Ｓｉｄｅ: Prim
I’ve already given Hunter’s Master Kaname the letters from Emperor Reinhardt and Sierra, and Remy, Lidia and Ludia’s friend, has been assigned to handle us in Valentia, and we’ve completed our assessments.
I can’t help but feel like Remy’s soul has been a little shaken, but I think she’ll be fine.
After all, I don’t think we’ll be in Dragoonia for more than two weeks at most.
“We’re done with our business at the Hunter’s Guild, so let’s return to the embassy. We might have received word from the royal castle.”
“That’s right. Even if we go to our parents’ house, any plans from the royal castle will take priority.”
Mana and Lidia said that, and I realized it too.
Yamato probably wants to go and greet Lidia and Ludia’s parents quickly, but this trip to Valentia is because we were invited by the Holy Mother Dragon, so there’s a possibility we’ve received communication from them as well.
So, when we returned to the embassy, as expected, we had received word from the royal castle.
“Tomorrow afternoon. That’s earlier than I expected, but it’s convenient for us.”
“That’s right. We can visit Lidia and Ludia’s parents in the morning, and we’ll be able to meet the Holy Mother Dragon that much sooner, which will make it easier to plan our subsequent schedule.”
As Yuri said, the sooner we have our audience, the better for us.
There’s no need to rush back to Feel, but if we don’t know when the audience will be, even our hunting trips will be limited to nearby areas, and Yuria’s contract extension might have to be done in Dragoonia.
“So, the plan is to go to Lidia and Ludia’s parents’ house later to confirm the schedule, and then pay our formal respects tomorrow morning.”
“That’s right. I’m getting nervous too.”
“I understand that feeling completely.”
Mana makes a plan for tomorrow, and Ludia agrees. But since we’re going back to their parents as a betrothed couple, it’s natural to be nervous, isn’t it?
Mina also agrees, and I can totally relate.
Although, in my case, I was proposed to right after the duel and married immediately, so I didn’t have time to feel anything like that.
“About that, is it alright?”
Ambassador Rosalie interjected, but what could it be?
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes. It’s very difficult to say, but apparently, Lord Freyas was on vacation today.”
No way!
On vacation means he was home all day, right?
And yet, we went hunting since this morning…
This is bad…
Yamato is sweating bullets, I can see him.
Even though we didn’t know, we should have checked in the morning instead of putting it off. This is completely our fault.
“I see. Father was off today.”
“That’s fine. And speaking of which, Madam Rosalie, wasn’t he perhaps on vacation since yesterday and just returned from Mount Wilnes?”
“Indeed. He apparently went to see his wife and daughter, who is entrusted to them on Mount Wilnes.”
Ah, I see.
Lidia and Ludia have an older sister, a Dragonian, who was entrusted to Mount Wilnes shortly after birth.
Dragonians have a different growth rate than ordinary humans, so it’s problematic in populated areas, which is why they do that. Apparently, their two older sisters look about six years old.
They are apparently 27 years old in real age, so their growth rate is about one-fifth, isn’t it?
“Therefore, I took the liberty of informing them that we would pay our respects later.”
That’s wonderful.
Even we were flustered, and Yamato must have been completely frozen and didn’t know what to do. That consideration is really appreciated.
“Thank you, Rosalie. You’ve been a great help.”
“I am honored.”
Mana and Yuri are also smiling with relief, so she really did a great job.
I’ll have to thank her later, somehow.
Yamato will probably pay out of his own pocket.
“So, about what time can we visit?”
“Yes, I told them around 4 o’clock. It will be soon, but I also mentioned that it might be slightly delayed due to your hunting trip, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Four o’clock means, at 3:50 now… in ten minutes!
No, she’s even thought about the time, and the Haiwind residence is less than ten minutes from here, so if we hurry, we can make it.
“In that case, it should be alright even if we’re a little late.”
“Yeah. Besides, my father and the others should have known we were heading to Dragoonia, and the wyverns probably flew because of the commotion in Etrada. If you calculate backwards from that, they should be able to predict when we’ll arrive.”
I understand what Lidia and Ludia are trying to say, but they went to see their older sister, and if we had stopped to hunt something along the way, we might not have arrived in Dragoonia yet. Isn’t that going a bit too far?
