The Storm

"Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm!" Naden was swimming through the sky

in her ryuu form, humming to herself as she went.

I, who was riding on her back, rubbed her and asked, "Naden, are you

okay? It's not too heavy?"

"Hm? I'm totally fine, why do you ask?" Naden replied, as if this really

was nothing to her.

There was a reason I was riding on Naden's back. Because Aisha had

joined the others riding in the gondola, it became overcrowded. The

gondola was as big as a houseboat, and it normally would have afforded

space for ten adults, but we were preparing for the "Storm," so a good

seven of those ten spots were crammed with things we brought from the

kingdom.

I figured the gondola had to be pretty heavy right now. When this

gondola got heavy, two to four wyverns would normally be tied together to

carry it, but Naden was easily shouldering (even without shoulders?) the

burden all by herself. Naden in her ryuu form was far larger than a wyvern,

but was this really not heavy for her?

"Are all dragons this strong?" I asked her.

"I don't know about the other dragons, but it doesn't feel that heavy to

me. It's like I'm pushing a wooden board through the water, I guess?"

"Hmm..."

Did that mean she was unconsciously manipulating the gravity? Well,

she was making her own massive body float, so there might be some

magical effect at work.

"Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm!" Naden began humming again.

"You're in an awfully good mood."

"Hmm hmm-hmm! Well, of course I am. This time, you're riding on

my back."

"Does it feel different from when I'm in the gondola somehow?"

"Oh, yes. Completely different. But... it might be hard to explain to

someone from a different race. I don't know, it just feels right. When I'm in

my ryuu form, it feels like something is sitting right where it belongs, or

something? Like it scratches an itch, you could say. It puts me at ease

somehow."

"Hmm..."

If that was what Naden said, she was probably right. Liscia's favorite

horse always looked so lively when Liscia was on its back, after all. I really

shouldn't be comparing my fiancée to a horse, though...

"But..." Naden added, in a concerned tone of voice, "is this okay?

Bringing Liscia and the others without asking?"

She was apparently thinking about how Madam Tiamat said my

companions would be invited to come later.

"Well, we don't know what this 'storm' is yet, so I'd like to have my

comrades at my side when something happens," I said. "She'll have to

forgive us for not telling her in advance."

"I guess you're right. But, in that case, I wish we could have brought

Tomoe, too."

"Yeah... I wish we could have shown her the scenery in Dracul."

The Great Waterfall... the Great Tree of Ladon... there were a lot of

impressive sights. I very much would have liked to show them to Tomoe,

who was curious about the world.

Naden suddenly said, "Huh? Souma, Liscia and the others are saying

something."

I was riding on Naden's back, so I couldn't overhear their conversation

in the gondola. If I wanted to talk with them, I had to use Naden with her

telepathy-like ability as a relay.

"What do they say?" I asked.

"Let's see... 'Look toward the Star Dragon Mountain Range'... they say.

They're making a fuss about something."

"The Star Dragon Mountain Range?"

Naden was flying toward the Star Dragon Mountain Range, so I could

always see it straight ahead of us. There hadn't been anything unusual until

a moment ago, but...

""Huh?!"" Our eyes went wide.

The Star Dragon Mountain Range was a chain of mountains the size of

Mt. Fuji. In the middle of the sky above them, there was a single, big

cumulus cloud.

"Isn't that over Dracul?!" Naden sounded panicked.

She was talking about the plateau where the dragons lived. When I first

arrived, Madam Tiamat teleported me in, so I hadn't been able to see it, but

it really was right in the middle of the Star Dragon Mountain Range. The

cumulus cloud floating overhead, and the storm Madam Tiamat had

prophesied... I had a bad feeling about this.

"In your forecast, there was no sign of a storm coming, was there?" I

asked.

"Yeah. That, and it's strange to have just that one cloud hanging over

Dracul."

"...It's probably not just a cloud. For now, let's try getting a bit closer.

We're too far away here, and there's no way to tell what things look like in

Dracul."

"Got it." Naden swam toward that cloud. It was visible even from a

distance, but as we drew closer, its full scale became apparent.

I was shocked. "What the heck is that...?"

The cumulus cloud was conical, with a smushed, dome-like top. More

than that, on closer inspection, there were many clouds gathered, moving

from left to right along the surface of the cumulus cloud. Was it possible...

the clouds were forming a whirling vortex?

"I've never seen a cloud like this before," Naden said.

"Yeah. I've only seen this kind of cloud in a movie."

"Mooovieeee?" she repeated the unfamiliar word.

"Just talking to myself. Anyway, it seems it's just big enough to cover

Dracul."

Looking at Dracul, this cloud just covered the plateau, so it was

blocking out the light and leaving it dark. It looked like some intense rain

was falling, too. The winds sounded violent, so weather in Dracul had to be

really rough. Even though, outside the cloud, the weather was good and

clear. It was one strange cloud.

"This is a little too focused in one place to just be a localized torrential

downpour," I commented.

"Why are you so calm?! There's no way it would be raining just over

Dracul!"

"Haste makes waste, they say. First, we need to observe closely."

While rubbing Naden's back, I inspected the cloud. There was a lot of

rain. At this rate, there was the risk that a large-scale disaster like what

happened in the God-Protected Forest would happen here, too. The cause

there had been rain that went on for a long time, but this much rain in a

single place could have the same effect in a shorter amount of time if it

continued.

But if we were going to come up with countermeasures... Yeah, we

wouldn't be able to find out enough from the outside.

"Naden, you managed to swim up a waterfall, so rain and wind should

be fine, right?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, then... I'm not that keen on doing it, but will you plunge into the

middle of the cloud?"

"Whaaaa?!"

Naden was surprised, but it didn't feel like we were going to get

anywhere just looking at it from the outside. Fortunately, there were no

cracks of lightning, so it was probably best to get a look at the inside.

"It's hard to understand the situation from outside," I explained. "We'll

go inside the cloud to investigate, and also make our way toward Crystal

Castle at the same time. Of course, if you feel it's dangerous, pull out

immediately. Tell Liscia and the others in the gondola to brace themselves."

"O-Okay."

Naden slowly moved toward the whirling clouds. After hesitating for

just a moment right in front of them, she seemed to make up her mind and

slowly swam in.

It was like being in a fog at first, but as we progressed, it gradually

became darker. The wind and rain striking my body rapidly increased in

intensity. Not one minute after entering the cloud, my body was being

pounded with torrential rain and sideways winds. If it hadn't been for

Naden's protection, I'd have long since been blown off.

"Naden! Are you okay?!" I spoke up, trying to remain undefeated in the

face of wind and rain.

"Yeah! I don't know why, but I can see something like a flow!" Naden

responded.

True, Naden was swimming through the sky, no different from how she

had been before. I should have expected no less from a ryuu, said to be able

to travel through wind, clouds, lightning, and rain. Even this fierce wind

and rain wasn't enough to intimidate her in the least.

Normal dragons or wyverns, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to fly

in this. That was because their big wings would be affected by the powerful

wind.

Could this be... why it had to be Naden? I wondered.

Naden had to be about the only one who could fly in this. Madam

Tiamat said I was the "key." Then, saying there was a being that would

carry me, she arranged for me to meet Naden.

Then is this rain and wind the "storm" Madam Tiamat was worried

about, after all? I wondered.

I tried looking around, but it was dark, and with the rain coming down

like someone emptied a bucket overhead, it was getting in my eyes and

making it impossible to see much of anything.

"Naden! Do you see anything?!" I called.

"No! It's too dark!"

It looked like Naden was in the same boat.

Then Naden shouted, "Souma! I'm all right, but Liscia and the others in

the gondola may be in danger!"

We were getting pounded by this wind. There was a rattling sound, and

Liscia and the others inside the gondola had to be having a scary time. The

rectangular gondola wouldn't be able to cut through the wind, and if it

broke midair, we'd have a huge tragedy on our hands.

"We'll need to try again later... Let's land at Crystal Castle for now!"

"Got it!" Naden began smoothly descending.

When she did...

"...n't..."

Huh?!

I was sure I'd just heard something.

"Hold on, Naden! Did you just hear something?!"

"Huh? I didn't hear anything."

"Wha... are you... goi... to do... bout... thi..."

"There! You heard it, right?!"

"You're right..." It looked like Naden had heard it this time, too. This

was... a voice, maybe? I heard some words clearly.

It seemed it wasn't that way for Naden. "Yeah, but... I don't know what

they're saying."

Huh? She doesn't know? Even though she can hear it?

"There was a 'you' in there... Didn't you hear it?"

"Is that what they said? I couldn't pick it up at all."

What was going on here? Was it possible that I'd be able to hear, while

Naden wouldn't?

Something was wrong. Besides, this voice... Something about it

bothered me. It was too high to be male, but if it was a woman's voice,

something felt off about it...

"If that's sti... not... nough..."

I heard it again. This voice... Was it coming from above?

Looking upward, I glimpsed, if only faintly, a black shadow through a

gap in the clouds. With the clouds in the way, I only had a hazy view, but

that shadow looked big for how far away it must have been. It may be fairly

massive.

"I... ll... destroy... to have..."

Destroy what?!

