Chapter 48
You ate Anna? Indeed, I have eaten her.
As I was flying through the sky, by chance we came across Lance and the group who were looking for us, and I felt relieved. Lady Minette said to us in worry, ‘You seem very tired,’ so I started retelling the previous sequence of events, and everyone sympathized with us. It seemed like villages and communities that made human sacrifices for traditional prosperity rituals were few. Apparently they are dying out, but customs that have taken roots are probably difficult to erradicate.
I had given up on our luggage, but did they just say that they picked it up on the way?! I’m immensely happy. My skin was a bit chilly so I excitedly took out a coat from my baggage and put it on, but the Captain tilted his head at me.
While sporting a smile, too, to boot.
“Vito, what’s that. It’s cute.”
My line of sight flew to my head. To the gray triangles that aimed at the sky.
— Oh, dang it! I ended up putting on the hood!
“Thi-, this is because! Maribelle said it was trendy! I didn’t wear it on purpose!”
When I tried to take the hood off, Lady Minette interrupted me from the side.
“Such a lovely appearance, please, I’d like to ask for a tail, too. However, unfortunately, the inside of my head is filled only with her. …Oh, I have never seen such a lovely child before!”
“Shut up already, sister.”
At the smallest opportunity, she starts ill.u.s.trating us about Maribelle’s cuteness and beauty like a poem, and starts shouting about how much she thinks of her. It’s a love disease. As expected of the younger brother Stefanos, to be so cruel, although I was appalled at how used to it I’ve become. I evaded Lady Minette who who was spouting those love remarks and took the hood off, but the Captain made a regretful face. I won’t wear it again even if you make that face, you know.
“Th-, that is a Hydra! It’s so rare in such a place!”
And the Christoph boy was the one who moved at his own pace the most. Hidden in the nearby thickets he was watching towards the river that was on the other side.
“I’ve only read about it in books! Whoo! Amazing! I’m so excited! The Hydra is said to be a symbol of abundance, and it feeds on the waterside fish! In the myths, it has several necks, but it actually has only one!!”
“You know a lot about it…”
“Because I’ve read a lot of books!”
‘But it’s my first time to see it in person!,’ he added in a voice filled with excitement.
Speaking of the Hydra, with a ‘You’re talking about a Dragon, right,’ the Captain’s interest seemed to be picked and he knelt next to the Christophe boy, staring towards the same direction. That’s right. This guy, he was a great Dragon-lover. Since my interest was picked too I peeked in that direction, and the Hydra-like Dragon that was lying down near the river raised its body slowly, then walked out towards where we were hiding. I was feeling somewhat fearful as I thought, ‘Did it notice us because of the Christophe boy’s loud voice?,’ but.
[This presence, are you an Earth Dragon?]
I was surprised. I was surprised because I didn’t expect that a wild Dragon would start talking to me. I had been told by the Vice-Captain that wild Dragons attack all of a sudden so I had to be careful, but it seemed that this Hydra was not like that. The Fire Drakes seemed to be wary, but it seemed that this Dragon, with its gentle atmosphere, would not attack us. When I daringly exited the thicket where we were hidden, I looked up at the Hydra, which was about the size of a Fire Drake. Its gray scales were lined regularly like a fish’s. Thin membrane-like fins were attached to its back and on its body near both of its hands, and its slender physique was probably suitable for diving in the water. Its light blue eyes were round, and if you looked at them properly, they were actually cute.
[How nostalgic, but you have Anna’s appearance. Humans look quite similar to each other, right?]
“You know Anna?”
It’s unexpected to hear that name here. The Hydra nostalgically narrowed its eyes.
[Aah, I know her well. It’s a girl who often comes to pick up medicinal herbs in this area. Could it be, …You ate Anna?]
—I’m sorry. I ate her. She was delicious. Thanks for the meal.
[The stars for that girl’s fate weren’t good. It can’t be said that she lived her whole life span, but she probably did live enough to enter the cicle of reincarnation.]
Reincarnation, is it? Since a Dragon is saying it, I will end up thinking that it really exists. If reincarnation exists, next time, I’d like you to be born in a peaceful world where you won’t be eaten by a Dragon like me, and for you to live happily. It’s too convenient to believe in it only at such times though.
…Hm, wait a sec. Since it was said to symbolize abundance, and brings water, then, perhaps? Moreover this is not that far away from that village. This Hydra was the Water Dragon…?
“Perhaps, are you the one who is called by the name ‘Water Dragon’?”
[Water dragon, yeah, there was a time I was called that.]
—I’m sorry. I impersonated you and preached to the villagers. I really didn’t think you actually existed!
[However that’s something from over 100 years ago. Now I’ve distanced myself from the village and I’m living quietly like this.]
I wanted to tsukkomi at it, ‘Are you a retired grandpa,’ but since it was letting out a joyful rumble then I a.s.sumed it was probably happy with its life. There were small birds and little animals riding on its head and body so its soft and gentle manner is not that of a fierce Dragon, it’s a retired grandpa’s. Just by being near it you would feel warm and comfortable.
Just then I felt something pulling at my sleeve, and when I turned around to see what it was, the Christophe boy was there with his eyes shiny and full of sparkles.
“You can converse with the Dragon?! You have my respect! That’s amazing! You’re not just a cheeky little girl after all!”
I will not register those the words at the end. They mean nothing.
“Hydra, this boy seems to want to try playing with you.”
