Chapter 30 - Sudden Fear
About an hour later, Kazuya, Orihime, and Genta had registered their mission at the guild's administration and were almost ready to go. But they needed time to discuss and come to an agreement on certain things before embarking on this. So they stood in a secluded area to discuss.
"Alright, Genta," Kazuya said to the young one, "where do you think we would be able to find a female silver dragon?" Or better yet, how would we be able to find one?"
"I don't think that would be a problem, Kazuya," Genta replied. "This is mating season for the silver dragons, so it wouldn't be hard to find an egg nest somewhere."
"You make it sound as if it's as easy as finding a bird's nest on a random tree," Orihime said, starting to feel anxious about this whole thing.
"I didn't mean to make it sound like that," Genta explained, "but what I mean is that if we know the right places to look for them, we should be able to find what we are looking for quite easily."
"Well, you have just implied my question," Kazuya said to Genta, "where do we find it?"
"To be sure of where we would find them, we have to first understand the nature of silver dragons during the mating season," Genta replied. "Silver dragons usually live among groups dwelling in large caves." Female silver dragons get very strong, aggressive, and paranoid whenever they are about to lay their eggs. As a result, they usually chase all the males away to have a safe environment to lay their eggs.
"So a typical cave of silver dragons would currently only have female egg-laying dragons dwelling therein?" Kazuya asked.
"Exactly," Genta replied, "so that shows that there would be several of those eggs to choose from."
"And also several of those dragons for us to get past," Orihime added. "Doesn't that make it a whole lot more difficult than expected?"
"Kazuya asked where we would be able to find a silver dragon's egg, and I answered, showing that we could find several of them if we wanted," Genta explained, "but I never said it was going to be easy."
Kazuya remembered the image Gaichu showed him of a female silver dragon, and he knew this wasn't going to be easy; however, his fright did not affect his conviction. Orihime, on the other hand, was becoming overly anxious.
"Where are these large caves you speak of?" asked Kazuya.
"They are in the wild forests, about a few hours from here by witch broom," Genta said to them.
"By... what now?" asked Orihime, still trying to figure out what she had just said.
"By witch broom," Genta replied, "you weren't thinking that we were going to head there on foot, were you?"
"What are you...?" Orihime was about to ask when Kazuya placed a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention as he pointed at a mage floating on a long broom over twenty feet above their heads.
Orihime widened her eyes as she realized what Genta was implying. "We are flying?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes, that is what she just said," Kazuya said to her, not as excited about it as she was. It seemed she had almost forgotten about her anxiety in an instant.
"Just to make sure—do any of you get sick in the air?" asked Genta.
"I don't know," Kazuya replied, "I haven't flown by broom before."
"Same here; this would be my first," Orihime said as well.
"Alright, as we go out, if any of you wish to puke, please do so in the direction the wind is blowing and try not to do it when people are directly below you," Genta instructed.
"Okay," Orihime said, while Kazuya nodded.
"Have you gone on a mission like this before?" Kazuya asked.
"Yes, as a navigator," she said to them.
"What was it like?" asked Orihime.
"Well, I was able to get into the cave with them, and one of them had to play bait while the others went to get the egg. "Though the dragon was very protective, thanks to the bait, the others were able to get the egg, and we all managed to leave safely." Genta answered, "Sure, the adventurer who played bait got burned, but I was able to heal him." "And in the end, the mission was successful."
"Wow, you know how to encourage people, don't you?" Orihime said with sarcasm as she turned to look at Kazuya anxiously. "This might be a bad idea."
"If you want out, be my guest," Kazuya replied bluntly, and Orihime frowned.
"Or we could just hire a more experienced mage to come with us," Orihime suggested to Kazuya. "Someone else who had succeeded in doing this firsthand would suffice, don't you think?"
Kazuya placed a hand on his chin as he thought about it. "Well, now that I think of it, that might be a good idea." But the problem is that the Master chose to help us if we were able to do it for her, and not if we could hire someone to either help us or do it for us. So I think hiring outside help would defeat the purpose of this mission altogether. "We would be lucky if the Master accepted our success after taking one of her magicians along with us," he explained.
"You are right," Orihime admitted, "but no matter how else I think about it, this might be a suicide mission one way or another."
Kazuya could see the fear in Orihime's eyes, even though she hadn't seen what he had seen (Gaichu's holographic description of the silver dragon). He not only needed her for this mission but also needed her in top form, so he made a suggestion.
"Genta, what do you think?" Kazuya asked.
"What?" she asked, not fully understanding his question.
"You have experienced first-hand what it was like to steal an egg from a silver dragon," he said to her, "so tell us, do you think we stand a chance against the odds of this mission?"
"Yes, we do," Genta replied, "and we can do it." I know it."
Orihime arched a brow. "Why do you sound so sure about that?" she asked Genta before looking back at Kazuya. "You don't believe this, do you?"
"Well, she has done this before." "So if she says we stand a chance, that is enough for me," Kazuya replied before looking back at Genta. "So, what are we going to need?"
"Nothing much, just a magic broom and a wand," Genta said to them, heightening Orihime's skepticism even further. But she had no choice now. If Kazuya and the young girl were willing to go despite the odds, why must she be the one to give in to fear?
She took a deep breath. "Fine, I'm okay now," she said to them. "Besides, becoming dragon food shouldn't be all that bad, right?"
"That's the spirit," Kazuya said sarcastically, patting her on the back while Genta chuckled. Orihime looked at the both of them in disbelief—especially at Genta, who looked the most fearless about it.
"Let's get going, shall we?" Kazuya said to Genta.
"Let me go get the witch's broom and wand," she said to them before leaving to get them, "I won't be long."
While Genta left, Orihime looked at Kazuya, who looked so unfazed by anything that it was almost too frustrating for her to see.
"Are you not afraid, Kazuya?" she could not help asking.
"Afraid?" asked Kazuya as he faced her. "I'm terrified!" "We are about to steal from a powerful creature capable of ending our lives with a single breath from its mouth, and you are asking me if I am afraid?"
Orihime widened her eyes as she heard this. It was unexpected, yet encouraging for her to hear, "Good," she replied, "so am I."
"You don't have to state the obvious, Orihime," he said to her while placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her as he understood her fear.
Though they had never heard of a silver dragon, like every layman alive, they had heard several horrific tales of their deeds against people, most of which had been verified and confirmed to be true. So for people like them, who hadn't been around people who hunted dragons as a lifestyle, the mere thought of going near one was terrifying.
Genta, on the other hand, had been around people doing this all her life, as she was born into the guild. She had also experienced the process of doing so, so none of it was new to her. But for Kazuya and Orihime, this was way out of their league, even though Genta had assured them that they could do it together.
As Kazuya tried to comfort Orihime, he was surprised by the way she was trembling. This wasn't Orihime being her usual self; she was genuinely anxious and terrified, and now he could feel it as well. So he also placed his second hand on her other shoulder and said, "We will get through this, alright?"
She nodded in response, and Kazuya nodded back before Genta returned with the witch's broom and wand.She was surprised by how they both were—Orihime looking upset and Kazuya trying to comfort her—and it was at that point that she knew how afraid they were of the mission ahead, understanding how unfamiliar they were with this. So she called them both by name, instantly grabbing their attention: "Don't worry." "We've got this," she said to them, and they nodded in optimism.