Destroy. I'd heard that dangerous sounding word very clearly.

That black shadow was hidden by the clouds. Naden must have gotten

out of them, because I could see the rain-drenched plateau of Dracul spread

out beneath us. The static-like sound of the rain grated on my ears.

While being lashed by the rain, I looked up to the clouds we only just

left. From outside Dracul they looked pure white, but from directly below

they felt dark and heavy.

That voice I heard, speaking what I recognized as language... There was

no questioning it.

Something was in those clouds.

In the rain, we landed in front of Crystal Castle.

Though it must have been beautiful in the light, when it was gloomy

like this, the castle looked dull.

As Naden began to take human form, I jumped down off her back and

rushed to the gondola. When I opened the door, wondering if Liscia and the

others were all right, Liscia, Aisha, and Kaede crawled out, their faces pale.

Hal and Carla followed. They all looked fine.

I rushed over to them. "A-Are you okay?"

Liscia and Aisha both leaned against me.

"Blech... Souma, you're too reckless," Liscia mumbled.

"The wind shook us so much, I feel sick... Blech."

"Oh... Er... Sorry."

I rubbed their backs to comfort them as they vomited. Kaede had Hal

and Carla looking after her.

Unlike those three, Hal and Carla seemed right as rain.

"You two are fine?" I asked.

"I was in the Air Force, and I flew on wyverns often," said Carla.

"It beats getting dropped out of the air," said Hal.

Carla's Air Force experience and Hal's dratooper training must have

gotten them used to this sort of thing.

It bothered me that Hal seemed to be staring off into the distance, but...

Anyway, it was probably better to get inside somewhere with a roof, rather

than keep getting pounded by the rain.

"Hal and Carla, tie the gondola down so that it doesn't get blown

away!" I called. "Everyone else, we're going inside! Naden, you lead the

way!"

"Roger that!"

We went inside Crystal Castle. Once Liscia and the others calmed

down, and Hal and Carla came back, I asked Naden, "I want to meet with

Madam Tiamat. Where do I go to do that?"

"The great hall, I think. When there's a crisis in Dracul, the dragons

have been told to gather in Crystal Castle's great hall."

"Okay," I said. "Then let's head there."

We decided to have Naden lead us to this great hall. It only took an

instant when Madam Tiamat teleported me, but moving around in this

ridiculously huge castle was a real hassle. We were all running, but it was

taking a while to reach our destination.

When we reached the great hall after five minutes of running, there

were two surprises waiting for us. One was that hall was so massive that

"great" simply wasn't enough of a word for it. The other was that, upon

closer inspection, the great hall was actually the space I had been teleported

into when I first came to the Star Dragon Mountain Range. It seemed that

the great hall was the place where I met the mountainous Madam Tiamat.

When we entered the great hall, there were about a hundred people in

the center. They were all sprouting horns and tails, so they were probably

dragons in human form.

From what Naden told me, there were only about three hundred people

(dragons?) living in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, at most.

Even considering their massive size, that was an incredibly low

population density for a country.

Because that three hundred number also included young dragons and

priestesses in the service of Madam Tiamat, that meant the hundred or so

here comprised all of the grown dragons that could actually move around.

The moment we entered the great hall, we sensed something menacing

in the air. In a space that could have fit tens of thousands of humans, the

dragons were all gathered together in one compact area for some reason.

It sounded noisy, and no one took any notice of the people who just

entered the room. It looked like Madam Tiamat wasn't here anymore, so

what could have happened?

Whatever it was, we approached the group. When we did...

"Naden!" A girl in a white one-piece jumped out of the group. That

was... Naden's friend... Pai, was it?

Naden caught her friend, who hugged her tight. "Pai! Thank goodness.

You're safe."

Naden had a relieved look on her face, but the desperation on Pai's was

undiminished.

"Naden, where have you been?! I was worried!"

"Oh, sorry. I was making a little trip to Souma's country..."

"Souma's country? Who?"

Oh! Right, I only ever told Pai my alias, huh. It looked like Naden

realized that, too.

"Maybe you'll understand if I call it Kazuma's country. The Kingdom

of Friedonia."

"Friedonia?! That far?! How...?"

"Ahaha, it's a long story, but..."

"Wait, we don't have time for this!"

Naden tried to explain the story so far, but Pai immediately cut her off.

Pai had a serious look on her face as she clung on to the dissatisfied Naden.

"Please, Naden! Stop everyone! At this rate, Ruby's going to..."

Ruby? Ruby was... the red dragon who kept picking fights with Naden,

right?

Pai explained the current situation for us.

Here, the story turns back a bit.

It turns out that mysterious cloud suddenly appeared in the skies above

Dracul this morning.

Even though the skies had been clear up until then, that cloud suddenly

appeared and brought violent wind and rain to Dracul. The heavy rainfall

made the lakes overflow, and knocked down the trees.

In response, the dragons gathered in Crystal Castle.

The wind and rain seemed only to be affecting Dracul, so I would have

thought they would just evacuate somewhere else, but there was a reason

why they couldn't.

It was because the dragons' eggs were beneath Crystal Castle.

I already heard that when a dragon who formed a contract with a knight

laid an egg, it was left in the care of the Star Dragon Mountain Range.

Apparently the simple passage of time wasn't enough to make them hatch.

They were left in a place called the Cradle Room beneath Crystal

Castle, and waited there for their time of awakening. That time would come

only when they would be able to meet the one they were destined to form a

contract with. There were cases when an egg went unhatched for close to a

century, and that was one reason why they couldn't be raised by their

parents.

Because the eggs couldn't be removed from the Cradle Room, the

dragons had to defend this Crystal Castle, no matter what.

That was what led the dragons to investigate this bizarre cloud, but the

winged dragons were buffeted by the strong winds, and none of them were

able to reach the clouds.

In response to this situation, the dragons turned to Madam Tiamat for

guidance.

Madam Tiamat answered, "A wingless dragon could fly through this

wind and rain." Further, she added, "That one already holds the key. Until

they return, I will protect my children, the eggs that await their time of

awakening."

Then she took the dragon priestesses with her and went down to the

Cradle Room.

The dragons left behind had gone into an uproar. It was terrifying that

they were told there was nothing they could do to remedy the situation.

They considered what the wingless dragon might be, and quickly thought of

Naden Delal. It was well known that Naden was a unique individual who

had no wings.

However, when they were about to go call Naden, Pai told them to stop.

She told them that no one had been in the cave Naden used as her den for

the last few days.

When they'd gone to check, Naden really wasn't in her cave.

Naturally. Naden had gone to the Kingdom of Friedonia with me, and

this morning, we'd been in the village near the border where Aisha and the

others were waiting.

And so, the dragons were astonished. Naden, who Madam Tiamat had

assured them could resolve this situation, was absent.

"At first, there were some voices of discontent, saying, 'Where did she

go off to at a time like this?'" Pai explained. "But because she wasn't here,

it didn't really matter. Eventually, the question changed to, 'Why isn't

Naden in Dracul?' From there, it occurred to them it was because of their

own feelings towards Naden. Their hearts had mocked her for being a

wingless dragon, a worm. 'Maybe she got tired of being called a worm, and

that's why she left the Star Dragon Mountain Range?' they started to think.

And then they turned on Ruby and her friends."

Everyone knew Ruby often messed with Naden, and it often led to

fights between them. So the dragons all condemned Ruby and her friends.

That was the cause of the current commotion.

Pai clung to Naden and said, "Ruby's the emotional sort who doesn't

think things through well enough, and she's prideful, so she said she'd take

responsibility for Sapphire and Emerada's actions, as well. I was mad about

all the things she'd said before, too, but seeing everyone gang up on her like

this... I just feel so bad for her..."

"Don't give me this," Naden said in a pained voice.

When I looked over at her, Naden's hair was sparking with electricity as

it stood on end. It was like a visualization of Naden's anger and indignation.

Naden left the sobbing Pai to me, then headed for where the dragons

were gathered, her face a mask of anger.

"They're all so selfish!"

"Naden..." a dragon gasped.

For a moment, I thought I should stop her. Naden wasn't the one being

crucified right now. If anything, she became the key person to resolving this

situation, so she was going to get a certain degree of respect in the Star

Dragon Mountain Range. There was no reason for her to pick a fight with

the dragons here and worsen her position. But... I didn't want to see Naden

make a clever decision like that.

So I told her, "You should do what you want. Even if the dragons don't

like it, your place is in the Kingdom of Friedonia... in our home now."

"You said you want to be part of the family, Naden," Liscia confirmed.

"Then there's only one place for you to come back to."

"The family always comes back to the warm place they call home, after

all," Aisha added, with a charming wink.

"Souma, Liscia, Aisha..."

"So go give them what for, Naden!" I cried.

"Roger that!"

Naden wiped the corners of her eyes, then took on her ryuu form,

opened her mouth wide, and roared as loud as she could.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!

Naden's roar was so loud it shook the great hall, causing all eyes to

gather on her. Then, as all the dragons watched, Naden flew up into the air.

"No way... Naden's flying..." Pai covered her gaping mouth with her

hands. The other dragons looked like they couldn't believe what they were

seeing, either.

