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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

A Story of Blooming Flowers

Translated by: S3

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

*****

When I close my eyes, I always remember the blue of the sky that day.

「Listen to me? You're always trying to do everything alone, Elna, but you're not by yourself, you know? If you have something to worry about, make sure you talk to other people too?」

「I was certainly saved. Like, you know, when I dropped the seal. I was startled when it came falling from above, but if I hadn't known, I might have cried and wet myself.」

「Vulgar! Vulgar! You idiot! A fool who drops his seal—you're the first one I've ever seen, you idiot!」

「How many times did you just say 'idiot'?! Aren't you insulting me, your childhood friend, a bit too much?!」

「I was testing my limits!」

To Noma, who was huffing in anger, the gray-haired youth, her boyfriend—or less-than-boyfriend, as Noma insists he's just a childhood friend—and a castle guard, lowered his eyebrows pitifully and lamented, 「Why, Noma...」 However, Elna knew that concealed on Noma's chest was a ring the young man had given her, worn secretly.

Although she had declared her intention to become his wife, the sudden announcement of an engagement to royalty was proving difficult, and negotiations were currently underway. With time on her hands, Elna was still performing her duties as a maid. Elna felt that Cross had changed a little since then. It felt like watching the back of someone who had advanced far ahead of her, and she warmly cupped the teacup in her hands with a hint of loneliness.

Noma's childhood friend, whose name was Jipi, had just passed by. They had brought an unused table outside, spread a white tablecloth they'd brought, and were having a tea party next to the flapping laundry.

Of course, this was all within their break time, and they had gotten permission from Commonwald to use the table and bring their own items.

「Hah! Looks delicious,」 Jipi said, his eyes sparkling at the sight of Elna's and Noma's lunch on the table. It seemed Noma simply couldn't be honest with him. While Elna thought if you like him, just tell him, she herself had been agonizing over her feelings for Cross until she finally confessed, so she couldn't say anything.

「Hmph... The most you'll get is the leftovers. You should feel miserable...」

「You're giving it to me... And that's a mighty big leftover...」

Noma, who was supposed to be a capable woman, instantly turned into a child when it came to Jipi, but Jipi might actually see right through her. 「Thank you,」 he said, his eyes shining as he took a bite of the meal—a soft, white bun filled with lettuce and dried meat.

「Noma's cooking is always delicious!」

「I didn't make it for you! It's for Elna! Elna, come on, eat a bunch! Open wide!」

「Y-Yes. I'm eating, I'm eating.」

Elna quickly reached for her food, watching Noma, who was so embarrassed she could only use onomatopoeia. And what a surprise it was. The bread was sweet. It was filled with strawberry jam, a fact Elna didn't realize, and the blissful taste made her simply slump onto the table. Sweet, even though it was a meal.

「This is a crime...」

「Ah, I want to eat that one too...」

「Did you think I was going to say, 'Oh, there's plenty, so sure, have a little'...!? I might consider it if you spin around three times and then bark!」

「Wait, I'd totally do that.」

「Ehhh?!」

Elna ate a bite or two in dreamy delight, but the situation around her was spiraling into chaos.

「What was it again? Spin around, act like a dog, and then grovel?」

「Hee, you added more! You added more!」

「Then here I go.」

「St-Stop it!」

Just as the scene descended into confusion over who was making whom do what, a boy appeared and said, 「In that case, perhaps I shall grant the wish instead of the groveling,」 which was met by the combined screams of Noma and Jipi.

Elna, with her cheeks still puffed with bread, turned around to see a boy with bright blonde hair smiling brightly. 「Y-」「Y-」「Y-」「Y-」「Y-」「Your Highness!」「Your Highneesss!」 The childhood friend couple, shocked and repeating the same sounds as if rhyming, truly had perfect synchronicity. Prince Feliol, facing them, puffed out his chest with a boyish short stature, and his mantle flapped out dramatically behind him. Elna instinctively swallowed her bread.

「...I haven't snuck out, by the way. My guards are on standby,」 the boy muttered, his expression slightly clouding as he glanced over. To Elna, the line sounded like an awkward excuse for their previous encounter, but to Noma and Jipi, it must have sounded like something else.

