← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

The Wandering Wind Dragon

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「……Rather, I might know nothing but things I don't know.」

Elna sat down heavily, gazing at the flow of people walking in the city.

After cleaning, she had been asked to run an errand, which brought her to this moment. Noma worried that she wasn't used to the Royal Capital yet, but it wasn't a new place for Elna. The caring Noma had guided Elna through the city a few days ago, and Elna felt she already understood everything about the city.

That was why, when her anxious colleague offered to come along, Elna told her it was fine and set off with confidence, due to an emotion she couldn't quite swallow.

...And it had been a complete failure.

The sky had turned cloudy unnoticed. This was unusual in this country, where sunny days were common. It was as if the sky was reflecting Elna's mood, and she felt a vague uneasiness.

Suppressing a sigh that was about to escape, she sat on the stone steps, only for the sigh she thought she had restrained to escape her lips heavily. It wasn't that she was tired.

「...The country is smaller than I remember, and the Royal Capital is grander than before...」

She simply couldn't keep up with the overwhelming number of changes.

Of course, Elnalfia was a dragon of a size one had to look up at, so she had never wandered the streets walking directly on two legs like this. So perhaps she knew less than humans, but the sky of the Royal Capital was always hers. Houses, shops, plazas, flowers, and trees—Elna reflected every tiny change in her large, deep blue eyes, always filling the Royal Capital's sky with the sparkle and sound of glass.

—But that was Elnalfia. Not Elna.

Even though she understood this.

「...The weather is poor.」

No matter how much she narrowed her eyes and looked up, the figure of a dragon was not there. Only heavy, gray clouds drifted past.

「It's frustrating.」

Voicing the thought made her feel even more pathetic. I said it, she was amazed at herself.

Elna was a noble in name only. Elna's mother, reputed to be beautiful, had come to Baron Calzeed's house as a servant, practically a mistress, while pregnant. Elna, born there, was treated as a servant as well. After her mother's death, she was given the Calzeed name as an adopted child, but her treatment ultimately didn't change, but rather worsened. Thus, she had never even had the opportunity to know about the affairs of the country or the royal family. ...But she also understood that thinking this way was merely an excuse.

「I thought I knew everything about Vaid.」

She hadn't intended to speak to anyone, but the Hamster Spirit poked his face out from the pocket of Elna's clothes, twitching his nose. Having someone who would listen was slightly comforting.

「Yes, I was supposed to think I knew. But Vaid is gone now. I'm not a dragon, just a country bumpkin... a careless person who doesn't even know that the King has siblings, or even the territory of her own country properly.」

Every time Noma guided her through the castle, a half-hearted pride, accompanied by dark emotions, whispered in her ear that she, of all people, should know this place best. Yet, the castle Elna knew in her memories was hundreds of years old, and the current castle, which had undergone repeated renovations and expansions, was practically a different place entirely.

—I am Vaid, but I am Cross. You are also Elnalfia, but you are also Elna. There's no need to cling to the same name. And there is no need for us to maintain the same relationship.

Cross had lifted her and spun her around as he said that. But it wasn't something she could simply nod to and accept.

「This is...」

A single round mark appeared on the cobblestones.

「Just being a lost child...」

Light rain had begun to fall.

Before long, the figures of walking people disappeared. The words spoken to her in the past—When you are here, it feels like being in the rain—now felt dark and heavy.

「Hamu hamu. Literally just a lost child, gansu.」

「Could you not report the situation so calmly?」

She muttered, her face still buried between her knees.

She was abruptly pulled back to reality. Elna had no grasp of her current location, let alone her destination. She didn't know right or left, much less north or south. 「It's a pinch, gonsu. Puhi puhi.」 Don't add new sentence endings.

「...No, this is bad. This isn't the time for this.」

She thought feeling down was understandable, but she didn't want to sit there and get soaked. Just as she thought she should take shelter under some eaves and ask for directions, suddenly it became dark above her head. The hamster peering from Elna's pocket hurriedly hid.

