We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak
Feigning sleep is dangerous
We spent time leisurely until the next day.
During that time, we talked about the various things that happened while Mistral was away.
The warrior’s trial, the eerie Black Dragon Knight Order, the Dragon Peak Alliance, and the travel, as well as Laira’s awakening.
Mistral had a general understanding of what happened during the warrior’s trial. However, there were things that even Mistral didn’t know, which he learned when we told him directly, and he listened with great interest.
And then, I received a fist-bump from Mistral once more.
“Try to be a little more considerate of yourself.”
“Oof, it was involuntary.”
Mistral sighed as if to say “What a pain,” but a gentle smile played on his lips.
“Regarding Dragon Peak, let’s leave it to others for now. My priority will be to stabilize Laira’s abilities. If she remains unstable and we don’t know when her powers will activate, she could be feared even more by the dragon race than before.”
“Does that mean we’re going to see Grandpa!”
“That’s right. It’s been a while for me too, and I worry he might be lonely.”
Unless we have specific business, we always go to the Moss Garden in the morning. However, we hadn’t been there since our trip until yesterday.
Mistral also didn’t seem to have gone during her bridal training, so I wondered if Old Man Sleigsta was feeling lonely right now.
We immediately prepared souvenirs and snacks for our trip and decided to go to the Moss Garden.
Snacks are essential for training. After all, they are the ultimate weapon to keep Priscilla-chan placid while we are earnestly training.
Once we were ready, we used Sleigsta’s spatial transfer dragon art from the Dragon Mausoleum as usual.
By the way, when we cross over to the Dragon Mausoleum, we are usually carried by the Water Dragon, who has a very gentle personality and carries us without any fear, even to Laira.
Enveloped in a golden light, it was so bright that I closed my eyes. Then, as the light subsided and I opened my eyes, we were in our usual place, just like always.
Far overhead, branches of the Spirit Tree, exuding a divine presence, formed a thick canopy. Underfoot, a moss carpet, perpetually lush and green throughout the year, spread out, and the surroundings were embraced by a forest of ancient trees, each likely well over several hundred years old. The air, clearer than anywhere else, filled our lungs, and just breathing it in gave us a sacred feeling, as if our hearts had been purified.
And in the center of the wide Moss Garden, there was, as always, a single black hill.
“Grandpa, good morning.”
“Old Man, it’s been a while.”
“Good morning, Lord Sleigsta.”
“Good morning.”
“Meow.”
“Great-Grandpa, are you sleeping?”
Seeing Old Man Sleigsta remaining silent with his eyes closed, showing no reaction to our greetings, Priscilla-chan tilted her head.
“My, my, this is troublesome.”
“Indeed.”
“Besides, Grandpa, you’re the one who sent us here using dragon art, so playing dead won’t work, right?”
Mistral, I, and Ruiseine exchanged bitter smiles, thinking, “They always try to do something, don’t they?”
Only Laira seemed a little unaccustomed to it, looking at us with a troubled expression.
“Laira.”
Called by Mistral, Laira tilted her head.
“There’s a perfect practice subject right here. Unleash your abilities with all your might towards the Old Man.”
Oh, how convenient.
“If you order him to ‘wake up,’ and he wakes up, it’s a success!”
“Good luck, Miss Laira!”
With our encouragement, Laira clenched her fists in front of her chest and braced herself.
“I’ll do my best!”
Saying that, Laira moved in front of Old Man Sleigsta’s face.
Priscilla-chan, watching with great interest, was adorable as she imitated Laira, clenching her fists in front of her chest.
Upon reaching Old Man Sleigsta’s eyes, Laira took a deep breath.
“Wake up!”
she shouted.
“…”
No reaction.
But Laira didn’t give up and shouted again and again.
“Wake up!”
“Open your eyes!”
“Lord Sleigsta, wake up!”
“Please wake up!”
She shouted at Old Man Sleigsta many times, but there was no response.
Even though her abilities had awakened, Laira’s powers were still unstable with an extremely low activation rate. We could only watch from a distance and cheer on Laira’s efforts.
Laira, understanding the instability of her powers, did not give up and repeatedly sent commands to Old Man Sleigsta.
However, no reaction.
Laira, her throat getting hoarse and her energy depleted, turned back to us with a troubled look.
“What should I do…”
Just as Laira was about to say something to us.
We, watching from a distance, noticed.
Ah! Laira is in danger!
Old Man Sleigsta, who had been motionless until then, opened his eyes slightly and looked down at Laira with golden eyes.
And then.
“ACHOOOoooo!”
“Kyaaaaaa…!”
Laira was blown deep into the ancient forest by the explosive force of Old Man Sleigsta’s sneeze and the flood-like snot.
“Grandpa, what are you doing?!”
“Old Man!”
Mistral and I rushed up to Old Man Sleigsta, while Ruiseine, flustered, ran into the ancient forest chasing after the blown-away Laira.
Priscilla-chan and Nimia were rolling on the ground, laughing merrily.
“Good grief, you finally come after so long, and what are you all doing?”
“No, no, no, that’s our line!”
“Old Man, that was too much.”
Old Man Sleigsta sighed in exasperation, but we were the ones who wanted to sigh. As always, what kind of prank is this?
