Los always left so suddenly because it pained her to think of those who would be troubled by her departure, or would feel lost without her there.
No, that is putting too fine a point on it. The whole thing is simply a bother─too much of a burden. It makes me feel as if my freedom is being stolen away. It besmirches my very being.
“I talked a bit with Professor Zero before I came up here. She says she’s going to make her way around the New World and create more witch’s paths to make it easier to travel. I’m thinking of doing the same thing─look.” Saybil opened his bag. It was stuffed full of stone tablets carved with Zero’s runes. “And…you can make a bird that seats two, can’t you, Professor Los? I want you to take me with you. Just until you get tired of having me along.”
“Has this aught to do with thy feelings of love for me?”
“Huh? No, it doesn’t.”
Saybil seemed confused by the question, and Los felt deflated by his answer.
“Speaking of love… You’ve decided to keep on living a while longer, huh?”
“I have.”
“Then what should we do about our promise? That if I stop loving you, I’ll kill you before you realize that’s happened.”
“What in blazes?! Thou speakest of such deeds when thou hast not yet gained the strength to carry them out?!”
“Sure, but still…”
“Well, ahem… ’Tis true that at present I would be rather upset to suddenly lose my life… Not when there is so much about which to be excited…”
“I know, right? I’m really excited, too. I love you, Professor Los, but more than that it’s been so much fun just traveling around with you… It’s less about romance and more about adventure.”
It was rare for Saybil to seem so passionate about anything. Los was particularly fond of him when he got like this.
…Fond? And what might that mean, I wonder. A mere fondness for him as one of my precious fledglings? Or perchance─
“Professor Los?”
“’Tis nothing!” Los put a lid on her thoughts and got to her feet. With a wave, the Staff of Ludens transformed into a bird perfectly sized for two. “I have a great love for voracious curiosity. Rejoice, for I shall allow thee especially to accompany me! Now, if thou meanest to come aboard, do it quickly. I can be ever so fickle!”
+++
When the banquet was finally over, everyone awoke to find Los and Saybil gone. Hort and Kudo weren’t all that surprised by their disappearance. They’d both had an inkling─they knew their paths had diverged the moment they hesitated to remain with Saybil.
And so, at long last, the day came for their ship to depart for the Forbidden Land.
“Man, those two really ain’t comin’ back, are they,” muttered Kudo, leaning against the railing of the deck. “Frikkin’ free spirits.”
“Feels kinda like you and me are just ordinary people, huh.” Hort was, like Kudo, leaning heavily against the railing. She felt dispirited, but having Kudo by her side was reassuring. “It’s like, there’s nothing I want to do so much that I’d abandon everything else for it… Or, I guess I just somehow get stuck on worrying about all the people around me.”
“But it’s ordinary people who make the world go round.”
Hort and Kudo heard approaching footsteps on the deck, and turned to see Ghoda, outfitted for the journey.
“Let ordinary people change the world in their own way─they’ll change it so much it’ll give those two a real shock when they get back.”
“I knew we could count on you for some words of wisdom, Dragon Conqueror King!”
“Sorry, but what the hell you doin’ traipsin’ around like you’re just some ordinary guy yerself?!” Kudo glared at Ghoda. “I ain’t havin’ it, you hear me?! No ‘ordinary person’ goes jumpin’ into a dragon’s mouth or cuttin’ off their own leg like it’s nothin’!”
“I certainly wasn’t trying to make it seem like it was nothing…but I do appreciate you regrowing my leg. I’m back in fighting form, thanks to you.” Ghoda tapped his leg─the one Kudo’s magic had restored to him─and grinned cheerfully, then slipped a firm arm around the beastfallen’s shoulders. “Anyway, you mentioned something about the rules of the Brigade, didn’t you? I’ll take that to mean you’re interested in a key administrative position─or am I wrong? To be honest, I’ve been starting to feel like it’s all a little too much to handle on my own. Once I’ve submitted my report on your valiant service in the recent conflict to Knight Commander Eudrite and Mage Commander Amnir, we’ll be convening a council on the matter─so get ready.”
“H…Hell no! I’m only suited to bein’ a lowly mage medic! I ain’t never ridin’ on that damn dragon of yours again!”
“I’ll get back to you in due course. Something to look forward to.”
With the shady smile still plastered on his face, Ghoda departed, leaving in his wake only a laugh that didn’t suit him in the least. A little while later they saw his dragon in the sky, and then a steam whistle sounded. Their ship slipped away from the free district─toward home.
+++
Danna Ryl had no idea where to go, so when she heard the ship was accepting all passengers, she got on board. Not wanting anyone to see her, she curled up in an out-of-the-way corner of the hold and hugged her knees to her growling stomach. For many, many years she had maintained her corporeal form using mana alone, and the concept of eating had long ago become foreign to her. Utsuwa’s body did not possess the same stores of mana, however, so when she attempted to sustain herself as usual she quickly ran out─and with that came an intense hunger.
Danna Ryl’s pride would not permit her to steal or beg. On the other hand, she had no experience of any kind of labor. Perhaps she had in fact worked at some point in her life, but over the course of a thousand years those memories had been washed away. To say nothing of the fact that anyone who saw her horn would know at once who she was.
Danna Ryl had heard Utsuwa’s speech explaining the situation in full: “I am Utsuwa, inside the body of Danna Ryl, while Danna Ryl is presently using Utsuwa’s old body.” Utsuwa had even dared to say that anyone who found Danna Ryl in difficulty should aid her! Who was it had reduced Danna Ryl to such dire straits in the first place…?!
Danna Ryl didn’t want anyone to take pity on her. But she was just so tired.
“I’m hungry…” She fell to the floor, and the ragged cloth she’d been using to cover her head slipped off, revealing her glimmering crystal horn. “Someone…help me…”
“I don’t mind helping you, but…?”
At the sound of this shrill voice, Danna Ryl opened her bleary eyes.
It was an owl.
The bird circled her a few times, hopping along the floor, then nodded and began stroking Danna Ryl’s horn with the tip of her wing.
“Yes, very good! I like it! Allow me to take that body off your hands!”
“Body…?” Danna Ryl looked down at herself. “You want this body?”
“Yes. It’s just perfectly wonderful, far too good for the likes of you! Ah, but don’t worry, I will give you a suitable replacement. And since it’s clear you can’t think about anything for yourself, I will keep you as my familiar!”
The owl spread her wings wide, and Danna Ryl did not even have the strength to resist. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in a bird cage. On the other side of the bars, a girl with a sparkling crystal horn and magnificent dress was talking with another girl and an incredibly beautiful man.
When the girl noticed that Danna Ryl had awoken, she came over and peered into the cage. “You’re awake? How do you like your new home? It’s a wonderful cage, just perfect for one of my servants, wouldn’t you say?”
“Now, now, Ulula. She’s moved from a human body into an owl’s all of a sudden, so I’m sure she’s confused. She deserves a better explanation than that.”
“Yes, Father,” the girl called Ulula replied obediently, then turned back to peer into the cage once more. “Look, your body suits me perfectly, doesn’t it? That wonderful man is my father, and that’s my little sister, Kukuru. You’re going to be a member of our family now. Here, dinnertime.”
The girl pushed a piece of fruit into the cage, and Danna Ryl didn’t hesitate to snatch it with her beak. She felt a strange sense of satisfaction wash over her. None of this bothered her in the least. All she felt was relief that it was all over, and a sense of ease now that she was under the protection of a dominant master.
Danna Ryl gently closed her eyes once more, safe in the knowledge that she would never have to rule over anyone again.