3 bar menu

Chapter 82

I had not intended to upset Alexander, but her mood seemed to deteriorate at an accelerating pace. It was clearly a bad idea to tease this younger sister of mine, who was so easily riled to anger. Hence, I quickly decided to change the topic of discussion.

If Alexander exploded in anger due to all the teasing, she would no doubt be a real hassle to deal with. After all, she had always been quite a handful in the past and up to this day.

「Well, it’s clear that Alexander hasn’t changed much in this short period of time. I think it’s time to meet the rest of our siblings. What might they be doing now?」

I popped the question to Bahamut, who more or less managed the entire dragon realm. His voice was firm as he answered my question.

「As usual, Hyperion is still asleep. He hasn’t changed his resting spot for a thousand years, so you should know where he is. Vritra and Jormungand are the same too. Vritra has been flying about in the dragon realm and other worlds too. As for Jormungand, he has been keeping an eye on us. If you call for Vritra, he’ll come immediately. Jormungand will appear even if you don’t look for him. If you head to where Hyperion is, everyone will eventually gather there.」

「Fumu, that’s what I was thinking too. Let’s gather everyone since I’m back then.」

「It’s been such a long time since you’ve seen Hyperion. Whether it’s Vritra or Hyperion, we siblings sure have pretty quirky natures. Though, not as odd as the one who let himself be defeated by humans. Right, Dragon?」

「Leviathan, don’t say that. If all of us have similar personalities, it’ll be quite irksome.」

「I have to agree with that, but Bahamut and I want some relief from the consequences of all your rampant behaviors. Especially when you died, Alexander made such a fuss all day long. That was quite a scene. Right, Alexander? When you found out about Dragon’s death…」

Presently, Leviathan looked a lot like Ryoukichi when she was teasing Liu Yuu. As for Alexander, she flew into a panic. Evidently, this was something she did not want me to know about. Her voice quickly drowned out Leviathan’s words.

「Waaaaaaah! Whatever I did doesn’t matter. There’s no need to talk about what happened when that idiot died! If you have the time to be blabbering away here, why aren’t you going over to Hyperion, that sleepyhead?! Yeah? Let’s go! Come on! I’m leaving!」

Without waiting for us, Alexander spread her silver wings. The ethereal and magic that filled the dragon realm gathered at her wings, and she bolted off to Hyperion’s resting spot faster than the speed of light.

As I chased after Alexander’s slowly vanishing form in the distance, dismay seemed to permeate my voice as I muttered.

「What’s up with her? She’s always so unpredictable and brusque, but that’s a little abrupt.」

Leviathan seemed to be holding back a chuckle as he offered a puzzling reply.

「Hahaha. It’s fine if you don’t understand for now. If things go well for you, you may eventually come to understand Alexander’s attitude before the end of your human life.」

I let out a habitual hum along with my confusion. Bahamut seemed aware of the reason for Alexander’s behavior as well, and he even let out a tired sigh.

「I hope you can figure things out soon. If you do, Alexander will be a little more composed, and I’ll be spared a huge deal of unnecessary trouble.」

Alexander was no doubt a problem child in the eyes of Bahamut. Bahamut was responsible for handling all conflicts and consultations in the dragon realm. Despite being equally ranked as Bahamut, Alexander was a troublemaker who caused Bahamut even more problems.

As I sensed the agony in Bahamut’s sigh, I could not help but sympathize with his situation. As usual, he was still struggling with all kinds of worries. Even though no one has ordered him to act as an advisor or mediator, he had undertaken these roles completely and was now trapped in this tough position.

In my previous life, I had not appeared in public much after I had descended to the ground. However, it seemed like I should be more forthcoming from here on out and help Bahamut.

「In the meantime, doing anything is meaningless unless Alexander settles down herself. Dragon, I don’t think it’ll do any good for us to explain matters to you. It’s best if you notice any changes in Alexander’s attitude by yourself.」

「It’s like solving a mystery. Well, whatever. There’s no hurry to find the answer.」

Once we had put an end to this topic, we followed after Alexander. Our destination was Hyperion’s resting place which he had not shifted from for a thousand years.

The innumerable continents and planets floating in the dragon realm did not belong to anyone in particular. Rather, each of us tended to pick our favorite resting spots depending on our mood at that time.

One of the reasons Hyperion had not moved from this particular location was probably due to his fondness for sleeping. In addition, it was likely that he found this place comfortable for resting in.

As we made our way to Hyperion’s bed where he remained in deep slumber, I noticed something different about the dragon realm from my memories. My attention was drawn to this change as I observed it intently.

The dragon realm was a world created by dragons for dragons. However, other creatures other than our species also existed in the dragon realm.

The dragon realm was located in the same superior dimension as the celestial realm and the demon realm. Hence, the inhabitants of the dragon realm also included a number of earthly creatures, spirits, and spiritual life forms from the third and fourth dimensions.

Naturally, these were not beings native to the dragon realm.

These were creatures that had lost their homelands due to the battle of the gods or some other reason. Many were endangered species or creatures whose planets had been destroyed. They were allowed to relocate to the dragon realm and reshape unused lands into a comfortable environment for themselves. Moreover, they would also receive protection in these lands. As far as I know, such efforts to reinhabit creatures have been carried out multiple times.

After a certain amount of time, these beings often returned to their homelands. However, there were also some who wished to stay in the dragon realm.

