Translator: Downstream Works
Lava POV
「 What exactly does that mean? 」
I sighed and said, after the slightly exhausting Dragon conference, to which Kyle, who has been freeloading in the house for the past few days replied, while we were gathered at the dining table.
「 It is certain that it was the dragons who promoted the magical power abnormality this time, but they will restore the magic guidance facility, that is to say, the culprit who stole my staff is different. 」
「 If you think about it, there is no person who can ask dragons who had no interaction with other species until now to steal your staff」
Compared to other dragons even my communication ability is considered outstanding.
There is no way that they can communicate and train other humans into a first-cla.s.s soldier.
It was a little late for the commotion, but nothing has been resolved as the criminal who stole Kyle"s staff is still unknown.
「 Thank you for waiting. 」
Kyle and I fell silent when a cheerful Nectar brought breakfast from the kitchen.
Looking at Nectar, makes me feel happy and refreshed.
I"m humming a song.
「 I just made too much, but Kyle is also there so it is okay, right? 」
Nectar smiled embarra.s.sedly and put the simmering soup and golden omelet side by side.
It looked so delicious today and I became excited about it, but when Kyle looked at the soup his face became doubtful.
「… Nectar, the meat used in this thing is… 」
「 Ah, that"s the wyvern meat that has been sent by the priest! I"m going to grind it and make it a hamburger tomorrow. Please look forward to it.」
When I heard the words of the smiling nectar, I felt hostility towards the boiling hot buns piled up in the basket.
Nectar"s anger has not subsided……
Kyle and my face twitched, but Nectar suddenly said with a serious face.
「 As I said before, I have another doubt. 」
「 What? 」
「 Why did the criminal leave behind only Kyle"s staff during the magic anomaly?」
That"s right. The biggest mystery is there.
「Other magic tools have never returned at all, right? 」
「 Honestly, my memory is vague before I woke up. I don"t remember what kind of guy carried me out. 」
Kyle looked troubled as he scratched his face but continued as he remembered.
「 For some reason it just said 『please be my friend』」[ 1.TL NOTE: Here 仲間(Nakama) is used instead of 友達(Tomodachi) that"s the reason for the following question.
仲間: People who share the same goal and work/struggle/fight together in a group or organization. They often can be your close friends, too, but that"s not necessary. A person whom you personally dislike, or whom you don"t even know, can sometimes be your 仲間.
仲間になってくれ means "Join us," but not "Be my (personal) friend."
友達: A friend. Something based on personal feelings of intimacy or affection. You don"t have to do something special with your 友達. They can be someone you haven"t met for a long time.]
「What kind of friend did he mean? 」
I suddenly realized that Nectar has put the soup bowl next to me.
「 By the way, the condition to make Kyle a spirit was put in a strange order, don"t you think? Is it a coincidence? 」
「No way, do you think the criminal was deliberately trying to meddle with Kyle"s process in becoming a spirit? 」
「 But, LavDono, are you sure? 」
「 That is, Well… We aren"t certain.」
「Also, when you were asked to become friends, did you refuse？」
「 Ah yes, did you? 」
「 Maybe. 」
Listening to Kyle"s replies with his ostensibly vague memory, makes me feel less confident. So what on earth actually happened?
「 By the way Lava, I haven"t seen Aru. 」
「Oh! Since today is school day, he went into his room to change his clothes. It"s a little late. I will take a look 」
When Nectar inquired, I became a little worried and went to Aru"s room.
「 Aru, come for breakfast. 」
「 Aa, yes. 」
Together with the dispirited reply, the door was opened timidly.
Aru didn"t change into his uniform and his expression is glum.
I somehow knew the reason, but I still asked.
「 What"s wrong? 」
「…… I"m scared to go to school 」
Aru said in a whisper while tightly clutching the hem of his clothes, I replied in order to persuade him.
「 The only people who saw Aru"s appearance are El-Kun and Mikoto. MarcChan and Iori-Kun only know that Aru can use magic. So, Aru can go to school the same as before. 」
「 I"m afraid to meet El senpai, mother…」
I stroke Aru"s head, he looks like he is about to cry at any moment.