In front of her was a girl with pale pink hair, even smaller than the petite Elna, holding out an umbrella with a friendly smile. The dark sky visible over the girl's shoulder seemed incongruous with her.

「Big Sister, by any chance do you need shelter from the rain?」

The rain pouring down on the cobblestones dyed them black. The sound of the rain gradually grew louder, washing over the Royal Capital city.

「Come on, Big Sister, please come right in. We welcome anyone here,」 the girl said, shaking her hair tied high, which bounced as she moved. Though her tone was mature, she couldn't have been more than ten or so. Her quickly blinking eyes were cute.

The place she arrived at, guided by the girl, turned out to be inside a church. Dragon sculptures were carved into the pillars supporting the high ceiling. Elna involuntarily stared up at them intently.

「We enshrine Lady Elnalfia here. I'll go get a towel!」

Saying that, she handed the dripping umbrella to Elna and swiftly disappeared. It was so fast. 「O-Oh...」 Elna didn't even have time to call out. The hand she held out swayed sadly.

「She's not... a nun.」

Perhaps the church was looking after her as an orphan. It was common for churches and orphanages to be annexed. It was said that Elnalfia was fond of children. Was it because she occasionally wagged her tail in service while flying in the sky?

(Come to think of it, Duke Halburn also said he was of the Elnalfia Order...)

That was the loud, large man who proposed adopting Elna.

She never thought she would have an opportunity to get involved so soon. The gentle rain echoed from above her head. Perhaps that was why. The dark interior was deserted.

Inside the dim room, pews were lined up with their backs to the entrance. Thinking that normally many people would be sitting here offering prayers to the dragon object made her feel strangely timid for some reason. The colored glass windows, which should normally let in bright light, were now being struck by the rain.

Just as she felt a shiver, a sneeze burst out. Elna's shoulders jumped as she covered her mouth. 「Maybe because I got cold... human bodies are easily compromised,」 she tilted her head while taking a handkerchief from a pocket different from the one holding the hamster and lightly patting her face.

As she looked, Elna was constitutionally not very fond of rain. So, having the pink-haired girl guide her to a sheltered location was actually very much appreciated. And this was a place enshrining Elnalfia. The connection should be... somewhat deep... yet she felt a strange emotional distance. It was like someone else's house. Well, literally, it should be.

「But, I wonder what it is, something...」

「Kakami, are you back? Or perhaps we have a visitor?」

Unthinkingly, she softly pressed down on the hamster's head, which was trying to peek out of her pocket, with the handkerchief she was holding. 「Hamu-gyu!」 I must apologize later, Elna thought, looking up at the man who appeared from the darkness.

He was an elderly, gentle-looking man who suited round glasses well. He was neither tall nor short. The wrinkles carved into his face seemed to express his character, and his lips were curved in a soft smile. Was "Kakami" the girl from earlier?

「I don't recognize your face... perhaps you are Kakami's guest?」

The man seemed to judge so upon seeing the umbrella Elna held in her hand. 「No, well...」 Feeling that "guest" wasn't quite right, Elna gave an ambiguous reply. Then, she asked the old man dressed in white priestly robes.

「Are you the priest?」

「Yes, indeed I am. The Elnalfia Order opens its doors to anyone. If you like, you too...」

「Ah, haha...」

Imagining herself praying to herself gave her an indescribable feeling. Of course, she didn't want to deny these people who cherished the dragon Elnalfia, but she couldn't erase her feelings of confusion. The priest seemed to misunderstand Elna's demeanor and smiled slowly.

「Come to think of it, there is no need for someone working at the castle to come all the way to a place like this. I hear the real Lady Elnalfia is at Wizrain Castle.」

Her heart thumped violently.

「...She is much closer than offering prayers in a church like this. It seems it hasn't been clearly decided that she is Lady Elnalfia yet, but I heard she was holding a dragon scale.」

Hearing that much, she realized he wasn't talking about Elna, but Laura.

