“That’s right,” the dragon said. “However, I descended from the mountain after sensing a holy woman’s magic.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. So, who’s this holy woman?”
“That would be you.”
When I fell silent, the dragon didn’t continue.
“Um, who do you mean by ‘you’?” I finally asked.
“Why, I’m talking about you, of course.”
“…I’m a holy woman?”
“You have the Goddess’s divine protection, after all.”
I fell silent again. Come to think of it, however, the Goddess had alluded to this all those years ago.
“Also, I’ve bestowed my divine protection upon you,” she’d told me. “Your magical abilities should be enhanced compared to Alexandra’s previous lives. Likewise, you can use all elements.”
“I remember now,” I said. “But can I seriously use every element, including holy magic? Did the Goddess give me some sort of cheat skill?”
“She did indeed. That’s why you’re a holy woman.”
He understood the phrase ‘cheat skill?’ What kind of creature is this dragon?
“Like I said, I’m a sacred beast,” he responded.
“Oh no. You can read my thoughts too?”
The dragon chuckled again. “More or less. Now then, what should we do? The girl who caused your fall needs to be punished properly.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t keep letting these things slide.”
“Shall I burn her to a crisp?”
“That’s going a little too far,” I replied.
Wow, sacred beasts are scary. Is it because he’s a dragon?
“Anyway, do you know what’s happening on the roof right now?” I asked.
First, I needed to get a clear view of the situation.
“One girl is looking down over the side with a blank expression,” the dragon answered. “The second girl is crying about this being her fault. The third girl is mumbling about the route being restored to normal.”
“Huh? Can they not see you?”
Even though he’s so big?
“I’ve cast a concealment spell on us,” the dragon explained. “Those girls can’t see us right now. Oh, and please call me Custode.”
“Got it,” I replied. “Your name’s Custode, huh? Mine’s Alexandra, but you can call me Ally. Anyway, let’s ditch those girls and go see Em for now.”
“The crown prince?”
“Wow! You know that much about our kingdom?”
Custode chuckled. “I’ve heard a thing or two.”
“All right then. Our first course of action is to go see Em.”
“Understood.”
We arrived at the castle in the blink of an eye. Well, what else did I expect from a dragon? In any case, Embert had returned to the castle today to wrap up some official duties in the early morning. We landed in the courtyard where my friends and I always had tea. Touching down in the front could have caused a commotion, after all.
“How do we get Em to come see us now that we’re here?” I asked.
I didn’t want to enter the castle in my school uniform.
“Why not march right in?” Custode asked.
“That’s one way of doing things, but I don’t want to make a scene. If only Janus would come out to meet us.”
“Your brother is up there.”
Following Custode’s gaze, I spotted Janus having tea on the terrace. He seemed to be on break.
“Janus!” I called out to him from below.
“Ally?” he responded upon noticing me. When he spotted Custode, his jaw dropped.
“What’s going on, Custode?” I asked. “Aren’t you casting concealment?”
“I am,” the dragon replied. “But apparently, he can see me. Perhaps it’s due to his magic being similar to yours.”
Are all dragons this carefree?
A moment later, Embert leaned over the terrace to look at us. His eyes widened in astonishment as well.
“Is your concealment really weak or something?” I asked.
Custode’s golden eyes began to water. “I made myself visible.”
Oops, did I hurt his feelings?
“Oh no,” I said. “I’m really, really sorry.”
In response to my sincere apology, Custode thumped his thick tail against the ground. His face then split into what appeared to be a grin.
Wait, was he teasing me? This dragon might have a nasty sense of humor.
As I pondered this, Janus and Embert raced over to me.
“This is clearly a dragon, no matter how you look at it,” Embert said. “Where in the world did you find him?”
Uh, find him? Dragons aren’t something you pick up off the side of the road.
“It would be difficult to keep him at our house,” Janus added, not making any sense either. “He’s just too big.”
“I didn’t find him, and I’m not going to keep him at our house,” I said. “This dragon saved my life.”
I proceeded to explain the situation to them.
“That woman purposefully made her move when I wasn’t around,” Embert said.
“She doesn’t even care about the lives of her sycophants,” Janus added. “We can’t turn a blind eye any longer.”
Both handsome men wore hostile smiles. The very air prickled my skin.
“By the way…” Embert said, still grinning as he looked at me.
Without thinking, I clung to one of Custode’s legs, a chill running down my spine.
“Why didn’t you call for my help when you were falling?” Embert asked.
