CH 31

Chapter 31: Dragon’s Shrine Maiden

“Uwa, it really is here…… I’ve never seen one this close before.”

Gee, in his white outfit that blends well with the white bushes, mutters in a hushed voice. Behind Gee is Sana, and further behind is Selene, with several elven warriors surrounding her. Both Selene and the still tied up Butler are covered in white cloth, like a Teru Teru Bouzu.1 It seems like this cloth has the effect of erasing the presence of a human (Selene).

Exactly as the reports told Gee, there really is a dragon near the place where Selene was captured, a clearing in the forest with very few trees. It is wandering around the area, sometimes lying down on its belly, seemingly having a lot of free time on its hands.

“Alright, It’s about time we send the shorty out and see its reaction, as planned.” (Gee)

“Hold on a second! Are you really going to sacrifice a girl this young?” (Sana)

Sana opposes Gee’s command.

“It’s too late to say that now. Whatever happens to this human kid doesn’t concern us.”

“Liar. When you lie, it shows on your face.”

“…… Shut it.”

Gee responds rudely, as if embarrassed. Sure, he doesn’t like it when humans enter his people’s territory without permission, but exposing a defenseless young girl to danger is still a little too much. Inside Selene lives an old man’s soul though, so the borderline is kind of hazy. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, for Gee and the other elves, Selene appears as just a innocent little girl.

“At any rate, this shorty is clearly somehow related to dragon. It’s too dangerous to let our people go out and face the dragon. If nothing happens to the girl, then that’s good. If she’s killed, then we lose nothing. Isn’t that so?”

“Un.”

The one who replies to Gee’s ridiculous reasoning is not Sana, but Selene, who has been standing behind them herself. In Selene’s mind, she thinks that this is just her walking to the dragon to be picked up by it, as promised, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. But to Gee, Selene appears unnervingly calm, making him astonished. Even the most seasoned elven warriors would cower in fear before the dragon’s might. 

“Cloth, remove, please.”

“Hey, are you really going? I know I’m the one who told you to go, but, y’know, a dragon is really bad news. Are you really sure?”

“Sure.”

“……Alright then.”

Gee instructs Sana to remove the cloth that has been wrapped around Selene’s body. The elves are skilled at magic, and they can easily conceal their presence within the White Forest, but a young human girl cannot do the same. Taking off the cloth officially means she can no longer hide or flee. Even when her last line of defense is taken away, Selene smiles nonchalantly.

“Bye bye.”

In contrast to the perplexed Gee and Sana, Selene cheerfully waves her hand and walks out of the bush. She doesn’t seem scared or frightened at all, as if the dragon has come to pick her up.

As soon as Selene reveals herself from the bush, the dragon swiftly turns its body and walks up to her.

『You are late! How dare you make me wait! Where exactly have you been!?』

The dragon yells furiously as if fire is going to come out of its mouth. Butler hurriedly rushes out in front of Selene.

『Please hold on for a second red dragon-sama! I can explain!』

『Hmm? A mouse…… Your name is Butler, right? And how will you explain this?』

『Actually, there’s this and that and those happened……』

『I see. So there’s this and that and those happened. 』

Butler tells the dragon everything about how they were captured by the elves and what happens after that. Meanwhile, the elves hiding in the bushes look at the two as if they’re witnessing something incredible.

“I’ve never seen a frickin’ dragon being so well behaved like a pet dog before……” (Gee)

“No way…… is she really talking to that dragon!?”

Both Gee and Sana are completely taken aback. The sight before them is simply unbelievable. The allmighty creature, the absolute powerhouse that is the dragon is sitting in front of a little girl, nodding up and down from time to time. This scene shatters the elves’ common sense.

It’s actually Butler who’s doing the talking though, but since the elves couldn’t hear Butler’s voice, from their perspective, it appears as if Selene is really talking to the dragon.

『In other words, you two were attacked and held captive by the elves. Is that what you’re trying to say?』

『Exactly, red dragon-sama.』

Butler has to explain the situation to the dragon several times before it finally understands it. This dragon is somehow even dumber than Selene. The dragon closes its eyes and takes a deep breath in.

“GAWRRRRRRRRRRRーーー!!!”

The dragon looks up at the sky and lets out a deafening roar, shaking the very sky itself. And at the same time, the dragon sweeps the trees with its tail. The gigantic, several hundred-year-old trees snapped into two like matchsticks.