Seeing the clothes Elna wore, the priest must have known where she came from.

「So it seems. Though I don't know much about it.」

「Is that so? Actually, since I am in the position of a priest, I merely heard it through the grapevine.」

Laura was already gone from the castle. Elna heard she had been dismissed to an appropriate place due to the investigation into the Calzeed Baron family's suspicions and the crime of falsely claiming to be Elnalfia. However, only a few people knew that yet.

It would likely be announced at an appropriate time once the investigation into the Calzeed family concluded, but since they couldn't erase the rumors of Laura claiming to be the Dragon in front of many young ladies, Elna heard that the general public was told: "Laura returned to the Calzeed lands while her status as Elnalfia remains provisional."

「If Lady Elnalfia truly has reincarnated, I would very much like to be informed. Why on earth do they not make it clear...?」

「Haha...」

「Oops, I was so eager for Lady Elnalfia that I spoke out of turn. My apologies.」

She kept repeating ambiguous replies, unable to say anything, so she was relieved to see the girl—presumably named Kakami—rush in shouting 「Big Sister!」 loudly. Seeing the priest, Kakami explained quickly, 「My guest! I invited her to take shelter from the rain!」 and held out a towel.

Though pushed by Kakami's forcefulness, Elna accepted it gratefully. In return, when she handed back the borrowed umbrella, she was thanked instead: 「You held onto it for me, thanks.」

「No. I'm the one who should say thanks. I didn't know the way, it started raining, and honestly, I was in a real bind. If it went on like that, I might have become a drowned rat... no, a drowned ham.」

「I didn't do anything big. We welcome lost lambs anytime here.」

「Your name is Kakami?」

「That's right. Kakami. And you, Big Sister?」

「Elna.」

「Nice name!」

Kakami showed her white teeth in a grin and jumped energetically, causing Elna to blink in surprise. Then, she realized her own lips were relaxing on their own.

「This umbrella is really mysterious. It's my first time seeing one used in the rain instead of the sun. It's interesting; is it popular in the Royal Capital?」

「No, I'm thinking of making it popular. Amazing, right? Usually, people use them to avoid getting tanned, but this is to avoid getting wet in the rain. I changed the cloth a bit from the usual. In the Royal Capital, even when it rains, it's mostly light rain, so not many people care about getting wet, but I think having something like this would be good.」

Saying so, Kakami opened the umbrella, and the priest, whose face got wet from the scattered droplets, chided her, 「Stop that.」 A lively girl.

Kakami stuck out her tongue and shrugged her shoulders. Then immediately, she rolled her large eyes, looked up at Elna, and tilted her head.

「Elna-san, you were lost on the road, right? —So, where did you want to go?」

Of course, from her perspective, it was probably a casually asked question.

Yet, to Elna who was asked, she felt as if she were all alone in the rain. She furrowed her brows and looked down. But since Kakami was shorter than Elna, the action was meaningless. Kakami made a face like a mischievous child, 「Hmm?」 and placed her index finger on her own mouth while grinning, 「Ah, don't tell me, Elna-san.」

「Could it be you're shy? Oh come on, asking people things isn't shameful at all. You should just ask people directly!」

She blinked as if gasping because the girl's words had surprisingly lit up the truth. Elna bit her lip and thought.

(That's right, I was ashamed—that's what I was thinking.)

Even though she should know this country far better. Even though she should understand the city and the castle's structure—despite that, the excessively long time had changed the country, the people, the places, changing everything Elna knew.

She knew Noma was teaching her out of kindness. But every time she felt Noma's kindness, a turmoil churned within Elna's chest.

It was embarrassing and frustrating. That she knew nothing about this country, about the people who were supposed to love Elnalfia.

