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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

The Fire Dragon, Elnalfia: Part Two

Translated by: S3

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

*****

Elna instantly understood that the atmosphere had completely changed. The hamster that should have been on Elna's shoulder was immediately stuffed into her pocket. Then, both the Priest and Elna sprang back to put distance between them. The space between them was three rows of long benches. The Priest moved with a swiftness unexpected of a man in early old age. Furthermore, the 'something' that had been growing in presence alone began to drop and spill, targeting Elna.

「I knew someone was here...!」

Just like on the day of the festival, Elna had realized that people other than the Priest were holding their breath and hiding. Masked men, each clutching a weapon, charged at Elna. In an instant, she slammed her fist into one man's abdomen. She watched him fly back to the edge of the church wall, spitting out a foamy gasp, then blew a small breath onto her fist.

「It doesn't matter how many of you there are. I'll knock you all out. This place is seriously suspicious, by the way. If the Priest is fake... did Kakami know and run away? That explains why he kept asking about her whereabouts.」

If there was no one else to get involved, she could truly let loose. Elna knocked out two, then three more men who leaped at her, leaving none standing. Finally, only the Priest remained, staring at Elna in a daze.

「Your glasses are crooked. Are you okay?」

「W-What are you? What is that strength...!」

「Just a little girl with brute strength.」

She laughed out of the corner of her mouth, thinking, If I weren't, I wouldn't have come to a shady place like this alone, with enough composure to briefly consider that she couldn't call Cross a brute now.

「If the Duke of Halburn is a believer in the Elnalfia faith, it seems easy enough to create a connection and make things look suspicious. Like sending your own servant here. By the way, where did the person who escaped from the jail go?」

The hamster had thrown the seed at the culprit, not the Priest. The faces were too different to be the same person. Violent flames were already roaring on Elna's right arm. The fire, licking her body, quietly illuminated the girl's face.

「Tell me everything, and I'll burn you gently.」

The Priest looked up at Elna in a daze, though slumped. He moved his mouth in gasps and darted his eyes around, but quickly adjusted his crooked glasses, discarded the gentle smile plastered on his face, and stood up with a sneering, twisted expression.

「Y-You, that power... Could it be that you are the reincarnation of Elnalfia...!」

Of course, she had no obligation to answer. Clothed in fire, she approached the Priest with soft footsteps.

「Ah, ah, God of Asedona! What incredible fortune!」

Elna was familiar with the name of the god the Priest shouted. Just as she was about to suspiciously question the name of the god, which was certainly not worshipped in this country, the men who had been knocked down and were lying among the church walls and benches began to rise, one by one, at strange angles.

「...They shouldn't be able to move anymore?」

They slowly pushed aside the splintered wood that had been blown apart, approaching her with heavy steps. The mask one man was wearing clattered onto the floor. His eyes were unfocused, and a string of drool spilled from his mouth, wetting the floor.

「...What is this? They're unconscious.」

「God, God, God! Now there's no need to create a false Elnalfia! If we can capture this one, that's all we need!」

「False—wait, whoa!」

The unconscious men leaped at Elna, but hitting or kicking them had no effect. 「Why, this...!」 Sweat began to bead on Elna's neck. The attacks were trivial and easy to dodge. However, Elna's body was now merely human, not a dragon. She was gradually breathing heavily, and her movements were slowing. She could turn the men to ash instantly with fire magic. But that would kill them.

The men clearly lacked will. She could escape, but what would happen to them if she did?

（It doesn't matter. I don't need to think about every little thing!）

She told herself, bit her lip, and converted all the mana in her body into fire. Then, kill them. Kill every single one. That's what her heart told her. But her body wouldn't move. I don't want to kill. I can't kill a person. I don't want to hurt them.

She was so frustrated, she could scream. Emotions she couldn't understand raged inside her body.