Perhaps because it had been so long since our last visit, Mistral didn’t resort to using a blunt weapon this time. But under normal circumstances, it would have been quite right for him to be punished.
And Old Man Sleigsta, despite knowing this, why does he always do such childish pranks?
“He was probably lonely because no one visited, nyaan.”
“Little girl, you’ve become quite outspoken.”
Nimia, under Old Man Sleigsta’s gaze, hurriedly hid behind Priscilla-chan.
“So, you were lonely, Grandpa.”
“You’re surprisingly susceptible to loneliness, Old Man.”
Facing our teasing gazes, Old Man Sleigsta denied it, thinking, “What nonsense are they talking about?”
“When you weren’t here, Cornelia used to visit. I wasn’t lonely.”
I didn’t know that. I never imagined that Mistral’s mother, Cornelia, had been taking care of him in our absence.
Certainly, Cornelia is supposed to be the previous caretaker.
Mistral also looked surprised by this unexpected information.
“Mother never said anything.”
“It wasn’t worth mentioning.”
For a mother, helping her child when they are swamped is probably a given.
My mother also always helped me, even when she was busy, so I understood very well.
I was reminded of my mother’s greatness once again.
“So, what was that little girl doing earlier?”
Old Man Sleigsta said, gazing toward the ancient forest where Laira had disappeared after being blown away.
“Well…”
In place of the absent Laira, I conveyed that her abilities had awakened.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Sleigsta closed his eyes and seemed to fall into thought.
Meanwhile, Laira, looking exhausted, returned and placed her hand on Ruiseine’s shoulder.
“Welcome back.”
“W-welcome back.”
Normally, she should have been rejuvenated by bathing in a flood of snot and experiencing no injuries. However, Laira seemed to have suffered a mental blow.
She slumped down beside me, looking utterly exhausted.
It’s understandable. If I were to be covered head to toe in a flood of snot, even if I knew the effects were beneficial, I would suffer mental damage. Especially since Laira isn’t used to Old Man Sleigsta’s pranks yet. Her appearance might be glossy, but her inner self must be in turmoil.
As I gently stroked Laira’s head with concern, she blushed and looked embarrassed. But she didn’t refuse.
“Um, can you pet Priscilla’s head too?”
Priscilla-chan hopped over.
“Sure, sure.”
After petting Priscilla-chan, next in line was Laira, and then, for some reason, there was a queue.
“Next is Nyan-nyan.”
“My, my, then I shall too.”
“Can’t be helped, I guess.”
I’m not sure what “can’t be helped” meant, but even Mistral lined up.
Why does everyone want me to pet their heads? Confused, I stroked everyone’s heads in order.
And after petting Mistral’s head a lot, Old Man Sleigsta finally opened his eyes. Then, he fixed his sharp golden eyes on Laira.
“You are forbidden to return to Dragon Peak.”
“What?!”
We were surprised by Old Man Sleigsta’s unexpected words.
“If your powers have awakened, so be it. However, we cannot allow you to return to Dragon Peak, where the dragon race lives, while your abilities are unstable.”
“Then, what should we do?”
To Mistral’s question, Old Man Sleigsta purred.
“That being said, we cannot have you living here either. Therefore, it would be best to stay with the long-eared people.”
I wondered if it was okay to unilaterally involve the long-eared people, but it seemed they would take the proper steps.
“First, Mistral, you shall go to their village and obtain permission for your stay. This is for two people.”
“Me too?!”
Ruiseine was also astonished by this unexpected statement.
“Indeed. Your Dragon Eye will be useful. Read the dragon energy of the young girl who is sitting slumped and provide advice and assistance.”
I see. We knew that Laira’s abilities were related to dragon energy. When her power of control was activated, Laira’s dragon energy would explode. And her eyes, which shone with a blue light at that time, contained strong dragon energy. Furthermore, considering how thoroughly Old Man Sleigsta had been instructing Laira on handling dragon energy, it was understandable.
And Ruiseine’s ability is the Dragon Eye, which deciphers dragon energy. By observing Laira with her Dragon Eye, she would be able to find and correct instabilities and mistakes in the flow of her dragon energy, and thus assist her.
It also serves as training for Ruiseine’s Dragon Eye, so this might be a good thing.
“But if it’s for two people, does that mean Mistral and I can’t stay in the long-eared people’s village?”
“You shall live in Dragon Peak. I hear things are quite chaotic over there. If you, who are involved, also leave Dragon Peak, you won’t be able to grasp the situation.”
Come to think of it, that’s true. If no one stays in Dragon Peak, it would be problematic if something happened.
Ruiseine and Laira protested with puffed-out cheeks, but there was no other way. We managed to calm them down, and decided to live separately until Laira’s powers stabilized.
However, even though we would be staying in different places, we planned to meet at the Moss Garden every day.
And then, Mistral and I were to go to the long-eared people’s village first to request permission.
Why isn’t Priscilla-chan going with us to the long-eared people’s village?
It’s because she cried and fussed!
She seemed to realize that if she returned to the village now, she wouldn’t be able to come back to the Moss Garden today.
Priscilla-chan, who still wanted to play, promised to stay at the Moss Garden until evening and then return with Ruiseine and the others.
Since Ruiseine and Laira were staying overnight in the long-eared people’s village, it wouldn’t do for Priscilla-chan, who was of the same race, to stay in Dragon Peak.
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