Now darting away from me, I dropped the manticore from my view—putting it out of sight. Though it pains me to admit it, I’ve got no choice but to play along with it for now and let it go.
I turned around and shifted my attention to the pile of rubble that it had caused. I’m almost certain that the child is trapped underneath all of this. I can only hope that they haven’t been crushed yet…
Using my foreleg, I carefully pushed some of the stone blocks out of the way.
“Gwoooo–”
“Ugh– Uggh—…”
Upon me calling out, I got a voice groaning back in response. What a relief; they’re still alive. Let’s see, are they here? Very methodically, I removed the collapsed stone blocks until I saw a flesh tone peering out from within the narrow gaps between the rubble and then quickly glanced toward Partner.
“Gaw–”
Upon Partner barking out, light enveloped the child who had become buried under the rubble, causing their wounds to begin to heal up—the pained expression on their face easing up to an extent. Taking my forefoot, I lifted the child up and moved them before laying them down on the ground.
The child slowly cracked their eyes open before letting their tears overflow—their cheeks having turned a tender red. The expression they were making was difficult to put into words, but in a way, it was one that was enraptured in adoration.
“Th— Th— Thank you… Ryujin-sama…”
It ended up being a real tearjerker as, unprepared, even I couldn’t help it and felt myself starting to well up. When I went to wipe my eyes with my forefoot, I found that my forepaw had gotten slightly damp, inadvertently confirming it.
“Wow, did Ryujin-sama ever drive away that human-disguised manticore!”
“Did ya see that?! The way that manticore ran away?! That’s Ryujin-sama fer ya!!”
The villagers who had been monitoring the situation had begun to gather around me. Obviously having caught wind of the commotion, the other villagers that had evacuated could be seen in the distance also heading straight toward me with great haste.
Mer– Mercy. I haven’t really had any opportunities to have experiences where I’d be looked at like this, so to put it lightly, I’m feelin’ kinda awkward! But wow, Ryujin-sama sure is popular! So, I guess I’m good bein’ the dragon god now? Nice. Whew, what to do when the real deal comes back… No, seriously, what should I do when Ryujin-sama comes back home?
Hibi approached me and once again raised her staff and closed her eyes. In a low voice, she chanted an incantation. You’re gonna ⟨Telepathize⟩ with me again? Er, just so you know, I can understand people perfectly fine, even when I get them speaking to me normally…
⸨It is hard to believe that the traveling one was a monster. I was negligent. There is no telling what would have happened were it not for your return, Ryujin-sama…⸩
Right, but more importantly, I’m more worried about the fact that I wasn’t able to completely bring it down… I mean, that manticore’s gonna come back and begin hunting down humans again, right…?
⸨If that is what you are concerned about, it is probably fine as that manticore had become very frightened. I expect that it will be cautious about you, Ryujin-sama, and will not be showing itself around here for quite some time. And as an aside, that way is also…—and I hate to put it this way—perhaps the best direction it could have gone in.⸩
Best direction? ‘The hell would you say—
⸨—It is nothing of great enough significance to report on to you, Ryujin-sama. In any case, I do not expect that you will need to be on guard for quite some time.⸩
…I’m gonna be worryin’ about it too much now that it’s been aired… Well, I mean, I guess it’s fine. Everyone’s got their own reasons, and the Litōvear Tribe’s got their own Litōvear Tribe circumstances to deal with, right? Hibi was making a face that looked like she didn’t really want to talk about it all that much.
Anywho, that collapsed building… like… seems like something that’d be easy for me to build, you know? Now, I’ve gone and lost a bit of dexterity in my fingers—or at least what’s left of them—but it can’t be denied that I’m huge, and I’ve got that clay touch, relatively speakin’. I’ve got a hunch that I could totally build one usin’ that. And, since we’ve got a site that collapsed due to my screw-up, I suppose I could rebuild— …Nope. Absolutely not. This is not the time or place for me to be gettin’ a big head over bein’ flattered.
I lightly slapped my cheek with my forefoot and without skipping a beat, Partner shot me some recovery magic. I appreciate it, but it’s not like I damaged myself. Like, at all.
We left Wight and the treant deep inside the forest, so this is no time to be thinkin’ about leisurely things liiike helpin’ to build a building like I’m doin’ now. For now, we gotta go back to them as quite a bit of time has flown by.
“Make arrangements for welcoming in Ryujin-sama!”
“Uh, okay! The food! Now, which household’s the one that—…”
“Grab everything! From everyone! Just scrounge it all up! Don’t worry about asking anyone for permission, leave it for later!”
Clear as day, the villagers were kicking up a mighty, excited fuss.
Now wait a second–! I’m goin’ back where I came! Look, I’m sorry, but I’ve got things to take care of! I’m super duper happy for all of you, but—! Hibi, c’mon! Please tell them that I’m sorry, but I’m goin’ back!
“Oooh–! Ryujin-sama looked at me!!”