「Now, you all, capture Elnalfia...!」

（What arrogance...!）

She clenched down on her irritation. Yet, Elna's body still wouldn't move. 「Chyu, churaa! Churaa!!」 A frantic voice came from inside her pocket. She exhaled. 「It's okay, I'll protect you.」 She didn't mean to speak. She was just telling herself. She didn't care what happened to her, but she had to protect this child. This small life in her pocket had to be protected

***

With a rustle of wind, Cross slowly raised his head. A sword was before his eyes. Through the thick canopy of trees, he could see stars twinkling and spilling down through the slight gaps.

「...Elna?」

He muttered the name strangely. The scale hanging around the young man's neck flickered faintly. When he clenched it, a turbulent emotion flowed in, and he raised his head with a shudder. Then, he placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, letting the feeling guide him.

—We are connected.

A loud thump echoed. Was it from inside Cross, or elsewhere? Kiarole felt terribly familiar in Cross's hand. The chain from his neck rattled, rubbing against itself. Through the rustling leaves and branches, streams of stars fell like streaks of light. The sword he clutched seemed intent on carrying Cross somewhere. It was like being in a fairy tale. Among the falling stars, so many he couldn't tell right from left, he moved without hesitation.

Cross—pulled the sword out.

***

「...Why?」

Elna vigorously wiped her mouth. Despite the cold, sweat was pouring from her forehead. She was protecting the small spirit on her chest, breathing heavily.

「Hmm. I came because I was called, and it's quite the situation.」

「W-Why, how is Cross here...?」

「You and I are connected. And so is Kiarole.」

In Cross's hand, as he turned back with a smile while standing in front of Elna, was a sword with an antique jewel embedded in its hilt. Cross had once explained that a mere sword could gain power by becoming a story, passed down by people for a long time. Cross smiled gently, but his appearance was like a lightning strike. A flash of white light shattered the church's stained-glass window, and the young man was suddenly standing there, his back to Elna. Elna could only stare in astonishment.

In the moonlight, Cross's back somehow seemed to be shining even now. A gentle, twinkling rain of light was falling.

At the same time, the men who had been attacking Elna had somehow been blown away and seemed truly unconscious this time.

「Here, Elna.」

The Hamster Spirit slipped out of Elna's hand and settled into her pocket. Elna stared at the hand Cross offered for a moment, blinking, and then hurriedly extended her own free hand, only to be immediately pulled forward. She stepped on broken glass.

「Whoa, ah.」

「Honestly, my wife is relentlessly active.」

「H-How many times do I have to tell you I'm not your wife...!」

「At this point, I accept you as his wife!」

「Stop ganging up on me two against one!」

While they were chattering, the Priest staggered to his feet. Then he yelled, as if spitting up blood.

「You, are you King Crossgard...!」

「Crossgard? Who? Another new name?」

「It's too long. Some people call me that.」

「Isn't that too many patterns?」

「Gonsu gonsu.」

Seeing Elna and the others so relaxed, as if they were in their own home, the Priest was half-sobbing.

「D-Don't ignore me...!」

「My apologies, I wasn't really interested... but I can't say that now. What is the meaning of this?」

Cross addressed the first half of the question to the Priest and the second half to Elna. Elna narrowed her eyes and briefly explained the situation. 「He worships Asedona.」 Elna judged that this alone should be enough.

And just as she expected, Cross's golden eyes widened. The name of that god had existed since Elnalfia's era. The Kingdom of Wizrain was originally part of an empire, a small nation that gained independence from the oppressive lord of this land. And the name of the god that lord worshipped was—Asedona.

「An agent of the Empire?」

「I don't know, but...」

Now then, just as Cross gripped the hilt of his sword.

「Don't speak the name of God with your filthy mouth...!」

With veins bulging, his throat trembling as he swayed, all trace of his former appearance was gone. Elna felt the hair on her body stand on end at something like a jewel he pulled from his robe. An ominous power burst forth, gradually making her breathing heavy, and she gasped for air, clutching the hem of Cross's clothes. Before Cross could ask what was wrong, the Priest slowly muttered,

「Do you understand?」

「Do you understand the meaning of this orb? This is the [Dragon Scale]. Not just a jewel. It is the real scale of Elnalfia, crafted by layering many jewels named [Dragon Scale]. No, it was meant to be.」

The Priest was already a powerless man. What was he trying to convey with this?

