The Dragon Rider

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 Previously, before the do-over.
 
 I once heard of a soldier who controlled a flying dragon.
 
 I’ll never forget it.
 That was during Graham-nii-sama’s funeral.
 
 Brother’s knight colleagues, they came and told us about [that].
 
 
 
 When I was fifteen, there was a war.
 
 One day, the Western Principality^[1] suddenly invaded Heielland.
 
 In order to deal with the enemy, His Majesty dispatched the Second Knights Order as the main army with His Highness Gerald as their commander.
 The two armies clashed in battle.
 
 The principality is a small country.
 It has no particular military strength, nor agricultural production power, and can hardly be described as a rich country.
 
 So therefore, aiming to snatch away Heielland’s western part, a grain-producing region, they’ve crossed the mountain belt acting as the national border and invaded our country countless times, and have been repelled each time.
 
 Do not look down on them. Even so, do not fear them.
 I think, that might have been the kind of perception our country had of the principality’s army.
 
 As a result, it was the Heielland army’s defeat.
 His Highness Gerald and Graham-nii-sama died in battle.
 
 The kingdom lost three of its territories, withdrawing from the western region spanning north to south, up to the mountainous region to the east.
 
 What decided the outcome, suddenly appearing on the battlefield, was a soldier controlling a flying dragon.
 
 Brother and His Highness met an instant death, when they got hit directly by the explosive fire ball the flying dragon blew out.
 The Second Knight Order suffered heavy losses, losing no less than half their members.
 
 Afterwards, the enemy soldiers, who brought forth those flying dragons, were referred to in our country as
 
 ”The Dragon Rider…”
 
 Before me, who muttered so in a daze, the Dragon Rider of unknown nationality scattered something shiny and sparkling while waving his magic sword.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 ”Hey, he sprinkled something!”
 
 ”Get your weapons!!”
 
 ”Protect His Majesty!!!!”
 
 In the midst of the confusion, the knights began to move.
 
 ”Your Majesty!!”
 
 Otou-sama promptly dashed up the stands, rushing over to His Majesty.
 
 ”Magic bows, spell swords^[2], prepare! We’ll shoot them down!!”
 
 His Highness Gerald shouts, and Brother Graham readies his spell sword next to him.
 
 The spell sword is a magic weapon from long ago, which shoots out fireballs and wind blades when the switch in the handle is pressed.
 Of course, they’ve been improved thanks to the Ainsworths, and compared to the past, it is far easier to use, and while also becoming stronger too.
 
 After confirming that Graham-nii-sama and the knights had readied their weapons, His Highness Gerald gave the command.
 
 ”Fire!!”
 
 Immediately afterwards, the Dragon Rider was flooded with arrows and magic.
 
 Magic exploded high in the air with a “Doof doof doof doof!” kind of sound, and arrows whose power had been bolstered by te magic bow rushed upon the enemy.
 
 However…
 
 ”𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚝, it’s untouched!” someone shouted.
 
 Just as he said, the flying dragon showed up from the smoke of the explosion as if nothing happened, and kept circling around the castle’s surroundings calmly.
 
 
 
 ”You’re slightly off. Our attack didn’t reach it!”
 
 Muttering so, Brother Graham turned the range control dial on his spell sword.
 
 Nodding at those words, His Highness Gerald gave an order once more.
 
 ”Re-attack! Maximum range! Each of you, attack as soon as you’ve prepared!!”
 
 ””Understood!!””
 
 THe knights begin attacking disconnectedly.
 
 Regarding the spell sword’s dial, the range can be extended in exchange for sacrificing power.
 
 Similarly, the range control dial on the magic bows extend the range in exchange for sacrificing accuracy.
 
 My brother and the others immediately figured out the problem with one attack, and tried to correct it on the second shot.
 
 The result was soon revealed.
 
 Boom! Bah bah bah bah bah!!
 
 The fireballs and wind blades exploded violently in the air.
 And then countless arrows.
 
 Perhaps, it’d been a point-blank shot, the Dragon Rider took evasive action.
 
 ”Great! Keep up the attack like this!!”
 
 The knights all responded to His Highness Gerald’s shout.
 
 It looked like the knights were, bit-by-bit, becoming able to deal with the enemy they were facing for the first time.
 
 
 
 ——— however, I wonder.
 
 What’s this hazy feeling in my chest?
 
 
 
 I looked at the [enemy] again.
 
 That Dragon Rider, he hadn’t attacked us even once yet.
 
 If what I heard before the redo is true, that flying dragon should be breathing out explosive fireballs many times stronger than usual.
 
 
 And yet, the Dragon Rider just circles around the training ground up in the sky, showing no sign of attacking at all.
 
 In the first place, what was that sparkly stuff earlier?
 
 That was the [fireworks] spell used at festivals and such.
 It’s a gaudy [showy] kind of spell.
 There’s no way it’s a spell the other person can use to attack with.
 
 
 
 ——— showy?
 
 For who?
 
 
 
 At that time, a memory got recalled in my mind.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 The pouring rain.
 In the church, where the sound of rain echoed, a one-armed knight was talking to Otou-sama in his mourning clothes.
 
 [Those guys, they were flying scattered at first.]^[3]
 
 [And then one of them flew overhead, and scattered something shiny on us.]
 
 [They didn’t attack us, and began circling overhead just like that.]
 
 [Desperate to take down those right in front of us, we fired volley after volley of magic and arrows at them.]
 
 [Thinking about it now, that was the enemy’s trap.]
 
 [The enemy’s main force then———]
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 ”Onii-sama! Up there!!!!”
 
 To my sudden shout, my eldest brother and His Highness looked back at me with surprised faces.
 
 I turned back and pointed in that direction, and frantically shouted.
 
 
 
 [The enemy’s main force, they’re in the sun!!!!]^[4]
 

TL Notes:

[1]not sure if this is meant to be its name, or just “it’s a principality, but in the west” type of thing. ↩

[2]technically this is meant to be magic sword, but that’d confuse you with the other magic sword that Ethan Ainsworth developed, which is different. ↩

[3]The square brackets here are to show the dialogue from the flashback. Think of it like having that hazy muffledness you hear in movies when they show dreams and stuff, I guess. Also, I imagine the lines here are slightly disjointed, as in, there are pieces of the dialogue missing in order to point out just the things she’s recalling particular to this moment. ↩

[4]This is probably said by both the one-armed knight in the flashback, as well as Leticia in the current moment. Changed it slightly to make sense both in present and past tense. ↩

 

Managed to get around to it in time XD
 
I’d like to wish everyone a happy New Year. I won’t be making any lofty resolutions, instead, I’ll just look for the small improvements I see in the moment. Small changes pile up. Perhaps you’d like to do the same.
I hope the coming year exceeds your expectations in a good way, and that you find many memorable moments to come.
 
Here’s to 2023, and the journey that has brought us this far.