Fortunately, Lardon and Dyphon seemed to have settled down. I sure as heck wanted it to stay that way, so I took the initiative to steer our conversation.
“There’s something I wanted to ask you two.”
“What is it, darling? Ask away!” Dyphon crooned, eyes sparkling.
Lardon only stared at me, waiting patiently.
“Well, it’s about how you two fight... From what I’ve seen, it looks like you always use your powers to clash head-on. No tricks, no schemes—nothing of the sort.”
“Obviously.”
“Indeed.”
They both answered at almost exactly the same time.
I nodded. “So I was right.”
Dyphon harrumphed. “What other way is there? I mean, I can kill her whenever I want. Why resort to tricks and schemes?”
“It is all I need to crush a weakling underfoot,” Lardon similarly remarked.
“Wow, look who’s getting ahead of herself!”
“Oh? It appears you fail to discern bluff from fact.”
“What did you say?!”
I jumped between them again. “Okay, okay. Both of you, calm down!”
We were never going to get anywhere like this. I’m starting to regret it already... Should I give up asking them about this?
“Sorry, darling...”
“Oh, uh... It’s okay.”
“Say... Can you hug me?”
“What?”
Dyphon stood in front of me, then spun on her heel so her back was facing me. Then, she pressed her back against my chest, took my hands, and made me hug her from behind. “Like this. Okay?”
It didn’t get any clearer than this. I did as I was told and kept my arms wrapped around her.
Dyphon gingerly set her small hands over mine and giggled sweetly. “Your hug calms me down.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. Hug me tighter.”
“Okay...” Basically, she was implying that I should keep hugging her so she wouldn’t act out. I was honestly really grateful for this.
“Anyway,” I continued, “I imagine you don’t always clash from a distance like this. Don’t you also take attacks head-on sometimes?”
“Yep. Sometimes.”
“How do you withstand those, then?”
“Hmm...” Dyphon, still in my embrace, tilted her head for a while. “With willpower?”
“Willpower...?”
“Yep, sounds about right. I’d never lose to— Oh, don’t worry, darling. I’m not gonna argue right now.” Dyphon cleared her throat. “I don’t wanna lose to her, so I make sure to bear with it all the way through.”
“To elaborate, when filled with fighting spirit, we can surpass the limits of our flesh,” Lardon added. “Since she is only slightly infer— Ahem. Since we are approximately equal in power, a boost in willpower is enough to bridge any gaps and allow us to withstand each other’s attacks.”
Lardon was also being careful with her words for me.
“Oh...” I hung my head in thought. Their answers weren’t quite what I was expecting. I was hoping for a more...technical answer. Something more objective.
Lardon, Dyphon, and Paithon were all equally strong. This was my own personal assessment, as well as a fact that had been proven throughout history and—perhaps most importantly—acknowledged by the dragons themselves. After all, how else could a fight between them last for days, if not months? Sure, they already did everything on a grander scale than humans, but a fight could never go on for so long with a significant gap in strength between them.
Not to mention they were always fully intent on killing one another. I assumed they’d been devising all sorts of ways to end the others, so I was hoping to ask about those techniques. The answer turned out a lot simpler than I’d expected...and not the one I wanted. But I was still impressed.
“Wow... So you can keep up a pure head-on clash for that long?”
“Why do you ask, darling?”
“Well... Oh, I guess I better bring you up to speed first.”
I proceeded to tell Dyphon about my most recent project—my mana-measuring spell—and how I wanted to make it usable for everyone in the city too.
“But to do that, I need to solve one problem first,” I continued. “Those with little mana would use it all up just to cast the spell. Essentially, the less mana someone has, the harder it’ll be to measure.”
“Uh-huh... That’s true.”
“So, I was thinking of making them a magic item instead. We can set it up in the city.”
“Ooh! That’s a great idea, darling!”
“It’s easy to make a spell that won’t break under the caster’s mana—I’ve done that already. But with a magic item, it won’t be as simple.” I looked between Lardon and Dyphon. “That’s why I wanted to know if you had some means of withstanding immense power.”
I finished my explanation with a frown. After all, it didn’t sound like they had the sort of thing I was looking for. I doubted Paithon would have given a different answer had she been here.