They stiffened further into rigid attention. 「E-Elna! His Highness is here! You have to stand up, stand up!」 Noma frantically called out to Elna, somehow managing to keep her voice down—a skillful feat. But of course, Feliol heard everything. 「You may remain seated. Don't be so stiff,」 he said, his tone much more formal than when they had met before.

Without any particular intention, Elna simply stared at him, and Feliol, his cheeks faintly flushed, gave a deliberate 「Ahem.」

「W-well, anyway, ahem. Since I'm here. I shall have one too. ...And so, you there. You may taste test it for poison.」

「Eh, yes! Me, right? I'll eat it, I'll eat it! Munch, munch! It's super delicious! I'm full!」

「What are you doing eating it all, you idiot!」

「Ah! What have I done!」

Jipi accepted Noma's pounding fists good-naturedly, whimpering. Were they performing a comedy routine? From Feliol's perspective, his original intention was to let Jipi eat, so he could only say, 「Don't worry about it,」 but he glanced sideways at the two people who were terrified by the sudden appearance of royalty, then slipped into the chair next to Elna. He leaned in and whispered softly.

「...Lady Elnalfia. I am truly sorry for not offering an apology despite the trouble I caused you. I know I should be speaking in a more formal tone than this, but I thought this might be your preference here.」

Cough, this time it was Elna's turn to almost choke.

「Y-Yes... that's right. Since Noma and Jipi are here.」

「Forgive me if it's unpleasant. I wish I could arrange a formal setting.」

「You don't need to.」

While she thought anyone who wanted to could do as they pleased, she didn't particularly want to be revered by everyone. 「Then so be it,」 Feliol said with a grin, looking up at her. He really did resemble Cross up close.

Noma and Jipi were still bickering with each other, and Feliol looked at them with amusement as he spoke to Elna.

「The other day, I heard about this from 'him', and I was simply astonished.」

From his manner of speaking, Elna vaguely understood what he meant. 'He' was Feliol's older brother, Cross. Her ambiguous reply of 「Oh, I see,」 was because she realized Cross was systematically trying to get everyone to support the idea. This, too, made her cheeks burn, and she had to bite her lip. She was steadily being introduced to the family.

「...Actually, even before I knew about this, I wanted to meet you if the timing was right, but I still lack... self-confidence.」

His self-conscious mutter that he wanted to become a more reliable person first lasted only a moment. 「B-But I came anyway because I wanted to thank you, besides apologizing. ...I knew 'he' was considering something strange. It was outrageous to me, but it's 'him.' I desperately tried to work hard to meet 'his' expectations, thinking he must have a reason I couldn't possibly imagine, but it wasn't enough.」

Elna blinked as she looked at his troubled profile. Feliol had known. He had known that his brother planned to hand the throne to him one day. And that Cross was suffering alone.

Of course, Cross wouldn't have handed the throne over to just anyone. It must have been because Feliol was his only brother and someone he acknowledged, but when it came to himself, that lack of self-confidence inevitably surfaced.

「But you changed things, didn't you? You reached out to his troubles that I couldn't touch. —Thank you, truly.」

「............」

The innocent boy's face bloomed into a smile like a flower, and Elna couldn't reply just by breathing, astonished that such a lovely being existed.

And this was what it meant to be human. To love and be loved, weaving their days together. The people Elnalfia had loved.

「Alright, I've decided!」 It was Jipi who suddenly clapped his hands. He and Noma had apparently been having a discussion.

「I am currently on my lunch break! Therefore, I will run faster than a horse, desperately gather up the ingredients I ate, and take responsibility!」

「No, you don't have to take it that seriously.」

「No, Your Highness! I'm going to turn this guy into a dog! I'll make him bark! Go! You little doggy!」

「Ugh, woof, woof, woof!」

「His serious face is a little scary,」 Feliol said calmly, then suddenly dipped his head. Everyone there wondered what was wrong, and gradually his shoulders began to shake. Then, as if unable to bear it any longer, he looked up and laughed loudly. Noma and Jipi blinked in confusion. 「Ah, it's your fault!」「Is it me after all?!」 they cried, still in a state of chaos. It was a lively scene.

Watching them, Elna was reminded of a particular sight. The blue sky stretched endlessly. The pouring rain was yellow petals.

