[You returned to Avalon]
[Your body, burdened with imnse strain, finally found respite as every cell bathed in the warm currents of the Inner Sea of the Planet]
[This place was akin to a paradise]
[Yet, your thoughts still lingered on Britain]
"What a breathtaking sight. When was the last ti Britain looked like that? I must admit, I was captivated too."
[A cheerful, intoxicated voice reached your ears]
[rlin stepped through the endless sea of flowers and approached the last dragon, who lay coiled in the hot spring]
[You opened your dragon eyes and calmly looked at her]
"After all, it's the scenery Albion loved so dearly. The weight of 4.6 billion years is no small matter."
"Hehe, I was quite startled when I first saw that sight. It's impossible for Britain to recreate such a scene now, given its current state of decline.
To recreate it, only a miracle or mystery of equal magnitude could achieve it. At that mont, I realized that in today's Britain, only one person could et that condition."
rlin slowly extended her slender, jade-like finger.
Her pale fingertip touched the dragon's steel scales.
"—Moran, only you, as the Boundary Dragon, could recreate that precious, miraculous scenery."
"Are you worried about ?"
"Well, I don't want you to act recklessly. Though I loved that scenery, performing such a miracle was too reckless."
rlin sat down beside Moran.
The dreamlike woman, as beautiful as a flower, accompanied the majestic dragon.
With the utopia as the backdrop.
The already beautiful scenery beca even more enchanting.
"The world is different now. In the past, you could scorch the earth with just your breath, effortlessly altering the world. But that's no longer possible. Even the gods have had to relinquish the surface. Performing miracles often cos with a price."
"I endured it, didn't I?
I created that scenery because I wanted to. Even now, I have no regrets. Or do you think such a sight wasn't worth it?"
Moran countered rlin.
His resolve could only elicit a wry smile.
"Of course not. It's just that after seeing it, one can't help but feel a sense of loss. To put it another way, when faced with an exceptionally delicious al, wouldn't humans always want to eat it a second ti?"
rlin hugged her knees, her expression nostalgic.
A warm current surged in her heart.
As a succubus, she still rembered this beauty.
In the future, when she absorbed human dreams again.
She would recall the miraculous scenery Moran had shown her, and that intense, warm emotion would fill her chest.
The succubus was grateful to the last dragon for bringing her this miracle.
"Moran, if such a wonderful al can only be enjoyed once, don't you think that's a bit lonely?"
"...You're right."
Moran understood her from a non-human perspective.
Thus, there was no barrier between them.
"I don't like stories that are fleeting. Though they're beautiful, they're too haunting. I prefer stories of love and hope. With these Clairvoyant eyes of mine, I'm certain—Moran, you can bring the story I've been waiting for, a treasure I'll never forget."
rlin's smile was innocent and pure.
Though as a succubus she had no emotions, she adored the things humans created out of sentintality.
Because she lacked them, she yearned for them.
That's why she watched the human world so intently.
"I won't say anything to stop you. That's not my style. I'm an audience mber watching this story. I just hope this beautiful story of yours doesn't end too quickly."
"—That doesn't sound like you."
Moran found it strange.
He knew that rlin, as a succubus, borrowed her emotions.
If she were truly a succubus, she should act more like one—not like a girl worried about soone.
To express her hopes and self so sincerely.
It was so unlike her usual self.
"I won't end so quickly. Even in the face of the world's rejection, I didn't die. Performing a miracle once is nothing. I'll bring forth more in the future.
So, don't look like that...
If it were the rlin I know, shouldn't she be smiling gleefully, watching tornt myself without a care?"
"How cruel! I'm being serious here, Moran. And is that really how you see ?!"
rlin complained.
But seeing her return to her usual self.
The thick, sticky atmosphere that had filled the air dissipated.
Moran felt a sense of relief.
"Haha, of course! Seeing you return to your familiar self puts at ease."
"—Huh? Why would you feel at ease?
Moran, aren't you usually quite cold toward ?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
Moran paused.
As if the words were stuck in his throat.
Looking at rlin, who now leaned against him, this flower-like magus whose true feelings were unclear.
[No matter how much I act recklessly]
[She would always watch and rember the story as an observer]
[Yet, she would also do unnecessary things]
[A non-human being expressing human-like concern, from this half-human, half-succubus—]
[You didn't want to see rlin look worried]
[You wanted to bicker with her cheerfully as usual, maintaining the lighthearted yet sharp alliance]
[Why did I think this way?]
"..."
[You thought of unnecessary things]
[Wait, I can't let my thoughts run wild like this]
[She is a beautiful nightmare, like a flower]
[Because we are both non-human, I can talk to her without reservation, even being sharp with her]
[Being with her is never boring]
[—But, that's all there is to it]
[I can't harbor feelings beyond this]
[She is a heartless nightmare]
[That so-called concern is just her burning dreams to savor a better story]
"...How indecisive. Moran, I've been influenced by you. I've never been so expectant when watching a story before. Perhaps the one who's truly indecisive is ."
"I'm a dragon, you're a succubus. That makes us even... No need to overthink it."
