A sound of footsteps made him turn around. His n were coming down from the summit, and what they were carrying left him speechless.
Each was holding a gigantic egg with smooth, shiny scales.
Five eggs.
Maxi understood imdiately. This wyvern... it was a mother. She hadn't fled because she was protecting her young.
He looked again at the creature.
"You wanted to defend them..." he whispered.
A deep respect arose in him. This animal was not only powerful, it was also devoted to its offspring.
Maxi closed his eyes for a mont, reflecting on the situation. He now understood why the wyvern had been so ferocious and tenacious. A mother will always protect her young, even in the face of an overwhelming threat.
When he opened them again, his gaze t the wyvern's.
"I suppose it was for them that you took the risk of getting close to human territory?" he asked in a calm voice.
The creature did not reply imdiately. Her bond with Maxi now enabled her to sense his emotions, and what she perceived in him unsettled her: there was neither cruelty nor absolute domination, but a form of sincere respect.
"I wanted to find a safe place... where my little ones wouldn't be hunted as soon as they were born..."
Her voice always resonated directly in Maxi's mind, heavy with resignation.
And above all, looking at her little ones who had not yet hatched, she seed to be saying.
"I'm sorry, my children, Mommy wasn't able to protect you."
Maxi didn't know why he felt this way, but it was almost instinctive.
He thought it was probably a side effect of [Beast Link]
"And now that you're under my command, you're afraid I'll use them as weapons, is that it?"
The wyvern didn't answer, but her silence spoke volus.
Maxi sighed and turned to his n, who were still waiting for his instructions, the eggs in their arms.
After a mont's thought, he called Terry.
"Terry."
"Yes, I'm here, boss," he replied, taking a few steps closer to Maxi.
"Can you hand the duvet you bought in the village this morning?"
The latter pretended to be confused, not knowing what Maxi was talking about.
"Which duvet?"
Maxi looked Terry straight in the eye, with a slight implication.
"The one you bought for you and Lira to spend even more wonderful nights..."
The expressions of the rcenaries around them, who were listening to everything, were also wonderful to observe.
The person in question pretended not to understand, until Lira ca up to him and tapped him lightly on the stomach.
"Idiot."
"This is all your fault because you weren't discreet enough."
Terry laughed a little self-consciously, while Lira shook her head and took the quilt out of her bag, then gave it to Maxi.
It looked very luxurious, so much so that even Maxi was envious.
Even in the modern world, it would still be a very pleasant quilt.
With his perception, he had noticed the purchases of his rcenaries when they left the village at the foot of the Kadis mountain, especially those that took up space.
But Terry and Lira had hidden their purchase so well that even he had not directly seen what it was.
But it only took a little analysis and reflection to guess that it was a duvet.
And seeing as it was their only purchase, Maxi also guessed that it must be a good quality one.
"Thank you both, I'll ask Tena to reimburse you from your next salary, plus so interest."
Terry said nothing, even if his boss didn't reimburse him, he wouldn't say anything and wouldn't hold a grudge.
Without his boss, he would already have died in the bandit attack in Quessoï, he would never have gained such strength and he would not have t love either.
All this was due to the appearance of Maxi in his destiny.
Maxi placed the quilt on the ground and ordered in a gentle tone:
"Guys, co and put the eggs in the quilt."
His n, including Romauld, who was carrying the eggs, also quickly placed the eggs in the duvet, without understanding what their leader wanted to do.
Once the eggs had been placed, Maxi nodded and turned to the wyvern.
Maxi turned back to the wyvern and held out his hand towards it.
"I make you a promise."
The wyvern raised its head slightly, surprised.
"I will protect these eggs as much as you will. They will not be weapons of war, but powerful companions. I will offer them a better future than the one your kind has known so far."
"And until they are adults, I will treat them as children and they will never be sent to a battlefield."
The rcenaries exchanged stunned looks. A normal man would have taken advantage of the situation to sell the eggs at a high price, or worse, destroy them to prevent them from becoming a threat.
But Maxi...
A shiver ran down the wyvern's spine. A part of her refused to believe such words. Humans were greedy beings, ready to do anything to dominate.
Yet she felt no lie in her heart.
Her instinct told her that this man was truly different.
She lowered her head slightly, a sign of partial submission.