“All of you elf scumbags! I know that you are here! Stop hiding and show yourselves! Or else I’ll turn this forest into a sea of hellfire!”

The dragon shouts in a voice different from the one it uses to talk with Selene, a voice that even the elves could hear. He appears to be extremely furious, with hot steam gushing out of his nose like a volcano.

“He-, hey! Don’t you think that the dragon looks really pissed off!?” (Sana)

“I don’t really get it either, but it seems like we’re the reason it’s so mad.”

It seems like that human girl is an existence that they, the elves, shouldn’t mess with. Gee clicks his tongue as his brain races, coming up with what to do. The dragon commands them to come out, so they have no choice but to obey. After all, the dragon’s words are almost like an oracle to the elves.

“I’ll go. Sana, you and the others stay here. If anything happens to me…… take care of everyone in my stead.”

“……Eh, b-, but!”

“Please.”

Before Sana could stop him, Gee walked out of the bush. Inside, he is intimidated by the extreme disparity in power, but on the outside, he acts dignifiedly as the clan’s Chief should. He kneels down in front of the dragon, beside Selene, in a posture of obedience.

“Red dragon-sama, my name is Gee, and I am the chief of the elven villages around here. How may I serve you?”

“So you’re the elf’s chief huh. The chief of this generation of elves is quite young, and also quite foolish too.”

“It is exactly as you said, I’m quite young. But as for foolish, may I inquire the meaning of that word?”

“I’ve heard that you planned to kill my precious offering. Nobody but a fool would think of doing such a thing.”

“Precious offering…… are you referring to this human girl?”

“Yes. I will be watching over this girl for a hundred years.”

“A-, a hundred years!? Is that true, red dragon-sama!?”

“That is right. For the sake of my bright future, I have decided to protect her.”

The dragon said exaggeratedly and turned to Selene. Gee’s expression stiffens, and he turns to look at Selene as well, as if to confirm what he has just heard, to which Selene nods in affirmation.

‘Protecting a human for a hundred years…… Isn’t that the same as saying she’ll be protected for the rest of her life!?’

Gee felt cold sweat running down his back as he looked down in front of the red dragon. It is simply impossible for an elf to be protected by a dragon for his/her lifetime, so a human is also out of the question.

Not to mention that it also said that Selene’s existence is necessary for the dragon’s future. Who the hell is this girl really? He doesn’t know her true identity, but there is no doubt that the girl they’ve messed with is an extraordinary person.

Selene, however, is just being Selene, your typical beautiful young girl with a soul of an old man inside. No one will ever learn of that secret, though.

“Now, for both mine and Selene’s sake, it is necessary to punish the elves who brought harm upon her.”

“Red dragon-sama! We elves all worship you! Treating us like that is too……!”

“Quiet! You will pay for your sin of trying to harm my possession with your life!”

Gee looks up, terrified. Even with only a speck of the dragon’s power, it could cause tremendous damage to the elven clan. To the elves, the dragon is like the apostle of divine punishment. And whether knowingly or not, they’ve been disrespectful toward the dragon’s shrine maiden that said dragon favored.

But Gee is the chief first and foremost. There is no way he’ll just stand by and watch his people perish. He ponders again and again on how he can escape this predicament. Gee presses his forehead against the ground, ready to apologize to the bottom of his heart, and thenー

“Don’t.”

A voice suddenly breaks the silence. And the one who spoke is none other than Selene herself, whom the elves had planned to harm her before. The red dragon, unable to understand Selene’s train of thoughts, asks her questioningly.

“These elves planned to murder both you and Butler, no? Are you saying that you will forgive them?”

“Elves, not wrong. Evil person, another.”

And of course, what Selene meant by “evil person” is none other than the debauched prince Milano. It was that guy’s fault in the first place for getting her into this complicated situation by promising her Yuri Paradise (Lily Flower Garden). That prince is the root of all evil. The one she wants eliminated is that guy. The elves are the victims here.

There’s only that in Selene’s head, really. But her words are like a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean to Gee. 

“Red dragon-sama, it is exactly as Selene…… -sama said, we didn’t mean to harm her for no reason. Recently, humans have been invading our territory, stealing our necessary supplies from us.”

“Fumu, so you’re saying that you’ve mistaken Selene as the ‘evil person’ ?”

