We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak
A Sleepyhead
After making a request to the Dreaming Shrine Maiden, I spent time in a world of pure white with Ares-chan.
What I had misunderstood. What was lacking. What I should do. What I can accomplish. And the path that lies beyond, when we all join forces.
Although my body was weakened and I had fainted, my spirit was fully awakened thanks to the Dreaming Shrine Maiden. I used this to carefully advance my preparations for what was to come.
As I did so, sleep gradually began to overtake me.
It’s a strange sensation to feel sleepy even while in a dream, isn’t it?
Watched over by Ares-san, I slowly drifted off to sleep within that pure white world.
“…Hah!”
I suddenly awoke with a jolt.
I sat up abruptly.
The scenery of a large bedroom flooded my vision. A soft bed, fine furniture beyond the mosquito net, and small plants in pots lining the windowsill. The door leading to the garden was left open, and the summery sunlight illuminated the distant view of the lawn.
This was undoubtedly the bedroom of my family home. Of course, it wasn’t the humble abode I had lived in since childhood, but a very spacious and magnificent home gifted to me by the King in recognition of my past accomplishments. Either way, it was still my family home.
“Good morning.”
Turning around at the sound of a voice, I saw Karen, the head servant of my family home, sitting in a chair beside the bed and smiling at me.
“Good morning, Karen-san.”
“Here, please have some water.”
As I sipped the water poured into a cup, Karen stood up.
“Well then, I will go and call one of the mistresses.”
Karen then left the room. I confirmed the sensation of the water flowing down my throat, took a few slow deep breaths, and checked my body’s condition. My hands moved without any hindrance. There was no discomfort in my legs either. It seemed my weakened state had recovered.
Instead, my stomach began to rumble. I hadn’t eaten anything for days, confined to bed. As I rubbed my stomach, which was proclaiming its hunger, a delicious scent wafted from afar.
“Good morning, Elnea.”
Mistral was the first to enter the bedroom with food.
“Good morning, Mistral.”
Mistral replied with a bitter smile as I smiled at her. Confused, I tilted my head. Mistral then said something shocking.
“You truly are a sleepyhead. To think you would sleep for seven days, even with your severe weakness.”
“Eh?”
What did Mistral just say? Seven days? Sleigsta the Old Man’s deadline was ten days. I had already used more than half of that just to recover…
” Eeeeeehhh!?”
The news was so shocking that I bounced up on the bed.
“M-Mistral! This is terrible, we’re out of time!”
To face the Kongo no Kirisame, I needed to be in perfect condition. And yet, I had overslept! Mistral gently restrained me as I panicked.
“Calm down, Elnea.”
“But! Even as we speak, the Kongo no Kirisame…”
“Yes. According to the reports from the dragons keeping watch, it is heading straight towards us.”
“Then, it’s just as I thought…”
“That’s why you need to calm down. Here, aren’t you hungry? Your stomach has been rumbling for a while now?”
“I don’t have time to eat!”
I needed to speed up my preparations. Otherwise, this time, it would truly be an irreversible situation. But Mistral forcefully sat me down despite my frantic state. Then, she thrust the food she had brought into my hands.
“Elnea, calm down. Or perhaps, you don’t trust us, your wives?”
“Ugh. That’s not it, though?”
I placed my complete trust in Mistral and the others. Even now, they had prepared food for me, knowing I would likely be hungry upon waking. But I really was running out of time. Even as I insisted, Mistral wouldn’t budge.
“First, put something in your stomach. Then you’ll surely be able to think more calmly.”
And besides, Mistral said, bringing food to my mouth.
“We are not powerless beings who can only wait for your recovery?”
While being force-fed, I listened to Mistral’s words.
“Of course, I understand how you feel. We also don’t want to lose the Old Man, your hometown, the Dragon Forest, or its inhabitants. And, we are your wives, aren’t we? Just as your partners, we have been making preparations for the past seven days. So that you can do what you do best?”
Mistral smiled gently as always, with a “fufufu,” as if to blow away my anxiety.
Just then, the sound of two sets of hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway.
“Yufi, Nina, don’t run in the hallway!”
“Mist scolded us.”
“Mist told us off.”
While saying so, they continued running and came to my side. Then, quickly snatching the chopsticks from Mistral, they began trying to feed me.
“Wait, wait. I haven’t finished the previous bite yet.”
As I chewed, the bedroom became even livelier.
“Grrr, the Head Miko, I can’t run aimlessly, so I guess Yufi and Nina are taking advantage of that! Don’t you think so, Ruiseine?”
“Now, now, Madrine. Elnea-kun won’t run away, so please behave like a Miko, alright?”
“Elder sisters will likely be pulled away by Mist anyway.”
“Hahahaha. That’ll be our chance.”
It seemed my wives had all gathered. Mistral smiled wryly at the commotion but didn’t scold them as usual. Watching Yufilia and Nina take turns tending to me beside my bed, I waited for everyone to arrive. I realized I had no choice but to honestly eat the food and wait until everyone was present, so I ate the meal brought to my mouth by Yufilia and Nina.