Naden's body coiled elegantly in front of their eyes.

As Pai looked up in dumb shock, she shed a single tear. "I see... That's

why Lady Tiamat... Good for you, Naden..."

Having said that, Pai wiped her eyes and smiled as she cried. She must

have been concerned for her all this time. Naden had a good friend.

When Naden occupied the space above all the dragons, she cried out,

"Enoooooooooooooough!"

Crackle, crackle!

She brought down lightning where the dragons were standing. There

were screams here and there, and dragons fell one after another.

...Was she holding back at all? That was a nasty sound... I smelled

something burning, too. W-Well, these were dragons. Maybe they'd be fine

with a shock like this... Or so I thought, but the strained look on Pai's face

told me that, even by dragon standards, she'd overdone it. Naden must have

felt just that unable to hold back.

The commotion came to a halt, and Naden landed in the center of the

gathering, where no one was left standing, in her human form. Then Naden

looked down at something lying at her feet.

That was... Ruby? Her hair was a mess, the corners of her mouth were

cut, and the clothing that was made of her scales was damaged. In short, she

was beaten up. It was clear she was subject to an intense lynching.

Naden glanced once at Ruby, then turned back and started shouting

again. "Give me a break! I never liked the way Ruby picked fights with me,

but are you people who were insulting me behind my back any better?! So,

what?! Now that it's not convenient for you anymore, you're gonna push all

the blame off on Ruby and string her up?! Are you stupid?!"

It was like a dam had broken. The emotions that had built up inside

Naden all this time gushed forth. The dark, black feelings she kept bottled

up inside her, unable to speak them.

"W-We just..."

There were dragons who tried to talk back, but they were ultimately

silenced by Naden's tirade.

"It's a little late for that! You mock me all this time as a worm, a

flightless dragon, and now you want to push all your troubles onto me?!

You've got wings, don't you?! You're better than me, right?! Then how

about you go and do something about this yourselves!"

"Naden..." With a sad tone in her voice, Pai started walking over

toward her friend, but I stopped her. Now was the time for Naden to let it all

out. I felt... it was something Naden needed to do to move on with her life.

"You made all sorts of fun at me! Now that there's something only I can

do, you're gonna turn around and ask me for a favor? Don't give me that!

Listen, I hate the atmosphere here in the Star Dragon Mountain Range!

With the exception of Pai and Lady Tiamat, I hate the dragons, too! Why

should I have to do anything for you?! I don't care one bit if this place gets

wrecked!"

Naden glared at the dragons who were at a loss for words, and stomped

her feet.

"You talked about me behind my back all the time! 'She's a worm,'

'She ought to learn her place,' and more! What gives you the right to come

to me for anything? And what is my place, anyway? Maybe you want to try

putting your heads down on the ground and begging? Maybe it'll change

my mind?"

Ah... She'd spewed too much bile, and now she'd gotten into a weird

mood. Naden probably didn't even realize what she was saying anymore.

Sheesh...

"Come on, we have to hurry..." Pai said.

"Okay, let's leave it at that."

I put a hand on Naden's shoulder and stopped her.

◇ ◇ ◇

Souma grabbed my shoulder with a serious look on his face. "I think

you've said enough. If you go any further, you'll just be devaluing yourself,

Naden."

What? Don't get in my way. I brushed off Souma's hand, then angrily

rounded on him.

"Huh?! What's my value, anyway?! That I can fly, even without

wings?"

"No."

"My value is that I can fly in the storm? 'So go fly,' is that it?"

"No."

"Well, what is it supposed to be, then?!"

"Your heart isn't fixated on the value of things. That's what makes you

valuable, Naden!"

Souma placed his hands on my shoulders again, and said that firmly. He

was gripping me tightly, so it kind of hurt. That pain... brought me back to

my senses.

"Your ability to see the good in things, no matter what anyone else says

about them; that's your charm, Naden! If it's fun, you'll read romance

novels from the world outside, and even watch Jewel Voice Broadcasts

from the Empire. You're even able to get along with a foreigner like me,

who suddenly showed up out of nowhere, like it's no big deal. You don't

care what other people think. You do what you want to do. That ordinary,

free spirit of yours is what I love about you. It wasn't any other dragon that

I decided I wanted to form a contract with, it was you, Naden!"

I fell silent.

Hearing him say he loved me made my head rapidly cool. No, the

opposite. It boiled over. My face was hot. My mouth bobbed open and

closed like a fish gasping for air, and no words came out.

Souma kept going as if it didn't matter. "If you go trampling on other

people's personalities just because your positions have changed, you'll

become what you hate most. I don't want to see you end up like that."

"S-Souma..."

"Besides, there's no need for you to endure things on your own

anymore."

The next thing I noticed, Liscia and Aisha were at our side, too.

"Naden, you're a part of the family now, so rely on us when you need

to," Liscia said.

"Indeed," Aisha agreed. "I'm not smart like His Majesty and the others,

so I do my best with my combat abilities. If anyone ever hurts you, Madam

Naden, let me cut them down with this blade."

Liscia had a wry smile on her face, and Aisha was saying dangerous

things with a hearty laugh.

Oh... I get it. I had so many people now, not just Pai, who would see my

pain as their own. I was sure I would see their pain as my pain, too.

I turned to Souma and the others with a bow. "Sorry. I was kind of

getting riled up there."

"Haha, well, I'm sure you've got to get it out of your system once in a

while," he said. "Besides, we were mad, too. Let's twist the knife a bit."

With that, Souma went to stand in front of the dragons who were

watching at a distance. Huh? What was he planning to do?

"I am King Souma Kazuya of the Kingdom of Friedonia," Souma

suddenly named himself.

There was a buzz from the dragons.

"D-Did he say king...?!"

"And of Friedonia?! That big country to the east?!"

It was surprising that humans had come here before the Contract

Ceremony, but on top of that, he said he wasn't from the Nothung Dragon

Knight Kingdom, but was the King of Friedonia.

Even Pai, who knew Souma, cried out, "Wait, Kazuma is Souma? And

a king, too?" blinking in surprise.

In a kingly voice, Souma continued. "On this occasion, I, Souma

Kazuya, have come to form a contract with Naden under the guidance of

Madam Tiamat. This is also a means of dealing with the 'storm.' In other

words, Naden Delal will be becoming one of the queens of Friedonia."

Souma stared down at the dragons. "So, if any of you mess with Naden

after this, be ready for it to become a diplomatic incident."

When he intimidated the dragons like that, Souma looked less like the

king of a country, and more like a demon king. He said he'd twist the knife,

but this was too big to be a knife. It was like a stake, and he was pounding it

through them, into the ground, to make sure they stayed there and got the

point. As proof of that, the dragons were frozen stiff, unable to say a word.

In truth, he was just a frail human who they could have blown away

with a mere breath, but Souma dominated the room. It gave me a new sense

of how big the country was that Souma carried on his shoulders.

But Souma didn't normally act like he wanted to use that sort of

authority. I mean, he even went by a fake name when we first met. If Souma

was relying on his authority to intimidate them... was he really, really mad?

On my behalf, because they mocked me... No, maybe I'm being too

conceited.

While I was thinking about him like that, I saw Ruby, beaten up and

lying on her side, out of the corner of my eye. I slowly walked over to her.

I looked down at Ruby, who was lying on the ground, her breathing

ragged. It was the opposite of all those times she looked down at me from

the sky.

I asked her a question.

"You awake, stupid Ruby?"

"Yes, I'm awake, dumb Naden."

Beaten up or not, it seemed she was still in good enough shape to

respond to attitude with attitude. Even in this state, Ruby was Ruby. Maybe

because I just vented, I had no spite left for her. I ought to still have plenty

to complain about with her, but I just didn't care right now.

"I'd say the dragons overdid it, but you deserved half of this," I told

her.

"Hmph...!"

"I mean, couldn't you have gotten off with less than this? Like, if you

said I ran away."

"If I did that... I'd be the same as them," Ruby said indignantly. "All

they ever do is talk about people behind their backs. I don't want to be like

that. If I think something, I'm going to say it right to your face."

"That's been nothing but a nuisance for me," I snapped.

Well, since it gave me someone I could actually fight, it might have

been better than the other dragons who kept their comments behind my

back. When I got mad, I was able to hit her with an electric shock, after all.

If she kept it quiet, I wouldn't have been able to do that.

Ruby let out a little sigh. "...You've got it so good. You look like that,

but you could still fly. And you're marrying a king? Just how special are

you? I couldn't be more jealous."

Jealous... It looked like what Souma said was true. Even so, I didn't

know how to react to that. After all...

"So many times, I wished I could have been born an ordinary dragon

like you, Ruby."

If I'd been an ordinary dragon, I would have never been put through

any of that. If I'd been normal like Ruby. But Ruby now said she envied

how I was special.

Ordinary and special. If only our positions were reversed... But it

probably wasn't that simple. If I was ordinary, I'd have wanted to be

special, and if Ruby was special, she'd have wanted to be ordinary. People

longed to be the things they weren't, after all.

"Naden... Things just didn't go well for either of us," Ruby said.

"That's life, Ruby."

We both smiled wryly.

