The Dragon Will Soon Go Out and Leave the Nest Part 2The morning of the following day had gray clouds totally blocking the sky. Though it didn’t rain, the air was damp with moisture.
I told Yggdrasil [I’m leaving] and decided to look for materials for my bed in the afternoon, but first I decided to leave for the hometown of the Harpy.
From the World Tree, the hometown of the Harpy was located in the mountainous region to the south. The fountain to the north of the World Tree was home to the Lamia.
I had originally intended to bring food to the Lamia every morning, but the snake-like Lamia had explained her digestion method worked differently. She said that she didn’t have to eat anything for two weeks after consuming that amount.
[Then I’ll come again in one week] I promised, she had a surprised expression and deeply lowered her head.
Well, after I fulfilled the promise I made with the Lamia, I decided to make good on another promise. I arrived at the hometown of the Harpy.
The Harpy was a race which lived in a group, with villages forming a small community.
When I visited the village without any announcement, the Harpies screamed in panic.
I was careless. Harpies were the previous dragon’s favorite food.
It was no surprise that the Harpies were either running away and trying to escape, or trembling in fear without moving. I lowered my head and explained I only came to meet a friend.
I asked the Harpy closest to me [Where is the Harpy girl that can’t sing?] and while trembling GakuGaku she pointed in a direction away from the village.
I thanked her and flew in the direction her trembling finger had pointed.
I heard sighs of relief from the Harpies behind me.
About four kilometers away from the Harpy’s hometown I found a little hut made of cloth and wood.
It was in the shadow of the mountain, the surrounding area had become a small wetlands. This was a place where a Harpy would willingly live, nothing was here except the hut.
I felt signs of life inside the hut and decided to look for an entrance.
A joint of cloth seemed to be the entrance, but there was no way to knock on the ‘door’ and there wasn’t a doorbell either.
I decided to call out to the Harpy girl.
“Miin min min min.”(TL: Harpy, are you there? I’m the dragon.)
As soon as I spoke out I heard fluttering noises from the house. After some rattling, rolling, and what sounded like things falling onto the floor, my friend timidly showed her face from the behind the cloth.
Water was dripping from her azure blue hair. It seemed like she was in the middle of wiping her body.
After she found me she opened her mouth PakuPaku like usual.
She couldn’t say anything, however, she looked surprised.
When I put my finger on her head like before, I exchanged words with her.
“(Didn’t I promise you? That I would take you over the clouds? Do you want to go the sky and play now?)”
After opening her eyes wide for a moment, her face broke into a smile like a small apple.
“(Yes~)”
She answered cheerfully.
She asked me if I could wait for ten minutes because she had to get ready. I answered of course and like a turtle she withdrew her head into the hut.
I heard noises from the hut again.
Ten minutes pa.s.sed…and another ten…and after ten more the Harpy came out of the hut. She apologized for taking so long, but there wasn’t any reason to be sorry since I came unannounced. As I apologized she frantically moved her head, hands, and wings side to side.
The Harpy girl was wearing a thin orange tunic.
It was a light shade which suited her azure hair well. Although they looked old they were clean, and you could see that they have been handled carefully.
“It suits you very well” I told her. The harpy girl, appearing bashful, answered joyfully that she had gotten it from her mother.
Though, those clothes were a little too thin to be flying over the clouds with…but seeing her smile, I thought it would be bad to pour cold words of reality onto her.
Besides, the cold didn’t matter. The cold air and wind in the sky could be prevented with my inexhaustible magical power.
“(So, should we go? Hold on tight.)”
When I confirmed that the harpy was clinging tightly to the back of my neck, I flew towards the cloudy sky.
The earth faded away in an instant and the clouds steadily approached.
“(Amazing! Amazing! Fast! High!)”
The thoughts of the voiceless harpy were transmitted.
There was no s.p.a.ce for lies between us, who were talking through ideas and thoughts. The Harpy who was riding on my back was enjoying this from the bottom of her heart.
The Harpy race had feathers that shone a beautifully pure white. The wings, however, were too small for their body and couldn’t keep them in the sky for long.
Moreover, they didn’t have techniques which combined magical power and flying like me.
It would be the first time she has looked down at the earth from such a height.
As I flew higher, I punched through the wall of gray clouds that extended across the sky without hesitating.
The Harpy clung to my neck with even more force.
As we exited the thick layer of clouds, the sky changed radically and was clear as far as the eye could see.
We couldn’t see the ground, only a vast sea of clouds below us. The sun shone brightly above us, even the gray clouds were dyed pure white.
“(It’s so sunny above the clouds…)”
The Harpy became agape just from the sight.
I wanted to play a little prank, so I jumped into the sea of clouds again.
From the Harpy “(Kiyaaa)” was transmitted. And after leaving the clouds again we began to laugh a lot.
Though the harpy wasn’t able to make a sound I laughed for her too.
What a pleasant thing it was to play with a friend, and to laugh with a friend
After that, we enjoyed swimming through the sky for about 2-3 hours.
As the sun began to set, we returned to the Harpy’s home. She was still clinging to my neck and excitedly repeating “(It was fun!)”. Hearing this from her docile heart, it seems it was a good idea to have invited her.
