We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Flowing stars and tears.
“That way! Elnea fled that way!”
“The Wyvern Knight Order, under the command of Earl Yugra and Prince Friel, must coordinate with the Dragon Race of Paradise to establish a blockade!”
“Kyaa!”
What happened!?
“An apology has been granted by the Water Spirit King who sits in the spring!”
“Elnea, be taken away!”
“Are you going to play a prank with all your might?”
“Gyaa!”
What did I misunderstand!?
“Head Miko, be prepared!”
“No, I’m actually against it? But it’s an order from the head of the Variety Family, you see?”
“Fufufufu, I’m used to chasing after Madrine!”
“Muki! What do you mean, you’re listening to mother’s orders over mine?”
Before I knew it, Madrine and I were being chased by everyone in Paradise!
“Kyaa, big sister, please wait for me!”
“I will seriously offer Elnea-kun as a sacrifice to the spirits!”
“Both of you!?”
Everyone in Paradise coordinated to corner me and Madrine. And wouldn’t you know it, Mary and Istericia were mixed in amongst them!
“Madrine, if it’s come to this, we have no choice but to get serious too! Unleash your full dragon arts…”
“Elnea-kun, would you forfeit the trial you imposed on yourself for something like this?”
Madrine smiled amusingly at my panic.
She must find it strange that I didn’t use dragon arts when confronting Alice or the Ruler of the North Sea, yet I’m ending this trial with such a chaotic commotion.
But this situation is…!
From the sky, the Wyvern Knight Order, led by Yugra, and Paradise’s wyverns and winged dragons were chasing us in coordination. On the ground, humans, spirits, and earth dragons were united in narrowing the encirclement.
It’s truly a desperate situation, isn’t it?
Huh!?
I’m in this mess because of my own doing, and if I abandon the trial because of it, am I a complete fool? No, no, no. Am I willing to lose to Mary in a trial match because I held back and couldn’t protect Madrine? No, I cannot!
“Elnea-kun, it’s not a “no,” you know?”
“Sefina!?”
Putting aside the question of how she can read my mind. Madrine and I, cornered, had fled behind the wooden temple. There was no escape left from here. Sefina, who appeared by opening the back door of the temple, spoke to me as I was seriously contemplating our next move.
“Muki! Sefina, are you going to interfere with our romantic escape, Madrine and Elnea-kun’s?”
“I wouldn’t mind that, you know?”
Sefina said with a slightly mischievous smile.
“But unfortunately, the person who called for you asked me to guide you.”
“Summoning me and Madrine? It’s not a trap?”
“Fufufu, you’re so suspicious? But it’s not. Come, this way.”
Sefina then led me and Madrine into the temple.
“Everyone, the culprits have entered the temple!”
“Wahaha! You thought a disturbance inside the temple was forbidden?”
“But however!!”
“A decree has been issued by Leonora-sama that tonight is a night of revelry!”
“For us spirits, human rules don’t matter in the first place.”
“Did you think we dragons would falter at such a thing!?”
Before the back door closed, the shouts of humans, spirits, and dragons reached us from behind, and Madrine and I screamed. Sefina, as always, smiled coolly.
Madrine and I followed Sefina, walking through the temple corridors. Only the minimum lights were lit in the temple corridors at midnight. The quiet hallway, illuminated by the dim magical lights, stretched far ahead, glimpsed through Sefina.
I wonder, who is this person who summoned us, Madrine and me? Is it Leonora-sama? Or perhaps the King?
As I pondered this question, Sefina opened a door at the end of the corridor and led us outside.
“Is this the courtyard?”
Why are we in the courtyard? With a tilted head, Madrine and I followed Sefina outside. And the moment we saw the person who had been waiting for us under the moonlight, Madrine started running.
“Master!”
Madrine ran from my side without hesitation and rushed towards the figure standing in the center of the temple courtyard. I followed her and greeted the person.
“It’s been a while, Linze-sama.”
The person who had asked Sefina to summon us, Madrine and me, was Linze-sama, Madrine’s master and the former Head Miko. And she is the grandmother to whom I owe a great debt, the one who is currently acting as Head Miko in Madrine’s stead while she is away from the Great Shrine of the Yorttenitos Kingdom.
“Huh? But when Leonora-sama and the others arrived, Linze-sama wasn’t there?”
“I am of this age, you see? The Wyvern Knights, considering the long journey, allowed me to fly at a leisurely pace.”
“I see!”
Linze-sama is over sixty years old. It must be difficult to come to Paradise, near the eastern border of the Yorttenitos Kingdom, even with the help of wyvern wings. That’s why she arrived in Paradise later than the first group of Leonora-sama and the King, flying with many breaks.
“Fufu, it’s quite a lively night again tonight, Madrine.”
“Yes!”
Madrine, who is unrestrained and sometimes temperamental, becomes a perfectly polite and modest miko in front of her master. Sefina laughed freely at Madrine’s posture as she replied to Linze-sama. Linze-sama gazed at Madrine kindly. As the surroundings of the temple grew increasingly noisy, a quiet time flowed only in the courtyard.
“You’ve grown so much, Madrine.”
“Yes,” Madrine replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Madrine had met Linze-sama last year. However, it wasn’t as if Madrine had suddenly grown since then. Linze-sama, as Madrine’s master, had watched over Madrine since she was a child. Perhaps in Linze-sama’s eyes, the young Madrine and the current Madrine were superimposed.
“At first, you were quite a tomboy. However, even with the great responsibility as the heir of the Variety Family, you diligently pursued your training more than anyone else.”
Winter had also arrived in Paradise. A cold wind blew through the courtyard. Madrine, as if to show concern for the elderly Linze-sama, enclosed Linze-sama’s hand in her own to warm it. I know that such unconscious kindness is Madrine’s true charm.
