CH 176

Chapter 176

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : To The Swamp, Part 14 — True Dragon Of The Swamp

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

I am dreaming.

I killed a dog. Because he was begging me to kill him. But by whom?

I am dreaming.

I pushed my friend and it got hurt badly. Because I had to push my friend. But why?

I’m seeing, a dream.

I repeatedly thrust the blade from the back of the man who was running away. Deliberately missing the vital point. Why in the world did I do it?

I can’t remember. There always seems to be a fog in my head. I have to remember. When did this fog come to hang over me?

「It’s Aldreus’ fault.」

I hear voices. This is my voice.

「You know what? That lolicon bastard had a thing for me. How many times did he try to touch me when I was sleeping? I always thought twice about it every time, though. I could have killed him without hesitation if he had laid a hand on me even once, that short ×× guy.」

Did I? I don’t remember that.

「And yet, he held me down with his Curse Mark… I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, and I was forced to endure. But now he’s dead, and I’m free!」

Free? From what?

「From everything! I’m going away now, but remember this. No one can give me orders anymore. Because, I——」

What? I can’t hear you. What the hell are you yelling——

＊＊＊

「Hah! …Huh, what was the dream about?」

Alfiris wakes up. She wakes up in a place she has never seen before. A waterfall pours water from all directions into the place where Alfiris is. Alfiris was lying in a place where her body was secured by water plants and just separated by stones. There was another waterfall of water at the foot of where Alfiris was lying, and she seemed to be lying just around the middle of the terraced waterfall. She was laid out with only her head above the ground so that she doesn’t drown. How polite of them.

The pillows were also covered with natural grass, and the water was moderately warm. It was as if she had fallen asleep while taking a bath. Surrounded by lush green trees, the air is fresh. The weather is clear and cloudless. Her head felt strangely clear. It was a feeling she had forgotten for some time.

「Hmmm, I thought I was in the swamp. And then the snake ate me… so am I in heaven? Well, I don’t even have any clothes on～ Ahhaha, I see, I’m dead at last.」

「You’re awake, girl.」

Suddenly, a voice called out to her. Then, a large creature poked its head out from where she thought it was under the waterfall. At first she thought it was a snake, but with its head covered with horns like inverted hairs and its body covered in blue scales, it was clearly not a snake.

「Ah, I see strange creatures. This is what heaven is like.」

「That’s quite a greeting for a strange creature, girl. My name is Serpent. Even this is one of the True Dragons.」

「Heh, a True Dragon. There are supposed to be only a few True Dragons in the world, but there’s no way they would appear in front of me so easily. What a dream. I’ll just sleep.」

Alfiris began to lie down and sleep in that spot again. The Serpent was dismayed to see this.

「Hold up, girl. Gwen’s got a strange way of putting a piece of himself in the hands of a crazy girl. Is he crazy, too?」

「Oh, you know Gwen? Well, it’s my dream, of course. Good night～」

「Hey, I told you to hold it, girl. I don’t know… maybe I’m getting the wrong treatment?」

Serpent begins to worry. The sight of him was a bit comical, so Alfiris decided to listen to him.

「Then why am I lying here bare-assed, you ask me to explain? I mean… Bare?」

「Mhm, I took off your clothes because they would get wet if I left them on. Don’t worry, I washed and folded them.」

「That’s a polite thank you… it’s not!」

Alfiris grabbed one of the stones from the area and threw it at Serpent. It hit the temple area.

「Guoh!? Girl, what are you doing?」

「That’s my line! What do you think you’re doing with a naked maiden!?」

「As if I know! I mean, why would a Dragon be interested in a naked human…」

「Shut up, shut up! I can’t be a bride anymore～ Uwaaahn!」

「What a sweet girl you are…」

They couldn’t even talk properly because Alfiris started to get tongue-tied, so for now, the Serpent was holding Alfiris’ clothes—— Alfiris was dressed as she had been when she woke up and went to bed, almost in her underwear—— He brought it to her and urged her to put it on. Then, when Alfiris put on her clothes, he led her to a raised platform where she was head level with him.

「Well, let me introduce myself again. My name is Serpent. I am one of the True Dragons that live in this swamp.」

「My name is Alfiris. I’m sorry I was so distraught earlier.」

「Mhm, I’m the one who brought you here in a forceful way. No wonder you were confused, since you were brought to me by the magic of seduction, by disillusionment, and by putting you in my mouth. Especially after using so much magic. I could feel you from a mile away.」

「Why did you bring me here?」

「That’s a fair question.」

Serpent nodded.