“We had planned to return Selene-sama after two weeks. If we knew that she was under your protection, we wouldn’t have chosen the violent option. Rather, we’d have welcomed her as if she were our esteemed guest.”

The red dragon goes silent for a few moments after listening to Gee, and eventually opens his mouth slowly.

“I see. Then I shall give you elves an order. After two weeks, you must send her safely back to a human dwelling. Only then shall I overlook this incident.”

“I thank you for your great magnanimity from the bottom of my heart!”

Gee bows his head so earnestly that his face is buried into the ground.

“I think we’re done here. I shall leave now. I have a routine that I must complete.”

“Eh, wai-, ah……!”

Selene was going to say “Eh, wait a second! Aren’t you the one who’s going to send me b……” but before she can finish, the red dragon has already flapped its wings and is slowly increasing its altitude.

“I am busy. You must make sure that you treat her with the utmost care until you send her back, not even a single mosquito bite on her.”

“Yes! As you wish!”

Gee, while still kneeling, replies to the red dragon, who’s about to fly away. And before he knew it, Sana and the others had already come out of the bush and kneeled before the red dragon, as well as Selene, who was the subject of the dragon’s protection.

From the red dragon’s perspective, sending Selene back to the royal capital of Helifalte would have meant a long detour from his usual flying course—a pain in the ass—so it just forces this trouble upon the elves instead. But for the elves, this is the chance to redeem themselves.

“It’s gone……” (Selene)

『It is gone, indeed……』

And so, after seeing off the slowly-flying-away-dragon, the two are escorted back to the village. They’re treated as if they were exquisite glasswork, the complete opposite of the rude treatment just a day before.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Wahaha! Wahhahaha!”

Three days later, Selene’s lying on her back, stark naked, in the hot spring. After they came back to the elven village with the status of “Dragon’s Shrine Maiden”, they were treated with the best hospitality possible. Whether it’s food, clothing, or shelter. They also got permission to bathe in the open-air hot spring during the same purification ceremony.

Selene, naturally, doesn’t like taking baths that much. The thing she enjoys instead is the byproduct. And as is natural for the purification ceremony, she chooses a select few of the most beautiful elven girls to join her in the ceremony, washing her body from head to toe. She sometimes washes them back too. Truly, a paradise.

This is truly what you’d call Yuri Flower Garden indeed, that’s the phrase that comes to Selene’s mind. Selene’s a hybrid fusion monster of an old man and a young girl, defying her worldly desires as she enjoys it without crossing the line. A creature of myths.

“Heaven, heaven~”

Selene, who is now shiny both mentally and physically, is now soaking in the bathtub alone, playing with her jellyfish toy made by filling a hand towel with air. She’s starting to feel that living here might be great as well. However, Arue is still trapped in that royal capital. She couldn’t stay here forever.

But being able to live this lavish life only for two weeks is just too sad. What can she do so that she can stay in this fantastic wonderland for all eternity?

And that’s when a lightbulb popped up inside Selene’s head—a genius idea. How about she asks the dragon to bring Arue-nee here? Arue has magic power, so she can live here, and since she shares the same blood as Selene, she might be able to persuade the dragon somehow.

“Butler, request.”

Selene smiles wickedly as she gets out of the bath and wipes her hair. She’s not very confident in her speaking skills. That’s why she’s going to ask Butler to do the negotiations for her. And then she can celebrate with Arue in this White Forest and build an utopia here, with beautiful elven girls as attendants.

Arue had once said, “We’re sisters, girls can’t marry each other.” However, this is elven land, so humans’ morals don’t apply here.

“Alright!”

Selene lightly slaps both of her cheeks, getting her fighting spirit fired up. She had been thinking about ways to defeat the prince for so long that she couldn’t sleep at night and had to take naps during the day, but now the path to victory without fighting has been revealed to her. 

Selene dresses herself in a white haori prepared by the elves and sits on the glamorous throne adorned in colorful flowers. Sipping a glass of fruit juice in one hand, she dreams of the bright future that’s going to come.

Goodbye, you shitty Prince. You can live your happy live on your own for all I care. Selene is in so much delight that she’s acting like a rich guy flaunting his wealth.

――Two days after Selene had been enjoying her life to the fullest in the elf village, Milano and the party had finally arrived at Helifalte.

Teru Teru Bouzu is a Japanese talisman to bring good weather and wards off rainy days. 1