Chapter 44

VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 11: Dragon-san Loses Her Mind Part 2

I went to the storeroom, but unfortunately it was locked.

No problem –– I unlocked it with magic and entered inside, closing it behind me.

I let the girl go there, finally realizing that taking her away like that may not have been the smartest decision to do.

Right, I brought her here, but what to do now?

In the first place, I thought that this whole situation was rather awkward, but maybe it’s not so bad after all?

Maybe Nectar was just overreacting, and maybe if push comes to shove I could just lie my way out of this situation by simply saying ‘Who is this guy?’.

…… Hmm? Hey, that might be a nice idea after all.

But wait, right now we are basically two strangers behind the closed door.

No matter how you look at it, this is clearly a crime here!!

I must resolve this situation and do it fast, or else it might end up really nasty!

While I was struggling internally, the fox-eared girl sat down on the floor, and was looking at me with both tension and awe, her eyes glittering and her tail wagging in excitement. She then bowed down to me.

「It is the highest honor that both Heaven and Earth allowed us to finally meet, oh Dragon God. My name is Amagi Mikoto, and I am but a shrine maiden in the land to the East. Being granted an audience with you brings me joy and it is an honor for me.」

T H I S I S T O T A L L Y B E Y O N D M E ! ! !

Mikoto-chan was speaking in a very polite manner and acted like she was meeting someone really important. I cautiously crouched down and looked at her.

「Umm, yeah. Look, for now, could you just raise your head?」

I spoke to her in the Eastern language that one of my friends taught me, and Mikoto raised her head in surprise, but then she almost immediately lowered it again.

「No, please let me stay just like this.」

「It would be hard to talk, so raise your face. Please.」

When I pleaded yet again, Mikoto finally raised her head, although I could see she was feeling rather conflicted about this.

Her face was really pretty and I wanted to see it again.

Her face looked just like a sculpture or the face of a doll, full of warm beauty and refined elegance.

Above all, the golden fox-ears at the top of her head were a true sight to behold, but it seems that it would be better not to stare too much, so I wouldn’t scare her.

「I’m so happy that I can freely speak with someone in a language of my country.」

「To be perfectly honest, I am still learning it, so it leaves much to be desired. Please let me know if there is anything you don’t understand about my words.」

「…… Umm, some of the words are a little bit off, but it’s enough for me to understand them.」

Said Mikoto-chan, and then she turned silent.

It was certainly the first time I was speaking that language, but I could very well understand that this girl was very polite.

「Can I ask you something?」

「Anything that you want.」

「How did you realize I was different?」

「Since I am a shrine maiden in my home country, it is my duty to listen to the words of the gods and convey them onto the people. There, I once heard the stories about a certain Dragon being passed down throughout the Heavenly Realm. Therefore I consider you to be a form of divinity in itself, since you managed to get the attention of gods themselves.」

「Umm, I’m sorry. Could you please elaborate a bit more about that?」

So, is it possible to serve the gods by means of channeling your own magical power, or is it simply a trait that is unique to shrine maidens?

However, even if Mikoto-chan was trying to explain it as easily as she could, her words were still difficult for me to understand.

Not to mention that the concept of ‘Eight Million Gods’ sounded just like a shady group of demons in my book.

The East countries seemed to have a high concentration of magical power as a whole, so it must be a place where demons and spirits are born quite easily, although that wouldn’t be possible without getting close to the leyline first.

And because of the abundance of demons, people out there grew quite adept at both fighting and detecting them.

It may be truly troublesome, but over time some of the people came to regard those demons as guardian spirits or gods, beings that protect their environment and their everyday lives.

That is to say, on occasion there would also be friendly demons and monsters, that instead of causing harm would teach them means to defend themselves against monstrosities, for a sheer price of being left alone.

…… It makes me so jelou –– Cough, cough. It’s a wonderful effort, one in which you can sense the sweat and blood of your ancestors hard work. I was afraid that it might turn out to be something nasty, but it’s incredible instead. I am truly jelous of those monsters.

I want to go and visit the East.

In other words, a ‘shrine maiden’ is a sort of a bridge that serves to connect the world of humans with the world of the demons. So it is probably from them that she heard about me, that ‘Heavenly Dragon’. In that case.

Her magical capabilities must be extraordinary, since she could see through my disguise and is able to communicate with the spirits like that.

I just hope that her ‘gods’ are not making her do anything bad or something that would bring harm to her or her fellow people.

As I thought about that, I held out my hand towards her.

