“It is real. And just so you know, I don’t give this gift often! You guys gave me a good show, so this is special! Now, hop on!” As she spoke, Suzaku placed her wings on the ground so we could climb onto her.
Reina looked at me with uncertainty, but I knew that refusing here would just be rude. So, I grasped Reina’s hand and began to walk, escorting her over to Suzaku’s back. The Divine Beast’s body was like a flickering flame, but I didn’t feel any heat. However, I did clearly sense a sort of sanctity, and I also felt as though I was doing something incredibly disrespectful.
I stood in a spot overlooking the surrounding area, and I could suddenly see the villagers down below looking up at us with jealousy. In their eyes, riding on Suzaku’s back must have been an incredible honor.
“Hey, Suzaku?” I said.
“Huh?”
“You can fit everyone here on your back, right?”
Suzaku began to chuckle. She must have understood what I was getting at. “Whoa there! You’re saying something awfully blasphemous! I’m basically a god to them!”
“Oh? Does that mean you can’t fit them?”
“What?! As if!” she said, feigning surprise. Laughing, she looked down at the reverent villagers and raised her voice. “You heard the man! I’ll give all of you a lift, so line up and get on!”
“Oh, this has to be some kind of joke... Are you sure, Elder?” Elga asked her.
“Yeah, grandma, are you?” Luna said.
“I said I’d do whatever was in my power for this guy, after all!” Suzaku replied.
Luna moved first, then Elga, Livia, and Gaius followed after her. Maybe because Suzaku was special, the other Divine Beastfolk were reluctant to come up. But then—
“Grr!”
“Garr!”
Grr and Garr nimbly hopped on Suzaku’s wing and ran around. As they did, the Divine Beastfolk watching came up, first one, then many. It didn’t just stop there; the Beastfolk also began to climb up in turns, though they did so timidly.
“All right, that’s everyone! Now, don’t fall off!”
The next moment, Suzaku slowly fluttered her wings, then took flight, gradually ascending into the sky. Higher, then higher still—in one go we soared high enough to reach the clouds, then entered a stable flight.
“Whoa...” I exclaimed.
“Amazing...” Reina said.
I looked beneath me at the massive island far below. Traces of the Emperor Boar’s rampage were clearly visible in a spot that looked like our home forest. In the distance was a sprawling grassland, a volcano, a desert region, a massive lake, and other still-unseen lands.
I’d heard before that when people saw the world’s famed, majestic views, they were left speechless, unable to do anything except be blown away by the sight—that described my current feelings perfectly. At the same time, I felt an incredible thrill. This was surely my excitement over the prospect of the beings—people or otherwise—I was to meet and the places I was to see.
“Ha ha ha! What do you think?!”
“Amazing... It’s amazing, Suzaku!” Reina said.
“That’s right, just what I thought! Hmm, what’s that?”
There was a massive black creature flying in the same direction as Suzaku. To anyone else, it was a majestic form worthy of being called dragon, but...
“Oh, it’s Tailtiu,” I said.
“Bahamut’s brat, huh?” Suzaku said.
She moved with ease, enjoying her leisurely solo flight through the sky. Suzaku got closer to her, then spoke.
“Hey, brat! If you’re free, then come here too.”
“Hngah! Wh-What do you...”
Surprised, Tailtiu glared at Suzaku. But she soon noticed me and sweetly called, “Darling!”
She moved into action, closing the distance between us in the blink of an eye, then shone with light, transforming into her girl form, and—
“Here I come!”
“Oof.”
She plunged at me like when we first met, and I caught her. She happily nuzzled her head up against me, squeezing me in a tight embrace.
“Mm-hmm, I don’t have to worry about using my full power with you, darling, because you don’t break!”
“Aha ha ha. Well, just be sure to control yourself with everyone else.”
It sounded like she was hugging me so tightly that it was probably less of a cute squeeze and more like a powerful crush. Well, I’m fine, I guess.
“Hey, that’s unfair, Tailtiu!”
“Hrm, Luna? It is not unfair! At times like this, the early bird gets the worm.”
Luna whimpered. “Fine, then I’ll get Miss Reina to hug me!” She went to Reina next to me, then nestled herself snugly in her lap. Grr and Garr also went over into Luna’s arms.
“Jeez, you sure are needy, Luna,” Reina said.
“Eheh heh heh,” Luna giggled.
“Grr.”
“Garr.”
It was pleasant seeing them all smiling happily. Even though Suzaku’s back was so large, we were all sticking together like a school of fish.
“The wind feels nice,” Reina said. “And, it’s very pretty.”
“It sure is,” I said.
When I looked down from the sky, I was greeted by all manner of sights—a whole fantastical world was stretched out below me. Each of those spots must have races like the Divine Beastfolk living there. Really, I’ve only just arrived here and know nothing about this place.
I glanced at Reina sitting next to me. Slivers of flame carried by the wind made the air around her sparkle. It was a beautiful sight, as if she were being blessed by small fairies.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Oh... I was just thinking... How pretty...” I said.
“Yes, it’s quite a lovely view.”
I was referring to her, but she must have been talking about the view from Suzaku’s back. As she brushed back a strand of her hair fluttering in the wind, her eyes shone with delight. It didn’t seem that she had realized what I meant.
I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to correct her. I mean, it’s embarrassing.
“Ah, youth,” Elga remarked.
“Oh my,” Livia said.
Behind me, they smiled meaningfully, as if they had something they wanted to say, but I knew this was something I shouldn’t react to, so I pretended not to notice. Incidentally, the other passengers were also looking at us warmly for some reason, but I definitely wasn’t going to take notice of that either. But then, I suddenly sensed a familiar presence, and when I looked its way...
“Mwa ha ha, aha ha ha,” cackled Mina. “I thought someone special was up to something, and when I came to take a look... Mwa ha ha.”
“This is just awful,” I said.
With a satisfied grin on her face, Mina was flying through the sky alongside Suzaku. Not only that, she was looking at me and making no effort to hide her laughter. It seemed that she had witnessed my earlier exchange with Reina.
“Well, no need to worry,” she said. “I’m not so boorish that I’d disturb a romantic comedy that’s already in progress. Still, you’ve shown me something rather nice. And here I was, thinking that you, at least, didn’t have much value in teasing.”
“Oh, is that so?” I said. It seemed that she didn’t have any intention of doing anything for the time being. Feeling relieved, I once again viewed the beautiful scenery of this new world. “Yeah... It really is pretty.”
Then, I looked around me. Reina was there, along with Luna, Elga, Livia, Tailtiu—who was clinging to me—Suzaku, and the teasing Mina. Regardless of what race they belonged to, they were all good people, and my days with them persisted in my memory as nothing but happy times.
“Grr!”
“Garr!”
The two wolf pups growled, as if to say, Don’t forget us!
A smile crept onto my face. “Oh yeah, you guys too.”
I’m truly glad that I reincarnated here.
“Hey, Reina?” I said.
“Yes?”
“I’m sure these happy days are going to continue.”
“Of course.” She smiled and nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
To the god that gave me this second life—this life in which I can say, from the bottom of my heart, I’ve had incredible times and have made irreplaceable friends—I’m going to keep living a fun life on this island. So if you can, please watch over me from now on.