Everyone was getting into an uproar over my every breath and move. Oh god, they won’t calm down! Startin’ to sweat somethin’ fierce here! Here and there, near and far, no matter where I looked, I was met with gazes that were filled to the brim with zeal—gazes that were being directed at me.
“Gaaaw…”
Following me, Partner shrunk her head back with her neck contracted as far as it would go. She usually comes off as the embodiment of being carefree and curious. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen her this scared.
…There was just one person—a woman—who was glaring at me with her eyes narrowed. If I had to guess, I would say that she was in her thirties… or just short of being in her thirties. Her face was gloomy with her cheeks hollowed out, from which she was wearing a haggard expression. In truth, she might have been even younger than what I had initially guessed.
I immediately noticed her because practically everyone else had eyes that were glowing with warmth, so naturally, once I did notice her, I stopped looking around. Upon my eyes meeting with hers, she grew uncomfortable and averted her gaze before going into a nearby building in order to get away.
The other people were directing sharp, suspicious gazes toward the aforementioned woman who had left, alone, amongst the fuss that everyone else was making.
Uhh, what was that? Did I… do something wrong?
⸨…Please do not take offense toward her. I shall have a word with her later, so if you would, I ask that you please grant her your forgiveness.⸩
While I wasn’t sure whether Hibi had only read my mind on a surface level, the message she sent to me via ⟨Telepathize⟩ suggested that that’s what she did. Also—and maybe this is just because she thought I was upset—when she used ⟨Telepathize⟩, there was a notable lack of force behind it and I could feel this kind of unease lurking behind her thoughts.
No, it’s fine, but… did I… accidentally do something wrong?
⸨No, that does not happen to be the case at all. She is just… how best to put it… tired. Yes, she must be tired. For her sake, I ask that you do not think poorly of her.⸩
…Look… All I wanna ask is if this has something to do with me. That’s all…
⸨…—It is nothing of great enough significance to report on to you, Ryujin-sama.⸩
…This again? If this keeps up and gets taken too far, it’s gonna start resemblin’ something barely different from bein’ alienated, and that makes me feel uneasy… Plus, lookin’ at how she reacted just now, there’s no way I can think that I don’t have some kind of involvement in this.
It was just a passing thought. Nonetheless, it caused the color to suddenly drain from Hibi’s face. Aah, crap. Guess she picked up on that just now. I was so sure too that the conveyance wasn’t that penetrative since she hadn’t chanted it too strongly…
Er, it’s nothing. If you don’t really wanna talk about it, it’s fine…
⸨…I will mention that her name is Aino. Aino had a child, but… that child unfortunately got… killed by the manticore.⸩
…Yeah, depending on how you look at it, I probably come off as looking like I just left on a whim… and then came back on a whim—all without a second thought. I’d have to guess that they’re gettin’ the impression that monsters took over the shrine in the absence of their dragon god, a child died… by gettin’ eaten… and then after that I suddenly waltzed right on back. That’s, uh… I don’t got a very good impression here, do I? I can’t help but wonder if the unreserved reception I’m gettin’ from all the other villagers has somethin’ to do with their fear in the uncertainty about whether or not I’m gonna go somewhere again.
I casually looked up at the sky. Hey, Ryujin-sama. The real one. Where did ya go away to? If you were united with the villagers for so many years that you even had a shrine made for you, then the least you could’ve done was say something before you left…
Were you simply just lending a hand because you were able to get those tributes out of it? Maybe it’s just that I’ve got some leftover memories from my previous life… Maybe from the point of view of other dragons, humans are just one species of animal among many others and that’s as far as it goes…
…Oops, this isn’t the time or place to be gettin’ all sentimental. I suppose it’s about time for me to be makin’ my way out of this village. Now then, I’ve gotta hurry, since Wight is… uhh…? Don’t tell me that… Wight is Aino’s daughter?
No, there’s no way. I’ve got no good reason to think that. From the sounds of it, there’ve been tons of poor souls that’ve been eaten by that manticore… and yet… I can’t stop thinkin’ about it. It’s botherin’ the hell outta me. I returned to face Hibi, and she, obviously sensing that I wanted to communicate something, closed her eyes.
Aino’s daughter. Tell me, what is her name?
⸨Daughter… Aino’s daughter is named Alo. She had not even turned ten yet. She was a very small and charming girl.⸩
Alo…? And that age… It is perhaps close enough to what that overall skeletal structure would suggest.
⸨Ryujin-sama?⸩
Er, it’s nothing. Thanks for filling me in. Now then, since I’ve got something I’ve gotta do, it’s about time I see myself out of here. Make sure you go ahead and explain that properly to everyone else now.
⸨Must you truly leave already? Your return has been eagerly-awaited…⸩
I shook my head and turned my back to Hibi. The road ahead was blocked with people, but after I made a few vaguely prodding head gestures, the crowd stepped back—looking somewhat dispirited. Well, I’ll be back next time… And that next time will be after Wight gets a little bit stronger…