Free Web NovelAfter sending the others off first, Varen and I headed for Drunkard's tent.
We had to fly quickly while carrying a magical creature sealed inside a tank, so special preparations were necessary.
Naturally, Drunkard was the one handling those preparations. It bothered me that Maril was afraid of him, but there was no real alternative.
Still, I assumed he was not in there threatening her to make rain this time, so I went in feeling somewhat lighter.
But the moment I saw Drunkard and Maril at the very back of the tent, standing over a huge magic circle, I was left speechless.
"Kyaaah! Kyaah, you crazy old man! Stop, stop!!"
"Hm, well, hic, it definitely doesn't leak."
"I'm going to kill you! I'll kil... kyaaaah!!"
With a flick of Drunkard's hand, the tank floating in midair was spinning in circles. He rocked it from side to side, then flipped it upside down entirely.
Apparently the waterproofing magic had worked perfectly. Not a single drop of water leaked from the overturned tank.
But Maril, trapped inside it, kept slamming against the glass walls and screaming as she was tossed this way and that.
Only after I told him to stop did Drunkard obediently lower Maril back to the floor.
"Uuugh... urk..."
Apparently dizzy, Maril even started dry heaving. At the sight of her, Drunkard laughed heartily.
"Kuhaha! If you throw up in there, hic! You'll only make it harder on yourself, nghk!"
Maril glared at Drunkard, who kept hiccuping at the end of every sentence. Her red hair waved through the water, giving off a vivid crimson glow.
The moment I saw she was using mana, I hurriedly stepped back. But Drunkard showed no reaction at all and merely tipped the bottle in his hand straight into his mouth.
"Grr! Why doesn't it work? Why! Old man, what are you?!"
Maril's voice rang out thunderously. Varen quickly pulled me into his arms and shielded me from the shock.
And once again, Drunkard remained unaffected. He pulled out a new bottle, cracked it open, and gave an enormous yawn.
"Hwaaaam, I'm getting sleepy. The preparations are done, hic, so handle the rest yourselves."
Drunkard tossed me one final piece of cloth that had fallen onto the floor. It was made of the same material as the curtain that had once partitioned off Maril's tank.
After waving vaguely in farewell, Drunkard shuffled over to the corner of the tent. The instant he lay down on the old mattress spread on the floor, he began snoring like thunder.
Only after the glow faded from Maril's hair did I approach the tank. I knelt on one knee and met her eyes.
"Maril, are you ready to go to the sea?"
I did my best to put on the gentlest expression I could for the child of the sea spirit. Maril, who had been huffing in fury, softened almost immediately.
"You're really taking me there this time, right?"
"Yes, don't worry. You haven't forgotten our promise either, have you, Maril?"
"If you take me to the sea, I'll let you meet my father."
After confirming the promise in that brief exchange, I smiled.
At once, Varen, who apparently could not wait even that long, snatched the cloth from my hand. Then he covered Maril's tank with it.
Whatever kind of magic had been worked into it, the wide cloth wrapped snugly around the rectangular tank without leaving a single gap. The instant it covered the tank, Maril's voice was cut off completely.
When I looked up at him with a frown, Varen turned his eyes away as if he knew nothing.
"If we keep this over it, she'll stay quiet. If you're still worried, there's always the option of knocking her out and taking her that way."
"Just try it."
Lately I had been thinking he had grown much more mature, but that was childish beyond belief.
How was someone like that planning to negotiate with the sea spirit? I was already worried before we had even departed.
***
Margon and I, both now experienced at flying, rode the wind more steadily than before.
And every so often, I pulled back the cloth to check on Maril's condition.
"Ugh, traveling by air... primitive firewood."
"Hmph, weak fish stink."
Every time I did, the two magical creatures bickered and hurled insults at each other.
But despite his rough words, Varen was unexpectedly attentive to Maril's condition.
For Maril's sake, since she was not used to flying, he never pushed the speed too high, and he stopped several times so we could rest.
If we had flown without stopping, we could have reached the sea in a single day, but because we took it slowly, night had fallen before we knew it. We decided to spend the night in a suitably remote forest.
The moment he set his things down, Margon tore into the packed meal we had brought and then flopped over. Apparently the dirt ground did not bother him in the slightest, because he began snoring without even a single blanket over him.
