A Gentle Carry on the Mountain Path
“Come on, hurry up and climb on my back—desu-yong!”
Derke thrust both arms behind her and lowered her stance. A narrow little back spread out before me. No matter how I looked at it, there wasn’t nearly enough space for me to ride.
‘Pfft, she really thinks that tiny body can carry me?’
Of course, Derke’s true nature was that of a Death Dragon. She wasn’t someone to underestimate just because she was small. Carrying one human would be no trouble at all. Still, the sight of her like this was undeniably adorable. The fact that she wanted to carry me on her back made her seem all the more precious.
—Grab!
Whoosh…!
“Kyaaah—?! B-Breeder oppa—?”
“Stay still. If you make a fuss, the second-year girls will start complaining again.”
I lifted Derke from behind, supporting her back and thighs with my arms. I held her in a princess carry so she faced forward.
If it were Sofia or Raylin, who were close to their adult forms, it might have been different. But even though she was a dragon, Derke still looked very much like a hatchling. There was no way I could let her carry me. My pride simply wouldn’t allow it this time.
“P-put me down, desu-yong…! Derke was trying to carry oppa because you looked tired…!”
Derke squirmed in my arms, her face flustered.
“Shh. I appreciate the thought. But if I actually rode on your back, it would only make things difficult for me.”
“Haat? What do you mean by that—? Oppa would be in trouble…?”
“Think about it. A human riding on a dragon’s back? It’s not like you’re a mount or anything… I can’t think of anything that would damage a dragon’s pride more than that.”
“Hueet—? But…!”
“Derke? The slope is pretty steep right now. Can you stay still? If you keep kicking, I’ll lose my balance too.”
“E-even so…”
“I’ll put you down once we pass this part. Got it?”
Derke was incredibly light, as expected from her small frame. Yet the strength behind her struggling was surprisingly fierce. It felt like holding a large, flopping fish in my arms.
“Huuung… Okay, I got it…”
She quieted down quickly at my request. Once she was actually being carried, she seemed perfectly content. A faint blush even colored her cheeks.
—Poof…!
Look at her. She was thrashing around just moments ago, but now she was settling in properly. She lay on her back like a puppy that had rolled over, then rolled her round green eyes toward my face. Just like the day we first met at the livestock shed.
“Hehet—♬ Oppa really is the kindest person, after all—!”
“Hmph. Not many people could be harsh with you.”
The dragon who had offered to carry me was gone. In her place was nothing but a single puppy nestled in my arms. A golden retriever with gray fur, to be exact.
“Soon…! Definitely…! Derke will give you her heart, desu-yong…!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’ll have to work hard for that.”
“Huat…? What do you mean by that, desu-yong—?!”
My inner thoughts slipped out without warning. Maybe it was because I was distracted by the climb. The memory of what happened at dawn came rushing back—the sight of Sofia trying and failing to hand over her Dragon Heart.
“Hm? Ah, that’s…”
“You two in the back! You’ve been noisy for a while now—quiet down!”
“Huh?”
Just as I was scrambling for an excuse to give Derke, a sharp voice suddenly approached from up ahead.
“If you make another sound, the seniors will make everyone assemble—Eeh…?!”
While walking along the steep mountain path, a black-haired girl with a bob cut came toward us. Her eyes looked anxious, as if she feared being scolded. The girl was Tina, who had been leading the first-years.
“D-Derke? Breeder-sensei…?”
Tina had two bright red horns and pointed ears that reminded one of a little devil. She stared at us with a bewildered expression, then kept tilting her head while glancing back and forth between Derke and me. Her red eyes seemed to be silently asking what on earth we were doing.
“Ah, Derke looked tired, so I carried her for a bit. She won’t be noisy anymore, so don’t worry, Miss Tina.”
“Th-that’s…”
For a moment, Tina’s expression grew complicated. She looked flustered, yet the way she gazed at Derke held a trace of envy.
“Um… Breeder-sensei?”
“Yes? Should I put her down after all?”
“N-no, it’s just…! If that’s the case…”
“Hm?”
Tina’s face suddenly flushed red. She couldn’t even meet my eyes properly, as though she had something difficult to say.
“My legs are starting to hurt too…”
“Ah? Miss Tina?”
“C-could you… carry me later as well…?”
*
2.
—Step, step, step…!
The hike toward the temple continued. We must have been walking for at least an hour. Normally, I would have been exhausted and collapsed by now. But perhaps because I possessed Sofia’s heart—or maybe because of the six sealed Dragon Hearts within me—I wasn’t nearly as out of breath as before. It was strange how easily I had snapped Indra’s arm earlier, too. Not only that, but even before I realized the true nature of the sealed hearts, the burn marks from Raylin’s flames had healed on their own. One thing was certain: this body was no longer that of an ordinary human. There had to be something hidden within it, something worthy of the Beginning rank.
“D-Derke…?! I think you can put me down now…!”
“Huaaah—? Tina, already?”
“What do you mean ‘already’? You’ve been carrying me this whole time!”
While I was lost in thought about my body’s changes, lively voices rang out from behind.
