← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index | Next Chapter →

The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

The Dragon Festival and the Boy: Part Two

Translated by: S3

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

*****

（I wonder if I even needed to run away...）

Elna ended up being pulled by the boy to run back the way they came, but though the boy was supposed to be leading her at first, Elna found herself running in front. Behind her, the boy was heaving ragged breaths, saying, 「Hey, wait, you're fast! For a maid, you're fast...!」 He seemed utterly breathless.

The word "maid" was, of course, a judgment based on Elna's clothes, but Elna, who had continued running with a calm expression, gradually slowed her pace, turning back once she was at a walking speed. The boy, who also stopped, was still teary-eyed and breathing heavily, on the verge of collapsing, yet he placed his hands on his knees, holding himself up out of pride, it seemed.

They were already far from the castle. The boy was trying desperately to catch his breath and compose himself, and Elna looked down at him again. He was probably about ten years old. He had silky blonde hair and eyes, and his skin was healthy and glowing. The clothes he wore, though simple, felt refined. In short, he looked like a well-to-do young master who had scrambled to find a makeshift outfit to go outside.

（Technically, is this child considered a fugitive from the castle...?）

She had clearly witnessed the moment he jumped from the wall. If her hunch was wrong, she should turn him over to the guards immediately, but—.

The boy was making strange noises, then tried to cover his mouth with his arm, attempting to pretend he was normal. Still, his eyes remained teary.

「...I'll ask just in case, but what were you doing there?」

「...That is none of your business.」

「You don't have to tell me. What are you going to do now? It seems there's a festival today. Maybe you want to look around?」

She didn't expect a reply to this either, yet the boy's eyes were honest. He looked at the balloons gently rising amidst the daytime fireworks set off in the town, blinking repeatedly. That seemed to be his answer.

There was no significant reason why the two of them started walking through the town afterward. She was just worried about a child wandering around listlessly. That was all.

***

Elna didn't know the Royal Capital particularly well either, but she was slightly better off than the boy. Everywhere they walked, he would look around with sparkling eyes, and when he received a balloon from a heavily-made-up clown, he was so delighted he bounced while walking. Yet, the boy kept his mouth tightly shut, appearing adept at suppressing his joy.

「Just to make it easier to call you, may I ask your name? I'm Elna.」

「...Dorafe.」

「Oh?」

Elna nodded meaningfully, and when Dorafe stared at her suspiciously, she quickly turned her face away.

（...Now, what should I do?）

After asking his name, they walked through the town in silence until children wearing handmade dragon tails ran past, shouting with glee. 「The King is here!」「Eh, really? We have to go quickly!」

（I see. If it's the Elnalfia Festival, Cross must be busy right now.）

Since the Kingdom of Wizrain has a dragon as its national emblem, a once-a-year festival must be a huge deal, Elna thought, watching the children and the adults following them hurry past. Just then, Dorafe cried out, 「Ah!」 He had let go of the balloon he was carefully holding.

Elna instantly jumped up on one leg and grabbed the string. While handing it to Dorafe, flustered at having instinctively made a move beyond human capability, she asked, 「Did something distract you?」 but he turned his face away.

The festival was lively, but the moment people learned of the King's visit, the flow of people shifted immediately.

The sun was directly overhead, and it was about the time their stomachs would start rumbling. Sure enough, Dorafe's stomach made a small, cute noise. Dorafe's refined face quickly flushed red, but delicious smells wafted from the stalls crowded along the roadside, so this was probably unavoidable.

***

The boy sat on the stone steps and bit into the meat.

「...It's a taste I'm not used to, but it's warm. I think it's good.」

「It is, isn't it? The seasoning is quite strong.」

Dorafe was engrossed in the grilled skewers. The aroma came from being carefully grilled over an open flame, and the thick sauce was appetizing. Even the vegetables interspersed between the meat were sweeter from being roasted.

Dorafe chewed delicately with his small mouth, and with his other hand, he thrust something he took from his pocket in front of Elna.

Since Elna had finished hers long ago, she told him curtly,

「I don't need gold coins.」

「...I'm afraid I don't have any copper coins.」

「I mean, I don't need money.」

Since she began assisting as a maid, Elna had been receiving wages. She wasn't obligated to treat a child she didn't know, but giving one or two skewers to a hungry child wouldn't hurt her purse. Dorafe seemed to have finished, but as he was about to voice a complaint, Elna took the skewer from him and returned it, along with her own, to the stall owner. She returned and stood before the boy, hands on her hips in an authoritative posture, looking down at him.