Honestly... things never went well.

"Naden, come with us," Souma called to me. It looked like it was time

to plan out how we'd deal with the storm.

"They're calling me," I told Ruby.

"Yeah, yeah. Go wherever you want. Whether it's to the clouds, or to

the kingdom."

Leaving Ruby behind me with her usual spite, I ran over to Souma.

◇ ◇ ◇

Oh, geez... This is the worst... I thought miserably.

My whole body ached. Still beaten and blue, I lay on my back looking

upward.

I, Ruby, had been rebuked for picking fights with Naden, and the

dragons all ganged up to attack me. Even as dragons went, I felt like I was

pretty strong, but the odds were too stacked against me.

The dragons attacking me said horrible things about Naden behind her

back, but now that they needed her power, they turned around and

condemned me.

"You deserved half of this." Naden's words from earlier came back to

mind.

Yeesh, I know that, okay?

Naden's husband-to-be was right. I was jealous of her. I'd always been

jealous of Naden, who was born special, in the Star Dragon Mountain

Range, a place where our system of values was stiff and inflexible and

individuality tended to get buried. I wanted something special, something

the other dragons didn't have, like Naden...

"So many times, I wished I could have been born an ordinary dragon

like you, Ruby."

Things really don't work out the way you want them to. In the end, we

were both just wishing for what we didn't have.

I looked up to the ceiling that was so high I couldn't see it. The tears

from the corners of my eyes streamed toward my ears. Oh, geez, where did

I go wrong...?

"Yeah, I can't just see this as someone else's problem." Suddenly, there

was a voice from above my head. When I looked up, a well-muscled young

man with red hair was looking down at me. "When I see how you messed

up, got beaten black and blue, and left lying here, it reminds me of how I

was, not so long ago. I messed up with Souma, too, and my old man gave

me a thrashing for it."

While he said that, the red-haired young man scratched his head. Then,

crouching down to take a look at my face as I lay facing upward, he

laughed.

"Ah... This may be none of my business, but one piece of advice: You

can't change the fact you screwed up. There's no undoing it."

I was silent.

"So, how are you going to make up for it? There's stuff in this world

you can't make up for, sure. But if you can, you'll want to do that, so you

can puff your chest out with pride, right?"

Make up for it, and puff my chest out with pride...

"Make it up to the person I wronged, you mean?" I asked.

"No. To yourself."

Make up for what I did wrong. So that I can approach myself with

pride. I didn't know why, but for some reason, I found myself easily

accepting this young man's words. Then...

"What are you acting so important for, Hal?" a fox-eyed girl asked.

"Wha, Kaede?! Where's the harm? I'm just showing some compassion

here!"

"Hmm..."

The fox-eared girl looked at him coldly, and the red haired young man

began desperately trying to explain himself. He looked a little cool until just

now, but his panic ruined it.

Sometimes he was cool, and sometimes he was goofy... He was

interesting to watch. And besides...

"You'll want to do that, so you can puff your chest out with pride,

right?"

"To yourself."

I felt like this young man's words had given me direction. I got my

aching body up.

"Ah! Hey, are you sure you should be getting up?" the young man

asked.

"If it hurts, you can stay lying down, you know?" the fox-eared girl

said.

True, my body hurt all over, but... If I just lay here, I wouldn't be able

to puff up my chest with pride for my own sake. So I turned to the redhaired young man, the one the fox-eared girl had called Hal. I turned to Hal

and bowed my head deeply as I said, "I'd like to ask you a favor."

◇ ◇ ◇

Now then, with the dragons put firmly on notice about Naden, it was

time to think about the actual issue of what we were going to do with the

storm.

In deference to the thoroughly beaten dragons, we left the great hall,

which was filled with the sort of atmosphere you'd expect at a wake, and

relocated to a smaller room.

From what Naden said, this was like a waiting room for those who

would be having an audience with Madam Tiamat. In that room, I addressed

my companions.

"Naden and I saw something in that storm."

"Saw something?" Liscia asked.

I nodded. "I got just a glimpse of a black thing through a gap in the

clouds."

"You're sure you didn't imagine it, right?"

"We heard a voice, too, so I'm confident. I only really picked up

fragments of words, like 'you' and 'destroy,' though. You heard it, too,

right, Naden?"

"I did hear it, yes, but I wasn't able to make it out that clearly." Naden

crossed her arms and groaned in thought. "That, and I don't think it was in

our language. Like, I could tell they were saying something, but I had no

idea what it was?"

"Hm? Master could hear it, but Madam Naden couldn't?" Carla asked

in surprise, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"...May I interject for a moment?" Kaede, who had kept quiet up until

now, raised her hand.

With her perception, Kaede worked as a staff officer for Ludwin, who

was seen as the future commander-in-chief of the National Defense Force.

In our current situation, without Hakuya around, she was a reliable thinker.

"If I recall, you aren't from this world, right, sire?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's right."

"In your world, they must have used a different language than what we

speak in this one. In spite of that, you understand our language, and we

understand yours because of a strange power."

That was right. To be more precise, Liscia and the others heard the

Japanese I was speaking as Japanese, but they could apparently understand

it. The reverse was also true. For instance, if I sang in Japanese, Liscia and

the others would understand the lyrics, but if Juna then perfectly imitated

my singing, Liscia and everyone else would have no idea what the lyrics

meant.

Come to think of it... I can read and write in this world's language,

can't I?

Mysteriously, I was able to recognize the writing system used in this

world. I could write and read it.

On the other hand, if I were to show Liscia something in Japanese

writing, she would have no idea how to read it. So that meant the translation

ability only worked on my side. Thanks to that, I was able to do my

paperwork, but... could there be some meaning behind why the translation

worked differently for spoken word and text?

While I was wondering about that, Kaede asked Naden, "Madam

Naden, you and your fellow dragons are able to speak directly to our

conscious minds, right?"

"Yeah. We call it speaking into the heart, or psychic speech, though."

"That's where I've had a thought," Kaede said. "I think His Majesty's

ability could be similar."

That made sense. Telepathy, huh? It wasn't directly working on the

sense of hearing, it was working on the part of the brain that processed

information. Maybe Tomoe's ability to talk with animals and demons

worked similarly.

But why had this topic suddenly come up...? Oh, right.

"It's possible that the reason I could make out what it was saying, and

Naden couldn't, was that one of us had a power like that working for us,

and the other didn't, you mean."

"Yes. I can't help but suspect that."

"Well, does that mean that whoever's in that cloud was using the

language from the world Souma came from?" Liscia asked.

Oh, yeah. That was a possibility, wasn't it?

But Kaede firmly shook her head at the suggestion. "I don't think so."

"How can you be so sure?" Liscia asked.

"It would be faster to put this to the test. Sire, I know this may be a bit

of a bother, but can you teach me how you greet each other in the morning

in the language of the world you came from? Slowly, please."

When she said that to me, I broke it down for her syllable by syllable.

"O-ha-yo-u."

"Ohayou, is it?" Kaede asked. "Ohayou, princess."

Liscia looked surprised and her eyes opened wide. "Weird! They both

sound like 'Ohayou,' but I understand it means 'Good morning' when

Souma says it, and when I hear it from Kaede, it sounds like an unfamiliar

language."

"I-Is that how it is?" I asked.

Kaede nodded. "Yes. I think this is proof that the one in the cloud

wasn't speaking in the language of the world you came from. If they were

using the language of your country, Naden would have heard them

pronounce the words 'you' and 'destroy,' even if she didn't understand

them."

Even if she hadn't heard them as words, she'd have heard them being

pronounced... huh.

Kaede brought a hand to her mouth and spoke as if thinking aloud. "His

Majesty understood the one in the cloud, but Naden didn't. And it's hard to

think it was the language of the world His Majesty came from. That would

lead to the conclusion that the one in the cloud was speaking a language

that isn't the common language of this continent, and isn't the language of

the world His Majesty came from."

What was that? Did that mean the person in the cloud wasn't from this

world, or from my world, but from some other world entirely? If there was

someone like that out there, we'd really have no way of knowing how to

deal with them.

...Wait, huh?

No, that's not it, I thought. They don't need to have come from another

world. We already have them. Here, on this continent, there are already

people using a completely different language.

"Demons..."

When I said that word, everyone gulped.

The mysterious races, different from monsters, said to live deep within

the Demon Lord's Domain. The only known case of dialogue with them had

been a short exchange between Tomoe and a kobold. It was something that

only worked because of Tomoe's special ability, so that was to be expected.

It wouldn't be strange at all for them to have their own language

system, completely separate from the common language of this continent

and the languages of the world I'd come from. Also, if the demons were

able to speak, my mysterious translation ability might allow me to hear it.

Just like how, in the middle of the storm, I was the only one who'd been

able to make out what was said.

My ability wouldn't let me hear what animals were saying like Tomoe's

did, but maybe it would allow me to talk to demons?

"...Do you think that could be why Madam Tiamat called me the

'key'?" I asked.

"I think that's likely it." Kaede nodded.

Holding her head in her hands, Liscia said, "Suppose for a moment...

that really is a demon in the clouds..."

"Suppose it is?" I asked.

