Fleeting
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🕑 Added 2025-03-31 17:31:06 +0000 UTCBear-san, Retracing Steps
"So, where are you planning to put that gate?" (Kagali)
While I was thinking, Kagali-san asked me.
"Well, I'd like to put it somewhere that's not conspicuous." (Yuna)
"Considering the power of the Ice Dragon, and we don't know what might happen to the town, it would be better to put it somewhere far from the town." (Kagali)
I agreed with that.
And since it would be troublesome if Bende-san, the fisherman, found the Bear Transfer Gate while he went to catch fish, we decided to go to the opposite side of the sea where Bende-san usually travelled to catch fish.
While I was looking around for a good place to set up the Bear Transfer Gate, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried loudly, "Kuuuuun!"
"What happened? Are there monsters around?" (Kagali)
Kagali-san shouted, based on the way Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear cried.
I immediately used my detection skill.
"Ice Dragon" responded to my detection skill.
But the direction was not from the top of the mountain.
It was coming from the sea.
I turned my eyes to the sea where there was a reaction.
"Kagali-san, look over there." (Yuna)
I pointed to the sky.
At the tip of where my finger was pointed was a creature flapping its large wings and moving towards us.
"Is that an Ice Dragon?" (Kagali)
"Kagali-san, I'm going back." (Yuna)
"What are you planning to do when you go back?" (Kagali)
"I don't know. I hope the new Ice Dragon doesn't do anything. There's always a chance of something going wrong." (Yuna)
Optimistically, it could be the partner of the Ice Dragon on the mountaintop. It might have just come to check the baby Ice Dragon. If it also leaves after the baby was born, there would be no problem.
However, if it changed its mind and the two of them decided to live there, who knew what would happen next.
"I'll just check on something. Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, hurry back." (Yuna)
""Kuuun""
"You're too nice." (Kagali)
I knew that myself, but I couldn't just go back and tell myself, "Another Ice Dragon has come. Let's ignore it and go home."
I was naturally worried about what would happen next, so I couldn't relax.
I couldn't go home until I understood the situation.
Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, carrying Kagali-san and I, headed back the way we came.
"Looks like we can't relax." (Yuna)
Fast.
The detection skill showed that the dragon was directly above.
"Is that another Ice Dragon?" (Kagali)
Kagali-san was looking toward the top of the mountain.
Another Ice dragon was flying in from the top of the mountain.
It was heading straight for the Ice Dragon that came from the sea.
A greeting?
Did it come to pick the other up?
The two Ice Dragons made contact. They started circling each other.
"Are they fighting?" (Kagali)
It was too far away to see, but something like cold air was coming out of their mouths.
It looked like they're attacking by pointing their feet at each other.
"What's going on!?" (Kagali)
I was as confused as Kagali-san.
I wanted someone to explain what was going on.
But there was no one to explain what exactly was going on.
All I could do now was head to where Lize-san and the others were.
Kagali-san and I returned to the mine.
Lize-san and her father, Bollard-san, were there.
"Yuna-san, what's wrong?" (Lize)
They were surprised to see us back, even though we've only just parted ways.
"Did you forget something?" (Lize)
It seemed like they hadn't noticed.
"Look up." (Lize)
I pointed in the direction of the Ice Dragons.
Lize-san looked at where I was pointing.
"...Two Ice Dragons?" (Lize)
"What's going on?" (Bollard)
Lize-san and Bollard-san were surprised to see the Ice Dragons in the sky.
"Where are the others?" (Yuna)
"We're off work today, so everyone's in the mine." (Bollard)
Good.
Baran-san had not yet gone out to catch fish.
"I'll let everyone know." (Bollard)
Bollard-san ran off to the hut where everyone was staying.
"Yuna-san, what's going on?" (Lize)
"I don't know. We were about to leave when an Ice Dragon appeared from the sea and started fighting the Ice Dragon on the mountaintop." (Lize)
They were not just messing around, were they?
I doubt spitting ice at each other was how Ice Dragons greeted each other when they met.
Everyone came out of the hut.
"The girls are really back." (Old Man)
"Is it true that a new Ice Dragon has appeared?" (Baran)
Everyone gathered and looked up.
"Two Ice Dragons..." (Old Man)
"Are they fighting?" (Baran)
It certainly did look like they were.
"Have any other Ice Dragons appeared before?" (Yuna)
"I don't think so." (Bollard)
"I've never seen one either." (Lize)
"Basically, we hide when we see an Ice Dragon, so we don't really know." (Bollard)
If they hid inside the mines, they couldn't see what was going on outside.
It was quite possible that the other dragon might have appeared in the past, but Lize-san and the others didn't notice.
"Also, we've only seen one Ice Dragon at a time, but it could have been a different one."
It was possible that the one they saw before was different from the one in the mountain as well. That was quite possible.
After all, I didn't think it was easy for them to tell if it was a different dragon.
It would be different if two dragons had some distinctive features, but it's the same as when you looked at wolves, they all looked the same.
