"Yaaaaawwn. Good morning, Laika."
When I entered the dining room, everyone else was already there. Laika was in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Good morning, Madam Teacher. It's unusual for you to rise so late."
That was Halkara. She was already up.
She was right. I almost never woke up later than she did.
"Good morning, Halkara. Well, I have days like this, too."
"Don't tell me you spent a sleepless night with Laika…"
"You have some seriously ingrained assumptions, don't you? I bought a new grimoire and was so engrossed in it that I stayed up late reading. My daughters are here, too, so be a bit more careful about what you say."
"Yes, Madam Teacher, I'm sorry."
She seemed to be genuinely contrite. Good.
"It's only that, you know, I'm still young, so I'm not sure how to put this… I want something like a love story. It doesn't even have to be my own romance. I want someone around me to fall in love!"
Halkara's appeal sounded hungry.
"By the way, you said young. How old are you?"
"Se-seventeen...…and two thousand five hundred months, give or take."
"That's well over two hundred years old."
Although, at three hundred, I had no right to talk.
"But you see, with elves, you practically still have baby fat at that age! But forget my age—isn't there any kind of romance around?!"
"Frankly, no."
Over the course of these three centuries, I hadn't had any experiences you could call romantic. None at all.
"In that case, what about you, Falfa and Shalsha? Are you in love?"
This time, Halkara turned to my daughters.
The two of them had been alive for fifty years, but if either of them had told me there was a boy they liked, it would have been a bit of a shock.
"I love my mommy!"
"Th-that's about what I think as well…"
That moment when your daughters say they love you is priceless. It really makes me glad I'm alive.
"Um, no, that's not what I mean. Haven't you ever fallen in love with a man? Or, I mean, a woman would be fine as well."
"Listen… Would you please not teach my daughters weird things?"
"But, Madam Teacher, that has the opposite effect! Knowing too little about romance may end up wounding your daughters. Besides, from a human perspective, it wouldn't be strange for them to have grandchildren at this age."
"Erg… That's a pretty good point…"
True, I had no basis for assuming my daughters would never fall in love.
Still, they looked like they were about ten years old… Given that, wouldn't it be better not to teach them anything untoward?
"Mom, what are you worrying about?"
When I'm troubled, Shalsha always responds immediately.
"I'm wondering how I should explain what love is to you."
"Love is the gods' most magnificent gift to humanity, according to theology."
"Um, hmm, that may be correct in theory, but it doesn't feel quite right."
"In addition, when love is born, superficial feelings of pleasure manifest. This pleasure, however, is not love. On the contrary, it's more like a mist that obscures love, and one must take care not to be led astray by it. That is the theological interpretation."
Hmm? I seem to be the one who's learning about love now.
"Recent trends in theology suggest that love is divided into four types—agape, the absolute love of god; storge, the love of family; philia, the love of friends; and eros, romantic love—but that would take a while to explain, so I'll go over it later."
"Okay… Thanks…"
Love really is complicated, isn't it? Not only that, but the topic of romantic love switched to a more general variety during this conversation. I do remember hearing something about love and romance being separate concepts… I'm getting confused.
As I sat there looking agonized, Laika brought in plates of food.
"Here you are: scrambled-egg sandwiches. Take care not to burn yourselves, please."
Of course. Maybe I'll ask about Laika's romantic experience.
"Say, Laika, have you ever been in lo—?"
"Oh, Lady Azusa, there was something I needed to tell you."
Laika, who'd set the plates down, clapped her hands resolutely.
"I'm going home to my family."
For a moment, I gaped at her, flabbergasted.
"Wha-wha-wha-wha-what?! What happened?! Are you that unhappy with your life here?! If you have any complaints or worries, tell me—don't hold anything back! I'll fix it!"
I remembered when one of my junior coworkers had quit the company.
As one of their seniors, I'd advised them to hang on at least until they found their next job.
I'd actually died of overwork, though, so in a way, that junior's decision had been prudent. After all, if you're just going to kill yourself with effort, unemployment is the better option…
This is no good. My memories are convincing me that quitting is a good idea.
"Laika, was there a problem with me as a witch? Were my teaching methods wrong? Please, tell me!"
"Um, Lady Azusa?! What's the matter?"
"What else could it be?! I think of my apprentices as family! If you tell me you're leaving, I'm going to be upset!"
I truly was indebted to Laika. Our first encounter had been perilous, but now everything—even that—was a really fond memory.
"Lady Azusa, calm down a moment, please!"