“In any case, we should hurry. Fortunately, all of Yamato’s wives and fiancées are here.”
“As Rika-sama says. We’ll be a little late for the appointed time, but it’s still better to hurry.”
Rika and Mina also think we should hurry, and I agree.
Yamato himself hasn’t recovered yet, but we’ll have to somehow force him to.
I guess I’ll just have to throw him into the beast carriage and hope for the best during the short trip.
Ｓｉｄｅ: Yamato
This is bad, my thoughts are all over the place.
I’m going to pay my respects to Lidia and Ludia’s father and mother, who apparently took time off from the Dragonic Knights today and yesterday, and my mind is completely blank, I don’t know what’s going on.
It’s a situation where we’ve clearly been discourteous, right?
“Calm down, Yamato. Even if you went to their house this morning, father and mother weren’t there.”
“That’s right. And since they’re coming now, there’s no particular problem.”
Ludia and Lidia say that, but for me, it doesn’t change the fact that I haven’t had any time to prepare mentally, and my heart is pounding as if it’s about to jump out of my mouth.
“We’ve arrived. This is our home.”
We’ve already arrived.
It’s a residence that’s a little larger than a typical home, but not quite a mansion, located less than ten minutes away by beast carriage from the Amister Embassy. This is Lidia and Ludia’s family home.
“Now that we’re here, you have to commit.”
“We’ll support you.”
Prim and Flam are right, but…
“Sorry, let me take a deep breath.”
“I suppose that’s acceptable.”
Rika forces a wry smile, but we’re also stopping by Memoria, the capital of the Marquisate of Amatista, on the way back, so I’ll have to greet Rika’s mother there too.
Right, it’s about Lidia and Ludia now.
“Huuu… haaa… Huuu… haaa…”
“Calmed down?”
“A little. Perhaps it’s because it’s not the first time I’ve done this, though it might sound strange.”
When I proposed to Prim, it was at the same time as meeting her mother, Apricot. I was also relieved right after the duel, so I wasn’t that nervous.
Flam was at the village chief of Prada Village, but since it wasn’t their parents, it felt more like a report than a greeting.
So, the first time I properly paid my respects was to Mina’s parents.
I can say that was the most nerve-wracking moment of my life, and this is comparable to that…
No, I can’t keep this up forever. Now that we’re here, we have to go, so I have to make up my mind.
“Sorry, you waited.”
“Understood. Well then, let’s go.”
Ludia rings the magical device on the door.
I saw it at Feel too, but it’s a common magical device at Helios Orb that can notify us of visitors from anywhere in the house.
It’s called a Guest Bell, right?
“Yes, yes, who… Oh, Lidia! Ludia too! Welcome home!”
“We’re home, Mother Taleya.”
The person who came out was a Dragonian with gray hair cut to shoulder length.
Taleya… so this is another mother, and she was a water dragon, wasn’t she?
“Mother Taleya, where are Father and Mother?”
“They’re here. We heard you arrived in Dragoonia, but we just got back ourselves, so we were planning to greet you tomorrow. You came here instead.”
“We intended to come here from the start.”
“Yes. More importantly, may we come inside?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Welcome, everyone, for coming from afar. It’s a small place, but please come in.”
Guided by Taleya, we were led into the living room.
“Please wait here. I’ll prepare some drinks right away. Also, I’ll call Freyas and Grace.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Looking at Taleya again, I realized that Dragonians really don’t have wings.
They say they can grow them using Dragon Transformation Magic, and conversely, they can completely erase their tails, but it seems to be the same for Dragonewts.
Lidia and Ludia often use Human Transformation Magic because their wings and tails get in the way when they sleep, so it’s probably similar for Dragonians.
Dragonians are a Dragon race and a true human race, but at the same time, they are also a Dragon species.
However, they are not monsters, so they do not possess magic stones.
They normally look like Dragonewts without wings, but once in combat, they use the race-specific Bestowed Magic, Dragon Transformation Magic, to grow wings, extend their tails, and amplify their magic power.
Complete dragonization is also possible, but this is a last resort even for Dragonians, as it consumes their stamina and magic power to the limit, often causing them to collapse after battle.
The dragonized form varies from person to person, but it is said that they can hunt high-ranking monsters individually, and if they have evolved, they can even contend with An or Catastrophe Species.
