Chapter 157 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (9) (1/2)

“That miso soup thing was really delicious, Wera!”

“You’ve been talking about breakfast for a while, Azui.”

In the shaking car, two small dragons with brown hair and two horns were chatting happily.

Their hair, which had regained its luster after a bath, swayed freely, and they wore T-shirts that had been handed down from Aoi and Saeki, making them look like they were in their early elementary school years.

She’s not wearing any clothes on the lower half of her body, which made her look a bit risqué, but thanks to the waistband, nothing was set free.

She seemed to be very impressed by her first human meal, and her eyes sparkled as she ate more without hesitation.

It was very funny to see her eat so much food in this form, and all the adults, including Yuri, who was struck her adorableness, encouraged her to eat this and that, and she ate it all.

Dragons eat a lot, after all. Aoi didn’t eat so much, so maybe it’s a difference in tribes. Rouge also eats a lot. I wonder if all earth dragons are gluttons.

“Hmm, Shouhei and Yuri-san’s food is really delicious.”

“Kyu?”

The little bear tilted her head as she watched Rouge nod deeply over and over again.

Rouge was wearing a tight checkered shirt and jeans, an outdoorsy style.

I guess she’s expecting to move around in the mountains.

Those are the jeans I bought her the other day, aren’t they?

The structure of clothes for a species with tails and wings is more complicated, so Rouge, who has a long tail, couldn’t wear them even if I gave her my hand-me-downs.

I was able to manage four or five pieces of clothing on my allowance, and Rouge didn’t have many clothes to go out in, so it was a necessary expense.

…Don’t tell Aoi or Rouge that I have to put up with a lot for a few months. I don’t want them to be troubled by it.

I’ll have to find a part-time job.

I don’t care if it’s close to home, but if it’s available, I’d prefer a part-time job that pays more.

I’m confident in my physical strength, so I don’t mind doing hard work, but this is the countryside. There are seasonal agricultural jobs, but there are very few jobs available for high school students.

Even if you can find one, you have to go to the station in front of the station, which is a 40-minute bus ride away, or to a more prosperous town about an hour’s train ride away.

Hmm. I should try asking Gasara and the others about the idea I’ve been thinking about for a while.

“Is this place okay?”

As I was grumbling in the passenger seat, the driver, Officer Inoue, stopped the car.

Officer Doggy, who was hungover, and my father, who had probably had too much to drink, stayed back.

The only person who didn’t drink to take care of Officer Doggy was Officer Inoue, who offered to drive us.

He didn’t want to let us go alone as minors in the first place.

Aoi and Rouge? Well, they’ve both been alive for more than 200 years, but they’re both children in appearance and mental age.

I guess they’re under the protection of the adults.

“Azui, Wera. Are we close?”

“Here, here, Jaja, Nana. It’s a big mountain.”

“Dah?”

“Ah?”

Jaja and Nana were in the baby seat for twins in the back seat, and Aoi was sitting next to them, pointing out the window.

In the back seat, Rouge was holding the baby bear, while Wera and Azui were side by side.

I really wanted to get a baby seat for the baby bear, but unfortunately, we only had enough for the twins.

So I had Rouge fasten her seatbelt tightly and secured her and the baby bear with a baby sling.

Officer Inoue, a police officer, will be driving. I’m sure he won’t tolerate even the slightest infraction.

I heard that as long as the number of people in the car doesn’t exceed the limit, you were exempted from the obligation to install a baby seat if it couldn’t be helped. I didn’t know that.

“Um, um, yes. This is probably the closest place to where the beastmen live…”

Azui pressed her face against the window and squinted at the mountain.

Well, you don’t seem very confident, do you?

“Hey, hey, are you sure?”

“We’ve never seen the mountain from the road. That’s where the mushrooms are, and that’s the river… Un, I’m sure of it.”

The calm Wera quickly followed up the uneasy Azui.

“Then, I’ll explain the situation to the people at the house we passed on the way here and ask them to let me park there. I’ll be back, so get off here and wait for me.”

“Okay. Aoi, I’ll take Jaja, can you hand me the sling?”

“Okay. Nana will go with Mommy, okay?”

“Da?”

We hurriedly got ready and got out of the car.

We watched the car slowly make a U-turn and began to prepare to enter the mountain.

With Azui and Wera assisting me, I put on the sling, holding Jaja. It was easy, but surprisingly, Jaja didn’t like it.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a baby sky dragon. Come to think of it.”

“Even the earth dragons rarely see babies. It’s natural. The last baby I saw was Azui, you know?”

“I-I’m kind of embarrassed about that.”

