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Chapter 59 Part 1

 

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Translator: “Kousei”

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With summer soon approaching, the wind was gradually heating up and making waves through the sea of grass and flowers.

The clouds in the blue sky were sparse, and sunshine was pouring abundantly down on the earth, as if signalling the beginning of a new day to all the people living on the earth.

On a day as good as this, where it would have been a shame to stay cooped up inside the house, the Crimson Dragon Vaje and the Ancient Water Dragon Liu Yu were standing in a field near Galois, with their mouths gaping open as they looked at the beautiful Dragon person standing next to me.

No, it wasn’t just Vaje and Liu Yu.

Phenia, Christina, Nell, and the others who had gathered here for special training for the upcoming Magic Tournament, including my friends Fatima, Sierra, Irina, and my familiar Selina, were all making the same faces.

We had come here at the promised time to this place, by the side of a road leading to Galois, but someone else had arrived before Vaje and Liu Yu, the ones who had called me here in the first place.

This person was Ryu Kitsu, a beautiful Dragon-person who was the center of all of our attention right now.

For example, in comparison to Christina’s beauty, which no one in this world can match up to, Ryu Kitsu’s beauty was almost inhuman, to the point of sending the minds of most everyone gathered here on a short trip to another dimension.

The first exception was Lenia. Similar to how a cat or dog would react to a stranger stepping foot on their territory, Lenia was glaring at Ryu Kitsu.

Part of the reason for that was because Ryu Kitsu was standing so casually right next to me.

Next was Vaje and Liu Yu, and since they recognized who Ryu Kitsu was, their truly pretty faces were colored with genuine surprise.

Ryu Kitsu, who had just finished introducing herself, looked back at me with a slightly troubled expression at the lack of a response, as if asking me through her jet black eyes, “What should I do now?”

Fumu, even I was surprised that she was here, but anyone who sees Ryu Kitsu’s beauty for the first time would be rendered motionless and speechless, due to the fundamental spirituality of her beauty, which is far above any other race on the earth.

There was no helping it, so I put a little magic power into my voice, and tried to bring back the consciousness of everyone, as they were on the brink of oblivion.

「Hey, guys, we have a guest that came from very far away, it’s rude to keep standing there with your mouths hanging open.
Both our and her time is limited, so we need to make the time we spend together count, and be as meaningful as possible」

As not only their eardrums, but also their minds, were shaken awake by the magic power in my voice, they finally regained consciousness, and they shook their heads several times to dispel the foggy trance that clung to their minds and hearts.

Christina was the first person to open her mouth. Since she has to look at her own face in the mirror every morning, she probably had the most resistance to Ryu Kitsu’s alluring beauty.

However, as a negative effect of the dragon-slayer factor deeply rooted in Christina’s soul, both parties seemed to be in physical and mental distress.

「Th-Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with us. By the way, you said you are Liu Yu’s mother, so does that mean you are also a genuine Dragonkin?」

Most likely, she had heard about Christina’s dragon-slayer factor from Liu Yu already, and now that she was in front of the actual person, she could confirm it herself, but fortunately, Ryu Kitsu didn’t look uncomfortable or hostile at all.

「Yes. Liu Yu and I are actual, blood-related mother and daughter, so I am also an Ancient Water Dragon」

Ryu Kitsu’s smile, which was pure and clear like a flower that only blooms in the moonlight, threatened to pull everyone’s consciousness under once again.

However, there was something in Ryu Kitsu’s words that couldn’t be overlooked, and Phenia began to question her in a loud, unladylike voice.

「W-W-Wait a moment! Did you say a genuine Dragonkin? That goes for Liu Yu over there as well? They’re real, actual dragons!? Wait, you said Ancient Water Dragon, that means you’re a Dragon-God! That’s a higher rank than even the strongest species of this world, right?
You’re a rare species that even famous mages and sages might only see once in their lifetimes. And yet there’s not only one, but two of you standing here in front of us?」

Fumu, now that I think about it, the only ones who didn’t know that Liu Yu and Vaje weren’t just Dragonians, but actual Dragonkin, were just the ones who were there at Solania, which included Nell, Fatima, and Sierra.

That’s why Irina and Phenia did not know.

Not to mention, they weren’t just regular dragons, but they were very rare Ancient Dragons, so it was reasonable that Phenia would be surprised… Well, her reaction was like that of an actor, like she was the only resident in her own world.

「Oh, that’s right, Phenia didn’t know. Vaje too, she’s not a Dragonian, but rather a Crimson Dragon.
Just recently, we got to know each other when we went to help Professor Edward in Solania. Oh, but today is our first time meeting Lady Ryu Kitsu, though」

Yes, this is their first time meeting Ryu Kitsu. “Ryu Kitsu,” that is…

Christina, while surprised by Phenia’s loud voice ringing in her ears, tried to give a simple explanation for the people who didn’t know what was going on, but that explanation only surprised Phenia even more.

「Wh-Whaaat? A Crimson Dragon, a Crimson Dragon, you say!? That’s another Ancient Dragon! Dran, you, how in the world did you come to know such people!?
Rather than go beyond my expectations, these are people I could have never, ever expected!」

I did my best to explain as much as I could to Phenia, who was looking at me wide-eyed in shock.