Their lifespan is exceptionally long compared to other races, around 500 years, regardless of whether they have evolved or not.
On the other hand, their growth is slow, and they are apparently even more difficult to conceive than ordinary people. There are only about 200 Dragonians, and since they are a female-only race, giving birth is the top priority.
The period during which they can conceive is quite long, from around 85 to 200 years old, which corresponds to ordinary people from 17 to 40 years old, so from a Dragonian perspective, it seems short.
Furthermore, the biggest problem is that once they conceive, they can never conceive again.
Dragonians can only give birth once in their lifetime, and the resulting child will become either the same as the male partner or a Dragonian. Therefore, even if they give birth, the number of Dragonians doesn’t necessarily increase.
However, twins are apparently common, and sometimes twins of the father’s race are born, like Lidia and Ludia, so it’s unpredictable until the child is born.
Dragonians evolve into Hydragonians and Ancient Dragonian, and at the same time, their dragonized forms also evolve, making the Library notation very confusing.
Let’s take a fire dragon Dragonian as an example. Fire dragons have three species: Fire Dragonian, Red Dragonian, and Ruby Dragonian. These correspond to the Normal Class, High Class, and Ancient Class species, respectively.
Strictly speaking, there are quite a few types for Normal Class, such as Ignis Dragonian, Flame Dragonian, and Blaze Dragonian. It seems they are integrated into Red Dragonian when they evolve to High Class.
Although they are a species of the Dragon race called Dragonian, to me, they feel like Dragons that can transform into humans. Well, it doesn’t matter either way.
“I apologize for the wait.”
While I was lost in thought about Dragonians and trying to escape reality, one male Dragonewt and two female Dragonians entered the living room.
One of the women is Taleya, and she’s bringing tea.
So, the other woman must be Lidia and Ludia’s mother, Grace the wind dragon Dragonian, and the man must be their father, Freyas.
“Welcome back, Lidia, Ludia. Welcome, His Highness Manalease, Her Highness Yuriana, Lady Primrose. We apologize for the small space, but we welcome you. I am Freyas Haiwind, Deputy Commander of the Valentia Royal Guard Dragon Knights, and the father of Lidia and Ludia.”
“I am Grace Haiwind, mother of Lidia and Ludia. Once again, welcome to Valentia.”
I must say, Freyas doesn’t give off an image of being strong and robust, but rather of a refined gentleman more suited to a civil official.
Nevertheless, he is the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard Dragon Knights, holds the title of Dragon Lord, which is equivalent to a Knight-Baron in Amister, and is also known as the strongest Dragon Knight in Valentia. It would be fatal to judge him by his appearance.
“You must be Lord Yamato Hydrangea Mikami. My daughters are always in your care. And I have heard from His Majesty the Dragon King that you are here to report your engagement to them.”
“Y-yes! I apologize for the late greeting, but I am Yamato Hydrangea Mikami, who has become engaged to Lidia and Ludia! Today’s auspicious day…” No!
We’re returning from a hunt, it’s evening, the Haiwind family just returned from Mount Wilnes, and above all, “auspicious day” refers to the Rokuyo calendar like Taian or Tomobiki, so it makes no sense!
“Yamato, you’re panicking too much.”
“That’s right. Please calm down a little.”
“R-right…”
I was suddenly put on the spot and completely lost my composure.
If Lidia and Ludia hadn’t spoken to me, I don’t even know what I was going to say. Let me calm down a bit.
“Um, first, I would like to make a report. I… I proposed to Lidia and Ludia, and they accepted. And though it’s late, I came to Valentia to greet you, their parents, and I apologize for the time it has taken.”
I feel like I’m saying something nonsensical again, but I don’t care.
I don’t have the composure for anything else, and at this point, all I can do is show my sincerity.
“Oh, my. Thank you for your thoughtful greeting.”
Grace bows her head with a smile, and Taleya follows suit.
“We apologize for not being here when you so kindly came to visit.”
No, you weren’t. We were out hunting.
If I open my mouth, I can only see a future where I dig my own grave, so I’d appreciate it if you could change the subject quickly.
