Chapter 63
An incident is discovered the next morning . The various meat dishes leftover from yesterday’s dinner have vanished .
“Nntto, the meat . ”
Priscillchan looks up at me with damp eyes .
“Asher-san…”
The perpetrator is obvious without having to search . After we went to sleep, Asher-san and Old Sleigstar undoubtably ate everything in secret .
Even though we were sleeping on Asher-san’s stomach, we didn’t notice a thing . That shouldn’t be a surprise though . Asher-san and Old Sleigstar didn’t need to move from where they are, they just needed to stretch out their necks to reach where we left our leftovers .
“Priscilla wanted to eat more . ”
Priscillchan sorrowfully mutters those words as she clings to my leg .
“Asher-san, ojii-chan[1], why did you make a small child sad?”
“My, my, well, well, isn’t this troublesome?”
Ruiseine comforts Priscillchan by taking her into her arms .
“Guh, this is that . ” (Sleigstar)
“It’s because jii-san ate everything . I made sure to leave some behind . ” (Asher)
“Mumumu, the youngster is attempting to save herself by placing blame on this on?” (Sleigstar)
“This isn’t an issue about blame, it’s the truth . ” (Asher)
“Venerable elder, here is your medicine . ” (Mistral)
“Wait, wait, wait, Mistral! Do not be so hasty!” (Sleigstar)
Mistral holds her temple with her left hand and unsheathes her rod with her right hand .
“Do iiit!”
Priscilla cries out .
“Agyaaaaaah!”
Old Sleigstar’s scream echoes through out the ancient forest from early in the morning .
“What a frightening young girl . ”
Asher-san’s face draws back at the spectacle .
“Honestly, I wish you wouldn’t create more trouble just before I head back . ”
Mistral sighs out as she strokes Priscillchan’s head .
Priscillchan finally regains her spirits with Ruiseine holding her in her arms and Mistral strolling her head .
“Nntto, bring more again next time?”
“That’s true . If Asher-sama isn’t troubled by it, do bring us some more again . ” (Mistral)
“I too look forward to it . ” (Ruiseine)
Even though Asher-san makes a troubled expression at seeing the three girls advance the conversation as they please, she isn’t able to say anything back since she and Old Sleigstar are at fault .
Ah, perhaps having seen Mistral’s assault just now, she decided it’s better to not go against her?
“Sa, now that Priscilla is feeling better, I should return to my village . ”
“Eeeeh, you’re already going back? We haven’t eaten breakfast yet . ”
“It’s frustrating, but I have a lot to do . ”
Mistral strokes my head this time .
“All of you will be returning to the royal capital in the evening?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan . ”
“In that case, until next time when we can meet again . While I will come here again tomorrow, I’ll immediately have to return . ”
Starting from tomorrow, I’ll be coming to the moss-covered plaza in the afternoon . Looks like Mistral won’t be here at that time . Maybe we’ll be passing each other by from now on?
“Mist-san, I look forward to the day we can meet again . ”
“Yes, let’s meet again . ”
“Nntto, bring a souvenir when you come . ”
“Yes, yes, I’ll bring you something . ”
Mistral, Ruiseine, and then Priscillchan exchange farewells with each other .
“Well then, Ernea, let’s meet again . ”
“Yeah, until next time . ”
Mistral and I smile as we exchange our goodbyes .
“Fumu, hast thou finished thine’s farewells . Then this one shall send you off . ”
Old Sleigstar, having waited for us to finish, spreads out his dragon art and a three-dimensional magic technique appears around Mistral .
“Farewell, until we meet again, alright?”
While Mistral is waving, she vanishes within the light .
“Nyaa, I didn’t make it, nyan . ”
Nymia, who wasn’t here, zips back from the ancient forest with a large bag around her neck . Many fruits are packed within the bag .
Even though the bag is about the size of a kitten, she’s flying around with it around her neck . I’m impressed . Although, Nymia is starting to look frantic and has begun swaying as she flies towards us . Then, after using all her strength, she collapses onto the ground .
“Right, thank you for your hard work . ”
Asher-san gives a blunt comment .
“Nyaa . ”
Nymia gives a sorrowful cry at not being praised despite her best efforts . She casts aside her bag and hops onto Priscillchan’s head .
“Welcome back . ”
Priscillchan caresses Nymia .
“So, you brought us breakfast? Thank you . ” (Ernea)
That’s right . With the meat gone and nothing to eat in the morning, Nymia headed into the ancient forest to collect fruit at Asher-san’s command .
“How incredible . ”
Ruiseine too praises Nymia .
