Chapter 216: Crossing Hundreds of Years
Several days after the expedition to the Dragon Floating Island, Ryu finally appeared within the dungeon beneath the Second Estate.
At that moment, Esther was tending to a patch of medicinal herbs, carefully watering each plant. Completely absorbed in her work, she failed to notice the distortion in space nearby.
Then, without warning—
Ryu appeared right in front of her.
“NUOH!?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin and stumbled backward.
“Don’t just appear out of nowhere, you fool! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Meanwhile, the culprit simply stood there holding a large bag stuffed to bursting with sweets.
“Sorry, sorry.”
He scratched the back of his head and held out the bag.
“Here. I brought back some Hinomaru wagashi as souvenirs.”
Instantly, Esther forgot all about being angry.
Her eyes lit up like a child on a festival day.
“NUHOOOOOO! I was literally just craving some sweets!”
“By the way, every single one of these was paid for by Ryoma. I tried to give him money for them, but he absolutely refused, so I accepted his generosity.”
“Then I shall have to thank him later.”
During the arena incident, Esther had helped keep Ryu calm when emotions threatened to overwhelm him.
Perhaps Ryoma had felt indebted for that.
The man had likely gone from one famous confectionery shop to another, buying enough sweets to fill an entire sack.
It was exactly the sort of thing he would do.
Before sampling even a single sweet, however, Esther had something she needed to ask.
The fact that Ryu had returned alone could only mean one thing.
She looked up cautiously.
“…Did recruiting Munechika fail?”
Ryu immediately shook his head.
“Nope. Huge success.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Including the fact that Munechika is currently enjoying herself all over Hinomaru, I’ve got a lot to tell you.”
And so he explained everything.
The expedition.
The meeting.
The revelation.
The memory restoration.
Everything.
When he finished, Esther sat in stunned silence.
“Who would have thought the trigger for memory restoration was learning one’s true name…”
“Honestly, once someone says it out loud, it sounds pretty plausible.”
“Exactly.”
Esther folded her arms.
“It was so simple that nobody ever considered it.”
She let out a long sigh.
“Well, at least that means I no longer need to develop a medicine capable of restoring memories.”
“That’s right.”
Ryu nodded.
Then his expression became more serious.
“But now that the truth is out, everyone on the Dragon Floating Island knows about it.”
Esther immediately understood the implication.
“Meaning dragons are much more likely to descend to the surface from now on…”
It wasn’t a trivial concern.
If dragons began wandering the continents in search of their true names, chaos would inevitably follow.
Nations throughout the world were already tense because of the looming threat of the Demon King.
Adding dragons to the equation would only create further instability.
And naturally, the Astoria Empire was no exception.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Ryu said.
“So before I left the island, I told the number-two dragon there to send everyone to House Ardren first.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
Esther nodded approvingly.
“Frankly, it’d probably be best to recruit every single dragon into Dragon Road and put collars on them immediately.”
“I agree.”
Ryu laughed.
“I’m thinking of asking Munechika to make clan-exclusive accessories later.”
“And if some arrogant dragon refuses to listen?”
“Then I’ll beat them into submission.”
His smile widened.
“Thoroughly.”
“KAKAKA!”
Esther burst into laughter.
“Now that’s something I’d pay to watch!”
Ryu and the loli elf spent the next while enthusiastically discussing future plans, imagining the dragon community they would eventually build.
◇◇◇
“Waaah, this brings back memories!”
Munechika lifted a hammer from an old workbench.
“I used this one all the time!”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Oh! And this medicine grinder too!”
“Hahaha.”
Ryoma smiled warmly.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
Apparently, Munechika had hidden workshops all throughout Hinomaru during her human lifetime.
Before heading to the Empire, she had insisted on visiting every single one.
Together, she and Ryoma traveled across the country collecting her old belongings.
Blacksmithing tools.
Pharmaceutical equipment.
Books.
Research notes.
Anything worth preserving.
Despite the centuries that had passed, everything remained remarkably intact.
The preservation magic she had cast long ago had done its job perfectly.
Still, Munechika looked somewhat disappointed.
“So in the end, Ryu was the only one who managed to overcome my nasty trap systems, huh?”
“H-Hahaha…”
Ryoma forced a laugh.
(Wait… she scattered those horrifying trap spells all over the place…?)
(The kind of traps that even I wouldn’t be able to get through…?)
“You know,” she continued casually, “I’ve always been terrible at fighting.”
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“But when it comes to trap magic, I honestly don’t think anyone can beat me.”
“Then you can’t use offensive magic either?”
“I can use some!”
She raised a finger proudly.
Then her shoulders slumped.
“But my aim is absolutely terrible.”
A long sigh escaped her lips.
“I’ve never successfully hit an enemy even once.”
