We live in the Foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Princess of Awe
I quietly listened to Laira’s fairy tale.
Before I knew it, Mistral, Ruiseine, Priscilla-chan, and even Nimia were all quietly listening to Laira’s fairy tale.
But, this fairy tale…
When I looked at Mistral, she smiled sadly and shook her head.
“I’m so sorry. It was a boring fairy tale. I should have made it a brighter story.”
After finishing her story, Laira closed her eyes and looked down for a moment, but when she looked up again, she showed us a smile as if something had been cleared.
“Um, what happened to the princess after that?”
Priscilla-chan, who apparently hadn’t grasped the true meaning of the fairy tale, pulled on Laira’s hem and urged her to continue. Well, a small child wouldn’t understand the true meaning of this fairy tale, and they don’t need to know.
“Well, let me see.”
Laira thought for a moment.
“The princess eventually reached the mountain where the wyverns lived. And there, she met a wonderful prince. The princess forgot all the sad things of the past, and together with the prince, lived happily ever after.”
She said, smiling at Priscilla-chan.
“Wha—!?”
“Laira, I object—!”
However, Mistral and Ruiseine’s faces contorted instead.
“I don’t accept the ending.”
“That’s right. Just the two of them lived happily, what does that mean!?”
“Hahahaha!”
Cornered by Mistral and Ruiseine, Laira was pushed to the very edge of the handrail.
“Uh, it’s a fairy tale, you know.”
Despite the intensity of their gazes, Laira tried to play it off.
Eeek. Hostility is filling our place of relaxation!
While Laira tried to somehow get through the situation with the two hostile figures at the edge of the relaxation area, Priscilla-chan was smiling happily with Nimia.
“That’s great. The princess became happy.”
“Meow. But I’m sure she’s in mortal danger right now, meow.”
Priscilla-chan, not listening to Nimia’s muttering, was the only one cheerful in this place.
“Laira, it seems I need to lecture you again.”
“Ahhhh, Elnea-sama, please help me!”
Laira’s scream echoed in the relaxation area as she was forcibly dragged into the darkness of the night by Ruiseine.
“Honestly. No room for complacency.”
Muttering, Mistral came to my side. Priscilla-chan had started happily gazing at the starry sky with Nimia, and before I knew it, a space was created just for me and Mistral.
“Hey, Mistral.”
“Hm?”
“That fairy tale Laira just told, it means that, right?”
“Yes, I suppose it does.”
Although we didn’t say it in explicit words, I, Mistral, and probably Ruiseine, all shared the same thought.
“She faced herself by telling that fairy tale.”
“The fact that she told it to us means she’s sorted out her feelings, maybe?”
“More than that, she probably didn’t want to worry us, who saved her life, by hiding things. She’s a very honest and good child.”
Mistral looked in the direction where Ruiseine and Laira had disappeared into the night.
“By putting it in the form of a fairy tale, she separated her darkness from her heart, I think.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
Whatever the form, I’m happy that Laira shared a story. I believe that such stories are not shared without a strong bond.
“But, there’s something I’m a little curious about.”
“What is it?”
Mistral looked at me with an expression that said, “Go on.” Hmm, I get the impression that Mistral knows everything and is just watching over me, the child. But I guess that’s because I’m still truly a child. Although I felt a little annoyed at being treated like a child, I voiced my question.
“Laira, no. Why was the princess hated by the dragon race?”
Even though she was born into a family that had controlled dragons for generations, why was it that only the princess was hated by dragons?
As I tilted my head, Mistral smiled.
“That’s right. That is the princess’s mystery and the root of her darkness. Until she dispels that, the princess in the fairy tale cannot attain true happiness.”
“Then, that’s the challenge from now on.”
“Fufufu, not necessarily. The answer might be surprisingly simple.”
Mistral gave a meaningful smile and walked towards Priscilla-chan.
“Come on, Priscilla. It’s time to go home. It’s time to sleep.”
“The stars are beautiful?”