“Worked hard, nyan . ”
Thanks to Nymia’s efforts, we are able to avoid the tragedy that is not having breakfast . Ruiseine peals the fruit that was brought back and feeds them to Nymia and Priscillchan .
I peel my own fruit and eat it .
But since Mistral isn’t here, looks like Ruiseine is going to care for everyone instead . Sorry for the trouble .
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I consider helping, but it seems Ruiseine enjoys looking after others . She refuses me with a smile .
Alright, with this, I have no doubt she’ll make for a good mother in the future .
Then, after finishing our meal, we decide on what we should do . Ruiseine and I will be returning in the evening, but we need to pass the time here until then .
“Nntto, paly tag?”
Just as expected, it came, Priscillchan’s anticipated proposal . Today, I will successfully keep away .
While I’m getting excited, Old Sleigstar stops me .
“Thou shall train . ”
“Oooh, that’s right . ”
Even though it can be said that playing tag lets me freely practice many of my abilities, there are other things I need to do more . I leave Priscillchan to Ruiseine and enter my mediation the same way as always . My deep meditation prevents the noisy fun surrounding me from disturbing my heart .
I feel the dragon vein, refine dragon ki, and save up dragon’s power .
My profound meditation gradually creates a world all of my own . The noise becomes distant and I feel my consciousness become one with nature . By meditating with a clear mind, hours pass without my knowing it . Once I finish meditating, I prepare to practice my Dragon Sword Dance .
In my left hand I hold my wooden spirit tree sword . In my right hand, I use a random tree branch like always . I wonder, how long will I have to continue using a tree branch in my right hand? My family can’t afford to buy a new sword, so what should I do? Recently, my right hand has been feeling lonely .
Once my I stop thinking about my hand, Ruiseine and the others suddenly come into my view . Their game of tag has already ended . How long ago did it end? Since I was meditating, I didn’t notice it .
Ruiseine, having finished with play tag, is holding Priscillchan to experience space jumping . Priscillchan jumps once and appears a small distance away with Ruiseine . Ruiseine crouches down and presses her hands against her chest .
Ruiseine, having finished with play tag, is holding Priscillchan to experience space jumping . Priscillchan jumps once and appears a small distance away with Ruiseine . Ruiseine crouches down and presses her hands against her chest .
Aaah, she’s absolutely enduring a horrendous nausea . Stay strong, Ruiseine . Once you get used to it, the nausea and dizziness will stop .
While keeping Ruiseine in the corner of my eye, I go through the form of my Dragon Sword Dance . Having preformed the Dragon Sword Dance hundreds to thousands of times, the steps have been engraved into my body .
At first, when I was still tracing the form, Old Sleigstar corrected the minute details like the angles of my swords and the elevation of my legs . After that, I moved to circulating dragon ki throughout my body while I danced . Except, unlike just dancing, this is really hard .
I’m still not there yet . I can’t dance the Dragon Sword Dance from beginning to end while refining dragon ki into dragon power . As such, I scoop out the amount I need from the dragon vein while training to clad my body with it . Although, it all gets ruined from even just a small break in concentration .
How many to how many times have I practiced this again and again?
Watching me dance are Priscillchan, Ruiseine, Nymia, and Asher-san . Once I finish, clapping occurs . To my surprise, I get embarrassed and blush .
“That was incredible, Ernekun . For me, this is my first time seeing such a dance . ”
“Onii-chan, amazing . ”
“Getting better every day, nyan . ”
The praises embarrass me even more .
Was this really that great? I’m so focused on what I haven’t reached, I never noticed I could be called skillful .
“That was a splendid performance . You are worthy of being entrusted with Nymia . ”
Asher-san gives me a rare approval .
“Thou should carry a bit more confidence . ”
“Is doing that really okay?”
“Give it no mind . Such is thine’s result . ”
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With even Old Sleigstar is praising me, my embarrassment transforms into delight . Old Sleigstar has been guiding me everyday after all . Being acknowledged by him makes me the happiest .
Asher-san scratches her head and rises .
“Well then, with this I too can return home with my heart at ease . ”
“Nyan . ”
Nymia seems lonely at Asher-san’s sudden decision to return home . Even if she ran away and is afraid, she’ll still yearn for her mother after all .
Asher-san also give Nymia a sorrowful farewell .
“Play to your satisfaction, then properly come back home . ”
“Nyaa, mother come visit too, nyan . ”
Nymia’s eyes are damp . And, for some reason, Priscillchan is crying while cuddling up against Asher-san .
“The fluffiness felt really good . Come back again . ”
We smile at Priscillchan’s farewell which is both strange and meaningless .
“Jii-san[1], obviously I’ll be having you send me back . ”
“Yare yare, thou art still a child . ”
Old Sleigstar sighs, but he isn’t as dissatisfied at being depended on as he appears . Then, his eyes shine gold .
