We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
To the sky.
Exhausted, we lay on our backs, reflecting on our battle with Lady Faruna.
However, there was one individual who was still full of energy.
“Umm, Priscilla wants to play?”
“Grumble…”
That’s right.
It was the innocent Priscilla-chan, the princess.
Priscilla-chan climbed onto me as I lay on my back and pounded my chest, complaining she was bored. But we were too tired to do anything, and it seemed we would need a little more time to recover our stamina.
Miffed by the disloyal retainer’s attitude, Priscilla-chan puffed out her cheeks and unceremoniously condemned us.
“It’s not fair that only you guys get to play!”
“I’m sorry…”
We didn’t intend to play.
From Priscilla-chan’s perspective, it probably looked like we were having all the fun.
“Rest is good, but the next challenge awaits,” Grandpa said.
“Even you, Grandpa… We’re tired from sparring with Lady Faruna.”
“However, sparring with the Sword Saint was just one trial; surely there’s more to come?”
“…Huh!?”
That’s right.
Lady Faruna had said, “I’ll go first,” and sparred with us. This meant the trials were still ongoing?
Damn it!
We’ve used up all our strength fighting Lady Faruna, and we have no energy left!
“Muu, Priscilla wants to play too.”
Priscilla-chan got off me with a dissatisfied look and stomped away, clearly upset. Where was she going…?
“You know, let’s play with Priscilla?”
“Fufufu, that’s right. We promised to play at the venue, didn’t we?”
It was another woman with purple hair.
Those who had been watching the battle between Lady Faruna and us smiled at Priscilla-chan’s adorable request. The woman with two horns growing from her head, her purple hair trailing on the ground, also smiled at Priscilla-chan’s childish whim.
“Hey, Priscilla.”
Still, this person was rather enigmatic. Mistral quickly got up and went to retrieve Priscilla-chan.
“No, no!”
“Don’t be so selfish. I’ll play with you later.”
“But I want to play now?”
“This princess prefers a kind dragon lord to a disloyal king, nyaan.”
Nimia, who had been quietly on Priscilla-chan’s head, seemed to read my thoughts and said something strange. Was she referring to me as the disloyal king? Why would a king be in a submissive position to a princess? And what was a dragon lord?
Mistral, who had retrieved Priscilla-chan, also tilted his head at Nimia’s words.
“Fufufu, we must grant the princess’s wish.”
Ignoring our confusion, the horned woman gently stroked Priscilla-chan’s head.
“Um, but there are still trials remaining?”
“That’s right. Well then, let’s fulfill the princess’s wish and undergo the trials simultaneously.”
“Ehh! We… we haven’t recovered our stamina yet…”
Honestly, we didn’t have the energy for another match. We had sparred with Lady Faruna first. Micheila, the horned woman, and the Dreaming Shrine Maiden – at least these three were on par with Lady Faruna. Considering that, there were at least three more trials awaiting us, right? If the horned woman played with Priscilla-chan while another trial was underway, the next one would be Micheila or the Dreaming Shrine Maiden, perhaps? We needed to be especially careful with Micheila and Nazaria’s family. Considering what happened in the Forbidden Territory, if we weren’t in perfect condition, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.
“Fufufu, I’m already done.”
“I’ve also finished assessing Elnea. So, only this child remains.”
“Eh!?”
Along with the question of when they had finished, I looked at the horned woman pointed out by Micheila and was bewildered. The horned woman was going to play with Priscilla-chan now, right? But if she was the remaining trial…
“P-Please wait a moment.”
“My stamina has not recovered.”
“Fighting consecutively is impossible.”
“I really can’t do another match.”
“That’s right, it would be difficult for me too.”
“Actually, I too…”
If the horned woman was on the same level as Lady Faruna and the others, she might be able to handle playing with Priscilla-chan while simultaneously fighting us. It was a little frustrating, but there was a clear difference in strength. However, we, the key participants, had not recovered yet.
“A disloyal king and queen, nyaan.”
“Nimia, what’s with the king and queen talk?”
“Older Brother Elnea thinks that way, nyaan.”
“No, no, Nimia, what are you saying? I just thought of Priscilla-chan as a princess.”
“Umm, is Priscilla a princess?”
“She’s more of a princess than us.”
“She’s more of a princess than us.”
“Wow! So Priscilla is a princess!”
Priscilla-chan, chattering excitedly in Mistral’s arms. Mistral, who usually held her securely, seemed to have no strength left and couldn’t restrain the struggling Priscilla-chan, letting her slip from his arms. Priscilla-chan happily jumped onto the ground. Then, Ares-chan, who had detached from me, appeared and started skipping with her.
“Elnea…”
“Elnea-kun, what have you done…”
“I-Is it my fault!?”
It was true that I, loyal to my own desires, had thought of the always-true-to-herself Priscilla-chan as a “princess.” But it was Nimia’s fault for saying it out loud!