「Receiving too much money can be a nuisance. If you have a complaint, change that gold coin into copper coins and bring it back.」

「...So, I am ignorant of the world, is that it?」

「I didn't say that. If you're ignorant of the world, so am I. Hey, more importantly, why did you come here? This must be fate, so if you want to look around the festival, I'll go with you. But I feel like your reason is a bit different.」

Elna sat down next to Dorafe. The boy had been stubbornly silent, but in response to Elna's question, he finally took his time and nodded quietly.

「I have an older brother who is much older than me...」

「Yes.」

「My brother, you see, he's amazing. He can do anything, and everyone respects him.」

「Uh, yes.」

「But I only look a little like my brother, and I have no other outstanding qualities...」

「Wait, wait, you're getting off track.」

Elna instinctively stopped Dorafe as his expression became increasingly gloomy. But Dorafe only grew more depressed.

「I don't know anything. I want to be like my brother, but I realized I can't do anything compared to him, and I know far too little. I was even surprised myself that I didn't know I couldn't buy grilled skewers with a gold coin. I didn't want to go out with an escort; I wanted to see things up close, with my own eyes. I figured that on a busy day like today for my brother, going outside for a little while wouldn't cause too much of a commotion.」

「If there are people who worry about you, then that's still not okay, is it?」

「You're just a maid, yet you're so condescending.」

「...Well, that's true.」

「But you are right. Before this causes any more of a fuss, let's go back.」

Dorafe stood up straight and gazed at the townspeople with a look of longing.

「『There are things you can't see just by sitting on the throne.』」

Elna remembered Vaid saying the same thing long ago. And then he would jump onto Elnalfia's back, often angering the chancellor. As she superimposed that image onto the boy's small back, he puffed out his chest with an arrogant attitude, saying, 「By the way, I'm not sure where this is. I request you guide me.」 This made her think Seriously?

「Next time, I will make sure to go out into the town through the proper formal procedures.」

Just then, a crying voice was heard. A small child was crying loudly and pointing at the sky. It seemed they had let go of a balloon, and it had already risen high, becoming a tiny dot the size of a pinky finger, too high for even Elna to reach. The red shape, foreign to the sky, quietly drifted away and disappeared. Elna felt lonely and narrowed her eyes.

Then Dorafe stood up, took his own balloon, which was tied to a tree branch, and approached the child without hesitation, offering it. Elna was too far to hear clearly, but the child, even smaller than Dorafe, jumped happily, and the parents bowed repeatedly, looking very apologetic.

Dorafe returned with long strides, looking somewhat proud.

「...It seemed important to you; are you sure that was okay?」

「Of course. The festival was enjoyable just to look at. I won't deny that. However, my biggest gain today was realizing what I didn't know. Anything more would be unnecessary.」

Thinking he was a child who made such a troublesome excuse for a simple act of kindness, she suddenly found him endearing. Dorafe folded his arms grandly. And he declared with a frown, 「As long as I'm here, I won't allow anyone to do as they please in this country! Crying is absolutely out of the question!」

「Yes, yes,」 Elna placated him, and they started to return to the castle.

「Th-Thief!」

At the piercing scream that echoed, Elna and Dorafe simultaneously snapped their heads up to find the source of the voice. It seemed to come from a shop directly across from them; a large glass window shattered violently, and a man tumbled out. Jewels scattered onto the ground from under his feet as he fled.

—Because it's very expensive, recently a thief broke into a jewelry store aiming for it or something.

Noma's words came back to her. 「Jewels, a thief...」 Hearing Elna's murmur, Dorafe sprang toward the fleeing man like a coil. 「Hey, whoa, whoa, wait!」 Despite his small body, he frantically moved his arms and legs, chasing after the man's back as if clinging to him. 「No, no, no.」 Elna shook her head. She sighed, put her hand to her forehead, and then, 「Oh... for goodness' sake!」 The moment she stamped her foot, she made an astonishing leap.

***

The only person who witnessed this was the small child who had just received the balloon from Dorafe. The sudden gust of wind shook the balloon, and the child tightly gripped the string with both hands. 「Oh! ...That was surprising, are you okay?」 The parent's words were met with a silent nod from the child.

And the child kept blinking, watching Elna's retreating figure.