Chapter 56: Lovely Lovey Love

Dorami continued to talk about her adventures, encouraged by Yuki-san’s enthusiasm.

The storytelling filled with gestures never stopped and before I knew it, it was getting dark.

“And that’s how Dorami got 2nd place in the Cute Contest!” (Dorami)

“You’re amazing! Even though everyone already had experience participating in the contest, you still got 2nd place! Of course, Delmo-chan, who devoted herself to training day after day is amazing, but you’re amazing too!” (Yuki)

“Y-you don’t have to praise Dorami that much…” (Dorami)

“On the contrary, I want to praise you even more!” (Yuki)

“…Do you want to hear more about Dorami’s cool stories?” (Dorami)

“By all means! Your everyday life seems to be filled with fun! Just listening to your stories makes me happy too!” (Yuki)

“Umu. Every day is definitely fun! Whenever Dorami wakes up in the morning, she thinks about all the things that she can do that day! But, the most fun thing is definitely adventuring! We’re even going to the capital tomorrow!” (Dorami)

“Right. Since we have to leave early tomorrow, it’s about time to go back.” (Jade)

After nodding and taking a sip of her lukewarm milk, Dorami stood up.

“Thank you for the delicious milk!” (Dorami)

“I-if you don’t mind, I can also serve you some stew.” (Yuki)

“There’s stew?!” (Dorami)

“There is! It’s a stew filled with meat! Lots of it!” (Yuki)

“What are we going to do, Jade? It’s rude to refuse after being told this much…” (Dorami)

I wouldn’t go that far, but…

“Well, since she’s already offered, why not?” (Jade)

“Yeah!” (Dorami)

“Then, I will go and heat it up right away!” (Yuki)

“Dorami will help you too!” (Dorami)

“You’re such a good girl…” (Yuki)

Yuki-san is on the verge of tears.

It’s like a mother rejoicing at her child’s growth.

I wonder if she had a child she was separated from for some reason and she’s seeing traces of that child in Dorami?

Well…

I don’t know about her circumstances, but I don’t mind helping out.

After we prepared the meal and ate the stew…

I took a deep breath as I started my plan.

“We’re sorry for having stayed so long. We should head back now.” (Jade)

“Thank you for the delicious stew!” (Dorami)

Grab!

As we were about to leave, Yuki-san held onto Dorami’s arm.

“Y-you shouldn’t go outside right now! It seems like there’s a blizzard coming soon!”

“But the sky is all blue.” (Dorami)

“She’s from this country of snow, I’m sure she has some sort of special sense for it.” (Jade)

“That’s exactly right, Jade-san! Since that’s the case, it’s better for you to just stay the night!” (Yuki)

While speaking quickly, Yuki-san opened one of the doors.

It was the bedroom.

“If we sleep there, wouldn’t Yuki-san have no place to sleep?” (Jade)

“There’s no need to worry about me!” (Yuki)

“Can Dorami check how comfortable it’s going to be?” (Dorami)

“Please, go ahead!” (Yuki)

She seemed really sleepy after all that talking and eating.

Dorami happily stepped into the bedroom—before suddenly stepping back.

“I-it’s really cold in here…” (Dorami)

Well, since we were in a pretty warm room the entire day, it’d definitely feel like that.

If she sleeps in a cold room just like this, she might catch a cold.

In that case…

“I’ll go back to the inn and get a sleeping bag.” (Jade)

“Are you sure?” (Dorami)

“Yeah. Since you worked really hard today and in preparation for tomorrow, you should sleep in the warm room.” (Jade)

“Yay! Dorami’s leaving it to you~!” (Dorami)

Dorami sent me off with a smile as I rushed to the inn.

I told the owner that we’d be sleeping at Yuki-san’s house tonight and brought back the sleeping bag.

“You were pretty fast.” (Yuki)

“I have confidence in my speed. Dorami here… you look really sleepy.” (Jade)

“Uu… Thank you for getting the sleeping bag…” (Dorami)

“You’re welcome. Let’s go and set it up.” (Jade)

When I unfurled the sleeping bag, Dorami immediately crawled into it.

Probably because she was very sleepy, she immediately fell asleep.

