Interlude: The “Blue-Purple” of the Floating Island 

The Floating Island of the Dragons drifted far above a remote sea, more distant from civilization than any other place in the world.

Beneath the island, massive thunderclouds constantly churned and collided, forming an endless storm barrier. From the ocean below, the island could never be seen by mortal eyes.

Furthermore, it floated at an altitude so impossibly high that even dragons could not reach it through ordinary flight.

It was a true phantom sanctuary—

A hidden realm accessible only to the Dragonkind themselves.

As for its size…

Perhaps around one-tenth the size of Hinomaru.

To begin with, there were fewer than a hundred Dragonkind in existence. And since they required neither food nor sleep in the same way lesser beings did, all they truly needed was enough space to live peacefully alongside their kin.

For over twenty to thirty thousand years, the island had remained wrapped in tranquil stillness.

A timeless paradise untouched by conflict.

But recently—

That peace had come to an abrupt end.

───For the king of the island had finally returned after a long absence.

“It has been some time, my brethren.”

“DRAGON KING!!!”

“BAHAMUT-SAMA!!!”

“We have awaited your return with all our hearts!!!”

Up to this point, everything was normal.

In fact, Bahamut returned once every few centuries or so, and for beings who existed on an eternal timescale, this reunion was merely another familiar scene repeated countless times throughout history.

…The true problem began afterward.

“You mean to say… we were once human⁉”

“Those crawling insects upon the earth?!”

“Dragonkind are the evolved form of humanity…?”

“H-Hahaha… Dragon King, your jokes are as sharp as ever.”

However, Bahamut calmly explained.

On the surface, he had encountered a human possessing an extraordinarily powerful soul—

A human who stood on the verge of evolving into a dragon.

He also shared the countless revelations he had learned during his time below.

…For example, the fact that evolution demanded memories as a sacrifice.

To Dragonkind, the Dragon King was a being more sacred than anything else in existence.

And when Bahamut spoke seriously—

None of them dared doubt him.

───The result was catastrophic.

“To be honest, I’d always been a little curious whenever the Dragon King occasionally took human form in the past~”

“Hm, hm. This human body is not unpleasant at all.”

“The decline in physical power and magical precision is significant, but the advantages more than compensate for it.”

“As expected of our pre-evolved selves. These bodies feel surprisingly natural.”

“At this rate, perhaps we should remodel the city itself for human-sized living.”

“Agreed. Research would be considerably more efficient this way.”

Once upon a time, taking the form of a frail, insignificant human had been considered utterly disgraceful among Dragonkind.

Now?

Practically everyone spent their days in human form.

The city itself was even being reconstructed to accommodate human-sized living spaces.

For beings with endless time and limitless ability, such renovations were little more than a casual pastime.

And soon, another trend emerged.

When fighting in human form, their physical abilities and magical output were automatically suppressed.

Which meant—

They could spar without accidentally destroying the island.

As a result, matches disguised as “friendly tests of strength” began taking place daily.

For Dragonkind, whose only previous hobbies had consisted of research and sunbathing, this discovery became perhaps the greatest entertainment they had ever known.

Nearly every dragon living on the island had once been an extraordinary genius among geniuses during their human lives—

Individuals who had transcended mortal limits long ago.

Now that they had returned to humanoid forms once more, their combat abilities began growing at astonishing rates.

Today as well, matches were being held in the arena at the center of the island.

Two Dragonkind emerged from the exit corridor afterward.

“Haaah… Haaah… Ever since the Dragon King returned, every single day has been fun.”

“I wonder if Bahamut-sama will ever fight too?”

“Idiot. Even if all of us attacked together at full power, he’d kill us instantly.”

“R-Right… Ahahaha…”

“Oh yeah, speaking of which, I haven’t seen ‘the Blue-Purple One’ lately. You know anything?”

“Nope~. That girl’s weird, after all. She’s probably built another little shack somewhere at the edge of the island and is quietly living there again.”

“Well, she’s the weakest among us. That’s probably for the best.”

“A dragon who can’t fight… in a way, that’s kind of impressive.”

In truth, there existed exactly one dragon on the island who knew absolutely nothing about combat.

Dragonkind possessed overwhelmingly strong affection toward their own kind, so nobody directly bullied her.

However—

They still mocked her eccentricity behind her back.

Dragon names were generally simplistic, so based on her body color, she had come to be known merely as—

“The Blue-Purple One.”

And just as they had guessed—

“She” currently lived quietly in a small cottage built near the edge of the island.

“Another beautiful day. The fruit trees are growing nicely too… Alright, next time I’m bored, maybe I’ll fly down to one of those uninhabited islands and borrow some more delicious-looking fruit trees.”

Her long blue-violet hair swayed gently in the wind as she walked back into her cabin.

Despite the peacefulness of her life, however—

She carried a certain dissatisfaction within her heart.

“Haah… I want more knowledge. Honestly, the books about the surface world that the Dragon King wrote for us just aren’t enough anymore.”

Unlike the others, she could not fight.

But in exchange—

She possessed an intellect surpassing every other dragon on the island.

And more than anything else, she hungered endlessly for knowledge of the surface world.

(Agriculture, magic theory, engineering, pharmacology, alchemy, blacksmithing, art, human politics and economics, history, law… There’s just so much I want to learn…)

Sitting quietly upon a modest wooden chair, she gazed out at the scenery beyond her window.

Her true name was—

Sanjō Kokaji Munechika.

The great benefactor who had indirectly saved both Ryu and Ryoma.