To the skies!

  “I- Iroha… You love me, right? You’ll catch me if I fall, right?” We took off flying in Galene’s magical gryphons. It wasn’t as bad as the first time, but it was still nerve-wracking.

  “H- how? I’ll try, but… no promises… I may fall at any moment too.” Both Sarasa and I clung to the magical creatures. It really wasn’t pretty, but the fact that we could at least hold a conversation showed we were slowly getting used to this.

  I’ve only been on an airplane once when I was young, and I was told I took it quite well. I never considered myself someone who’s afraid of flying, but this is on a whole other level.

  Where are the safety features? Where are the walls blocking out the wind? Where’s the seat belt? I’m not scared of flying, but if this is how it worked in our world, I think I would have a different opinion.

  “You know, Sarasa… Just don’t think about it.” We had to somewhat raise our voices so we could hear each other. Even then, Galene and Abby, who were a bit ahead of us, couldn’t hear us at all. “It gets worse the more you think about it, so don’t.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. How am I supposed not to think about the fact I’m sitting up in the air on top of a creature that disappears at the snap of a finger?”

  Fair enough. “Just trust that it will be fine and find something else to distract yourself. Like… let’s try to catch up with them.” Sarasa bit her lip, and the two of us picked up the pace slightly.

  “Hm?” Galene noticed us getting close and turned her head. “You’re keeping up this time. You’re doing much better.”

  “Ahahaha…” Really? “I hope you’re not just being nice…” If I could get a conversation going, I bet Sarasa would be able to relax too. “Hey, Galene, I’ve been meaning to ask something.”

  “What?”

  “How has your time in Ebrilyon been? Have you run into anyone suspicious since you got here?” With how much trouble Philip and the demons led by Armand caused, I’d be surprised if she hadn’t had any issues. Maybe she can even give me some information on that bastard…

  “Oh, that’s right… Lots of liars and cheaters out there.” Sarasa chimed in. “You seem a bit na?ve, so don’t trust anyone you meet, okay? They’re probably trying to trick you.” Like you?

  After thinking for a second, Galene responded. “It’s a different environment from Azcester, but I haven’t met anyone that bad.”

  Philip wasn’t the only one the demons had influenced. I’m sure there are plenty of other people who would have wanted to take advantage of her… Oh, wait, they’re scared of the ‘princess’s shadow’ now, aren’t they? That’s why Thivadi and whoever’s behind this quest are from a different country… They probably don’t know…

  “Well, that’s good…” Good for her… Or so I was going to say, but Galene suddenly looked down. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s someone in trouble down there… Let’s land.”

  “What?” Galene and Abby made a sharp turn and started descending. It was crazy enough to make us shiver. No way we could do the same.

  With much slower movement and wider routes, we eventually landed next to the two of them.

  Galene and Abby were speaking to an old man near a wooden handcart with a troubled look on his face.

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  “So your wheel broke. I see… That’s unfortunate…” Galene nodded while assessing the situation. “Don’t worry, we’ll give you a hand.”

  “Really…? Oh… You’re such a nice lady…” The man thanked her with a slow voice.

  “Leave it to us.” While Galene assured the man, Abby was crouched near the broken wheel, assessing the damage. “How does it look? Can you do anything about it?” Galene joined her.

  “Hmmm…” Abby tilted her head. “It didn’t break that long ago… With my magic, I think I could heal the wood enough to hold until the cart can be properly repaired.”

  “Thank you, Abby. Go ahead and do that.”

  Abby extended her hand to the broken wheel, and the wood glowed green. The broken ends extended to connect, then retracted to bring the cart back to its former form.

  “Oh…! You fixed it…! Thank you so much!” The man walked over to Abby to shake her hand.

  “Of course I did. A job like this is nothing to the great sorceress Abby!” She grabbed her hat while puffing out her chest and struck a victorious pose. The same pose she did in game when striking the final blow, actually.

  “It’s quite heavy…” Galene noted as she tried to pull the cart. “Since we’re here, how about we escort you back home? I’ll carry this for you.”

  “N- no… I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that…” The man tried to stop her, but Galene smiled at him.

  “Don’t worry… Helping people in need is my duty.”

  And so, we helped the old man carry his harvest back home. I say we, but Sarasa and I were just staring. Like, has Galene forgotten our goal? I guess there’s no problem helping people every once in a while… Though, carrying the cart back home is going overboard…

  “I’ll say it again, Galene, the Hero of Humanity, and the Great Sorceress Abby.” While we were walking, Abby was making sure the man understood who they were.

  “Hahh… Abby, the sorceress…?” The man scratched his head.

