The Sacred White Dragon Does Her Best!

In the great hall of Kou’s dungeon, Liricia and I were waiting for Rāna the Sacred White Dragon.

Then almost immediately, Rāna, a girl of about seven, came running over with her white hair streaming behind her.

The moment she saw me, she narrowed her blue eyes and rushed over.

“Leku, leku! Shia, Rishia! Kyai!”

She leaped into my chest, so I caught her firmly and patted her on the head.

Hehe… she smiled happily and buried her face against me.

Apparently she was happy to be of use to me.

She was cute, like a little animal.

As I stroked her pure white hair, I peered down at her face from above.

“Rāna, can you carry me and fly to the Star Dragon Realm?”

“I can! Kyai!”

With a proud snort, she answered, then drew her brows together bravely and turned her back to me.

Apparently that meant I should get on.

“Eh, are you sure… well, for now.”

I carefully climbed onto Rāna’s back and let her piggyback me.

Even with my legs bent, my knees still touched the floor.

Still, even in the form of a girl, she was a dragon after all. She carried me with ease.

I looked down at my own figure.

A middle-aged man being carried on the back of a hunched-over seven-year-old.

“If you didn’t know the circumstances, this would look like child abuse and nothing else.”

“W-well, that… it might look like a filial child, perhaps.”

“There’s no way it would.”

Then Kou said,

“It looks cool, like a GERWALK?”

“I don’t know what that means…”

“Kyu iiiii… kyui!”

Rāna gave a little hop.

However, with that same momentum, she smacked flat onto the floor.

I hurriedly got off her back and checked on her.

“Are you okay, Rāna!?”

“Fiiine… kyuuii!”

She apparently had taken no damage at all, but seemed unhappy that she hadn’t been able to fly.

With a cute wrinkle between her childish brows, she folded her tiny arms and grumbled.

Liricia quietly interjected.

“Rāna-chan, might it be that you cannot fly unless you take your dragon form?”

“Kyukyu!? Kyaaai!”

Rāna looked down at herself as though she had only just now realized it, and let out a startled cry.

Right away, she clasped both hands in front of her chest and leaned forward a little.

Drawing her brows together adorably, she began putting in effort.

“Kyuuiii!”

With a puff of smoke, tiny wings appeared on Rāna’s back.

They were pure white all over, with wing membranes stretched between their frames.

She spread and folded them with little flaps.

I felt a furrow forming between my brows.

“…So you’re still staying in human form. Wings that small can’t possibly fly.”

“Kyui!”

Rāna spread her white wings and gave a little jump.

At that moment, the wings glowed white and Rāna flew.

White magical power trailed from the wing membranes like a tail.

Rāna spread both arms and glided smoothly through the hall.

When she rose near the ceiling, she dove sharply, and just as she seemed about to crash into a wall, she turned abruptly.

“Kyai! Kyakyai!”

Rāna was laughing with an incredibly delighted expression.

Without thinking, I let out an impressed sound.

“Ohh, so you don’t flap to fly, you release magical power to fly. That’s amazing.”

“That must be a method of flight only those among dragons with enormous magical power can perform. As expected of the Sacred White Dragon-sama.”

Liricia, too, was impressed, her violet eyes wide.

“But she’s too small to ride—no, wait a second. Rāna.”

“Kyui?”

Rāna floated lightly in front of me. When she tilted her head, her beautiful white hair flowed and gleamed.

This time, I turned my back to her.

“Rāna, get on my back.”

“Kyai!”

Rāna jumped onto my back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my torso, clinging tightly.

“If we’re like this, wouldn’t you be able to fly without any trouble?”

“Kyaaaii!”

At Rāna’s cry, I floated lightly into the air.

Liricia cried out.

“You’re floating, you’re floating, Master!”

“Docking sensor! Dragon-type flight unit equipped—Master Mark II~. This will become a new product for our toy sponsor!”

“Kyui!”

“All right, let’s try moving slowly.”

“Kyaaaii.”

We flew smoothly, gliding along.

We moved from one end of the hall to the other.

Gradually, we became faster.

“Ohh, amazing, Rāna.”

“Rāna-chan, is there perhaps some kind of barrier you can put up?”

Liricia said that while looking up at us.

Then Rāna took a deep breath on my back.

…Was she about to breathe fire or something?

“Kyu uuuu.”

When Rāna exhaled, a faint light enveloped us. It was transparent, but faintly glowing.

Even while flying, the wind no longer hit us.

It seemed that a round barrier about two meters in diameter had been formed.

“That seems fine. Rather, being small makes it less obstructive.”

“Kyui!”

“As expected of you, Master!”

Liricia sincerely praised us as she watched me flying.

But I frowned.

“But like this, I can’t take Liricia with me.”

“If it is magic similar to that barrier just now, perhaps Charity Sanctuary (Ultima Garden)? I can use that.”

“Ohh, really?”

Rāna adjusted herself and returned beside Liricia.

As Liricia spread her white wings from her back, she said,

“Then, if you would simply hold my hand, I believe I should be able to fly.”

“I see. Then it looks like we can do it… shall we go now?”

“Yes, Master!”

I turned back to Kou, the sphere, and asked,

“Can you connect us to the Star Dragon Realm right now?”

“Yeees, no problem at all? To put it simply, it’s just like breaking through the ceiling and installing a staircase.”

“Then I’m counting on you.”

“Okaaay, Masta.”

A passage about five meters wide appeared in the wall of the hall in front of us.

I reached out my hand to Liricia.

“Then, shall we go?”

“Yes, Master.”

We clasped hands firmly. A gentle warmth traveled from her slender fingertips.

Then I looked back over my shoulder at Rāna, clinging to my back.

“I’m counting on you too, Rāna. Don’t drop me, all right?”

“Kyui!”

Liricia and I stepped into the passage while holding hands.

Perhaps it was night on the other side, because the exit visible in the distance was dark.