“You trained more than anyone else, and sometimes snuck out for adventures with the Twin Princesses. Fufu. How many times were we scolded by me or Leonora?”
“Countless times, Master. I remember all of them.”
Madrine had also made a name for herself as an adventurer alongside Yufilia and Nina. However, she never forgot her duty and responsibility as a miko. And through countless rigorous training and accumulated experience, Madrine, at a young age, was appointed to the position of Head Miko of the Yorttenitos Kingdom. Even surpassing Leonora-sama, the current head of the Variety Family.
“However, there is one thing that neither I nor Leonora could teach you.”
“What could that be?” Madrine tilted her head, genuinely curious. Madrine must have learned countless knowledge, etiquette, and ways of life from Linze-sama. And yet, Linze-sama said there was one thing she failed to teach Madrine. What could it be? I also wondered and waited for Linze-sama’s next words. Linze-sama looked at us, and smiled gently.
“That is, love.”
“Hah,” Madrine’s eyes widened, and then she shyly lowered them.
“The catalyst for people’s greatest growth is when they know and nurture love. Madrine, you have grown greatly by fostering the love that I could not teach you, with your own strength.”
“…Yes. I learned of love and was able to grow significantly.”
“Found you!” Spirits, dragons, and many people rushed into the courtyard. However, seeing us sharing a quiet moment in the center of the courtyard, everyone suppressed their boisterousness. Those who had chased us and finally chose silence gazed at the center of the courtyard.
“Madrine. You and Elnea-kun have overcome the Goddess’s trial, a trial of unimaginable difficulty, with outstanding results.”
Linze-sama knows, too. The task imposed on us as the Goddess’s messengers: to become envoys of the Dragon God and transcend our lifespan.
“You have already transcended the vessel of the Yorttenitos Kingdom’s Head Miko and become a distant being, haven’t you?”
Linze-sama gazed at Madrine as if she were shining. Madrine shook her head at Linze-sama’s gaze.
“No, I am me. Regardless of the position of Head Miko or envoy of the Dragon God, I will always be your disciple, Linze-sama.”
“You say such kind words,” Linze-sama said with another gentle smile.
“However, you are already someone who has embarked on a new path. Isn’t that right, Madrine?”
Madrine, sensing what Linze-sama meant, showed a briefly sad expression. But then, with her usual smile, she made a request to me.
“Elnea-kun, to Ares-chan.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
I understood too. When I called for Ares-chan, Ares-chan produced a grand scepter from a mysterious space and handed it to Madrine. This is the grand scepter that signifies the Head Miko of the Yorttenitos Kingdom. I normally couldn’t carry it around casually, so Ares-chan had been keeping it safe. Madrine held the grand scepter with both hands and looked at it intently once. Then, holding the grand scepter horizontally, Madrine knelt before Linze-sama.
“Madrine Variety hereby returns the grand scepter of the Head Miko to the Great Shrine and relinquishes her position.”
Madrine slowly offered the grand scepter to Linze-sama. Linze-sama solemnly accepted the grand scepter from Madrine.
“As Acting Head Miko, I, Linze Yumnephysis, shall receive the return of the grand scepter. Madrine, thank you for your long service as Head Miko.”
The grand scepter left Madrine’s hands. Madrine bowed her head and shed large tears. The pride of being the Head Miko of the Yorttenitos Kingdom. The responsibilities she had carried. And the future ahead. Madrine quietly shed tears at the weight of the grand scepter lost from her hands. Linze-sama handed the grand scepter she had received from Madrine to Leonora-sama, who had silently approached her side.
“Madrine.”
Linze-sama gently took the hands of Madrine, who was kneeling and crying with her head bowed.
“You who have become an envoy of the Dragon God are no longer a miko bound to the Yorttenitos Kingdom. From now on, travel the world and teach love to those who live in the world, as you have come to know love.”
This meant that Madrine would now become a shooting star.
“Shooting star Madrine. No, that’s right. You are loved by all the people of the Yorttenitos Kingdom, and you are a great shooting star who has overcome the Goddess’s trial. Therefore, you are a shooting star of the Full Moon Flower.”
At Linze-sama’s words, Madrine, who had been shedding large tears, looked up in surprise.
“Shooting star of the Full Moon Flower! I, as the representative miko of the Yorttenitos Kingdom, shall approve your marriage to Elnea-kun.”
Ilia-sama, who was behind Leonora-sama, presented a brand-new miko’s attire. Just as Ruiseine became a shooting star, new miko attire had been prepared for when Madrine became a shooting star.
“Try it on,” as Linze-sama instructed, Madrine put on the new miko’s attire. The sleeves, hem, and the fabric from the waist down were thinly embroidered with flowers. Even at a glance, dozens of types of flowers were embroidered. However, the colors were very subdued so as not to lose the modesty befitting miko attire.
“Linze-sama… Mother, Aunt!”
Madrine, shedding more tears from emotion, was smiled at by Leonora-sama and Ilia-sama.
“I’m sorry for informing you so late? Madrine, I approve your marriage on behalf of the Variety Family.”
“I am confident that you and Elnea-kun will make a wonderful couple!”
Madrine and I bowed deeply together. I am very happy. To know that Madrine was loved so deeply. And to be permitted to take Madrine as my wife.
“Shooting star of the Full Moon Flower, Madrine!”
“Envoy of the Dragon God, Elnea!”
It was then. A great cheer erupted from everyone around. Those who had been watching quietly until now suddenly shouted our names and the atmosphere became lively at once! Responding to the loud cheers, I shouted.
“The trial of protecting Madrine is a lifelong trial that will continue from now on! I swear here that I will absolutely protect Madrine!”
My declaration further amplified the cheers, and it became the most exciting moment of the day.