“Yes. But tonight is over.”
“Nyan is sleepy, nyan.”
Mistral tookPriscilla-chan’s hand and turned to leave. I followed them, not understanding the meaning of Mistral’s smile, and returned to the house we had borrowed.
“So, old man. Can you please tell us the real story now?”
With that said, Mistral cornered Sleigsta, who was feigning sleep.
The day after we saw the starry sky, we left the village where we had been staying for treatment. And, after passing through Mistral’s village, we arrived at the Moss Garden. The reason was to seek advice from Sleigsta, who had seemed to sense something since his first meeting with Laira.
“Grandpa, you can’t pretend to be asleep. Besides, you were the one who cast the Transferring Art on us at the Dragon Mausoleum to bring us here, so you can’t be asleep, can you?”
If you keep playing dumb, Mistral’s blunt weapon will fly at you, you know? As if reading my thoughts, Sleigsta nervously moved the fingers of his forelegs.
“Old man?”
At Mistral’s voice, Sleigsta’s face twitched slightly.
“Oh, dear. Mist, please don’t hold something so dangerous.”
At Ruiseine’s words, Sleigsta trembled.
“Is he finally dead? Shall I give him a good hit to check?”
“Nuwah, wait, wait. What terrible things are you saying?”
Startled by Mistral’s outrageous remark, Sleigsta hurriedly opened his eyes.
“Mistral. Grandpa seems to have just woken up, maybe I should give his fingertip a wake-up strike just in case?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Hmph, what do you think I am! I am—AGGHHHH!”
Sleigsta couldn’t finish his words. Mistral’s unquestionable blow exploded on Sleigsta’s fingertip.
Sleigsta, it’s your own fault again today.
Everyone gathered at the Moss Garden burst into laughter at the interaction with Sleigsta.
“Mistral. You’re becoming more violent every day. Elnea, I worry about your future.”
Mistral glared in response to Sleigsta’s grumbling.
“Great-Grandpa, I’ll pet you. Laira, let’s go too.”
“Eh!? Ah—”
Priscilla-chan didn’t need Laira’s consent. In an instant, Priscilla-chan, Nimia on top of her head, and Laira were on Sleigsta’s head. Laira, after vomiting initially, had experienced spatial jumps with Priscilla-chan several times and no longer felt sick. Petting Sleigsta’s head, following Priscilla-chan’s example, Laira looked very happy.
“And so.”
While chuckling at the actions of the young girl and the girl on Sleigsta’s head, Mistral returned to the main topic.
“Old man, you’ve realized her true identity, haven’t you?”
“Her” referred to Laira.
“Hmph.”
Sleigsta rumbled in his throat.
“You.”
Sleigsta looked at Mistral.
“You had talent from a young age. And you worked hard and earned the title of Dragon Princess with self-awareness.”
Mistral nodded.
“And you.”
Sleigsta looked at me this time.
“You have talent and obtained the title of Dragon King after a harsh trial.”
I nodded deeply. I still remember the hardships of the days spent at the northern end of the capital city where Jiludo lived. It was truly a harsh trial.
“You two obtained what you deserved through your efforts. Anyone who can see can easily understand it. Regardless of their appearance, behavior, or actions, what they gained from their efforts and the trials they overcame unconsciously emanates from their bodies. But, what about this?”
Sleigsta then turned his attention to Laira, who was now listening attentively on top of his head.
“Aren’t those who possess immense power from birth terrifying? Aren’t those who have immeasurable power without self-awareness unsettling? Aren’t you afraid of the power that those who don’t know how to control or wield it possess unconsciously?”
When he said that, I thought about it. For example, if I had obtained the Dragon Jewel without any training. The Dragon Jewel I contain manifests power according to my emotions. If I get angry, it shows explosive power according to my anger. But if I hadn’t trained to handle dragon energy, I wouldn’t have been able to control this power. And eventually, I would have caused it to go berserk.
