Departure
Thud!
The night was cold.
That was only natural now that the sun, which had so faithfully carried warmth to the world, had slipped below the horizon.
And yet, strangely enough, it didn’t feel that chilly. Maybe the difference between day and night simply wasn’t that extreme here.
Thud!
Laxia was wrapped in Magi, so sunlight rarely reached the ground properly. Because of that, even during the day, there were times when the air felt faintly cold.
It seemed the flames had started to die down a little, so I tossed in another log.
The fire, which had been faltering for a moment, devoured the wood hungrily and roared back to life.
Warmth rose from the campfire and gently enveloped the surrounding area.
“Mm….”
Celine shifted in her sleep.
The suddenly warmer air must have felt unfamiliar.
Still, she didn’t seem to mind the warmth curling around her body; rather than open her eyes or complain, she simply breathed softly and peacefully again.
And as for Daeun…
Yes, she was sleeping well.
She was out cold without even the slightest movement, so just in case I held a finger beneath her nose, felt a tiny breath tickle my skin, and pulled my hand back.
Thunk!
“Does this thing have no learning ability?”
While I was checking on the others, I heard a sound like something being knocked.
Wasn’t it about time to stop if three attempts still hadn’t broken through…?
With a sigh, I drew my sword while still seated on the ground.
Using a sword like this robbed it of much of its power.
Of course it did, since I could only swing with my arms.
And with my body being so small, even when I stood I had to be careful not to drag the blade along the ground; how much worse would it be sitting down?
Even knowing that, I hadn’t gotten up from the dirt because this was more than enough to deal with the bastard tapping at the barrier created by Celine’s Holy Magic and making a nuisance of himself.
Whoosh—
For an instant, a wind like a winter gale swept through the campsite.
That was enough to silence the rude intruder who had been knocking on someone else’s door in the middle of the night with no manners whatsoever.
The death sentence for anyone who interrupted my brooding was execution.
Honestly, I had just been staring blankly into the fire without a thought in my head, but words could always be dressed up differently depending on how you packaged them.
“Haaah….”
Watching the flames dance in a daze, a yawn slipped out of me before I could stop it.
I felt oddly languid….
The overnight camps I knew usually had a much tenser atmosphere.
Thanks to Celine’s Holy Magic, it felt less like we were camping out in the wilderness and more like we were on a quiet little trip somewhere.
In truth, there hadn’t even been any need for a watch.
Most things wouldn’t be able to pierce that barrier of holy power, and anyone strong enough to do so would probably notice us even in their sleep.
Then why are you sitting there all gloomy by yourself?
‘…I’m not being gloomy. I was just sorting out — no, I was organizing my thoughts.’
Looks the same to me.
‘A lizard’s eyes are probably different from a human’s. I’ll forgive you.’
Tch. The way you talk.
‘If you hate it, then leave.’
I didn’t worry about things like, “What if he actually leaves…?”
There was no way Grasid would abandon me, and besides, that was exactly what I wanted, so why would I worry?
This was a chance to shake off that persistent perverted lizard.
Come to think of it, maybe the reason I’d been able to accept Daeun coming to see me every single day with relative ease was because I’d gotten used to it thanks to Grasid.
That wasn’t gratitude, obviously.
…Ahem! I’m not saying I hate it.
‘Then keep quiet.’
As I’d expected, my threat—along with my remarks about his manner of speech—made Grasid back down in an instant.
Still, if you have so many worries, why not tell me about them?
‘…Me? Confide in you?’
I’ve lived long enough that I might actually be useful. You’ve got nothing to lose by talking, even if you only do it on the off chance.
‘Nothing to lose? I’d be talking to you. Do you have any idea how exhausting that is?’
…You are the first and last human to ever treat me like this.
‘Grandpa, times have changed.’
Though the years had passed, dragons still stood as beings worthy of awe, but the stature Grasid held was no longer what it once had been.
That, presumably, was why the royal bastards had treated the Firebrand Knights with such contempt.
I had no interest in unloading my troubles on a perverted lizard, so I asked the question that had just come to mind.
‘Aren’t you upset that the kingdom you made was destroyed?’
I made a contract with Sigrid, not with his descendants. And I’ve already shown more than enough goodwill, haven’t I? Do you know how much power I poured into making that ring?
‘You want to say you went to great trouble making it, even putting off recovering from the wounds you took fighting Crumo?’
I’d heard it enough times that I could recite it in my sleep.
‘And yet hardly anyone could actually use it properly.’
…I got greedy while making it, so it couldn’t be helped. If a dragon was the one bestowing it, then it would have been embarrassing if some worthless nobody ended up using it, wouldn’t it?
‘Very impressive.’
So he’d made it without caring whether the user could actually use it properly, and only thought about preserving his own dignity.
What was the point of being able to make something better than a dwarf could if no one could use it correctly?
On top of that, he’d even slapped on the annoying restriction that “royal blood can’t be stained with it.”
To be exact, it wasn’t just any royal blood. It was the blood of royalty carrying Sigrid’s bloodline.
