Luna and the wolf pups leave at night, and Xellos and Merlin also go back to their houses.
That leaves me and Reina in our house.
“It was so rowdy during the day, and it’s so quiet at night.”
“Well, I could hear the monsters a lot during the night at first, but they don’t come near here anymore.”
“It’s your fau… Thanks to you.”
“My fault? That’s harsh.”
This random back and forth feels cozy.
I met Reina when I was reincarnated on this island, which wasn’t that long ago, but our tempo matches when we talk, and so does the overall atmosphere around us. I like having her with me.
“I haven’t seen Tiltue lately. I wonder what happened.”
“Ah, you’re right. Also… For a while it felt like Wilhelmina was here every night to start something, but she hasn’t been around either.”
“…”
“…”
Once she says that, I can’t help but get a bad feeling. And it looks like I’m not the only one, because Reina’s face is looking a little stiff.
Tiltue is one thing, but Wil not coming here is definitely a bad omen. I’m sure she’s cooking up something bad.
“Could it be that something happened with those two…”
“I-it’s all right, Reina. I’m pretty sure they don’t know each other.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Wil is the queen of the night, and Tiltue the king of the sky.
Bahamut’s strength is notable even among ancient dragons, so Bahamut’s descendant, Tiltue, is as powerful as ancestors.
They’re both among the strongest races on this island, but supposedly, they’ve never crossed paths. Because…
“Tiltue doesn’t stay up late.”
“Yes. She’s usually sleepy around the time when the sun goes down, and falls asleep before Wilhelmina comes.”
“I’m sure it’s fine then…”
We both say the same things, like we’re trying to clear away our worries.
And the next day, as if making a mockery of our efforts, Wil shows up.
The difference is that this time she appears in the broad daylight.
◇ ◇◇
“Hello to both of you. What nice weather we are having today!”
“…Arata, can you throw her as hard as we can?”
“…Probably, but she’ll come back like nothing happened.”
“Yes… What a bothersome person.”
Reina lets out a troubled sigh. She really has trouble dealing with Wil.
And Wil loves to make fun of Reina precisely because of that. Even now, she has a kind of evil smile on her face as she comes closer.
“Hey hey, I can hear you. Don’t you think that’s awful, considering I came all the way here just to play with you?”
“Please gain some self-awareness and realize what you’re saying is already awful.”
By play with us, she means using us as playthings, not play along with us. And there’s no doubt about that, because I can already see laughter in her eyes.
“What is with those eyes? Weren’t you the one who told me to come by during the day?”
“I guess I did…”
“Well, here I am, as promised.”
When I said that, she immediately said no, so I wouldn’t really call it a promise. What a contrarian.
“Luna and the others probably won’t come by today.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
“…Why?”
No, seriously, why?
I’m pretty sure there’s no bad blood between her and Luna or anything like that. Elga doesn’t like her at all, but I heard before that Livia feels like she did her a favor.
“Well, what I’m about to do might be a little too stimulating for children.”
“…”
The moment she says that, I feel an incredible presence in the sky. This is…
“Hum, Arata? Why are you holding me…”
“Reina! I’m getting out of here as fast as possible, so be careful not to bite your tongue!”
“Eh? Wai…”
I have one arm on Reina’s back and the other under her knees, as I take off running while trying to minimize the impact that has on her.
“Guoooooo!”
At the same time, there’s a roar behind us.
“A-Arata… Is that Tiltue!?”
“Yes. I didn’t see her but I could tell by her presence. But she doesn’t seem to be quite herself.”
I stop pretty far away from our house, put Reina down, and turn around.
I can see Tiltue in her black dragon form dashing through the skies to come after us.
“What do you think?”
“Wilhelmina definitely did something to her!”
“Of course.”
From Wil’s point of view, this is partially just a joke, but there’s no doubt that Tiltue has lost her power of reasoning. Just what did she do…
“I’ll stop her. Get away from here, Reina.”
“Yes… I don’t think I need to worry about you, but don’t get hurt.”
“I don’t know what will hurt this body either, so I’ll try to be careful.”
As Reina starts running, Tiltue starts rapidly descending. She comes down with such force, that the wind it generates shakes the trees.
Being charged at by giant beings sure happens a lot on this island.
I was a little scared the first time, but I’m used to it by now.
“Guooooooooo!”
I don’t know what happened, but let’s just calm down, Tiltue.”
Tiltue is drawing near, so I spread my arms and get ready to catch her. And then, the jet black body starts shining, and just like always, Tiltue jumps onto me in her small girl form.
“Guooo.”
“Yes, there there.”
It sounds like her mind isn’t quite there, but I can’t sense any intention to hurt me on her part.
That’s not surprising, because I felt that from the start.
But in that state, she’d damage the house just by flapping her wings, so I wanted to get away from there.
“Guoooo.”
“Yes. You’ve lost your reasoning power, but what you do stays the same…”
She’s pushing her head against me like she always does, like a kid that doesn’t want to leave her parent.
The difference is the lack of her cheerful voice calling me darling.
What happened for her to become like this?
I keep patting her head as I think that, and she calms down quite a bit.
At this point, she’s cute like a big dog that wants to be pet.
“Arata, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. But Tiltue isn’t normal, so I can’t ask her what happened.”
“It was Wilhelmina, right?”
“No doubt about it.”
We’re both convinced of it, as we talk like earlier.
We can’t just leave things as they are. I hold Tiltue from both sides, and see a satisfied smile on her face.
“Hn… We have to get the explanation from Wil.”
“Although she looks kind of innocent and cute.”
“Tiltue is always cute.”
“It’s a different kind of cute. That haughty way of speaking contrasted with her appearance is cute too, but she looks like such a pampered child now.”
I guess Reina is actually more into cute things than I thought.
Does she actually feel that way all the time, but is too embarrassed to say it to Tiltue when she’s normal?
“We can’t just stay here, so let’s go back.”
“Yes… Arata, can I touch her?”
“Guo.”
Reina stretches her arm, and Tiltue turns her head.
“…I guess that’s a no.”
“Too bad…”
It’s gotten kind of weird here, but I’m just glad it’s not anything serious.
Now we just have to get the explanation from Tiltue, and if it’s too bad, I might have to get angry for once. She won’t listen to me anyway.
And so begins a day that’s a little different than usual.
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