“She really fell asleep in no time.” (Yuki)

“She did her best to help the owner today.” (Jade)

“Even you must feel tired after helping out… It’s very nice of you to go out of your way and get a sleeping bag just so she doesn’t have to sleep in the cold.” (Yuki)

“No, I’m not really that tired. Besides, I also want Dorami to get a good night’s sleep to recover her strength.” (Jade)

“…Is it because you’ll be troubled if she’s tired tomorrow?” (Yuki)

“It’s not like that. I just like traveling with Dorami when she’s energetic.” (Jade)

“You must really like traveling with Dorami…” (Yuki)

“Yeah. I’m really glad that I met her that day.” (Jade)

“By that day, you mean…” (Yuki)

Yuki-san seemed interested in how Dorami and I first met.

I’m not sleepy yet so I can talk to her a little bit.

“…If you don’t mind, do you want to talk about Dorami some more?” (Jade)

“May I ask that of you?” (Yuki)

“Of course. Though I say that, it’s all about Dorami anyway.” (Jade)

“Even so, I want to hear it. I want to know everything about her!”

I began to recount the events from the day I first met Dorami.

I hid the parts about Dorami being a white dragon and told Yuki-san everything else.

About how she wandered alone and lived in the ruins.

How she was overjoyed to live in a safe environment—to have food, clothing, and housing.

She was pretty timid at first but got more and more curious the more time we spent together.

How we went from picking flowers at the World Tree to fishing in the ocean.

I also told her things like buying matching pouches with her friend, getting the courage to fight monsters with them, and even driving the monsters away, stuff like that.

“I see. That girl has certainly gone through a lot of things… To have someone like you protecting her, Lovely Lovey Love-chan must feel really blessed.” (Yuki)

“Lovely… What?” (Jade)

T/N: ラブリーラブリンラブ (Raburi Raburin Rabu) LMAO

“I-it’s nothing! I said Dorami-chan! Jade-san must’ve just misheard what I said!” (Yuki)

No, no, there’s no way I could’ve mistaken “Dorami” for “Lovely Lovely Love-chan”.

She’s been curious about Dorami since they met, treated her with considerable affection, and even calls her by some original name.

Her pure long white hair and eyes are just like Dorami’s.

And, Dorami also told me before. She used to live in a very cold place.

Could it be that she’s…

“Yuki-san, are you perhaps Dorami’s mother?” (Jade)

“E-eeeh?! Y-you are referring to me?! Y-y-y-you’re mistaken! I don’t have the slightest bit of a connection with that girl!” (Yuki)

She immediately denied it. But, as soon as she said it, Yuki-san had a pained expression on her face.

There must be a reason she’s refusing to tell the truth, even if it meant she had to endure.

And, I have an inkling of what it is.

“It’s okay. I already know about Dorami’s identity.” (Jade)

“…Eh? You already know?” (Yuki)

“Yes. But, I won’t tell anyone about your true identity, and I have no intention of causing harm either. And, of course, I won’t try and pry into Yuki-san’s secrets either.” (Jade)

Yuki-san stared at me, trying to figure out if I was trustworthy or not.

Then, she turned her gaze to Dorami. After she made a really happy expression, she turned back to me and gave me a small nod.

“This girl trusts you from the bottom of her heart. After listening to her stories and hearing what you said and did, I have decided that you are someone I can trust. Therefore, I will reveal my secret.” (Yuki)

Saying that, Yuki-san slowly took off her hood.

There were two horns growing there.

Pure white horns that stretched from the top of her ears to her forehead.

As I thought—

“Yuki-san, you’re a white dragon too, huh.” (Jade)

“Yes. I am a white dragon and… I am also this girl’s mother.” (Yuki)

Yuki-san loves Dorami.

It’s not that her motherly instinct grew when they reunited. She’s been taking very good care of Dorami when they lived together. Yuki-san didn’t really want to get separated from her.

In that case, why did she leave her?

“Is it alright if you tell me about your situation?“ (Jade)

“That’s what I intend to do…” (Yuki)

Yuki-san looked into the distance as if recalling her past, and began to talk about her circumstances.