‘Whatever.’
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if a sword made for someone ended up injuring that very person? I put that in to prevent exactly that sort of accident.
‘So in the end, it was about pride again.’
As expected of the embodiment of self-love, a dragon.
From the beginning, Grasid had never had Grasis or Sigrid in his sights.
Once I conveyed that thought, Grasid immediately started chattering noisily again.
I’d been trying to provoke him anyway, so no matter what he said in rebuttal, I just made a show of scratching my ear and let it slide.
If he was going to spout off in my head without permission, then shouldn’t he at least pay the price in some way?
That’s what I think.
…If that were the case, I wouldn’t have done it so much. I do value you, in my own way….
‘-Wait. Shut up for a second.’
…
The moment I shut Grasid up, the entire world fell quiet in an instant.
If I wanted to be precise, we were talking through a mental link, so it had already been silent.
On the road where not even the chirping of insects could be heard, a strange sound crept in between the crackling of the campfire and the occasional gust of wind.
…Screeech, screeech.
It sounded like something being dragged along the ground.
A monster?
‘No.’
I shook my head immediately.
It wasn’t the presence of a monster.
Besides, if it had been a monster, it would have rushed at us the moment it saw us, or at least approached more cautiously instead of making such a racket.
And this wasn’t the first time I’d sensed a presence like this.
It was the sort of presence often carried by someone injured and having trouble moving.
So what was approaching now was…
“A person.”
Most likely a demon, then—one of the Purifier Clan.
Just as I’d expected, what emerged from the darkness and stepped into the firelight was a demon with pale skin.
The man had been shuffling toward us, and when his eyes met mine, surprise spread plainly across his face; apparently, he hadn’t come here knowing we were present.
Of course, it could have been an act, but if that look of shock wasn’t genuine and was really just a performance, I wouldn’t even feel that bad about being fooled.
That much couldn’t be helped.
“You all-”
“Shh.”
When I pointed toward the others, who were sleeping soundly, the man closed his mouth at once.
He was fairly quick on the uptake.
Since I hadn’t warned him about approaching, the man carefully moved closer to the campsite where I sat.
Tap.
“Ah…!”
After bumping against Celine’s Holy Magic, the man let out a short breath that sounded like awe or perhaps grief.
With trembling hands, he groped at the barrier, feeling along its surface.
“Lady Edel’s holy power… Ah, I thought I would never feel it again in my lifetime….”
Before long, tears of emotion were falling down his face in thick drops.
Watching him, I blinked once, feeling a little dubious.
He looks like a fanatical believer….
I wasn’t unaware of what Edel meant to these people, so I wouldn’t say it aloud, but still.
A reaction this overwhelmed just from seeing holy power was something I would never have witnessed on the Ardina Continent, so it felt strangely fresh.
In several ways, really.
After a long while spent trembling and touching the barrier while tears streamed down his face, the man finally managed to rein in his silent sobbing.
Before he could even wipe at his swollen eyes, he spoke in a cracked voice.
“I see… So you are people from the Ardina Continent.”
“That’s right.”
There was no reason to hide it, so I said so openly.
“Atisha, do you know her?”
“Ah! You met that child?”
“Yeah. Atisha brought us here.”
“Her body can’t possibly be in any fit condition….”
Perhaps because mentioning Atisha’s name after the holy power had eased some of his caution, the man relaxed a little further.
What kind of fool lowers his guard just because someone mentions a name?
He was exactly the sort of person who’d get swindled.
And another thing?
“You don’t exactly look like you’re in good shape yourself. I thought a corpse was walking around.”
“…Haha. Can you tell?”
“You’re reeking like a corpse. How could I not? If you want to die, go do it somewhere else. I don’t feel like cleaning up a body.”
I knew how irritating it was to be forced awake in the middle of sleeping, so I hadn’t wanted to disturb him, but….
If I left him alone, I really might end up having to dispose of a corpse, so in the end I had to wake Celine myself, despite the fact that all my quiet patience had been for nothing.
“Celine. Wake up.”
“Mm, mm… Lady Cana…? Is something the matter…?”
“Has a monster invaded?”
I shook my head at Celine, who asked while rubbing at her sleepy eyes.
That was a normal occurrence.
If a monster strong enough to wake Celine had attacked, this whole area would already be a wreck.
“I need Celine.”
“That is a wonderfully thrilling thing to say. Is this a confession?”
“…No. I know you’re half asleep, but please try to gather yourself.”
“Fufu.”
Because of the language barrier, I almost always ended up talking only with Daeun, which meant Celine was often unintentionally left out.
That had made me a little uncomfortable, so it was good that I could finally speak with Celine properly, but….
Was it just my imagination, or had Celine started rapidly becoming more and more like Daeun ever since communication became possible?
How had the Celine who once felt so gentle and compassionate changed like this?
Should I be happy that we’d grown that much closer, or mourn the fact that she was being colored by Daeun?
Feeling a complicated mix of emotions, I led Celine over to the man.
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