If Ruiseine, who possessed the Dragon Eye, had seen it at that time. Seeing the dragon energy I unconsciously unleashed indiscriminately based on my emotions, and feeling the immense power I contained that could go berserk at any moment, wouldn’t Ruiseine see me as a dangerous person, a terrifying person?
And the Dragon Race feels the dragon energy of others even more sensitively than humans. Even without the Dragon Eye, their sharpened senses would react to the opponent’s dragon energy. Would I or other dragons approach someone who might do anything, someone dangerous whose power could go out of control at any moment? No, I would definitely not want to approach them. If they approached me, I might run away in fear.
“Precisely, everyone will think what you are thinking.”
“In conclusion,”
I looked at Laira on top of Sleigsta’s head.
“You will need training to recognize and control your power.”
At Sleigsta’s words, Laira straightened her posture while still seated and bowed deeply.
“Please guide and discipline me.”
Thus, Laira’s rigorous training began in earnest.
Or so I thought.
“Before that, may I have a moment?”
Ruiseine raised her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
I wondered if she had found something inconsistent with the current conversation, but Ruiseine brought up a different issue, as befitting a Miko.
“I believe training is very important, but before that, Laira must receive the temple’s protective amulet.”
“Protective amulet?”
Everyone except Sleigsta and Ruiseine tilted their heads at the unfamiliar word.
“Yes. From now on, the protective amulet will be a very important item for Laira. This time, Laira suffered a near-fatal serious injury. And I healed it with sorcery.”
I suddenly remembered. I learned it in a lecture when I was attending school.
“Healing magic is one of the miracles bestowed by the Goddess who heals wounds. However, it is not omnipotent.”
Mistral and the others listened silently to Ruiseine’s words.
“Strong healing magic actually has drawbacks. Those who receive magic to heal severe wounds invariably have their mental defenses weakened.”
“Mental defenses?”
To Laira’s question. Ruiseine nodded.
“Yes. Mental defenses are the self-protective consciousness when interfered with by others. However, it doesn’t mean you become easily swayed by others’ opinions or fall in love more easily.”
Ruiseine smiled once to reassure Laira.
“For example, it means your resistance to the Demon Race’s charm magic and curse magic’s mental interference becomes extremely weak.”
Ah, I see. Laira relaxed slightly. However, I think this is actually a serious problem. We are currently getting involved in conflicts with the Demon Race. And demons will definitely exploit their opponent’s weaknesses. If Laira continues to show weakness to mental interference, not only Laira but also we will be in danger. After all, if Laira were to be charmed and attack us, we would be helpless.
“Since Mist, who is of the Dragon Race, is also here, I will explain a little more about sorcery.”
Unlike humans, Ruiseine explained in a way that even Mistral, who had no knowledge of religious matters or sorcery, could understand. Healing magic is also a technique that forcefully intervenes in the opponent’s mental and physical state. It intervenes and forcefully heals wounds, ignoring the opponent’s physical abilities and natural healing power. In other words, the person being healed is being forcefully interfered with by the Miko. Receiving high-level sorcery means being strongly affected by the Miko. And when external interference is strong and wounds heal. Unconsciously, the misconception that good things happen when interfered with arises, and the heart weakens to the point of tolerating interference from others. This is what Ruiseine revealed with her specialized Miko knowledge. Therefore, Laira must always wear a protective amulet from now on to protect herself from interference.
When Ruiseine explained that “it’s difficult when you become weak to mental interference,” Laira also became tense.
“In that case, I will cherish that protective amulet. Thank you for your concern.”
Saying that, Laira held out both her hands. She was likely gesturing to receive the protective amulet, but… Even if she holds out her hands on Sleigsta’s head, Ruiseine can’t reach that far on her own. Besides.
“Oh, dear, this is troublesome.”
Ruiseine looked up at Laira with a genuinely troubled expression.
“The protective amulet is very expensive, so much so that ordinary people cannot afford it.”
“Eh—?”
Laira, with her hands still outstretched, froze.
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