“…P-put me down already! We’re almost there—!”
“Ung—! I could still carry you more, though……. Okay—!”
The moment Tina had asked me to carry her, Derke had immediately jumped out of my arms and hoisted Tina onto her back instead. Claiming she couldn’t stand to see her friend struggle, she had used her wraiths to lift Tina. In truth, she had probably done it to keep me from actually carrying Tina. Thanks to that, I was able to climb the mountain in relative comfort. Tsk, if I had known she could carry someone so effortlessly with her wraiths, I might have taken her up on the offer earlier.
“Tch…! Anyway, thanks, Derke!”
Only after the wraith supporting her back and hips disappeared could Tina finally set her feet on the ground. After thanking Derke, she muttered, “That wasn’t what I wanted at all…” and quickly dashed toward the front of the group, glancing back at me once with a sharp look.
Anyway, it seemed we had finally arrived. A wide, open plateau gradually came into view. The surrounding scenery resembled ancient ruins, and its sheer scale was overwhelming.
“Whoa… I never expected a structure like this halfway up the mountain.”
Once the steep, rugged slope ended, a vast plateau greeted us. The ground was entirely paved with marble, and at its center stood an enormous white temple whose full size was difficult to gauge. It gave off the same atmosphere as Greece’s Parthenon.
Just as I was inwardly marveling at the surreal sight—
“Everyone, gather by your year! Before we offer our prayers, we’ll have lunch first!”
Sofia’s voice echoed from afar. I had thought we might be doing some kind of worship right away, but it seemed lunchtime had already arrived.
—Grrrowl…!
Even though the hike hadn’t been as exhausting as expected, my stomach clock was brutally honest. It demanded an immediate replenishment of calories.
“And Breeder, come here for a moment!”
“Hm?”
What could it be this time? She had been so reluctant to stay with me earlier. I didn’t know the reason, but I supposed I should go see Sofia anyway.
***
3.
“Breeder…! I didn’t expect to see you here again!”
The ram-rat greeted me, his large front teeth twitching. Why was I with the ram-rat when Sofia had called me? Because—
—It’s Professor Benetric’s orders. Please help the beastkin with the meal service. I’d like to sneak you out if I could, but I don’t know when the professor might show up.
—Still, I’ve already spoken to her, so she won’t give you anything too difficult.
That was what Sofia had told me earlier. A servant never truly had a day off. They always tried to squeeze out every last bit of labor…
Because of those orders, I had moved to the back of the temple to assist the beastkin. I was helping with the simplest task—setting up the tableware.
“Ram-rat, you’re even working here on the weekend?”
“No…! On weekends we only do meal service!”
“Huh? Then who cooks?”
“Those people over there are the ones working hard every weekend!”
The ram-rat pointed with his stubby finger at several demi-humans finishing up the cooking, all wearing chef hats. An elf with pointed ears was preparing various salads. A lizardman with smooth scales was making hamburgers. A dwarf with a magnificent mustache was pouring lemonade from a large barrel. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any humans among them.
“They’re believers from the continent who used to be chefs! Not just chefs—there are talented believers from all kinds of fields…!”
“Not just chefs? What do you mean by that?”
“I heard that every weekend, many believers come to offer prayers and donate their talents to the academy…!”
“Oh, I see. So the Beginning Dragon isn’t just worshipped by dragons…”
“Anyway, I’m just glad I get to rest from cooking one day a week—!”
It was the first time I had heard this. Chefs from the continent, huh… I suddenly found myself curious about their skills.
“…Hey, brothers? We’re just about finished here, so could you come over?”
While I was lost in thought, the red-scaled lizardman who had been making hamburgers called out to us in a cultured tone.
“All you need to do is carefully wrap the finished burgers and carry them over.”
“Ah, that much I can handle.”
Thank goodness. It wasn’t as difficult as I had feared. Maybe it was thanks to Sofia putting in a word for me beforehand.
“Oh, having a human brother with nimble fingers handle the wrapping would be perfect.”
The lizardman, whose deep voice didn’t match his reptilian body, pointed straight at me.
“Then I’ll take care of the wrapping.”
“Ah, by the way, brother… are you perhaps a former criminal?”
“What? How did you…”
“The vice principal, who’s a regular at our restaurant, mentioned you. She said there’s a very promising servant with excellent skills.”
“Ah… I see.”
“If you get the chance, would you mind helping me out separately later?”
“Would that be all right?”
“Of course. Even if you’re a former criminal, I’ve heard so much about you that I can’t help but be interested as a chef. They say your skills are quite impressive.”
Damn it. When had she been going around bragging about me like that? I had wanted to just kill time peacefully, but now it felt like my workload was only going to increase. My expression stiffened without me realizing it.
“Ah, but brother? The vice principal didn’t tell me your exact crime…”
“Yes?”
“You’re not a dragon-hater or a heretic follower, are you? We can’t have any impurities in the food prepared for the young ladies who protect the continent.”
The lizardman kept talking to me in a joking tone. Huh? This guy’s intuition is pretty sharp. I am a dragon-hater, after all.