Edgar’s Group And The Dragon’s Feelings

Dusk in the Royal Capital.

Birds crossed the red sky as they returned to their nests.

I was minding the shop together with Sophia.

Liricia was completely tied up researching the Busts of the Evil God, so today again I had Teti gather medicinal herbs.

We had checked as many as three hundred statues together, yet more kept turning up—sometimes three in a single town.

At this point, it didn’t feel like coincidence. It had to be deliberate, meant to hide the real one among fakes.

Since there was nothing I could do to help, I returned to the shop and talked with Sophia so I wouldn’t get in the way.

“Sophia, how’s your condition?”

“Ah, yes! Alec, I’m much cleaner now. My wings too…”

Sophia turned back, her short blue hair swaying and exposing the nape of her neck.

For some reason, her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

I nodded.

“That’s good. Keep using it without holding back.”

“Thank you, Alec!”

Sophia smiled happily.

I grew more serious and made my request.

“About that—there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Could you go back to the church and get the deepest part of the forest southeast of the Royal Capital designated as a sanctuary?”

“A sanctuary!? …Hmmm, I might be able to go back since May is working hard there… but I can’t be a candidate for archbishop anymore, and even if I did become archbishop, I don’t think I could just declare a sanctuary designation on my own.”

Sophia frowned, brows knitting as if it were difficult. Her blue hair swished softly.

I could only frown too.

“That’s a shame… I thought sanctuary designation would be the fastest solution. How were sanctuaries recognized before?”

“Umm… if there’s something like a holy ruin, a holy relic, or a Holy Beast living there—if there are signs like that, then it gets recognized.”

“Hm. Then I guess the only option is to keep spilling Holy Wave and generate more Holy Beasts.”

“Eh? There are Holy Beasts in the forest?”

“Yeah. Apparently a White Boar showed up because of my Holy Wave.”

“T-that’s amazing! Alec, you really are on a completely different level…”

Sophia’s blue eyes widened in shock.

With a wry smile, I asked the girl who looked adorable even when surprised,

“By the way, you’ve soaked in the bath a lot. Have you recovered any memories?”

“Ah, yes! I think… I was told by God to defeat several bad dragons!”

“Bad dragons… I wonder where they are.”

“No idea… Even when I was in the hero party, we never heard anything about that.”

“Same. I was a hero for thirty years and never heard a thing.”

“They must’ve already died somewhere!”

“That’s a bit too convenient to be true.”

“Right~. A dragon so evil that a heavenly messenger gets sent wouldn’t just die unnoticed.”

“Nope, no way.”

I laughed.

Sophia laughed too, looking genuinely amused.

—and then.

A small group suddenly entered the shop.

It was the children from Edgar’s group.

The boy with glasses led them, and they lined up in front of me with grim expressions.

“Alec, we have a request.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Please save the captain—Captain Edgar!”

“Huh?”

At my confusion, the boy’s glasses flashed as he pleaded desperately.

“The captain is treating this homecoming as a one-way trip. But we don’t want him to die! Please—save him! You’re the only one we can rely on, Alec!”

“P-please!”

The children bowed with serious faces. One of the girls had tears in her eyes.

For me, it came out of nowhere.

“Of course. Edgar’s a good guy. But he’s really strong—do you have proof?”

In response, the children produced some strange tools.

They also showed me an empty box.

“These are the items the captain handed out to us—keepsake sharing. It’s a rite to remember the deceased. And this box is a Gate Box.”

“Gate Box?”

“A one-time transfer box. It can only send objects.”

“…I see. So that’s what this is.”

Edgar was planning to risk his life to send me the Jewel of Light.

It must have been a dangerous mission—one you had to go into ready to die.

—Wait. Was this my fault, somehow?

I could only nod with a serious expression.

“…Alright. I’ll do what I can to save him.”

“Th-thank you!”

The children bowed again in unison—so deeply their waists bent almost to a right angle.

I pulled back the curtain that separated the shop from the back and said as I stepped into the storeroom,

“Alright. I’m going to check whether I can go rescue him. You wait at home.”

“Yes!”

“Pleeease…”

The smallest girl begged with tearful eyes.

…Once kids like this asked you, there was no refusing.

“Alright. I’ll see you later.”

I closed the curtain and stepped into the wardrobe.

I entered Kou’s dungeon and walked down corridors filled with pale blue light.

Then I reached the central hall.

Liricia sat before a map in a demure posture, wings folded limply.

“What’s wrong, Liricia?”

“I-I’m exhausted… I finally finished… there are over two thousand worldwide…”

Sweat glistened on her forehead, and loose strands of silver hair clung messily to her cheeks.

I nodded, offering comfort.

“That’s a lot. You worked hard, Liricia. Thank you. —Go wash off in the bath.”

“Yes… I will…”

Liricia wobbled to her feet and headed toward the mansion.

She looked too drained to even fly. Now that I looked closer, her wings had dulled to a grayish tint.

—Tonight, I’ll have to give her plenty of Holy Wave again.

Making that vow in my heart, I went deeper and spoke to Kou’s spherical form.

“Kou, I need to ask you something.”

“What is it~?”

“Edgar went to an island nation on the eastern edge of the continent—the Yamata Kingdom. Apparently he’s prepared to die to finish his mission. I want to save him. Can I get to Yamata?”

“Uuuu… only as far as the edge of the continent~”

“Huh? But we even went to the Demon Realm.”

“That’s different. The Demon Realm is closer, kind of? Like… making a hole in the first floor and building stairs down to the basement. But if it’s on the same floor, it’s like having to break through hundreds of walls…”

“I see. Then just get me to the edge of the continent—build a passage.”

