Rat and Dragon (5)

The priest handed me a letter. On the outside, in unfamiliar handwriting, it read To Maybel.

"And... this one's addressed to me."

The priest pulled another letter from his robes and placed it on the table. It was written in the same handwriting as the one for me.

Could this... really be from Mom?

If she's in a situation where she can afford to send a letter on such expensive papyrus... why hasn't she come for me? Does Mom... have some kind of circumstances holding her back?

"I was planning to show it to you once you came of age."

"Why? Why wait until I'm an adult?"

"Because that's what your mother asked."

I shut my mouth at the priest's words. What kind of reason could there be for that...?

"And if you found out your mother had sent a letter, I figured you'd bolt out of the village right then and there."

I had no response to the priest's words. Everything he said was true. If I knew Mom was alive somewhere... I would've gone looking for her.

"According to the letter... your mother's in a very dangerous situation. She probably didn't want to drag her daughter into that peril."

"A dangerous situation...?"

Mom didn't abandon me—she left me in this rural village to protect me? She didn't abandon me? Why?

"I originally intended to keep it secret until you reached adulthood... but with this person here, if she helps you... I thought we could aid your mother."

I turned to look at Tia. For some reason, she was watching with an expression brimming with excitement.

Well, yeah. She's a dragon. If Tia, who wields incomprehensible magic so freely, helps out... could she help Mom? Could she save Mom from whatever dangerous mess she's in?

"Of course, that's assuming she agrees to help. So, what do you say? Will you take the girl with you?"

Tia glanced back and forth between me and the priest, then nodded slightly and spoke.

"Doesn't matter to me. I was just wandering aimlessly anyway—traveling with a purpose like this isn't bad."

She sounded like someone with real travel experience. Is this Tia really the Dragon Priestess? The one from the hero's tales? Then... maybe... the dragon the hero slayed fell for him and became the Dragon Priestess to journey alongside? And the story got flipped around over time?

"Really?! Thank you! I was so worried about sending her off alone, especially a young kid like this into danger. But with your help, Priestess, it'll be reassuring!"

The priest bowed deeply to Tia in gratitude. As if he was truly anxious about letting me go alone. Hey, I can more than pull my weight, you know! Just 'cause I'm short and look like a kid doesn't mean I am one!!!

"Then, could you tell me about the girl's situation first? I need to know the details to help properly."

Tia prompted, and the priest nodded before slowly beginning.

"First, let's talk about her mother."

"Her name is Ella. Ella Cinder. Known as the Ashen Ella, she was a small but spirited rat beastkin. Born into a fairly wealthy family among the rat beastkin, Ella was bright and lively, befriending many people. If her mother hadn't died when she was young... she might have lived an even happier life. Sadly, Ella's path wasn't smooth."

The priest began recounting Mom's story. But...

"Hold on. Priest, how do you know so much about Mom's life?"

"We were friends as kids. Ella had an extraordinary talent for making friends—even with me, a priest apprentice back then, she hit it off right away. Anyway, her life started going off the rails when her father remarried. The two daughters her new stepmother brought were older than her, so suddenly Ella had a stepmother and two older sisters as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠family. At first, Ella tried to be friendly with them, but they hated her guts, from what I heard. Probably figured if she wasn't around, they'd inherit all her father's wealth outright. She tried everything to bond with her new family, but eventually gave up on those venomous women. Then, when her father fell ill and never recovered, their abuse got even worse. That's when she left home and started traveling."

Tia listened to the priest's long tale and summed it up curtly.

"Sounds like a story I've heard before."

"Is that so? Anyway, she left home and became an adventurer. Traveling and gaining all sorts of experience. She idolized the hero's tales, so becoming an adventurer was a natural fit."

Mom... an adventurer...?

"Ella wielded a massive hammer she could barely lift with both hands, and she was strong. That hammer was powerful enough to fell most monsters with a direct hit."