“Mew.”
Priscilla-chan—no, it was not Priscilla-chan anymore—was skipping. Nimia, bouncing on her head, let out a cute meow.
“You know, Priscilla wants to play tag!”
“Tag is good, but how about a walk? Do you like walking in the sky?”
“I love it!”
“Then, let’s go, including the trials for the King and Queen.”
“W-Wait a moment. A little more rest…”
“You are weak, aren’t you?”
“Grandpa, calling your disciple like that lowers your status as a master.”
“Hmm, that is troubling.”
“Come on, enough with the master-disciple comedy. Hurry up and take your trial.”
“Asher-san is strict, isn’t he…”
“You are cold…”
With an exasperated sigh from Asher-san, Grandpa and I slumped our shoulders. However, this was not the time to be caught up in family matters. The horned woman would simultaneously face us and play with Priscilla-chan. This meant the next battleground would be the sky? In that case, would we ride on Grandpa’s, Asher-san’s, or Nimia’s back…? Other than that, among us, only Mistral could fly. What kind of battle would we have in the sky?
“The fight is already over.”
“Eh!”
“Sparring was Lady Faruna’s role. Now, everyone, let’s all go for a walk in the sky.”
Saying that, the horned woman spread her arms, and her entire body began to glow. Her clothes, the two horns growing above her ears, and her long purple hair that created a flowing stream on the ground, all emitted a faint purple light, and her entire outline became blurry. The purple light rose towards the sky. And before our captivated eyes, the horned woman was enveloped in purple luminescence. The light ascended into the heavens. Around the pillar of ascending purple light, countless rainbow-colored bubbles appeared, also rising towards the sky.
“It’s a dragon…”
Lyra murmured as she looked up at the sky, following the purple light and the seven-colored bubbles. It wasn’t just Lyra. It wasn’t just me. Everyone had the same thought in their hearts. The light and bubbles that had risen into the sky began to form a new shape in the upper atmosphere.
A giant winged dragon.
The tips of its spread wings reached the end of the sky, and from its snout to its tail, it covered the heavens. Even the small mountain that was Grandpa appeared as a mere speck from the perspective of the winged dragon above. Such a colossal dragon was outlined by light and bubbles. The purple light that had enveloped the horned woman transformed into the form of a winged dragon covering the sky above. The seven-colored bubbles were absorbed into the dragon’s body.
“It’s the Dragon God…”
Mistral muttered as he looked up at the sky. A story he had heard long ago. The existence that the Dragon Race revered. Its form covered the sky and guided the Dragon Race. The purple winged dragon that had appeared in the sky was precisely the form of the Dragon God he had heard about.
“Wow! It’s a dragon goddess, isn’t it?”
“Nyan. A dragon mother, nyaan.”
Nimia, descending from Priscilla-chan’s head, grew giant.
“Everyone, ride on me. I’ll ride the Dragon God too, nyaan.”
“Eh, is that okay?”
“Aren’t you going for a walk, Older Brother?”
“I-I’m going!”
We hurriedly moved to Nimia’s back. Nimia, carrying us, soared into the sky.
“That’s nice, I want to go too.”
“Grandpa will stay behind!”
“You are a demon!”
With a snort, Grandpa took to the sky. Asher-san followed. Nimia ascended with us on her back, followed by Grandpa and Asher-san. In the blink of an eye, the Spirit Tree and Lady Faruna and the others left on the ground became smaller, turned into dots, and were at a height where individual people could no longer be distinguished. However, the distance to the Dragon God above seemed unchanged. It was that large.
“I’ll fly at full speed, nyaan.”
“Nimia, show me your growth.”
“Mother, leave it to me, nyaan!”
“…Hmm, it’s far.”
Nimia, flapping her wings energetically as if to accelerate at full speed, and Asher-san, from behind, watching his beloved daughter’s growth. However, the wicked old man made a lazy decision at the very end. Grandpa’s eyes shone with a golden light. Then, a three-dimensional magic circle appeared around us.
“Ahhh, Grandpa!”
“Nyaaaan!”
“Old man!”
Our screams were swallowed by the golden radiance.
“…What have you done?”
“It wasn’t laziness. I used my own power to make it easy for you.”
Enveloped in golden radiance, I closed my eyes from the blinding light. Then, when the light subsided and I opened my eyes again, we were on a purple land.
“Grandpa, you did something unnecessary…”
“Sniffle, this is sad, nyaan.”
Gentle purple hills stretched endlessly in a regular pattern. Each hill was like a scale. How large it was. Nimia, who had landed on one of the scale-hills, looked a little disappointed. Asher-san, beyond anger, looked utterly exasperated. Only Grandpa hummed cheerfully.
I don’t care if they get punished later.
“You seem to have forgotten your gratitude.”