"Seriously, what on earth is going on?" (Bollard)
Everyone was overcome with a sense of urgency.
They thought the Ice Dragon would leave soon, but a new one appeared, and if it won the territorial dispute and continued to live here, nothing would change. There was no hope.
One of the Ice Dragons turned around and attacked the other one on its wing.
It was too far away to tell which was which.
The Ice Dragon that was attacked on the wing looked like it would fall, but it recovered, flew into the air, and began to circle.
"Kagali-san, do you know which one is which?" (Yuna)
"I can't tell at this distance, of course." (Kagali)
The Ice Dragons continued to fight.
"But why are the Ice Dragons fighting each other?" (Yuna)
"Maybe the Ice Dragons don't get along?" (Kagali)
"Or is it a territorial dispute like animals often do?" (Yuna)
"But please don't do that here." (Kagali)
Animals fought over territory.
Humans also fought over territory.
But honestly…
"If you're going to fight over territory, do it somewhere else." (Yuna)
"Yeah. If a battle like this were to take place in the Land of Wa, it would have been a real headache. I feel bad for Lize and the others, but I'm glad this is not happening in my country." (Kagali)
That couldn't be helped. No one wanted monsters to come to the country or town they lived in.
"Well, in exchange, the Land of Wa accepted the giant serpent." (Yuna)
"It wasn't something we wanted to accept." (Kagali)
Kagali-san said with an unpleasant look on her face, but if it wasn't a man-made disaster, we could only think it was bad luck.
There was no way to control the actions of the monsters, so we had no choice but to give up and deal with it.
And we had to do what we could.
At first, the battle seemed even, but slowly one side began to gain the upper hand.
The tail of one of the Ice Dragons slammed down on the other Ice Dragon.
The slammed Ice Dragon fell to the ground.
"Looks like it's going to fall in the town!?" (Yuna)
Fortunately, Ice Dragon didn't fall in town but nearby.
But the other Ice Dragon chased after it.
"At this rate the town..." (Yuna)
Everything would be torn to pieces.
Buildings and people too...
"Hugging Bear!" (Yuna)
"You, are you really going to interrupt their battle?" (Kagali)
I called out Hugging Bear's name, but Kagali-san stopped me.
"If they keep fighting like this, the town might be destroyed." (Yuna)
"You will be dealing with two Ice Dragons." (Kagali)
"Yeah, in the worst-case scenario, I might have to fight both." (Yuna)
I'd like to say I would just be fighting one, but I didn't think the Ice Dragon guarding the egg was an ally.
It was the Ice Dragon that froze the town and Lize-san's family.
But it said it would leave once the egg hatched and the baby was born.
I didn't know what the new Ice Dragon's purpose was.
It might just defeat the Ice Dragon at the top of the mountain and stay here.
The best thing would be for the new Ice Dragon to defeat the one at the top of the mountain and leave.
The worst thing would be for it to take up residence here in place of the one that laid the egg.
If that was the case, it would be best for the new Ice Dragon to be defeated and for the Ice Dragon at the top to leave.
The worst thing would be that their actions weren't a territorial dispute, but rather the Ice Dragons' way of greeting, and that they actually got along well, resulting in two Ice Dragons settling down together.
That was not an Ice Dragon's way of greeting, right?
They're fighting, right?
"...I suppose I'll go too." (Kagali)
"If Lize-san and the others think it's dangerous, please hide in the mine." (Yuna)
"Yuna-san, are you sure you want to go? It's dangerous." (Lize)
"But if things continued like this, the town could end up in a disaster." (Yuna)
I didn't want to see the frozen people shatter.
I didn't want to see Lize-san and the others sad.
"But if something happens to you two…" (Lize)
"That's right. You don't have to go that far for us." (Bollard)
"We can just accept this as fate and give up." (Lize)
"Don't give up." (Yuna)
"That's right. If you give up, it's over. You can entrust your fate to this strangely dressed bear lady. She may be dressed strangely, but she has the power to change people's destinies." (Kagali)
"...Kagali-chan." (Lize)
"Even if we fail, it won't really worsen the situation. Nothing will change. Since that is the case, just wait and pray that things will change for the better, even if only a little." (Kagali)
Kagali-san was right.
Things wouldn't get better if we didn't do anything.
If the Ice Dragon guarding the egg won, the status quo would remain. If it lost, who knows what would happen.
Furthermore, if the battle dragged on, who knew what would happen to the town.
There's a chance that things would get better if we go. At worst, it could become a three-way battle.
Well, in the end, we wouldn't know until we went there.
Kagali-san and I rode Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear and headed to where the Ice Dragon fell.
"Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, hurry!" (Yuna)
""Kuuun!""
Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear replied and ran at top speed.
If they were going to fight, please do it somewhere else.
Please consider the inconvenience it caused to other people.
And that was not all.
I wanted them to lay their eggs somewhere else where there were no people.
