Volume 1, Episode 11
“That won’t be possible.”
“Pardon? No, why would that be……”
But Seherbian cut Oze’s request off without hesitation.
“Winter Bell doesn’t like people all that much. That’s why he spread a whole snowfield around the temple and told everyone to stay out. If someone ignored the warning and came anyway, he might well kill them brutally—or lay down a horrific curse.”
It was true that Seherbian did not especially like humans, but the wide expanse of snow outside the temple was not actually some trap set to block people’s approach.
It was simply that he was a Silver dragon of ice, and when he stayed in one place for long, snow and frost naturally gathered around him.
Still, it was a shameless lie from a lazy Silver Dragon who had never killed so much as a fly with his own hands, let alone a visiting human. Yet the people around them only recalled Winter Bell’s cruel reputation and rumors, and accepted it without question.
“If Winter Bell hates people that much, how did the priest earn his favor? You said yourself that you were on friendly terms with him, didn’t you?”
“Priests and ordinary people are different. If you’re so wronged, why don’t you become a priest too?”
“……!”
The face of the elite royal mage, Oze, twisted.
All the power he had spent his entire life building was in his hands. At this point, he couldn’t very well throw himself body and soul into religion just because he wanted to get close to a dragon.
“You may leave now.”
The order to get out had been given.
But Oze did not give up there.
“Oh, Priest!”
All at once, Oze seized both of his hands, and Seherbian barely managed to stop himself from swinging a fist. He had almost put an ice hole through the royal mage’s belly.
Unaware that he had just narrowly escaped an attempted murder, Oze made his pitch ingratiatingly.
“Why don’t you come with me to the royal castle in Alferios?”
“The royal castle?”
“You must have had so many hardships under people’s cold treatment all this time. Ordinary folk dislike winter, after all. You probably haven’t even been able to collect proper donations.”
The mage nodded to himself as though he understood all the temple’s hardships, then launched into a fervent speech.
“But! You won’t need to worry about that anymore. The royal family is very interested in the winter dragon shrine. As you can see from the fact that they sent an elite royal mage like me, Oze Lobern, here, they intend to provide the temple with full support from now on!”
Seherbian only stared at him blankly as he sprayed spittle and talked. Interpreting that as a favorable sign, Oze smiled thinly and extended a gloved hand.
“I am offering you the chance to meet His Majesty the King in person. What do you say?”
Seherbian studied the hand for a moment, then turned to look at Kisha.
You can’t go with that man, Winter Bell!
Kisha’s face was tense as she clutched the flower-petal pouch tightly to her chest and shook her head.
If Winter Bell fell for the mage’s temptation here, he might be used for an even grander ambition plotted by the royal family.
Seherbian silently met the girl’s desperate gaze, and at last turned back.
Thump.
“I look forward to working with you, Royal Mage.”
The moment he accepted the handshake, triumph and despair split between Kisha and Oze.
“Hah! That goes without saying. I’ll escort you to the Alferios royal castle in a first-class carriage!”
Oze declared with a beaming smile, as though the alcohol had completely worn off. Facing him, Seherbian also smiled faintly—a pure smile, as if he harbored not the slightest doubt toward humans.
No way!
Only Kisha, paling to the bone, stamped her feet in secret.
* * *
They left the next day.
Using hospitality as an excuse to keep Seherbian at the Hartney manor, Oze Lobern packed his things with lightning speed the moment dawn broke.
The soldiers who had practically occupied the manor swarmed out, while servants hauled heavy magical tools and equipment away. The scouting party that had been sent out to search the snowfield also returned and fell into formation.
Finally, crossing the snow-covered garden, came the carriage Oze had promised—a top-class model so rare that it was not easy to see even in the capital.
Seeing a carriage that had glided over the snow without slipping once, Oze called Seherbian over.
“What do you think, Priest? Quite a magnificent model, isn’t it? The horses pulling it are prized steeds bred in the royal castle. I’ve prepared all the supplies you’ll need for the journey as well, so you may ride in comfort.”
“…….”
“Heh-heh, I’ve installed magical devices, so you’ll barely feel any shaking. You can even open a bottle of wine while we travel.”
“…….”
“Ahem. Cough.”
He had prepared the carriage with great ambition and was proudly presenting it, but Seherbian only gave a slight nod without much reaction. That made Oze flush and wipe away a cold sweat.
Somehow, his attitude was colder than the day before.
I was right to hurry. We should leave before he changes his mind.
Afraid the troublesome dragon priest might suddenly have a change of heart, Oze hurried the departure along.
Laborers moved busily with the baggage carts, and the escorts mounted up and took their places. Once the preparations were complete, Oze led Seherbian aboard the carriage for the final time.
News that the noble guests were leaving drew villagers out to see them off, and they gathered in a noisy crowd.
“They say the priest got us winter butterfly tree blossoms?”
“What a truly wonderful man!”
“He’s Winter Bell’s dragon priest, isn’t he?”
“Hah! Thanks to him, my wife was out of bed this morning before I was. She’s even healthier than me now, I think.”
