We live in the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A Traveler of the Sky
“Pant, pant… Exercising in the morning feels good.”
I lay spread-eagled on the moss carpet, which is fluffy year-round.
As I caught my breath and looked up at the sky, the giant Spirit Tree swayed merrily.
Little birds chirped in tune with the Spirit Tree, and animals frolicked energetically in the depths of the ancient forest.
“Hmm, sometimes escapism is necessary.”
“Grandpa, I’m not escaping reality at all!”
Old Man Sleigsta, stretching his long neck to peer at me, chuckled deep in his throat.
“Elnea, you can’t go all out, so it can’t be helped.”
“Hmph. But Mistra, you’re not going all out either.”
Even when sparring, not everything is allowed.
The white sword I wield is imbued with Dragon Slayer properties. Since Mistra is of the Dragon Race, injuring him with the white sword could be serious.
Therefore, when Mistra and I spar, we return to basics and use wooden swords. However, this creates a disparity between the familiar white sword and the makeshift wooden sword.
Especially against a skilled opponent like Mistra, even a slight discomfort or difference in proficiency can lead to a fatal gap.
So, I’m already at a disadvantage. Furthermore, Ares-chan isn’t here today.
She was engrossed in onigokko in the village, and I only intended to deliver her lunchbox.
However, Mistra is also holding back.
Kenjutsu involves parrying, sweeping, blocking, and cutting an opponent’s weapon.
But Mistra’s weapon is a one-handed club.
The fighting style of a one-handed club involves destroying the opponent’s weapon, smashing their armor, and bludgeoning them to death.
If Mistra were to go all out, the hastily made wooden sword would be easily shattered.
But then it wouldn’t be a proper spar. That’s why Mistra always takes care not to destroy the opponent’s weapon during sparring.
“Fufufu. If Elnea went all out, I couldn’t win. You also have Storm Dragon Arts and lightning strikes, don’t you?”
“Is that so, with lightning strikes…”
“Now, now. Don’t scorch my dwelling black.”
Old Man Sleigsta panicked as he read my imagined battle tactics.
Mistra and I, exchanging knowing glances, laughed and took a break together.
I lay spread-eagled on the moss garden as usual. Mistra sat beside me, enjoying the breeze.
I wish we could spend our days like this.
It’s fun to have adventures in various places, and I’m happy to be relied upon for things like escorting mothers.
Nevertheless, there’s nothing like relaxing with my precious family.
“Elnea, since you’re here, why don’t you go greet the Spirit Tree Spirit?”
“Ugh… Mistra, you don’t want to relax with me?”
“Of course, I want to relax! But you know, when you return from a trip, you wouldn’t want the capital city to be submerged in a forest, would you?”
“The spirits can sense that I’m here in the moss garden. If they don’t show themselves, it’s because they’re…!”
“Precisely.”
The spirits likely think that while I’m accompanying the Mother’s Federation on their journey, I can’t visit, but if I’m nearby, I should at least stop by.
Should I show my face?
But before that.
“Hey hey, Grandpa.”
“I already heard from Mistra.”
“Oh, that makes things easier.”
“However, tell me the details yourself.”
It means that if you want to consult, you shouldn’t be lazy to explain it yourself.
I recount the commotion that occurred in the Dragon Race village yesterday evening. And also about Oz, whom I picked up on the way.
“Hmm, the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine, you say? I’ve heard of it during my travels around the world in my youth.”
“So, the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine already existed two thousand years ago?”
Oz apparently served at the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine centuries ago, but the shrine itself seems to have existed much longer.
“However, I don’t know where it’s located. It seems its whereabouts are strictly concealed.”
“But a man named Baltnowar apparently located it and broke a mirror.”
“He claimed to be your predecessor, did he not? Then perhaps he gained knowledge somewhere. Those who engage with the world naturally absorb a great deal of its knowledge.”
We too have encountered many people and gained much wisdom and knowledge because we have tried to engage with various things.
Baltnowar, though aiming for a different destination than us, is also a chosen person. He has surely encountered many things and obtained deep truths.
“So, Grandpa, you don’t know what was enshrined in the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine?”
“I believe Rosa mentioned it. It is said that nine golden tails illuminated the world for seven days and seven nights.”
“No, no, I don’t want to hear it anymore!”
I instinctively covered my ears with both hands.
There are beings that even Ancient Dragon Species cannot handle, such as powerful magic beasts.
The Shōjō that still resides in a certain part of Dragon Peak, and Teruru-chan, the Thousand-Handed Spider who guards the Forbidden Territory.
It somehow smells like them!
But, wait a minute.
Didn’t Oz say that the master of the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine was a demon?
Hmm, what could it mean?
“Regarding the Nine-tailed Fox Shrine, Rosa would know more than I. She hasn’t lived for that long for nothing.”
“That’s right. I’ll ask her if I get the chance.”
It seems asking the Oldest Demon Lord is the best way to inquire about demons.
Ideally, I’d ask Ruilala to inquire, but she’d surely refuse.
“Well then…”
As I was about to ask about a certain Ancient Dragon Species named Gaf, whom I intended to inquire about.
Under the canopy of branches spread by the Spirit Tree, a red shadow was visible flying from a distance.
I wonder, it seems a bit listless…
“Tch, the Dragon Princess is still here. And with a hindrance, too.”
“Whaaat! You’re calling me a hindrance?!”
The red shadow flying towards the moss garden could only be Revalia.
So, as I waved to welcome her, thinking “It’s been a while,” I was greeted with these words.
Revalia glared down at me and Mistra from above before descending.