「 It"s okay. El-Kun accepted the Senpai Dragon as his friend, so how can Aru be disliked?」
「 But … 」
As I finished saying, Aru went silent.
Perhaps, Aru understood my words.
To be honest, my heart is not settled. I hope everything will be okay, but there is a small possibility that things won"t turn out well like I imagined. What if they don"t reject him outright, but they still keep their distance from him?
My anxiety is endless if I keep thinking about it.
Even if I keep speculating, it will be meaningless.
Aru has to get over it himself.
「For now, Aru, how about we eat breakfast first? Let"s go eat some omelet.」
「……Yes.」
So, I urged Aru to the dining, without touching on that subject further.
Nectar and Kyle seemed to notice the unusual change in Aru too, but they began to eat breakfast as usual without saying anything.
Ufufu the white part of this bread is smooth like silk and delicious, so yummy! When I brought the bread filled with Nectar"s love to my mouth and drank the soup, the house bell rang.
「 Is that a visitor? 」
「Oh, I will go checkー」
As Aru raised his face, I stood up and opened the front door, and there were two children standing outside as expected.
「 I was waiting for you both. Thank you for coming. 」
When I smiled involuntarily, Elvie, who had a miniature-sized senior dragon on his shoulder, became stiff with surprise.
There is also MarcChan who looks at me unexpectedly.
「 Oh, it was nice to finally meet you all. I am Aru"s mother, Lava. I hope to get along with you all. 」
「 Huh, uh, mother? 」
「Yes, really. Mother.」
「 Onii-chan, what"s wrong?」
Quizzically looking at Elvie, MarcChan tried to call him but to no avail.
Oh, that"s right. I don"t know where to start.
First of all, I have to give them an explanation. However, when I commenced opening my mouth, a series of hurried footsteps can be heard behind me. When I looked back, a completely still Aru was standing there with a surprised expression on his face.
「 El-senpai, Marcchan. Why ……」
Elvie took a look at Aru and seemed to regain his composure. He placed his hands on his waist and said,
「 We came to pick you up. 」
「 Yes, Aru! School is starting today! 」
「 But … …… I"m not a human being, and I"m hiding a lot of things from you guys. 」
To Aru who is at a loss, Elvie said, 「Such a thing doesn"t matter.」
「 Senpai……」
「Aru is Aru, isn"t that right?」
「 Do you also know about me, Marca? 」
「 Yeah, I heard from Onii-chan and Va.s.s. Mikoto-senpai and Iori-senpai also know about you.」
When Aru stared wide-eyed with surprise, the small dragon which was riding on Elvie"s shoulder shook his head up and down.
「 Positive.」 It replied.
Refusing to accept this so easily Aru continued, 「 Senpai, how can you be so easy going about this? 」
In response, Elvie tilted his head in an unusual way and approached Aru. Then he put his hands on Aru"s head.
「 The only thing I know is that you are a junior boy genius child named Aru Figura, who happens to be Marca"s cla.s.smate and a friend of mine. If you happen to also be a dragon, would that change the fact? 」
「I am lonely when Aru is not there. 」
Aru"s breathing became ragged hearing Elvie"s declaration, while Marca smiled on the side.
Watching the scene unfold, my golden pupil moistened. I felt so happy and relieved that I didn"t know what to do with the overflowing emotions.
But one thing is certain: at this moment, it can be said that Aru has made some valuable friends.
I smiled looking at Aru who was moved to tears stared embarra.s.singly at smiling Elvie. At that moment, Elvie"s line of sight moved down and his expression became perplexed.
「…… Aru? You…. That clothes?? 」
「 Yes. Oh, my G.o.d, I still haven"t changed into my uniform yet! Senpai, Marca, wait a minute! 」
「 It"s not like that, I mean I"m not talking about that!」
Surprised Aru turned the hem of his light green clothes.
Elvie asked the question openly while trembling.
「 You, why are you wearing a skirt!?」
Aru who was currently wearing a bright green one-piece dress handcrafted by Ligurila blinked his eyes incessantly.
that"s right. Aru usually wears boy"s uniform at school, isn"t it?