"I don't want you to go, Souma." Liscia said, looking me straight in the

eye. "It's too dangerous. If anything were to happen to you, our country... I

would..."

Aisha was the next to speak up. "That's right! I'll go in His Majesty's

place, and I'll cut that evil thing down!"

I was sure they were both worried for my safety. I knew how weak I

was, so I would normally avoid this kind of danger. But this one time, I felt

like there was no way around it.

"If this could be solved with martial prowess, Madam Tiamat wouldn't

have bothered to call me here. There are plenty of folks out there who are

stronger than me, after all. Since that's not it, Madam Tiamat must think

this incident should be resolved through dialogue."

"But..." Aisha complained.

"I think this is a valuable opportunity. Our country has the good fortune

to be far from the Demon Lord's Domain. If we miss this chance, though,

there's no telling when our next opportunity to hold dialogue with a demon

will come. We should gather what information we can, while we're able to

do it."

"Souma..." Still looking worried, Liscia put a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, I intend to keep myself as safe as possible," I assured her.

"We have the equipment we brought from the kingdom, too. I'll also have

Aisha come to escort me. I want everyone else to wait on the ground.

Naden, I want you to let Aisha ride on your back, too. Is that going to be

okay?"

I heard that dragons only let their partners ride on their backs, after all.

Naden thought about it for a while. "Hmm, I don't like it, but... Aisha is

my partner's partner, so I guess we can treat her as being like my partner,

too? Just remember that she won't receive my protection, so she better be

tied down tightly, okay?"

Carla crossed her arms and groaned. "'The partner of my partner is my

partner,' is it? It seems I can't accompany you, then. I can't fly in these

winds, either. I did want to do something to help..."

"There's no helping it, given the situation," I said. "Aisha, sorry to

make you do this, but protect me."

"I am already the one who protects you, your kochiji!" Aisha said,

thumping her chest with pride.

Liscia took her hand. "Aisha, look after Souma for me."

"Lady Liscia... Yes! Please, leave it to me!" Aisha put her other hand on

top of Liscia's.

Now then... For now, that was about it, right? Everyone had their roles

assigned... Wait, huh? I looked around at my comrades and noticed

something.

"Huh? Where did Hal go?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it... he's not here." Liscia looked around

restlessly. There were only six people in this room: Liscia, Aisha, Naden,

Carla, Kaede, and me. Where did Hal go off to?

"About that..." Kaede said, seeming to not want to say any more. "He

has some preparations to make, you know? So he's sitting this meeting

out."

"Preparations?" I asked.

"Well, um... Think of it as insurance, in case something happens."

Kaede said in a way that implied some deeper meaning.

Maybe Kaede was getting something ready in case an unexpected

situation were to arise. Kaede had great foresight, so if she was preparing

something to help us, that was reassuring.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, you know... (Is Hal going to be okay...?

He understood what her proposal meant when he accepted it, right?)"

"Hm? Your voice got quiet at the end there," I said.

"...No, it's nothing, you know." Kaede said, hurriedly shaking her head.

I didn't really get it, but... Well, whatever.

"Anyway, everyone, I'm counting on you," I said.

"So, why exactly are you wearing that thing, Souma?" Liscia asked,

staring at me with distaste, while we were preparing to go into the cloud.

I was dressed up in a roly-poly kigurumi costume. In its hands was a

naginata; over its shoulder a string of prayer beads; over its face a silk

covering from under which peeked two adorable acorn-like eyes. It was one

of the Little Musashibo (Large) dolls that I hadn't worn myself since the

time I drank with Juno and her party. This Little Musashibo was one of the

pieces of equipment I'd brought with us from the kingdom, just in case.

"I told you I intend to keep myself as safe as possible, didn't I?" I

opened up the head portion wide and turned to face Liscia.

The one I wore before was the type you enter from a hole in the back,

but on this one, the head opened upward like the lid of a rice cooker. It was

markedly easier to put on and take off than the previous ones. I was

working on even more simple upgrades to it even now.

"Even if it looks like this, I spent more money than I should have to

make it out of good materials, so it's sturdier than your average piece of

armor, you know? It's highly bladeproof, bulletproof, cold-resistant, heatresistant, and acid-resistant. You can fight dungeon monsters in this thing.

My Living Poltergeists works on it, too, so it's easy to move around in."

"Still... Sigh, I feel stupid for worrying." Liscia was holding her head.

Wow, we hadn't done this in a while. When we first met, I felt like

Liscia was always being dragged around by whatever I was doing, and she

was constantly holding her head.

Well... she had company now...

"Something is wrong," Naden muttered when she saw me in my

kigurumi equipment. "I dreamed of having a knight ride on my back, so

why do I have to let this mysterious creature (?) fly with me...?" She held

her head.

"No, no, I don't want to hear that from an actual mysterious creature

like a ryuu."

"I'm going to fly with you wearing that thing?! Isn't it a little too

silly?!"

"..."

Dendera, dendera, a ryuu flies through the sea of clouds. On its back is

a deeply satisfied Little Musashibo.

...Yeah. Just imagining that, I felt the sense of mysterious fantasy

running wild.

"W-Well, this is an emergency," I said. "Just bear with me, please."

"Urgh... Fine, I get it."

"Aisha, are you ready, too?" I called.

"Any time you are!" With her usual greatsword over her shoulder,

Aisha gave me a firm nod.

Because we would be going through wind and rain, Aisha was wearing

a rain-repelling cape that covered her whole body over the top of her usual

light equipment.

Now then, with our preparations ready, it was time to go. To meet

whoever was in those thick clouds.

And so, the ryuu flew into the storm. On her back rode a dark elf in a

raincoat, and a roly-poly mystery creature (?).

The wind roared by our ears.

Naden pushed forward as if it was no big deal, but the wind and beating

against our bodies was as strong as ever.

"Aisha, are you okay?!" I called.

"Just fine! The shaking isn't as bad up here as it was in the gondola!"

Unlike with me, Naden's protection didn't cover Aisha, so she was

experiencing the full effects of the wind, rain, and gravity. That was why I

had Aisha sitting in front of me, tied down with rope, just like Little

Musashibo. Though, with the way Little Musashibo was built, it did look a

bit like she was strapped into a first class seat.

"Still, do you suppose we can find whoever it is out there in this

storm?" Aisha asked, protecting her face from the rain with her arms. "The

rain is making the visibility terrible."

True enough, searching for anything in this rain was going to be hard.

...Actually, now that I was already wearing it, I realized this kigurumi

suit left me with a really narrow field of vision. You might be thinking this

should have been obvious, but because my ability, Living Poltergeists, let

me look at things with an overhead view, it never bothered me before.

However, in this storm, I couldn't get the overhead view to work properly.

I mean, yes, I could see, but it was like looking at the static on an old

TV with bad reception. I hadn't noticed it before because I never tried

moving things around inside a storm, but did my ability have other

weaknesses like this?

With no other choice, I snapped open Little Musashibo's head. There

was a sudden, powerful gust of wind in my face, but if I couldn't use my

ability, I was going to have to rely on my own eyes. Like Aisha said,

visibility was still poor, but there might not be any need to search to begin

with.

"If they're the one causing this storm, they're sure to be in the center of

it, Naden," I said.

"I know. We'll be at the center of the storm soon."

Then, all of a sudden, the sound of wind and rain lessened. Had the

storm weakened?

The feeling of raindrops striking my face was gone now. The wind was

still strong, but the lack of rain made things much easier on me. Still, we

were surrounded by clouds here.

Nah, if we were inside a cloud, it would feel like we were enveloped in

fog. If I could tell there were clouds surrounding us, that meant that this

spot was the one place without any clouds.

"This is..."

"Sire! Look up!" Aisha called.

At Aisha's urging, I looked up, and there...

"What is that thing...?"

There was a huge, gray mass floating there. It was more or less a cube,

with around ten meters to each side. Naden, in her current ryuu form, was

around forty meters long, so it was questionable whether it would be

possible for her to wrap herself around it once. That massive cube was

ignoring gravity and floating there.

"Is that what you saw, sire?"

"...I'm not sure. I could only see its shadow."

"But that's definitely the thing that's at the center of this current!"

Naden said, glaring at the cube.

That was... what caused the storm? Kaede's reasoning was that it was a

demon, but was that thing even alive? Whether I judged it by the standards

of this world, or the standards of my former one, that thing was bizarre.

Then...

"Why.... you... not... answer..."

I heard that voice again. It sounded broken up, and was hard to make

out, but it was high, like a woman's voice, only something felt off about it.

Was it coming from that cube?

"Aisha, Naden, did you understand that language?" I asked. "It was

saying something about an answer."

"Was it, sire? I couldn't hear a thing."

"I could tell it was saying something, but that's it..."

Like we expected, they couldn't understand the words they were

hearing. I repeated the words I heard for their benefit.

"Tiama... you destroy... my children... so why..."

"Let's see... 'Tiama, you destroy, my children, so why,'" I translated.

"Why will you not des... I have no... left..."

"'Why will you not des, I have no, left.'"

Naden and Aisha both groaned.

"Tiama... That's Lady Tiamat, right?" Naden asked. "It's gotta be."