By then, no one in Hartney Village thought negatively of Winter Bell anymore. If anything, they welcomed winter. After all, Winter Bell was the guardian dragon who had saved their families and friends.
They also had no interest at all in seeing the royal mage leave. Rumor had already spread that Oze Lobern had been drinking and causing a scene, so most people were rather glad to see the back of him.
And then there was one girl standing rooted in place, watching the departing carriage as if she could not bring herself to move.
“Winter Bell…… no, Priest……”
“…….”
Seherbian gave no response at all. He didn’t even look at the girl; he simply turned coldly away, boarded the carriage, and shut the window.
Clack!
The lowered window, now hiding even his face, only made it feel more cruel. Kisha bit down on her lip and bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much. For bringing back winter and saving the people. I’ll treasure the chance you gave us and live my life to the fullest.”
“…….”
“Goodbye…….”
Kisha spoke her farewell weakly to the solid wall of the carriage. Naturally, no answer came back.
Clatter.
The royal-bred horses kicked out with vigor, and the carriage glided forward at speed, leaving the garden behind. Once the procession had gone, the onlookers scattered as well, chatting among themselves.
There was much to do. They had to check on the patients recovering thanks to the winter butterfly tree blossoms the priest had brought, and they also had to prepare clothes and dry firewood for the coming winter.
Kisha stood alone in the place where only dust remained, listening to the carriage sounds growing farther and farther away.
Sniff.
Her nose ran without shame. She swallowed the mucus back, but when tears began to fall in little drops after that, she had no idea how to wipe them away, and in the end she just lowered her head and cried.
“Hic, sob……”
She had not expected them to part like this.
Winter Bell really was different from the rumors.
The guardian dragon of winter was said to have a heart as cold as ice, and to delight in killing every living thing in sight and cursing them. That was why no one sought him out, unlike the other guardian dragons.
But the Winter Bell Kisha met was a benevolent dragon.
When I said we needed winter, he brought winter back. He even dried flower petals for medicine and delivered them himself.
Thinking of the priest with his dark crimson hair, who had looked troubled by the sudden guest yet still offered her a warm cup of tea, Kisha came to a thought.
Maybe the Winter Bell people called ruthless simply did not know how to live among humans.
I shouldn’t have let him go like that.
Oze Lobern had come under orders from the royal family. The reason he was looking for Winter Bell was obvious enough, given how he looked down on Hartney Village’s poor facilities and sick people. He had surely come to covet Winter Bell’s power.
But even knowing it was a trap, Kisha could not interfere recklessly in front of a high-ranking noble—an elite royal mage, no less.
At that moment, she was not merely a twelve-year-old girl, but the acting lord representing the Hartney Territory.
Mother, did I really do the right thing?
Kisha clenched her fists. Tears kept dripping onto the back of her red, frost-numb hands.
She was frustrated. Angry at herself for being unable to do anything.
Perhaps Winter Bell had turned cold and looked away in disgust from such a cowardly girl, too.
Just then—
“What are you doing?”
A languid voice pierced Kisha’s ear.
She was so startled she jerked her head up at once.
“Win, ter Bell……?”
“That’s a problem. You were calling me Priest just fine until yesterday. Are you not going to help me anymore?”
His voice, the one she had longed to hear so badly, was coming from behind her. Kisha slowly turned around.
Seherbian, looking as lazy and unremarkable as ever, was strolling out of the manor with a yawn.
“If the others find out, it’ll be a pain, so help me out here.”
“B-bwaaaah!”
“Oh? You’re crying?”
Kisha burst into loud sobs on the spot. When Seherbian approached in flustered confusion, she grabbed his collar and hiccupped through her tears.
“I-I really thought, hic, that you’d gotten tired of me and left……”
“Me? Get tired of Kisha? Why?”
Seherbian tilted his head slightly, not understanding a single word of what she was saying. Then he narrowed his eyes and asked again.
“You honestly thought I went off with that dark-hearted bastard?”
“Hic.”
Kisha had no answer, only a tear-streaked face, but that was answer enough.
Seherbian let out a long breath.
I may not know humans very well, but still.
He felt oddly embarrassed, thinking he must have looked absurdly gullible.
“Even so, I’m not naive enough to miss the scheme that even a twelve-year-old girl could see through.”
“B-but you were clearly in the carriage just now……”
“Ah. That was my subordinate, not me.”
Seherbian said it while absentmindedly trying to sling his liquor staff over his shoulder, only to remember belatedly that his hand was empty and give a helpless little shake instead.
“That one’s a specialist in shapeshifting.”
The liquor staff made from a branch of the World Tree, Mimir.
It could freely transform into any form, and he used it often.
Even this time, Mimir had neatly fooled the royal mage, and once the carriage had gone far enough away, it would return on its own. Mimir was a clever little staff that could be summoned anywhere its master was.
Besides, unless circumstances were like this, Mimir would never leave its master alone. All the guardian dragons who had received branches of the World Tree from the gods were the same.
So sometimes it’s a little much, honestly.
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