We Live in Dragon’s Peak – Chapter 263

We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.

Those close to dragons and humans.

Wings as large and elegant as a wyvern’s. Smooth scales that reflect light beautifully. Claws sharp enough to slice through anything.

Mistral transformed into a dragon while still in human form.

With a light flap of her wings, a wind of dragon energy arose. Scales, a golden color close to silver like her hair, covered her wing bones and the backs of her hands. Seeing this, I noticed three scales shimmering on her cheekbones beneath her eyes.

Mistral looked at me once with vertically slit dragon pupils and wore a sad expression.

Then, before I could say anything, she averted her gaze and flapped toward Orta.

A gust of wind passed through, and everything began to move, leaving me behind.

“Kuhahaha. Don’t think that ugly form is yours alone anymore!”

Orta roared.

And then, he transformed.

Just like Mistral, wings sprouted from his back, and his eyes changed into dragon pupils.

However, there were several crucial differences from Mistral.

His wings were bent at an unnatural angle. Sharp scales, seemingly capable of inflicting wounds upon touch, covered his cheeks and forehead, and a thick, menacing tail grew.

From the sides of his head, two strangely twisted horns pierced through his black leather helmet.

Orta, now in a form even closer to a dragon than Mistral, blocked Mistral’s aerial attack with his Dragon God Sword.

The moment the jet-black one-handed club and the golden Dragon God Sword clashed, a fierce shockwave erupted, blowing away debris.

Orta and Mistral then soared into the sky, their weapons clashing violently.

With every clang of their weapons. With every sweep of Orta’s tail and every parry by Mistral’s bare hands. Each time their shadows overlapped, shockwaves were generated and swept through the deep valley.

However, the shockwaves did not reach me, who could only watch in stunned silence from the ground. I was protected by a powerful barrier.

Orta’s Dragon God Sword shone blindingly golden. A beam of dragon arts light emanated from the blade, slashing across the sky and causing the valley to collapse.

Mistral gracefully flapped her wings to evade, then closed in on Orta, trailing a golden and silver tail of light. As they intertwined in the air, four consecutive explosions echoed, scattering bluish-white light blades in all directions. Orta was blown away and fell deep into the valley. The valley caved in with a tremor, burying the spot where Orta had fallen.

Before I could understand what was happening, Mistral had repelled Orta.

Mistral flapped her wings high in the air, gazing at where Orta had fallen and the collapsed, deep valley. A crimson shadow swept past at high speed.

It was Revalia.

As Revalia briefly passed through the combat zone, several sparkling particles fell from her back.

The moment Mistral saw these objects, she flew towards me in a panic.

“Ah!” Before I could even shout.

A blinding flash of light stole my vision. A moment later, a deafening roar and vibrations and impacts strong enough to make standing impossible passed through my location and engulfed the valley.

With my vision obscured by painfully bright light, I could only stand there. Then, a gentle presence enveloped me, protecting me from the approaching destruction.

A sensation of my body lifting into the air spread throughout me. The feeling of the ground, which I had been firmly treading despite my dizziness, disappeared, and a sense of weightlessness enveloped me.

Blinking multiple times, my vision gradually returned, showing me the sky.

I was flying through the air, cradled in Mistral’s arms.

Mistral held me tightly so I wouldn’t fall. Beside my face was Mistral’s profile, three scales shimmering on her cheeks, her pupils slit vertically and gleaming. Her beautiful hair, a golden color close to silver like her scales, brushed against my cheek in the wind.

I clung to Mistral so I wouldn’t fall. I wrapped my arms around her waist, careful not to interfere with the wings flapping on her back. Surprised by how soft Mistral’s body felt, I shifted my gaze to the ground.

The valley was gone. In its place, a desolate wasteland stretched out, deeply and widely gouged. It looked like a lake that had been drained of water.

“What power is this! It’s beyond comprehension. There’s no need to confirm. I don’t want to confirm. It was definitely the work of the Twin Princesses.”

“But I didn’t have time to hold back,” I told myself, and returned my gaze to the sky.