In fact, it can be said that I am at fault for this, Aru"s gender is not fixed as he is a dragon afterall.
So, before admission, I asked Aru which way he wanted to be registered at school and because he thought that the uniform pants looked cool, he chose to be registered as a boy.
However, the children clothes made by Ligurila were packed tightly in Aru"s closet regardless of gender, and Aru usually chose between trousers or skirts from time to time.
But speaking of which, I know that men usually wear pants and women wear skirts.
It never happen that a boy is wearing a dress so casually.
「Why do you say that, is it because it looks cute?」
「 No, you"re a man!?」
「 Can"t a boy wear skirt?」
Facing Aru who was earnestly making a face of wonder, Elvie looked up at the sky and for some reason, his ears turned red.
Oh?
「 Very cute! Aru! 」
「Oh, thank you, Marca. 」
「Marca, how can you accept this so casually!?」
Marca smiled politely and said while looking at Elvie who was astounded.
「Well, I became friends with Aru because of the incident of him fixing my ribbon. Also, Aru is well-known for fixing girls" hair among the Elementary school girls. I feel that Aru wearing a dress is not unusual at all. 」
「 I memorized it when I saw father was fixing mother"s hair. 」
「 Ahaha… Is that so.. 」
Hearing Elvie"s reply, Aru laughed while looking embarra.s.sed. I also blushed a little.
No, when I do my hair, I only put it all together, so at times Nectar makes changes to it.
I think the most feminine person in our home is Nectar.
「 Moreover, Aru is a dragon, it"s strange to apply human values on him! Onii-Chan"s is being obstinate! 」
「Is that so, is that what it is……?」
Marca was filled up with pride, Elvie became overwhelmed for an instant and glanced at Aru to observe.
「Senpai, doesn"t it look good on me?」
Looking upward while tilting his head to the side, Aru gazed at Elvie with upturned eyes, with a perfect Bishōjo look.
The flaxen-cut hair and innocent features have turned into a natural charm.
Elvie immediately averted his eyes and quickly said.
「Uhm, first of all, Aru, go change into your uniform. 」
「 What? 」
Aru seemed a little disappointed, but nodded his head. The mini dragon senpai on Elvie"s shoulder raised its head and asked.
「El. Question, heartbeat rise. Reason?」
「it"s, it"s nothing! Don"t point that out! 」
「Consent?」
Senior sunk into silence with a look of wonder, I unintentionally smiled at Elvie who finally let out his breath.
This is an unexpected development, isn"t?
「Oh yeah, please come inside. You all probably haven"t eaten anything this morning, have you? Aru still not have his breakfast. Would you like to join him? 」
As I called out, Elvie, who knew my ident.i.ty from his dream, became rigid again.
On the contrary, Marcchan is simply unaware. She just looked a bit hesitant as she never came inside the house before.
「 Is that ok? 」
「 Of course. 」
「 Marca, come on! Father is making omelets! 」
If you listened carefully, you could hear eggs were being cooked in the frying pan.
Yeah, Nectar was definitely listening to our conversation.
「 Hey, El-kun come in, I want you to meet some people. 」
「 El-senpai, what are you hesitating about?」
「 N, no, because of Black Flame— 」
「El-kun？」
Imitating Nectar I showed a sweet smile, to which Elvie immediately stopped his words halfway.
Very good. Did you remember you have to stop?
Elvie had a stiff face, but when the delicious smell of eggs drifted in, Elvie"s stomach completely gave in.
「……E, Excuse my intrusion. 」
「Yes, please. Oh, senpai, do you also want to eat?」 I asked the dragon on Elvie"s shoulder.
「Customs of humans. Experience, want. 」
And like that Elvie and MarcChan were introduced to Kyle. Both of them were excited about the battle. Furthermore, Elvie was shocked to learn that Kyle was his great grandfather.
Time pa.s.sed by and the children realized that they were going to be late for school.
「Come let"s g―――o！」
The smiling faces of Aru, who waved excitedly to us before running on the road to school with Elvie and Marca, was very radiant.