The Girl and the Azure Dragon
There was a girl. The girl reminisced about a dream she had a few days earlier, or perhaps even before that. She had dreamed it while lying on the brink of death from the plague she caught while fleeing her previous village. The dream itself was nothing remarkable. It was simply the image of the girl strolling quietly through a field at twilight, with the night sky unfurling overhead. Having spent her life on the run until then, she found that leisurely, comfortable time deeply pleasant. Yet her enjoyment was brief, for she soon saw two lights falling from the sky. One was the radiance cast by a blue star with an enormous, trailing tail. The other was a golden glow emanating from something the star carried within itself.
The girl was instantly captivated by the blue star, whose light was more beautiful than any she had ever seen. Without realizing it, she began walking toward the star. The blue star, which had been carving a long arc across the heavens before vanishing beyond the horizon, noticed her, altered its course, and flew straight toward the girl. Then, before she could react, it left behind the golden object it carried, as though pouring it gently into her hands, and disappeared.
The place where the blue star fell was the deep indigo sea beyond the field where the girl stood. The golden object she received was a sphere slightly larger than a fist. The girl did not know the identity of the blue star, nor did she understand what the golden orb it had left behind truly was. But none of that mattered. The orb in her arms gave off a gentle warmth, and she liked it. In the end, she hugged it close and fell asleep within the dream. The next moment, the girl awakened.
When the girl rose, she felt an inexplicable sense of refreshment. The body that had been ravaged by pain only the day before was now whole, and her mind was free of exhaustion. What on earth had happened? Suddenly she remembered the golden orb from her dream, and an urge surged through her—an impulse to leave the temporary shack and gaze upon the sea.
Her companion was nowhere to be seen. They had probably gone to the nearest village to find medicine for her illness. Just a little while, she told herself. The absence of her companion only fanned the flames of that impulse. The girl did not understand why she so desperately wanted to see the sea. But that didn’t matter. In the end, she cautiously opened the door of the shack.
The shack was badly dilapidated. There was no village nearby, nor any travelers passing through, so it had never been maintained. Surrounded by forest, it was utterly silent. Yet the girl felt more at ease here than in any of the places she had stayed before. The last winter wind before spring’s arrival made her shiver and draw into herself. Still, the fierce longing to see the sea did not cool.
But… where was the sea?
A problem had arisen. The girl had no idea which direction the sea lay in. She did not even know exactly where she was. When she had fled her previous shelter she had already been deathly ill, delirious and stumbling between life and death.
At that moment her gaze dropped to the ground. A small puddle formed by melting snow caught her eye.
Whisper… whisper…
……?
She thought she heard a voice from somewhere. As though entranced, the girl began to follow it. The muddy puddle became clear dew. The cold winter wind turned into a warm spring breeze, guiding her onward. In this way she arrived at a cliff.
It was a sheer drop so high that even with the firmest resolve, a single glance downward would turn one’s legs to water. Step by careful step, the girl moved to the very edge. At last the vast sea and open sky filled her heart and shook it.
Whoosh!
A powerful gust rose from the forest and slammed into the girl’s back while she stood transfixed. She had no time to react before she tumbled over the edge. Before she could even register what was happening, she was enveloped by soft seawater. Everything had occurred in an instant, so the girl could only float there with a bewildered expression, not understanding any of it. That expression remained even when a colossal blue dragon appeared before her eyes.
Thus the first human to encounter the Azure Dragon—the girl—spoke.
Her voice carried pure, untainted emotion, free of fear or awe.
It was bewildering. Profoundly bewildering.
“Pretty......”
The voice of the water had cried danger? That had been unexpected. Saving a person at the place the voice of the water had led me? Naturally unexpected. And for that person to be a little girl who looked no more than five years old? Bewildering beyond words. Yet for that girl to look at me and call me pretty?
……It was profoundly bewildering.
Could she be severely nearsighted?
Even though I had become the mighty Azure Dragon, I judged my own appearance with cold honesty. I did not think myself ugly or monstrous. Still, I did not believe my looks were so exceptionally beautiful that a young girl would call them pretty. An eighty-meter-long body was hardly the sort of thing to inspire such a reaction in a child. Had the one I saved been a boy who had watched many giant-monster films, the response might have differed. But this child was a girl—a proper young girl with black hair tied in short pigtails and clear, deep blue eyes.
Do the girls of this world like monsters, perhaps?
If that was the taste of the girls in this world… No. Even then, I could not understand it. No matter how I turned it over in my mind, I could not reach the conclusion of “pretty.”
While I wrestled with these complicated feelings, the child continued to stare in a daze. Watching her lack of reaction brought to mind the worry that had been lurking unconsciously in the back of my thoughts.
How will the people of this world treat me?
While gathering material for a discussion with a friend, I had learned a few things about the treatment of dragons and wyrms. Unlike the dragons of the East, who were revered as divine beings, the dragons here were regarded as monsters, beasts, and evil creatures. The crucial point was that not all dragons took the form of winged lizards. There were long serpentine dragons, and even among monsters bearing entirely different names, some resembled dragons in shape.
If the wrong perception takes root, I may be treated the same way.
I did not yet know how this world was structured or how it would regard an existence like mine, but one thing was certain: compared to Eastern fantasy, the natural advantages a dragon enjoyed here were absent. The accumulated perception that predecessor dragons might have built up was not present among the people. That was as good as losing a major merit. It was why I had postponed a proper investigation of the world, using the battle with the whale as an excuse. I had wanted to proceed in a more relaxed and prepared state.
Yet that plan had been upended by the little girl who fell from the cliff.
Bubble, bubble.
The little lady was still sitting atop the seawater, which continued to fizz with foam. Having expended a fair amount of mental energy, I felt a touch of fatigue. I moved the water and gently lifted the girl back onto the cliff above.
The girl, who had been dazed only moments before, now smiled brightly and gave me a polite bow. I did not know who had taught her, but they had educated her well.
As for keeping her mouth shut… it should be fine.
She was only a child. Even if she told her parents or other adults, they would likely dismiss it as a child’s wild imagination. And even if someone did believe her and came looking, I could simply stay away from this cliff for a time.
[......]
I studied the child’s face for a moment. Just in case, I wanted to remember her features clearly. Sensing my gaze, she fidgeted with her fingers.
Blue eyes, black pigtails, a spirited voice. That should be enough.
I did not bother memorizing variable details such as clothing. As I began to turn my weary body back toward the sea, a bold voice rang out behind me.
When I looked back, the child I had lifted from the sea was running toward me in a hurry. I had deliberately set her down far from the cliff, yet she ignored my consideration and came right to the edge. Fearing she would fall again, I quickly drew water once more and created a platform beneath her feet.
I’m tired.
The girl walked cautiously across the seawater platform and drew closer. Closer still, until she stood so near that her eyes could no longer take in my entire body. While I watched in silence, she reached out and placed her small hand on one of my scales. Though her movement was slow, I simply observed. The moment I realized what was happening and jerked backward, her hand had already withdrawn.
What in the world… Hm?
While I stood bewildered by the sudden event, I felt a strange sensation from the scale she had touched. It was warm and comforting, yet at the same time clear and radiant. The moment I sensed that energy, I noticed the change within my own body.
The fatigue… it’s completely gone.
My mental strength, which had been nearly depleted only moments earlier, was now fully restored.