Her head drooped miserably.
“Ugh…”
(I see.)
Ryoma observed quietly.
(She’s actually quite expressive.)
(Much more emotional than I expected.)
“Speaking of which,” he said, “I believe Ryu mentioned giving you a Monster Summoning Ring.”
Munechika froze.
Then her eyes widened.
“Oh!”
Understanding flashed across her face.
“If I can’t hit enemies myself, I can just have summoned monsters do it for me!”
She slapped her knee.
“Wow. Ryu really is a genius.”
“H-Hahaha.”
Ryoma laughed awkwardly.
“Indeed.”
Of course, that wasn’t what Ryu had been thinking at all.
It was pure coincidence.
“But if the summons are weak, it’d probably still be more efficient for me to run around swinging a hammer.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Despite her lack of combat talent, she was still a dragon.
Her physical abilities and magical reserves dwarfed those of any monster.
“I suspect Ryu will eventually modify it so you can summon Eastern Dragons made entirely of magical power.”
Munechika nearly dropped the hammer.
“Eastern Dragons!?”
“The wingless dragons that the Hero spoke about!?”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“Wouldn’t that be completely beyond the boundaries of biology?”
“My best friend was able to stand on equal footing with Dragon King Bahamut even when he was still human.”
“Eeeeh…”
And so, little by little, Munechika too began falling victim to the infectious phenomenon known as Ryuism.
“Incidentally, the core used for the ring is Kurikara.”
“I beg your pardon?”
She blinked.
“My precious Kurikara has been modified into some bizarre monstrosity?”
After finishing their collection efforts, the pair returned to Ryoma’s residence in Tosa.
“Oho~.”
Munechika looked around with interest.
“You’ve got a pretty nice house here.”
Ryoma puffed out his chest proudly.
“Well, I’m the foremost retainer of the domain.”
He grinned.
“The trusted blade at Itagaki’s side, no less.”
“The smell of the wood is nostalgic too.”
Munechika inhaled deeply.
“The carpenters of Hinomaru really are amazing.”
“Haha.”
Ryoma nodded.
“On that point, there can be no disagreement.”
Taking a short break, Munechika settled into a chair.
She opened a package of freshly purchased wagashi and popped one into her mouth.
“Mmmmmm.”
Her face instantly brightened.
“Even wagashi has changed over the centuries.”
She took another bite.
“This is incredible.”
“According to Esther,” Ryoma said, “it’s delicious enough to make someone faint.”
“Oh!”
Munechika perked up.
“Esther—that’s the elf who completed my medicine, right?”
“Indeed.”
“You can meet her soon enough if we travel through the dungeon and head to the Empire.”
“I’d love to meet her.”
Then another thought occurred to her.
“And Ryu built a mining facility for me, didn’t he?”
Her eyes shone with excitement.
“Without materials, I can’t make anything.”
She leaned forward eagerly.
“I want to see it as soon as possible.”
A grin spread across her face.
“So what kind of ores does it have?”
Ryoma smirked.
“That’s a surprise for later.”
“Aha!”
She pointed accusingly.
“So that’s how you’re going to be? Being mean, are we?”
She suddenly looped an arm around his neck and began poking his cheek.
“Cheeky little baby dragon. Still acting all grown up.”
To her, Ryoma was her first true friend.
A newly evolved dragon who was still, by dragon standards, little more than a youngster.
Both he and Ryu treated her with affection and familiarity.
And perhaps because of that, she couldn’t help finding them adorable.
Then—
At that exact moment—
Someone emerged from the dungeon portal.
“Ryoma-sama~.”
Alice stepped through carrying a bag filled with Grace-made cookies.
“Would you like to have snacks together today—”
Rustle.
The bag slipped from her fingers.
Cookies scattered across the floor.
The light vanished from her eyes.
Completely.
Utterly.
Terrifyingly.
Then, without a word—
She drew her weapon.
“W-Who’s that woman?”
Her voice was frighteningly calm.
“An affair? Cheating? Was I just a game to you all this time, Ryoma-sama?”
Her smile trembled.
“Tell me. It’s because she’s more mature and attractive, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
A strange, beautiful madness entered her eyes.
“You prefer women with sex appeal.”
She nodded to herself.
“Yes. That must be it.”
Her smile widened further.
“In that case…”
She took a step forward.
“Let’s die together.”
Another step.
“Yes. Let’s die.”
“A-Alice.”
Ryoma immediately raised both hands.
“Calm yourself, de gozaru.”
“What do you mean, ‘de gozaru’?”
Her expression darkened further.
“I bet you say ‘de gozaru’ to other women too.”
“All the time.”
Even Munechika couldn’t help forcing an awkward smile.
“Ummm…”
She scratched her cheek nervously.
“Sorry, but… Did I do something wrong?”