「Actually, I got a call from Fairtuse. She had a girl who was seriously ill and needed my help. I was somewhat surprised to see that it was a girl with Gwen’s scent on her.」

「With Gwen?」

「Mhm. He, myself, and another True Dragon named Maia the Sky Dragon are childhood friends. Gwen is the oldest, but we are bosom friends. We haven’t seen each other for a while now, but still, we all get together once every 50 years. I could smell that Gwen, so I stopped moving. I may have just been surprised, but there were others there, and I couldn’t talk to you there, so I left then. But I guess Gwen was the one who led us to this conversation.」

「That time…」

She remembered when she were traveling in the swamp people’s boat. At that time, Alfiris thought she was seen by a huge creature, but apparently she wasn’t mistaken. If it was a True Dragon, it was understandable that she felt somewhat nostalgic. The atmosphere was similar to that of Gwendolf.

「That’s that little hand. Why does Alfiris have Gwen’s fangs?」

「I got it as a parting gift when I left for my trip.」

「Ohh… I didn’t realize Gwen would do such a thing. May I ask for more details?」

「Go ahead.」

Alfiris gave a detailed account of her history with Gwendolf. From Alfiris, how she used to play on Gwen’s head, how she pulled off one of his scales and went with Aldreus to apologize. Serpent was amazed at the story and listened, rolling his eyes.

「Mhm, you’re a very strange girl, Alfiris.」

「Really? Well, Gwen is kind. Maybe he just spoiled me.」

「He may be special to you, though. After all, he was once known as the『Destructive Dragon』and was the most violent member of the True Dragon clan. No one but us childhood friends would approach him out of fear, back in the day. But now he is the head of the True Dragon. Things change as they change.」

「Heh～ That’s surprising. But is he that great, Gwen?」

This time, Alfiris rolls her eyes.

「Well, for the『New Generation.』The old generation of True Dragons—— the old dragons, were all already asleep. So didn’t Gwen have someone else’s child in his care?」

「Muh, come to think of it, I think he was warming eggs… I thought that was weird for a male.」

「I suppose so. The True Dragon Head’s job is to witness the birth of new life and to be a godparent. It’s also the safest place for a parent dragon to be under a chief. Immediately after birth, even a True Dragon is defenseless because it’s considerably drained of strength.」

「But I thought it had a father dragon.」

「The birth of a True Dragon is a big event, Alfiris. The mating pair cannot move for several years after giving birth. That’s why Gwen keeps the eggs warm.」

「I see. Come to think of it, I was allowed to hold eggs, too～!」

「That… well, okay.」

The Serpent slurred his words a bit, but Alfiris had no idea what he meant.

「So, what is Fairtuse to Serpent?」

「Ohh, she and I are good friends. She asked me to do something for her, because she can’t help herself. She’s a wonder girl, and I told her not to let her die. So I brought her here. This is the land I continue to purify. The mud in the swamp always passes through here once. I clean the mud that flows through here, and then it flows to the other lands. I figured if I used the water here, Alfiris would be less polluted. In short, I’m the water regulator.」

「Heh. I didn’t know that.」

She remembered Aerial once boasted that the water on the prairie was very clean. She said that the many fairies were probably self-cleaning, but from what she heard from Euthy, water spirits were rarely found on the prairie. Then, Serpent would be there to purify the water. Alfiris expressed honest admiration and gratitude to Serpent.

「It’s lower than the surrounding area. It’s not only water that gathers here, but also heavy things, such as bad air, negative emotions, and so on. If this place goes bad, places like Central Plains will be a much rougher place to live.」

「Really?」

「Mhm, the source of water in the Central Plains is melt water from the Pirevos Snowfield, but the entire area around the Central Highway is watered from here. The group of states further east seemed to have their from the Rockhayer Great Snowfield. Well, I only found out about it when I started living here.」

「So without Serpent, the Central Highway can’t do it… Thanks, Serpent!」

「What is that suddenly?」

「No, I am honestly grateful. I had no idea that there was such a benefit that I didn’t know about until now.」

「Muh. Well, it’s what I like to do… but I don’t feel bad about it.」

Serpent was initially amused, but seemed to like being thanked. Although he seemed a little embarrassed.

「Well, how are you feeling?」

「It’s like it’s all good now! Why was I so irritated…?」

When Alfiris looked at her arm, she saw that the Curse Mark that had invaded her entire arm so much was completely reduced in size. It was completely back to the state it was in when she started her journey.

