Chapter 2: Time Begins to Move(2)

MISTERLP

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The big dragon descending from the heavens began to shine when it

touched the ground. The outlines of its form blurred in the light, shrinking

down to human size.

When the light subsided, before me stood a woman wearing all-white

robes, a square hood over her head, and a thin veil over her face. It was

hard to be sure with her face mostly covered, but she was maybe in her

forties. Well, in a world with long-lived races, it was basically impossible

to rely on how old someone looked, though.

The woman in white walked up to me. "You are King Souma Kazuya

of the United Kingdom of Elfrieden and Amidonia, I presume?"

"I am... Are you here from the Star Dragon Mountain Range?"

The woman brought a hand to her chest and bowed to me. "I come on

behalf of Lady Tiamat, our mother dragon. I will now bring you to the

Dracul Plateau in the Star Dragon Mountain Range."

"Our mother dragon"... Oh, that'd be that Mother Dragon, I guess.

Was Tiamat her name...? Wait, huh? Tiamat... Wasn't that the name of the

oldest dragon to appear in Earth's legends? I vaguely remembered it

because the name had shown up in all sorts of things.

For starters, it was said that Mother Dragon had been around since

before the people of this continent had formed countries, so she lived up to

the name, at least.

I asked the lady in white, "And might I inquire as to whom I have the

pleasure of speaking with?"

"There's no need to be so polite with me. I am one of the priestesses in

the service of Lady Tiamat."

"A priestess?"

"Yes. The dragons are a race that live a thousand years. However, if a

dragon's partner leaves this world before they can have children, that

dragon lives in solitude for a long time. Such dragons return to the Star

Dragon Mountain Range, becoming priestesses who serve Lady Tiamat.

They care for her, maintain Crystal Castle, and look after the young

dragons."

In other words, dragons who lost their families returned to the Star

Dragon Mountain Range to become priestesses.

"Can't they get remarried to another knight?" I asked.

"There are some who can," the woman said. "However, this is a matter

of fate. It is up to the guidance of destiny, and to the blessing of Lady

Tiamat who binds the fates of men and dragons."

The guidance of destiny, huh. Was Mother Dragon a god of

matchmaking or something like that, then?

That aside, I decided to ask the question that had been bothering me for

a while now.

"By the way, where is this? I'm pretty sure I was with my companions

in the village where we agreed to meet just a moment ago..."

"This field lies five kilometers to the northeast of that village," the

woman said. "Lady Tiamat used her power to move you here."

Who could have expected teleportation?! Appearing in dreams,

instantly transporting people... Mother Dragon's power really was off the

charts. I could see why people might worship her.

"Can all dragons do things like that?!" I exclaimed.

"No," the priestess said. "It is only possible for Lady Tiamat, who has

lived an eternity, and who is worshiped as a god. It is her divine

intervention, you might say. Rest assured, she will never use that power

for her own selfish desires."

"...I hope I can believe that."

Used correctly, it was a power with limitless destructive potential, after

all. This was someone I didn't want, and couldn't afford, to make an

enemy of. I wanted very much for her to be a god that watched over the

world, but didn't intervene in it.

I scratched my head. "Anyway, you were saying you'd take me to

Dracul, but what about the companions I left behind in that village? I may

not have been coronated yet, but I am a king, you know? Didn't my

sudden disappearance cause a total panic back there?"

The dragon priestess looked at me apologetically, and bowed her head

deeply. "I must apologize. Due to the urgency of our circumstances, while

I do realize this is rude, I ask that you come to Dracul alone. One of my

fellow priestesses is heading to your followers now to explain the

situation. We will invite your followers to come on another day, at some

time before the day of the ceremony."

"Will I be getting an explanation of those circumstances?" I asked.

"Please, ask Lady Tiamat for the details. I will just say... Lady Tiamat

wishes for you to participate in this year's Contract Ceremony."

The Contract Ceremony... That was where the knights and dragons

formed marriage contracts, right? Did this mean that, just as Hakuya had

hoped, I would be participating as one of the partners?

"I'm the King of Friedonia, you know?" I said. "I'm not from the

Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom, and I have absolutely no intent of

becoming a dragon knight."

"That is not a problem," the priestess said confidently. "If Lady Tiamat

says you are worthy to participate, that is all there is to it. Besides which, I

hear the first king of Elfrieden was a hero who formed a contract with a

dragon."

The priestess spoke with certainty, as if Mother Dragon's words were

absolute. Even if they were... I didn't know what to say about being

suddenly told to marry a dragon I'd never even met before. Well, my

engagements to Liscia and Roroa had been the same way, but it wasn't

exactly a thing you got used to.

"But isn't the contract a vow between husband and wife?" I asked. "I

still haven't married them yet, but I already have four fiancées, you know?

Is that okay?"

"That is, again, no problem," the priestess said. "This contract is, by no

means, something that has already been decided on. If you do not wish to

form a contract with anyone, human or dragon, you may make that

decision."

Oh, I see, I thought. The Contract Ceremony isn't something I'll be

forced into in any way? It's more like a matchmaking session that's hard

to get out of because I can't afford to offend my parents or the other party,

then. If that's all... I was beginning to feel better about the situation.

"However, Lady Tiamat is one who binds the fates of humans and

dragons," said the woman. "Lady Tiamat went to the trouble of calling you

here, so I suspect that there is someone that you are meant to meet there."

