Dragonai Recalls Seira's Name
Until just a moment ago, Dragonai had been receiving the most exquisite hospitality in the imperial capital of Lukan.
"Your Holiness, say ah~."
"Hohoho. Your Holiness, look over here as well."
Dragonai found himself surrounded by one princess and three maids, seated on a plush sofa while being force-fed fruits. The princess treated the supreme Dragonai as if he were a puppy she had raised for years.
In truth, Obern had many princesses. With so many wives, the princesses lined up in formation, enough to march a full lap around the training grounds.
"What, what is this~! Obern. Why did you call for the princess again?"
Dragonai found it suspicious that Obern kept summoning princesses every time he visited.
"Hahaha. I did not summon her. Princess Ailier volunteered herself."
Previously, Ailier had heard the tale of Princess Lucia, who had fallen for Dragonai at first sight upon seeing him from her carriage at the city gates and offered herself in marriage. Upon beholding Dragonai's handsome draconic visage, Ailier blushed and spoke.
"Aing~ If you say it like that, it hurts my feelings. I've missed Dragonai-nim so much."
Ailier gently wrapped her arms around Dragonai's arm. Her soft, plump breasts buried his triceps. Feeling the firm texture of his muscles, she rotated her upper body slightly and began stroking his arm with the area near her heart.
"Haaang~."
She wore an expression that suggested she was feeling something.
"What, what do you mean haaang!? Stop that!"
Dragonai, thoroughly flustered, tried to pull his arm free from the girl's grasp. But the more he struggled, the tighter she clung to him, refusing to let go.
"It seems my daughter has taken quite a liking to Your Holiness. Hah, this is the first time I've seen such a sight..."
"Lucia was the same!! Don't you remember?"
"Ah, hehe, perhaps it's because I've reached old age. My memory hasn't been very reliable lately..."
"Aaaang~ What's wrong with meee!"
Ailier pressed the two soft mounds of her chest against Dragonai's arm and shook them to heighten the pleasurable sensation. Yet when Dragonai showed no reaction whatsoever, she soon released his arm in a sulky manner.
'Whew, that was dangerous.'
Dragonai felt his lower body growing endlessly excited before finally letting out a sigh and suppressing his voice. However, Ailier's heart, having been rejected all this time, froze over coldly.
As a noble princess, she had always maintained an iron wall toward men. Having constantly received serenades from them, she had been confident in her ability to seduce even a dragon. Yet now, even after pouring her genuine heart into courting a man, she had failed? She had even instructed her maids to prepare clean bed sheets, thinking she might drag the dragon straight to her bedroom if things went well. This was something she could never have imagined!
Moreover, Ailier had displayed such unseemly behavior right in front of the father she loved most in the world. It was proof of just how much she fancied Dragonai. Soon, regret and shame overwhelmed her, making her want to fall to her knees and sob.
"Ahem! That's... not the issue here."
Ailier, whose face had already turned half-sulky from rejection, lit up with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Then what is it?"
"W-well... I already have a criminal record."
"Hah, a criminal record?! Are you perhaps a rapist?"
"Urk... grk. No, actually... the thing is, I don't even remember..."
Obern pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Ah, that criminal record... You mean the incident with the Queen Mother..."
"Whoa... She was a queen?! I was hoping she'd at least be a princess."
"Tsk... So he turned out to be a playboy! You don't remember?!"
"Kugh!"
Dragonai doubled over as if struck hard in the solar plexus, groaning in pain.
"Hahaha. It's all from 500 years ago anyway. And now you've even taken one of my daughters."
"Ahem, that's right?!"
"500 years? Then how many women have you met in all that time, Dragon-nim?"
Bombarded by the relentless questions from the princesses and the emperor's harem beauties, Dragonai broke into a cold sweat.
"Uh, well... We share memories with our predecessors. Let's see... Shall we go back about 24,000 years?"
"That's enoughhh! Ailier will never associate with a playboy grandpa ever again!!"
"Kuh... Kuheok."
Dragonai silently shed tears inside. Perhaps Ailier was another ideal type he had been searching for. In reality, Ailier was a beautiful girl whose appearance points reached tens of thousands, renowned as a jewel of high society. But after coming to the imperial palace, he finally understood. He could no longer chase after anyone else's love—he had to find one specific person...
-If I don't find her... I'll die...?! Don't forget to come back?! The place I'm at is...!!
'Your name is... Your name is... What on earth...?!'
The image of an extraordinarily beautiful girl on a massive scale that kept flickering in his dreams. Dragonai had been instilled with the knowledge that he must never love anyone else. Yet right now, he didn't even know who that person was. Because of that, his heart felt as if it were being torn apart for some unknown reason.
"Obern, I have a request..."
"Say anything, Your Holiness."
By now, Obern had come to trust the dragon and had even dismissed all his royal guards. Thinking Obern would grant his request, Dragonai smiled awkwardly and continued.
"Show me that person's portrait... The queen I supposedly kidnapped... If you do, I won't touch the imperial treasury today."
If he saw that queen, perhaps he could recall some clue? Obern responded with a smile and told him to follow. Soon, Dragonai crossed into the gallery where portraits of past queens were enshrined. There, he immediately confirmed the existence of the woman who had been tormenting his memories in the portrait of the 9th Queen.
"Let's see. The 9th Queen, said to have been kidnapped and disappeared, had a rather unique name. Unlike her appearance, she had an exotic air. Her name was Ira Caidelobel......"
Then Dragonai suddenly shed hot tears and muttered her name.
"Ira... Irara... Huh?! Ira ya...! Kugh."
The more he tried to think of her, the more her memories seemed to distort, as if he were being made unable to think of her at all. The feeling in his heart upon seeing the portrait the emperor showed him was like the owner of memories he hadn't met in 500 years waiting right in front of him—he wanted to run to her madly and cry out, but all his memories were bound by the massive demon's iron chains, preventing him from running or even calling out the master's name freely... It was a dog-like feeling.
Thus, without even plundering the imperial palace's precious treasures, Dragonai had to return dejectedly after only confirming that the imperial family was living well.
"Hmm, but what was the name again?"
"And was she a princess? A queen? Or did I say a maid?"
There could be no goldfish in the world more forgetful than this. An Elemental Dragon said to possess knowledge surpassing scholars in almost every field! Yet for some reason, whenever he saw or heard anything related to her, Dragonai began forgetting again just two seconds after leaving the palace!
"Kyahaha! I hope I pick up a pretty girl on the way. Ah, that Ailier. Should I go back and find Ailier again? Kuuugh! Ah, no. Why can't I remember anything about her, but the emotional memories remain intact?! Ah, damn it! Do I have early-onset dementia?"
After seeing her portrait, Dragonai's mind grew even more scattered. But by chance, at that moment!!! There was a butterfly that had come to the imperial garden to catch the scent of flowers and also to deliver a message.
"Dragonai-nim! Get a hold of yourself! Dragonai-nim!!!!"
"Uh, uhh...!?"
"You must go rescue her. Now, Seira-nim...!"
"Right, Se-Seira...?!? That sounds familiar!!!"
Dragonai scratched his head as he answered, looking at the butterfly that had somehow succeeded in sending him a telepathic message.
"But where do I need to go?"
* * *
Koban City possessed a tourist capacity dozens to hundreds of times greater than other cities, to the point where sayings like "Half the city is houses! And half of the remaining half is shops! The rest are all inns!" had emerged. Koban City was an enormous metropolis with two million residents and approximately five hundred thousand tourists.