Rookies, Dragons, and a SMUG BASTARD! Young Master

Takahiro

A mission from headquarters—that was big, right? What exactly was Headquarters, anyway? I glanced at Kenji beside me, his excitement barely contained as he fidgeted in his seat.

"When are we getting started?" Kenji asked eagerly.

"In about four hours," Miss Stone replied. "The carriage will pass by Emerald Road near the Division base. You'll meet up with them there and begin your mission."

"Emerald Road?" Yushiro echoed.

"Yeah, it's the road passing through our territory into the other Divisions' territories," I explained before Miss Stone could.

She nodded approvingly before gesturing to one of her teammates. A man with an odd haircut and flowing robes stepped forward, dropping a few items onto the table. Two orbs—one red, one green—sat there, glowing faintly.

"These are emergency items," Miss Stone explained, pointing at the red orb. "This one is an emergency signal. When you channel hashi into it, the orb will shoot into the sky and send a distress call to all nearby Division Knights. They'll come to assist you immediately."

She moved her hand toward the green orb, hesitated, then shrugged. "And this green one… uh… what was it again?" She glanced at her teammate, who gave an equally blank look. "Eh, whatever. Just take them."

Huh? Could she really just dismiss it like that?

The robed teammate placed three black pouches on the table, each containing the two orbs. We grabbed them, checking the contents. The orbs were smaller than my palm. I noticed Miss Stone had the same pouch strapped to her waist. To my side, Yushiro was already fastening his to his belt.

After getting our supplies, we prepared for departure. We grabbed our weapons, ensuring everything was in order. Just as I was adjusting my katana's sheath, a hooded figure stepped in front of me. Judging by her voice and build, she was a woman—I'd learned from past mistakes not to assume otherwise.

"I, the one with the Ravens, stand before you with a gift," she declared dramatically.

We all just… stared at her.

She let her cloak flutter dramatically before presenting two black scabbards. "These scabbards are my offering. Accept them at once or suffer the consequences."

Huh?

"Take them."

…Why?

Yushiro, unfazed, accepted them with a polite nod. "Thank you."

He handed one to Kenji, and I had to admit—it made sense. Kenji and Yushiro always carried their weapons in one hand, even while sheathed, since they didn't have proper straps. These scabbards would make it easier for them.

I patted my own katana, securely sheathed at my waist. We bowed in thanks, but the hooded woman turned dramatically, her cloak billowing as she declared, "Do not thank me, hatchlings. You have yet to prove your worth."

She walked back to her teammates, who immediately started praising her.

"Good work, Berry."

"You did great, Berry."

"I'm proud of you, Berry."

Oh. Her name was Berry.

We left the base and headed toward Emerald Road. The walk from the base to the road took about three hours, leaving us with an hour to spare before the carriage arrived. As we waited, a dark blue dragon flew overhead, dragging the wind with it. We looked up, watching as the dragon rider gave us a casual wave before flying off.

Thirty-two minutes later, two carriages appeared in the distance, drawn by four large horses. Two armored figures rode on either side, escorting them. The first carriage stopped in front of us, and the elderly driver hopped down, opening the door.

A chubby boy, younger than us, stepped out. He was dressed in fancy clothes and chewing on a large piece of meat, scrutinizing us up and down with an unimpressed look. Then, he snapped his fingers.

The elderly driver cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, my dear sirs. May I present to you the young master of the Zel House, Jerry Zel."

Jerry Zel gave us a smug look. "Thank you, Cedrick. I am Jerry Zel. You fools will be my bodyguards. Look after me, and do not disturb me! Let's go, Cedrick."

Fools?

Cedrick silently closed the carriage door, climbed back into the coachman's seat, and whipped the horses into motion. Kenji shrugged and followed after the carriage, while Yushiro and I trailed behind. One of the armored escorts, the tallest of the group, walked up to us and removed his helmet.

He was… unreasonably good-looking. The kind of good-looking that would make my sister Yume absolutely lose her mind.

"Yo. Name's Gareth Walter," he greeted casually, flashing a confident grin.

"Sup, I'm Kenji Kimura. These are my brothers." Kenji gestured to us, but then Yushiro whispered something to him. Kenji muttered, "Oh yeah, you're right."

I took that as my cue. "Takahiro."

"Yushiro," my brother introduced himself with a practiced smile.

Gareth looked at us, slightly confused, but let it slide. He gestured toward the other armored figures. "These are my mates, Donovan and Naiz."

The other two figures waved in greeting.

Gareth leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "See that guy sitting by the coachman's seat? He's our supervisor."

We glanced over. The supervisor was already glaring at us.

This mission had officially begun.