The Oath of Dragon, Shrine Maiden, and Knight
I had collapsed in the middle of the ocean.
Thanks to my elevated Water Resonance, I could float effortlessly on the surface despite my massive body. But that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that I was far away from the cliff.
So how in the world was Rachel sitting on top of me?
“Well… the sea brought you all the way to the cliff, Azure Dragon.”
The sea had dragged me to the cliff? And she had jumped onto me after seeing that?
I was left speechless by Rachel’s boldness when I suddenly noticed something strange.
[Rachel, what did you just call me?]
“……Azure Dragon?”
[…I never told you my name. Did Jonon tell you?]
“Uh… no?”
It came out like a question.
“I mean… I-I don’t know.”
Rachel glanced at me with anxious eyes as she spoke. She seemed to be watching my reaction, worried she might have addressed me incorrectly.
In the end, I stopped pressing her and simply allowed the title.
‘The sea moved on its own… Just as Nuru said, a spirit must have intervened.’
The emotions of water I had felt until now were not the emotions of the water itself, but those of the spirits dissolved within it. And the spirits I had resonated with had often acted on whims of their own—which was exactly how I had met Rachel and Jonon.
After battling the whale that Nuru had named the Whale of Aleritra, I had gained complete resonance with the sea. So the hypothesis that a spirit had dragged me to the cliff to call Rachel was entirely plausible.
Given how little time had passed, Rachel must have used her own power.
The only thing that bothered me was that she didn’t seem to be dozing off.
‘After healing Jonon she collapsed from exhaustion. Has she grown?’
Whatever the case, I had once again received help from Rachel.
[You don’t look hurt at all!]
[Yes, thanks to you… Rachel, what did you just say?]
“Nyeh?”
I turned toward Rachel at the voice that had echoed in my mind, but she was in the middle of a huge yawn.
‘…Who said that?’
[…I’m hungry. Please catch me a fish, Azure Dragon… No, that’s not it!]
The voice rang out again. But once more, Rachel wasn’t speaking—she was clutching her head, deep in thought.
Yet the owner of that voice was unmistakably Rachel.
After watching her for a moment, a careful hypothesis rose in my mind.
[Rachel. Do you want fish?]
“Huk!!”
Rachel flinched and shot upright, staring at me. Seeing her reaction, the suspicion that had been slowly rising within me turned into certainty.
Just now, Rachel had not opened her mouth.
And when she had been startled this time, I had not opened mine either.
All I had done was think.
The difference from before was that I had deliberately directed my thoughts toward her, as if speaking to her.
And Rachel had clearly reacted to that thought.
[Rachel, close your eyes, keep your mouth shut, and try thinking.]
“Huh? O-okay.”
[Don’t say what you want out loud. Think it inside. But speak to me as if you’re making a request.]
Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, clasped her hands tightly, and concentrated.
[Azure Dragon, I’m hungry!]
……I heard it. Rachel’s thoughts.
****
The phenomenon appearing between Rachel and me looked like a form of telepathy. Being able to converse through thought alone made me wonder if it was similar to mind reading.
But there was a clear condition attached.
First, not all thoughts were shared between us. I actually considered that a relief. Both Rachel and I surely had things we wanted to think about alone or keep secret. In my case, that included my reincarnation and memories of my previous life.
Additionally, to trigger this phenomenon, the thought had to be directed at a specific subject.
Once I identified that condition, I became certain of exactly what this ability was.
Conversation between god and human.
It was the very thing defined by many terms—oracle, revelation, or even possession.
I no longer thought of myself as a being with mere abilities. Considering that dragons were existences close to the divine, such a phenomenon was only natural.
However, one thing to consider was that oracles were not heard by everyone. Only humans chosen by a god could hear their deity’s voice, and they alone could convey words received from other gods directly to their own.
And that meant Rachel belonged to that category.
Shrine maiden. In the language of this land, the title would likely translate to saintess.
Rachel had become exactly that.
Of course, Rachel herself had no idea.
She had been momentarily flustered by the sudden sharing of thoughts, but she soon began sending all sorts of words through thought. It didn’t seem to bother her much.
That was precisely why my heart felt uneasy.
It wasn’t something I had wanted, but it felt as though I had dragged an innocent child into something far beyond her understanding.
I had certainly intended to recruit Rachel and Jonon someday, but I had assumed it would happen once she was old enough to make her own judgments.
Yet right now, Rachel was only five years old. No matter how much she had endured during two years of fleeing, she still lacked the ability to fully judge for herself.
In the end, I decided to discuss the matter and headed back toward the cliff. I needed to call Jonon, who was staring blankly at us from afar.
****
[Jonon.]
“……O Azure Dragon. I am sorry. You clearly instructed me to stay in the hut with Her Highness the Princess.”