[Playing? So nostalgic, there were games like tagging and hide-and-search, right?][1]
Somehow, the eyes of the Hydra are shining. And the same is true for the Christophe boy’s eyes. What’s with this child and this creature? Don’t they get along surprisingly well?
I worked as a translator between the both of them and thus they started playing joyfully, and well, there you have it, I think this is good. The scenery of a grandpa playing with his grandchild. And the Captain who is looking in envy by their side seems to be the more mature child who can’t be sincere about wanting to play. Well, he’s an adult though.
“…Vito, me too.”
“Do you want to play? Go ahead. Hydra will surely be delighted.”
Since Hydra’s so hyped up, I wonder if they used to play like this with Anna in the past.
“No, I want to play with you.”
“…Yes?”
Play? Purei?[2] Play to what? To frolick about as Hydra and the Christophe boy are doing? …Why?
“My words weren’t enough? Hmm… Do you want to?”
“…Want to what.”
“Do something?”
“Yeah so what will we be doing?”
“…Playing chase?”
I let out a surprised ‘Oh.’ I can’t read him at all just like usual, but I was kinda afraid he would say something strange. Even so, playing chase is cute. To play chase with the Captain who is fairly full-grown… Although it may be a little embarra.s.sing, but it could also be fun.
“Then of course I’ll be ‘it,’ because it’s basic that the Dragon is the villain! I will catch you with all my might!”
“I will be the one catching you.”
“Oh, is that so? You want to be ‘it’ too? That’s fine, but I’m fast at running away you know?”
It won’t be running away but flying away. It takes a little while to take on my Dragon form, but it may be possible to grow just wings as a human. If I do that, the time will be shortened and I can escape to the sky faster. Oh, I’m smart. I wonder why I never thought of it before.
When I was enthusiastic about trying it soon, the Captain grinned, and slowly shook his head from side to side while laughing.
“You can’t run away from me.”
— ‘Absolutely,’ he added.
“I’ll show you that I can chase after you through the sky and even to the ends of the earth, and catch.”
With a fully confident smile.
Wha-, what did you! It’s natural I’d want to run away if you say such things! Let’s escape through the sky and to the ends of the earth!
“Yes yes stop flirting over there! Let’s hurry up and go towards that Southern country, ‘kay?”
Ngh, that’s right. We don’t have time to waste in such a place. And we were not flirting! …Anyway it’s unusual for Stefanos to take the initiative to say that.
[You are going to the country to the south? If so, there’s a shortcut.]
Hydra said that as it ran around with the Christophe boy on its back.
The place it guided us to was not that far, but it was a forest path that you would never reach if you did not know the way. There was a small house made of stone, and it’s probably abandoned; the surrounding gra.s.s is long and it’s appearance’s suitable enough to receive the name of ‘ruins.’
[They are historic remains of ancient times. Apparently three hundred years ago, a certain person came in contact with it and then made it so that people wouldn’t use it. I heard that he was a young man who carried the color that now doesn’t exist, black.]
That person perhaps, is the j.a.panese person who appeared in Alvina Kingdom before.
“Th-, this is a major discovery! Let’s investigate! Investigate!”
We ignored the Christophe boy who was running around in the ruins, and while being led by Hydra we entered a room located in the center. There is a door in the middle. Should I call it a door, or should I call it a door of water? It looks like the mysterious water in Lord Cleric’s room, you won’t get wet when you touch it. But it is certainly there. Lance and Stefanos too were observing it and touching it in surprise.
[The other side is connected to that southern country.]
If that’s true then you can go in an instant to a place it takes several days to reach, such a handy thing. But even if it was built in a time when magic was advanced, to make such a mechanism, it was probably necessary to have considerable perseverance and effort.
“How was this device built?”
[That’s unknown to me too.]
For now, I tell to everyone what Hydra told me. With an, ‘I will try it out a little,’ Lance resolutely inserts his hand into the the door of water and started to slowly move towards the other side. The Captain tells him not to overdo it, but on the other hand Stefanos was pushing him from the back as if it was fun. Are you a brat?!
“What are you doing, Stefan!!”
As soon as we thought that Lance’s figure had disappeared, he appeared again and shouting in anger.
“If you are a man you gotta have more guts!”
“This is a situation that requieres us to act cautiously! What would you have done if something had happened!”
“But actually nothing happened, right?”
And then the laughing Stefanos was. .h.i.t by Lady Minette. Nice.
“More importantly, Lance, how was it?”
“Ah, yes, I certainly arrived in a different place. I’m not sure because I have not examined it yet, but it seems it is probably within a city.”
And then, ‘I guess I’ll go inspect it once more,’ he says, and disappears into the door of water. There is a town beyond this door, it seems interesting.
Since Lance returned after a while reporting that it seemed to be all right, returned after a while, we decided we would line up to cross over there . Although we almost forgot the Christophe boy, since Hydra kindly caught him in its mouth and brought him over, we were saved. The boy was shouting with glittering eyes, “I was carried by a Dragon for the first time!” Weren’t you harshly riding on it and playing tag with it just a while back?
In the end we thank Hydra, line up and approach the door, then dive in.
It goes without saying that it could not be said to be a very pleasant sensation, but it wasn’t that bad.
[So nostalgic, Anna used this door quite often too. …Those guys, I wonder if they are still alive?]
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Translator"s Lair~☆
thanks to discord users Red [糞屁宮殿],