4. Darling, I'm Home — Now for My Welcome-Home Kiss...!
The territory was thrown into an uproar.
"L-Lord Jerome! A dragon's lair!"
At the aide's report, I hurriedly led the guards to the site where the lair was said to be.
"Hunters returning from a dawn hunt found some suspicious traces, my lord. We sent guards to investigate, and they located the lair at the cliff's edge in the western forest."
Following the guard who led the way, I spotted a massive cave yawning high between the distant, towering cliffs.
"My lord, we used detection magic. There are no signs of life inside."
"Good. Let's go in."
As we made our way slowly into the lair, the air grew steadily colder, and a creeping, desolate chill crawled up my body.
Inside sprawled the corpse of a One-Horned Dragon, not yet begun to rot.
Its neck was all but severed clean through, and countless sword scars scored its body. The chamber itself bore the marks of a ferocious battle. Judging by everything, the beast had been on the verge of maturing into a full adult.
Just how many people in the Empire could wield swordsmanship of this caliber?
Three at the very most, I'd wager.
Come to think of it, Vivian did go out yesterday afternoon... No, there's no way. As strong as Vivian is, even she couldn't take down a dragon alone.
"My lord. The examination of the corpse is complete."
While I was lost in these thoughts, the aide quietly approached and reported in a low, measured voice.
"Judging by the state of decay and the circumstances around the site, it died roughly a day or two ago. And... we searched urgently for the Dragon Jade, but it was already gone."
"Well, if the Dragon Jade is missing, that's a mercy. In the meantime, I'd like a more thorough investigation."
Whoever took the Dragon Jade must know a great deal about dragons. Left unattended, the Jade slowly bleeds its death aura into the surroundings, corrupting everything nearby.
But then why touch none of the other byproducts — why not even say a word to the territory?
Ha... my head.
And here I'd been thinking it might be nice to take Alice and Vivian out for a change.
Still, a dragon carcass dropped right into our laps is an absolute windfall. Selling the intact scales alone would be enough to cover every loss we racked up last year scrambling for food during the cold snap.
"Let's head back. Raise the alert level to maximum, and report anything unusual immediately."
With that, we left the lair and returned to the manor.
—
The moment I dismounted and stepped inside, Alice came darting out to take my coat, then carefully attached herself to my side.
"Master, you look rather unwell. Is it the dragon...?"
"Ah, Alice... yeah. I've just been turning some things over in my head. I was actually planning to go out somewhere, too. Sorry."
"It's quite all right. More importantly, you needn't worry yourself so much. The Dragon Jade is gone, and the dragon never went on a rampage, after all."
"That's a relief, I suppose... Well, beating my brains over it won't change anything anyway. As soon as the investigation wraps up, we should start selling the byproducts."
Wait — did I ever tell Alice that the Dragon Jade was missing?
Ugh, the more I think, the more my head aches.
Focus on the pile of money that just landed in my lap. They're holding an auction in the Imperial Capital this time, so I'll put the goods up after the ball — and while I'm at it, browse for anything worth buying. Then there's reinforcing the city walls to think about...
Just as I was entertaining these happy worries, I heard something running toward me from far off — and then it charged full-tilt and burrowed straight into my arms.
"Darling~ I have missed you so ♡ Now, come — your welcome-home kiss, as you always give...!"
"I have never once done anything so shameless..."
Vivian slipped back just far enough to fall out of my arms, placed her hands delicately on both my cheeks, and leaned in slowly.
"Come now... Darling...."
And yet something felt... forgotten. Ah, right.
At a flicker of foreboding, I turned my head slightly — and there was Alice, dagger already drawn, aiming for the nape of Vivian's neck.
"A-Alice! Hold on—!"
Shunk.
Just as I braced for the bloodbath I'd feared, Alice slid the dagger back into its holster and stepped carefully to Vivian's side.
"Vivian, hurry it up and finish. Someone's waiting, you know..."
"Oh my, Darling? It seems a queue has formed. Ufufu, well then — with someone waiting, do hurry..."
Vivian wore a thinly veiled look of anticipation, tilting her full lips forward and inching closer by degrees.
The nearer she came, the sweeter her fragrance washed over me, and my aching head began to go numb.
Ah, forget it. I can't anymore.
"Ufufu, forgive me, Darling. You're going too fa—"
I pulled Vivian back into my arms just as she tried, laughing, to slip away — and leaned in to kiss her... only to fumble it at the last second into a graze against her cheek.
The soft warmth that brushed my lips. Vivian's body heat, radiating far more intensely than before. The jolt that ran through me the instant we touched.
"There, that's enough... right? Let this satisfy you for now."
Vivian froze, blinking, as if she'd never dreamed I'd actually go through with it — then collapsed into a heap on the floor.
"This girl's... legs have given out... aah... forgive me for displaying such a disgraceful sight..."
"This girl will... excuse herself for a... moment..."
She staggered to her feet and, with the eyes of someone whose soul had left their body, shuffled off — stumbling, falling, scrambling up again and again — until she finally managed to escape into her room.
While I watched Vivian's door swing shut, Alice stepped up in front of me and waited, subtly presenting her cheek.
