Orleans, the Summoned

The soldiers standing guard were still shaken from the young Fire Dragon incident.

But the duke's organized military forces would be arriving at the estate soon.

It seemed best to turn back for now.

Just being chased a little was enough to give us a real scare.

We returned to the carriage.

The mule had shrunk into itself completely, nothing like its usual self.

It had absolutely refused to go anywhere near the young Fire Dragon. When it came to a predator like a Dragon, animals were far more terrified than humans.

I'd planned to return Orleans to the estate before long, but was it safe to send her back under these circumstances?

"It seemed like it wanted to say something."

"… Yeah. If it meant us harm, it would've just attacked."

"Just being looked at made my skin crawl."

"And that was still a baby."

Once we got in the carriage and started heading toward Ateil, the tension eased and everyone became more talkative.

In the distance, I could see troops the duke had presumably organized on the move.

But no matter how many men they mustered, I didn't see them winning against that thing.

After all, it had looked even stronger than that Sun God statue.

"Mmn."

Orleans squirmed.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my back…"

"She's really hot. Are you okay?"

After Azu rubbed her back, she lifted her clothing.

Her back seemed to be extremely hot.

"The crest is reacting. Because she encountered the Fire Dragon?"

"The Fire Elemental Stone is reacting too."

The temperature inside the carriage felt like it had risen.

No, it had definitely risen.

For a while, Azu and Elza rubbed the back of Orleans as she lay prone.

The symptoms hadn't subsided by the time we reached Ateil, so we took a room at an inn and put her to bed.

She was sweating, so we gave her water from a pitcher and watched over her.

"Azu, you get some sleep too. You're not at full strength, are you?"

When fleeing from the young Fire Dragon, Azu's movements had clearly been duller than usual.

Her cold probably hadn't fully cleared up.

"… I'll take you up on that and lie down."

Perhaps deciding there was no point in being stubborn about it, Azu was quiet for a moment before she crawled into bed.

I placed a damp towel on her forehead, and she looked considerably more comfortable.

I had Orleans lie face down and draped one across her back.

The moisture evaporated almost instantly.

"That's a little better."

"Good."

Between the duchess's commission keeping us busy and the hefty trade payment, it had been quite a day.

We should take a break here for a bit.

When I sat down on the bed myself, the fatigue seemed to seep out of every pore.

The three who'd been delving into the labyrinth had it even worse.

We had a light meal and, even though it wasn't dark yet, decided to sleep for today.

I could hear the sound of something flapping its wings.

I woke up in the middle of the night.

The sleepiness hadn't gone away yet.

I was curious about what it was, but I pulled the blanket over my head to go back to sleep when…

A roar that could only be described as a bellow rang out and I jumped up.

It took me a moment to realize it was a Dragon's roar.

The shock was huge.

Everyone had woken up from that sound.

No, Orleans and Azu weren't responding much, probably because they'd gotten worse.

Azu was always the first to spring into action at times like these. I was realizing just how much I'd relied on that.

"What was that sound…?"

"Look outside."

Following Alexia's voice, I looked at the window. Part of the sky that should have been pitch black was bright.

It was as if a star had descended nearby.

And that brightness was from red light.

In the sky was a Dragon incomparably larger than the juvenile we'd encountered during the day.

That was probably an adult.

The Fire Dragon's scales were illuminating the dark sky.

Only a portion of the sky above the city was as bright as daytime.

Its size was overwhelming.

The body was huge, and the wings supporting it in flight were long and wide.

The tail was thick. If it swept with that, a human would be done for in one blow.

Residents seemed to be waking up from the earlier sound and were looking outside and screaming.

It would probably become a panic soon.

Had the Dragon come to attack the city?

The duke's army had just headed to the estate.

It would take time to get back here, and even if they did return, I didn't think they could do anything.

If the Fire Dragon in the sky breathed fire, we'd die without being able to do anything.

As I thought that, Orleans got to her feet.

She swayed unsteadily toward the door.

"Orleans!"

She turned to face me.

Her eyes were vacant.

"I'm being called. I have to go."

"Go? Where… don't tell me."

Called by the Fire Dragon?

For what purpose?

"Stop. It's dangerous."

"That child came to see me. That's what I feel."

She said that, ignored my attempts to stop her, and opened the door.

"Ugh, damn it!"

I didn't understand what was happening, but I ran after her.

Alexia and Elza followed.

As we left the room, I saw Azu stirring. If she was feeling well enough, she'd catch up later.

"She's in a trance."

"A what?"

"When you pray for a long time, there are times when you feel some kind of mysterious presence. Like a loss of reality… I think Orleans-chan is probably moving under some influence she doesn't understand herself right now."

I wasn't particularly devout, so I didn't understand.

But when I tried thinking about it in terms of making money, it somehow made sense.

There were definitely moments when you were driven by something.

When the thought that it had to be now filled your head.

Whether that would lead to good results was a different matter though.

"What do you think will happen?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. No one can read a Fire Dragon's heart."

"Fair enough."

All we could do was pray we wouldn't be incinerated.

Azu caught up to us there.

Her face was a touch feverish, but she didn't seem unwell otherwise.

"What's happening?"

"Look over there, and you'll see."

When I pointed, Azu was speechless.

I understood that feeling. I'd felt the same way earlier.

Orleans was quick on her feet.

We couldn't catch up even running, and she ran toward the Fire Dragon.

If I was going to abandon her, I wouldn't have taken her in the first place.

I wanted to grab Orleans and get away from there, but if the Fire Dragon's purpose was Orleans… what would happen?