Chapter 788
Bear-san, Listening to the Story of the Ice Dragon
The next morning, Kagali-san and I headed to the top of the mountain to retrieve the Bear House and check on the Ice Dragon.
Riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Kagali-san and I looked around.
"What a terrible state." (Yuna)
I didn't pay much attention to it while we were fighting the Ice Dragon, and after the battle, the sun had already set, and it was dark, so I didn't notice.
Now when I looked at surroundings during the day, the devastation of the battle became clear. Parts of the mountain had collapsed, trees had fallen, and the places where the cold air had been released were in a terrible state.
"It's good that the town wasn't damaged." (Yuna)
"It must be thanks to those bears." (Kagali)
I looked at where Kagali-san pointed.
There were three big bears standing there.These were the bears that protected the town from the Ice Dragon's attacks.
"I think that's part of it. The town was also protected by Kagali-san." (Yuna)
"Me?" (Kagali)
"Because of how you heated up your body to protect yourself from the cold. It also weakened the cold." (Yuna)
I didn't know what happened to the bear statues after they were hit by the cold breath after that attack.
And it was definitely not only my power alone that saved the town.
We came to the top of the mountain while checking the surrounding devastation.
If there were people in the town, they would have made a big fuss if they saw this devastation.
I was glad we were able to protect Lize-san's town. I didn't want to see frozen people broken.
"You have come." (Ice Dragon)
When we arrived in front of the Ice Dragon, it opened its eyes, which had been closed, and spoke to us.
"Just to confirm, the other Ice Dragons really won't come again, right?" (Yuna)
"No." (Ice Dragon)
That made me relieved.
"Also, just as promised. I'll leave this place as soon as I can." (Ice Dragon)
"It looks like it has hatched." (Kagali)
Kagali-san looked at the bottom of the Ice Dragon.
When the Ice Dragon moved its body a little, a small Ice Dragon popped out from behind her large body.
Cute.
It was a baby Ice Dragon.
"It has hatched." (Yuna)
I was glad.
Of course, it was still small. Even though I said small, it was about the size of the Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
The baby Ice Dragon was snuggling up to its mother.
From time to time, it looked at us curiously.
"Cute." (Yuna)
When I said so, Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear snuggled up to me from both sides.
"Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are cute too." (Yuna)
I stroke Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear's heads with both hands.
"Human child, thank you for helping me." (Ice Dragon)
Well, if I hadn't protected the egg, I might have made her my enemy.
"So, when will you leave? When will the baby be able to fly?" (Kagali)
Kagali-san's words brought me back to reality.
That was right.
Just because the egg had hatched didn't mean they could leave right away.
The Ice Dragon's talk about leaving might only come true when the baby would be able to fly.
That was quite possible. Ice Dragons lived a long life. What was a day to me could be a month or a year to them, and what was "soon" could be several years.
But the Ice Dragon said something unexpected.
"Tomorrow…" (Ice Dragon)
"So soon? The baby can't fly yet, right?" (Yuna)
I looked at the baby Ice Dragon.
It didn't look like it could fly yet.
In response to my question, the Ice Dragon stretched its neck and picked up the baby at its feet by its neck.
She didn't word it, but her actions told me they would leave like this.
When I understood the Ice Dragon's intention, she let go of the baby Ice Dragon that she was holding.
The baby Ice Dragon immediately went under her stomach.
"Well, before you leave, there's something I want to ask you. You said that you felt nostalgic from Kagali-san and my magic, right? I want you to tell me what you mean by that?" (Yuna)
Since we've become friendly, it should be fine to ask.
There was a good chance that we would never meet again, and asking was free.
The Ice Dragon looked at Kagali-san.
"I felt that child's magic, similar to one I have felt before when I was flying through the sky. It was a dazzling, beautiful magic. It may have been just the birth of that life." (Ice Dragon)
"When was that?" (Kagali)
"It was a long time ago." (Ice Dragon)
Well, Kagali-san had been alive for hundreds of years, so we couldn't really find out when that happened.
Also, the Ice Dragon didn't seem to have the concept of years that humans use.
"Where did you notice it?" (Kagali)
"I don't remember." (Ice Dragon)
Kagali-san looked disappointed. Besides, I didn't think she would know about human cities, so it couldn't be helped.
"It's nothing for you to worry about." (Kagali)
Apparently, it was showing on her face.