Good grief. She seems even more ill-tempered than usual.
Mistra and I quickly moved away from her landing spot to avoid being crushed.
In fact, she seemed to be intentionally aiming at the place where we were relaxing!
With unusually fierce wingbeats, a gust of wind kicked up, and Mistra and I raised our hands to shield our eyes from the flying debris.
Huh?
She seemed listless when I saw her from a distance, but now?
She seems listless, ill-tempered, and now even more violently agitated.
Revalia is acting really strange today.
With the gale making it impossible to open my eyes properly, Revalia landed not far ahead of Mistra and me with a crash, as if she had fallen.
The ground shook with a thud.
“Bleh! Achoooo!!”
“Whaaat! In this situation?!”
Damn it, I let my guard down!
We’re accustomed to Old Man Sleigsta’s pranks, so the success rate of his snot attack is lower. But right now, we were covering our eyes with our hands and our attention was on Revalia.
He seized the opportunity to play a prank…!
Oh?
Mistra and I had braced ourselves for a muddy flood. But nothing happened.
C-could it be…
Hesitantly, I cleared my vision.
“What is this…”
And then, I confirmed the victim.
It wasn’t me or Mistra covered in snot, but the grumpy Revalia-chan.
Ah, this means she’s going to rampage.
We braced ourselves for the ensuing commotion.
However, Revalia merely bared her sharp fangs and did not unleash a roaring fury or flames of vengeance.
“Revalia, are you really okay?”
It’s creepy when Revalia doesn’t get angry after being treated like this.
Feeling concerned about Revalia’s condition, I approached her. Revalia then trembled, shaking off the snot clinging to her entire body.
Of course, it was a prank aimed at me for trying to get close!
“Heh heh heh. It’s easy to dodge an attack like this.”
I quickly evaded using Spatial Jump and approached Revalia.
And then, I noticed.
“Hey, Revalia. Are you perhaps injured?”
More accurately, were you injured?
There was a large amount of bloodstain on her left hip and neck.
Thanks to Old Man Sleigsta’s snot, they were beautifully regenerated, but the clotted bloodstains didn’t seem to come off.
“It’s none of your business.”
“No, no, let me take care of you. Are you okay? What on earth happened?”
It’s no trivial matter for Revalia to be injured.
The ruler of the skies, feared as a tyrant, wouldn’t crash into a mountainside while dozing off.
“I was careless. That two-headed Ancient Dragon, I’ll burn him to death next time I see him.”
“Gaf!”
It seems Revalia and Gaf, who flew west towards Dragon Peak, had a clash.
“To attack by phasing through, he’s a cowardly bastard.”
Revalia gnashed her teeth grudgingly.
However, she didn’t direct her anger towards me.
I see.
The reason she seemed listless on her way here must have been because she was seriously injured. She wanted to discreetly heal with Old Man Sleigsta, but she didn’t want us to be there because we were here.
Perhaps her unusually fierce wingbeats were because she didn’t want her wounds to be seen?
Understanding, I wiped away the bloodstains clinging to Revalia’s scales.
The blood had clotted, so the surprise attack must have happened yesterday.
She probably couldn’t visit the moss garden at night, and since Mistra would be here on official duty in the early morning, she must have endured her injury until now.
Honestly, what a proud creature.
Mistra joined me, and we cleaned Revalia up.
Perhaps exhausted from her journey here, Revalia curled up and fell asleep after her wounds were healed.
“Grandpa, Revalia seems to have been attacked too. Do you know a Dragon Race member of the Ancient Species called Gaf, the Rainbow Dragon?”
“Gaf? I haven’t heard of that name. He’s probably some young one without a duty.”
“Do Ancient Dragon Species usually have some kind of duty?”
“Not necessarily ‘usually,’ but those of importance do have duties. However, just as I did, some may travel the world in their youth to broaden their horizons.”
“And along the way, they might lend a hand to acquaintances they meet?”
“Just as Asher’s daughter and Lily do.”
“I see.”
Just as I have Nimia and Lily among my kin, Baltnowar has Gaf as his ally.
“Now, about the Rainbow Dragon. I don’t know Gaf, but I can tell you about Rainbow Dragons.”
I was waiting!
While cleaning Revalia, I listened to Old Man Sleigsta’s story.
“We, the dragon species called Ancients, are longer-lived than ordinary dragons, but our numbers are few. Among them, Rainbow Dragons are rare. You’ve encountered a rare one.”
“Are they a rare species?”
“No, not exactly. They can turn invisible, as you know. When they disappear, they also disappear their presence. They travel the world like that.”
“Because they disappear, they can’t be seen or found?”
“That is correct. Some are said to not show themselves from the time they leave their parents until just before they die.”
“Uwah, you’d absolutely never encounter them.”
Perhaps a traveling Rainbow Dragon has flown overhead at some point, but if they can even erase their presence, they would never be found.
“They would be adept at escaping and hiding.”
Old Man Sleigsta looked down at Revalia, who was sleeping curled up and snoring.
“In that case, Revalia’s revenge will be difficult.”
“I don’t particularly recommend it. Rainbow Dragons are also Ancient Species. Ordinary dragons would be no match for them.”
Old Man Sleigsta says so, but if we were to confront Baltnowar, Gaf would likely stand in our way.
This is becoming increasingly complicated.
“Discern the schemes of the man called Baltnowar. If it’s a matter that doesn’t require unnecessary intervention, non-interference may sometimes be necessary.”
“Yes. I will move cautiously.”
Still, to determine how to deal with Baltnowar, more information is needed.
In that case, should I seek advice from the Giant Demon Lord as well…?
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