Ancient Promise

 

When one side remembers everything and the other remembers nothing at all,

the magnitude of the problem is at its greatest.

 

"Five hundred years ago, my ancestor… the founding king, Aurus the First, formed a pact with the dragon of the White Mountain. That, I am told, is where it all began."

Aisha began her account, head hanging in defeat.

"In exchange for the dragon refraining from harm and instead safeguarding this nation, a princess would be offered five hundred years hence. That was the contract Aurus struck with the dragon."

Five hundred years later, huh. That's one awfully patient dragon, I thought.

Gilta had told me that most dragons besides fire dragons couldn't survive five hundred years. In other words, even by dragon standards, that was a considerable stretch of time.

"And this year marks that five-hundredth anniversary. I am the princess destined from birth to be offered to the dragon."

There was surprisingly little anguish in Aisha's voice. She spoke plainly, laying out the facts and nothing more.

"Dragons are humanity's natural enemy. If word got out that the royal family had struck a secret pact with one and was offering sacrifices, the scandal would be devastating. Yet it would also seem unnatural for our nation alone to escape calamity by sheer coincidence. And so… the royal house had the audacity to style itself as dragonslayers. Should a dragon come, they would slay it, and the awe of that reputation alone kept dragonkind at bay."

For the first time, emotion crept into her voice.

"That is why I have trained all my life to make that lie truth. Of course, no matter how much I trained, there was no way a single person could actually defeat a dragon."

I personally knew someone who could do exactly that, but I had enough tact to keep my mouth shut.

"And then… you appeared. When I first saw you, something felt off. A premonition, nothing more, that you were no ordinary person… most likely someone of great strength. That was why I gave you the pass: to avoid an unnecessary confrontation."

So it hadn't been pure goodwill after all. That made sense. She had no reason to show kindness to a stranger she'd just met, and if she treated everyone that way, it would be a problem in its own right.

"But after watching you fight, I knew at once. Your manner of combat was utterly inhuman. Your movements and bearing were riddled with openings, the work of a complete amateur. And yet no one could defeat you."

Aisha's words stung more than I cared to admit. A-a complete amateur…? I'd been watching how Yuuka moved and trying to incorporate some of that into my own style, mind you…

"I had steeled myself for the possibility that the dragon had sent you to kill me for my rebellion, but…"

"Sorry for being the wrong dragon."

I wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Are you… truly a dragon?"

"Yeah, well… this room is a bit too cramped for me to revert to my true form and prove it, but yes, I'm a dragon."

Should I be showing more deference now that she knew what I was and I knew she was royalty? Was she really Ai reborn? There was too much I didn't know, and I found myself stumbling over the right tone even as I nodded.

"Then what exactly are you here for?"

"I came looking for someone. An old acquaintance."

"An acquaintance…? No, never mind that for now."

After posing her question, Aisha shook her head and fixed her gaze firmly on mine.

"You mean no harm to people, is that correct?"

"Yeah. I'm fond of people, actually. And no, I don't mean in the culinary sense."

My joke earned not even the faintest smile from Aisha. On the other hand, she didn't grimace, either.

"Then… would you lend me your strength?"

Her earnest eyes pierced straight through me.

"I will do anything within my power. So please…"

"Sure."

Despite being the one who'd asked, she clearly hadn't expected me to agree so readily. Aisha's eyes went wide, as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"… Truly?!"

"Yeah. And don't worry, I'm not going to demand you let me eat you in return."

If she was Ai reborn, the last thing I wanted was for her to die. And if she truly was willing to do anything, I could put Nina's suggested method to the test. From my perspective, this was a godsend.

"Well, I can't very well kill it, so we'll need to negotiate."

If the pact specified 'five hundred years from now,' the dragon probably didn't need a princess to survive. There should be room for negotiation. This was a dragon that had made a contract with humans in the first place. Surely it wasn't completely beyond reason.

"… Even for you, the dragon of Mashiro is that formidable an opponent?"

Aisha swallowed hard and asked.

"No, a white dragon is the weakest kind. That's exactly why I can't kill it. If I did, a stronger dragon would inevitably move in. So it's better to leave it alive."

I'd meant to reassure her, but for some reason, she was struck speechless.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

White dragons are the only low-ranking species that make their homes on the peaks of tall mountains.

And because they always choose mountains blanketed in deep snow, it's nearly impossible for anyone to make the climb without thorough preparation.

The cold would be especially lethal for Chryse, who couldn't warm her own body. This time, she would have to stay behind.

