REFDL 125
Side Story 2: The Star of Foolish Wishes
As the Sea of Trees stopped advancing and Denos calmed down, Tortan pushed forward with a large-scale national project he had long contemplated.
It was the reclamation of the lands affected by the Sea of Trees.
Since it was the first attempt and had a strong experimental nature, everyone on site remained on high alert.
Contrary to concerns, no major problems had arisen even now, as the sixth reclamation project was already underway.
Little by little, humans took back the lands that had been occupied by the Sea of Trees.
However, this was only possible at the very edges.
Starting from the outlying areas where creatures worthy of being called “monsters” began to appear, danger signs would be reinstalled and access restricted to the public.
Tortan planned to build a new dragon breeding facility on reclaimed land bordering the Sea of Trees.
His vision was to prevent the emergence of a new “Forest Village” while naturally drawing people to the breeding facility, thereby fostering the growth of a new city.
Even the facility itself was a new concept, unlike anything built before.
It was the first-ever attempt at a “open-range dragon breeding facility.”
The idea of raising dragons, which command astronomical prices, in the open drew a barrage of protests from prospective investors. Tortan completely ignored this backlash and excluded them.
Do the investors’ opinions bother you? Then just don’t treat them as “investors.” The nobles were dumbfounded.
“What kind of nonsense is that? What about the business? We’ve already spent the entire budget on controlling the Sea of Trees and land reclamation. We all know that both the imperial treasury and private wealth are hanging by a thread.”
Tortan raised a finger and pointed at the proposer of this venture, and the single most valuable investor, capable of doing the work of a hundred men.
His Majesty Duke Irelion, as majestic as the heavens.
“……Isn’t it inappropriate for His Majesty to address him with such extreme honorifics? After all, His Majesty is His Majesty, and His Excellency is a duke.”
“Even so, shouldn’t we avoid relying too heavily on the duke?”
“The one with the money calls the shots.”
“……”
In any case, Tortan’s plan succeeded exactly as envisioned.
The open-range dragon breeding facility provided a significantly improved living environment for the dragons in many ways.
The dragons, raised without stress, were stronger and more active than others.
Perhaps because the living conditions were so good, they also laid many eggs. The new dragon breeding facility was soon filled with growing baby dragons.
“Haha. It’s a relief that the dragons at least share the parenting duties…”
The keeper, on the verge of exhaustion, gave a wry smile with hollow eyes.
……If this were the 21st century, the atmosphere would have been ripe for a dozen or so strikes.
Not a single dragon escape, the very concern of the investors, had occurred in the three years since operations began.
“If anyone were to escape, it wouldn’t be the dragons but the keepers…”
“……”
In fact, by letting them go into the Sea of Trees to hunt and play, the city’s safety was ensured, and the dragons became even happier.
“I heard the Richmond breeding facility is also moving to the western edge soon. Money is one thing, but moving all those dragons must be no small feat, they’re pretty impressive. They just lacked understanding of dragons, but they had plenty of affection for them.”
As he said this, the keeper stroked an Azura’s chin, then immediately scrunched up his nose.
“In contrast, the other breeding facilities… ugh. They won’t come to their senses until they hit rock bottom.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded vigorously.
Honestly, even this was more than I had hoped for.
Although public perception of dragons within the Empire has begun to shift since Kaelus started paying attention to them, the progress was still minimal.
You could say he’d created an artificial boom using the power of capital.
To be honest, the outlook wasn’t very promising. In a class-based society that lacked even basic awareness of human rights, protecting the rights of dragons was simply too progressive a concept.
Just what you’d expect from a medieval fantasy setting…
As I thought to myself, “Kids these days, tsk tsk,” the keeper suddenly hugged me.
“Aaaah! I’m going crazy! You’re so cute!”
Kyyaa!
“Awwww. All my fatigue just melted away! What kind of good fortune did Your Excellency have to get such a cute and adorable thing as a partner dragon? Did he save a country in a past life?”
……How did he know?
Well, technically, since I was born once in the modern era, it’s actually my life before last…
Just as I was breaking out in a cold sweat, Kaelus, who had gone off to take care of some business, returned.
The moment he arrived and saw me being hugged, a look of displeasure flashed across his expressionless face.
Kaelus, who had walked over with steps that sounded almost like an alarm, snatched me right out of the keeper’s hands!
“Ah!”
Kaelus’s strength and the momentum of his grab pulled at the skin on my head like a cat caught stealing food.
Kaelus hesitated for a moment before quickly releasing his grip. But the gloomy, ominous atmosphere remained.
I quickly reviewed the list of mishaps that had occurred while he was away.
I’d stolen and eaten jerky made for dragons from the breeding facility’s kitchen; when I got caught and tried to run away, I knocked over a basket of fruit; startled, I jumped up and was flung out the window… But the window happened to be closed, so the glass shattered into a thousand pieces.