“No, no, I haven’t forgotten. I just feel sorry for Nimia and Asher-san.”
“Hmm, you do not understand.”
“Mumumu, what do you mean?”
“This is the Dragon God’s back. We can’t just teleport directly overhead. That’s why.”
“Nyan!”
Nimia seemed to have realized something. The sadness in her eyes returned, sparkling.
“Here, no matter where you look, it will be the Dragon God’s back. Since we’ve gone up into the sky, isn’t the view from the ground the real treat of a sky walk?”
“Ah, I see!”
We finally understood. Nimia flapped her wings energetically and, this time, flew at full speed. Asher-san chased after her. Grandpa, with a sigh, followed with a smile. Our destination was the tip of the Dragon God’s head! I felt it was a bit too presumptuous to aim for the Dragon God’s head, but Nimia and the Ancient Dragon Species didn’t seem to mind. When I think back, they hadn’t shown any reverent attitude towards the Dragon God from the beginning. Nimia had called it a “dragon lord” earlier; it must have been about the Dragon God. This means Grandpa and the other Ancient Dragon Species must have realized the Dragon God’s true identity from the start.
“That way of thinking needs a slight correction.”
“And what do you mean?”
“It wasn’t just us who noticed the Dragon God. Any dragon would have noticed.”
“Really!? But the dragons at the venue were acting normally… Is the Dragon God, as Nimia said, like a mother figure to dragons?”
“Whether it’s true or not, some say we dragons are beings who have been given a fragment of the Dragon God’s soul. Therefore, the expression ‘mother’ might not be wrong. However, we dragons desire to reach the Dragon God through our own strength and efforts. Even if the Dragon God attended your wedding ceremony, it wasn’t because we summoned it. Therefore, we do not wish to approach it with ease.”
“I see, so if you summoned it yourself, you would meet it properly, but otherwise, you would discipline yourself and be patient.”
“That is correct.”
In the direction Nimia was heading, there were two giant mountains. No, they weren’t mountains; they were horns. The extraordinarily massive horns were crookedly bent forward, just like when they were in human form. But they were so large that from a distance, they looked like just a part of a steep mountain slope. Two gigantic horns towering in the far distance. Yet, Nimia flew at an amazing speed, and the horns rapidly approached. They truly are an Ancient Dragon Species. Despite the Sky-covering, enormous body of the Dragon God, Nimia and the others quickly reached the tip of its head.
“Here you are, nya.”
“Grrr, you beat us here?”
And waiting at the Dragon God’s snout were Micheila, Lady Faruna, and the Dreaming Shrine Maiden. It seemed the eight attendants and Nazaria’s family were left behind.
“Excuse us.”
“Yes, welcome.”
The voice of the horned woman, now the Dragon God, echoed directly in my head. We dismounted from Nimia and peered down at the ground from the Dragon God’s snout.
“Wow! Priscilla-chan!”
“Eh, are we in a dream!?”
It was a strange sight to behold. No, the scenery itself wasn’t strange at all; it was the venue of the Wyvern Hunting Ground where the wedding ceremony was held. We were in the dream, yet we were in the sky above reality.
“So many lives that can’t be eaten. Or rather, they can be eaten.”
What’s more, Priscilla-chan noticed us. She waved at us, looking up at the sky. Priscilla-chan waved back energetically. Asher-san had hooked the tip of his claw around her waist to prevent her from falling.
“Did we actually enter the real world?”
“Who knows. It’s a dream, and it’s reality.”
The Dreaming Shrine Maiden smiled. But Priscilla-chan noticed us, and… It wasn’t just Priscilla-chan who noticed us.
“Ohh, it’s the Dragon God.”
“It’s unfair that only you guys get to go!”
“Follow us!”
The dragons also looked up at the sky and began to make a commotion. And then, we witnessed a truly wondrous sight. Wyverns and winged dragons flapped their wings and soared into the sky. Earth dragons followed suit, and even water dragons emerged from the water and ascended into the sky. Before we knew it, the dragons were flying, running, and swimming with the Dragon God in the sky.
“I don’t understand, but it’s truly a dreamlike, yet real, strange world.”
The Dreaming Shrine Maiden nodded in satisfaction at my comment.
“…By the way, Grandpa?”
“Hmm, what is it?”
“Dragons reach the Dragon God’s location through their own strength and effort, right?”
“…That’s right.”
“Then, what is this situation!?”
“I don’t know!”
The Dragon God’s presence at the venue was to congratulate us, not to meet the dragons. So, the dragons, even noticing its presence, had remained calm… right? Despite that, once they noticed the Dragon God flying in the sky, they all followed. And not just the dragons who could fly, but also earth and water dragons! The Dragon God didn’t seem bothered by the following dragons and flew with them. Priscilla-chan seemed happy that everyone was flying together, rejoicing with Ares-chan and Nimia at the Dragon God’s snout.