「...I wanted to go to a place called Sunflower Shop.」

「I know that place, it's right there! If you leave the church and go straight, there's a big sign. Shall I guide you?」

「No, thank you. But I want to go before the rain stops. I have to head back soon.」

Inside Elna's pocket, the Hamster Spirit was rustling and asserting something in a small voice only Elna could hear. 「If we get close, I can tell by the smell, gansu.」 You have quite a good nose, she thought. 「The flower shop was next door, gonsu. Sunflower seeds have a rich aroma, gansu.」 Sticking only the tip of its nose out, it was sniffing ecstatically. Quite strong. The scent of the sunflower seeds.

Putting that aside, Elna returned the borrowed towel and looked through the glass at the outside, where it seemed to have turned into a light drizzle.

「Eeh. Elna-san, you're going already? I know, I'll lend you the umbrella.」

「It's light rain, it'll stop soon. I can tell. I'll definitely come back to thank you. I won't forget the way next time.」

「Oh come on, you're exaggerating!」

「Please take care. I hear Lady Elnalfia did not favor the rain. It is said she detested it as something impure.」

Elna tilted her head at the priest's words thrown in while she was talking to Kakami. But she had already used up quite a lot of time, so she bowed her head and tried to dash out. At that moment, Kakami grabbed Elna's skirt. Stumbling and surprised, she looked back to find the girl looking up at Elna with wavering, anxious eyes. 「Hey, Elna-san, you're a person from the castle, right? Um...」 She said that much, then shook her head.

「...Is something wrong?」

「No. If you like, let's meet again. When Elna-san isn't lost!」

Her reply was an involuntary wry smile.

「...You're right. I'm glad I met you, Kakami. Otherwise, I might have been lost forever. Thank you.」

When she said that, Kakami blinked her large eyes. After blinking repeatedly, she smiled warmly, but then her expression clouded over quickly. Wondering what was wrong, Elna saw her jumping up and down and covering her mouth with one hand. Wondering what it was, Elna crouched down, and Kakami whispered softly in her ear, in a voice so small only Elna could hear.

「...Listen. I have something I have to work hard on, too. Will you cheer for me?」

Looking completely different from before, appearing very unconfident, Kakami looked dejected even in her face. So, wanting to cheer her up even a little, Elna answered clearly, 「Of course,」 and Kakami relaxed her cheeks adorably.

Seeing her face made Elna feel somehow happy, and she dashed out while waving her hand.

People who had disappeared due to the rain were returning to the city here and there. With the church at her back, Elna took a step. Before she knew it, the clouds in the sky were moving, revealing a deep blue sky. She took large strides, and her wet clothes dried the more she walked, and the hem of her skirt fluttered softly.

When Elna returned to the castle after finishing her errand as if bouncing, Noma rushed in, eyebrows raised. 「Elna, just where have you been!」 However, despite her words, she lacked momentum, her face looking like she was about to cry, and she began to look dejected, bobbing her body up and down.

「Where, you ask... that's right, I know, it was an errand. I was the one who asked! But you were so late coming back, and it started raining...」

「Listen, I lost my way.」

She was surprised that the words came out so smoothly. The her from this morning might have let her nasty pride get in the way and glossed it over.

Noma stared at Elna's face blankly.

Just as Elna thought it was a bit awkward, 「That's right!」 Noma shouted.

「That's right, it hasn't been long since you came to the Royal Capital! I should have drawn a map or something and given it to you~~~~!」

「Eh, no...」

Seeing Noma looking like she might grind her teeth in regret, Elna chuckled softly. From her pocket, the Hamster Spirit, who seemed to have been napping, poked its face out sleepily. Outside, the weather had changed to be warm and sunny, enough to make one want to take a nap.

「...Sorry, Noma.」

「Eh, for what?」

Noma blinked her large eyes and tilted her head. Her manner was very similar to Kakami's, which made Elna happy, but unaware of that, Noma started patting Elna's entire body.