"W-well, I can't, not about something like this… Don't quit being my apprentice, Laika!"
"I'm not quitting! My elder sister is getting married, and I'm simply going home for the wedding, that's all!"
"Huh? A wedding…?"
Come to think of it, when Shalsha attacked, Laika had mentioned that, hadn't she…?
"That's right. There's going to be a ceremony at Mount Rokko, the volcano where the dragon tribe lives. My sister is marrying her childhood friend. Oh, and they're both dragons."
Falfa was terribly happy and exclaimed, "Yaaaaay! Congratulations!" It certainly did warrant congratulations.
"So this is the shape of love?" Shalsha mused, sounding enlightened.
Yes, I suppose you could say marriage is one of the ways to complete a romance.
"I see, yes, definitely go to that. I'm sure your sister will be delighted."
"Yes. I'd like to celebrate the beginning of their new journey— Oh, that's right."
Laika seemed to have hit on an idea.
"Would you like to attend the wedding with me? There's no need to think about ceremonies or anything stuffy like that. Dragon weddings are fairly informal, so simply consider it something along the lines of a festival or road trip."
"I'm going! I wanna see the bride!"
My daughter Falfa expressed her interest before I did.
True, if this was the wedding of my apprentice's big sister, it would be okay for me to attend.
"All right. We'll go, then. At top speed, I think it would take about two days to get to Mount Rokko. If we take Falfa and Shalsha into account, we should probably pace ourselves and allow for four."
"I'll transform into a dragon and take you there. I'll arrange for your lodgings as well."
The matter was practically settled, then.
"A dragon wedding, hmm? We'll need to dress up… And I left all my dresses back home…"
Halkara already seemed to be thinking about what to wear.
"In that case, I'll make a trip back home ahead of time and let them know you'll be attending. I'll return later today."
"Of course. Give them our regards."
And so it was decided that the entire household of the highland witch would go to the wedding.
That day, we went into Flatta to have outfits made.
My daughters were already tremendously excited over getting to wear dresses. Their genuinely childlike reaction was a relief to me.
Shalsha tried on every frock in sight, constantly mulling over which would be best.
"Hmm, I don't think this one goes well with my hair…"
"That's not true. You worry about that too much, Shalsha."
"Well, Sister, you compliment every one of them, so I don't know…"
Going back and forth is part of the fun when it comes to this kind of thing, so I thought it fine that she was a little unsure.
Halkara had already begun trying on dresses off the rack.
"Excuse me, Madam Teacher? Could you come and tell me if this looks odd?"
She called to me from a changing room, so I went in.
"How is it? Did you find a good—? Oh, that one absolutely will not do."
Halkara was wearing a dress with a low neckline, and the moment I saw it, I knew it wouldn't work.
"Really? I like the color…"
"It barely hides either your bust or your derriere."
"...Oh! No, that's no good!!! I'll change!!!"
"Halkara, with your figure, none of the ready-made dresses will fit, and they'll all end up being provocative. Have yours tailored from scratch… And honestly, if you're planning to go in an outfit like that, I won't let you go at all."
She could stand to be a little more aware of how her own figure looks.
In the end, we had dresses tailored for all four of us.
Since Laika had gone to inform the people back home that we would be participating, naturally, she was absent. She'd been planning to attend the wedding all along, though, so she was probably ready anyway.
Laika returned before dinner. Apparently, our intent to make an appearance had been met with unanimous approval.
"My family said if the Witch of the Highlands was going to be there, they'd absolutely love to see you."
"I wish people wouldn't treat me like a celebrity."
"You are most definitely famous, Lady Azusa. I think the name Witch of the Highlands carries weight nearly everywhere in Nanterre."
I wanted to tell her she was exaggerating, but Halkara had come seeking my help despite living in another province, so my renown was probably real.
"We went to have dresses made. You already have one, don't you, Laika?" I asked just to be on the safe side.
After all, if she didn't, it might have seemed as though we were excluding her.
"Yes, several."
"Several? You do seem like a rich young lady… The ceremony won't be a problem, then."
"That's right. I'll be wearing a dress my sister gave me long ago."
What a pair of high-society siblings.
***
Very soon, the day arrived.
We dressed in our finest, Laika turned into a dragon, and we got onto her back.
Come to think of it, I'd never ridden Laika for such a serious distance before.
As a matter of fact, since my daughters had been evacuated during the Beelzebub incident, they were more used to it than I was.
Meanwhile, Halkara was looking pale.