“…Are you going to be gone a long time?”

“He said he’s taking a ship, so it might take a few days.”

At my answer, Kou’s surface flashed violently in protest.

“Nooo! I hate it, hate it, scary~! Being away from Master is dangerous and super dangerous!”

“Hm… then what do we do? Summon a strong monster? You had materials, right?”

I offered a compromise.

Kou’s surface glowed thoughtfully.

“To make a strong underling monster, we need to decide what kind of dungeon it will be~”

“Hm. Then should we just go with the dragon dungeon you mentioned before?”

“Yaaay! Full-scale launch at last~!”

“Huh? So you weren’t active until now?”

“We hadn’t decided the dungeon yet. Like… the tutorial wasn’t over?”

“I don’t get it, but fine. Dragons.”

“Okaaay! Jingle-jingle~ lots of Holy Wave~ A super-powerful named dragon-type dungeon is born~!”

Kou’s entire surface shone with a dazzling pale blue light, and the dungeon rumbled—gogogogo.

Then, right in front of Kou, with a light pof and a puff of smoke, a small girl appeared.

A cute little child with white hair.

“Hm? Who’s this?”

“Huhhh? I should’ve used all the materials… that’s weird~?”

The child—about five years old—looked around with big eyes.

Then she spotted me, tears welling in her blue eyes as she charged straight at me.

She buried her face in my stomach and began to cry.

“Kyu-iiiiii—!”

“…There, there.”

I had no idea what was going on, but she seemed to have been through something painful.

As I stroked the child’s head, I asked Kou,

“What is she? What happened?”

“That dragon zombie was an S-rank holy-attribute dragon. So I used all the materials to summon it, but… I don’t really know.”

“If even you don’t know, then we’re stuck.”

“But she’s strong! Even though she’s small, she’s S-rank—just as expected of Master!”

“Oh? Then can she protect the dungeon?”

“Yes!”

Kou answered energetically.

Still unsure, I asked the crying child directly.

“While I’m gone, will you protect the dungeon?”

“Kyu, kyu!”

She nodded again and again, scattering tears everywhere.

It was like her affection was maxed out from the start—she clung to me hard.

—Was it because she was born from my Holy Wave? I didn’t know.

“I see. Thanks.”

When I smiled, she cried even harder and hugged me tighter.

She kept crying—so much that it was hard to believe anyone could produce that many tears.

And as I soothed the child, I thought: with this, I could go save Edgar.

I had to live.

I had to live and lay my egg.

I was a descendant of the Sacred White Dragon, born with an important mission.

The Demon King and the Evil God covered their territories with an evil barrier.

No one could enter.

Only the Sacred White Dragon—a dragon with holy affinity—could break through that barrier.

Especially a Sacred White Dragon revived from an egg by the six-colored jewels could take a hero anywhere.

That was the Sacred White Dragon’s mission, and the meaning of my life.

And yet—

I fell ill. I could feel myself weakening day by day.

A new life was already growing inside me.

No matter what, I had to lay this egg.

But before the egg could mature, I grew weaker and weaker.

Would I die first, or lay it first?

Perhaps sensing I was near death, monsters and magical beasts attacked me.

My life was shaved away little by little.

Death drew closer before birth.

—Ah! I want to lay it!

I have to pass the Sacred White Dragon’s mission to the next generation!

If I fail, the mission ends with my generation.

The world will end!

Forcing my injured body to move, I searched desperately for a safe place.

And I descended into a dungeon.

Inside were only weak spirits.

Perfect for hiding.

Here… I would heal my wounds… and… lay my egg…

My consciousness snapped.

When I next awakened, I wasn’t truly awake.

My mind was covered in haze, and like a commanded animal I wandered, bit, screamed, and devoured.

I felt like I’d forgotten something important.

The only thing I remembered was that I wanted to lay my egg.

So I laid them. Over and over.

But every egg rotted the moment it was born, and only half-rotten children crawled out.

Next time. Next time. Next time!

I ate whatever I could and laid eggs as if praying.

Still, I could not produce a single proper egg—no matter how long I tried.

Even I no longer understood what “proper” meant.

And so I lived for a long time, trapped in unbearable, burning impatience.

Then one day—

He came.

When I leapt into that dim hall and was struck by the fierce Holy Wave of a valiant man, my awareness cleared as if doused with water.

—Ah, this person is the hero! Yes, that’s right!

I was meant to carry the hero on my back and save the world!

But despite my mind, my body moved on its own and would not stop attacking.

Why!? How!? …Ah, had I already become a dead dragon!?

…Stop. Stop. Stop!

I don’t care what happens to me—just once, for his sake, let me lay a proper egg!

I flew wildly and laid egg after egg.

—but every single one was rotten.

“Kishaaa—!”

I screamed until I felt I would lose my mind, my filthy roar echoing through the hall.

Then my body slowly collapsed. It seemed I had been defeated.

As my consciousness faded, I begged desperately.

—Please!

Just once—

Let me lay it!

Please… kyu!

Kyu? Kyukyui!? Kyu!

And suddenly my mind cleared.

Wrapped in pale blue, purifying light, I found myself in a small hall.

The hero was right beside me, and I looked up at him.

I could feel a dazzling holy power.

“Kyu-iiiiii~!”

I clung to him and cried. I sobbed uncontrollably.

I understood that I had been revived by the dungeon and by him, overflowing with holy power, and I simply cried.

But the tears wouldn’t stop.

Even using the tears I hadn’t shed for the past hundred years wasn’t enough.

So I borrowed tears from a hundred years into the future— and kept crying, and crying.