There was a man named Kenneth. He was always obsessed with a woman named Lulumie, and the two of them were always stubborn with each other. Kenneth had a younger brother. In Elna's memory, his stature was just like Feliol's now, and the boy grew up to be a splendid young man. There were many people. They stood under the Great Tree, imagining the scattering of the flowers as rain, clinking flagons of ale, and their laughter echoed. Adults and children alike looked up at Elnalfia flying in the sky and waved their hands with all their might. And yet.

They all disappeared.

The distance to these people, whom she could never reach, was so far and frustrating; no matter how much she sought them, she couldn't even brush their fingertips. All she could do was watch from the sky.

But now, it was different. Jipi was laughing with her, Noma was scolding him, Feliol was trying to mediate, and the sheets of laundry hung out flapped and danced in the wind. Elna no longer had a tail. No wings. Only two legs—a truly disheartening number.

She remembered the past when she lamented that everything had changed. The town, the castle. And when she learned that even the shape of the country had changed, she felt more sadness than surprise, to the point where she questioned why she had been reborn. But that wasn't it.

Elna hadn't understood anything. If there were things that changed, there were things that didn't. Where a country exists, people are born and live there. Even if she couldn't meet them in the same form as those who disappeared, something was being passed on.

Each burst of laughter brought with it a pang of pain, and Elna clutched her chest. She strongly gripped her clothes, trying to suppress her ragged breathing. She bit her lip.

She felt as if someone was watching her. It was a man with black hair, drooping eyes, and a tall build who smiled in a pleasant manner and was perpetually smirking. As if to say, What's wrong? Did you finally realize?, he placed his hand on the sword at his hip and turned his back to Elna. 「Wa—」

She reached out, ready to shout, Wait.

...But all she grasped was empty air.

「...If you insist on it, then by all means, please deliver it to my room. I look forward to it, but don't rush too much, alright?」

「Understood! I will now manifest the greatest speed I have ever achieved in my life!」

「I'll manifest it too!」

「Please, listen to me.」

「Leave it to me!」 Jipi cried, completely ignoring him and bolting out. Noma followed suit. Feliol was left standing alone, looking somewhat lonely.

「W-well, it's fine, I guess. It's about time for me to go back too...」

Feliol turned on his heel and faced Elna. He looked up at her and, with a more childlike, troubled smile than before, said, 「I, um, apologize for interrupting. Uh, well...」

「I don't think I can be the king I want to be. But I should be able to become the King's best retainer. No, I will become one. —I look forward to the day I can call you 'Sister-in-Law'.」

With that, the small, yet formidable, boy departed. Elna was left alone, but Noma returned, breathless.

「Cough, I'm s-sorry. I completely forgot about you, Elna...! You must still be hungry, cough, cough. You can go to the dining hall ahead of me, alright? Don't worry about this, I'm fine, cough.」

「I'm more worried about you, Noma... But I'm okay too. I wasn't that hungry.」

「Really...? Then that's good.」

「Oh, but, that little one disappeared on me.」

When Elna showed Noma her apron pocket, Noma exclaimed, 「The hamster that's always with you? Oh dear, that's terrible! I'm s-so worried!」「Don't worry about it. He's a smart boy. But I have to go look for him.」「Go, go! I'll manage everything here!」

Elna nodded and turned her back to Noma. It was a relief. She couldn't take any more. She had to go somewhere private. While wondering where to go, her steps quickened. Before she knew it, Elna was running. She ran with all her might, escaping toward a place with no people. Her parched throat ached. She thought she couldn't hold it in anymore.

「U... ah, ugh.」

She let out a gasping sound, trying desperately to suppress it. But the more she held it back, the more her emotions poured forth like a torrent. She frantically pumped her arms and ran as hard as she could. 「Ah, ah, ah, ahhh...」 When she finally swallowed, Elna suddenly cried out, 「Waaah!」

It didn't sound like her own voice. 「W-Why, why, why?」 Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she pitifully looked up. Still, she kept running. 「Why did you die?! Hey, why?!」 She didn't know. She knew. But she couldn't help but scream.

「I managed to become human! I became human because I wanted to be near you, and I finally became human!」

How unreliable these two legs were.

「—Hey, Vaid! Why?! Why did you...」

...die?

When she whispered the last word weakly, she could no longer move and collapsed onto the ground. She knew. Vaid was gone. He had died. Cross certainly held Vaid's memories. But he was definitely a different person, and Elna was no longer a dragon.