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"No, it's motion sickness…"
"I don't think we're rocking enough to cause that."
"It's just how I am. There's no way around it… I'm hopeless unless I'm walking on my own two feet. During my escape, I rode on a riverboat, and it made me terribly seasick."
This girl has all sorts of problems—well, weaknesses.
"Here, I'll take some dried mushrooms that prevent travel sickness."
Mushrooms can do all sorts of things, can't they…?
*Halkara ended up getting nauseous anyway, so I had Laika land in a forest temporarily.
I rubbed my apprentice's back. She was truly suffering, and I think it's a genuine part of the job.
"That's right; get it all out. It'll stop hurting then."
"Bleargh! Bleeeeh! Ahh, I feel better. I'm sorry. My body really is falling apart…"
"You don't have to beat yourself up over that. For now, just concentrate on calming down…"
My daughters seemed to be enjoying the unfamiliar scenery, so this felt like the perfect time for a break.
"It's a forest! Shalsha, where are we?"
"This is the Forest of Mireille. Its altitude is relatively high for the province of Nanterre, so it's especially green."
That girl really knows her stuff when it comes to geography.
"It's home to rather large 'long-spear boar' monsters, so people don't often come here."
"Is that what that big animal over there is?"
At that, I flinched and turned. Sure enough, a boar with an incredibly long horn on its head was coming our way.
As I gazed at that large horn and wondered if it made life inconvenient for the creature, the horn extended farther. Evidently, they're able to lengthen when the boar finds prey.
I realized right away that it was targeting my daughters.
"Sister, I may not be able to beat that one…"
"I don't think I can, either…"
Immediately, I ran to them.
"Don't you touch my girls, birdbrain! Oh, but you're a boar, so I guess birdbrain isn't quite right… Anyway, get lost!"
I grabbed its horn, then launched it straight backward.
The move looked a bit like a back suplex.
Sensing danger, the fallen boar ran away.
"Whew. Do you think that did it?"
However, several other boars of the same species charged us. It seemed we were surrounded. We could have mounted Laika and made our escape, but…
"Say, Halkara? Are you feeling better now?"
"I—I think I'd like a little more forest air."
"Yes, okay. Laika, protect Halkara and the girls, would you?"
"Of course, Lady Azusa. Will you be all right by your—? Of course you will."
Laika was laughing, but, well, that was how it was.
There was no need to worry.
I slew five long-spear boars.
I say slew, but as our stop in a forest had been impromptu, I didn't have my knife with me. I just punched them.
This resulted in several magic stones, which meant these really were monsters, not wild animals.
"You've saved me again, Madam Teacher. You're so strong …"
Halkara, now clear of motion sickness, spoke with a rapturous expression.
"If you kissed me, Madam Teacher, I don't think I'd mind… Blush…"
"You do remember you just threw up, right…?"
Needless to say, there was no kissing.
***
After that, we climbed onto Laika's back again and reached Mount Rokko without further incident.
Lots of dragons were gathered behind the mountain, the sort of place people wouldn't normally go. We could tell even from a distance.
"Woooow! Look at all the dragons!" (Falfa)
"Biologically, they're red dragons. They aren't monsters. They're classified as the dragon race." (Shalsha)
"If I anger them, I really will be killed this time…" (Halkara)
I did wonder why Halkara was always working from the assumption that she'd incur someone's wrath, but considering her life up to this point, that degree of worry was probably warranted.
"This is still the main party, so everyone's celebrating in dragon form. First, allow me to introduce you to the bride and groom and my family."
"All right. You're in charge, Laika. We'll follow your lead."
Finding an open space, Laika touched down, and we dismounted.
To be honest, I can't even tell dragons' genders from a casual glance.
The dragons' eyes turned to Laika.
"Lady Laika, how are you faring?"
"Your wings are as lovely as ever today."
Why does it suddenly sound like a salon at a high-society girls' school around here?
"What you're born with isn't important. What is important to us is the question of how to improve after we're born," Laika said, sounding sophisticated.
"Lady Laika, you're as classy as always."
Even her friends thought so. Since they were all dragons, this felt pretty surreal to me, but for them, this was probably normal.
"Thank you for attending my sister's wedding. I appreciate it very much."
"But of course we'd attend your sister's wedding, Lady Laika."
"That's right. Lady Leila took care of me when we were on the committee together. Well, you seem busy, so we'll take our leave. Let us chat again later."
The female dragons drifted away.
"I beg your pardon, Lady Azusa. They were my juniors at school."
