Chapter 411: Wyverns

“I agree.” Robin nodded gracefully. Her voice was as gentle as ever, yet carried a persuasive strength. “The people there are in danger. They need our help.”

Hearing this, the tension on Artemis’s face finally gave way to a hint of warmth. She stepped forward and gave Furina a gentle hug.

“Thank you,” she murmured, her voice trembling slightly.

Turning to Aiden, the goddess solemnly extended her right hand. “Although you are not part of my Familia, from here on out, we are comrades. Come, let us make a contract.”

Aiden blinked. A contract?

Seeing his confusion, Hermes leaned in and whispered two quick sentences into his ear. Realization dawned on Aiden. So that was the kind of contract she meant.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and gently took Artemis’s slender fingers. Under the watchful eyes of the group, he bowed his head in a solemn, ancient knightly salute and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. In this moment, the timeless gesture represented the weightiest of promises.

“Excellent! Since that’s settled, let’s head out immediately,” Hermes said, clapping his hands to break the solemn atmosphere. “Time waits for no one. The Great Forest is on the verge of collapsing. If we don’t hurry back, Asfi is going to literally tear me apart.” He shrank his neck dramatically, as if already visualizing the murderous glare of his Almighty captain.

….

The night was deep. A cool evening breeze swept across the towering, impregnable walls of Orario.

Hermes stood with his back to the group, his eyes closed in what he clearly believed was an incredibly dashing pose. Using an exaggerated, theatrical tone, he launched into a grand monologue:

“Well? What do you think? These travel outfits were custom-tailored for each of you by the greatest travel expert of this century—namely, yours truly, Lord Hermes! I personally handpicked every piece of fabric and plating. They are lightweight and boast superior elasticity, but that’s a given. I even had rare metal fragments woven into the fabric layer by layer, boosting their durability by a full thirty percent! They might be combat suits, but they offer defense on par with metal armor, all while maintaining a soft, elegant appearance that won’t restrict your movements in the slightest. To assemble such top-tier gear in just a few short hours… I dare say, in all of Heaven, no one but I, Hermes, could—”

He paused, drinking in his own brilliance, ready to bask in their adoring gazes and breathless praise. He slowly turned around.

The anticipated awe was nowhere to be found.

Aiden and the others were completely ignoring him, huddled together in casual conversation. As for his “top-tier” outfits, they were merely wearing them, without sparing a single word of discussion for his efforts.

“Nobody… nobody was even listening to me,” Hermes muttered. He collapsed onto his hands and knees in a theatrical display of utter defeat, all the color seemingly draining from his body.

“Hey, Hermes,” Furina said, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at him in dissatisfaction. “We’re supposed to be leaving the city. Why did you bring us all the way up onto the outer wall?”

“Patience, Furina, patience.” Hermes instantly snapped back to his usual cheeky grin. He held a hand over his brow and peered out into the distant night sky. “Oh, here they come.”

Just as he spoke, a massive shadow blotted out the moonlight above the wall.

Furina looked up in surprise and let out a short yelp. She instantly ducked behind Aiden, poking only her small head out to stare in horror at the gargantuan creatures slowly descending toward them. They were wyverns, each boasting a wingspan of over ten meters.

“Hahahaha!” A booming, hearty laugh rang out as a figure leapt from the back of one of the beasts, landing firmly in front of the group with arms akimbo.

Recognizing the iconic, unmistakable elephant mask, Furina gasped, “Ganesha?”

“That is correct! I am Ganesha!” the god declared, flashing a wide, gleaming grin that caught the moonlight.

One by one, the massive wyverns touched down. They folded their leathery wings and crouched obediently on the broad top of the wall. Secured to their backs were large seats resembling saddles—these were monsters tamed by the Ganesha Familia, bred specifically for flight.

“Ooh~ are we going to ride these?” Furina’s eyes lit up, her previous terror instantly replaced by burning curiosity.

“We sure are. I pulled a favor with Ganesha ahead of time,” Hermes said, stepping forward to pat the muscle-bound god’s arm. “If we went by land, it would take a solid month. Riding these beauties will get us there in just ten days. And if we don’t get back fast, Asfi will actually lecture me to death.”

“Are you… absolutely sure these things are safe?” Daphne asked, her delicate brow furrowing as she eyed the intimidating, beastly aura rolling off the wyverns.

As an adventurer, she possessed an instinctual wariness toward monsters. The thought of riding one thousands of meters into the sky was terrifying; if anything went wrong, they would plummet to a messy demise.

“Hahahaha, fear not!” Ganesha laughed heartily. “These wyverns are trained from the moment they hatch. They will obey anyone’s commands.”

“Speaking of which,” Aiden said, his own brow creasing as he pointed at the mounts. “Don’t we seem to be short a few dragons?”

Counting Artemis and Hermes, there were exactly twelve people in their party. Yet, there were only four wyverns resting on the wall.

“Honestly? We couldn’t scrape enough together,” Ganesha admitted, laughing at the sky with his hands on his hips, completely unashamed.

“So, we’ll just have to squeeze three to a ride,” Hermes said, throwing his hands up in a helpless shrug.

“…I suppose we have no choice,” Aiden sighed.

After sorting out the seating arrangements, the groups were finalized: Aiden, Artemis, and Furina took one wyvern; Hermes, Daphne, and Cassandra took the second; Jeanne, Tifa, and Robin shared the third; while Hyacine, Firefly, and Castorice mounted the fourth. Fortunately, the wyverns were colossal, and the saddle seats were spacious enough that riding three abreast didn’t feel cramped.

With a series of deep, rhythmic wingbeats, the four wyverns kicked up a powerful gale and hoisted their massive frames into the sky.

“Safe travels!” Ganesha bellowed from the empty wall, striking a classic bodybuilding pose to see them off into the night.