“Huh?” I responded. “Well…”
As I trailed off, Embert cupped my face in his hands, his emerald-green eyes staring straight at me.
“If you’d called for help, I could’ve teleported to your rescue,” he said. “I’ve done so twice now. You didn’t forget, did you?”
“Of course I didn’t!” I cried, unable to keep my voice down. “That’s why I kept my mouth shut. I was falling from a building upside down. If I’d called for help, you would’ve fallen too. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Embert froze, his emerald-green eyes widening. Perhaps he hadn’t expected my response. “Ally…” he mumbled, removing his hands from my face. The next moment, he wrapped his arms around me. “How deeply will you make me fall in love with you?” he asked, his voice trembling. “You didn’t call for help out of concern for me? I’m flattered, but please don’t keep silent ever again. I will always come to your aid if called, no matter what peril awaits me. Making decisions on the fly is one of my greatest strengths, after all.”
After releasing me from his embrace, Embert cupped my face again. I could see my astonished features reflected in his emerald-green eyes.
“This is an earnest request,” he continued, seeming close to tears. “Call for me if you ever find yourself in peril. Let me save you.”
I shook my head. “But if something happened to you instead of me, I would never forgive myself.”
Embert smiled, the sadness disappearing from his features. “Don’t worry. I would never leave you behind and allow harm to befall me.”
He sounded a touch overconfident, but for some reason, I believed him.
“…Okay,” I said. “I’ll call for you next time.”
“Thank you, Ally.”
Beaming, Embert kissed me on the cheek. Of course, I returned the kiss.
“I’m feeling thirsty now that things have calmed down,” I said with a laugh. “Should we have some tea?”
Thus, we gathered around a table in the courtyard for an impromptu tea party. Embert gave instructions to a nearby servant to prepare the refreshments. Meanwhile, I picked up Custode, who’d shrunk himself to be slightly larger than a small dog.
“I decided to keep quiet in front of His Highness,” Janus whispered in my ear. “However, I’m always here to protect you as well. Even now, I’m suppressing my urge to race over and eliminate Celette.”
He spoke this outrageous statement with a charming smile. I was too scared to ask if “eliminate” was a euphemism for something more sinister.
“I understand,” I said. “But please restrain yourself for now.”
“Of course,” Janus responded with a grin.
Custode laughed as he examined my brother. While everyone else drank tea, he gobbled down sweets from his place on my lap. “These confections are delightful. I’ll need to go on regular walks if I keep eating so much sugar.”
“You don’t have to stay in the volcano at all times?” I asked.
“The volcano is my dwelling, but there’s no particular reason I must remain there.”
“Oh, I see. I just assumed that you were preventing it from erupting.”
“My presence doesn’t prevent eruptions,” Custode said. “In fact, small eruptions happen quite frequently, which prevents larger ones from occurring.”
“Really? In that case, you should visit me as much as possible.”
Custode chuckled. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“You two seem to be having a friendly chat,” Embert said with an icy smile. “But perhaps we should move onto the main topic of conversation.”
Custode and I clung to each other in response to his chilly aura.
“Your name is Custode, correct?” Embert asked. “And you’ve been speaking to Ally telepathically this whole time? As a sacred beast, you should have the ability to communicate with us as well. Even more importantly, why are you sitting on Ally’s lap?”
The mighty dragon let out a squeal in response to Embert’s threatening smile. Ultimately, it was Janus who wiped that smile from the prince’s face.
“That’s quite enough, Your Highness,” my brother said. “Are you even jealous of a dragon now? You’re going to earn Ally’s disfavor.”
Janus winked at me in such a way that Embert wouldn’t notice.
“Have you grown tired of me, Ally…?” the prince asked.
“Um,” I responded. “I might have to reconsider things if you bully Custode.”
Embert furrowed his brow so deeply that I worried about his face sticking. Scary, much? In any case, this must have been a bitter pill for him to swallow.
“Understood,” he finally said, his expression unchanging. He then pointed firmly at Custode and exclaimed, “However! If you wish to be friends with Ally, you must learn to speak with us too. I won’t tolerate these private conversations.”
Custode nodded. “…Okay then,” he said with a sigh.
I shared some of my own dessert with him. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. Your knight is quite a jealous fellow. At the same time, he seems like an impeccable statesman.”
“Really? That’s wonderful.”
“I’m afraid we might continue butting heads,” Custode said. “Still, I’m interested to see what the future holds.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Watching Custode nimbly eat his sweets with tiny dragon hands was adorable.