I was a master of poker faces, but lately, my feelings have been showing on my face.
"So, what about me?" (Yuna)
The Ice Dragon looked at me.
"A human child came to see me in a place that was difficult for a human child to reach before." (Ice Dragon)
"Does that mean that person's magic is similar to mine?" (Yuna)
"That's right." (Ice Dragon)
"Why did that person go to see you?" (Yuna)
"The human child wanted parts of my body." (Ice Dragon)
Parts? Did that mean that person wanted the Ice Dragon's material?
"I fought against that person." (Ice Dragon)
Of course, that was to be expected. If someone wanted a part of your body, it was not something you could just give away easily.
"So, is that person dead?" (Yuna)
The fact that the Ice Dragon was still alive could mean that.
"That child is not dead. That one was strong, but didn't try to kill me. After listening a bit more to that person, it turned out that person only wanted shavings of my horn, some of my scales, and my saliva." (Ice Dragon)
If it was just that much, Ice Dragon could give them without harming itself.
But if that person wanted Ice Dragon's heart or eyes, that would have been impossible.
"And why did you give it to that person?" (Yuna)
"I was offered a gift." (Ice Dragon)
"A gift?" (Yuna)
"That child gave me a magic item that plays music. I live in a quiet place. I accepted while listening to the music." (Ice Dragon)
Magic items that played music were dirt cheap in comparison to Ice Dragon's materials.
A normal merchant might even end up shocked if they heard about this exchange.
Although, I didn't think anyone would want to trade with an Ice Dragon.
"That's why, when I felt your power, I remembered that time" (Ice Dragon)
So, that was the story.
"By the way, who is that person?" (Yuna)
"… Kryna-Hark" (Ice Dragon)
"…!?" (Yuna)
An unexpected name came up.
I thought it would be a name I wouldn't know.
Kryna-Hark… I never thought I'd hear that name here.
"That's as far as I know." (Ice Dragon)
It seemed that there was no more information to be found.
"Thank you for telling me." (Yuna)
The Ice Dragon wrapped her body around her child and closed her eyes.
Perhaps she was still tired from yesterday's battle.
So that may be the reason why she could not leave today, but tomorrow.
We decided not to disturb her anymore. We collected the Bear House and left.
Kagali-san was silent the whole time.
"…" (Kagali)
I took a chance and asked her.
"Kagali-san, do you remember the town with the Slime?" (Yuna)
"I remember." (Kagali)
"When Kryna-Hark's name came up, it felt like you knew them." (Yuna)
"… I've met Kryna-Hark before." (Kagali)
I also knew the name.
I didn't ask about Kryna-Hark back then because I wasn't that interested, but this time it was different.
"What was Kryna-Hark like?" (Yuna)
"She was a cute girl." (Kagali)
"… A girl!?" (Yuna)
From the name, I thought she was a boy.
"Probably a fake name. She only mentioned her name once. So I don't know her real name, either." (Kagali)
"I see." (Yuna)
"We met a long time ago, just like the Ice Dragon said." (Kagali)
"What kind of girl was she?" (Yuna)
"She was a mysterious girl. She said she traveled the world. She asked me if I wanted to go with her, but I refused." (Kagali)
"Was that before the serpent appeared?" (Yuna)
"After that, I couldn't let go of my role as the guardian of the seal." (Kagali)
Kagali-san had been protecting the seal of the serpent for a while.
That meant that was why she was unable to go.
"I wanted to take the hand that was extended to me, but I was unable to hold it." (Kagali)
So that's what happened.
"After that, I never heard of the name Kryna-Hark again. I didn't know about the outside anyway because I was living like a recluse." (Kagali)
The more I heard about her, the more mysterious she became.
Kryna-Hark.
Shia told me before that Kryna-Hark was an adventurer. Someone who fought without fear, even an Ice Dragon. She could certainly be someone that adventurers would aspire to be.
Did she also make magic tools?
The name Kryna-Hark was also written in the researcher's diary I saw in the town where I fought the Slime.
Her name was also left on Targui.
Maybe she traveled the world on Targui like me.
And so she may have stopped in the Land of Wa and the town with the Slime.
However, what was unexpected was that she was a woman.
Apparently she was a girl when she met Kagali-san, so she was probably still young.
Well, she was a person from the past, after all.
I didn't really understand why our magic powers were similar, though. It could just be a coincidence, and we would never meet, so there was no point in worrying about it.
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