"Mhm, let's leave it at that~"
rlin and Moran didn't dwell on it too much.
Both were non-human phantasmal species.
However, rlin still had no intention of leaving.
Rather than staying in that cold tower.
She chose to feel the steady breathing of the last dragon amidst the sea of flowers.
While gazing at the colorful human world.
Things like reasons weren't sothing this hedonist would ponder.
She simply did what felt pleasurable.
In other words, as a non-human, she wouldn't dwell on unclear emotions.
This was sothing she had never encountered before.
And sothing a succubus shouldn't recognize.
[You rested and slept in Avalon]
[During this ti, rlin watched the surface through her Clairvoyance]
[She relayed the events happening on the surface]
[Several years passed quietly]
[Though for a dragon, it was barely a blink of an eye, for Britain, these years were anything but peaceful]
[Britain experienced great turmoil]
[Vortigern conquered the Picts in the north, bringing the northern part of Britain under his control. For the southern kings and Uther, this was undoubtedly terrible news]
[What was once a three-way balance of power]
[Now had Vortigern devouring one of the factions. His forces included not only the Saxon invaders but also the Picts from the north]
[What followed was predictable]
[Vortigern led his armies to attack, and the southern factions united to resist]
[Countless kings fought against the vicious White Dragon]
[And in one of these countless battles]
[The king hailed as the greatest, Uther Pendragon, was defeated by Vortigern]
[His figure was swallowed by the darkness]
[Afterwards, Vortigern granted land to the Saxons]
[By allowing the Saxons to rest, he temporarily cald the invasion of the foreign tribes]
[Many kings still resisted]
[But they felt despair growing day by day]
[Even the transcendent King Uther had fallen. Who could possibly stand against the ferocious White Dragon?]
[No one knew the answer to that question]
[Battle had long beco a part of daily life. The land, which was never fertile to begin with, now yielded even fewer crops]
[People's lives grew increasingly impoverished]
[It was clear that if things continued this way, Britain would soon fall into self-destruction]
[Fortunately, hope still remained]
"The successor to King Uther has already been chosen. This person will be the next king! The incarnation of the Red Dragon, the new king will gather the Knights of the Round Table, and the White Dragon will ultimately be defeated!"
[Once the court magus of King Uther]
[Naly, the wise rlin]
[She proclaid this prophecy to the kings and knights]
[The knights felt reassured by her words, but they also grew restless, wondering if they might be the chosen one]
[When Vortigern heard this prophecy]
[He began searching for the successor with even more brutal thods]
[You once again returned to the surface]
[This ti, it was to fulfill your promise to Uther, and together with rlin, you brought the child to Londinium]
[Though Londinium, located at the heart of the island, was built as an imperial fortress city, this town was quite ordinary]
[Your destination was a rural residence outside the fortress]
[It was far removed from the lives of the people]
"I understand. Sir Magus, Lord Moran, I swear on my honor as a knight that I will take care of Artoria until she cos of age, raising her to be a worthy knight. This is my duty to King Uther."
"Very well, I leave her in your hands."
Moran spoke with the old knight, Sir Ector.
The heavy atmosphere during the conversation was unsettling.
[Just as the legend of King Arthur began]
[The old knight Sir Ector adopted Artoria as his foster child, hiding the future Red Dragon]
[Fulfilling his duty as a knight]
[Obeying the last wish of his fallen lord]
"Hmm..."
The girl hid behind Moran.
Everything in this new environnt was unfamiliar to her.
Her small hands tightly gripped his black cloak.
Along the way, she had been escorted by Moran and rlin.
[The girl was Artoria]
[At this ti, she was only a five-year-old child, far from understanding everything]
[Though both you and rlin were strangers]
[During the journey, she preferred to stay close to you rather than the mischievous rlin]
[It was as if it ca from a bloodline connection]
[The familiar and warm aura you exuded made her feel safe, like a beacon in the dark mist]
[She couldn't help but want to stay close]
"Artoria, co et Sir Ector. From now on, he'll be the one taking care of you. Say hello."
"Hmm..."
Artoria was nervous.
Like a young chick hiding under the wings of an eagle.
She didn't want to leave Moran's side.
Looking at Ector's stern, unyielding face, coupled with his aura of a strict teacher.
He didn't seem the least bit approachable.
In the eyes of a child, Ector was just a strange old man.
"Well, there's no helping it... Is it because of the dragon bloodline? Albion is the oldest dragon... In a way, it's like the father of all dragons."
rlin wore an amused smile.
Completely detached, as if she were just watching for fun.
She understood Artoria's reaction.
Moran, as Albion, was the last purebred dragon in the world, while Artoria was a mixed-blood Red Dragon.
One word could summarize the situation.
That is, like attracts like.
As the oldest dragon, Moran could even look down on Vortigern from a position of seniority.
Let alone the newly born Red Dragon.
It was only natural for Artoria to feel close to Moran.
"Ector, I told you not to be so stern. See, you've scared the child."
"Hmm..."
Ector montarily looked troubled at rlin's words.
But the expression didn't last long.
Reviews
All reviews (0)