"A massive hammer? And she's a rat beastkin?"

Mom's the same as me, a rat beastkin... swinging a giant hammer with that tiny body? Hard to picture.

"She had incredible arm strength. She left that hammer with me when she became an adventurer, so I've been keeping it at the temple. I planned to give it to you as a weapon once you grew up."

"A massive hammer? Even if I get it, I wouldn't know how to swing it..."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't know the first thing about wielding weapons—getting something like that would just be a hassle...

"Just swing it like you're chopping firewood with an axe. And you're strong like her, so you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should manage fine."

Hmm... Is my strength disproportionate to my size because I take after Mom?

"Anyway, after building a name as an adventurer, she returned home. Under the name of the God of Light and Justice, she reclaimed the inheritance that was rightfully hers."

"That's... kinda different... Shouldn't there be a glass slipper or something? And a ball?"

"Glass slipper...? A ball?"

What is Tia talking about?

"Ahem. No idea what you're thinking, but let's continue. After driving out her stepmother and two sisters, Ella became quite famous among the rat beastkin, and many came forward with marriage proposals."

"Marriage proposals...?"

Come to think of it... what was my dad like? Mom never mentioned him, so I have no clue. The priest almost feels more like a dad.

"Yes. I don't know the full details after that, but she fell for someone and got married. Then... we lost touch for a while, until she showed up ragged and carrying a still-young you, begging me to look after you. She didn't explain much—just said she was tangled in some messy business, left you and the hammer with me, and vanished."

"The massive hammer... But I don't remember anything like that. I never saw Mom wielding one..."

"It was packed in a box on a cart, so you wouldn't have known. It's under my bed now—I'll show you later."

Mom's weapon... Hmm... I really don't remember seeing it.

"Ahem. We had no word from her for years... until last year, when two letters arrived. One for you to see when you came of age, and one for me. The one to me said she was in a bit of a bind and asked me to send you to her once you grew up. But that was just a cover. The real message is hidden: take the first letter of each paragraph."

"Acrostic?"

Acrostic? What's that?

"No clue what you mean... Anyway, the hidden message in her letter was this: Rat beastkin. Danger. God. Daughter. Safety. Travel."

This is...

"I couldn't grasp the full meaning, but with danger to the rat beastkin tied to a god... it seemed like instructions to send you on a safe journey. She probably couldn't even send letters freely."

"A god... You mean Sirius, the beastkin god?"

Sirius... the guardian god of the Pantheon? The books said he was the first beast... Are they the same?

"Likely. Sirius was once the beastkin god but became the Pantheon's guardian, so it's reasonable to think Ella's caught up in whatever filled that void."

"Hmm... Sirius, huh. Interesting."

The priest knew Sirius was the beastkin god? It wasn't in the books I read.

"Anyway, with danger possibly coming for Maybel, I planned to send you somewhere safe once you came of age. But now that you're helping, Priestess, it works out perfectly."

"Then... what about Mom?"

"Worry about yourself first. She'll manage somehow."

"But..."

Mom might be in danger, and all I can do is flee to safety?

"She risked everything to send that letter for your sake."

I want to rush to her right now...

"Mm. Sorry to interrupt, but if that letter made it here, doesn't that mean whatever's targeting her could show up too?"

"True, but by the time she sent it, our location was probably compromised. No specific deadline, so the grace period's until you come of age—send her somewhere safe before then."

"Then why send her with me now? Not after she turns adult?"

"I planned to teach her enough skills to fend for herself by then. But traveling with you, Priestess... isn't that far safer than anything I could teach?"

True... Staying by a dragon like Tia is way safer than lessons until adulthood.

Tia nodded slightly at the priest's words.

"Hmm. In that case... to guarantee her safety, why not the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simplest method?"

"Pardon?"

The simplest method?

"Just smash everything in sight. Problem solved."

Tia's words... were simpler and more brutal than I'd imagined.