Incurable Disease (2)
Somewhat abruptly, Letisia, Caesius, and I found ourselves facing a landscape utterly different from the front lines. Trees that looked to be dozens of meters tall blanketed the surroundings, and at their heart rose a cliff face choked with undergrowth.
A massive boulder sat squarely in the middle of that cliff. Gergius regarded it and spoke.
"This is my lair."
"Ah."
I'd heard that every dragon's lair was unique, but building one into a cliffside cave still struck me as a little unusual. Maybe it was because he was a green dragon—the area around the lair was lush with greenery.
"Step back a moment. I'll clear the rock."
"Yes."
We retreated a few paces. Gergius stretched out a hand—and I was startled. I'd expected him to use magic to move it.
Kuuuung!
He simply lifted the boulder with his bare hands. After setting it aside, he turned to us.
"That should do it. Come in."
"…Yes."
…Dragons really were something else. The sheer strength was on a completely different level from the lizard standing next to me.
I must have glanced her way while thinking that, because Caesius narrowed her eyes at me.
"Albrecht. What rude thought are you entertaining?"
"…Nothing much."
Her instincts were sharp, as always.
Once we were all inside the lair, Gergius single-handedly rolled the boulder back into place. The sight made me curious enough to ask.
"Do dragons usually seal the entrances to their lairs like that?"
A dragon's presence alone was formidable. There was no real need to block a lair with a rock like that—anyone insane enough to invade a dragon's den was, frankly, almost nonexistent outside of humans.
And it wasn't as if a proud dragon would barricade itself out of fear of humans. That was what puzzled me. Gergius gave a somewhat open, rueful laugh.
"It's for my daughter. If her screams of pain carried outside, even a dragon would eventually draw enemies who sensed her weakness."
"Ah…"
The moment that sank in—
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
A horrific scream tore through the interior of the lair. I flinched, Letisia flinched, and even Caesius—who rarely startled at anything—gave a visible jolt. Gergius's face had gone deathly pale.
"…Forgive me, but we must hurry."
"…Yes."
He quickened his pace. When we finally reached the deepest part of the lair, we came face to face with the source of the screams.
"This is…"
"……Oh no."
Letisia's voice was thick with pity. What we saw was a small dragon whose entire body was studded with hard crystals.
Far smaller than Caesius, crystals had erupted through her scales all over her body… anyone could see how agonizing it had to be.
They even jutted from her head and the lids of her eyes.
…This is worse than I imagined.
The thought of ending up like that myself was enough to send a chill through me.
"Mersius!"
Gergius rushed to her side, voice urgent. The young dragon he called Mersius forced one eye open with great effort.
"Father… my body suddenly hurts so much…"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you alone."
Gergius spoke gently.
"Just hold on a little longer. I've brought someone who can help with your illness."
At her father's words, Mersius laboriously shifted her gaze. When she spotted us, she murmured,
"Caesius…?"
"Mersius. It's been a while."
So they knew each other.
…Wait. Had she just used polite speech?
"Your condition… has gotten much worse."
No, I hadn't misheard. This one actually knew how to speak politely…?
"…Yeah… it hurts so much… kuh, it hurts… my body…… hurts so……… much! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
She began screaming again. From that tiny body poured a shriek so terrible it felt like it would shred our eardrums. Caesius narrowed her eyes at Mersius, then turned to me.
"……Albrecht. You see those crystals, don't you? They look like hard minerals, but at their core they're condensed mana. I'd like you to clear those away first with your power."
"…Got it."
The fact that she could speak politely was surprising, but this was no time for jokes. I stepped forward and met Mersius's eyes. Then I offered a light greeting.
"Hello."
Exhausted from her latest scream, she managed a ragged breath and spoke.
"…Human… are you the one who can heal me…?"
"I don't know for certain myself, but the dragons seem to think so. And my name is Albrecht."
"…Albrecht……"
She repeated my name once, then let out a long, weary breath.
"If you can help… please help me… this illness and this pain… I'm so sick of them……"
"I'll do what I can."
With that, I stirred my mana. Just as Caesius had said, I directed it toward peeling away those crystals.
Then something remarkable happened. With soft tuduk sounds, the crystals came free far more easily than expected and began binding themselves to my mana.
"It really… it really was possible…! Thank you, Albrecht… truly!!"
Gergius was overcome with emotion.
Even though they looked like hard minerals, their essence was mana—so my power, which forcibly seized all mana, tore them free without resistance. Watching the things that had tormented his daughter get ripped away must have been an immense relief for a parent.
