Half of the right side of Ragi’s face had turned black… A dragon emblem stood out vividly against his skin, stretching down past his eye and along his neck.
“I never noticed before,” Setsuna said.
Ragi looked almost triumphant. “That anklet was made to seal the dragon’s protection and the mark.”
“I didn’t know you had either. That’s rather convenient, isn’t it?”
“I envy you, Setsuna. You don’t have even the smallest mark on you. The dragon who gave me his protection liked to show off a bit, so this was the result.”
“It’s hard not to notice when it covers half your face. Is that why you kept it sealed?”
Ragi’s expression softened, growing wistful. “Yeah. When I first asked the dragon to erase the emblem, he refused and told me the protection and mark must remain as one.”
“What then?”
“This protection allows my body to pick up on any shift in movement and respond instantaneously, so it was too precious to give up. I needed strength because at the time, I was working to establish the kingdom of Sagana.”
“…”
“But the emblem drew too much attention. I asked the dragon over and over again to remove it, and eventually we reached a compromise. The mark would only appear when the protection was active, and he crafted an anklet so I could control it.”
“I see.”
“It cost me a fortune. The anklet’s made of gold and silver, but I didn’t happen to have any lumps of precious metal just lying around,” he said with a laugh.
“You mean…?”
“That’s right. I pulled out a bag full of gold and silver coins and asked them to make it with that.”
He laughed so heartily that even Setsuna couldn’t suppress a smile.
“So, Setsuna, what sort of protection did your dragon grant you?” he asked.
“I don’t know. My wife arranged for it in secret.”
“And you pretend you’ve never noticed out of courtesy?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re a fool. The proper thing would be to thank her and ask about it. Tuuli is probably waiting for you to bring it up,” Ragi said with a sigh.
Honestly, I felt a little worried for the older man. I couldn’t imagine how Setsuna would get back at me if I ever teased him like that. But instead, he only gave a sheepish chuckle.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Not that it means much coming from a man who abandoned his family and friends,” Ragi murmured self-deprecatingly, standing up again. Setsuna looked almost sad as he watched him.
“…Sorry, it just slipped out.”
“Is there a reason for that?” Setsuna asked quietly.
“Not really.”
“I see. I guess I thought it had something to do with your title… Hero of Sagana.”
Ragi’s mouth twitched slightly. “I suppose it would be pointless asking how you know about that.”
“Well, only one person comes to mind when you hear about a beastfolk with the dragon’s protection—the Hero of Sagana.”
Seeing Ragi’s dragon emblem hadn’t shocked me half as much as hearing that name out loud.
“Master told me about Sagana’s hero! That was Gramps?” Alto asked in a small, cheerful voice.
The Hero of Sagana was a beastfolk man who’d fought the humans trying to stop the founding of Sagana. He carried the dragon’s protection and had struck down an entire brigade of knights singlehandedly, earning him the name Knightslayer. He was still honored in Sagana as one of the nation’s founding heroes.
Elsewhere, in the allied kingdoms of Kutt, Ellana, and Gardir, there had been a bounty on his head until just a decade ago.
He was a legendary figure whose appearance and fighting style were mostly unknown. Only his deeds had been recorded in a book detailing the historical events.
The final line read, “After witnessing the founding of Sagana, the Hero left the kingdom. He was spotted around Alion fighting those who preyed upon beastfolk, and was last seen in Lycia one hundred years ago, after which he disappeared without a trace.”
The story had been told with a bitter hatred on the Southern Sibling Continent, where beastfolk were despised, and with reverence on the more tolerant Northern Sibling Continent.
I admired heroes, so I’d read the book about the Hero of Sagana more than once.
I can’t believe that was Ragi…
“Honestly, Setsuna, I can’t measure up to you. There’s no point getting into all that now, though. All I can say is that I was weak, which is why I abandoned my wife and child, broke my promises to my friends, and ended up here.”
“You regret it, don’t you?”
Ragi shook his head. “Regret isn’t the right word. Throwing everything away was just plain foolish. Deeply and truly foolish.”
It was clear he didn’t intend on sharing any more details. Ragi spoke in the same self-deprecating way, which pained me even just to hear. I suspected Setsuna felt the same way, because he deliberately lightened his tone and changed the mood.
“I never imagined you had a dragon’s protection.”
That single sentence seemed to rekindle something fierce in Ragi’s heart as a fighter.
“Are you thinking of calling this off?” he asked combatively.
“You must be joking. This is just starting to get interesting,” Setsuna said with a smirk.
“Since both of us have the protection of a dragon, I’d have to say I have the advantage in strength since I’m a beastfolk,” Ragi said with a confident grin.
“But I’ve mastered mana control,” Setsuna said, sounding just as confident.
I heard a gasp from beside me the moment he said it. I didn’t know what difference that made, but Alto seemed to.
“Ah, I see. I’ve faced skilled opponents who could control their mana before, but they won’t be able to compare to you, Setsuna.”
“Thinking of calling this off?” he teased.
“You’re terrible at jokes. Shall we begin?” Ragi took off his shoes and stood barefoot in the grass, then turned to face Setsuna.
“I can’t possibly beat you when it comes to humor,” Setsuna retorted. “But if you’re ready, let’s do this.”
They were both smiling, but their eyes were cold.
“I’m going all out, just like I said yesterday,” Ragi said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” replied Setsuna.
They each took a step back, widening the distance between them.
“I will…”
“I’m going to…”
The two men paused momentarily, glaring at each other, before finishing in unison.
“…Crush you!”
Neither of them waited for an opening, because there was none. The space between them vanished in the blink of an eye.
The moment Ragi entered Setsuna’s range, Setsuna’s sword came down with a speed I’d never seen before. But Ragi evaded in a way I never could’ve imagined.
He just stopped?
He’d killed all his momentum in a flash, freezing exactly where he stood. His eyes locked on the descending blade and tracked it to the last moment before stepping forward into a spinning kick.