The test of strength in the 【Village Guardian Ritual】 ended with a match between Selene and me. Honestly, the scene looked just like our usual sparring sessions.
Watching the lively Selene, Sere-san looked incredibly happy.
「W-well… anyway, the 【Village Guardian Ritual】 ends here. There is something the two of you must do next.」
「Something we must do?」
「Yes. As the 【Betrothal Ritual】, you must catch a dragonfish living in the lake. This is a ceremony performed during village betrothals. It is a vow never to let your partner go hungry in life.」
「Understood. Then I will catch one quickly.」
I took off with flight magic. The villagers began buzzing excitedly.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
◇Selene side◇
「Selene…」
As I stared at Yuuki-san flying away with magic, Mother had come beside me without me noticing.
「Ah, Mother. What is it?」
「I am sorry, Selene. Mother misunderstood.」
「Eh? What is wrong all of a sudden?」
「Mother thought you were bound by a slave contract because you called him master.」
Mother looked apologetic.
「Ah, ahaha. True, I did become a slave a few times to cross borders, but falling in love was my own choice. After the talks with the Demon King-sama, the slave contract was canceled, and I worked normally. And I fell for him much earlier. The day I was almost forced to fight a land dragon, he fought in my place, saved me, and slammed money down to buy me from the owner. Of course I would fall for him!」
I spoke rapidly without thinking. When I looked at Mother, she wore a surprised face.
「I see… Selene has always been a quiet child, but Mother never knew you had that side.」
「All of it started after meeting Yuuki-san. Meeting kind people, having unusual experiences… and falling in love with someone…」
「Then Mother must thank Kaminagi-san. For letting me see my daughter’s smile like this.」
Mother showed a radiant smile, the first since returning to the village.
「But Father will probably be sad.」
「It will be fine. If anything happens, I will give him a good whack.」
Mother flexed her arm.
「Ahaha. In moderation…」
「「「「「Uooooooooh!?」」」」」
A sudden loud shout made me turn. There, descending, was Yuuki-san carrying a huge fish on his shoulder, in a form I had never seen.
「What is that…」
「Selene… Mother wonders if I can get along with Kaminagi-san…」
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「All right… 『——Appraisal』」
I cast Appraisal on the entire lake. It turned out the huge fish I saw this morning was the dragonfish. Or rather, at a glance, there seemed to be only one?
－－－－－－－－－－－
Name: Lake Lord Gender: ♂ Age: 5 years
Notes: Large dragonfish that devoured the other dragonfish.
－－－－－－－－－－－
「Whoa… Anyway, let us catch it. 『Magic Armor——Aži Dahāka!』」
Magical horns grew, dragon wings and a dragon tail appeared.
「Aim carefully… now!」
I dove from the air like a kingfisher, piercing the dragonfish’s head with a magic spear.
I hauled it out of the water. It thrashed a little but soon stopped moving.
「Good. This should be fine.」
I flew back to the square with flight magic. As I approached, screams and cries of surprise rose.
「「「「「Uooooooooh!?」」」」」
「Wow… quite the cheer…」
When I landed in the square, people watched from a distance.
「Yuuki-san!」「Kaminagi-sama!」
Selene and Liliana ran over.
「Sorry to keep you waiting. Is this okay?」
「Is it not too big?」
「Yes, it is huge.」
Both stared at the dragonfish.
「Hmm… but the characteristics match.」
「I checked with Appraisal too. It came up as 『Lake Lord』.」
「「Appraisal?」」
「Ah, did I not explain? I can use a magic called 『Appraisal』. It tells me names, abilities, and all sorts of things.」
「Names… ah, like with Shia-san.」
「That is how you saw through my health too… just as Father said…」
「Well, anyway. It showed up as the lord and apparently devoured the other dragonfish. At this size, everyone should be satisfied, right?」
「Yes. This big, we can all eat together!」
「I am jealous… For my wedding, I want something from Kaminagi-sama too…」
「Fine… but go easy on me.」
「Understood! I will think within reasonable limits!」
Liliana danced joyfully under her hood. She looked happy, which was good.
「So, Selene. What do we do next?」
「What should we do? Elder～!」
The elder approached, trembling badly.
「I-is that form Kaminagi-sama?」
「Ah, sorry. I forgot to release it.」
When I dispelled it, the elder let out a relieved breath.
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