Fleeting
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🕑 Added 2025-04-09 18:25:52 +0000 UTCBear-san Talking to Lize-san
If I defeated the new Ice Dragon, everything would be over.
But I had to fight it.
"So, is that Ice Dragon going to come back?" (Yuna)
If it didn't come back, there was no way for me to defeat it.
"He will surely come back because he wants my power. Also, he will try to get revenge on you." (Ice Dragon)
Well, he was angry at me for using fire magic.
It would be easy to run away, but I didn't want anyone else to be attacked indiscriminately because of me.
"I'm going back..." (Ice Dragon)
I wanted to hear more details, but the Ice Dragon spread her wings and flew off towards the mountaintop.
I turned my eyes to Kagali-san.
"You really like getting yourself into trouble." (Kagali)
Kagali-san looked annoyed.
"I don't particularly like doing this as well." (Yuna)
"You fought the serpent as well as the slime that have nothing to do with you. This time you are about to fight an Ice Dragon." (Kagali)
"It just ended up that way." (Yuna)
"Normally, one would avoid something like that. You're the only one who willingly chooses to fight the Ice Dragon." (Kagali)
"It just happened to be the best option." (Yuna)
"That, I agree, looking at the whole picture, it's the best choice for you to defeat the other Ice Dragon. Everyone will be happy. But it'll only make things difficult for you, and you won't gain anything from doing so." (Kagali)
There was no benefit for me when I fought the serpent, the slime, or even after my fight with the Ice Dragon.
But I was fighting for my own sake.
"It will save my heart." (Yuna)
"Your heart?" (Kagali)
"It was the same with the giant serpent. If I had abandoned Sakura and ran away, the Land of Wa would have been destroyed and Sakura could have died, I would never have been able to forgive myself. Nightmares of me abandoning her and running away would have haunted me forever." (Yuna)
I think I would have regretted it a lot.
The reason that I was able to fight in the first place was because of my Bear Gear.
I had Bear Gear, an artifact given to me by God, so I would have thought there must have been something I could have done.
Of course, if the enemy was too strong for me even with my Bear Gear, I think I would run away. However, that was after at least giving fighting a shot.
"But I might be seen as an idiot who is trying to risk my life for something unrelated." (Yuna)
I was not an idiot who would do such things if I never had a chance.
"But thanks to that idiot's actions, we were saved." (Kagali)
I was being praised, at least, right?
"So, defeating that new Ice Dragon is fine, but what are we going to do next?" (Kagali)
It was fine for us to return for now.
"I suppose we'll have to report the situation to Lize-san and the others first. After that, I'll visit the old Ice Dragon again." (Yuna)
The old Ice Dragon moved away before I could talk to her in detail.
I guess it was because she was worried about the egg and wanted to return back to it quickly, so it couldn't be helped.
I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, and we returned to Lize-san and the others.
"Yuna-san, Kagali-chan" (Lize)
When we returned to the mine, Lize-san and the others came out from the entrance of the mine.
"Are you both okay?" (Lize)
"Yeah, we're fine." (Kagali)
"Sorry for making you worry." (Yuna)
"That's good." (Lize)
"So, what happened?" (Bollard)
I explained the situation to them.
"So the old Ice Dragon is a great Ice Dragon?" (Lize)
"Does that mean the other one was trying to take the throne of the Ice Dragons?" (Bollard)
"She laid an egg, so she's the queen, right?" (Lize)
"It doesn't really matter either way." (Yuna)
I continued the story while the rest were listening.
"And so we decided to help the old Ice Dragon." (Yuna)
Lize-san and the others had complicated expressions when they heard what I said.
"I don't know how you feel about us planning to help the Ice Dragon that froze your family and the town. I know you have mixed feelings but this is the best solution we can think of." (Kagali)
Even though I was the one who made the decision, Kagali-san explained the reasoning on my behalf.
"Also, the new Ice Dragon seems to be hostile towards humans, so if the new Ice Dragon wins, it might start attacking people." (Kagali)
"Could it be that you were thinking that we would want the old Ice Dragon to lose?" (Lize)
"If an Ice Dragon comes to defeat the one that froze your family, won't you support the new Ice Dragon?" (Kagali)
There was a saying that the enemy of your enemy was your friend after all.
Well, I couldn't say either of them would become our long term ally, but I think the old Ice Dragon was the better one among them.
"It would be a lie to say I do not hate the old Ice Dragon. But after three years, I have already realized that the old Ice Dragon did not freeze the town intentionally. It just took up residence in the mountain. And it ended up freezing our town." (Bollard)
"Of course, it's unreasonable, but that's the way the Ice Dragon lives." (Old Man)
"That's why we don't want to kill the old Ice Dragon even though we hate it." (Lize)
Everyone nodded at Lize-san's words.
