Chapter 38 – Two Thousand Years of Separation, And the Happiness We Have Here and Now—
It feels so good to be home after nearly half a month away.
「Father, I’m home!」
「Bark!」
「Kyu-ru-ru…」
「We are back.」
「We’re back.」
「Hmm, we’re back.」
As the whole family greeted each other and opened the door, the familiar smell of home greeted us.
It’s hard to describe exactly, but it’s a scent that instantly puts my mind at ease.
By the way, Karen, Chocola, and I traveled to the Dragon’s village on the back of Ji Liz, meeting up with Mother. We all rode home together in a carriage pulled by Pochi. It was the quickest way to travel—and we all got to say ‘We’re home’ to father at the same time.
「Uuuu, Shocola, pasture! Play with Pochi!」
「Bark!」
Mint, full of boundless energy, dragged Chocola outside again. Soon, I could hear Pochi’s joyful purr from the stable out back.
「Mother, I’ll get the bath ready right away. You should go in first. Karen and I already had a feast at Noah’s house.」
Though that was three days ago…
「Oh, really? That would be great. The Dragon’s village was nice, but the baths… We could only wash in mountain streams.」
It’s been over ten days for her now.
In this world, having a bath every day is a rare luxury. On the road, we often can’t even manage a proper wash, just wiping ourselves down with wet towels. Soap is common enough to keep us somewhat clean, but nothing beats the feeling of a proper bath—especially our home’s bath, with its cheat-level shampoo and body soap.
「Chocola, be ready tonight.」
I thought I heard a distant yelp of protest…
Anyway, back to the task at hand.
Heated the bath up, took turns in the bath, washed our clothes, cooked dinner, and ate together.
Chocola, despite his resistance, ended up covered in bubbles. Before rinsing, he shook himself off, soaking us in the process, but we managed to turn his coarse, tangled fur into soft, fluffy silk.
After Mint fell asleep like a little bud, we gathered in the living room for tea and conversation.
「Mother, you seem a bit unsatisfied with just tea. You weren’t drinking too much at the Dragon’s village, were you?」
「Of course not.」
「Really? Are you sure? Not even a little fib?」
「…No, it’s just that they had just finished preparing some milk liquor. We had to open an old batch, so… it couldn’t be helped.」
「I see, it couldn’t be helped, huh. But try to take it easy for a while, okay?」
「Yes…」
Now then…
With a clearing of my throat, I shifted gears and spoke up.
「We haven’t heard from the two of them in Ejetia for the past three days. That means no word from the Elven Nation of Alfheim either.」
I had already shared everything that had happened in Athenak with mother. And of course, we had asked Ji Liz plenty of questions before returning here.
This was just to confirm the facts.
「Whatever the Elven Nation is planning, we can put that aside for now. In fact, their silence is working in our favor—it gives us time to gather our cards.」
And now, onto our next steps.
「…It was a huge help that Ji Liz’s knowledge gave us a lead.」
As I said that, both mother and Karen let out heavy sighs.
「The ‘Demon King’… huh.」
「Yeah. The traits matched with the rare existence we fought.」
The Dragon’s lore speaks of a time long ago when a similar ‘creature’ existed.
It was a creature that dissolved the crucible crystals growing on its body, transforming into a calamity in the shape of a living thing. It rampaged without purpose—or maybe it never had a purpose at all—wreaking havoc upon the world.
This being was called the ‘Demon King’.
But after laying waste to the planet, the Demon King was eventually defeated.
By whom, no one knows. Neither the memory nor the records of the Dragon hold the answer. It’s only told as an ancient fable— ‘something that happened long, long ago’.
「In Athenak, they called the rare existences ‘Demon King’ as well. This means the appearance of these creatures has been happening since the ancient times mentioned in the Dragon’s lore.」
For now, we’ll set aside questions like why this information never made it into the world or why there are no sightings recorded.
To unravel the mysteries of history, we must trace it back to the beginning—
The root of everything, the very start of the story.
One key point in the Dragon’s lore is that their long history, stretching back before recorded human history, experiences a break. A period of severance, where much of what should have been passed down was lost or became vague.
That happened two thousand years ago, marking the start of human history.
「I believe the ‘Demon King’ appeared more than two thousand years ago. And the ones who defeated it… were Four Seasons-san and the others—the transmigrators from Japan.」
That was when the world as it was before—was rewritten by Four Seasons-san’s grand magic.
「If the dragons forgot, then that means information was lost during the world’s alteration. And in my dreams, I’ve caught glimpses of the past of those Japanese people. They said… ‘We saved the world.’」
——We’ve been here for fifteen years now, in this world of ▇▇, and we’re already considered heroes.
——I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve saved this world of ▇▇.
Kinoue, the founder of Quioy, laughed as he spoke to his sister, Color-san.
Their image is still burned into my memory.
There were ten of them at first.
By the end, only six remained.
The one that left the strongest impression on me was Watanuki.
She was the woman who tearfully embraced Color-san—most likely the ancestor of Athenak’s people.
I can’t help but wonder.
What happened over the last two thousand years?
What did they bear? What did they hold onto?
What did they go through, what did they build?
What did they gain—and what did they lose—that led Watanuki’s descendants to abandon their village and their duty?
Watanuki, Color-san’s dearest friend.
She must know how it all began.
「I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.」
As I stroked Chocola’s back, I made a promise to mother and Karen.
「I’m going to try to check out Four Seasons-san’s and Color-san’s memories again. To uncover the forgotten records of the world from two thousand years ago. If I can do that, I believe everything will become clear.」
Leave a Reply