MISTERLP
Does that mean... Kazuma is the one I've been waiting so long for?
We returned to the shore, and I asked Kazuma as he was putting the
clothes that he left there back on, "Hey, Kazuma. Tell me... If I hadn't
been able to fly like this, what did you plan on doing?"
Kazuma considered my question for a little while, then honestly
confessed, "If it came to that, I would have apologized. 'Sorry, it didn't
work out,' is what I'd have said."
"Wait, that's all?"
"That's all. Even if you couldn't fly, your value wouldn't change. I
don't know what the dragon knights value, but going by the value system
of my country, I desperately want your ability to control electricity. If no
one chooses you at the Contract Ceremony, please, come to my country.
You'll be welcome there."
I was silent.
"Come to my country," he said without the slightest embarrassment.
It felt like there was no place for me in the Star Dragon Mountain
Range. But Kazuma said he wanted me. I felt like I could swim through
the sky again in glee.
But, well... the way he said "If no one chooses you" ticked me off. So I
decided to distract myself from that.
"Whoa, whoa, Naden?" I snatched Kazuma up by the collar, and forced
him to ride on my back.
"Whoa?!"
Then, with a breath, I launched into the sky. In an instant, the ground
was far away, and a panicking Kazuma clung to my back screaming,
"Naden, I'm falling! I'm falling!"
"You won't fall," I told the flustered Kazuma in an exasperated tone. "I
have you on my back, after all."
"Huh...? ...Now that you mention it, we went up on a nearly vertical
path, but I didn't fall off."
"It's a dragon's power. We protect the humans that ride on our backs so
they won't fall off. It means the knights can ride without holding on, and
they're protected from the wind and cold. Notice how it's not cold, even
though we're up in the air."
"Now that you mention... I see. Little wonder dragon knights are so
strong." Kazuma sounded impressed.
I giggled. "I know, right? I wasn't sure a ryuu like me would be able to
use it, but..."
"Huh? If you couldn't, wouldn't I have fallen to my death?"
"I felt like I could manage it, and even if you fell, I just had to catch
you."
"You know, I'd prefer not to suddenly go bungee jumping without the
cord..."
"Ahahaha. Consider it payback for earlier."
"For the waterfall climbing?"
"For saying, 'If no one chooses you.' ...Hey, Kazuma?" I worked up
my courage and asked Kazuma. "You're going to participate in the
Contract Ceremony, aren't you? Won't you choose me?"
When I asked that, Kazuma's mouth shut tight. To form a contract
meant to take me as his spouse. In other words, I was proposing to him.
The reason he didn't immediately respond was because he was giving it
some serious thought, I was sure. Eventually, he slowly opened his mouth.
"I was just invited by Madam Tiamat. I'm not from the Nothung
Dragon Knight Kingdom."
"I know."
"Even if you make a contract with me, I can't become a dragon
knight."
"I'm not like other dragons, either."
"Besides, I haven't told you anything about myself. Not even my real
name."
"Huh?! Kazuma Souya was a fake name?!"
"And I already have four fiancées back in my country."
"Four?!"
O-Oh... But, well, even the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom allowed
polygamy. If the dragon was a partner who accompanied the dragon knight
to the battle field, the knight needed another partner to stay and watch the
home front, too. That was why I didn't have any problem with the fact that
he had other fiancées in and of itself, but having four of them wasn't
something he could do without being in very high standing. It was
completely different from taking on a concubine after already having
married his official wife.
"Kazuma... Just who are you?" I demanded.
"That, I can't say just yet." Kazuma managed to force those words out.
"I'm not able to decide about the contract by myself, either."
Was I... just rejected? My heart sank as I thought that, but then...
"So, would you come back to my country with me?" Kazuma asked.
"You can go pretty fast in this ryuu form, I'll bet. I'd like to go back to the
Kingdom of Friedonia for a bit, and ask everyone else for their opinions on
the matter. That way, if we end up returning to the Star Dragon Mountain
Range, we'll be here well before it's time for the Contract Ceremony.
Would that... be a problem for you?"
Kazuma sounded apologetic. I shook my head and told him, "...No.
That's fine with me."
If it meant there was some possibility that Kazuma would form a
contract with me, I'd fly to the Kingdom, the Empire, or anywhere else he
wanted. I had the power to do that now.
"So, where do I head to?" I asked.
With a look of relief on his face, Kazuma responded. "Okay, to
Parnam, the capital of the Kingdom of Friedonia, please."
"Roger that."
And with that, I swam off into the eastern sky.