The Night Wanderer's Village

At the mention of the Sky Vein Dragon, Frieren immediately stopped caring about the cold, damp weather and insisted on camping near the village.

"The last time I saw a Sky Vein Dragon, humans couldn't use Flight Magic yet. We could only look up at the dragon from the ground."

"This is a rare opportunity. We have to get a look at it."

As she spoke, she gave Shane a whole lecture about Sky Vein Dragons.

The little glint of excitement in her eyes was almost as bright as when she saw a Mimic.

Shane sighed and started packing up camp. To avoid getting soaked in the middle of the night, they returned to the shelter beneath the rock where they'd taken cover from the rain.

Truthfully, Shane was curious about a legendary creature like this, too.

The Sky Vein Dragon was an enormous dragon with a lifespan close to eternity. Its back was so massive that it carried an entire mountain range, which was how it got its name. Unlike other dragons, it had a gentle nature and hated fighting. It spent its whole life in the sky.

It roamed far and wide without ever stopping. Few people had ever seen it, and when it landed on the ground, that meant it was about to die.

It was no wonder Frieren was interested in such a mysterious creature.

Night fell.

Frogs croaked in chorus throughout the mountain woods after the rain.

Shane and Frieren sat by the campfire, chatting about the Sky Vein Dragon.

Suddenly, Shane frowned and looked toward the distant village. It seemed someone was sneaking out of their house in the middle of the night.

Then something baffling happened. One after another, villagers came out of their homes. They crept through the darkness and headed up the mountain.

The eerie scene immediately reminded Shane of the ghost incident they'd dealt with earlier.

No way. Not again?

Frieren reacted quickly, grabbing Shane and flying into the air to follow them.

The villagers all seemed to be asleep. Their eyes were closed as they staggered toward a small clearing in the woods, lined up, and lay down on the grass.

Before long, snores filled the air.

"?"

Shane was puzzled.

Why would they leave their beds to sleep in a heap in the woods? Was this some strange local custom?

Didn't the ground feel cold?

Then something even stranger happened. The sleeping villagers seemed to be having nightmares. Many of them began to moan with their eyes closed, and some even started muttering strange things in their sleep.

"It seems... something is making them have nightmares."

As she spoke, Frieren flew a little lower, but kept a safe distance.

"See those footprints on the ground? There's something invisible nearby, right next to the villagers."

Following Frieren's gaze, Shane finally noticed the many messy footprints in the slightly muddy ground near the villagers.

But they weren't human footprints.

They looked like the tracks of a large feline. And although there was nothing visible nearby, the footprints kept appearing. It seemed... their owner was circling the villagers.

"Are there monsters that can turn invisible?" Shane asked.

Frieren shook her head.

"I haven't heard of any members of the Demon Race who can use Invisibility Magic, but there's a magical beast called a Dream-Eating Tapir that's naturally invisible."

"These beasts like to eat human nightmares. They don't harm people."

"They don't harm people? Then what's going on here..." Shane asked, puzzled.

Frieren was just as confused. "This is the first time I've seen anything like it."

"Then what should we do?"

"There's nothing we can do. When a Dream-Eating Tapir is feeding on someone's nightmares, you can't wake them up. It would harm their soul, and in severe cases, they could become an idiot."

"Okay."

The two of them quietly descended behind a nearby tree and waited for the Dream-Eating Tapir to finish its meal.

Time passed. So much time that Frieren was nearly asleep.

At last, the villagers lying on the ground got back to their feet. They lined up and headed back to the village one by one.

Meanwhile, the invisible creature's footprints began moving deeper into the woods.

Shane quickly nudged Frieren awake, and the two of them followed.

After weaving through the woods and using Trace-Revealing Magic, they finally followed the footprints to a den.

The Dream-Eating Tapir returned to its den and dropped its invisibility.

Shane nearly burst out laughing. The Dream-Eating Tapir looked just like a pink "elephant-snouted pig." And in its den were three tiny "elephant-snouted piglets." The whole nest was full of pink cuteness—not at all what he'd expected from a magical beast.

Huh?

Wait!

"Frieren, look at the stones around the Dream-Eating Tapir's den. Don't they look like Dwarf Race helmets?"

At Shane's words, Frieren took a closer look and spotted seven or eight dwarf helmets. The Dream-Eating Tapir had used them as the stones lining its nest.

"What should we do? Go down and take them?" Shane was tempted.

"Wait... at least until they're asleep. I don't want to fight an invisible magical beast..."

Frieren seemed to remember some past experience. Her expression turned a little uneasy.

Shane had no choice but to wait patiently.

Half an hour later.

At last, the rambunctious babies settled down and fell asleep in their mother's arms.

Shane and Frieren exchanged a glance, then crept to the edge of the den and carefully took the helmets, doing their best not to make a sound.

They were lucky. The Dream-Eating Tapir family was sleeping soundly and didn't notice a thing.

Holding the last helmet, Shane slowly backed away.

Snap.

A branch suddenly broke in the silent den.

Frieren tensed at once.

Shane was so scared he hardly dared breathe. He waited in place for a while, and when the Dream-Eating Tapir showed no reaction, he lifted his foot again and continued toward Frieren.

But just as he took a step, he saw Frieren across from him turn around and shoot into the air with Flight Magic.

"?!"

Shane was stunned!

Then a hot, damp breath brushed the back of his neck.

He didn't need to turn around to know the Dream-Eating Tapir was awake!

Without hesitating for even half a second, he activated Dash and bolted!

Behind him came an angry roar.

Shane couldn't spare a thought for whether it sounded more like a pig or a cat. He just ran for his life, hoping to escape the Dream-Eating Tapir's reach.

He cursed Frieren in his heart for having no loyalty and leaving him behind!

What a heartless elf!

"Argh—"

Shane yelled and jumped a meter into the air.

The Dream-Eating Tapir behind him had bitten him hard on the butt. Furious and frightened, he clutched his backside and ran even faster.

When people are pushed to their limits, they really will do anything!

He ran as if his life depended on it, feeling like his soul couldn't keep up with his body!

At last, after sprinting for who knew how long, the sounds of pursuit gradually faded behind him...

He collapsed onto the ground, gasping and coughing so hard he nearly coughed up a lung.

Only then did Frieren leisurely float down from the sky.

"How could you abandon your teammate?!"

Shane was furious.

Frieren awkwardly looked away. "...Mothers with young are very protective. You have to let her get all her anger out, or she'll cause trouble for the villagers nearby."

"!!"

How could she say that with a straight face???

Shane was heartbroken. Frieren had actually used him as a sacrificial offering to placate the Dream-Eating Tapir.

"What should we do now? Drive the Dream-Eating Tapir away?"