NOVEL WEB Chapter 111 - Nostalgia
Nostalgia
We’d left the city where the guild was located! I hadn’t been outside the city since… that time Epink had tried to kidnap me. And back then, I’d been mostly inside Gil-san’s cloak, and the situation had been… stressful. I hadn’t had time to enjoy the scenery!
“This is good. Gil, you said your name was? You can fly with Meg on your back, right?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
As Gil-san said this, he retrieved a familiar basket and cloth from subspace…! Stork, part two!
“Don’t tell me you’re putting Meg in that basket…?”
“Yeah, she doesn’t have the strength to hold on. I can block the wind, but preventing her from falling is another matter. That requires riding skills.”
That’s right. I definitely didn’t have any riding skills. I’ll obediently be the baby stork? It was actually quite comfortable. I even fell asleep last time!
“Kron! That sight is incredibly adorable!”
“Zahariash-sama, I assume you’ll be carrying me and… the Fiery Ring Lion-san?”
“Nuu, don’t interrupt me, Kron! But you’re right.”
Ah, the Demon King is as hopeless as ever. Overprotective father mode activated. Kron-san, with her blunt, emotionless manner, seemed cold at first glance, but maybe she was the only one who could keep this Demon King in check.
“Gahaha, Nika’s fine, Kron-dono.”
“Then Nika-san it is. Do you have riding skills?”
“I often give rides. I’m fine with being the one ridden too.”
“I see, Zahariash-sama.”
So Nika-san also transforms into a lion? I wanted to see that. And it was only natural that he was fine with being ridden too. I’d work on building up my strength so I could graduate from stork status. Though I wasn’t sure when that would be.
“H-Hold on. I’m trying to control my emotions.”
“Ah, you’re fantasizing, aren’t you? You need to build up a resistance for when you actually see it.”
Demon King-san, please, be careful! You’re about to turn into a pervert. I took a step back. Gil-san grabbed my shoulder.
“It can’t be helped! I have no resistance to small children! It’s this feeling… how it both soothes and excites me…”
Well, he was the Demon King, and he lived in a castle full of demons, so that’s to be expected. Just how desperate was he for this kind of healing? Okay, okay, let’s calm down.
And so, after the Demon King’s episode subsided, they finally transformed. I wasn’t surprised by Gil-san’s beast form, because I’d seen it before, but he was still so cool! And fluffy! And the Demon King—
“Whoaaaa!”
A dragon! A dragon! Of course I’d never seen one in real life, so I was completely stunned! Well, I hadn’t actually seen the Shadow Eagle either, but I knew what birds looked like.
But in my imagination, dragons had wings, which wasn’t the case here. This was a serpentine dragon. Its scales, an incredibly deep blue, almost black, shimmered in the sunlight. It had a divine aura that made me afraid to even approach. Is this what kingly dignity feels like? All thoughts of him being “hopeless” vanished!
『Meg, get in the basket.』
“Okii.”
Gil-san called out, as I was staring at the dragon, mesmerized, and I obediently did as I was told. I sat down in the basket, placed in the center of a large cloth. Kron-san then gathered the four corners of the cloth and tied them together tightly. It seemed like she’d even enchanted it, so I couldn’t unravel it with magic.
“Thank you, Kron-shan.”
“I-It’s nothing.”
When I thanked her, she gave me what must have been a smile. She’s still awkward, but that’s what’s so good about her. I leaned out of the basket and smiled back.
『Guhaaa…!』
“W-Whoa, hold still, Demon King!”
Oh, I’d unintentionally caused some trouble. Nika-san was surprisingly capable, not falling off, even though he was practically riding a violent rodeo bull.
“His riding skills seem to be adequate.”
See? Even Kron-san looks relieved. Calm down, Demon King-san!
Even in dragon form, he’s hopeless.
And so, off we went, into the sky! It was a comfortable ride. This was my second time, so I wasn’t scared. And my trust in Gil-san had grown immensely! This time, I even had the composure to stand up inside the basket, grab onto the cloth, and look outside. I’d asked Gil-san for permission, of course. He’s overprotective, so I knew he’d be worried.
“It’s sho beautiful…”
Seeing this, I realized, once again, that I was in another world.
The sky was blue, the clouds fluffy. There was a single moon, and the trees were lush and green.
But there was something different. The occasional roar of monsters, the flashes of light from magic spells. And the faint lights of countless spirits.
It was precisely because the scenery was so similar to Earth that the subtle differences stood out, making me realize how different this world truly was.
『Master? Are you lonely?』
Shou-chan, maybe sensing my feelings, suddenly appeared and asked this in a worried tone.
Lonely, huh? Maybe I was. But it was probably nostalgia. Everyone misses their home when they’re away, right? That must be it. I just have to think of it as if I’d married into a faraway land and would never return home. Well, my body had changed, so those feelings were probably stronger. Yeah, that must be it.
But you know?
“This world is my home now. There are sho many kind people, and Shou-chan and the others, who are all on my side. I’m not lonely.”
『I’m glad! I’m not lonely anymore either, now that I’m friends with Master! 』
I gently stroked Shou-chan, who was happily flying around.
I’m happy. I think I’m happy. I’d been unconditionally accepted from the start, and I was living comfortably, without any hardship, without any major injuries.
Dad must have had a hard time. He must have been depressed, troubled, and in pain. And so, he’d gathered friends, created a place to belong, all on his own, after so many years. And it was because of that place that I was able to find a place to belong too.
Dad will always be my dad. I wanted to close the gap between us, the time we’d been apart, as quickly as possible. It might sadden him to hear that Megu was gone. He might even be angry. But I wanted to tell him, that feeling was overwhelming.
“I wonder what the High Elf old man wants to do with me.”
Even if I was there, I had no intention of becoming a god, so it would be pointless. Or maybe my mere existence is enough? I wonder what they’ll make me do. I hoped he’d just back down. I was naive for even thinking that.
But I couldn’t help but to want to resolve this as quickly as possible, to tell Dad everything.