「Umm, Mi-san, is that alright with you?」

「It is, but I would rather if you called me Mikoto. Thank you for your concern, but too much familiarity may turn troublesome for you like that.」

It seems that Mikoto understands well enough that being overly familiar with someone of a lot higher social standing could be dangerous, as she lowered her head in an apologetic manner.

As expected, she must have lots of experience with dealing with demons.

「Okay then, Mikoto, listen up. Right now, I am living amongst humans. So can I ask you to keep my identity a secret?」

「You, you’re living amongst humans in this world?」

Mikoto opened her eyes widely, as if couldn’t possibly believe what she heard just now. Her triangular ears were also standing in surprise.

「Is it because of some important mission that you must carry out?」

「No, it is nothing of the sort. I just sometimes feel like taking a vacation in the human world. But nobody else knows that I am a Dragon. You understand that?」

「However, I learned in class that you are a dragon that appeared to aid this country in its time of need: the Black Flame Dragon. The people of this town also hold you, the ‘Dragon-san’ in very high regard. They also say that you got wed to a human and made a child with him. Is that also true?」

「Umm, I guess that this country’s people sure like to talk, huh?」

Since Mikoto was asking so seriously, maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad after all.

Otherwise she may misunderstand something, and that would let only to further misconceptions on her part.

「So you see, I am the ‘Dragon-san’ and Aru is my child.」

「This means…… Heavens, and I was acting so overly familiar and disrespectful towards him!」

In an instant, Mikoto’s expression went pal as she hung down her head.

Then she even managed to hit the floor with her forehead, and that was the moment when even I started to panic.

Aah, I now remember that Nectar used to act in a similar manner when we first met.

「Wai, it’s fine, it’s fine! Aru was brought up just like any other child would, so there is no need for you to react like that!」

「B, but……」

Just as I thought, it must have been painful, seeing just how red her forehead was. Her eyes filled with tears, I opened my mouth once again, hoping that this time my feelings might get through to her.

「It is true tha I am very famous in this country. And if that information gets out, it will be even further than this country alone. The only thing we want is to leave peacefully, at least until Aru graduates from the Academy. That is why I would like you to keep quiet about it.」

「…… Why, you say you trust me, a person you have met for the first time around? Since you are a creature of great power, couldn’t you just wipe my memory clean?」

She wondered about that while smiling ever so bitterly.

Well, not that it didn’t cross my mind, though.

「Aru-kun holds you in very high regard. He always mentions you in equal amount as El-kun and Iori-kun. Like how nice you are, or that you gave him a snack, or just how fluffy your tail is.」

I didn’t wanted to mention the tail part, but judging from her reaction it must have touched a soft spot.

Her cheeks were flushed red and she was wagging her tail happily.

「Really, did he really complimented my tail?」

「He sure did. He also says that you are his favorite senpai. So, as my son’s favorite senpai, I want to have faith in you.」

Still blushing, Mikoto-chan blinked a few times before eventually nodding her head silently.

「I understand. I shall offer both my body and my soul to be of use to you, then. I know that a mere human like me may not be enough to satisfy you, but I shall do everything in my power to protect your secret, even at the cost my very own life.」

Mikto’s facial expression brims with determination. Wow, it’s serious. Like, super serious.

But, once in a while should be okay, right?

I let out a sigh, switched to an Eastern dialect and reached out my hand while saying:

「Well then, from now on I am a Rank 5 Hunter at Hunters Guild. You can call me Noct.」

「Dragon……」

「That is not allowed.」

「But, wouldn’t that basically be a profanation?」

「No, I assure you it will be not.」

Apparently she was unaccustomed to this word, but when I gave her a nod of approval she tried to do her best at calling me in that casual manner.

「Noct, sama.」

Well, that’s something I can get behind.

Mikoto stood up, and then gently placed her hands on top of her uniform in the waist area, bowing down just a little bit.

「My name is Amagi Mikoto, and I am a first year student at the Signos Academy’s Magical course, Middle School Division.」

「Umu, thanks in advance.」

I wanted to have a longer conversation with Mikoto, but I was growing fairly concerned about how Aru was doing.

Speaking of which, this Marca girl was the one who was a friend of Aru’s and was supposed to be Kyle’s grandchild, right?

It would add up perfectly, sice she called Elvie ‘Big Brother’ as well.

However, it was Elvie’s expression that he made upon seeing Marca that really bothered me.

It was almost as if he really wanted to see her, but at the same time did not want to see her.

Although the situation was rather clumsy here, I was also worried about how things were back at the clubroom.