Mistral, flapping her wings, headed towards Revalia, who was hovering in the air, and behind her, the women and young dragons waved enthusiastically at us.

Mistral reached Revalia and slowly landed on her back.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

But even after landing, Mistral didn’t let me go, repeating her apologies with her head bowed. Her face was filled with a sorrow so profound it seemed she might cry, and she repeated “I’m sorry” over and over.

Everyone who had greeted us with waves of their hands seemed speechless at Mistral’s appearance and expression.

I loosened my arms from her waist. Then, I gently touched the scales shimmering on Mistral’s cheeks with my fingertips. They felt smooth. Different from Mistral’s smooth, beautiful, and soft skin. They felt like the high-quality scales of noble dragons.

Next, I gently placed my hand on the beautiful wings that sprouted from Mistral’s back. Mistral shuddered, and her wings trembled in response. Like a small child afraid of their parents’ scolding, Mistral drew her wings in slightly, her body stiffening.

The wings, like her cheeks, had a hard, smooth texture.

“Hey, Mistral.”

I smiled at Mistral, who still wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“Is this what you were keeping a secret? What Orta was talking about?”

Mistral squeezed her eyes shut and remained rigidly frozen, clinging to me.

“Oh, it wasn’t a big deal at all!”

In return for her lack of reaction, I hugged Mistral tightly.

“Why are you scared? It’s very beautiful.”

“…Aren’t you scared? Isn’t it creepy?”

I pressed my cheek against Mistral’s profile, still not looking at me.

“I’m not scared, and it’s not creepy. I’ll say it again, it’s very beautiful.”

Honestly, I thought it was beautiful. The scales on her hands and cheeks were lustrous, and the wings on her back were elegant. I could only gaze at them in awe, feeling no sense of revulsion at all.

“Mistral, no matter what form you take, you’re a beautiful woman.”

“…It’s a different form from yours? I’m not human?”

“Even with wings, Mistral, you are human. Look, winged races and heavenly beings also have wings.”

“Aren’t the scales gross?”

“I’m already used to seeing them on Revalia and the others. Even if you have them, I think they’re beautiful.”

“My eyes are different from yours too. Aren’t they frightening?”

Mistral opened her tightly closed eyes and looked at me with apprehension. Her pupils were indeed vertically slit like a dragon’s.

Finally able to meet her gaze, I smiled at Mistral.

“Well, you being angry and scolding me in your usual state is scarier, you know?”

“…Mph.”

Did she get the joke? Mistral finally lowered the corners of her eyes slightly and leaned against me, hugging me again.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I was saved by you.”

The barrier that had protected me from the intense shockwaves and explosions wasn’t Asher’s protection, but Mistral’s. While fighting Orta, Mistral had protected me with a barrier. Even during the Twin Princesses’ bombardment, she had protected me by putting herself in harm’s way. I should be the one thanking her; there’s no need for Mistral to apologize.

“I deceived you.”

“Was I deceived about something?”

“I kept this form a secret.”

I looked again at the wings and scales that sprouted from Mistral’s back.

“I knew?”

“Eh?”

At my words, Mistral looked up in surprise.

“Everyone knew.”

“Everyone had noticed.”

“It wasn’t a big secret.”

“We expected it, didn’t we?”

“Um, Priscilla knew everything, you know?”

The women watching our interaction from a distance sighed with a “what are they even talking about?” kind of atmosphere.

“Why…”

Mistral looked bewildered, perhaps because our reactions were unexpected.

“Because, you see?”

We looked at each other and then laughed.

“Information about the Northern Dragon Race causing trouble is transmitted too quickly.”

“Even on flat land, information transmission takes time, yet you gathered information across Dragon Peak in just a few days.”

“On the rugged Dragon Peak, contacting tribes by walking would be exhausting.”

“We found the movements of Ascres, Cornelia, and the others suspicious.”

Everyone voiced their past doubts.