「More importantly, aren't you wet? You're not wet, right? Huh, you're really not wet!?」「Ah, I delivered the errand item properly to the kitchen, that didn't get wet so it's fine...」「That's fine! No, it's not fine, but it's fine!」

It was a chaotic scene. Saying they let their guard down because no one was there was true, but thinking that's no good, they looked at each other and closed their mouths. But in the next moment, 「Ah—!!!」 Noma's gaze moved to Elna's feet, and just as Elna wondered what the surprise was, Noma quickly picked something up. It looked like a mere wooden board, but patterns were carved on the front, and a torn decorative cord dangled limply from a small hole at the top.

「Th-This is a seal, isn't it!」

「...A seal?」

「It's a mark every castle soldier carries to prove their identity, but ah, it's torn...」

Noma immediately raised her head as if realizing something, peeked out the castle window, and said, 「Look, over there! That soldier over there was here just a moment ago! He was inspecting the magic arts protecting the castle because it started raining, and now he's outside... Hey—! You forgot something—!」

When Noma shouted loudly, the soldier stopped and looked around. He seemed to be a young man with gray hair, but it was meaningless if he couldn't tell who was calling even if they could see him. He probably didn't know where the voice came from. The soldier immediately tilted his head and walked away.

「Ah-ah...」

The decorative cord in Noma's hand swayed emptily. The castle was high, and the soldier had already become the size of a fingertip. It was no wonder it didn't reach him.

「...Is it trouble?」

「Well, isn't it trouble? Because the seal is used for permission to pass through the gates. But I hear they attune magic so only the owner can use it even if dropped, so it's not like it can be misused, so giving it later is fine...」

Just as Noma explained that.

Elna placed her foot on the window frame. 「Eh?」 Noma tilted her head. Elna smoothly pulled the seal from Noma's hand, and then she jumped. 「Eh, ah, eh, eh?」「Okay, I'll go deliver it.」 She threw her body into the air.

「No way, eh, eh, eh, Elna————!!?」

Noma reached out both hands as if to grab her, but of course, they didn't reach. Immediately, a cold wind struck Elna's cheeks.

—Elna can no longer fly in the sky.

Violent wind battered Elna's entire body. She spread her arms and legs, making her body large to prevent resistance. The cloth of her skirt clung to her legs and raged, and the cap on her head flew off easily.

「Hamu!? Hamumumumuuu————!!!!」

「It's okay.」

The Hamster Spirit flew out of her pocket and was struggling in the wind with its small claws hooked onto Elna's clothes, so she reached out a hand to help it.

The echoing sound of the wind felt like a stranger. There was no nostalgia anywhere. Elna's body was small, far too unreliable to tear through the wind. So, yes. Simply, it was lonely.

She missed everyone who had changed. Every time she remembered those she could no longer meet, her chest hurt.

Elna strongly struck the wall surface with both feet. Twisting her body, she landed on the wall of the adjacent tower, kicked off again, and gradually lowered her altitude.

It was sad and lonely. But that was.

—And there is no need for us to maintain the same relationship.

(Yeah. ...That's right.)

Cross's words were like medicine to Elna. Again and again, she recalled them, tucking them away secretly in a precious small box within her chest.

When Elna finally landed on the ground with her slender legs, 「Hawa, a, a, a, awawa...」 the gray-haired soldier she had come to deliver to was sitting on his bottom, opening and closing his mouth. He was a young man with a somewhat charming expression.

「You dropped this. Here you go.」

「No, just now, from above, from above...? From above...」

「I thought it might be important.」

Thinking this is faster, Elna could hear Noma saying something above her head. It was too far to understand what she was saying, but Noma, who had said it was so dangerous, was leaning her upper body out and vigorously swinging her fist. What was it? Somehow, she felt the atmosphere wasn't very good. Like she was angry.

Wondering what was wrong, Elna finally realized the current situation vaguely. Then, feeling uncomfortable, she scratched the back of her head—and let out a slightly shy laugh.