The trip to the neighboring village was supposed to be simple. The mission, according to the mysterious man from the guild, was just to transport a small box, sealed with a golden mark that vibrated slightly. Takumi found it strange from the very beginning, but he was already so used to odd requests that he didn't even question it anymore.
Just outside Vailor, Vespera walked beside the cart, analyzing the box with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know… this feels way too important to be just a delivery."
Elara, arms crossed, replied,
"Too important means better pay. So don't complain."
Liriel walked a few steps behind, staring at the box as if it might explode at any moment.
"I feel a presence… small. And irritated."
Takumi turned to her.
"What do you mean, irritated?"
"Well… it's hard to explain. But it's alive."
Vespera swallowed hard.
"Alive? What? Inside the box?"
Before Takumi could respond, a sharp sound echoed from inside the box, like a metallic chirp, followed by an insistent thump-thump-thump. The box rocked from side to side.
Elara stepped back.
"Okay. I don't like this."
The box shook again, and the golden seal glowed.
"Takumi…" Liriel murmured, "I think it's… trying to get out."
And it really was.
The seal broke with a soft crack, and the lid popped open, sending a wave of warm air into Takumi's face. A small bluish creature leapt out, flapping short, clumsy wings while leaving trails of sparks in the air.
It was a mini dragon.
Tiny, about the size of a cat, but with scales that shone like crystal. It made a loop in the air and landed on Takumi's shoulder as if claiming it as its territory.
Elara's eyes widened.
"Why is it never easy?"
Vespera let out a deep sigh.
"Why does something always escape? Why?"
Takumi tried to remove the little dragon from his shoulder, but it dug its tiny claws into his clothes.
"Hey! Calm down! We just need to deliver you, okay?"
The creature replied with a small puff of smoke right in his face.
Liriel tilted her head.
"He said 'I don't want to.'"
Takumi blinked.
"You speak dragon now?"
"Of course not. But I can interpret intention."
The mini dragon jumped onto Vespera's head and pulled a lock of her hair like it was a toy. She screamed.
"Get this thing off me!"
Takumi tried to grab it again, but the small dragon spread its wings and flew down the road behind them. It landed on the ground, scanned the surroundings, and then dashed straight into the forest.
"No! Come back here!" Takumi ran after it immediately.
Elara and Vespera followed, while Liriel simply sighed and walked calmly.
"Why does everything with us turn into a chase?" Elara complained.
The forest wasn't dense, but the mini dragon moved fast, almost as if it were playing with them. It hid behind trunks, appeared on top of branches, and whistled loudly before running again.
Takumi stopped, panting.
"This was definitely not in the mission description."
Vespera, exhausted, leaned against a tree.
"How do you even catch something like that? Moving, with wings, and on top of that it knows how to laugh at us?"
Elara slapped her own knees.
"If I had enough mana, I'd freeze the entire ground and it would slip."
Liriel finally caught up to them.
"I can try using light to get its attention. Young creatures like shiny things."
She raised her hands, concentrating a weak sphere of light—her real limit. The light flickered a few times, lacking strength, but it was enough.
The mini dragon appeared behind her, flapping its wings slowly as if hypnotized.
Takumi moved carefully.
"That's it… good, Liriel…"
The sphere of light flickered more strongly for a moment.
And then went out completely.
The dragon made a complaining sound, snorted, and shot upward to the treetops.
Vespera threw her hands in the air.
"Great! Now it's higher!"
Takumi took a deep breath and raised his hand. A small blue flame wrapped around his fingers.
"I can use the flame to attract it. But I need all three of you alert in case it tries to escape again."
Everyone took position.
Takumi ignited the flame like a small campfire suspended in the air. The mini dragon descended slowly, fascinated by the color. It landed on the young man's arm, curling in on itself while watching the glow.
Liriel smiled.
"See? It likes light."
Vespera crossed her arms.
"Of course it does. It ran off just to cause trouble."
Elara stood beside Takumi.
"So… that's it, right? We take it back and we're done."
The mini dragon stared at him with half-lidded eyes.
And bit his arm.
Lightly. As if marking territory.
Takumi sighed.
"It really doesn't want to be taken…"
Liriel touched the dragon carefully.
"It's afraid of something at the delivery location."
Takumi felt a chill.
"Of something… or someone?"
The mini dragon curled up and hid its face in its tiny hands.
Vespera looked at the group.
"So what do we do?"
Takumi slowly closed his hand, putting out the flame.
"First, we need to find out why it ran away. Then we decide whether we deliver it or not."
Elara took a deep breath, already imagining the headache to come.
"Great. Another mission that turns into an investigation."
Takumi looked at the mini dragon, which now yawned like an innocent hatchling.
"Let's go back to the road. And let's find out who owns this little walking problem."
The group returned, the dragon nestled in Takumi's arms.
The escort that should have taken a few hours… would end up taking much longer.
And deep down, Takumi knew: this wasn't a normal request.
The man from the guild knew exactly what was inside that box.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.