"It certainly does sound like they have something to say to Madam

Tiamat," Aisha said.

I agreed with the two of them. Did Madam Tiamat know something

about this cube? Come to think of it, hadn't Madam Tiamat predicted this

storm?

Could it be... this object was in contact with Tiamat before? While I

was thinking that, the quality of the voice suddenly changed.

"Even after... still you... don't resp..."

"'Even after, still you, don't resp'... huh."

The voice I was hearing was level, with no intonation. But, from the

choice of words, I sensed something like anger. The full picture of things

wasn't clear, but it felt like it was criticizing her harshly.

"I feel like I get it, but I don't," said Aisha, twisting her head to the

side. "I wish it would come out and say it more clearly."

Naden was thinking, too. "'You' is... probably Lady Tiamat, right?

Does that mean..."

"Hold on! They're still saying something." I cut Naden off, and

listened.

"In that case..."

"'In that case,'" I repeated.

"I... will destroy... your children's world."

"Wha?!"

"Whoa, Souma?! What'd they say?!" Naden shouted, but I couldn't put

it into words immediately.

I will destroy your children's world?

If Naden was right, and the "you" here was Madam Tiamat, then her

children were Naden and the dragons, and the world they lived in was

Dracul. Did that voice intend to destroy it? It was a clear warning of

destructive intent.

Is this... not something we can resolve with dialogue...?

"I... destroy. So that you... destroy me..."

"Wha?!"

I will destroy. So that you will destroy me. That was what it sounded

like to me.

Destroying, in order to be destroyed? The owner of this voice didn't

want to destroy Dracul, it was trying to get Madam Tiamat to destroy them

by doing so. They were mad because Madam Tiamat refused to do it? In

other words, this storm was being produced by the owner of the voice's

desire to be annihilated.

"Souma!" Naden called, snapping me back to my senses.

"Ah!"

"Get it together! You're the only one here who understands what that

thing says, you know?!"

"Sorry. It seems like that thing is trying to destroy Dracul because it

wants Madam Tiamat to destroy it."

"Huh? It's the one who wants to be destroyed, but it's destroying

someone else's land? I admit I don't understand the desire to be destroyed,

but aren't its objective and method somewhat disjointed?" Aisha looked

perplexed.

Even I didn't understand the reason.

"Well, whatever the case, that thing's come all the way to Dracul

looking to be destroyed. But Madam Tiamat seems to have refused, maybe

for a good reason. That's apparently why that thing caused the storm. It

seems to think that if it puts Madam Tiamat's children... that is to say, the

dragons... in peril, Madam Tiamat will be forced to destroy it."

"That's a lot of 'seem's' and 'apparently's', don't you think?"

"Hey, it's not like I can help it. I'm working with fragmentary

information."

Madam Tiamat knew all the details, probably, but, like Hakuya said

before, she told me she lacked the "authority" to tell me about it, so that

was the end of that.

Could the reason Madam Tiamat chose not to destroy that thing have to

do with this "authority" business, as well?

"I... destroy. So... you... will destroy..."

The voice repeated those words again. Then around twenty small

spherical objects flew out of the upper half of the gray cube. Well, I called

them small, but they were only small relative to the cube. In terms of size,

they were probably a meter in diameter. Those spheres didn't float, and

were pulled downward by gravity.

Seeing that, Naden asked in a panicked voice, "Hey, Souma, are

those...?"

"Yeah. They look like bad news to me, too."

Countless mystery spheres had appeared after it talked about

destruction. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Naden! Can you shoot them down without getting closer?!" I called.

"I'll do it!"

Roaaaaaaaaaaaar!

Naden roared, unleashing an electric strike on the things that had flown

out. The electric strike branched out as it went forward, piercing through

the scattered spheres. Then...

Boom!

The moment the electricity struck them, those spheres let out a brilliant

blue and white flash, and swelled up to become balls of light. Following the

light, we heard a rumbling sound, and the wind pressure that slammed into

us after that told us all too clearly how incredible the explosion was.

I knew it... Those black spheres were something like bombs!

Aisha turned back to me, as if she just remembered something. "This is

bad, sire! Liscia and the others are down there!"

"I know. Naden, I'm counting on you! Shoot them down, no matter

what!"

"That was the plan all along!"

While swimming through the sky, Naden unleashed electric shock after

electric shock, shooting down the falling objects one after another. But there

were just too many.

"Madam Naden! I will assist you!" Aisha undid the ropes fixing her in

place, and stood up. "Sire, hold me in place, please!"

"L-Like this?!" I pulled my upper torso out of the Little Musashibo

doll, and wrapped my arms around Aisha's hips. At the same time, I

controlled the Little Musashibo doll, having it hold Aisha's ankles to keep

her in place. Aisha, who was now riding on Naden's back in a standing

position, readied her usual greatsword.

"Now then, sire, keep your head down, please!"

"S-Sure."

"Here I go... Hahhhhhh!" With a loud cry of exertion, Aisha swung her

greatsword.

The blast of wind I had seen before while watching her training with

Liscia flew forth, splitting one of the falling objects in two. Then a

sideways swing; a diagonal slash from the left; a diagonal slash from the

right. With each swing of Aisha's greatsword, a sharp blast of wind would

fly forth, cutting down one of the falling objects.

Aisha was always a bit of a disappointment in her daily life, but on the

battlefield she was reliable, and the most powerful warrior in the kingdom.

With Naden and Aisha going to work, the spherical objects dropped by

the cube were either blown up or cut in two. However, it kept dropping

them, one after another.

"This is endless..." Aisha groaned.

"But if we don't shoot them down, they'll cause damage below," Naden

said.

"We cannot advance, and we cannot retreat. We'll be whittled down to

nothing like this."

Aisha was probably right. Damn! If only we could get in touch with the

ground, we could warn them of the danger and have them evacuate. I

should have brought a Factory Arm to serve as a relay... Well, whining

about the things I didn't have wasn't going to help.

"Oh, geez. What can we do?" I looked up at the cube, wracking my

brains.

Then it happened.

"Heyyyyyy..."

I heard a voice coming from somewhere. It was unlike the voice I had

been hearing up until now. This time, it was a man's voice.

"Heyyyyy! Soumaaaaa!"

This voice was coming... from below?!

When I leaned over Naden's side to look down, I saw a red dragon

driving toward us at an incredible speed. Her wings were folded, and she

was in an almost arrow-like shape. Hold on, wasn't she flying awfully fast

for not beating her wings?

Furthermore, Halbert was on her back, holding on for dear life.

"Hal?!" I shouted.

"Ruby?!" Naden cried out at the same time.

Ruby shot past us with Halbert riding on her back. The two of them

continued to ascend vertically like that, but eventually they lost inertia, and

started falling upside down. Her wings weren't spread... Oh, that was it!

Because if she spread them, they'd be affected by the winds, huh!

"Naden!" I called.

"I know!"

Naden got underneath the falling Ruby and caught her. From there, she

wrapped her body around Ruby and fixed her in place. Ruby sounded

relieved when she said, "This method of flying's... not easy on the heart."

"Ruby, how did you...?"

"Save the chitchat for later! We can't let those things reach the ground,

right?!"

With those words, Ruby inhaled deeply, and set loose the flamethrower

known as a dragon's breath. The flames stretched out like a blowtorch,

frying the objects and making them explode.

When she saw that, Naden spun her body around flinging electrical

shocks in all directions. With that, Ruby's breath went around like the hands

of a clock, setting off the falling objects across an even wider area.

The area around us was filled with brilliant flames, electricity, and

explosions. It irritated my eyes.

By triggering all of them to explode at once, it had given us some

leeway until the next set were dropped.

"So, how are you here, Ruby?" Naden asked Ruby, who was breathing

a little raggedly, when things settled down. Now that she mentioned it,

hadn't we talked about how a winged dragon couldn't fly in these wild air

currents?

"I had this person here cooperate with me... and did some crazy things

to fly up here..." Ruby said while trying to catch her breath. Stretching out

her long neck, she used her snout to point to her back.

By "this person here," did she mean Hal?

"Hal, just what on Earth did you do...?" I asked, feeling thoroughly

exhausted.

Hal pointed behind him. "Souma... You brought this, didn't you? We

used it... to fly right here."

What Hal was pointing at as he said that was the Maxwellian

Propulsion Device affixed to the back of his saddle, the Little Susumu Mark

V Light.

My eyes went wide.

So this was what Kaede was talking about!

◇ ◇ ◇

Earlier...

"I'd like to ask you a favor." I sat my aching body up, corrected my

posture, and then bowed my head to the red-haired young man.

When I did, Hal exchanged glances with the fox-eared girl... Kaede,

was it? "I'm not sure this is the time to suddenly be asking for favors..."

"First, I'd like to hear what that favor is, you know," said Kaede. "Is

there something you'd like to ask Hal for?"

"I don't care what it is. Just give me something I can do!" I said

pleadingly. I bowed my head again deeply. "I don't want to rely on Naden

to fix this situation! If I leave the fate of Dracul to Naden, while I do

nothing... I won't be able to have pride in myself anymore."