He had gone against a god’s command. It was clearly his own fault, so Jonon kept his head bowed, awaiting divine punishment.
[Raise your head.]
“………….”
[Thanks to you, I too received help. It is of no concern.]
“…Thank you.”
[I have something to discuss. It concerns Rachel.]
“If it is about Her Highness the Princess…”
What Jonon heard next was about the relationship between Rachel and the Azure Dragon.
The dragon’s words were simple.
I have chosen her.
However, it seems Rachel does not yet understand her own situation. Therefore, you must explain it to her.
If she does not wish it, I will give up.
‘Then… does that mean Her Highness will become a divine maiden?’
He could not use the title saintess. That title belonged exclusively to the saintesses who served the God of Light, Rehel, within the Rehel Church.
Originally, any woman chosen by a god was called a divine maiden, so Rachel could indeed be seen as a divine maiden chosen by the Azure Dragon.
Of course, the title itself was not important.
‘…To think that he is even considering the thoughts and circumstances of the divine maiden.’
This was completely different from the behavior of every god Jonon had ever encountered or heard of.
It was an ironclad rule that if a god desired someone, they would choose them immediately and bring them into their faith. People accepted this as natural.
Of course, many conflicts had arisen in the process. There were numerous records of chosen individuals dying during travel to distant holy lands after being ambushed, or of chosen ones resisting because they did not wish it and subsequently receiving divine punishment or inquisitorial judgment.
Looking at it that way, Jonon could feel in his bones—without needing words—how much consideration this god called the Azure Dragon was showing Rachel.
“Your Highness.”
“Hmph.”
“……Lady Rachel.”
“……Mm?”
“The Azure Dragon has asked something of me. Right now, Lady Rachel…”
Jonon continued speaking. Having attended her for the past two years—and even before that—he knew perfectly how to phrase things so that she could understand easily.
When his mouth finally closed after the last sentence, Rachel’s mouth opened immediately.
“Yes!”
“…Are you certain you understood properly?”
“If it means helping the Azure Dragon, I want to do it!”
[It seems she hasn’t understood properly. In that case…]
“No, that’s not it!”
[……]
“Azure Dragon, I… I want to help you. I just want to.”
[……Rachel.]
“You helped me so much, Azure Dragon. I want to help you too. I’ll pat you so you don’t get hurt like before… Anyway!!”
[……]
“I like it! Being chosen by the Azure Dragon!!”
Even so, suspicion did not leave the dragon’s face. In the end, Jonon stepped forward.
“O Azure Dragon. It may be presumptuous of me to say, but Her Highness is different from other five-year-old children.”
[……Is that so.]
“Yes. When we were once being chased by Justron, I gave Her Highness a vague explanation to buy time, and she immediately understood the situation and responded appropriately.”
[……]
“Therefore… Her Highness must have understood everything perfectly just now. I, too, will gladly follow if it is what she desires.”
Rachel’s own strong assertion, supported by Jonon’s words.
At last, the dragon’s mouth opened slowly.
[Rachel.]
“Yes!”
[You are the child chosen by me, the Azure Dragon. Dragon’s Shrine Maiden—that shall be another name by which you are called.]
“Shrine maiden……”
For some reason, Rachel felt a sense of déjà vu upon hearing the word, but she couldn’t trace its origin. After groaning in confusion for a while, she eventually gave up.
[I swear this. From the moment I chose you, I will protect and guard you. Should any threat appear, I will stake everything to eliminate it.]
As the Azure Dragon began to speak, a blue energy rose around him. The sparkling energy, illuminated by rays of light piercing through the clouds, was dreamlike and beautiful.
The blue energies drifted gently through the air before wrapping around Rachel. Watching her enveloped as if protected by water itself, Jonon quietly raised his left arm and knelt.
[Jonon. Purified blade and my first knight to receive my blessing.]
“Yes. Please speak.”
[Swear it. Swear that you will protect the Dragon’s Shrine Maiden with the power I have given you.]
“I swear it. No matter what happens, I will protect Her Highness—no, the Shrine Maiden.”
[Lastly, Shrine Maiden Rachel. Swear it.]
“Yes!”
[No one knows what path lies ahead. However, your future may be far rougher and more perilous than theirs.]
Even so.
[Swear that you will always walk the path you desire, the path you wish to take, with our help.]
“I swear it!! I will definitely help the Azure Dragon!!”
On a day when the winter snowflakes had fallen and the early spring breeze was beginning to rise.
On the eastern sea cliff of Arteria, where it was said that the origin of all things had begun.
A vow was made that bound together the relationship and future of the Azure Dragon, a young child, and a knight.
This covenant was the first step on the path they would walk.