Like everyone else, I had found the range of movement of the Dragon Race people strange. Honestly, I had expected this right from the start when I entered Dragon Peak in early spring. While traveling through Dragon Peak, there were paths with ledges I couldn’t reach even with full jumps. There were side caves far above sheer rock faces that seemed unreachable by jumping. Old, unused suspension bridges spanned deep ravines. As Ruiseine said, Mistral’s parents, who were searching for Lady Laza far away, came and went in a short period. Also, when I was attacked by illegal miners in the Dragon Forest, Mistral fell from the sky, didn’t she?

“Frankly, I thought it was impossible to travel walking through such a rugged Dragon Peak. And since everyone was coming and going without us seeing them, or at odd hours like midnight or early morning, I suspected from the beginning that there was a secret to their movement.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with my thoughts.

“But, I speculated that if the Dragon Race could move freely through the air, they could travel regardless of the mountain’s steepness or distance, just like wyverns. Also, I’ve always wondered what makes someone a Dragon Race, you know?”

Their appearance is the same as humans. The only difference is that humans wield sorcery, and Dragon Race wields dragon arts. Yet, what is the definitive difference between the races? When I considered that. If they are a race close to dragons, then they are called Dragon Race. I somehow felt it was like that.

“You humans underestimate us too much. It was within our expectations.”

“There are many fairy tales in the human world.”

“Even if the Dragon Race had dragon-like wings and scales, no one would be surprised.”

“Rather, we were surprised at first that they had the same appearance as humans.”

As everyone casually confessed, Mistral gradually relaxed her tensed body. Then, with a surprised expression, she looked at everyone and then at me.

“I thought the secret Mistral was holding was much, much scarier. When the secret was revealed, I was afraid it might be so significant that it would shake our trust, but honestly, Orta wasn’t that impressive either. To make such a secret about a Dragon Race so dramatic.”

When I badmouthed Orta, a golden beam of light attacked from far behind.

“Nyah!” Nimia’s barrier scattered the beam.

“Nwahh. That’s dangerous!”

“Full evacuation!”

As expected, even with the power of that explosion, Orta wasn’t dead. The beam was fired from beneath the surface of the valley, which had collapsed and transformed into a large crater.

“Even if they’re not dead, they shouldn’t be able to move freely yet. Lady Revalia, please leave this place quickly!”

“Hmph. I don’t need you to tell me.”

Revalia flapped her wings roughly and left the deep valley where Yoaf Village once stood.

“Elnea, I’m truly sorry.”

“No, don’t worry about it. But no more secrets, okay?”

“Yeah…”

Mistral nodded firmly and leaned against me again, hugging me. Leaving the combat zone, Mistral’s dragon energy calmed down. Then, the scales that had appeared on her cheeks and the backs of her hands disappeared, returning to her back. Oh, the back of her clothes was torn, revealing her beautiful bare skin. Mistral, sensing my gaze, hid her face shyly.

“That’s strange. Mistral isn’t embarrassed to show me her scantily clad appearance, but she’s embarrassed by her transformed form?”

Mistral’s different aura was cute, so I hugged her tightly.

“Forbidden!”

“That’s unfair!”

“Elnea-kun, that’s Mistral’s trap!”

“Elnea-kun, you’re being fooled by Mistral!”

Ah, I forgot everyone else was here!

The sweet world between me and Mistral instantly collapsed. Everyone tried to pull Mistral away from me. For some reason, Mistral clung to me tightly, resisting and refusing to let go. Suddenly, Revalia’s back turned into a battlefield. Priscilla-chan and Nimia, taking advantage of the chaos, clung to my lower body. Fiorina and Rim joined, saying it was unfair, and Mistral and I were jostled about.

Before I knew it, the lingering tension of the desperate battle had disappeared, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief to have returned to our usual noisy scene.

“Hey! Stop messing around on my back! I’ll throw you off!”

“That won’t do. I’ve stuck everyone here with my dragon arts.”

“Hmph. You little brat, remember this.”

Revalia flew south over Dragon Peak at high speed. There was no presence of anyone pursuing us.

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