"Oh, I see. School, hmm…?"
"We call it 'school,' but we only learn the basics there. After all, if one wants a serious education, it's much faster to adopt a human form and attend university."
"No, they seemed quite academic. I think I'm beginning to understand why you seem so intelligent, Laika."
"No, no, I can't hold a candle to you, Lady Azusa. I must continue to apply myself, that's all."
Come to think of it, in human form, Laika looks like she should be in middle school, so the other girls were probably about that age, too.
We traveled through the group of enormous dragons. I wasn't worried at all with Laika walking ahead of us, but if she hadn't been, this walking-among-dragons business would have been terrifying.
"They're all huuuge!"
"Sister, huge might be rude. It's true they are big, but…"
Shalsha and Falfa seemed excited. On the other hand, Halkara kept her eyes on the ground as she walked.
"If I anger these ladies and gentlemen, they'll kill me instantly… They'll breathe flames and turn me to cinders…"
I thought she was being incredibly pessimistic, but I could understand her difficulty relaxing with dragons all over the place.
Here and there, the guests were drinking liquor and eating from gigantic cups and plates.
The plates held sliced meat (although the pieces were too big for a human to eat) and vegetables.
The vegetables were served in batches of five cabbages and similar fare. These were most likely similar to bite-sized cherry tomatoes to them.
"Take care not to get onto any of the plates, please. You might be eaten along with the food."
Laika cautioned us from the front of the group. Yes, I'll be careful about that.
Immediately after the warning, Halkara accidentally got on top of a plate, then screamed, "Aaaaah! No, it's a mistake! I'm not food!"
"With all the dragons in the village here today, it's lively, but this place is usually a bit quieter and more laid-back."
"Hmm. About how many dragons live here?"
"Roughly two hundred fifty, perhaps?"
"That's a lot…"
"However, some ordinarily live on other mountains as well. Not everyone is from here. Also, that number only references our species. It's different if you include others."
"There are all kinds, aren't there?"
"Yes, and it's ludicrous that some of them are called 'dragons' at all—Oh, there's my parents, my sister, and her husband."
Four dragons stood there.
Two of them were big, and two were smaller.
The bigger ones were probably the males.
As I looked around with that in mind, I began to be able to distinguish their genders by size.
"I've just returned. This is my teacher, Lady Azusa, 'the Witch of the Highlands.' Behind her are her daughters, Miss Falfa and Miss Shalsha, and another of Lady Azusa's apprentices, Miss Halkara."
"I'm Laika's father. I've heard a lot about you. I hope my daughter isn't causing trouble for you."
The dragon who'd spoken was the largest of the group.
"No, no, I'm very much in her debt. I apologize for barging in on you like this."
"More guests have come to celebrate my daughter's wedding. How could that ever be a problem? Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Guess they really were glad to have us.
Then Laika introduced her sister-dragon: "This is my elder sister Leila."
I said "Good afternoon" and bowed. My daughters and Halkara bowed as well.
"My husband and I were childhood friends for ages. When we reunited after eighty years, we really hit it off and decided to get married."
"Eighty years" sounded like an odd length of time for that, but it was probably normal for dragons.
"So everyone really is staying in dragon form for the ceremony…"
It seemed like that would result in an awful lot of spending on the food, but if this was the norm, it probably didn't strike them as unusual.
"We stay in dragon form for the main party, then switch to our human forms for the after-party and beyond. Being too large is unhelpful for delicate tasks."
The sister explained things for me. Ah, I see.
"Still, today really is nice and peaceful, isn't it?" the father dragon murmured.
"I hope it remains so all the way to the end."
Why say something that will so obviously trip a flag?
"Um, excuse me… Do these things ever not end peacefully?"
Frankly speaking, I didn't want that to be the case.
"Well, you see, the dragon race is divided into several tribes that live separately. Some don't get along, and they occasionally drop in to cause trouble."
So the dragon community had its own nuisances.
"In particular, when there's a wedding, there's a chance they'll crash it. Probability-wise, it's less likely than rain, so we can't waste much worry on it."
"I see. I do hope it stays peaceful, then."
"Dear, we must set out meals small enough for our human guests."
I assumed the dragon who'd spoken was the mother dragon. As I'd suspected, she was one of the smaller ones.
"Oh, you're right… Let's have them eat what we've prepared for the after-party at the mansion."
The father dragon ambled off, and we followed.
He took big steps, so if we didn't trot to keep up, we'd fall behind.
