We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
My husband-to-be training is just a bonus.
Has it really ended?
In the sky, my companions and I, along with the winged dragonkin, watched. On the ground, the dragonkin who lived on the earth, along with Mistral and the Dragon Kings, quietly gazed at the Shōjō’s nest.
As winter loomed, only the sound of the hellish blazing fire, thundering in a deep tone, echoed endlessly in Dragon Peak.
Entrusting myself to Lyra, I continued to watch the coiling flames in silence.
However, there was no change that could stir our anxiety.
The Shōjō’s territory, as stable as ever, occupied a corner of Dragon Peak.
I wonder if Orta is suffering the agony of being burned and the pain of uncontrollable regeneration right now, in the midst of that fire.
No screams or fighting noises were heard.
All the commotion was drowned out by the roar of the crimson flames that shook space.
We couldn’t save Orta.
He didn’t want to be saved, and not everything goes as planned.
This was the limit of what we could achieve.
Orta will likely continue to experience despair in the flames of purgatory. However, I don’t sympathize.
Sympathy should be directed towards those who lost their families and companions, caught up in Orta’s dark emotions.
While listening to the eerie sound that shook space, I continued to stare at the vortex of flames where Orta had sunk.
Then, Lily descended slowly from above the clouds.
“Waaah. I was worried!”
“I was scared!”
Protected on Lily’s back, Fiorina and Rim arrived on Revalia’s back, crossing the sky.
“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
I gently petted Fiorina and Rim.
Fiorina chirped and nudged my nose.
“The Shōjō was scary, wasn’t it?”
Lily shook her head, expressing her fear.
“That hand made of fire… is that the Shōjō?”
“No, that’s the Shōjō’s technique. I heard the main body isn’t that large.”
“I see…”
A little while ago, I fought a baboon in the Dragon Forest. Perhaps the Shōjō’s true form is also a monster like that ape.
Its fearsomeness must be immeasurable.
At any rate.
The Shōjō may be focused on Orta, whom it dragged into its nest. For now, there’s no sign of hostility directed outwards.
I glanced once more at the Shōjō’s territory and asked Revalia to descend.
Revalia, perhaps exhausted, readily agreed to my request and descended to the ground where Mistral and the others were waiting.
Lily, with Ruilala on her back, also descended slowly.
“Elnea!”
Still entrusting myself to Lyra, I dismounted from Revalia’s back. Mistral rushed towards me first, followed by Ruiseine and the Twin Princesses. Ruiseine had recovered my White Sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, which I had let go of. However, the first to hug me were Priscilla-chan, who had used spatial jump, and Nimia, who was on top of her head.
“Waaah,” Priscilla-chan wailed on my chest.
“I’m sorry. You were scared, weren’t you?”
It wasn’t a place for a small girl to be. Still, Priscilla-chan had tried her best to support us.
I gently stroked Priscilla-chan’s head as she clung to me, sobbing.
Though I was held tightly, the wounds on my shoulders and chest no longer hurt.
“No, that’s not it, nyan. Priscilla is crying because Elnea-onii-chan was almost taken away by the Shōjō, nyan.”
“Is that so? I’m sorry for worrying you. But I’m alright.”
She was crying not out of fear of the Shōjō or Orta, but out of worry for me.
Is that typical of Priscilla-chan?
In any case, I’d made Priscilla-chan go through a lot.
I held Priscilla-chan close, letting her cry to her heart’s content.
Mistral and the others, who had run towards me, were at a loss due to Priscilla-chan’s outpouring of tears. They surrounded me, smiling wryly and saying they had been worried too.
“I’m sorry,” I replied honestly. Then, I happened to look at Mistral.
I remembered Orta’s final thoughts.
That was Orta’s last desperate act, realizing he couldn’t escape the Shōjō.
He intended to shake my heart, sow doubt and suspicion towards the dragonkin and Mistral. And if possible, he might have wanted to turn me into another Orta.
The lifespan difference between me, a human, and Mistral, a dragonkin. I had vaguely understood it, but being explicitly pointed out by someone else made me truly aware of it.
The average lifespan of humans is about fifty years. Some may live to sixty or seventy if healthy, but death from illness or accidents is common.
Conversely, dragonkin have long lifespans. Their typical lifespan is around two hundred years. However, some, like Jiludo, live over three hundred years.
Mistral is two years older than me. So, in about fifty years, I might no longer be by Mistral’s side.
But Mistral’s life will still go on.
Long-lived races like dragonkin and Mimicho stop changing in appearance after reaching adulthood. They only begin to age slowly as they approach the end of their lifespan.
In fifty years, Mistral will likely still have the same appearance as she does now.
Mistral, a beautiful woman. Kind and dependable, always considering those around her.
It’s natural that such a beauty wouldn’t be left alone.
And in her long life, Mistral might meet someone important again.
Thinking of this, my chest ached a little.
“Elnea?”
Mistral, sensing something from my expression, looked at me with worried eyes.
I smiled at her.
“Hey, Mistral. Even when I’m an old man, will you still cherish me?”
My sudden words made Mistral tilt her head. She then narrowed her eyes and smiled gently.
“Silly. Of course.”
“What are you saying at a time like this?” she muttered, laughing.
Then, for some reason, all the women started laughing.
Furthermore, Zan and the Dragon Kings, who had been watching, sighed in exasperation.
“Why did you suddenly say something like that?”
When Mistral asked, I told her about Orta’s final thoughts.
