Chapter 255: Crystal of Recorded Memories
At first, the footage showed Yato in hER dragon form, but when she was little, she had been incredibly cute.
It seemed she only had two modes: crying or laughing. Just when you thought she was laughing, she would start crying, and when you thought she was crying, she would laugh. That’s exactly what was recorded.
The second crystal showed Yato in human form.
She clung tightly to her mother, Tia, looking far more shy than her current cheerful and outgoing self would suggest.
I wanted to see how she became so lively over time, but the viewing session ended halfway through the second crystal.
Even though she had offered to show it, it seemed far too embarrassing for her—she snatched the crystal back with a bright red face.
“E-Enough! I can’t stand to watch any more!”
“You were extremely cute as a child too. Don’t you think so, Sato-san?”
“Of course. I’d love to see how Yato grew to be so energetic.”
“Absolutely not! I didn’t think it would be this embarrassing!”
Growling in a threatening way, Yato had chased both me and Sheila out of her room.
The recorded memory crystals had been fascinating, and I truly wanted to see more—but since she didn’t want us to, there was nothing we could do.
Having nowhere else to go, Sheila and I reluctantly returned to the spot where we had been chatting earlier.
On the way back, I noticed Tia walking toward us.
“Oh! Sato-san! You came to visit?”
“Tia-san, long time no see. I wanted to see Yato-san’s hometown, so I came to visit.”
“Is that so? I’m so glad you thought of that and actually came. Thank you for getting along with Yato.”
I was pleased that she remembered my name, but more than that, my eyes were drawn to her face.
She looked exactly the same as in the footage we had just seen—showing no sign of age at all.
I knew she was beautiful to begin with, and I had considered that dragons might age differently than humans, but the Yato in the footage had been clearly very young.
Even allowing for slower aging compared to humans, Tia still looked far too youthful.
“…Hmm? You’re staring off. Is something the matter?”
“Oh, no. I was just thinking about how youthful you look, Tia-san, and got a bit lost in thought.”
“Oh! Sato-san, what a sweet thing to say! But no reward comes from such flattery, you know?”
“It’s not flattery. I just saw footage of Yato as a child, and you haven’t changed at all since then. I was surprised.”
“…You’re right. I really haven’t changed from the old footage.”
“Hehe! Thank you for the kind words! It’s just that being a dragon, changes are harder to see. But I’m so happy, I’ll really go all out tonight! You’re staying over, right?”
“Yes. I plan to rely on your hospitality today, but please don’t worry too much.”
“No, no! You hosted me last time, so this time I’ll take care of you. Alright, see you later!”
With that, Tia skipped away, cheerful as ever.
Even her actions were adorable.
Sheila and I chatted while waiting for dinner, and when Yato came to call us, we went to the dining hall together as if nothing had happened.
Though her demeanor was normal, I could sense a silent warning from her not to bring up the footage, so we talked about other things on the way.
In the dining hall, not only Tia was there, but also Kurikara, radiating her usual overwhelming presence.
As I was seated, Kurikara spoke first.
“Long time no see, Sato.”
“Kurikara-san, it’s good to see you again. I’m glad to see you’re well.”
“I am the Dragon King. Of course I am. But why have you come today? …Prepared to take Yato for yourself—ugh!”
Kurukara, arms crossed and radiating immense aura, suddenly received a punch from Tia sitting next to her.
Tia didn’t break her smile, but the power behind the punch was so great that her smile was terrifying in its own right.
“You—didn’t we agree not to say unnecessary things? …Ah, never mind. Let’s just eat!”
“Ha ha ha! Father’s an idiot!”
Hearing Yato laugh joyfully, Sheila and I couldn’t help but grin too.
Kurikara spent a moment writhing in pain, but when the meal began, he ignored it and started eating.
Yato, as usual, complained about the food in the Edelgius Mountains being bad—but the taste was fairly ordinary.
Not exactly delicious, but we were able to enjoy the meal together.