“By the way, jii-san,” Asher-san brings up a question while being enveloped within light . “His right hand seemed lonely during the Dragon Sword Dance . ”
Asher-san stares at the branch in my right hand .
“Fumu, this one has already considered that . ”
“In that case, never mind . ”
With those words, Asher-san directs an expression full of profound meaning to Old Sleigstar’s face .
What could it be? Although I get the feeling there’s something significant about it, I can’t figure it out all . Still, I do understand that Old Sleigstar is thinking about a weapon for my right hand . It makes me happy .
Then, as if signifying the exchange was over, Asher-san is fully enveloped within golden light .
“Let’s meet again . ”
We wave goodbye from a short distance away as we see Asher-san off .
Then, the dazzling pillar of light vanishes and Asher-san is gone . With the massive Asher-san no longer around, the moss-covered plaza feels quite spacious .
“It’s a bit lonely . ”
Even though Ruiseine was utterly terrified of Asher-san at first, she’s reluctant towards her departure .
“That’s true . Asher-san had such an incredible presence, it feels empty now that she’s gone . ” (Ernea)
“Won’t we meet again someday?” (Priscilla)
“She seems to dot on Nymia . I’ve no doubt she won’t be able to bare it for long and will come back again soon . ” (Ernea)
“Nyaa, that’s scary, nyaa . ” (Nymia)
Even though Nymia’s eyes were moist from her sorrowfully parting with her mother moments ago, she is heartless .
“Was only affectionate because everyone was here, but I was honestly scared, nyan . ”
“Scary, no, no, no . ”
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Nymia and Priscillchan shake and quiver . Their actions are cute, but that is when I realize something .
Arere, speaking of Priscillchan, what will happen with her? We will be returning to the royal capital and I guess Priscillchan will also have to return to the Long Eared Tribe village? Just, it’s usually Mistral who drops her off . So then, since Mistral isn’t here, will I be seeing her back to the village?
“The young lass shall stay with this one tonight . ”
“Waa, staying with ojii-chan?”
Priscillchan leaps with joy at Old Sleigstar proposal .
“That’s fine?”
“This one doesn’t mind . Come morning, Mistral will see her home . ”
“I’m okay with taking her . ”
“Thou woulds’t be leaving thine’s other bride . How can thou leave her alone?[2]”
“We can’t go together?”
“Entry into the village of the Long Eared Tribe isn’t permissible without approval . ”
“I see . ”
It doesn’t matter how much of a candidate she is to being my bride, I can’t bring acquaintances at my own convenience .
“My, my, well, well, it seems that I cannot go to the Long Eared Tribe village?”
A sad expression crosses Ruiseine’s face .
“Thou merely needs to make a request of the young lass of the Long Eared Tribe . Should the next head be making the request, there should be no troubles . ”
Once Priscillchan returns to her village, she’ll be able to make a referral through word of mouth?
“Priscillchan, please invite me . ”
“Nntto, understood . ”
Priscillchan, being hugged by Ruiseine, gives an energetic response . After that, Ruiseine treats Priscillchan quite sweetly . Is it for the sake of being invited?
Although I want to say, ‘If you spoil her too much, Mistral is going to get mad,’ I hold back upon wondering if Ruiseine’s sweetness and Mistral’s rod make for a good arrangement .
Then, just like that, we enjoy the remaining time and evening finally arrives . Ruiseine and I plan to be transported to near the entrance of the Dragon Forest by Old Sleigstar . Usually, it’s to the garden behind my house, but this time I’m with Ruiseine . I’ll be troubled if it isn’t to a different place .
“Until next time, Priscillchan . ”
“Ruiseine, till next time . ”
“Nyan, until next time, nyan . ”
Ruiseine and the others hug each other and exchange farewells .
Although I wish Ruiseine could come to the moss-covered plaza every day, she needs to preform sacred duties at the temple . As such, since there is no telling when she’ll be able to come again, this is an emotional farewell . Ruiseine herself seems regretful about it . Next time a convenient opportunity arises, I’ll invite her again .
“Then, art thou ready?”
With those words, Old Sleigstar surrounds us with his three dimensional technique .
“Please, and for this, thank you very much . ”
Ruiseine bows with the proper etiquette expected of a shrine maiden .
I too wave goodbye to Old Sleigstar, Priscillchan, and Nymia . Afterwards, the light enveloping us becomes too radiant for me to keep my eyes open .
Fuu, this six day errand that was filled with various first time experiences and great turbulences is finally over .
As I sigh out in relief, Ruiseine and I appear at the entrance to Dragon Forest .
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