「I don’t know. Anyway, all the evil thoughts that were leaking out of the seal that Aldreus and you had applied were swept away. Perhaps it was bad enough that that Curse Mark was forcing you to keep a lid on it. From now on, you’d better get along with that Curse Mark.」

「I see. But maybe there was nothing I could do about it at the time.」

「Well, I don’t have any expertise either. Does this Aldreus and his ilk have any measures left?」

Serpent’s question is valid. But Alfiris was only told in his will to「go to the eastern city of Begrad and visit a man named Hausen.」She had no idea what that meant.

「Hmmm, I was told to visit a place called Begrad.」

「Begrad, Begrad… I see, that might be a good way to go.」

「Do you know anything about it?」

Alfiris looks at Serpent and asks.

「No, I just predicted it. You’ll know what to expect when you get there.」

「What, stingy!」

「Don’t say that. Shouldn’t you be getting back by now? You’ve been asleep for a whole day.」

「Ehh, really!?」

Alfieres was surprised at the unexpected passage of time. She didn’t think she had slept for a whole day. She had thought it was just the end of the night after that.

「Mhm. Fairtuse said we could meet up at the exit of the swamp, so I’ll give you a ride there. You can ride on my back. From here, we’ll be there by dawn.」

「But the sun is still high…」

「Don’t underestimate the size of the swamp. Even if you plow through the shortest distance here, the land is still 100 km long. If a normal person were to walk, it would take a month to reach the exit because of the zigzag path. But you can get to the exit in one day, and you should be thankful for that.」

「I see that too. I’m sorry. I’m selfish. You saved me.」

「I don’t mind. If Gwen is good enough to entrust you with his hand, I must do something for you.」

Serpent stated somewhat scornfully, and Alfiris laughed a little. But as she was about to walk over to the Serpent, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

「Something wrong?」

「I… said horrible things to everyone and hurt Miranda in the process. Can they forgive me…?」

Alfiris hangs up her head. Seeing this, Serpent wondered for a moment what to do, but he didn’t know what kind of face he would get from Fairtuse if he couldn’t take Alfiris with him there.

「Hmm, that’s a tough question.」

「Hey, what do you think I should do? What do you think I should do to get their forgiveness?」

「Don’t ask me. So why don’t you ask the girls?」

「Eh?」

Alfiris is scowling.

「I think you try to answer too much on your own. You should just ask them. And while some of the consequences may be unforgivable, others may not be, right? You can’t start worrying about it alone.」

「That’s kind of optimistic, isn’t it?」

「But it is true. No matter how enjoyable something is, it will only become uninteresting if you think about it when you’re feeling down. On the other hand, even when it isn’t enjoyable at all, it’ll become enjoyable if you do it with a feeling of heavenly joy.」

「Really?」

「Really.」

Alfiris folded her arms and thought about it for a bit, but eventually seemed convinced.

「Okay, then I will do that! Thank you, Serpent!」

「Well, I’m glad I could help. Then you can ride on my back.」

「Here?」

「No, that would be my head, for all intents and purposes.」

「Eh—? This is where I feel most comfortable riding!」

「Guuh… How dare you, my brother, spend so many years in the company of this girl…」

And just as the Serpent was about to start moving with Alfiris on board, a sad cry was heard somewhere.

「Guuuoooooon.」

「Is that?」

「It’s Rouge…」

The moment he hears the cry, the Serpent’s eyes cloud over with sadness.

「Sorry, Alfiris. May I take a short detour?」

「I have no right to disagree with you.」

「Mhm」

The Serpent then placed Alfiris on his head and turned to leave. A moment later, Serpent glanced further downstream from where Alfiris was sleeping. The water at that spot was jet black and murky.

「（It went unnoticed until the very end… in fact, Alfiris was sleeping on the second level from the top of the five-tiered waterfall. In the following third level, the water has completely discolored due to the curse that leaks out of Alfiris. Each time, I had to change her up one level at a time… What was going on, that so many curses could be packed into just one person?

A man like Aldreus is a big deal for putting a lid on such a curse, but this girl is also a big deal for being able to contain so much of it. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but I can understand why Gwendolf and Fairtuse care. I wonder who this girl really is. Well, it’s none of my business, and it’s usually forbidden for True Dragons to have anything to do with humans. And if the chief himself breaks that rule, Brother Gwen, I’ll ask you what you’re up to next time I see you.）」

Alfiris couldn’t have known that Serpent was thinking such a thing inwardly.