Chapter 3: The Narrowing Distance Between the Two(2)

MISTERLP

What I found myself looking up at was a giant dragon's head. Right

now, I was at the breast of a massive dragon that was sitting like the

sphinx. That head... It was the same dragon I had seen in my dream.

Did that mean this supermassive dragon was Mother Dragon? I'd

thought she was big when I saw her in my dreams, but because it'd been a

dream, her size had been kind of hazy. When I saw her up close and

personal like this, she seemed even bigger than I'd assumed in my dream.

I heard a voice from above. "You've done well. Let us have some time

alone."

The dragon who had carried me this far said, "Understood."

She bowed her head, and was then erased. Mother Dragon probably

teleported her away.

While I was still dumbstruck, Mother Dragon addressed me in a gentle

(though psychic) voice. "Now then, I think it would be much too haughty

of me to remain in this form when before the master of a nation."

With that said, her body began to shine and then shrink down. When

the brilliant light subsided, I beheld a woman who was roughly the same

height as me. Her face was covered by a veil, so I couldn't tell her age or

appearance, but the woman was wearing a shining, silver robe-like

garment, and had a well-balanced figure. As with the arms of the Venus de

Milo, not being able to see her face made me imagine it to be incredibly

beautiful.

"Is that... your human form?" I was awestruck, but somehow managed

to get those words out.

She chuckled. "Is this my human form, you ask? That's an apt name for

it." The woman lifted the hem of her robe and bowed. "I am pleased to

meet you in person like this. Greetings, King Souma of Elfrieden and

Amidonia. I am Tiamat, the one responsible for the Star Dragon Mountain

Range."

"It's an honor to meet you, Madam Mother Dragon." I returned her

bow. "I am King Souma of Friedonia."

Mother Dragon chuckled. "That name is something others just started

calling me of their own accord. Please, call me Tiamat."

"As you wish, Madam Tiamat. Um... sorry about my appearance."

Much too late, I realized I was still in that Kitakaze Kozou-style

traveler's outfit. I felt bad standing in front of the divine figure I saw

before me in this state. I had no time to change clothes, after all. But when

I said that, Madam Tiamat shook her head.

"No, you look like that because I called you here so suddenly. If

anyone should apologize, it is me. For a start... let's sit down."

A table made of glass and two matching chairs suddenly appeared

between us. Teleportation sure was a convenient ability. If I had that, I

could instantly find the documents I was looking for when working, so I

really wanted it...

I was thinking like a total slave to my job.

Once we sat down, Madam Tiamat began by bowing her head deeply.

"First, allow me to apologize for bringing you here so forcibly."

"I will accept that apology," I said. "But could I ask you to explain

your reasons? I was already on my way here with my companions when

you did so."

"I will tell you, of course. But first..."

Suddenly, a tea set appeared before my eyes. The teacup sitting in front

of me was already filled with a warm serving of black tea.

"Let's have tea. Do you take sugar or milk?"

"No, straight is fine."

It was time for me to stop being surprised by every little thing. She was

worshiped as a god, after all.

I took a sip of tea to calm my nerves. I was more of a coffee person,

honestly, but... it had a good fragrance. Tiamat drank her tea, then took a

breath before opening her mouth to speak.

"Now, as for what led me to force you to come here, that is because

there is an urgent situation that threatens the Star Dragon Mountain Range.

In order to resolve it, I need your.... no, the powers of all of you. That is

why I've summoned you here, well aware that I may cause offense."

She had some sort of situation on her hands? And what did she mean

about the powers of all of us? As far as I could tell, I was the only one

here.

"What exactly is this urgent situation you speak of?" I asked.

"A storm is approaching the Star Dragon Mountain Range," Madam

Tiamat said with a mysterious tone in her voice.

A storm? Wasn't Dracul a plateau at an altitude equivalent to the peak

of Mt. Fuji? Wouldn't they hear the thunder coming from below up here?

But thinking about it a bit longer, I remembered the peak of Mt. Fuji could

get still storms. They say cumulonimbus clouds can go all the way up to

the stratosphere, after all. No, but before that...