"Ugh…… kuh……"
The removal itself still hurt; Mersius let out pained whimpers. But she no longer screamed the way she had before.
Even the crystals I was peeling off held a vast amount of mana, more than I'd expected—but since I could simply discard them right away, it wasn't a problem. Once removed, the crystals never reattached to Mersius's body.
The absolute difference in mana volume, however, meant my power struggled to handle hers all at once. I had to work carefully, piece by piece, and it took time.
I moved my mana as delicately as I could, withdrew it, then repeated the process. Sweat gradually beaded on my skin. Using mana itself consumed stamina, so that was only natural.
In the end I couldn't remove everything in one go. I still hadn't fully recovered from the recent battle, and there were simply too many crystals covering Mersius's body.
When about half the crystals on her had vanished, Gergius caught my shoulder.
"…Albrecht. Rest a while. You'll collapse first at this rate."
"Pardon?… Hah… hah……"
I'd been so focused on controlling my mana that I hadn't even realized how drained I was. The moment I became aware of it and let out a heavy breath, strength fled my legs.
"Albrecht!"
Letisia darted forward and caught me. Supporting my falling weight made her waist bend slightly.
"Ah… sorry. I'm completely wiped…"
"…It's all right. I can hold you as long as you need."
She said it gently as she eased me down to sit on the floor. Then she settled beside me herself.
"Would you like to lie down?"
She lightly patted her own thigh as she asked. Knowing how she felt about me, accepting felt a little wrong—but I was so exhausted I asked anyway.
"…Is that okay?"
"Of course."
I carefully laid my head down. The soft give of her thigh against my cheek made me a little tense… but the fatigue outweighed everything else.
Letisia smiled softly and began stroking my hair with her fingers.
"You can sleep a little."
"…Yeah."
Then Gergius spoke to my worn-out self.
"Albrecht, I'm grateful for your heart, but there's no need to push yourself so hard. From today's results, if we take our time and remove them gradually, we should be able to clear every crystal. They don't grow that quickly."
"Ah, is that so…"
…He could have said that earlier. I'd thought it was better to strip away as many as possible in one go.
"Once every crystal is gone, Mersius's overflowing mana will settle for a short while. That's when I'll seal her mana and cure the illness."
"…Understood."
So we'd be staying in the lair for a few days.
But I didn't feel reluctant or annoyed about it. Breathing more easily after my treatment, Mersius spoke in a voice that trembled on the edge of tears.
"Thank you…… because of you, so much of the pain has gone."
"I'm really glad to hear that…"
Mersius closed her eyes a little. Perhaps because the agony had eased, she seemed ready to drift into a more peaceful sleep. Looking at his daughter's improved condition, Gergius made no effort to hide his deep emotion.
"First we need to restore your strength. Wait just a little."
With that, Gergius left the lair. What was he planning…?
"He's gone hunting."
Caesius answered my unspoken question.
"Hunting…?"
"Yes. He said you needed to recover your energy. He's probably gone to catch some beast good for restoring stamina."
She said it as she sat down beside me. Then she looked at Mersius, who was now breathing softly in peaceful sleep, and spoke.
"Mersius is older than I am."
"She is? She looked smaller than you…"
"She's older, but the illness stunted her growth. She's still stuck as a hatchling. If she'd grown normally, she would have been on the verge of reaching worm rank at the very least."
"…I see."
It was heartbreaking that the pain had been bad enough to slow even her growth. Even knowing that Gergius and his daughter had once sided with the Demon King's army—our enemies—I felt only sympathy for them, not hostility.
Of course, everyone had their own circumstances in life, but seeing it with my own eyes was different.
"…I'm just glad she can get better now."
When I said that, Caesius's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Thank you, Albrecht."
The sight made my eyes go round; sleep fled me entirely. It was the first time I had ever seen her smile like that.
Letisia seemed to share the feeling, because she spoke with a touch of surprise.
"You should smile more often. You're incredibly pretty when you do."
"…What strange nonsense is that all of a sudden?"
Being a dragon, she clearly didn't grasp the feeling. I let out a light chuckle and spoke. I was so tired that continuing the conversation felt impossible.
"Sorry, but I'm going to sleep a little. Wake me when Gergius gets back."
"Yes."
"Understood."
I blinked slowly, then gradually drifted off. I even forgot that my head was resting on Letisia's thigh—it was simply that comfortable.