And when the wives appeared from down the hallway and everyone was gathered in the bedroom, the atmosphere became even more boisterous.
“Elnea-kun, how are you feeling?”
“Yeah. I slept for seven days… I’m just hungry, but I’m energetic!”
While being examined by Ruiseine, Yufilia, Nina, Madrine-sama, and Sefina-san began to quarrel beside me. While they vied for the next turn to feed me, Laira gently fed me some tenderly stewed meat.
“This is delicious. But, is it alright for me to be taking it so easy?”
Looking at everyone’s usual demeanor, I couldn’t feel the oppressive atmosphere from before I lost consciousness due to weakness. But reality hadn’t changed. The Kongo no Kirisame was still advancing towards the Capital City and the Dragon Forest, and Sleigsta the Old Man should be gathering his strength within the deadline. So, I really couldn’t afford to be idle. Seven of the ten days of grace had already passed.
“Everyone, we need to hurry and take countermeasures.”
Seeing the anxious expression on my face, Mistral stroked my head.
“Elnea.”
“Hm?”
Everyone quieted down from their earlier boisterousness and looked at me with serious expressions. Sensing the sudden shift to a tense atmosphere, I readied myself.
“Elnea, we are your wives, your companions, and your battle comrades.”
I nodded. Mistral had told me this earlier, and I genuinely considered everyone dear family.
“We are not living by relying entirely on you,” Ruiseine continued.
Laira added, “There are many things we can do to help. But, we also want to help Elnea-sama.”
Yufilia and Nina held hands, affirming Laira’s words.
“In that case, if Elnea-kun is sleeping, we can take action.”
“In that case, when Elnea-kun is weakened, we can support him.”
Sefina-san and Madrine-sama opened their mouths with serious gazes, responding to the words of the wives.
“I haven’t married Elnea-kun yet, and I’m not in the same position as everyone else. However, I want to support Elnea-kun, who treats us as family like he does Mist and the others, just like my elder sisters do.”
“The trial granted by the Goddess is a very difficult path. However, as Elnea-kun’s partner, I am resolute and convinced that I will walk alongside him.”
“Madrine is not yet Elnea-kun’s consort.”
“Madrine is not yet Elnea-kun’s wife.”
“Grrr, please don’t interrupt when I’m speaking seriously!”
The wives’ words touched me deeply. And I felt a surge of gratitude. Just as I had pondered in my dream that I was not alone, my wives had also been worrying and thinking alongside me.
“That’s why,” Mistral said, silencing the three noisy ones, and smiled at me.
“While you were sleeping, we also did everything within our power.”
“That’s right, Elnea-kun. We have acted diligently so that you can wake up at any time.”
“Hahahaha. Therefore, there is no need to rush at all.”
“So, for now, let’s eat. That’s correct,” Laira said and brought food to my mouth again. Tears welled up at everyone’s kindness and initiative, and I savored the gently seasoned warm vegetables.
“Everyone, thank you.”
It wasn’t just me who was chosen by Micheila-chan and the Dreaming Shrine Maiden. It wasn’t just Mistral, or the other wives alone. It was the entire family that was chosen. What did that mean? It meant that none of us possessed singularly outstanding abilities or thoughts, but that we could all face difficulties by caring for and supporting each other, and by combining our strengths. It was precisely because of this that “the entire family” was chosen, not “just one person.” Therefore, I wasn’t the only one moving forward. My wives were always by my side, and we would move towards our goal as one. This was the very reason for the Ys Family’s existence.
“We won’t let you bear the burden alone. We can also fight to protect those we hold dear.”
I didn’t need to rush. If I was asleep and unable to move, my wives would act. Mistral and the others could see right through my thoughts. That’s why they had already begun moving towards the future I desired.
“Therefore, please eat a lot right now? Because if you don’t, things will get tough from here on out!”
This time, Ruiseine was feeding me.
“That’s right, Elnea-kun!”
Sefina-san tried to snatch the chopsticks from Ruiseine but was elegantly evaded. Sefina-san still didn’t understand. If you possess even a trace of dragon energy in your body, you will never be able to win against Ruiseine’s dragon eyes.
“Grrr. Ruiseine, give those chopsticks to me, the Head Miko.”
“Madrine-sama, that is an abuse of power. As the Head Miko, you should be more pure and righteous, shouldn’t you?”
Triumphantly, Ruiseine grabbed another piece of meat with her chopsticks and brought it to my mouth. However, that meat was swallowed by Yufilia’s mouth.
“Elnea-kun, I’ll feed you mouth-to-mouth.”
“Elnea-kun, I’m next after Yufi-nee-sama.”
“Hey, you two! That’s unladylike!”
This time, Mistral finally scolded us. Sighing at the wives’ lively antics, which I found strangely comforting, Sefina-san, who had been outmaneuvered by Ruiseine, began to report on what had happened while I was asleep.
“Sigh. Elder sisters are as usual. In this uncontrollable state, Yufi-nee-sama and Nina-nee-sama marched into the Royal Castle.”
“Eh! To the Royal Castle!?”
Is it my imagination? The fun atmosphere vanished in an instant, and a bad feeling began to creep in.