“Dragons are very difficult to live with.” (Yuki)

“Dorami said the same thing before. She says she’s always hungry because of her bad food consumption rate.” (Jade)

“And on top of that, we are always fighting over territories and being targeted by adventurers. Our lives are always at stake every day.” (Yuki)

“Did you decide to live as a human because you wanted to live a peaceful life?” (Jade)

“Yes. But, as you can see, my human form isn’t perfect so I decided to live in the Ice Kingdom, where people won’t look suspicious even if they wear heavy clothes all year round. That said, I’m still doing far better than my husband. Even though he’s transformed into a human, he still had his horns, wings, and tail.” (Yuki)

“Is her father also in the Ice Kingdom?” (Jade)

“Yes, but when I got pregnant with this girl, we split up.” (Yuki)

“Why?” (Jade)

“Because my husband wanted to live as a dragon. I love my husband, but I wanted Dorami to live as a human.” (Yuki)

The life of a dragon is both inconvenient and dangerous.

She doesn’t want her cute daughter to bear it, so she decided to raise her by herself.

But…

“In that case, why did you make Dorami go on a journey alone?” (Jade)

“I can’t hide my dragon traits. If my true identity ever comes to light, this girl will also be in danger.” (Yuki)

So from the time she got pregnant with Dorami, she already planned to leave her.

That’s also why she decided not to reveal her identity to Dorami as her mother.

If she reveals that she’s Dorami’s mother, she wouldn’t want to leave her.

“I taught this girl the human language and I sent her off to a warmer country when she turned five.” (Yuki)

I already heard the rest of the story from Dorami.

Now I know about Dorami’s past.

But there’s still one thing I don’t understand…

“So in the end, what is Lovely Lovey Love?” (Jade)

“It’s this girl’s name. Did you not hear it from her?” (Yuki)

“She’s never used it before.” (Jade)

When I asked her what she wanted me to call her, she just told me to use whatever I wanted.

It was probably too long so she didn’t recognize it as her name.

“So, should I call her Lovely Lovey Love from now on?” (Jade)

T/N: Please no.

“Don’t do it. She will live with the name you have given her from now on. After all, I’m no longer her guardian… And, I ask that you continue to take care of her.” (Yuki)

“Of course. …But, if Yuki-san wants to, I can have it arranged for you to live with Dorami again.” (Jade)

“What do you mean by that?” (Yuki)

“In the Kingdom of Sundeil, white dragons aren’t allowed to be subjugated. I can ask the King if you want to live in peace. You can just live in my house, or buy a house nearby.” (Jade)

“I’m happy that you think that way. However, I cannot reveal my identity to this girl.” (Yuki)

“Why? If you just tell her your circumstances, I’m sure she’ll accept you…” (Jade)

“For this girl, the thing she loves the most is going on adventures with you. If her mother suddenly reappears, she’ll only get confused.” (Yuki)

“From now on, please continue to take care of Dorami,” she bowed so I ended up nodding.

“I’ll continue taking responsibility and watch over Dorami.” (Jade)

“I’m counting on you. I’ll be looking forward to hearing the stories about Dorami, who has become a hero in a faraway land.” (Yuki)

She said all that in an impatient tone but continued, “Even so…”

“I never expected that I would be able to meet my daughter again. Why have you come all the way to the Ice Kingdom?” (Yuki)

“We’re looking for an adventurer named Onyx-san.” (Jade)

“Onyx-san, huh…” (Yuki)

“…Do you know him?” (Jade)

“Well, I don’t know if they’re the same person. The Onyx-san that I know if is a well-built man with a scar on his right cheek.” (Yuki)

That’s Onyx-san!

“W-when did you last see that person?” (Jade)

“It was about 12 years ago.” (Yuki)

“12 years ago?!” (Jade)

“Yes. This was right before I became pregnant with Dorami. I suffered from frostbite and rode a train to buy some medicine. That’s when I met Onyx-san. He noticed my symptoms and shared some of his frostbite medicine.” (Yuki)

He has a scar on his right cheek, has a good physique, had some frostbite medicine, and she met him about 12 years ago.

That’s definitely the Onyx-san that we’ve been looking for!

“Where was Onyx-san going?!” (Jade)

“He did not inform me about his destination…” (Yuki)

“I see…” (Jade)

“However, he did tell me what he was going to do.” (Yuki)

“W-what did he say?!” (Jade)

I leaned forward, eagerly anticipating her answer.

Then, came the answer I’d been searching for.

“That he was going to exterminate a Medusa.” (Yuki)