「If you live in a remote place, you will encounter Dragonkin once or twice. In fact, in the sixteen years I’ve been alive, I came across Vaje and Liu Yu, as well as many other wind and water dragons who live in the Mores Mountains」

Phenia stared at me for a while as I answered without looking uneasy or like I was lying, and soon enough, she came to the conclusion that there was no lie in my words, and she just gave a rare, tired sigh.

「That remote place, it sure is amazing, isn’t it…」

It seems I was somehow misunderstood.

Phenia let out a lovely sigh, suitable for a young lady from a noble family such as herself, but she quickly regained her senses and took out a fan from the belt at her waist, and hid her mouth behind it as she began to laugh.

Why does she bother to hide her open mouth, but not hide her loud laughter, I wonder? What kind of manners has she been taught?

「At any rate, it is extremely rare to have a real dragon as an opponent for special training. We are truly very, very lucky.
It’s not only reassuring to have Dran participating in the Magic Tournament with us as our friend, but to also have such a fateful meeting, I, Phenia, am astonished.
As a member of the Phoenix family, who once used phoenixes as familiars, I shall thoroughly test how far my flames can go!」

As Phenia made her declaration while breathing heavily, fire magic was produced from her body and soul, and the surrounding air around her began to rise in temperature.

At the sudden rise in temperature, the grass at her feet burned, and the smell of it burning began to waft toward everyone else.

In the face of these Ancient Dragons who had transformed into Dragon-people, Phenia seemingly did not look afraid at all, which was very brave of her.

However, considering Vaje’s personality, I thought she would snap at Phenia’s statement, but the young Crimson Dragon girl did not react that way, and instead stared at the mother and daughter pair, Ryu Kitsu and Liu Yu.

Fumu, of course, there were some words that Ryu Kitsu had said earlier that Vaje too could not overlook.

Vaje seemed to notice my gaze, and in a movement much like a rusty tin doll, she turned her head to look at me with her eyes, which were the same color as her scales and hair.

Vaje’s eyes were wavering with confusion and surprise. Well considering who she was, it was understandable.

「D-D-Dran, right now, this is Ryouki…」

「Vaje, it’s Ryu Kitsu. Ryu, Kitsu」

I repeated myself slowly to Vaje, who was about to let her tongue slip. The one here right now is Ryu Kitsu.

She wasn’t “Ryukitsu,” and she definitely wasn’t one of the Three Dragon Emperors, the Water Dragon Emperor Ryoukichi.

「O-Oh, Lady Ryu Kitsu, yes, that’s right」

Now that I’ve made it obvious that she was going by the name Ryu Kitsu, everyone here who knew her, such as myself, Vaje, and Liu Yu, silently understood what this was — she was traveling secretly under disguise.

For Liu Yu, who is her beloved daughter and also a priestess, these actions of Ryu Kitsu’s must have been confusing.

「S-S-Somehow I can understand why this person is here, but what did you say? She’s Liu Yu’s mother? Is this just an act? Or is Liu Yu actually her daughter?」

The fact that Liu Yu, who Vaje has only ever talked to with foul language until now, was actually the heiress of one of the strongest families of the Dragonkin, and that this information was conveyed so casually, seemed to cause great chaos.

I guess there hadn’t been a good chance to tell her Liu Yu’s true identity until now. Well, it can’t be helped. If she continued to be in contact with Liu Yu, Vaje would have found out eventually anyway.

It would save us a lot of time to let her know everything all at once.

「What you’re thinking is right, Vaje. Liu Yu is none other that Lady Ryu Kitsu’s beloved daughter」

「…What!? This brat is!? This cheeky, immature brat who’s always sucking up to you, is the Prin– I mean, Lady Ryu Kitsu’s daughter!?」

Vaje shouted and pointed her finger at Liu Yu with such force, it was as if she wanted to stab and kill her.

I’m sure she’s not conscious of it, but it was rude to say such a thing in front of the actual person.

So this is how she really thinks of Liu Yu, normally.

Being pointed at like that, Liu Yu was of course unable to allow Vaje to just say such things, and she puffed up her cheeks in a bad mood.

「You don’t have to go that far. Vaje and I are not on the best of terms anyway」

In response to Liu Yu not denying it, it seemed Vaje couldn’t say anything back, and she forgot to close her gaping mouth.

For the true identity of the person she had been insulting and quarreling with all this time to be her, of all people, I guess Vaje’s reaction couldn’t be helped.

There was one thing that I was curious about, so I asked Liu Yu a question.

「Liu Yu, your true identity has been found out now, but how would you like Vaje to treat you from now on?」

「That is, um… Vaje being formal would be weird and disgusting. So, I want her to act as she always has. I think that would be the best for both of us」

Liu Yu was the one who said it, but just imagining Vaje acting formal gave off a strong feeling of wrongness, and I honestly thought it would be weird.

「Fumu, you heard her, Vaje. So what will you do? Will you change your attitude, or will you treat her the same as always?」

「Hmm, no, that’s, well… Um, I–」

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