Volume 5 24: Dragon-san Meets the Gods
Translator: Kurehashi Aiko
It seems that I have lost consciousness for some time.
When I finally came to, I realized I was floating within a dark and empty space.
Opening my mouth, I remembered that I ate a huge portion of ‘Eclipse’ fog.
.... No, I had no way of knowing that it would succeed or not.
When it comes to the taste, they tasted like an old candy that was left to just sit in the cupboard for far too long.
However, the moment I ate them, I felt like something was pulling me with a great force.
When I give myself a quick checkup, all seems to be in place: slim neck, black wings, slender tail. Yup, I was in one piece alright.
It was actually pretty funny to be able to see my body properly even inside all of this empty darkness.
By doing all that I was supposed to gain access to the Gods’ domain, so let’s try to do what we came here for and start working on saving the world from the threat of the Eclipse.
「Excuse me! Is there anyone in here?」
I shouted hoping to get some answer, but the only thing that answered me was my own voice.
Because beside me there was no one in here.
But for a moment out there I thought that I saw the space shaking, and then what appears right before me is a gorgeous-looking woman with blonde hair and brown skin, with her arms spread wide and runny nose.
「YOU! So we meet at laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!!!???」
I couldn’t shake off this feeling that yet another weirdo has appeared before me.
The woman (Or was it a man?) spun around and tripped over her own legs, landing face forward to the ground. It looked so painful that I even turned my eyes away for a bit.
And even though her momentum was not all that big, it was a fall that was quite unavoidable.
I watched her as she managed to get up from the ground and shake the dirt off of her clothes.
「Hiieee, it hurt. It’s been so long since I last hurt myself like that....」
Even though there were tears dripping down her cheeks and snot coming out of her nose, there was no doubt that she was a beautiful person.
Her golden hair were shining as they fell in slight waves onto her back and shoulder, and her skin was so smooth that it seemed to glow in the darkness.
Her quite genderless features brought to mind an image of a puppet, a masterpiece created by the puppetmaster over the years of training and honing his skills.
Her limbs were also perfect, not to slim but also not too chubby.
And her green eyes seem to penetrate me deeply, reaching all the way into my soul.
She somehow looked just like the younger version of Gramps that I saw before.
In a sense, no words could fully describe the beauty of her features.
Also, she wore a loose pants and a jacket that somehow were very similar to fashionable clothes back from my world.
She looked like one of those people from Harajuku that would often be featured in a fashion magazines, and her beauty was of that kind that the more you gazed upon her the more beautiful she was becoming.
Also, the atmosphere around her seemed to be rather friendly.
「Hello! Bonjour! Konnichiwa! I wonder in which language should I speak? You know what, forget it, that one should suffice.」
Her voice sounded not like an adult, but not like a child either. Not like a man, but also not a woman.
It was the same kind of voice that I heard during the renewing the seal, and above all else she spoke in the language from Earth.
I wonder if she learned the Japanese language as a result of looking into my memories?
There was no doubt about it now, but I decided to ask just in case.
「Are you perhaps the God that created this world?」
「If by “God” you mean “Creator”, then sure, that’s me. I think that apologies are in place to you. I am terribly sorry.」
She quickly affirmed my suspicions, raising her body just a little bit.
How should I put it? She seems light. So very light.
I was relieved to see that she was so friendly, but the fact that she anticipated my coming here made me all the more on edge.
Right now I was feeling something which I haven’t felt in quite a while. That society in general can be a very complex and bothersome construct if there were people like her in it.
I looked at her with a complex expression, and after letting out a sigh I asked:
「What do you mean that apologies are in place?」
Listening closely to her words, I could see that the God of this world looked rather apologetic for some reason.
「Yeah, that’s right. It seems that one of the terminals I left in that world was the cause that brought you here from your world. Aaah, that’s right, I’m sorry for what happened to you, so at least let me fix that quickly....」
「Eh....?」
As soon as I asked that, that woman extended her hand towards me and there was a sudden burst of light from it.
Under her gaze, I could feel something changing in me.
When she withdrew her hand, I was back to by usual female form.
But more than anything, I was surprised that the transformation wasn’t accompanied by any kind of pain or discomfort.
Because right now everything about me, from my hair to the clothes I was wearing, was about the same as when I was still living my life on Earth.
When I touched my chest, I couldn’t even feel the Dragon Gem’s presence that was always there.
「You are a girl from Earth, so dragons must not be to your liking, right? I managed to get rid of it, but some remnants seem to still remain. I will need to take care of that.」
「Wait, wait just a minute, I don’t think I follow.」
I tried to raise my hand in protest, as my mind was desperately trying to figure out what was going on here.
It was all because I felt some really premonition coming from her words just now.
And since I had trouble keeping my balance while wearing high heels, I took them off and carried on barefoot.
Slipping on a banana peel was also part of the reason. That trauma kept me aware of the fact just how much shoes can really impair your movements.
「You, how much do you know about the current situation?」
Even though my words sounded upset, she didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
Rather, she looked awfully kind and gentle.
「I see, hmm, let’s see. I’m kind of confused. It looks like I forgot. Others often say to me that I tend to forget when I’m nervous and it’s driving others insane.」
I really wanted to somehow comment on that, but I managed to stop myself so that I wouldn’t say something stupid.