「'We' have been searching for a way to artificially create Elnalfia's scale over a long period of time. Rather than taking possession of the Elnalfia who might one day be born, it's more realistic to artificially create Elnalfia's scale and worship a 'fake'.」

He likely meant to destabilize the country from within. This was a fear Cross had already anticipated. The birth of Elnalfia would cause this small country to shake significantly. Laura's false claim had been made in front of many young women. It had already spread across the region, and while the existence of Elnalfia's scale was still a secret, it was hanging around Cross's neck. Even denying Elna's existence, the ripple effect would bring about much change.

「When I heard some noble's daughter was spouting nonsense about being Elnalfia, I was very irritated... However, there was a chance that girl was Elnalfia. A scale is needed to create a false dragon. We decided to move ahead with our plan before the noble's daughter could be recognized as the Dragon. ...It was a bit reckless, though.」

The spate of thefts of jewels called [Dragon Scale] in the Royal Capital had only started recently.

「But with the Dragon right in front of us, this thing is no longer necessary! If only we can capture you...!」

「...How did you make that false scale?」

Elna gave a cold reply to his foamy, frantic words. She had learned enough of his goal. That's why there was only one thing left to ask. She had a bad feeling. The fist she clenched was damp with sweat.

「...Curious? Aren't you curious?」

「Answer quickly.」

「Wait, Elna. Don't listen.」

「No! You can't help but listen! You must be drawn to this... the mana of so many people!」

「Cover your ears! Speaking and conveying things turns into power! It's the same as the legend of Kiarole!」

（...I can hear Cross's voice.）

But why? Elna couldn't take her eyes off the orb the Priest held. She even brushed past Cross's restraint, who was shielding her, and reached out a hand. The Priest's overflowing mana completely enveloped Elna like water, and numerous illusions flowed and vanished. Bubbles escaped from Elna's mouth. And through them, she saw many people.

—She could hear voices of regret.

Children torn from their parents. Elderly who couldn't move. Women with eyes that had given up everything. All of them, wielding fire magic, poured their life's mana into the jewel. They were all forcibly abducted, and each time mana was poured in, the jewel became deeply dark and turbid.

（The people who vanished from the Calzeed family's territory...）

They were the abducted fire magic users. Among them, a beautiful woman was shedding tears. The woman with soft, wavy red hair was also torn from her family against her will and kept sending life-fragment mana into the orb. However, one day, her mana vanished. Unknown even to her, the life that had begun to sprout in her womb had absorbed all of her mana.

The woman, who became useless without knowing she was pregnant, was given to Baron Calzeed as a reward for the kidnapper because of her overwhelming beauty.

—「Ah, Elna. It's cold, isn't it? I, too, used to have fire magic. If I still had it, I could have warmed you...」

The soft voice can still be heard slowly in her memory.

（Mother.）

When she realized it, Elna was still standing in the same spot on her two feet. She felt a suffocating sensation, as if water was dripping from her entire body, but it was all just an illusion. The Priest, still holding the orb aloft, was happily shouting and laughing maniacally.

「Ah, amazing! It's incredible! The mana is swelling up. This is no longer some false scale! I will bring the hammer of destruction down on this foolish country!」

「...I'm done with your talk. Where did the people you abducted and drained of mana disappear to?」

The Priest snorted in response to Elna's question, sounding bored as if his excitement had cooled.

「I wouldn't know that. I wasn't the one who abducted them. ...But I can guess. Dregs like that are only garbage if left behind.」

Her exhale couldn't even form a sound. Snap. Something seemed to break inside Elna. Her fingertips trembled. Her breath felt so hot it burned her throat; it was unbearable. Her vision blurred more and more. She couldn't hold it in. I don't want to hurt anyone. Her breathing grew ragged. She groaned, her cheeks twitching as she fought back a sob.

A voice from her flowing memory spoke.

—「Elnalfia, your scales are beautiful.」

Saying that, the old man stroked the dragon's scale. He should have been a splendid young man. Yet, in the end, he became just bones and vanished.