Azui, who was tying the straps on my back, squished Jaja’s foot.

Wera was working on the front part of Jaja’s tail, putting it in the hole for her tail.

“Jaja, say thank you to your sisters, okay?”

“Mmmm, yaya.”

Jaja lowered her eyebrows and shook her head, like her buttocks were getting itchy or something.

Apparently, the princess is not in the mood for that right now.

“Have you ever met any of the other sky dragons?”

In Aoi’s chest, Nana was completely surrendering herself to Aoi with a relaxed face. You spoiled brat.

“Before the world collision, there were quite a few of them. They told us where to feed from the sky, told us that beastmen were nearby, and came to rest before the storm. We were separated from the herd by the commotion, so we don’t know what’s going on in our home now.”

“We’re weak dragons, you see. The first human we saw was scary, so we’ve been running from place to place ever since.”

I guess dragons help each other. It’s surprising.

The three dragons I’ve met are Aoi, Rouge and Yule.

I’m not blind of my own shortcomings, but I don’t think any of them are very good at communicating with others.

That reminds me, Aoi and Rouge have known each other for a long time, haven’t they?

“Hmm. By the way, my mother was also very close with Aunt Ruby, the Earth Dragon King.”

“I heard that they had a big fight once before and then they became friends.”

A big fight between the Earth Dragon King and the Sky Dragon King, what a big nuisance that would be.

If you were caught in it, you could easily die.

I imagined the earth splitting open and spewing magma, and the sky filled with whirling storms and lightning strikes.

In the middle of the scenery that looked like the end of the world, Yule with her wings spread wide and the vaguely silhouetted Earth Dragon King were facing each other.

Wow, scary.

“After the Sky Dragon and the Earth Dragon… the only ones I haven’t met are the Sea Dragon and the Dragon Princess?”

I remembered what the Rat Sage, Alba Germain, had once told me.

There are three tribes: the Earth Dragons, the Sky Dragons, and the Sea Dragons.

The Dragon King of the Earth sunk the earth, the Dragon King of the Sky appeased the sky, and the Dragon King of the Sea purified the sea.

Finally, the Dragon Princess joined everything together…?

“I’ve never met a sea dragon before either, though my mother seemed to know one.”

Aoi responded while stroking Nana, who was relaxing with her head resting on her chest.

“Hmm. I’ve only met them once. A messenger from the Sea Dragon tribe came to the village of Earth Dragon to visit my mother. I greeted them then. The overland journey was very hard on them, my mother took them home. I heard that the sea dragons don’t come up from the sea very often.”

Rouge closed her eyes and tried to remember, tickling the little bear with her fingers as she moved her arms and legs happily in the sling.

That’s because they’re creatures that live in the sea.

I heard that the earth dragons are located in a place where humans and beastmen can’t enter, and it’s probably a long way from the sea. It must be quite difficult to walk there.

“I don’t really like… the sea dragons.”

“They talk in a difficult way just because they’re a little bit smart.”

Azui made a disgusted face, and Wera bitterly smiled.

That doesn’t sound like a good match for me, either.

If anything, Mikuma is only rather knowledgeable in her hobbies, so she’s totally fine, but I just can’t get into a conversation with someone who can study.

It’s just the backwardness and prejudice of an idiot, though.

“The Sky Dragons are free and uninhibited, while the Earth Dragons are laid-back and love peace and quiet. In the same way, the Sea Dragon is a dragon species that likes knowledge and seeks change. I’ve heard this from my mother.”

“Hmm. It seems like we’ll be able to see them when we go to the Sphere Continent, so I’m kind of excited.”

Now that you mention, the departure date for the Sphere Continent that I promised Prince Atol. It’s in three days, right?

My dad, who took a lot of time off for the Tsuk Crag incident, can’t take any more time off work, so he’ll be staying home, but the whole family will be there except for him.

In any case, Shouhei is looking forward to it the most.

I’ve heard that in this day and age, many people go their whole lives without ever going on an overseas trip.

Even though I can’t make it public, I’m being invited as a guest by Prince Atol and the others, but we’re not leaving Japan with Japanese approval, so we’re technically leaving the country illegally.

That’s why I made sure to tell Shouhei, who was itching to show off to everyone at school, to keep it to himself.

My little brother, who doesn’t brag much, must be really looking forward to it.

I wondered if it would be a diplomatic problem if I moved too fast and was found out.

We were always walking a tightrope as a family. I feel like we’re hiding more and more things every day.

Mikuma was originally planning to go to the Sphere Continent for a family trip that was separate from ours.