I was speechless.

The priestess said that with the same confidence as before.

Did that mean there was a dragon in the Star Dragon Mountain Range

who was fated to be with me? And, if I went there, was I going to be stuck

taking her as my wife? Just like the god of matchmaking, Mother Dragon,

had claimed?

When I thought of how Liscia and the others would react, my head

started to hurt.

Then the dragon priestess began to shine once more and turned into a

dragon. "Now, I will take you to Dracul at once."

"Wha?! Right now?!"

"Yes. Lady Tiamat said it was urgent."

Urgent? Were the circumstances that pressing?

The dragon priestess grabbed me tightly with her large front leg. Oh, it

was covered in a thin layer of fur, and was kind of warm... Wait, now

wasn't the time to think about that!

"Hold on, I'm not emotionally prepared for—wait, ah!"

"Now, let us be on our way."

"Hold on! Ahhhhhhhhh!"

I was instantly taken away into the sky.

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"Oh..." For an instant, Naden felt her cheeks buzz again.

It was slightly numbing, like there was a jolt of electricity passing

through them. It felt stronger than the last time, too.

Naden wondered what it could be, but... she had bigger concerns. After

all, she had been summoned by Mother Dragon right now.

In the center of the Dracul Plateau was a lake, Lake Drag, large enough

that waves formed on its surface. In that lake was Crystal Castle, where

Mother Dragon resided.

That palace was made from an unknown material that was translucent

like crystal, and it was more massive than any castle in the world outside

the Star Dragon Mountain Range. The master of that castle, Mother

Dragon, was the size of a hill herself, so it was only natural that her

residence be so large.

Naden was in Crystal Castle's waiting room. Everyone who'd been

called in by Mother Dragon would wait in this room, then be magically

summoned to appear in front of her when she had time to see them.

Incidentally, though there were no strict rules about this, it was

customary to take dragon form, not human form, when having a meeting

with Mother Dragon. This was because their human form was a temporary

one, taken for the pledge with a knight, and it was seen as inappropriate to

appear before a godbeast like Mother Dragon in it. However, Naden was

still in her human form.

She hadn't done that because she would be appearing before Mother

Dragon. Naden was usually in human form. She hated her dragon form,

which had gotten her ridiculed as a "flightless lizard" and a "worm." To

put it simply, she'd developed a complex about it.

Does having wings... and being able to fly make you all so great...?

Naden muttered in her head.

The area around her suddenly began glowing. Then, the very next

moment, a massive silver dragon the size of a hill appeared.

Her eyes sparkled like sapphires. Her horns looked incredibly strong.

Her wings were large and powerful, with feathers like a bird's, each of

them was as large as a broadsword.

Furthermore, her entire body was covered with smooth hair, and in the

light that shone down from the open ceiling, she sparkled with a color that

went back and forth between silver and rainbow. She was a being so

absolute that even Naden, who had seen her many times now, gulped and

stared in awe each time they met.

She was the queen of dragons, the holy mother dragon: Tiamat.

When Naden came back to her senses, she knelt down, putting a hand

over her breast and bowing her head. "...Naden Delal. Here at your

behest."

Naden was feigning calmness, but her heart was pounding. She

couldn't help but worry about why Mother Dragon might be upset with

her.

Is it my skipping practice for the Contract Ceremony? Is it my fighting

with the other dragons? Or... is it my having brought a simple receiver

made in the Gran Chaos Empire back here? Oh, what am I going to do if

she tells me to get rid of it...?

"Raise your head, Naden."

Naden heard that peaceful voice come from above her head. It had a

depth that sounded like three people speaking at the same time, as if it

were echoing inside the listener's own heart.

When she raised her head like the voice told her to, those sapphire eyes

were staring right at Naden's face. In that tense atmosphere, Naden

thought she could feel the sweat running down her back.

"Um... Er..."

Naden tried to say something, but her tongue just wouldn't move right.

Tiamat didn't seem angry with her. If anything, it was a soft look on

her face.

She's not going to get mad at me? Then why did I get called here? Why

is Lady Tiamat looking at me with such gentle eyes?

Those questions sprang to mind one after another, throwing Naden's

heart into disarray. "Um... Lady Tiamat...?"

When she managed to force just those words out, Tiamat began

speaking softly.

"The furiously moving gear approaches the gear that has come to a

stop."

"...Huh?" Naden had no idea what had just been said to her. Gears?

What was she even talking about?

Without any concern for Naden's confusion, Tiamat continued.

"Eventually, the two gears will mesh. The stopped gear will be forced to

move, and the gear that spins furiously as if driven by something will slow

its pace. However, that is nothing to be sad about. It merely means that

they will spin at the same pace."

"U-Um... I have no idea what you're talking about...?"

It was too abstract for Naden to make sense of. Had she been called

here to hear this? The furiously spinning gear... The stopped gear... The

meshing of the two...?

"Naden."

"Y-Yes!"

With Tiamat's eyes fixed straight on her, Naden stood up straight.

"Be prepared. It will soon begin to move."

Prepared? Begin to move? What would, exactly...?

"Um... Lady Tiamat... just what is going to start moving?" Naden

ventured.

Tiamat took on the face of an angel delivering a revelation, or a mother

watching over her child, and told her:

"Your time."