“That Orta, saying such unnecessary things at the end…”
Sleny scratched his head with a troubled look. Thin hair was growing on his scalp.
“What about you?”
Zan asked.
What about me? He meant, could I continue to love Mistral forever.
Me, growing old. Mistral, her appearance unchanged.
Well, I don’t even need to think about it.
Men, no matter their age, like young women!
As I grinned, Zan punched me squarely in the head.
“This is why human men’s husband training is too easy.”
“Husband training?”
Zan’s words, filled with exasperation, made the Dragon Kings burst into hearty laughter.
On the other hand, the women smiled wryly.
What does that mean?
What is husband training?
I seemed to be the only one who didn’t understand their changes or Zan’s words.
As I tilted my head alone, Ruiseine explained.
“Elnea-kun. Do you remember when Mist went out for bride training?”
“Yes, I remember.”
Mistral had left our side for several days, going to some village for bride training.
However, I still don’t know what that bride training entailed. All the women seem to know, and for some reason, it was kept a secret from me.
Perhaps Zan’s husband training and Mistral’s bride training have something in common?
When I asked if this was the case, I was told, “You got it.”
“You already know that there are several trials and customs when a dragonkin and a human are to be united, right?”
“Yes. I just learned about it recently. It’s about whether you can accept the dragonkin’s transformation.”
“Besides that, there are differences in lifestyle and ideology.”
Zan added.
“You handled it casually, but there were actually trials like getting along with dragonkin, living together, and gaining their recognition in some way.”
“Really!?”
This is the first I’m hearing of it!
However, looking back on this past year, I must admit that I seem to have handled things like what Zan mentioned quite smoothly.
“And understanding the difference in lifespan was just as important as the trial of accepting transformation.”
“That’s why dragonkin first enter bride or groom training. It’s a custom.”
Mistral continued, picking up where Ruiseine left off.
“Dragonkin, who live longer than humans, inevitably bear the role of watching their partners pass away.”
If one were to marry an already elderly dragonkin, it would be different, but normally, the one watching would be the long-lived dragonkin.
“Dragonkin are first tested to see if they can endure that fact. The village I went to for my bride training had a dragonkin wife and a human husband. It was the dragonkin wife seeing off her human husband.”
“I thought it was training in cooking and general housekeeping.”
“Fufufu, no. And so, I witnessed their final moments. A spouse weakened by old age. The loss of a beloved life. The final moment that will surely come in our future. By staying close to our predecessors and experiencing a similar situation in advance, we are tested on whether we can endure the sorrow and pain. That is what bride training is.”
“Mistral, you went through such a trial without my knowledge. That’s why you seemed a little sad when you returned.”
“Yes, that’s right. But I overcame it.”
Mistral said with a laugh.
“So, I will always be by your side. Rest assured.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Although shy about everyone’s eyes on me, I honestly expressed my gratitude.
“Well then, will I also have to undergo trials like Mistral from now on?”
“No. You’ve already overcome that trial, haven’t you?”
“Meaning?”
“It’s easy for human men, isn’t it?”
For some reason, Mistral gave me a pointed look.
“Human men grow old. But their partners remain the same forever. Where does any worry or trouble arise from that?”
Zan scoffed.
“Indeed, there’s no trouble! …Ouch!”
Lyra, who was supporting me, pinched me as I answered immediately.
“Elnea-sama?”
“Elnea-kun, your thoughts are impure!”
“Elnea-kun, love me even when I’m an old woman?”
“Elnea-kun, don’t abandon me even when I’m an old woman?”
“Um, um. Will you still play with me when I’m an old woman?”
“No-no. Priscilla-chan will live longer than Mistral?”
Priscilla-chan’s earnest plea while crying stole the entire atmosphere of the room.
“You all knew about Mistral’s bride training, didn’t you?”
“Yes. We had no concerns about Elnea-kun in this matter, so we were worried about Mist.”
“Eh? I wasn’t worried about!”
“Because you’re Elnea-kun.”
Saying this, everyone looked at each other and laughed.
I felt a complex mix of being trusted or being mistaken for a womanizer or something else!
By the way, the reason why the contents of the customary bride training were kept secret from me was because my husband training wasn’t finished, and they needed to confirm Mistral’s progress.
While Mistral overcame it easily, some people struggle for a year or even several years. And some eventually cannot bear it and separate. Therefore, even in a case like Mistral’s, they observe for about a year.
For men like me, since most people overcome it easily as Zan said, it’s customary to deal with it later.
“Now, let’s stop the idle chat and return to the village.”
At the suggestion of Sleny, who also acted as a representative for the Dragon Kings, we remembered our current situation.
Looking around, the wall of purgatorial flames still stood unchanged nearby.
To think we’ve been conversing in such a place.
…It’s my fault, isn’t it?
We moved onto Revalia’s back.
The Dragon Kings would return on their own.
The volunteers from the Dragon Peak Alliance would monitor the Shōjō’s nest just in case, so we accepted their offer and returned.
Lily, who had been quietly observing, took off first.
Ruilala, riding on Lily’s back, had not interfered with the commotion at Dragon Peak at all, as she had declared from the beginning.
Revalia flapped her wings fiercely, carrying us on her back.
Just then.
“Hey, you lot!”
Two men appeared from deep within the forest, their faces contorted with rage.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten our existence?!”
The two men were Gashark and Berrig.
…We had!
Click the heart to easily express your support. (Login required)
Support Log in if you have an account Learn more about the reading experience on KakuYomu