As I was bidding her farewell, she invited me for lunch. It seems to be a soup made of mountain herbs.
She, who couldn’t lure prey with her song, seemed to entirely live on nuts and edible wild plants.
Though I was interested in the offer for lunch since I hadn’t eaten anything, I refused her offer firmly.
Even a full pot of soup for her wouldn’t even amount to a spoonful for me.
I couldn’t take her precious food.
I declined and said that I soon had to go look for materials for my bed.
“(Bed?)”
She asked me while still clinging to my neck.
…Fumu. She, who lived by eating nuts and wild plants from the mountain, might know materials which were just right for a bed.
“(I’m making a new nest now. Do you know of anything good?)”
The Harpy girl thought for a while.
“(Well, that might be the perfect bed for a dragon!)”
She answered.
In a red canyon some distance away from the Harpy village, we arrived at a rift that had been created by a crack in the ground. The sun only barely reached down here.
I moved through the valley until I found a cave, and upon travelling deep into it I finally arrived at a large, open cavern.
In the center, a huge umbrella shape object was enshrined.
“…It can’t be, a big monkey stool?”
The Harpy gave affirmation to my question while clinging to my neck.
This kind of mushroom was called a monkey stool. It wasn’t poisonous but rather edible, unfortunately it had neither taste nor nourishment.
It was useful for the people of the island when cut down and used for fire.
It could grow to the size of a cow, but the one in front of me was bigger than a cow and even larger than myself.
“How long has it lived here…?”
Though I was talking to myself, the Harpy answered “(I don’t know)” cordially.
The big monkey stool may have withered a long time ago, and in spite of this place receiving little to no sunlight it was completely dry.
Perhaps it had lived in this valley for hundreds of years where n.o.body found it.
I tried to lift it with both my hands. Without resistance, the big monkey stool came off from the rock and was surprisingly light.
I decided to lay down on it as an experiment. It not only easily supported by body, but it also had some flexibility and bounciness to it. I couldn’t help but raise my voice in admiration. There couldn’t be a better object than this.
I wondered how many days I was going to have to wander this island for materials to make a big enough bed for me. I never imagined I would be manage to get the best bed in a single day.
“It’s a splendid bed. Thank you, Harpy.”
I said my grat.i.tude to the Harpy.
The harpy moved her mouth PakuPaku and showed me the best smile today.
“The big monkey stool is bigger than you? You really managed to find an unusual thing.”
After dinner I talked to Yggdrasil about today’s events, as usual. Yggdrasil was surprised and made comments while happily listening to my story.
It had only been four days since I met Yggdrasil for the first time. Even so, the time I spent with her was important and calming to me.
After dinner as usual I talked to Yggdrasil about today’s events.
Yggdrasil was surprised and made comments and happily listened to my story.
It had been only four days since I met Yggdrasil for the first time. However for me, the time with her was important and calming.
“It’s really pleasant to hear that you found a bed. The big monkey stool might be happy too. Even though it had withered it could be useful to someone, and I think that is wonderful.”
Even if you died you could be helpful for someone…it certainly was a wonderful thing.
The big monkey stool had already been carried to the new nest and tomorrow I would come visit Yggdrasil again.
Not just Yggdrasil, the big monkey stool would surely be pleased too.
From the viewpoint of the gentle Yggdrasil, you could tell that the world was full of kindness.
If I hadn’t met her, my world may not have been as bright.
“…However, the bed was found fairly quickly. Will you move to your new nest tomorrow?”
Yggdrasil suddenly asked.
She’s right, having found my bed, wasn’t my nest completed?
If I began to live alone, my warm times with Yggdrasil would come to an end today.
No, the nest couldn’t be completed yet. My thoughts once again spun round and round.
There had to be something. Something that was still missing.
Something…something…what was needed for a nest? Besides a bed….
Bed (nedoko/寝床) . . . bed (nedoko/ねどこ) . . . doko . . . doko . . . doko . . . dore . . . doa (どあ) . . . door (doa/ドア) . . . door (tobira/とびら) . . . . . door (tobira/扉)!
(TLN: I kept it in j.a.panese because it’s hard to follow it with translation)
(ED: Agreed. Best I could do would be ‘bed…bed…bed…door!’ which isn’t the same)
“Yes that’s it, a door! A door is necessary!”
The truth dawned on me and I shouted.
“…Erm, door, was it?”
Umu, I affirm with a nod.
The nest of a dragon was filled with treasures.
I myself wasn’t interested in treasure and I didn’t intend to gather any either, but I couldn’t waste the treasures the previous dragon had collected.
Wealth caused fighting. So that other creatures wouldn’t steal any and stand out, it’s necessary to move the treasures to my new nest. But if there was no door wouldn’t it be impossible for me to go out and keep the treasure safe?
So I told her. Umu, it really was a perfect theory.
“Despite the absence of a door, creatures won’t feel like approaching the den of a dragon…however, there’s no such thing as excessive precaution!”
Yggdrasil also agreed.
“Fufufu, then, until the door is completed, I once again thank you in advance. Roommate-san.”
And until I moved to my new nest I would be in her care.
Why was I so uneasy about leaving this place?
I decided to lie in the hollow of the taiki and sleep for today.
Even without blood running through her veins, her body was very warm.