seen decades ago—a gigantic city towering around a blue bay, with rows of buildings, large and small, with red roofs and red roofs against the backdrop of the sea, like crimson clouds on the evening horizon...... Like a flame, it swept away towards the green plains of the interior.

Ed took a deep breath and told the ice dragon, "...... This is Kurtia, the only seaport in Hertland. ”