  “No, no! Great Sorceress Abby! The details are important, okay? Please make sure you remember when talking about us!”

  “Yes, yes… I’ll remember… Thank you, little lady…”

  “Little!?” Abby clenched her fists. “Grrrrr!!! You absolutely don’t get it! You cannot say ‘little’ in any way when talking about me!”

  Real hard worker right there…

  Eventually, we reached our destination, we waved goodbye to the old man, and returned to the skies. Whew… That’s finally done… After a few minutes, we got back to our previous speed. Maybe now we can finally get this quest done…

  We were soaring through the sky when I caught Galene looking at the ground again. “Galene? D- did you see something?” Don’t tell me…

  “Yeah… Let’s land for a moment.” Not again!

  We landed on an empty grass field next to two young men looking at a cow from a distance. “What’s wrong?” The two of them already looked troubled, and seeing the translucent gryphons land startled them further.

  “Ahh… Well… That cow over there… We’re having trouble bringing her back. She’s been running away whenever we get close, and even when we grab her, she just breaks away… She’s never acted like this before… She’s probably not feeling well today.”

  Galene nodded as she listened to one of the men explaining. “Sounds like you’re in trouble… Don’t worry, though. We’ll give you a hand.”

  After a reassuring smile, she discussed things briefly with Abby, and they got to work. Galene was quickly able to catch and hold the cow in place. Meanwhile, Abby had time to cast a spell to calm the animal and healed an injury she discovered was causing the cow distress.

  “Wow! Thank you so much! That was amazing!”

  “That’s nothing for someone like us. Again, don’t forget how lucky you were to have our help!” Both our groups were waving goodbye as we got on our gryphons and returned to the sky. Abby hurried to get it all out before it was too late. “Galene, the heroine, and the Great Sorceress Abby! Don’t you dare forget!”

  Okay… We’re back in the air. Things are back on track. Helping people is good. Very noble. Galene wanted to help, so ‘we’ helped. All good. Now that we’re done, we can finally get back to business.

  Or so I hoped… Oh… How na?ve I was…

  We flew for not even half an hour before Galene noticed something again. A kid playing near some creek in a small group fell and was crying because of a bruised knee.

  Abby healed him, went through her whole marketing spiel, and we left.

  Not long after, we came across a woman looking for a scythe she dropped among some tall grass.

  Abby got on Galene’s shoulders and successfully spotted it for the lady. She made sure the woman knew who her saviors were, and we left.

  Next, husband and wife locked in a dumb argument in the middle of a small village. Galene tried to mediate, Abby called them both stupid, and that got them to calm down. Abby made sure to spread their name, and we left.

  What’s even going on here? What’s next? I don’t get it! Are these problems getting stupider and stupider? That last one seemed like a side quest straight from a game… Why can’t Galene just leave them alone? Why does the damn heroine keep accepting every side quest?!

  “Are you alright?” We were all flying side by side when Galene turned to me and Sarasa, worried.

  “We’re good… Just… a little tired… That’s all.” Thanks to a certain someone making us stop every 20 minutes.

  “Those were way too many stops…” Sarasa straight up said it.

  “Ahahahaha… I apologize for that.” Galene bowed slightly. “Whenever I see someone in trouble, I can’t help but try to help. As the heroine, that’s my duty. But doesn’t it feel good to help others?”

  She looked at us, expecting us to nod enthusiastically. “Yeah…” Whatever you say. “It’s nice to help, but it’s not good to lose track of your goals either… You still remember what we’re up to, right?” I bet Galene’s the type that starts doing side quests in a game and forgets the main story even exists.

  Well, I guess that’s only natural for her… She’s the protagonist, the ultimate good guy. Of course she’s gonna want to help others… Otherwise, that wouldn’t be her position. The game just wouldn’t work.

  “I haven’t forgotten. The country we’re going to, Darumith. If I’m not mistaken, we shouldn’t come across anyone else until we get there.”

  Darumith… That jogs some memories… I remember seeing that name in the map in game. Guess she must have looked into it ahead of time.

  “We shouldn’t come across anyone else, so take this time to relax.” Galene didn’t want us to be tired, but… Relax? On top of these creatures? Is that even possible?

  *Sigh…* At least we got to see how she and Abby work up close. Galene accepts every single request she comes across, while Abby is versatile enough to solve almost any problem. She’s surprisingly nice, too… Healing and helping in exchange for nothing, following Galene’s example. Well… not nothing… Seems like she always runs a marketing campaign any time she helps someone. That’s the price you pay for her help, I guess… Not bad.