Nina and I were hardly exceptions.

Her plant-based magic was vulnerable to low temperatures and offered no way to keep warm.

I could probably heat myself, but if I overdid it and triggered an avalanche, the consequences would be catastrophic. Neither of us had any experience climbing mountains in snow, nor the equipment for it.

So I decided on a far more direct approach.

I would fly to the summit in dragon form. The white dragon might panic and flee, but I was almost certainly faster in the air. Besides, it had to have sensed my presence long ago, and yet it hadn't budged.

Then again, deep snow was clearly disadvantageous terrain for a fire dragon. Perhaps it intended to fight me there if it came to that.

"… Are you really… coming along?"

"Yes. As one who bears the name of the royal house, it is my duty to bear witness."

I'd told her she was welcome to wait behind, but Aisha had insisted. She had no way of knowing what kind of negotiation would take place between me and the white dragon. It was only natural that she couldn't simply trust a dragon she'd met just yesterday. Fair enough.

"Nina, sorry, but I'm counting on you."

"Mm. Got it."

Still, bringing an ordinary human to meet a dragon I'd never dealt with before was daunting. I had little confidence in my ability to protect her while in dragon form, where I lacked maneuverability, so I asked Nina to serve as her guard.

"So, partly as proof that I really am a dragon, I'm going to transform and we'll fly there."

We met at the base of the mountain where the white dragon was said to live. True to her word, Aisha had come without retinue or guards and had brought cold-weather gear for Nina as well.

"Your Highness, won't you need cold-weather clothing yourself?"

She was wearing the same white-silver armor as when we'd first met.

"No. This armor is forged from scales bestowed by the white dragon at the time of the pact. White dragon scales are colder than ice, so the padding beneath must be heavily insulated just to make it wearable. But in exchange, the armor blocks all external cold entirely."

I see. The same principle as my scales keeping heat from passing through.

"Well then, here I go. Try not to be startled."

I drew the scale-compressed coat out from inside my shirt and draped it over myself, reverting to dragon form.

"Oh my…!"

At the sight, Aisha let out a gasp of wonder.

"You really were a dragon. And such a… large, red dragon at that."

She reached out and gently touched one of my scales, murmuring as if deeply moved.

"… That's all?"

"Forgive me. My tongue lacks the eloquence to express the depth of what I feel."

Aisha apologized, looking genuinely sorry, but her response missed what Nina had been getting at.

What Nina had likely hoped was that seeing my true form would trigger Aisha's memories.

Just as it would have for me.

"All right, both of you, climb on… Here we go!"

Once I confirmed they both had a firm grip on the spines of my back, I beat my wings. How long had it been since I'd carried someone like this? These days, the people of Scarlet could fly with sorcery as a matter of course, and Yuuka, who couldn't fly, could arguably run faster than flight anyway. It had been a very long time.

I couldn't recall the last time I'd given someone a ride, but I remembered the first with perfect clarity. A thousand years ago, just after meeting Durga. I had carried Ai on my back then, and Nina had flown alongside us.

"M-Mentor."

Once we'd gained altitude, a faint voice reached me from my back.

"Could you… slow down, just a little?"

"Oh. Sorry."

At the tremor of fear in her voice, I hastily slowed my wingbeats. I hadn't been paying much attention to my speed. Worrying about the white dragon fleeing, I may have been pushing too hard. Since its presence hadn't shifted even after I'd approached in dragon form, there was no need to rush.

Even flying deliberately slowly, we reached the summit in no time.

The weather was clear and visibility excellent, but amid the pristine white snow, the white dragon was nowhere to be seen.

I could sense its presence nearby, and yet…

"White Dragon, are you there?"

I had just landed and was scanning the area when Aisha's voice rang out from my back.

"I am Aisha, princess of the nation of Mashiro! I have come to renew the pact!"

As if in answer, wind gusted and snow swirled.

Powder snow spiraled upward like a small tornado, and then the white dragon revealed itself.

In that instant, time froze.

White dragons are the smallest of the five dragon species.

This one was barely a third of my size.

Fluffy fur ringed its short neck, and two long, straight horns gave it the look of an oversized rabbit.

Unlike a fire dragon's elongated reptilian snout, its face was rounded and mammalian, with an air of endearing charm. The wings spread wide on either side had a velvet-like texture, gleaming in the light like a gown.

At the sight, I took an involuntary step forward.

"… … Ai."

The breath that carried her name melted the snow from the ground.