I cross the alfar village to the north, and go a little to the east from there.
I would normally just walk, but today I’m in a hurry, so I’m flying.
And not too long after, I see the rocky mountains that’s the territory of the ancient dragons.
“Well then…”
They are more territorial compared to other races.
I can see dragons flying in the distance, but I can’t just carelessly get closer because I have no way of knowing for sure if they’re ones I know.
I land, and think about what to do while walking towards the mountain.
Come to think of it, I haven’t spent a lot of time here in their territory.
The last time I was here was to get the Yggdrasil nectar to help Snow control her power.
And then there was the time I flew on Tiltue’s back, but I don’t even know where Graham lives.
“I’m pretty sure the highest mountain there in the center is like a meeting area.”
Tiltue told me that’s where the elders discuss complicated stuff.
I mostly just know the young ones, so there’s little point in me going there.
“Maybe I should go to where Tiltue lives first.”
I don’t remember exactly where it is, but I’m pretty sure it’s in the furthest rocky mountain.
It will be fine if I just happen to find someone I know along the way.
“Oh? This presence…”
But then I feel a dragon coming towards me, with a power I’m familiar with. It’s Tiltue.
Apparently she noticed me.
That helps. I move somewhere I can be seen better, and Tiltue comes flying really fast, before transforming in mid air and coming down like always.
“Darling!”
“Whoa.”
I catch her, and her ponytail wags like a tail.
The way I’m holding her like a big dog that wants pampering makes me smile awkwardly.
“Mufuh!”
“You knew it was me?”
“There’s no way I would mistake your presence!”
She says, but I think there was a big distance. Even I had to get a little closer before I knew it was her, so her detection skills might be better than mine.
“But why are you here…?”
“Well…”
“To see me!?”
“To see Graham.”
The moment I say that, she puffs her cheeks.
“Why not me?”
It’s cute how she starts rubbing her head against me.
I feel a bit bad, but I really am here to see Graham…
“How about we go eat together when this is done?”
“…Hm.”
She takes some distance and turns around, but I can see her tail wagging.
“But why are you here to see Graham?”
“I just want to ask something.”
“Is it about that girl?”
“Yes.”
Did she meet her too? That question crosses my mind, but I quickly see she didn’t.
“I figured she might be a friend of Merlin’s if she’s human, but, you know I…”
“I know.”
She’s friendly with us now, but she used to be a loner dragon.
And she wouldn’t have gained that title if she was the kind of person that could casually approach someone who came from outside the island.
“More people have shown up here on the island. I want to check if she was with them.”
“I see… I’m pretty sure she’s in Graham’s place. I’ll take you there.”
“Thanks.”
I was going to ask anyway.
But then it looks like she has something in mind, and she approaches me and puts out her hand.
“…”
“What?”
“…”
She doesn’t respond, she just keeps her hand there… Does she want to hold hands?
I grab her small hand, and she grabs mine back.
“Like this?”
She smiles, and we start walking together in a different direction.
I know she’s happy, but why isn’t she saying anything?
It might be something Merlin put in her head again.
It’s not like it’s actually a problem, so we just walk.
◇ ◇ ◇
We keep walking, and the dragons flying above us don’t try to intimidate us.
They’re just watching from afar, like before.
“They’re just dragons. They aren’t intelligent enough to speak like us, but they won’t attack because they feel the difference in power.”
“I see.”
Much like how beast people live in the divine beast people’s village, dragons live in the ancient dragons’ village.
From their point of view, ancient dragons have the power of gods, so they keep their distance.
“It’s been a while since I met you, but there’s so much I don’t know.”
“There’s a lot I don’t know about humans either, so we’re even.”
“You’re right.”
Apparently most of the young ancient dragons are out fighting.
The ones that stayed are elders, but the older ancient dragons don’t really leave their homes other than to go to the meeting area, so I don’t see any.
After walking for a while, Tiltue points to one rocky mountain.
It’s pretty tall, which apparently is proportional to the power among the other ancient dragons.
“Graham’s there. He’s looking after the human woman, so he’s not going out to fight.”
It’s probably the tallest mountain, other than the meeting area and Tiltue’s place.
And looking at it more closely, I see a circular hole on the top, so that’s probably the entrance.
“So we have to fly in?”
“Yes.”
There’s a bit of light on Tiltue’s back, and wings appear.
I also use some magic energy to float, and we reach the hole at the top together.
“Hey Graham! I’m here with darling!”
Tiltue yells at the hole, like a drunk university student calling his friend at a boarding house.
I’m sure there’s a better way to go around it, but… Then a woman emerges from the hole.
“Hum… Mister Graham isn’t… Eh?”
“Oh?”
She looks surprised when she looks at my face.
I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere.
“You are…”
“Ah, aah! It’s you…”
The girl… The saint Ceres falls to her knees, looking like a devout believer seeing god.
“Mister Arata the god incarnate!”
She says, and I look up.
The ceiling of the mountain opens widely, showing a beautiful blue sky.
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Thanks for the treat.