"… I will observe you, human. If you ever break this promise, I will destroy everything in my path, even if it ans dying."
A wry smile appeared on Maxi's face.
"That's all I ask."
Imdiately after that, with its wings as arms, the wyvern delicately picked up the nest with its eggs on it and carried them, revealing a look of intense love.
"Her children have not been born, but they are already receiving such love. In fact, it is not uncommon for mothers, whatever their breed, to offer unconditional love even before their children are born," thought Maxi.
Then he thought of sothing else, so he asked:
"Where is the father?"
"He died," replied the wyvern via the [Beast Link], showing no emotion.
"I'm sorry."
The wyvern looked at Maxi, and she could really tell that he was truly sorry for what he had said.
"It's okay, it was 10 years ago. I've had ti to grieve and, above all, I still see a future with my children."
"I see." replied Maxi with a smile, seeing that the wyvern was still in good spirits.
"Do you have a na?" he continued curiously.
After all, it would undoubtedly be his steed for a long ti. It would be shaful not to know its na.
"Yes, like dragons, we have a na that is designated according to our generation and our lineage."
"But they tend to be extrely long, so you can just call Maria."
"All right Maria, my na is Maxi, it's a pleasure to et you."
While facing Maria, Maxi also pointed to his n by making a backward thumb gesture.
"The n behind belong to my rcenary group called 'The Saber-toothed Tigers'."
She nodded, while the rcenaries watched the scene with a strange look on their faces.
Naturally, they did not understand the language of a wyvern, so they did not understand what exactly they were discussing either.
They were just trying to follow the discussion based on what their leader was saying.
Seeing that Maxi was talking about them, they made a different sign to greet Maria, although it seed ironic with the fight that had taken place a few monts earlier.
Maxi took one last look at his n before turning to Maria.
Excitent was building up in him as he contemplated his next request.
"Maria, I'm sorry to ask you this directly, but I'm going to need your help," he asked very seriously.
He was calm, because there was indeed a part of excitent but also a part of worry that was present in him.
"As long as you take care of my children, I will be your most faithful steed. What do you want?"
"I have so n in a human village, and I'm worried about them. Maybe they're in danger."
The wyvern seed surprised by his request, but she didn't take long to answer.
"So to get there quickly, you want to ride on my back?"
Maxi nodded.
"Yes, it will be faster than walking the whole way. And then..." He gave an amused smile.
"It will be the first ti I'll fly."
Maria watched him for a mont, assessing the situation. It was true that flying would be much faster than walking for hours through the mountains and forests. She bent her legs slightly and tilted her neck towards him.
"Co on then."
A thrill of excitent ran through Maxi as he cautiously placed a hand on the wyvern's rough scales.
To be honest, he was much more excited about getting on the wyvern's back than about the fate of his n.
With the blessing of his talent, his n in the village of Plouta were almost invincible as long as a knight did not intervene.
And he always thought that Baron Barthon had only 2 or 3 knights including himself, so he would not easily send them on a mission, especially after the failure of the last attack.
Maxi nimbly used the scales on the back of his neck to climb onto his back. His rcenaries looked at him with a variety of expressions, ranging from admiration to pure jealousy.
At the sa ti, Maria laid her eggs, wrapped in Terry's duvet, on the ground.
"Boss, it's not fair! We want to fly too!" Garen exclaid with an envious laugh.
(Author's note: As a reminder, Garen is one of the recruits from VentBois, just like Jean and Lira)
He wasn't the only one; other rcenaries began to express the sa wish.
Maxi burst out laughing as he adjusted his position.
"You'll be able to have your own mount one day too, don't worry."
Maria slowly spread her wings, carefully testing their range. Unsurprisingly, the imnse wingspan alone cast an impressive shadow on the ground.
"Hold on tight."
Maxi tightened his grip, clinging to Maria's thick scales.
Then, with a powerful flap of its wings, the wyvern rose into the air, raising a cloud of dust as it left the ground.
The ascent was brutal but exhilarating.
Since they were at the top of Kadis Mountain, they quickly began to glide.
The wind whipped across Maxi's face, the cold air rushing through his clothes, and his heart was pounding.
He couldn't help but laugh at the exhilarating sensation of flying.
"I never thought that the first day I joined Eternity, such a day would co."
With a smile stretching his lips, Maxi had never been so happy.
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