I couldn't fly in this storm. Even so, if I let Naden do all the work, I

wouldn't be living up to the reputation of the dragons of the Star Dragon

Mountain Range.

That wasn't all. If I made Naden take all the risks, and then something

happened to her, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

"You're that king, Souma's, vassals, aren't you? There's nothing we can

do, but since you two have come from outside the Star Dragon Mountain

Range, I thought you might have some way of doing it."

"I dunno..." said Halbert.

"I don't care how dangerous it is. I want you to let me do something,

too." My feelings were tearing me up inside.

Hal scratched his head with a troubled look on his face. "Hmm, I don't

have any idea how to fly when the skies are so bad that even a dragon can't

fly. Kaede's magic manipulates gravity, but even with that, she can only

make things float off the ground a little. Right?"

"Yeah. I don't think earth magic is going to be able to do anything

here," Kaede nodded.

Was it like I feared? Was there nothing I could do?

When despair was beginning to set in, Kaede suddenly said, "But it's

not like we don't have any way at all, you know."

"Y-You have something?!"

"It's dangerous, but... if your wings are going to catch the wind, you

can just not open them, you know."

Not open my wings? She was telling me to fly without flapping my

wings? That was... something only Naden could do.

Hal also had a dubious look on his face. "No, no, how is a winged

dragon supposed to fly without her wings?"

However, Kaede just looked at him with exasperation. "Have you

forgotten, Hal? The thing we have in the gondola."

"In the gondola? Let's see, there's that weird kigurumi thing that

Souma uses, and... Oh, that! The propeller, that Little Susumu

whatchamacallit!"

Propeller? I had no idea what they were talking about, but they seemed

to think it would work.

Kaede pointed at my back and said, "Dragons and wyverns are different

sizes, yes, but their overall shape is similar. If we put the Little Susumu

Mark V Light on her back, like we do for the wyvern cavalry, then fire it up

to full power, even with her wings folded, I think she could climb straight

up from the ground."

"I get your reasoning, but... isn't that dangerous?" Hal asked dubiously.

"She can only rise straight up, right?"

Kaede nodded, affirming his concerns. "Of course. There's no way to

change direction. It's only able to go up. Besides, we haven't tested it in

storm conditions, so I don't know if what I was just saying is actually

possible." Kaede looked concerned. "However, as things stand, if she wants

to do something, this is about the only way..."

"I don't mind," I said firmly. "I'm well aware of the danger. Let me do

it."

"Ruby..."

"Aw, geez! Looks like I've got no other choice!" Hal scratched his

head, a grin on his face. "I'm the one who got you fired up to do this. I'll

have to go with you."

Halbert's proposal made Kaede's eyes go wide. "Hal... you do

understand what you're saying means, don't you?"

"That I'll be in danger? Yeah, I'm ready for that. Besides, the dragon

wearing the propeller can't control it. She needs someone to ride her and

steer it, right?"

"That's not my only concern... Oh, geez, there's no other choice, is

there?" Kaede muttered. "Fine. I'll find a good way to tell His Majesty."

Kaede shrugged her shoulders in resigned exasperation as she approved

the idea.

"Thank you. Hal, Kaede."

I bowed my head to the two of them again. I couldn't have been more

grateful.

Here and now, an impromptu red dragon knight was born.

◇ ◇ ◇

While Naden and Aisha continued intercepting the falling objects, I

gave Hal and Ruby a quick rundown of the situation.

This cube was causing the storm, the objects it was dropping were

bombs, and it would be dangerous to let them fall to the surface. I didn't

mention that the thing was apparently trying to destroy Dracul so that it

would be destroyed itself. I had no proof, and I didn't want to take the time

to explain it.

When they heard my explanation, Hal and Ruby nodded in unison.

"Got it," Hal said. "We'll handle contacting the ground."

"The other dragons can fight from down on the ground, too." Ruby

stretched her neck, bringing her face closer to Naden's. "So, Naden, don't

worry about things down below. Head straight for that thing."

"Can I trust you to handle this?" Naden asked.

"Your job is to carry Souma, right? As a dragon of the Star Dragon

Mountain Range, I may not be able to clear the way for you, but I'll at least

cover your back."

"...Okay."

Naden uncoiled herself and released Ruby. The moment they were set

free, Hal and Ruby let gravity take its course and fell straight down.

I shouted after them, "Hal! Take care of Liscia and the others!"

"Count on it! You do your thing, too!"

The opposite of the way they came, Hal and Ruby fell headlong to the

surface. Even as they were falling, Hal threw the spear he was holding and

took down one of the falling objects. It looked like his dratrooper training

had paid off. Red-haired Halbert, riding on a red dragon, and throwing a

spear... huh.

"They're doing the whole dragon knight thing properly, huh..."

"You can say that again," said Naden. "Meanwhile, we're all weird."

"Now, now, sire," Aisha said. "They're them, and we're us. Why can't

we just leave it at that?"

""Pfft!"" When Aisha summed it up like that, Naden and I cracked up

laughing. When she dismissed it in such a carefree way, even if Dracul was

in danger, it felt like it wasn't a big deal.

Yeah, I was starting to feel like we could do something about this.

"Haha... Now then, let's leave the falling objects to those on the ground,

and go take a look at that cube ourselves," I said.

"Yeah. Let's go, Souma, Aisha."

"Okay!" Aisha cried.

With a burst of acceleration, Naden began to climb.

◇ ◇ ◇

When Halbert and Ruby returned to the ground, the dragons had all

gathered in front of Crystal Castle. They could see Kaede, Liscia, and Carla

standing at the feet of those huge creatures, so Halbert and Ruby landed

next to them.

"Hal, how were things up in the sky?" Kaede asked.

Halbert pointed upward and said, "There was this weird blocky guy up

there. Souma and the others are heading to make contact. More importantly,

though, there're going to be bomb-like things dropping. We've gotta

intercept them."

"You're talking about intercepting them, but with all this rain, flames

are going to be only half as powerful," Carla, who also used fire magic,

pointed out.

The flames that dragons could spew were powerful, but they would

probably be weakened and blown away in all this wind and rain.

Liscia nodded bitterly. "My ice isn't something I can shoot into the sky,

either."

"There is a way, you know," Kaede said, then crouched down and ran

her hand over the ground. "You'll have to forgive a little change in the

topography, though."

With that, the ground began to swell up, and masses of rock and sand

about a meter across rolled around all over the place. Kaede used her earthtype magic. Even at a glance, there had to be around a hundred of those

masses. It must have taken a considerable amount of magical power.

As might be expected, Kaede stumbled, having overexerted herself, and

Liscia hurried to catch her.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Sorry. I overdid it a little."

With Liscia supporting her, Kaede explained the strategy to everyone.

"I want the dragons to throw these masses of dirt at the falling objects.

With a dragon's strength, you should be able to throw them fairly high. As

for everyone else, I'd like you to use bows enchanted with magic. The

priority is to protect Crystal Castle and the dragon eggs lying dormant

beneath it. Even if you have to ignore the others, please prioritize

intercepting any objects falling toward Crystal Castle."

"Got it... You heard her, everyone!" Liscia helped Kaede to stand, then

shouted to her companions and the dragons. Because she was the princess

of a nation, she naturally ended up giving commands here. "We're going to

support Naden and Souma from here!"

"""Yeahhhh!"""

"""Roaaaaaaaaaaar!"""

Her companions let out a war cry, and the dragons all roared at once.

"Ruby, we're going back to intercept them in the sky," Halbert said.

"Yes. Let's go, Hal."

Halbert and Ruby flew back up with the Little Susumu Mark V Light.

Everyone was trying their hardest to do what they could right now.

While watching that scene unfold, Liscia nocked an arrow.

We're going to do what we can to protect this place.

As she drew back on the bowstring, Liscia thought of Souma and the

others up in the sky.

So, everyone... Make sure you come home all right.

Letting it carry those feelings, Liscia loosed her arrow into the sky thick

with clouds.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Whoa," Aisha said suddenly.

"Are you okay, Aisha?" I asked with concern.

"Y-Yes!"

When we rose, we forgot that Aisha had undone the ropes that had been

keeping her in place. I caught her when she lost her balance, and tied the

rope around me to fix us in position. Even as I was doing that, Naden

continued to evade the falling objects and approach the cube. Outside of

scattering bombs, the cube didn't do anything to intercept us, and we were

easily able to come up alongside it.

Is this cube... ignoring us?

Did that mean its only target, or the only thing that interested it, was

Madam Tiamat? Or did it have an absolute confidence that no one but

Madam Tiamat could destroy it? Whatever the case, we'd gotten close

enough that we could have hopped over to it, so we were able to observe

the cube up close.

It was, as I suspected, a cube with ten meters to a side.

The surface that looked gray from a distance was made from layers of a

glossy stone like cut obsidian, and there were elevated geometrical patterns

on it. It was clearly artificial, but some parts were covered in moss. Other

parts were hard to tell whether they were old or new. There was no sign of

any sort of propeller or jet engine; it was really floating.

Hm... I heard a voice, so I was expecting a creature, or a vehicle of

some type...

No matter how I looked at it, this was just a cube. Not a vehicle, or

anything like that.