I drew back my gaze from the location that had caught my interest to take a wider glance, and I surveyed the present dragon realm. Many civilizations built by demi-humans, fairies, and human races soon entered my line of sight. These were all species receiving protection in the dragon realm from the external world.

There were civilizations that were similar to the place where I resided, but there were also others that had already developed much more rapidly. These advanced civilizations had even achieved the ability to travel between galaxies and create artificial land to live on.

「It’s become a lot livelier than when I was last here. Is the dragon realm just too comfortable to live in?」

「Maybe. Very few reject returning to their homelands, but there are certainly several who choose to stay here.」

Bahamut seemed to be brimming with pride as he spoke, probably because he was in charge of looking after and speaking with these protected species from other worlds.

Admiration blossomed in my heart as I thought about the hard work that Bahamut quietly put into these tasks. Despite hardly receiving thanks for all his efforts, he never complained a bit and continued tirelessly.

Perhaps such work gave Bahamut meaning to his life.

Alexander, who had flown ahead of us, landed on a planet covered in greenery. I quickly followed after her and landed on the same planet.

The vast greenery was in fact moss that covered the surface of the planet. There were no other trees or even bushes that grew on these rocky and sandy grounds. Even though the lakes were dyed in clear blue, there were hardly any signs of life in this place.

Hyperion had once said that this planet, where silence pervaded except for the sound of sand carried away by the winds, would be his. In this very place, Hyperion had slept for a thousand years.

After descending to the planet, Alexander headed into a crevice that resembled a horrific slash running on the surface of the planet. The rest of us adjusted the sizes of our bodies to ensure that we would not graze the edges of this chasm. Once we did that, we flew down and into the crevice.

If this was a human planet, I would have already dived deep enough to reach the mantle filled with lava. At such depth, I caught sight of a giant sleeping dragon surrounded by glittering lilac crystals.

He had been born from the tail of the ancestral dragon in a bid to relieve unbearable loneliness.

Hyperion, the Ancient-Dragon God of four wings, one head, one tail, and purple scales; the indomitable dragon known for dominating all. This was the name of the dragon that was slumbering in front of us right now.

I was certain that Hyperion would wake up once he noticed my presence. However, it seemed like his fondness for sleeping was still the same. Even the visit of his siblings failed to stir him awake.

Alexander, who had flown over before us, seemed to have already approached the soundly sleeping Hyperion. Clueless as to our arrival, Hyperion let out an irritated grunt.

Alexander landed on the ground filled with purple crystals and made her way to Hyperion with loud and heavy footsteps.

「Hyperion, Hyperion! I don’t know if you’re having a good dream or a nightmare, but get up because we’re here. The Dragon guy who has been dead for some time has made a rare visit. Wake up and take a look at Dragon’s shabby face.」

You really have a foul mouth, don’t you, Alexander? Hm… I thought to myself as I pondered the possibility of getting Alexander into a crisis or two so that she would learn some manners and propriety.

In response to Alexander’s rampant shouts, Hyperion’s gigantic body finally stirred from his deep slumber to indicate that he was awakening.

Shortly after, Hyperion lifted his head. He opened his mouth wide and let out a yawn before turning his closed eyes toward us.

A sound echoed from the back of those fangs that could chew up high-purity Orichalcum. It was a voice that resembled a clear bell that even young children could not hear.

「Wahaha! What is it, Alexander? You sure are as excitable as ever. I’ll wake up even if you didn’t say a word. Hey, Bahamut, Leviathan, and Dragon. It’s been a long time since we met, Dragon.」

「It has been a long time, Hyperion. I’ve been reborn, so I’m here to see you after so long.」

「Yeah, that seems about right. Right now, you, oh! Have you been reborn as a human? That’s the living being that you’re most closely tied to, isn’t it? Perhaps this is some twist of fate.」

Like Bahamut, Hyperion noticed immediately that I had been reincarnated as a human being. The lack of eyesight seemed to have offered Hyperion a different kind of vision, though he had always behaved as though it hardly mattered if he could see or not.

「Maybe. Though, it’s hard to think this is the work of someone as long as the three goddesses of fate remain unable to manipulate the course of our lives.」

「You’re right. Wow, I’m still sleepy, but it’ll be rude if I don’t wake up. After all, you came all the way here. Huff…」

Hyperion shifted his long body from the bed of purple crystals and slowly got up.

「Haven’t you met Vritra and Jormungand yet? Well, they’re both headed here right now. Shall we go up and wait for everyone to come then… Yawn.」

「Come on, Hyperion. You just woke up. Don’t fall back asleep.」

As I was speaking, Hyperion had lowered his head and started dozing off again. Suddenly, he looked back up and a smile spread on his face.

「Ah, sorry. I’m planning to sleep for another one thousand years after this. No matter how much I sleep, it’s never enough.」

Hyperion’s relaxed nature brought Fatima to mind. Perhaps I felt particularly close to Fatima not just because of her personality, but because she seemed to resemble Hyperion, my very own family member.

This time, Hyperion was clearly awake as we followed him out of the crevice. We landed back on the ground and waited for the rest of our siblings to arrive.

Bahamut, Leviathan, Alexander, and Hyperion seemed no different from how they were in my memory. With this thought in mind, I hoped that the rest of my siblings had not changed either.