—「Elna, I'm so sorry.」

Elna loved her mother, and her mother loved Elna. She was afraid to grasp her thin arm, and every time someone vanished, an immense pain was left in Elna's chest, searching for the bones she should have held.

The wish that no one would vanish was not granted, not even once. Humans are terrifying. People are easily hurt and easily die. As a dragon, Elna had killed plenty of people. Running rampant through the sky with Vaid, breathing fire—the many heroic deeds with the Hero on her back were even Elnalfia's pride.

But she had learned. That human lives are limited. That everyone is someone's family, a loved one, and no one should be missing. She didn't want anyone to be missing. She recalled when she was about to turn the jewel thief to ash with fire magic. She was confused when the fire spontaneously went out, but that was also Elna's will.

（No one must die. Absolutely, I will never kill a person again.）

「—I will kill you.」

A voice that crawled along the ground echoed from her bared teeth. The space shuddered. Her blue eyes mixed with the color of the burning fire, changing to a reddish-black. Power burst from her fingertips. The Priest immediately raised the orb and chanted a spell. He channeled enough mana from the orb to swallow the kingdom and attempted to suppress Elna and Cross with water magic. But Elna instantly evaporated all of it. With her red hair swirling, she stepped on the remnants of the destruction in the water's wake and exhaled a single breath.

Now, I will kill you. Elna muttered this without any resistance. It was so simple. It only became complicated when she tried to be gentle; killing was easy. All she had to do was glance at the Priest, who was screaming at his broken orb. A snap of her fingers, and nothing would remain but ash. That should have been the case.

「Elna.」

Her arm was grabbed tightly.

「You are human. You are not—a dragon anymore.」

Suddenly, Elna remembered how to breathe. It was as if she had been gasping in heavy water, forgetting even how to speak. The next time she blinked, Elna's eyes had completely returned to the color of the sky. But the heavy feeling rising from the back of her throat was so painful that she covered her mouth. No matter how many times she choked, only tears came out, shamefully trailing down her cheeks. 「Honestly, my wife is such a crybaby.」 Elna's slender body, about to collapse, was suddenly held by Cross. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his heart, and her blurring tears soaked into his clothes.

「E-Even if the orb is shattered, with just one fragment, I can still—」

「But protecting my wife is also my duty, as her husband.」

Still holding Elna with one arm, Cross forcefully thrust Kiarole into the crumbling floor. Suddenly, light burst out in a circle and struck the Priest. Cross looked down at the Priest, who was staggering and groaning in agony.

「...So, a demon after all.」

The wind that suddenly roared from nowhere must have been created by Cross himself.

「Kiarole was originally just an iron sword. But look at it now. People eventually came to whisper that it was a sacred sword that defeated a powerful demon. Things passed down become stories and become power. Lies become truth, and truth becomes a lie. Over a long period of time, a mere iron sword became a sacred sword that defeats demons.」

—While silently watching over this country, hidden in the shade beneath the Great Tree.

Cross then lifted the thrust-in Kiarole with one hand and swung the supposedly heavy sword as if it were a feather. In an instant, the fragment of the false dragon scale the Priest held, which should not have been touched, burst with a crack and all that remained was dust-like powder.

「A-Such a thing, impossible, damn it, damn it...!」

「You won't escape.」

The Priest, who had thrown everything away, abandoned his body and tried to escape into the sky as a black mass. Cross even threw his sword, pinning the soul to the wall. Under the moonlight, the black soul was caught by the wind and dissipated. The moonlight filtering through the broken stained-glass window quietly and softly illuminated the completely collapsed scene in a blue light.

What should have been the Priest and the men who attacked Elna had already turned into mere lumps of clay.

「So, they were manipulating clay. This means there's a high probability the escaped prisoner wasn't human to begin with.」

Elna gasped, seeing Cross approach and calmly examine the scene, and she too rushed to Cross.