But why should that be a reason not to grieve? 「Hah, ugh, ah...」

Every tear that fell made a round mark in the dirt. In her distress, she pounded her hands on the ground. She didn't care that her slender fingers got dirty or hurt; she scraped and clawed the open palms of her hands against the dirt. She trembled. Breathing raggedly, she slowly composed herself.

「Vaid is gone. No amount of crying will change that...」

Then what should she do? The answer was already decided.

「I will protect this country.」

This kingdom, named Wizrain, which still feared foreign threats and was shrinking its territory. The country her friend loved. For the sake of the unchanging, beloved people. If there was any meaning to her reincarnation—no, 「I'll create the meaning myself.」

She stood up and powerfully wiped away her tears. With every blink, her blue eyes sparkled as if stars were scattering within them, and a strong light ignited. 「Alright, yes, alright.」 She slapped her cheeks until they were red and strode forward. First, she would return to her work. And then, she would think. How could she support Cross? And how could Elna herself fight?

As she tightened her mouth and started back to her previous location, she noticed the lightness in her pocket. Telling Noma the hamster had disappeared was an excuse, but it was also true. However, since he wasn't a normal hamster, she wasn't actually worried. She thought even he must want some free time once in a while, but remembering Noma's anxious face, Elna frowned.

「Maybe I should just go check on him...?」

Since the hamster likes sunny spots, she arrived at a likely place, expecting him to be sunbathing. Instead, there was the hamster, intensely dancing, wiggling and squirming his fluffy body while chanting, 「Nchuraa, Nchuraa, gansugonsu.」

He quickly raised and lowered his short hands in the air and moved his legs, one after the other, scurrying forward. She couldn't help but think, How can he do that with such short legs? Just as she thought that, the hamster suddenly tumbled over. Of course. Just as she was about to rush over, the hamster hit the ground with his paw. He looked incredibly frustrated.

「This much is still not enough for the offering dance, gonsu...!」 For whom, Elna wondered silently.

The spirit seemed to notice her presence just as Elna made the mental retort, and his fluffy body wiggled as he turned around.

「...What were you doing?」

「N-juraa?! H-hee, hee, hee, it's a secret, gonsu!」

「You were intensely dancing. And 'offering'? To whom?」

「Ham-chu-chu!」

「A sudden evasion.」

「Fine,」 Elna conceded. She held out her palm, and the hamster scurried onto her hand and into his usual spot in her pocket.

「Speaking of which. Hey, you seem to have come from a long way away, but where did you come from?」

When mana is given to a spirit, it begins to speak the same language as the person who gave the mana. Since remembering her life as Elnalfia, Elna had occasionally given mana to spirits other than this hamster spirit, but none had such a distinctive way of speaking. The strong dialect was the result of the language being converted into human words. That meant he had come from somewhere far away, a place even Elna did not know. The hamster pretended to think for a while. And then,

「Ham-chu-chuu!」

「...It doesn't matter, I guess.」

If he—or rather, it—didn't want to say, then so be it, she concluded, standing up. The spirits were the ones who stayed with Elnalfia until the end and witnessed the dragon's sorrow. Elna truly believed that perhaps they were the ones who delivered the dragon's cry, shouting out if there were a God. And how about the miracle of creating a new life that shouldn't have existed...? When she reached that point in her thoughts, Elna laughed to herself. 「Ah-ha-ha.」

It was utterly preposterous.

So, she walked on without worrying. There was no point in agonizing over what she couldn't understand. Elna faced forward, walking strongly under the sun. That was why she didn't hear the words the small spirit muttered, swaying in her pocket.

「I wonder if the wish was granted, gonsu...」

The Hamster Spirit decided that the offering dance to God must be perfect, so he would need to train even harder. I have the important mission of watching over them, he thought. But I know that these two will surely be alright. Therefore, though he should return to his original place...

「But I want to stay with you a little longer, gonsu. Take care of me, gonsu.」

He popped his head out and winked with his little black eyes.

「I told you not to peek out so much when I'm moving, it's dangerous.」

「Jijijit?!」

—This place is the Kingdom named Wizrain.

A small country, built around the Great Tree whose flowers fall like rain, whose history as a major power is buried in the past.

In this unreliable kingdom, the girl who was once a dragon forcefully set her two feet on the ground, not the sky. As a human, and through her suffering.

「Alright, let's go!」