But looking at the latest event, it was very much probable that I lost my powers as a dragon.
That must be the reason why my body felt so sluggish. I can’t really rely on it too much in that state.
And since she was much more powerful than me, I needed to choose my words carefully.
I can’t rely on others for help anymore. I needed to settle this with my own two hands.
「Let me explain it briefly. I created this world to accommodate my growing companions, and when they would grow enough to be fine on their own I was supposed to be done with it. But for some strange reason I was unable to do that. That is when you were called here from another world when you died.」
That explanation wasn’t that different from what I heard from Gramps.
Still, being suddenly told that I died in my previous world was quite a shock for me.
But, but.... I wonder what kind of face was I making just now?
After a slight break, she carried on with her explanations.
「I was really surprised. Once I realized what I did I was screaming so loud and searching far and wide all over the world. I felt so confused that something like that happened in the first place. And since I couldn’t find a suitable vessel to accommodate you in, I had to put you in a form of the dragon for the time being. But now I finally found you.」
He paused again, gracing me with yet another smile.
「I’m so sorry for putting you through all of this. However, now that I finally met you, and I can properly take responsibility for my actions and send you back to your original world.」
「Send me back?」
I knew that my voice was swaying, but she said those words so naturally, and there was not a trace of doubt in her eyes.
{You were once a human being, but then got turned into a dragon.... I’m afraid that even with all my power restoring you back to your original self may not be possible. Also, I will need to erase all of your memories from your stay here.」
I would lose all of the memories of this world and then go back to my old world.
I felt really strange with that knowledge, but then again I could feel no hostility at all coming from that God.
However, there was a sudden urge to speak up rising from somewhere inside of me.
There was something that I absolutely needed to know.
「In other words, the reason for ‘Eclipse’s’ appearance was because you were looking for me?」
「Shock? I see, so that’s how you call it. That’s right, I wanted them to do their job properly, so that no one else would bet angry with me anymore. I was looking for the signs of different world, but I got so lost in my task that I was afraid I might fail. Of course I had other means of contacting you, but it really helped me that you decided to come to me like that.
Ahh, so in other words, the ‘Eclipse’ was targeting me and my friends, because it could sense my magic power on them as well.
But, is this God, by any chance....
She continued speaking while not giving me much room to calmly think about any of the information I was receiving.
「I saw part of your personal history from your world, and it looks like you’ve managed to accomplish more as a woman in this world, right? Oh well, humans are creatures that usually do better if they try something again. I can’t really bring you back to how you were before, but I can bring you as close to that using your memories. It seems like the ones in charge of your world like to send people randomly into another worlds, but I think we can manage to work a compromise here.」
Suddenly her shoulders dropped down, as if she was depressed.
「Other people made the Gods really angry. If the plan doesn’t proceed smoothly, they are going to intervene and put an end to everything in one fell swoop. Even though I’m so lonely.... Well, anyways, enough about that, let’s get this thing started! As an apology, I shall give you the happiest life ever!」
She stood right before me before I could even realize it and she put her hand on my shoulder.
Just from that gesture, I could feel that I was beginning to fall apart.
I also noticed that I was falling.
「Stop....!」
「I am so sorry. You may not like it, but it is something necessary.
I was about to collapse, and she put me down on the ground in a gentle manner.
I couldn’t resist that at all.
In the meantime, my consciousness will keep on crumbling away.
As if it was trash. As if it was something that was not necessary.
It begins to crumble and scatter like sand on the wind.
“I” am going to disappear soon.
The five hundred years worth of memories of this world were going to disappear, but for some reason I was thinking that this is actually a good thing.
It was a long period of time where no one was accepting me. Where a lot of hard and painful things happened.
Oh well, it’s not that I really need to remember.
I can just, give up, and.. and....
「Hmm? Did you say something?」
Finally there was something deep inside of me. Something othet than myself touching me.
Something was burning inside of my heart.
I could clearly see an image of flax hair with red ends and a pair of deep-blue eyes.
historical
“You are not some random dragon! You are my Lava! Lava Figura! And we are all right here beside you!”
I could hear the voice of the most important person to me in the entire world coming from deep inside of my heart.
「Uwah!?」
There was a sudden burst of bright light, and the two of us were threw apart.
Even though I had to sacrifice a whole lot of magical power for that, I managed to stop my rapidly decaying memory from crumbling away further.
Right, there was Gramps, Ligurila, Kyle, Belga, Senjiro, Elvie, Marca-chan, Mikoto, Iori, everyone from Hesat and everyone from Towa. But above all else, I remembered Nectar and Aru.
Even though I was somewhat relieved, there was another sensation rising deep down inside of me.
「T, that surprised me. Did you just stimulated the world’s logic with your power? That will take a while to remove.」
「.... with me.」
「Huh?」
My body feels hot. It’s as though my heart is burning up.
I could feel the bright red flames mixing with my black hair.
I shut my eyes for a moment, and then take a deep breath while clenching my right fist.
When I opened my eyes again, I knew that they were golden, with flames of rage burning deep inside of them.
「Stop fucking with meeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!」
Burning with so much anger, I yelled while slamming my fist right into her beautiful face.