Two days later came the eve of the summer solstice festival. The skies were clear and a refreshing breeze drifted upon the air; the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Shiori, Alec, and their two familiars boarded a carriage from the Guild, bound for the northern border. Today they were visiting the site of the battle with the dragon, and attending the festival being held at the refugee camp nearby.
The magical beast corpses that had littered the roads had now been cleared away, and all the people who had evacuated to safety were now back in their rightful homes. The villages the adventurers passed through on their travels were all bustling and lively, their residents actively rebuilding their lives.
“Everybody is so resilient,” Shiori remarked.
“That’s how we’ve gotten this far,” replied Alec.
“Indeed.”
The main camp at which the knight corps’ top brass had overseen the battle was long gone, and not a trace of it remained. Now there was only the temporary research center, built at the Dima Frozen Lake for the purpose of investigating both the dragon and the lake itself. It was in the direction of this very research center that Shiori and Alec traveled.
They alighted from the guild carriage at a temporary knight station and boarded a transport carriage bound for the lake. With travel to the frozen lake having been more frequent as of late, the roads were well maintained, if rather basic.
“I read in the papers that a huge amount of magical ice stones were discovered at the bottom of the lake,” said Shiori. “Do you think they’ll be recovered?”
“Count on it,” replied Alec. “There’s an Imperial installation at the end of an underground waterway nearby. It seems that if they enter through there, it’s possible to slowly gather the stones. All things going well, they may be able to recoup some of the losses to the area.”
“I hope it goes well, then.”
Their carriage came to a stop at a familiar hill—it was the site of the first defensive line on the day of the battle. Unauthorized entry past this point was forbidden, and the two adventurers were no exception.
“I don’t imagine it would be very nice to see a dragon being dissected anyway,” said the knight accompanying them. “Best to pay your respects from here.”
The two adventurers were allowed to walk to the top of the hill, which offered a view of the frozen lake below. The dragon was still where it had fallen in battle, and was now covered in ice. Knights and researchers worked busily around it. Upon closer inspection, however, it was clear that everybody was treating the dragon’s body with great respect.
“They’ll take tissue samples back to Tris and the royal capital for safekeeping,” explained the knight, “but the rest of the dragon will be buried here once the examination is concluded. Felled dragons are usually taken and dissected for use as materials, but the northern knight corps made the decision to leave as much of the dragon intact as possible, and bury it near the lake. It’s understandable, given what the creature went through.”
Plans were also being put in place to build a memorial park at the site. The location would act as a balm for the dragon’s departed soul, but also as a way to inform future generations of the tragic history of the Empire. The construction of such a location would mean more work in the area, and the locals were grateful for the income—especially because magical beast numbers had fallen sharply after the stampedes.
“The regiment commander of the magic unit wasn’t happy about it,” added the knight. “He said we were just letting precious materials go to waste.”
That very commander, Appelberg, had tried to recruit Shiori into his ranks. Apparently his unit had been short on manpower. The fact that this knight was willing to speak openly about him seemed to indicate that he wasn’t particularly well-liked among the knights.
“What does that mean for the dragon?” asked Shiori. “Is it possible that someone will come to dig it up later? Or will Appelberg try to have the decision overturned?”
“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” replied the middle-aged knight. “The other day Commander Appelberg was apprehended near the research center. He was stumbling about in just his underwear, and summarily dismissed. I guess he must have been sleepwalking or something.”
Shiori and Alec stared at one another in silence, then looked down at Rurii by their feet. The slime wobbled.
“Wasn’t me.”
In which case, it had likely been Bla. The slime was Zack’s familiar, which meant it often met with the margrave and the knight corps. It must have had some thoughts on the matter of the dragon, and acted on them.
“Nothing worth worrying over,” continued the knight. “He was never popular with the female knights on account of his...loose morals and disrespectful manner, so the timing was perfect, really.”
“Oh, so there was sexual harassment, then...” muttered Shiori.
“If it had all been kept quiet, everybody would’ve just thought of him as a handsome man popular with the more mature crowd. But it is what it is.”
“I... I see.”
Shiori couldn’t help wondering if she’d have become another of Appelberg’s victims, had she ended up in his unit. By her side, Alec was fuming, a vein pulsing at his temple. Shiori took a moment to calm him down, and then, with the dragon’s scale clasped in hand, she offered the magical beast her prayers.
“We’ll see you again,” she said as they left.
Perhaps the words reached their intended recipient, because the air around the dragon’s body wavered slightly, as if a gentle light were dancing around it.
The two adventurers went back the way they came and met with Zack and some others at around eight in the evening. The northwestern mountains were dyed a deep red, and a first-magnitude star glimmered in the dull purple sky. Still, the air was anything but lonely, and the border area was lit by magical lanterns and filled with smiling faces. Merchant tents were set up around the stronghold, and many refugees hovered around them hoping to get a good deal with the money they’d made.
“I’m so glad,” said Shiori, taking in the sight of it all. “There are even more merchants here than I was expecting.”
In the aftermath of the dragon attack, and with many places still recovering, some merchants had been unable to attend the usual summer solstice festivals. For a time, the festivals themselves had been in danger of being canceled. The fact that the festival here was open at all was a sign that things were stable.
“The Empire was involved, after all,” she continued. “It seems that some people were up in arms about it.”
“Well, after what happened...” mused Alec, “I can understand people getting emotional.”
Even then, most of Storydia’s citizens took everything in stride, and many felt that the refugees and the Imperial supporters shouldn’t be lumped together under the same umbrella. Doing so would only mean that the ordinary Imperial citizens would be made to suffer for the crimes of the nobility. Shiori and Alec discussed the matter as they looked around, but were taken by surprise when one tent in particular caught their eye.
Among the tents and merchants was a tarpaulin-covered cart, around which was a group of people in foreign dress. The flowery design on the cart’s tarpaulin was an Eastern family seal—the mark of the Yobai Trading Company. One of the Easterners noticed Shiori and her pointy hat, and ran back to the cart to inform somebody inside. A moment later, a woman in full martial uniform emerged.
“Miss Shiori! You’re here!”
“Miss Yae!” replied Shiori happily. “It’s been so long!”
Yae Yamabuchi, head of the Yobai Trading Company, burst into a smile the moment she saw Shiori’s face. She leapt from the cart to greet her, followed by her bodyguard, Shonosuke Goto, who struggled to keep up. Hugs and handshakes were shared, and Yae explained what she was doing at the festival.
“When we heard that there was a festival to support refugees, we simply had to take part, and hustled to make it happen. I sent you a letter, but it looks like perhaps it has yet to arrive.”
Yae had sent a letter telling Shiori of the Yobai Trading Company’s participation, but it seemed that the dragon attack had impacted the postal service too.
“I’d heard the rumors of a hero and a holy woman vanquishing a legendary dragon, and it would appear that those rumors are in fact true.”
Yae had noticed the dragon scale pieces they wore around their necks, and the beautiful giant wolf waiting placidly behind Alec.
“Well, we didn’t do it alone,” said Shiori, “and it’s a bit embarrassing to have people get the wrong impression from these new nicknames.”
“You find the title a bit much, then?”
The sudden question took Shiori by surprise, and for a moment she dropped into thought.
“I did at first,” she replied finally, “but now I’ve come to think that it’s perhaps necessary. It’s good for me, yes, but it might also act as something for someone to aim for, or a source of support for others. I don’t mind it so long as it doesn’t devolve into just idol worship.”