I Couldn't Become a Knight, But for Some Reason, I'm Beloved by Dragons - Chapter 12: Longing for a Slow Life

Chapter 12: Longing for a Slow Life

“… Haah”

I was looking back on everything that happened yesterday. 

After leaving the castle with Rito, we were attacked by a mysterious man and woman on our way back, but they left without doing anything for some reason. I was extremely confused about why Runa was there in the first place, and didn’t understand what was happening. 

However, we went to the inn together.

“Taking a walk isn’t a bad thing, you know? But I think my timing was really good.”

Good timing…? While I had my doubts about that, Runa disappeared shortly after telling me that we would meet again. 

Her disappearance felt like waking up from a dream, and I became worried that she might not actually exist.

“Isastria…huh.”

Today, as I was about to enter the door leading to the dragon world to take care of Luna, Lichter-sama called out to me. He told me that the two people were from Isastria, and that they were trying to approach the dragons through a dragon handler and control them with an item called a collar of enslavement.

“You can’t control a dragon with a mere collar of enslavement… but it’s still like a declaration of war against not only our country, but also the dragons. We’ve already retaliated, but we can’t leave Isastria alone like this.”

I was curious about what retaliation meant, but that was all I could find out. 

Later, I heard that Rito was also told a similar story. It seemed that for both of us, the event of yesterday was just a bad dream.

“… Haah”

~Why are you sighing, Xeno?~

Luna was worried about me and licked my cheek. 

There was nothing I could do about what I was worrying about, and there was no way to confirm it at the moment, so I reassured her that it was okay. 

However, Luna continued to wait for me to speak.

“Haha, I see. I guess there’s no hiding anything from Luna.”

~Yeah, it’s useless to hide… so tell me.~

“Sometimes, the gap between when you speak like a little girl and when you don’t is so big, it’s cute!’

I stroked her face, feeling relieved. Dragons varied greatly in size, with some being as small as humans and others as large as giant airships. Luna was somewhere in between… just the right size for me to ride on her back. 

That’s how I would describe her size, I suppose.

“… It’s about Runa.”

~…Oh?~

“As Luna knows, yesterday a group of bandits entered the capital and attacked me and my friend Rito. Fortunately, we weren’t injured…but then Runa appeared, out of nowhere.”

~…Hmm.~

“After she sent me back to the inn, she just disappeared as if she didn’t exist.”

~…~

“I’ve been talking to Luna about her all this time, but seeing her disappear like that made me wonder if it was all just my imagination.”

Of course, it’s not just an imagination. Rito has seen Runa too, and I know that the days I spent with her were not a lie. But I still feel a little uneasy.

“Well, that may be true, but it’s definitely not just my imagination. If I keep worrying about things like this, it’ll be bad for Runa, who I always meet with.”

~….Mmm…mumble…~

“Luna?”

“It’s, it’s nothing!”

I tilted my head at her busy wagging tail, but I found it cute how even the dignified dragon queen could be flustered like this.

“What is it? Are you hiding something?”

~G-gulp…~

“Did you just gulp now?”

These kinds of airheaded moments are also endearing. 

I understand that as the queen of dragons, Luna has many secrets, so I don’t try to pry them out of her.

“Well, never mind. For now, let me wash your body again.”

~Umu! I’m counting on you.~

And once again, I washed Luna’s body with a brush. Luna’s silver-white scales are not dirty at all, and I wondered if there’s even any need to do this. But Luna seemed to really enjoy it, and I enjoyed doing it for her.

“Does it feel good?”

~It’s the best…mmm…feels so good, Xeno.~

…Sometimes, her seductive voice can be a bit too much. I know she’s a tough dragon, but I can’t help but think it’s a little…sexy. I wish she’d stop.

“Anyway, washing Luna like this is nice, but… taking care of you and living a slow life together is something I really long for.”

~A slow life huh?…I think that’s nice too.~

“Right? It’s a long road ahead of us, and we might need some excitement from time to time, but as long as we can live without too much change, I’ll be satisfied.”

~I’ll be by your side. No matter what external influences there may be, I’ll just push them all away.~

“I can rely on you for that.”

~You can count on me!~

While spending time chatting with Luna in that way, by the time I was about to leave, I was stopped at the castle.

“Good timing, Dragon Handler Xeno.”

The one who called out to me was the leader who manages the dragon handlers. It’s not often that I’m addressed like this, so I was a little wary.

“You know as well. Dragon handlers periodically go to the Royal Academy to explain to students how to interact with dragons…”

“Could it be me?”

“Yes, this time it’s you.”

“Ah, I see.”

Come to think of it, there was such a thing. It’s a simple job of just showing how we interact with the country’s symbol, dragons, to students who will one day lead the country.

“But my partner is Luna…”

“For that day, you’ll be taking a different dragon. It’s a face you’re familiar with, so you should be relieved.”

I can’t take the Dragon Queen with me after all. I nodded understandingly, and then for some reason, the leader suddenly shuddered in front of me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just suddenly felt a chill.”

“??”

I’ll let him know to be careful in case it’s a cold. 

Now then, I’ll pray from now on that nothing happens next week.