"Master, I... am ready."
So in the end, I gathered Alice up carefully as well and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
"There, done...? Now go on, Alice..."
It was the brightest, mostrefreshingly innocent smile she'd ever worn. She slowly stroked the cheek I'd kissed, savoring the lingering warmth.
"Master... I will never, ever forget this moment, for as long as I live."
After the cheek kisses, I spent my days dodging the two of them as they hovered around me, apparently angling for more skinship, and threw myself into preparations for the ball and the auction.
I combed through the entry records from the past month, looking for anyone suspicious coming and going, and tried to trace evidence from the sword scars — but in the end, I turned up nothing at all.
How does anyone even move something that enormous? They couldn't have hauled it off whole, and even if they froze it briefly with cryomagic, it would have thawed long before they got anywhere. In the end, I resigned myself to the expense and hired mages from the Mage Tower to compress and shield the carcass with magic and transport it that way.
The mages gaped at the dragon's corpse, then worked through the night, laying spell circles and pouring in mana until the body had been funneled into a single small mithril cube.
"Hard to believe that enormous carcass is inside this tiny thing."
I was turning the cube over in my hands when a light tap-tap sounded at the window, ringing out crisp and clear. What now? Hail, of all things?
I rose from my seat and looked out — and there was a tiny pale-green sparrow tapping at the glass.
A spirit? Even a Lower-grade Spirit would be extraordinarily rare to see.
When I opened the window, the spirit shot off somewhere in a flash — and at the end of its flight, I found Rita, waving her hand.
"Rita?!"
I rushed outside.
—
"Everyone. Be on your best behavior in front of Father. Understood? Absolutely no showing your true forms."
Rita stroked the spirits flitting about her and waited, calm as ever.
"Rita! Have you been waiting outside this whole time? You should have come right in — it's freezing out here."
"Mmhm..."
Rita shook her head.
"I decided in advance that the first face I'd see when I came back would be yours, Father. I'm home, Rita's back."
"Listen to you — when did you get so grown up...? I'm moved..."
Rita held out her hand, and I took it, walking slowly into the manor with her.
"So you've been studying spirit magic? I had no idea you were interested in it, Rita."
"I was. I wasn't planning to learn it at first, but some strange lady kept pestering me, insisting I simply had to."
"I-is that so? Well, you had fun learning it at least, right?"
"Yeah. It was nice. I made lots of friends."
"Oh? What kind of friends? Kids you got close to while studying?"
"?"
At my question, Rita tilted her head, then pointed at the spirits hovering at her side.
"They're right here. All of them."
Oh — the friends were the spirits. Well... having more people to rely on is a good thing anyway.
"A-ah... sorry. So, are you all finished with your studies? And what happened with that... strange lady you mentioned?"
"I ran away. She kept getting more and more annoying... ugh."
"Ahaha..."
Well, anyone loved that much by spirits can't be all bad, so I suppose I shouldn't worry too much.
The moment we entered the manor, Alice and Vivian — who had both been hunting for me — closed the distance in an instant.
"Rita!"
Rita walked slowly toward them in turn.
"Yeah. Alice, Vivian. It's been a while."
Alice and Vivian swept Rita up from either side, and Rita, instantly buried between the two of them, began squirming her arms.
"All right, you two. Let's calm down a little."
I carefully extracted Rita from between them.
"...Thank you, Father. I almost died."
"Rita! Not a single letter... do you have any idea how worried I was?"
"This girl sent Rita her fair share of letters, too. How could you not grant even one reply?"
"Ugh... sorry. I meant to, but trudging all the way to the guild was just too much of a hassle."
So the two of them had been looking out for Rita in their own ways after all.
"Oh, right. Rita, about that letter you sent me before — there was no wax seal on it. From now on, even if it's a hassle or costs a bit more, seal them properly. Just to be safe."
"That's fine. The letter I sent to Father was delivered directly by a spirit. I was going to hand it over in person, but you were away, so I left it on top of the mail."
"You sent a spirit all the way from the Imperial Capital to here? Wouldn't it collapse from mana exhaustion before it got even halfway?"
"Huh? My mana recovers faster that way. Why would mana exhaustion happen?"
Oh. So there was such a simple solution.
"Anyway — that gift you sent, Rita. It was lovely."
"Ah, the lavender on the letterhead? It smelled nice, didn't it. I'm glad. The scent was really wonderful. I wanted Father to smell it too."
I patted the head of Rita, who was showing these adorable sides more and more often now.
"Thank you. Do you want to use your old room? Alice's been keeping it clean this whole time."
"Yeah. I'll use it."
"Come on then, Rita. You'll have to tell us everything you've been up to."
"That's right. This girl is ever so curious as well."
Watching the three of them amble down the hall — chattering, teasing one another — I found myself briefly remembering how they used to be.
"M-Master... I'm so sorry...." — Alice, forever trembling in fear.
"Hic... waaahh...." — Vivian, bursting into tears every single day.
"....." — and even Rita, who would convulse at nothing more than my coming near.
No wonder I miss the others too. I'll be seeing Ophelia soon enough, and it's about time Lupa started her regular visits again.