“Pikiii?”
The black eyes turn to me. It’s so cute how it’s tilting its head in confusion.
Mister Douroean can talk, but apparently this newborn dragon is too young to form words. But if they have Mister Douroean’s knowledge, they should be able to speak soon.
Ah! Can we talk to each other if we form a contract?
I get closer. The small dragon is staring at me and doesn’t take their eyes off me for even a second. They’re so small they can fit in one of my hands.
Still, a dragon is a dragon, no matter how small it is, and I imagine they’re stronger than me. The gryphons are all nervous as they watch the dragon.
“…I’m Lerunda. How much do you remember? I got you from Mister Douroean.”
Mister Douroean said this separate body would have his knowledge, but how much does they actually know? I’m thinking this newborn is probably feeling overwhelmed because they’re surrounded by so many people. I’d be surprised too.
I start by smiling and showing we’re not enemies. I’m not scared, and I’m not getting a bad feeling from this tiny dragon either.
“Pikii.”
“I’d be very happy, if we could get along.”
“Piki!”
The tiny dragon responds strongly. Can I assume that means they agree?
“Can I give you a name, so we can form a contract? It’s fine if you don’t want to… But maybe… If we do, we can talk.”
“Pikii?”
“If we form a contract and you don’t like it, you can undo it. How’s that?”
Mister Douroean also said his separate body could undo a contract by force.
The tiny dragon looks like they’re thinking about it. Maybe they’re thinking back to Mister Douroean’s memories. Even if the knowledge is there, it’s probably hard to remember everything after just being born.
As I’m thinking that maybe I should give the tiny dragon time to think about this carefully, they start walking towards me with their small legs and extends one of their front legs towards me.
“Pikipiki!”
“Hum, are you saying you want to form a contract?”
“Pikiii!”
“Are you sure?”
“Piki!”
It looks like the tiny dragon is ready to form a contract. I ask again to confirm, but it looks like it’s all right.
“Well then, your name is Doanea. Nice to meet you.”
The moment I say that, I feel magic energy leaving my body. It looks like the contract is formed. I feel like I lost a lot more magic energy than when I formed contracts with the gryphons and Freinet.
I guess a dragon takes a lot more magic energy than other beings. Still, I don’t pass out.
“Pikiiiii. Piiiii. (I am Doanea. Fine name.)”
…I hear a voice, and the thing that surprises me the most is that their speech sounds old. Is that because it’s Mister Douroean’s separate body? But he didn’t talk like this. Maybe that’s just how Doanea is.
“Can I hug you?”
“Piki! (Very well!)”
I hug Doanea, who is pretty heavy despite being a newborn. These scales feel nice and sleek, so I start patting them without even thinking.
I look around and see Mister Villa kneeling. And he’s moved to tears… Seeing the tears in his eyes scares me for a moment.
“How… How… To think I would be present to witness the birth of god…”
“Pikipikiii? (What is it with him?)”
“…Doanea, I’ll explain Mister Villa and his people later, so don’t mind it for now.”
Even if the knowledge is inside Doanea, I’m sure there’s a lot Doanea doesn’t understand yet, so I’ll take my time and explain later why the winged people are all like this.
It could be a problem if Doanea really gets convinced that they’re god.
“Mister Villa, I’m going to take Doanea home for now. I want to tell Miss Lan the egg has hatched, and talk to her.”
“Under… Stood…”
Even his voice sounds tearful.
“I’m going too.”
“Gurugurururururu. (Us too.)”
Gaius and the gryphons are coming with me to my house.
And Mister Villa… Ah, Mister Ilma is coming here,
“I understand. This is a natural reaction to seeing a being you call your god before you. When I first met Lerunda I…”
It looks like he can relate to how Mister Villa feels.
…Miss Shehan and beast people are here too, so can I leave this to them? I look at Miss Shehan and lower my head to her, as if to ask her to take care of things here. She nods, so I head towards my house.
—Girl and egg – Part two
(The miko forms a contract with the tiny dragon.)
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