Homecoming

 

A fire dragon's parent is a fire dragon.

—A proverb of the Scarlet Clan, meaning a child's temperament takes after its parents

 

"Absolutely not!"

"Ehhh, why nooot?"

Chryse whined in protest as Nina shot her down without a moment's hesitation.

"Why? Isn't it obvious? It's far too dangerous."

"We're just going to visit Dad's mom, you know?"

The situation was simple enough.

I was planning a trip home to visit my mother. Chryse wanted to tag along. And Nina was opposing it… or rather, categorically forbidding it.

"Dad…"

"Hmm."

Chryse turned to me, eyes pleading for backup, but honestly, I was torn myself.

"She's my mother, so I think it would be fine, but…"

"See! Dad says it's fine!"

"And there you go being irresponsible again…!"

When I tried throwing Chryse a lifeline, Nina bared her fangs at me as though she'd bite. Not that I could blame her.

"This thing's parent means a fire dragon, you realize. The Incarnation of Ruin, the Avatar of Destruction, She Who Burns All to Ash, Death Given Form, the strongest creature in the entire world!"

What a collection of grandiose epithets, I thought, as though it were someone else's problem. But a fully matured fire dragon absolutely lived up to every one of those names.

"But Dad's a fire dragon too, right?"

Nina let out a groan at Chryse's straightforward counterattack.

"Well, yes, but… he's special! There's no way the world has that many weird fire dragons running around!"

"Have you ever actually seen a fire dragon other than Dad, Miss Nina?"

That return blow took all the wind out of Nina's sails.

"I… haven't, but…"

"That said, it really is dangerous. That part's true."

"Geez! Whose side are you on, Dad!?"

When I stepped in to back up the floundering Nina, Chryse puffed out her cheeks.

"I'm not on anyone's side. I'm just stating facts."

I soothed her, then let my thoughts drift to my mother. It had been centuries since I'd last seen her, but she was still my mother.

"I don't know what a typical fire dragon's temperament is like, but my mother is a very easygoing, gentle dragon. I doubt she has anything against humans or elves."

"How would you know that? Have you ever asked her?"

I shook my head at Nina.

"To a fire dragon, humans and elves are utterly insignificant. Would you feel anger or hatred toward an insect that doesn't sting or bite?"

"… But she might kill one without a second thought if she happened to spot it."

Yes, exactly right.

"That's honestly what scares me the most. She sees us, goes 'Oh my, you've got something funny attached to you,' sends a blast of fire our way without meaning any harm, and Chryse is charcoal in an instant."

Chryse, who had been looking smug thinking I was on her side, froze up in an instant.

"If it's that dangerous, why aren't you stopping Chryse?"

As if something had just clicked, Nina met my eyes.

"Put it the other way around, and if we can just get past that first encounter, I don't think there's much danger after that. If, for example, I go ahead alone and explain the situation first, I doubt she'd attack. And besides…"

I hesitated briefly over whether to say it, then did.

"I do want to introduce my family to her."

At that, Nina's eyes shot upward as if in anger. She pressed her lips into a tight frown, clenched her jaw, furrowed her brows, squeezed her eyes shut, and trembled—

"Rrrrgh…"

— then balled her fists. All at once, the tension drained from her body, and she let out a long, deep sigh.

"… Fine. Chryse, you can go with him."

As Chryse threw her hands up with a cheer, Nina fixed her with a piercing look.

"On one condition… I'm coming too. That's the deal."

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"Oh my, my, my!"

To skip straight to the conclusion:

"What adorable children! Oh my, oh my, at my age I'm already a grandmother!"

Nina's worries had been entirely unfounded.

Just to be safe, I had left Nina and Chryse at the base of the mountain before going up to see Mother. She asked me, "Why did you leave your friends behind on the way up?" When I asked her not to attack them, she even scolded me: "As if I'd ever do such a thing."

"So, which one is your wife?"

"Mother, neither. The little one is my daughter, Chryse, and… the larger one is my friend, Nina."

"Is that so? So unlike dragons, little creatures can multiply even without being mates? How interesting."

"No, she's my daughter but we're not related by blood."

I couldn't help but retort at Mother's characteristically scatterbrained remark.

"… Hey, what's your mom saying?"

Being stared down by my mother, who was nearly twice my size even in dragon form, had left even Nina visibly ashen.

"She says you're both very cute."

"… I'm flattered."

I omitted the inconvenient parts in my translation, and Nina let out a strained reply.

"So, what did you come to ask me today?"

The question caught me off guard, and I blinked in surprise.

"You only ever come home when you want to ask me something, don't you?"

Come to think of it, she might be right. I decided to ask directly.

"Mother. Do souls truly exist?"

"My. What an odd thing to ask."

Perhaps because the question was so unexpected, Mother tilted her head.

"Whether they exist or not, wouldn't you know that best of all?"

But I was wrong.

"What… do you mean by that?"

"Whether you should call it a soul, or a heart, or memory, I couldn't say. But you… carry a different one, don't you?"

My breath caught at Mother's observation.

"… You knew I had memories of a past life?"

"Well, I am your mother, after all."

She said it with a warm smile.

"That's why I never gave you a name. Remember?"

"I'd assumed it was a dragon custom."

Don't be silly, Mother laughed.

"If I had named you as a newborn, your original name would surely have been crushed. That's why I never gave you one."

"But Mother, I don't know your name either."

When I said that, Mother blinked.

"… Oh my…? Now that you mention it, I suppose I never did tell you."

Yep. This woman really did have an airheaded streak.

"My name is Reikrusemsweifrarluyerdofjarlinu. Dreadfully long and hard to use, isn't it? I never have occasion to tell anyone, so I'd completely forgotten."

"… Mother. Isn't that your true name?"

"Why yes, it is?"

Mother tilted her head as if to say "and what of it?"

"Won't someone who learns your true name be able to control you?"

"You simply bite through any such thing."

Mother answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen her act like the strongest creature alive.

"U-um!"

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Chryse suddenly raised her voice.

"Dad, could you ask Grandmother something for me?"

"What is it, Chryse dear?"

We all stared in surprise as Mother replied in fluent Japanese.

"Grandmother, you can speak our language!?"

"But of course. It's the language my son and granddaughter speak."

She was the Incarnation of Ruin, after all. She'd have no dealings with other creatures beyond mealtimes, so where on earth had she learned it?

"… Then couldn't you have just talked to him in our language this whole time?"

"Oh my, now that you mention it, I suppose I could have."

Mother laughed merrily at Nina's muttered aside.

"So then, Chryse dear. What was it you wanted to ask?"

"Um… I…"

Chryse craned her neck as far as it would go, gazing up at Mother, and asked the dragon dozens of times her own size.

"What… exactly am I?"