Home

 

I led a hundred clans, won glory in battle, and laid low every monster that infested the plains.

I was drenched in the blood of my enemies time and again, and I did cruel things, too.

And yet, to that person, I'm still "Little White Elena."

Could anything make me happier than that? Hmm?

— "The White Wolf Demon," Two-Fanged Elena

 

A polite knock at the door, and Nina pulled away from me in an instant, swiftly composing herself.

"Um, is it… okay to come in now?"

"Yeah. Come on in."

I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or exasperated by her speed, but I called back to Chryse through the door.

"Okaaay, I'm ho—"

The moment she opened the door and saw us, a flicker of alarm crossed Chryse's face.

"Welcome home."

"Oh, yes. I'm home."

… I couldn't help wondering what colors our souls had shown her.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"Ah, I can see it!"

Chryse's cheerful voice rang out from atop my back.

Far below us spread the familiar sight of home. Scarlet.

The journey out had taken half a year on foot; the trip back was a mere seven days by air.

Unlike on the way out, I now knew which dragons held territory where. I'd been worried about accidentally straying into another fire dragon's domain, but in the end we'd only sensed one fire dragon during the entire journey, and that had been the chance encounter from before. They were probably few in number because they were so powerful.

"Welcome hooome!"

Before we'd even touched down, someone came out to greet us. Rin came gliding toward us, her long blue body undulating through the sky with the fluid grace of a swimmer. I eased my wingbeats to match her pace.

"I'm back, Rin. You're not in your fire dragon form?"

"You're home now, Mentorrr. That thing's pretty tiring, you know."

Rin exhaled a puff of misty breath, and the sight gave me pause.

Her transformations had always come so naturally, as effortlessly as breathing, that I'd completely overlooked that possibility.

And in truth, ordinary transformations probably were as natural as breathing for her by now. Much the same as my fire, or Nina's ability to shape trees.

But taking a fire dragon's form using my scales as a catalyst was something else entirely.

I'd been pushing her harder than I realized.

"… Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She skillfully flashed a bright grin on her dragon face and gave a light flick of her tail.

"By the way… you didn't find Ai?"

She glanced at my back, then asked in a light tone.

"No… I was able to meet her. But she didn't remember me, and… she said she had things to do. I couldn't bring her back."

"Hmm."

Rin hummed, seeming not particularly interested, and for once didn't follow up with a "Why?" I was grateful for that.

"I stopped by to see Yuuka on the way back. Looks like she's been training them pretty hard."

"Oh, really? I came straight home, so I wouldn't know."

I'd figured as much. For all her easygoing, freewheeling exterior, Rin was surprisingly conscientious underneath.

"She was fired up about turning the entire village into Swordsaints."

If she managed that, it would be one formidable village.

We chatted like that as we descended toward the village square. They must have seen us flying overhead.

"Welcome back, Mentor!"

"Glad you're safe."

"I figured you'd take your sweet time and stay out there for a decade or so. Came back sooner than I expected."

Just as when they'd seen us off, the villagers gathered around and greeted us one after another. It had only been a little over half a year, yet the welcome was extravagant. The last remark, entirely unnecessary of course, was from Innis.

"We're hooome!"

Chryse twirled a finger, and Nina's enormous rucksack began moving on its own, sliding down my wing as if it were a ramp.

"We brought souvenirs, too!"

Crammed inside was a trove of gifts we'd bought in Mashiro.

Sweets you couldn't find here, unusual handicrafts, spices, books, fashionable clothes, accessories. We'd packed in as much as we could.

"Yo, boss. Good to have you back."

With a crackling of scales, the blue dragon beat his wings and landed. The central square of Scarlet was built large enough to accommodate my size, but with two dragons standing face to face, even it felt cramped. It wouldn't do his nerves any good either, so I shifted to my human form and tucked the coat into my breast pocket.

"Gilta, thank you for holding down the fort. Any trouble while I was away?"

"Nah. Nothin' that'd worry ya."

There was a certain dignity to his confident reply that I didn't remember him having before.

Not that he held any real authority, but taking on the role of the village's guardian dragon, even temporarily, seemed to have helped him grow. Though I'd been at it for a thousand years and didn't feel I'd gained much from it myself…

Hmm. Could it be that Gilta was actually better suited to be Scarlet's guardian dragon than I was?

"But do me a favor and make this a one-time thing. It's too much for me."

Just as the thought crossed my mind, he went and said this:

"Really? I thought you were pretty well suited for it…"

"Gimme a break. Look, here they come."

Gilta grimaced with genuine displeasure, then jerked his chin toward the space behind me.

"Mentor, do you have a moment? There's something I'd like to ask your advice on."

Behind me stood several villagers wearing troubled expressions.

"Sure, what's the matter?"

I couldn't tell what it was about, but I knew why they'd come to me.

A consultation session for the first time in half a year.

"It's nearly planting season, but our melons did poorly last year. We've been going back and forth on what to do this year…"

"For planting matters, go talk to Oki in the Kurenai district. You can trust his word on these things."

"Oki from Kurenai district, got it!"

"He's a big fan of grape wine, so bring some as a gift when you visit."

"We've been having a dispute over land boundaries with the newcomers from the western quarter. Would you be willing to mediate?"

"For boundary disputes, go see Elena in the Shink district. She's great at resolving that sort of thing."

"Elena… you mean, the esteemed White Wolf Demon…?"

"Little White Elena goes by something that grandiose these days? That little rascal's really grown up. If she gives you any trouble, drop my name and tell her I'm calling in a three-hundred-year-old favor."

"I'm thinking of getting married, but her father absolutely refuses to give his blessing. What should I do?"

"Kart, you're finally tying the knot! Congratulations! Her father, so it's Kadar who's being difficult? Then go quietly ask his wife, Wayu, for help."

"She seemed like a rather reserved and demure woman, though…"

"Hardly. When his own parents were dead set against the marriage, she talked them around all by herself. She's a force of nature. Tell Kadar to think about who he has to thank for his own marriage."

And so it went, passing the villagers' problems off to other people one by one.

To be perfectly honest, I had almost no power to solve their problems directly. But I knew well enough who might be able to.

That said, none of this was really work. It was barely a step above idle chatter.

"See? Told ya."

And yet, Gilta wore a strangely proud expression.

"You're the only dragon who can protect this village."

That was what he told me.