“I have heard from His Majesty the New King of Amister that a personal letter was delivered to His Majesty the Dragon King, and that His Highness Manalease, Her Highness Yuriana, Marquis Frederica, Miss Mina, daughter of the Associate Order’s Master, Miss Flam, and Lady Primrose, the Duke’s daughter and a Winged Tribe from Baliente, are also engaged or married. Our daughters, perhaps due to our mistakes in raising them, became Twin Swordsmen and Martial Artists who are Hunters. We were worried that no one would want to take them as brides. But if Lord Yamato is willing to take both of them, we can finally rest easy.”
“So?”
“Please take good care of our daughters, Lord Yamato.”
“Y-yes!”
“Ah, thank you, Father!”
“Congratulations, Lidia, Ludia.”
“Thank you, Mother Taleya!”
“Lidia, Ludia, be happy, alright?”
“Yes! Thank you, Mother!”
Seeing Lidia and Ludia embrace Grace and Taleya, I felt all my strength drain away.
We’ve accomplished one of the purposes of coming to Valentia, and I can finally relax.
No, I haven’t!
I have to give them that!
“Ah, excuse me. Also, this.”
I hurriedly took out a sword from my storage.
“A sword? It’s beautifully decorated, but what is this?”
“I am engaged to Lidia and Ludia, but since their father is a Hydragonewt like them, I thought there might be various inconveniences, so I asked a friend to forge this for me.”
He seems to have a contract with a Wyvern as a familiar, but in case of emergency, Taleya or Grace would dragonize and fly into battle on their backs. I heard that Taleya and Grace haven’t evolved, so I only asked Freyas for the sword. Nevertheless, it’s made of Jade Silver, and since the original material is said to be Magic Silver, I think this sword will be fine.
“Jade Silver? I think I’ve heard of it…”
“It’s a new technology that was announced at the Amister Crafter’s Guild about a month ago. It should have been announced in Valentia as well, so I believe that’s what it is.”
“Ah, I remember now. It’s a metal that can withstand the magic of even Ancient Class, let alone High Class!”
I heard rumors that it was announced during our trip, but I hadn’t heard that it had been implemented, so I was worried about how it was going. But judging by this, it seems to have been properly announced.
“Yes. Jade Silver is an alloy that is superior to Magic Silver, so you should be able to use it with the same feel as before. It’s not a token of our engagement, but please accept it.”
Actually, I wanted it forged with Lapis Lazuli, but it was out of stock, and afterwards, I commissioned Yuri and Carol, so I felt hesitant to ask for it to be reforged. I think I’ll wait until Lapis Lazuli can be made public, if possible.
“That is most appreciated. This new alloy technology was something that was being debated in the royal castle, wasn’t it? Whether to prioritize the knights or to provide it preferentially to hunters, and what criteria to use for provision, the discussions have yet to be settled.”
Amister also faced similar problems, so it’s likely that Torencia and Alegria are facing the same issues. Torencia, in particular, frequently faces invasions from Solemne, so they need to prioritize the knights. However, since the Queen’s great-grandmother is a High Lamia, a P-rank closest to Ancient Class, they can’t neglect the hunters either.
“In Amister’s case, they prioritize the Order’s Guild due to the issues with Retisencia and Baliente, but they still provide weapons forged by crafters personally to High Hunters. So, even if not everyone has received them yet, some must be using them. In fact, Holy Grave, Trial Hearts, and Riot Flag are using them, and Valentia’s Hunter Oceanlight Falcon has also obtained one.”
“That might be a good approach. Oh, my apologies. His Highness Manalease, Lady Primrose, Miss Mina, Miss Flam, belated congratulations on your marriages. Her Highness Yuriana, Marquis Frederica, congratulations on your engagements as well. I hope you will forgive our daughters if they cause you any trouble.”
“There’s no need to worry about that. While I am of royal blood and Prim is from a ducal family, we are now just Hunters. There is no distinction in social standing.”
“It’s reassuring to hear you say that. Then, I apologize, but I have preparations for tomorrow, so I will excuse myself.”
With that, Freyas left the living room, his back looking slightly small. He’s marrying off his daughters all at once, so he must feel a sense of loneliness.
“Yamato-san, are you alright?”
“I’ll manage. Honestly, fighting An or Catastrophe Species is much easier.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“But Yamato-san, you were cool.”
Mina and Flam spoke to me, who was half-out of my mind. This is truly easier than fighting An or Catastrophe Species.