Still, there was no way an ordinary cube, with no means of propulsion,

would be floating high up in the sky. Maybe, unlike its simple exterior, the

inside of this thing was really complex.

I don't know if this was proof of that, but the upper front side had

countless holes in it, and they were spewing out those bomb-like objects.

The image of it spitting out bombs at regular intervals was very systematic,

and mechanical.

If that was the case, then maybe this was an example of what Genia

called overtechnology, like the Jewel Voice Broadcast jewels, or the

Lunalith which was said to be in the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria.

"Looking at the surface... I don't think it's impossible to cut it," Aisha

said. "Do you mind if I try?"

"...Can you aim for a corner? If it breaks and falls, there's no telling

what effect that could have, after all."

"Yes, sir... Hah!"

Aisha swung her greatsword, firing off that sharp blast of wind. The

blast of wind landed a square blow on the corner of the cube... Or it should

have. However, the cube showed no sign of change.

Aisha lowered her greatsword and groaned. "Hrm... This surface is

much harder than steel."

Did that mean she could have cut through steel?

Aisha pulled out a knife from her pocket and threw it at the cube. The

knife flew straight at it, then there was a strange high-pitched noise, and it

fell.

"Look. There isn't even a tiny scratch on the surface."

"Does that mean it's super hard?"

"No, it didn't sound like it made contact. It looked like it was deflected

just before it touched the surface, too."

"Hmm... Does it have a force field of some sort up?"

"Forsfild? What's that?" Aisha asked, looking confused.

"It's a scientific sort of barrier. Even in my old world, they only existed

in fiction."

It was a sci-fi sort of ability, but I felt like it might be possible with

overscience, which went beyond the realm of human understanding.

I had an idea for something we could try.

"Naden, could you hit it with an electric shock?" I asked.

"Okay, but... are you sure you want me to go at full power?"

"Yeah. Give it everything you've got."

"Okay, then... Hah!"

Zap, crackle!

Naden's mane stood on end as she unleashed an electric shock into the

cube.

Purple lightning tore through the air, and just as it was about to impact

the cube, another indescribable sound, much louder than the one before,

echoed through the area. It was like someone magnified the sound of nails

on a chalkboard, then ran it through a filter. It was a noise that grated on the

ears like that.

However, even though the noise was loud enough to be pain-inducing,

there was no change in the cube. How tough was that thing...?

I scratched my head. "Physical attacks, magic, and electricity, all

ineffective, huh? It says it wants to be destroyed, but the thing's way too

tough."

"Isn't that why it wants Lady Tiamat to break it?" asked Naden.

"Yeah, that's probably it..."

While wracking my brain over what to do, I heard that voice again.

"I will destroy. So that you will destroy me."

I heard it clearly. The voice was too high to be male, which made it

seem to be female, but there was something off about it. Now that I heard it

clearly, something caught my attention about it.

This voice...

I'd heard it somewhere before. For some reason, that was the sense I

got. But where?

I tried searching my memories, but the cube wasn't going to give me

time.

Tiamat... if this is not enough to make you destroy me...

There was a sound from the bottom of the cube.

"Naden, head down!" I called.

"You got it!"

We moved down, and the bottom face opened up like a box. Something

shaped like a telephoto camera lens grew straight out of the bottom.

This telephoto-lens-like thing... I had a real bad feeling about it.

"I really will destroy everything of yours."

The lens sticking out of the bottom began to emit light. It was a pale

light at first, but it gradually grew brighter.

This scene... I'd seen something like it in an old-ish sci-fi movie. The

bottom of the massive saucer from space opened up, it gradually filled with

more and more light... and then the light flooded out and blew away the

buildings and cities beneath it.

Wait, Liscia and the others were under this thing!

"Aisha, Naden, attack that part on the bottom!" I cried.

"O-Okay!"

"Roger that! Hahhhhh!"

Aisha launched a blast of wind from her sword, and Naden fired off an

electrical attack. However, despite the loud noises, the telephoto-lens-like

thing was unaffected, and it continued to gather light.

At this point, I could only imagine a future where that light was fired

down at the ground.

"Stooooop!" I screamed, despite myself, as loud as I possibly could.

"S-Sire?" said Aisha.

"Souma?" faltered Naden.

I kept shouting at the cube. "If you want to get busted, then go fall

somewhere, or sink into the ocean, and break on your own! Don't get other

people... don't get my family caught up in your self-destructive urges, you

dummy!"

"Com... lang... detected... abling functions."

With that, the light suddenly stopped gathering, and the telephoto-lenslike thing sticking out of the bottom gradually lost its shine. Eventually it

vanished completely, and the cube tucked that lens back inside itself. Had

it... stopped?

Looking at it carefully, the cube stopped dropping those objects, too.

"Do you suppose it's stopped?" Aisha asked.

"Did what Souma say stop it?"

Aisha and Naden were both perplexed. Like Naden was saying, the

timing with which it happened suggested it listened to my shouting. Maybe

my words got through to it? Come to think of it...

"Sup... lang... detected... abling functions."

That was definitely what the cube said. There had been noise

interrupting it, so I couldn't pick up everything it said, but was "disabling

functions" what it said?

If so, the first half, "Sup, lang, detected," interested me. "Detected"

seemed pretty straightforward, but "sup, lang" meant... Huh?!

This cube stopped because I shouted. If this cube detected my words,

and disabled its functions as a result, then this "sup, lang" was in reference

to what I said.

In other words...

"Supported language..."

"Supported language detected. Disabling functions."

Had that been what the cube said?

A supported language... the language I was speaking... Japanese?!

Had this cube shut down because I used Japanese?

Was Japanese the key...? No, it was saying "supported language," so it

might support languages other than Japanese, too. Thinking more broadly,

had the cube shut down because I used one of the languages of Earth, or

because I used a language from a different world?

When I reached that conclusion, the shards of various memories inside

me started to connect.

The reason Madam Tiamat called me the key and invited me to the Star

Dragon Mountain Range. Was it not because I was a hero, but because I

was Japanese, or I was from Earth, or from another world?

The language I used... I didn't know whether it was because it was

Japanese, because it was a language of Earth, or because it was a language

from another world, but Madam Tiamat must have known it would be the

key to stopping that cube.

"It could be that Madam Tiamat is familiar with your world to some

degree," Hakuya said. "If Madam Tiamat was certain that you'd know

about ryuus, that means she must have known that the world you came from

had a concept of what a ryuu is."

"Madam Tiamat... knew about the world I came from?" I murmured.

I had this conversation with Hakuya just a few days ago.

We inferred that Madam Tiamat might know something about my

world. I was becoming convinced of that now. Madam Tiamat, the cube,

and the world I came from.

If there was some link between them, did that mean this world and that

world were connected in some way, too? In other words...

This world, which I thought was another world, might not actually be

another world.

Oh, geez... I just don't know anymore.

I had a lot of different speculations flying around in my head, but none

of them were any more than speculation.

Even if I wanted to make a judgment on it, I lacked the information to.

There was just one thing I knew about this world, and it was that I still

knew nothing about it. Just as my mind reached an extreme state of

confusion...

"I see... That's why Tiamat..."

The cube started saying something again.

"The fam... are still... not... lost..."

Its voice was cutting out. It was hard to make out what it was saying

like that, but it didn't seem angry, or sad. It sounded lonely, but almost like

it was praying for something.

"...iliar one... I have... request..."

"The fam... iliar one? Oh, familiar ones? But what is this request?" I

asked the cube.

Perhaps because it understood me, the cube began to explain.

"Please... familiar one... before your li... to an end... beg you... ease...

give my children peace... days..."

Damn! We were finally holding a conversation, but there was too much

being lost in the middle. It seemed like the cube was speaking fluently, but

the static was so bad that I couldn't figure out what it was saying.

"I can't hear you when you talk too long!" I called. "Tell me what you

want, as briefly as possible!"

The cube answered in one breath.

"Go north."

Go north, huh?

With that, the cube vanished.

"I-It disappeared..." I murmured.

It didn't fly away, or anything like that. It just vanished in an instant.

Most likely, it used a teleportation technique, like Madam Tiamat.

When the cube vanished, the storm that had been raging so hard turned

into a simple mass of clouds that eventually spread out and dissipated.

Before I knew it, we were left beneath a sky with the sun going down. The

clear air and the red of the setting sun sparkled to an almost blinding

degree.

"It feels like we dreamed the whole thing," Aisha said in a daze. It was

the kind of abrupt change that would do that to you.

"But it wasn't a dream, right, Souma?" said Naden. "What did that

blocky thing say at the end?"

I answered her, in as much of a daze as Aisha. "...Go north. That's what

it sounded like."

"North? By north, that has to mean..."

"The Demon Lord's Domain... I guess?"

I felt like I had gained a lot of information from this incident. However,

it created more questions than it solved. About my world, about me, about

the connection between the world I came from and this one...

The only thing I could say with any clarity was that none of the answers

were going to be coming anytime soon.

"Whatever the case, the storm's passed..." I said. "Let's head back to

the others."

Naden nodded. "Yeah. I'm feeling really exhausted."

The situation was more or less resolved, but we didn't feel fully

satisfied as we returned to the ground.