As I flailed in mid-air, I grabbed a statue of Tortan that had just been moved from the capital, but because I was hanging on with my claws dug in, eight distinct scratches were left on Tortan’s golden face…
[……]
I tucked all four paws in. I curled up into a ball and looked up at Kaelus with the most pitiful eyes I could muster.
“……I thought you were just having fun with someone else. But it turns out you caused trouble too.”
……Ah. So he wasn’t angry because of the trouble?
But now he knew I had caused trouble.
This is what they call a slip-up…
“We’ll talk after we get back.”
Kyu…
As I let my limbs go limp and whined, he finally relaxed his expression and smiled.
“So, are you done here?”
That was exactly what I wanted to ask. I looked at him with that meaning, and Kaelus quietly placed me on his shoulder.
“It feels a bit wasteful to just go back after coming all this way. Shall we head out to the city center together? I hear there are a lot more shops now than when I was here before.”
Kya~
“Yes. Let’s buy some gifts to take home.”
Kya!
“Right. Plenty of them.”
***
That day was no different from any other.
I bought some Pina Candy, a local specialty for the Three Musketeers (it makes you sound like a Pina Dragon when you eat it) – and some high-quality polishing powder for Derick. Then, for Nitan, Donon, the mage Odan… as I bought one item after another for everyone I could think of…
[……?!]
Before I knew it, the pile of things I’d bought had grown into a small hill.
For the record, Kaelus was carrying that hill.
Kya?!
…No!
[Say something!]
“What do you mean?”
[I mean the stuff! There’s way too much. Isn’t it heavy?]
The human snail tilted his head in confusion.
“This?”
[……]
I asked the wrong question. Right…
[It’s… cumbersome.]
Kaelus tilted his head to the side again and tried moving around.
He was light on his feet. He looked like someone carrying nothing at all.
Even if what he was carrying weighed as little as cotton candy, a load that size would usually get in the way, yet his movements were completely unrestricted.
The packaging was so secure that the mountain of luggage clung to his back almost as if it were part of him.
But there was a downside.
Thud! Ouch!
Crash! Aaargh!
People standing next to him were knocked aside by the luggage. It was practically a traffic accident.
[……]
When I stared at him, Kaelus quietly averted his gaze with a sullen expression.
It was a rare moment to see Kaelus embarrassed, but I had no time to enjoy it.
Every time Kaelus turned, the area around him turned into a complete disaster zone.
“Oh no! Oh no! My back!”
“Aaargh! My fruit cart for today’s business!”
“T-those porcelain pieces I barely managed to bring back from the Ilba Archipelago…! I’ll never be able to get them again!”
“……”
……Was this what Kaelus was thinking as he watched me cause all this chaos?
After apologizing to the people and handing out a decent amount of compensation, I grew in size on the spot. The people, who had been staggering about, gasped in awe.
The semi-transparent artifact saddle that Odan had specially crafted for me appeared, and Kaelus deftly climbed onto my back and fastened the straps. Since there was nowhere to secure the luggage, Kaelus had to keep carrying it like a snail.
“Hmm, that’s cute,” that thought crossed my mind as I looked at the glum snail. I tensed my legs and soared into the sky.
The pots hanging from the stalls for sale clattered against each other in the wind. It wasn’t a bad farewell sound.
We headed straight for the capital.
Unlike three years ago, when everything felt unfamiliar no matter where I went, I knew the scenery and terrain like the back of my hand.
Before we realized it, the sun was setting.
The time of day when the passage of time is most visible to the eye.
A mesmerizing twilight passed overhead. The sky was tinged with dusky, multicolored hues.
That was when it happened.
We were looking for a suitable place to land and camp for the night.
Whoosh!
[……?!]
“……!!”
The sky, which had been growing darker, suddenly brightened like the midnight sun. A light so bright it hurt my eyes filled my vision.
I can’t see……
I can’t see a thing……!
Kya!
“Yuram!”
Fortunately, the strange phenomenon didn’t last long. The light that had bathed the entire sky and earth in white soon coalesced into a circle and receded toward the western sky.
Rumble, rumble!
Far away. Very far away.
Clouds flashed, and something like thunder illuminated the vicinity.
The source of the light was an incredibly distant place. Yet the light shot up to the very edge of the sky, illuminating even this spot. My sense of distance was lost.
Kaelus and I belatedly realized that it was a comet. As it passed over us, the light from that comet had illuminated the entire area.
“……We’d better hurry back.”
[Yes. I still have enough stamina.]
It might not be a big deal.
Since this was a fantasy world, perhaps it was not unusual for a comet that size to pass overhead.
But both Kaelus and I had a feeling. That wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.
Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, we couldn’t tell yet.
……It was a harbinger of turmoil.
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