「...The Priest just now was a demon.」

「Whether he was allied with the Empire or not. They've been a troublesome opponent ever since this country was founded.」

This was back in the era when Elna was Elnalfia and Cross was Vaid. Vaid had rebelled against the Empire's noble who ruled this land oppressively and established the foundation of the current Kingdom of Wizrain. However, the noble he defeated was originally rumored to be a kind-hearted, benevolent person. The involvement of demons was suspected to be behind the noble's change. That is why the story of Kiarole was created.

「I see... So he wasn't human...」

It felt as if all the strength had drained from her body. She had thought she didn't want to hurt or kill, but she was only fighting a lump of clay. She felt like laughing at her own foolishness more than feeling empty. The Hamster Spirit poked its head out of her pocket worriedly and looked around. It gently nudged Elna's hand with its nose, but she couldn't move her body properly.

「...I look like an idiot, don't I?」

「That's not true. Elna, you simply tried to follow what you had decided in your heart. That's all. There's nothing wrong with that.」

Cross smiled as he turned back to Elna. His golden hair shone in the moonlight, making him look exactly like a prince, which made her laugh. 「F-fufu,」 she couldn't hold back, which made Cross look disgruntled. 「Why are you laughing?」 he asked, but then looked down at Elna, who was gradually dissolving into tearful laughter, and fell silent, one eyebrow furrowed.

（Why... like this...?）

Just a single word, yet it clutched her heart and hurt her. Thinking that it was always like this when she was with him, her vision started to blur again for no reason. She forcefully wiped her eyes. Then, she muttered, 「...If I...」 Her voice was raspy. 「What is it?」 Cross asked Elna.

「Yes. If I make a mistake again. Like just now, please... stop me.」

「...There's no such thing as a mistake in a person's choice. And at the same time, I don't have the right to decide what the right answer is...」

「I don't need that kind of talk. I'm asking you for a favor!」

「O-Oh.」

Taken aback by Elna's intensity, Cross nodded repeatedly and involuntarily backed away with his hands raised. Elna raised her eyebrows and sniffed her red nose. Then, her face immediately crumpled. She had just realized something.

「Cross.」

「Hmm?」

「Vaidcardaldragafel Crossgard...」

「Could you please stop calling my full name out of the blue? And how did you even remember that...?」

「Somehow... I was too frustrated, so I memorized it...」

(It was an aside that she also quickly remembered his brother's name, which is how she instantly recognized him.)

（Elnalfia didn't want to be left alone; she wanted to die with the person she loved...）

The life of a dragon was too long, painful, and unbearable. That feeling hadn't changed now that she was Elna. But actually, it was a little different. （I—） There was an emotion spilling from her heart. Even if she tried to stop it, it only swelled more and more, like water overflowing from a small cup, and she didn't know what to do.

（I want to live together with Cross.）

Not just die. She wanted to live, to live, and then—die with him. Die with the person she loved.

She laughed weakly. 「Only desires are overflowing...」 She grabbed a bit of Cross's clothes, who had somehow drawn closer, and he prefaced his reply with 「I don't quite understand, but」 then reached out and gently patted Elna's back as he bent down. 「It's a good thing to have desires. Humans are built to pursue happiness.」

「In any case, we need to search for the whereabouts of the original Priest. We also need to identify others who might be involved. Things are going to get a bit busy...」

As Cross rested his forehead on Elna's shoulder, losing strength, Elna cautiously reached out a hand to his back. She had thought he was thin enough to complain about not gaining muscle, but touching him, she found that wasn't the case. Once she became conscious of it, she felt her cheeks growing hot. She didn't want him to notice, so she tried to mask her breathing, which only made it more suspicious. When he whispered 「...What's wrong?」 into her ear, she let out a strange yelp, 「Hii!」

Perhaps sensing something from Elna's attempt to escape, Cross caught her again and laughed delightedly. 「Dahaha.」 To his following words, 「My wife is a cute one,」 she retorted, 「I'm not a toy!」 but still, she had something to think about.

How should she tell Cross about it? With the crystal-clear, cloudless sky visible through the broken stained-glass window, a sky where star dust seemed about to fall, she let out a small sigh, and her white breath softly dissipated somewhere.