We had tried to be considerate toward the sea-dwelling magical creature in our own way, but Maril was just as exhausted. She fell asleep inside the cozy tank, breathing softly.
A short distance away, Varen lit a small campfire. Then he naturally patted his thigh.
"Come here, Ceryl. You must be tired. It's time to sleep."
I glanced at the sleeping Margon, then walked over to Varen.
By now, the dragon's chest was more comfortable and cozy than most beds, and I leaned my back against it and settled into his arms.
Varen wrapped both arms around me. Then, smiling in satisfaction, he pressed kiss after kiss to my head.
That kind of affection still made me flustered and awkward. I could not even bring myself to respond, but Varen did not stop kissing me.
In the end, I turned my head and looked him in the face. As though he had been waiting for that, our lips met, and sweet saliva flowed into my mouth.
It was a kiss that washed away the exhaustion of the day. I sucked on the dragon's tongue as it swam through my mouth and swallowed with a gulp.
After the brief but deep kiss ended, Varen pulled his face back. His eyes, dripping with tenderness, slowly searched every corner of my face.
A light laugh escaped me, and I relaxed a little more into his arms.
"Varen, aren't you enjoying this a little too much?"
"Yes, I am. This is our first kiss today."
"Well... both of us were busy today."
We had both spent the day in chaos, so there had been very little time for just the two of us.
I laid my hand over the one Varen had wrapped around my waist. Stroking the back of the hand Sarco had bitten had become a habit over the past few days.
Varen quietly felt my touch, then this time kissed my cheek. Without taking his lips away, he whispered,
"Ceryl, are you nervous?"
That soft whisper stirred up the weakness I had buried deep inside.
But for some reason, I was terribly afraid of being honest with Varen.
I ran my fingers over the back of his hand and stared silently at the campfire. Only after steadying my restless feelings did I answer with a light smile.
"Of course I'm nervous. You said the sea spirit is terrifying."
"..."
"I'm curious what kind of being it is too. And I'm worried whether you'll really be able to talk to it properly."
I made my words playful on purpose, but Varen only tightened the arms around me. Then he stared at me without answering.
Under that gaze demanding the truth, I awkwardly looked away. It was pointless. A dragon could smell lies.
In the end, pressed without a single word, I confessed the truth to Varen.
"Ha... honestly, I am a little worried. About going to meet a family I can't even remember."
More than meeting the sea spirit, the thing making me tense was the visit to the Aylos family.
Even when I tried to forget it, the moment the thought surfaced again, it made my breathing catch. My heart pounded with anxiety.
At my confession, Varen lifted the hand clasped with mine and kissed each of my fingers in turn. That ticklish touch made the resolve I had barely held together melt away helplessly.
"You don't need to be afraid. I'm by your side."
"That's true, but..."
My voice trailed off quietly.
The warmth of his lips every time they touched me, the uneven beat of the dragon's heart sounding from behind my back.
Every sensation felt vividly alive throughout my whole body. And yet I kept feeling a strange sense of dissonance, as if my body were not really my own.
Ordin had said that the soul of the original Ceryl still remained inside this body.
Was that why? Merely making the decision to go to the Aylos family gave me the illusion that the original owner of this body was beginning to wake.
"...I'm scared, Varen."
The truth slipped out at last, forcing its way through my tightly constricted throat.
Just as I had taken over Ceryl's body without any effort, I was afraid it could be taken from me just as senselessly.
What if the original Ceryl's soul really did awaken? What if I returned to the world I originally came from?
The questions that had tormented me all day rose again.
At the sound of my trembling voice, Varen tightened his arms around me and pulled me closer.
"Ceryl, our future is already decided. We will be married with everyone's blessing, and as mates we will be happy."
He had probably meant it to comfort me, but instead it filled me with even greater unease. I wanted to ask him right then and there.
Varen, in the future you saw, is it really me?
I swallowed the words that had risen all the way to the tip of my tongue and gave him a bitter smile instead.
Varen simply held me gently when I could not answer. With his lips against my cheek, he whispered his love.
"I love you, Ceryl. The only being I love is you."
There had been a time when hearing those words always felt burdensome.
But somehow, as if he had noticed exactly what I needed, Varen gave me precisely the words I had wanted to hear.
Resting my forehead against the nape of his neck, I breathed in his scent deeply. The reassuring smell calmed the erratic pounding of my heart.
