Still, Kiriko eventually thought of a good way to test the Spear Hero.
She first sent Gabriel to meet up with the others, then brought Motoyasu to the weapon shop to buy him the cheapest, trash-tier equipment available.
The Spear Hero, who'd previously been so prideful, was now stripped cleaner than a bikini model.
A grown man wearing only shorts was simply unacceptable.
Thus, Kiriko bought him some garbage gear.
Besides, she'd heard he'd caused a scene at a tavern.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Kiriko chose a fully enclosed helmet for him (the kind covering his entire face, with just a narrow slit to see through), and instructed him to change his Legendary Weapon into the shape of a staff.
Kiriko had learned from Naofumi that Legendary Weapons could assume different forms—for instance, Naofumi could turn his shield into a book.
With that, there shouldn't be any issues.
Raphtalia, Lute, and Gabriel were all waiting at the city gate for Kiriko and Motoyasu.
In passing, they also informed Naofumi that Gabriel had been found.
Afterward, their group left the royal capital, heading toward the wilderness.
Kiriko, Raphtalia, and Lute rode together in the carriage, pulled by Gabriel, who'd transformed into her Filolial Queen form.
As for Motoyasu…
He was still undergoing his test, so Kiriko couldn't risk entrusting her trusted companions to him yet.
Thus, the Spear Hero had to travel using Bus Route 11—on foot.
Luckily, as the first day drew to a close, Kiriko's group arrived at a village. Besides staying the night at the village inn, they bought a small wooden cart from the villagers.
Kiriko attached the cart behind their carriage, allowing Motoyasu to ride in it the next day.
Kiriko covered all costs—including equipment, cart, and lodging—but made it clear Motoyasu would have to repay everything with interest.
In this manner, Kiriko's group traveled by day (dispatching monsters they encountered along the way) and rested in villages at night.
If luck failed them and there were no villages nearby, they camped outdoors.
During camping, Kiriko personally took charge of cooking.
Using monster meat from the day's hunts and employing her "Cooking (Great Great Great… Grandmaster)" skill, she could produce incredibly tasty meals.
After several days and nights of travel, they finally reached their destination.
Stretching before Kiriko's group was a range of mountains shrouded in mist.
This was Dragon Country.
Though called a "country," it was actually just a vast territory inhabited by numerous dragons.
In this world, dragons and griffins were natural enemies of Filolials. There had once been flying Filolials, but due to dragons, that particular subspecies was long extinct.
Kiriko had purchased this information from that shady merchant.
According to typical western fantasy logic, dragons loved collecting shiny things. Thus, wherever dragons lived, one could expect vast hidden treasures.
Since this place was called Dragon Country, the amount of treasure here surely surpassed that of any single dragon's hoard.
Moreover, besides the treasures collected by dragons, the dragons themselves were treasure troves.
Dragon hide, dragon scales, dragon claws, dragon teeth, dragon whips, dragon blood…
Especially dragon blood.
Dragon blood held tremendous magical power. By smearing dragon blood onto one's body, one would become impervious to blades—hard as steel.
Coupled with the principle of "eating to replenish what you lack," if one applied dragon blood externally and consumed dragon whip internally…
Guaranteed to become hard as steel—fearsome indeed.
…I see. Huyan Zhuo's legendary family steel whip was definitely created this way.
"Motoyasu, you've been saying all along you wanted a chance to prove your sincerity. Well, here's your chance."
Kiriko pointed at the distant, mist-covered mountains.
"We need to sneak into Dragon Country to retrieve the treasures inside, but someone has to distract the dragons. If you can do this, I'll trust you."
"I understand. If this will earn me Mother-in-law-sama's trust, then I, Motoyasu, accept gladly!"
After saying this, Motoyasu immediately sprinted off toward the distant mountains.
Gabriel watched his departing figure worriedly. Lute, on the other hand, had a displeased look. Several times during the journey, he'd wanted to confront Motoyasu, but Kiriko had always stopped him.
During the banquet, he'd beaten Motoyasu severely, though ultimately he hadn't killed him.
But that hadn't meant his grudge was gone. He'd simply restrained himself, unwilling to cause unnecessary trouble for his master.
He certainly wasn't generous enough to forgive the man who'd ruined his life.
No one would be that forgiving.
Lute sincerely hoped Motoyasu would die miserably in Dragon Country.
Raphtalia, however, didn't particularly care about Motoyasu.
She had more important concerns.
"Kiriko-sama, are we waiting until the Spear Hero draws attention before we sneak into Dragon Country?"
Kiriko shook her head.
"No, none of you are going into Dragon Country."
Gabriel exclaimed in surprise, "But then what about that spear-guy?"
"Just let him die in Dragon Country."
Lute snorted coldly, then expressed genuine admiration.
"As expected of Master—eliminating a pest without dirtying your own hands or reputation."
Gabriel looked saddened.
Raphtalia moved closer, comforting Gabriel gently.
"Gabriel, be good and listen to Kiriko-sama."
Kiriko glanced at Gabriel, then turned to Raphtalia.
"Raphtalia, remember that village we passed earlier?"
Raphtalia nodded. "I remember."
"Good. Take everyone to that village. I'll join you there in half a day."
Everyone stared at Kiriko blankly.
"Then what about you, Kiriko-sama?"
Kiriko started walking toward Dragon Country's mountain range.
"I'm going to see for myself whether he's a mule or a horse."