Chapter 7: The Storm(1)

MISTERLP

"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?