"Even our country can't do anything about natural phenomena," I said.

"Of course, this isn't a 'natural phenomenon.'"

"...Is it a metaphor of some sort?"

"Yes, that's right. I expressed an impending threat as a storm. In order

to deal with this storm, we will need your power, Sir Souma, and that of

one other. In order to bind the two of you together, I needed you to come

to the Star Dragon Mountain Range on your own."

Madam Tiamat spoke in a quiet voice, almost like she was composing

poetry.

"There is little time. If we waited for you to come together with your

entourage, there was the risk that the situation would get out of hand.

However, even if we explained the situation, there is no way the vassals of

a king would allow him to go to another country alone. Because of that, we

resorted to somewhat more forceful methods. I once again apologize. I'm

sorry for what we put you through."

Madam Tiamat offered a sincere bow.

I had the mother dragon who was revered as a god bowing her head to

me. What would Liscia and the others say if they heard about this?

That aside, she said she spirited me away because there was "little

time," but she was being awfully vague as to the reason why.

"You've apologized enough," I said. "Could I trouble you for a more

concrete explanation about this storm, or whatever it is?"

"The storm will definitely come. I cannot touch the storm directly.

However, my children cannot handle it themselves. Except... for one of

them. The storm will be a miserable calamity. We need you, who will be

the key to dealing with it, and that girl who will carry you. It is a miracle

that the calamity and the means of resolving it have encountered one

another in this time frame, but looking at the eternal flow of time as a

whole, it may have been an inevitability."

I was silent. I really didn't get it.

I scratched the back of my neck. "I do think this roundabout way of

discussing things is fitting for a god, but..."

"If you find it unpleasant, I apologize once more. However, this is the

most 'guidance' I can hand down."

"Guidance..." I muttered.

"I am a being who exists to raise and watch over those who live on this

continent of Landia. I can offer advice that guides things in a better

direction, but I have not been given the authority to intervene directly in

individual matters."

"If you haven't been given the authority, does that mean there's

someone who exists at a higher level than you?!" I exclaimed.

Mother Dragon was held up as the highest god by the practitioners of

Mother Dragon worship. If there was a being in a position to give her

authority, wouldn't that make that being the actual highest god? If the

practitioners of Mother Dragon worship heard this (setting aside the issue

of whether they'd even believe it), it could cause incredible chaos...

While I was staring, dumbfounded, Madam Tiamat silently shook her

head.

"There once was. But they are no more."

"R-Really?"

Was this like saying God is dead? I couldn't make a decision based on

the information available to me, but Madam Tiamat gave me a slightly sad

smile.

"Yes. However, the limitations placed upon me live on. That is how I

was born, and so I must continue to abide by those limitations. Even

knowing my own children will be exposed to the storm, I myself can do

nothing about it."

"So you called me here because of that storm?" I hedged.

"That is correct."

"I think, as far as humans go, I'm one of the weaker ones in this world,

though."

"Martial prowess has nothing to do with it," she said. "Your very

existence is the key."

"Does that have something to do with how I was summoned as a

hero?"

"Yes. However, I am unable to tell you precisely how."

"I dunno..." I scratched my head.

Going purely off the information provided to me, this didn't seem like

something I could make a decision on easily. However, seeing how sincere

Madam Tiamat was, I could be absolutely sure that the situation was

pressing, at the very least.

Argh. If I had Hakuya and his oratory skills here, I might have been

able to extract as much information from Madam Tiamat as was possible

within her limitations; and if I had any one of Liscia, Aisha, Juna, and

Roroa with me, I could have consulted them on what to do.

Speaking of Liscia and the others...

"Madam Tiamat," I said. "I'd like you to answer just one thing for me."

"What might that be? I hope it's something I'm not restricted from

telling you."

"It's a yes or no question." I finished my tea and calmed myself, then

sat up, looked Madam Tiamat straight in the eye, and asked her, "Is this

storm, or whatever it is, something that would harm me, or those who are

going to become my family?"

If I couldn't know all the details anyway, I at least wanted to make sure

of the one thing that was most important to me.

Madam Tiamat's response: "Yes."

That more or less decided my answer for me.