"I'm sorry, Lady Azusa. Father isn't very used to living with humans, so he doesn't understand how walking should feel."
"No, it's fine. It just means we have to keep our pace a bit brisk."
However, when we'd put some distance between ourselves and the rest of the gathering—
—the clear sky suddenly darkened.
I looked up and nearly screamed.
It had been blotted out by countless dragons.
Unlike Laika's and the others', their skin had a bluish tint.
"It's the blasted blue dragons. They've come for trouble!" the father dragon yelled.
"Blue dragons? Those exist?"
"Yes, madam. The blue dragons who live in the province of Heynt are shameless, barbaric wyrms who spew cold air all over the place…"
The dragons up in the sky suddenly exhaled white breath.
The trees they struck froze over as if it were midwinter. That really did look like cold breath.
They kept blasting the area ahead of them with it.
The wintry zone was gradually expanding.
"Aaaaaaah… I can't take this anymore… It's too hard on my heart. I want to faint…"
Halkara sank down, her face ashen.
"We can't have you fainting here. Get up!"
This is getting ugly, I thought, and just then, the blue dragons slowly descended for a landing.
There seemed to be about twenty of them.
One of the gatecrashers spoke. She was standing at the very front of the group, apparently the leader.
"Keh! Keh-keh-keh. Red dragons of Mount Rokko. I heard you're holding a wedding today. I came to harass you because it's so irritating!"
The dragon had just flat-out admitted that this was harassment. She hadn't even bothered to give a pretext.
"The idea of marrying when you're hardly a shade past three hundred!Why, I've been single for over four centuries!"
I detect jealousy!
"Not only that, but twenty years ago, when I proposed to my pearl dragon boyfriend at a get-together, he was like, 'You're the leader of the group bullying the red dragons, aren't you? I'd really rather not get involved with that mess…' and turned me down!"
That's called 'reaping what you sow'!
True, nobody wants to date somebody who devotes themselves to pestering people.
"All of that is my fault!"
And she frankly acknowledged it!
"Even so, in retaliation, I'm going to continue persecuting you! The hearts of blue dragons are as cold as freezing air! I sent a separate group over to the mouth of the volcano in addition to those of us at this wedding! We'll freeze that for you, too!"
What a pain in the neck…
"Her name is Flatorte. She's known as the harassment queen of the blue dragons."
The father of the bride offered an explanation for our benefit. Dealing with someone like that really would wear on you…
"There's no help for it. Now that it's come to this, we'll just have to have an all-out showdown with them."
Father Dragon had apparently steeled himself.
I heard the sound of heavy, scrambling footsteps, and when I turned, the dragons on our side had already started mustering. When a flight of dragons this big attacks, it doesn't take long to notice.
Laika went to shield her big sister.
"Sister, it's dangerous here. Please retreat with your groom!"
"This battle started because of us, so I'll fight!"
"I'm fighting as well, to protect Leila!"
Naturally, the newlyweds were dragons, too, and so they intended to engage. This was turning into a major incident.
Meanwhile, my top priority was protecting the ones who'd come with me: my daughters and Halkara.
"I'm scared, Mommy…"
Falfa clung to me tightly.
Shalsha gripped the edge of my dress, toughing it out.
Slime spirits couldn't hope to measure up to this many dragons.
For some reason, Halkara was already lying on her stomach.
"Why are you on the ground?!"
There's no way she's been attacked already!
"I-I'm playing dead. My grandfather's dying words were 'When you meet a dragon, play dead,' so…"
I was just about to inform her that was actually more dangerous when a running dragon left a heavy footprint right next to Halkara. One meter to the side, and she'd probably have been crushed and killed instantly.
"N-no more playing dead." Halkara got up, white-faced.
"Yes, I think that's probably wise."
"Please escape somewhere safe, honored guests. This is a fight between dragons. We'll finish it ourselves!"
No sooner had Father Dragon spoken than he charged into the fray himself.
"Somewhere safe"… Where would that be?
The cold breath came our way.
Yikes! I held up my right hand and unleashed a Flame spell.
Flames and frigid air clashed, canceling each other out.
As a result, we experienced nothing worse than a temporary drop in temperature, like a burst of air-conditioning.
"Mommy, that's amazing! But it's scary…"
"Mom, we're right in the middle of the battlefield. We should get farther away…"
Shalsha's suggestion seemed like a good plan.
I held the girls' hands firmly.
"Just leave this to your mother, you two!"
I hadn't asked to be level 99, but…
…right now, I was going to use my power to the fullest!