Rat and Dragon (2)
I was having a dream. A dream where Mom left me behind.
"Mom's gonna go make some money, so you stay put and behave, okay?"
A lie.
"I'll make a ton of money and come back for you, my daughter. We'll live like royalty. I promise... I'll definitely come get you..."
Liar.
"So listen to the priest well and stay healthy, got it?"
The dream of the day Mom left me in that tiny mountain village.
Ten years. Not a short time. And in all that time, Mom never sent even a single letter.
She must have forgotten all about me.
Watching her back as she walked away, I cried. I had a gut feeling we'd never meet again. I couldn't bear losing my only family.
I bawled like a little kid. And why not? I was just a little kid.
Once Mom's figure faded from sight, I turned and pushed open the temple doors. The only thing a tiny, helpless kid like me could rely on was the priest at the temple.
And what I saw when I opened those doors...
Grrrrowl...
A massive silver dragon. Its enormous head.
My feet froze like stone at the sight of it. Not a sound escaped my throat. Like a mouse facing a giant beast.
Terrified, I couldn't move an inch.
The silver dragon slowly opened its eyes, fixing its golden gaze on me. A look that pierced right through me, reading every bit of my pathetic self—the weakness that made me chafe at life in this backwater village but too spineless to leave.
Its eyes made me feel utterly insignificant. Then, slowly, it opened its mouth.
And everything around me started getting sucked into that pitch-black maw. The trees, the temple, the sky and earth. And me too.
Everything swallowed into the dragon's mouth—and that's when I woke up.
Hm? Oh, you're awake.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the massive dragon.
"D-Dr-Dr-Dr-Dragon...!"
Yeah, a dragon. It's been so long since I've stayed in my true form that I almost forgot, but yep—a dragon.
The dragon muttered something incomprehensible. I scrambled backward on all fours, trying to put distance between us.
But...
Don't run away. I waited patiently for you to wake up, and now you're trying to bolt?
"Eek?!"
In an instant, silver chains like shackles wrapped around my hands and feet, binding me tight.
"Y-You're gonna eat me?"
Eat you? You?
The dragon stared at my face, then...
Heh. You say the funniest things. As if munching on a tiny thing like you would fill my belly.
"B-But... in stories, dragons..."
I don't know what stories you've heard, but I won't eat you.
The dragon gazed at me intently. Was it really okay? But in stories, dragons were ferocious monsters that razed villages with their massive bodies and killed hordes with deadly poison.
Yet this huge dragon in front of me... hadn't swallowed me whole. It was talking to me instead.
Could I trust it?
"Um, so... dragons don't eat people?"
No worries—I don't eat. I can live off mana alone. Eating's just a hobby.
Was that true? Could I believe it? Was it tricking me just to gulp me down later?
No, no way. If it wanted to, it would've done it already. In front of this giant dragon, I was nothing but a little rat beastkin.
Anyway, how'd you get in here? I sealed the entrance tight—nothing should've slipped through.
"The entrance...? There was a cave... a small gap inside, so I squeezed through, and then the ground gave way... I don't really know the details."
Hmm... a cave, huh. Was there a hole like that? Maybe an earthquake opened it up?
Earthquake?
"Come to think of it... there was a big one a few weeks ago. Luckily no one got hurt..."
The hunter uncle grumbled that his forest cabin collapsed.
Yeah, that was it.
Hmm. Makes sense. Let me check... how much time has passed?
The dragon extended a front paw, and suddenly a massive something appeared on it out of nowhere.
Was this... magic? Come to think of it, dragons were said to breathe fire—a special kind of magic!
Whoa... actual magic right in front of me...
Hmm. About 300 years, huh. Not quite the 500 I planned, but close enough to wake up.
The dragon made the thing on its paw vanish, uncoiled its tail, stood on all fours, and spread its enormous wings.
Just flapping them once unleashed a gale from its sheer size, slamming into me like a storm.
I tried to brace myself, but I was tossed aside like a leaf in the wind.
Phew. Well-rested now—time to get moving. Wonder how the world's changed after 300 years.
"R-Really...?"
All I could do was speak as politely as possible.
Oops, sorry about that. Been a while since I moved.
Seeing the scrapes on my arms and knees from being flung by the wing gust, the dragon looked troubled.
I don't spend much time in my true form these days. Let me heal those wounds.
A faint light flowed from the tip of its front paw, enveloping my body. Miraculously, the scrapes vanished clean away.
This was... like the priest's wound-healing ritual? No, borrowing a god's power? A monster like a dragon couldn't use divine magic.
Probably just some similar magic effect. Still... it worked perfectly. My wounds healed in seconds—way faster than the priest.
Alright, shall we head out, little beastkin? Can you make it back on your own?
"Huh? Oh, no way. I don't even know the path."
I'd slid down like I was falling. Climbing back up? Impossible.
Even as a nimble rat beastkin with decent strength for my size, that steep slope was too much!
Hmm... right!
The dragon eyed me and smirked, like it'd just had a great idea.
I'll take you home myself.
"R-Really?"
In exchange, I've got a itch to see the world from a human perspective. Be my guide.
Guide...? Guide a dragon?
The village chief's huge house was smaller than that dragon's claw. Heck, the whole village might be tinier than the dragon itself!
I hesitated, but I had no choice. Without its help, I was stuck here.
Looking around by the faint light from its body, the only way in was that slide path. Even if the village got wrecked by the dragon showing up, I had to nod.
"If my village is okay, I'll guide you."
Thanks. Tired of just looking down from above anyway.
For a dragon this huge... it must've been peering from way up in the sky. The realm of the gods where all those deities supposedly lived, versus the skies this dragon soared...
Which was higher? Wait, thinking like that gets you divine punishment. Nope. Bad idea.
"But guiding's one thing—how about that massive body...?"
At that size, it'd flatten the village. I always griped about our hick town, but I didn't want it gone!
Of course there's a way. You thought I'd stroll into a village like this?
I couldn't say "yes."
But that wing flap earlier had hurled me around! It hurt! Even if it healed me after.
I always switched to human form before sleeping. It's familiar.
With that, a blinding light erupted from the dragon's body.
My eyes! Blinding!!!
The cave was already dim, lit only by the dragon's glow—and now this glare!
My eyes!!! Aaaah!
The light gradually faded.
And...
"Hm. This form's still the most comfortable."
Where the dragon had stood was now a silver-haired girl with horns.
"A-Are you... Dragon...?"
Yeah, that's me.
Another dragon magic? Magic's incredible... shrinking that mountain of a body like this.
"Alright... let's go."
The dragon-in-human-form snapped her fingers, and the scenery shifted in a blink—from the now pitch-black cave to a familiar forest.
This was... the back mountain woods?
"H-How?!"
"Just teleported. Now, lead the way. Oh, right—what's your name?"
Oh yeah, no intros yet.
"Maybel. Maybel Cinder. What should I call you, Dragon?"
Hmm... I've got lots of names, but... call me Tiamat. No one uses it, and it fits a dragon nicely.
Tiamat? Kinda exotic.
"Okay... Tia it is. I'll guide you to the village."
And so, I headed to the village with Tia—the dragon in girl form.