After a short silence, Dyphon slowly freed herself from my arms and turned around. Her bright eyes firmly met mine. “Well, actually...”
✦ ✦ ✦
Dyphon’s sudden change in demeanor caught me off guard.
“You see, darling... We had a huge fight in the past, right?”
“R-Right...” The dragons had a rather stormy history—which I was already well aware of. So what is she bringing it up for...?
“Back then, we all genuinely wanted each other dead. Not like they had much actual strength to back it up, unlike me.”
“O-Oh...” I risked a glance at Lardon, afraid that she would be enraged at Dyphon’s jab—but surprisingly enough, not a hint of anger surfaced on her expression.
That’s...also kind of concerning, actually.
But before I could pursue the thought, Dyphon continued. “Actually, our clashing powers back then created something weird.” She threw Lardon a glance over her shoulder. “You remember, don’t you?”
“I do. It was a strange new type of matter... To this day, I wonder what it was.”
“Was it some sort of metal?” I asked her.
“No. It was much purer.”
“Mm-hmm.” Seemingly satisfied by Lardon’s answer, Dyphon turned her gaze back to me. “I’ve never seen that kind of material before either. It was super tough. Like, tough enough to withstand our power—all three of us.”
“Really?!” If that thing could withstand the three dragons’ powers, then it was practically indestructible. So this is why she brought up their fight! “Where is it now?”
Dyphon shrugged. “No clue. All of it was flung somewhere amid the chaos of our battle... Do you know?”
“No, I do not,” Lardon replied plainly.
“Eh, figures.”
“Oh...” I hung my head.
“But don’t worry, darling!” Dyphon chirped, clenching both hands into fists. “If we made it once, we can make it again. For you, I’ll give it my all!”
“Oh...!” Her show of determination was kinda cute, but I immediately paused. “Wait. Doesn’t that mean...you’ll have to try killing each other again?”
“Yep! For you, darling, I’ll give my all to kill her—and come out on top, of course!”
So I was right... They had to fight to the death again. My gaze drifted behind Dyphon, where Lardon simply stood with an unreadable smirk.
“So, to make this material, the intent behind your powers matters?” I clarified.
“Probably. I’ve never held back when trying to kill her, but that material’s never popped up again. It must be ’cause the malicious intent behind my attacks wasn’t up to snuff.”
Well, that doesn’t bode well... I’d seen them butt heads a handful of times, and if their malicious intent during those arguments wasn’t enough, then I dreaded what kind of malice would make the cut. It seemed that reenacting the historical Tri-Draconic War was the only way to re-create this indestructible material.
Then my answer was obvious: “Please don’t.”
“Hmm? Why not, darling?”
“One of you is certain to die. Heck, we might even be risking both of you dying. It’s just not worth it.”
“Oh, darling...” Dyphon’s eyes grew moist before she threw herself at me. “I love you!”
Dyphon’s blunt expressions of love often left me at a loss for words, but this time I was simply grateful that she was so willing to withdraw.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked.
“Yeah. Magic is a miraculous power, so there’s bound to be another way. I just need to find it.”
“So cool! That’s my darling!”
Dyphon nuzzled closer to me, and I just let her be. If this is what it takes to calm her down...
“Hmm, but...” Lardon slowly began walking my way. “Is that not the best way?”
“At present, yeah.”
“Then shall we give it a try?”
“Darling said no. So, no.” Dyphon hugged me tighter and stuck out her tongue. She was clearly unwilling to fall for Lardon’s provocation.
“You see,” Lardon continued darkly, “all your brainless mockery has already left me rather irked. And I’m intrigued enough by what he has in store to cross the final line.”
Dyphon huffed. “Well, I’m not doing it.”
“Oh, you will. And I only need one move to make you.”
“I said I won’t, so I—”
Out of the blue, my vision turned dark—because Lardon brought her face close to mine and suddenly kissed me. It happened way too fast for me to move out of the way.
I heard Lardon chuckle. “Well? I do it better, yes?”
“Huh? Uh, I—”
Before my mind could process what just happened, much less figure out how to react...I heard a frighteningly ominous snap from the girl in my arms.