"If the new Ice Dragon defeats the old Ice Dragon, decides to live here, and tries to kill people, it will be the worst situation." (Lize)
"We were thinking that we could die anytime, but I would like to see the town freed from ice. To achieve that, the old Ice Dragon must win." (Bollard)
"So, if the old Ice Dragon gives birth to a baby and leaves this place, there is nothing more I would be happy about." (Lize)
"So don't worry about it." (Bollard)
"I'll leave the Ice Dragon to Yuna-san and Kagali-chan." (Lize)
Even if they said so, I didn't really know how they felt about this.
But I was grateful for Lize-san and the others' words. It made it easier for me to act.
"Thank you. Well then, I'll definitely protect the old Ice Dragon and defeat the new Ice Dragon." (Yuna)
I asked Lize-san and the others not to leave this place because I didn't know what would happen during the battle. I also told them to hide in the mine if something unusual happened.
Kagali-san and I decided to head to the top of the mountain.
"I guess we'll have to climb the mountain again." (Kagali)
"We don't know when the new Ice Dragon will attack, so we will have to stay close to the old Ice Dragon." (Yuna)
"That's right." (Kagali)
"I also want to know more about the new Ice Dragon." (Yuna)
Information was important.
There was a saying that those who control information control the world.
So, Kagali-san and I, riding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, came to the top of the mountain.
"You are here…" (Ice Dragon)
The old Ice Dragon was sitting in the same place as it was last time we came.
I suppose there was an egg under that body.
"I want to hear about something you mentioned before." (Yuna)
"What do you want to know?" (Ice Dragon)
"Can that new Ice Dragon speak? Or rather, can Ice Dragons speak human language?" (Yuna)
"I'm the only one who can speak." (Ice Dragon)
Was that so?
If that was the case, then communicating with the other Ice Dragons would be useless.
"I've confirmed it myself. Did you run away from that Ice Dragon and come here?" (Yuna)
"That one was waiting for me to lay eggs. I came here simply when I was looking for a place to hide." (Ice Dragon)
For that reason, this town was frozen.
What a nuisance.
But humans were building houses and developing things without caring about the animals, birds, and insects that live in those places, so I couldn't really push that thought out.
"So, do you know when that Ice Dragon will return?" (Yuna)
"It won't let me get away. It'll come here soon." (Ice Dragon)
It was as I had expected.
It was scary because from the perspective of Dragons, "soon" could also mean a year from now.
"Little Human, are you really going to fight?" (Ice Dragon)
"I don't want to fight. But it seems like that one ended up hating me, and it would be a problem if it attacked people indiscriminately if I didn't face it." (Yuna)
That new Ice Dragon would likely attack humans. Because of its hostility towards humans, I had no choice but to fight it.
"Will you fight?" (Yuna)
"Until the egg hatches, I won't be able to leave this place, so I will." (Ice Dragon)
So, she would continue to fight until the baby was born?
Kagali-san and I decided to rest in the Bear House until the new Ice Dragon appeared.
I asked the old Ice Dragon for permission to use the Bear House.
"I don't care." (Ice dragon)
After getting permission, I took out the Bear House and went inside.
"Phew, this house is warm" (Kagali)
"I guess it's cold even though you're using magic?" (Yuna)
"The warmth of magic and the warmth inside the house are different." (Kagali)
I agreed with that thought.
Fireplace, heating air conditioner, oil stove, kotatsu…
It was true, each one had a different warmth, so maybe that was how she felt.
I served Kagali-san the green tea that I bought in the Land of Wa.
"It's hot. But it warms me from the inside." (Kagali)
I prepared my own share and drank it.
It certainly warmed me from the inside.
"Kagali-san, are you sure you don't want to go home?" (Yuna)
I confirmed it again.
"What's this all of a sudden?" (Kagali)
"This event has nothing to do with Kagali-san after all." (Yuna)
"If you say that, then you also have nothing to do with this as well." (Kagali)
"I'm just doing this for self-fulfillment." (Yuna)
My only issue would be the nightmares I might get if I didn't do anything.
Even though I had Bear Gear given to me by God, if I abandoned Lize-san and the others, I would most likely have nightmares about it.
"Then it's the same for me. However, if you say that my presence is a hindrance, I'll leave this to you..." (Kagali)
"That's not true. It'll be helpful if you're with me, Kagali-san." (Yuna)
Not only in terms of knowledge, but also in terms of combat.
"But if you think it's dangerous, run away." (Yuna)
"The same goes for you. If something happens to you, Sakura will be sad." (Kagali)
"Yes." (Yuna)
"Above all, if something happens to you, I won't be able to go back." (Kagali)
Indeed, if something happened to me, Kagali-san wouldn't be able to return.
My life was important to me as well.
Taking it easy and relaxing was my motto.
So I didn't intend to really force myself to fight until the bitter end.
