7DP 193

BGM: Wuthering Waves 2.8A MSQ Part 11[Please Help with subscribe]

193: The Dragon Girl Think

TL : Cnine

ED/PF :

Part 1

　――It has been three days since he left for the battlefield.

　Far behind the front lines, in a serene mansion within the city, Lyla and the others spent their days in anxiety.

　The mansion, set at the edge of a tranquil lake, had once served as a summer resort for a noble of the Defteros Kingdom.

　It seemed airy and unguarded compared to a fortress or citadel, yet in fact, Jilbagias’s hand-picked night-elf hunters patrolled the premises of the mansion, maintaining a watch so tight that not even an ant could pass through.

　Yes— not so much as an ant could hope to pass unnoticed.

　They were watched from outside and from within.

「We could never face His Highness if anything happened to either of you,」

　Vigne the maid had said on behalf of the night-elves.

　But being treated as 『Jilbagias' cherished concubines』 and guarded like fragile ornaments, carefully kept out of harm’s way, was far more suffocating than they had ever expected.

　Nevertheless, Lyla did not care about that.

　As a dragonkin—and the strongest one here apart from the demons—she was granted at least a small degree of freedom to come and go.

　However, the same could not be said for Liliana, who was surrounded by the night-elves around the clock and, with no Jilbagias to reassure her, had grown visibly drained.

（Well… of course she has, Lyla thought.）

　For Lyla, it would be like being ringed by dark dragons, treated as 『Jilbagias' Partner』 and fussed over with fake politeness. The thought alone was depressing.

　And Liliana had endured worse—far worse. Lyla had only been kept in a cave; Liliana had suffered something close to real hell.

　So Lyla made sure to bring her outside during the daytime. The night-elves, who had to guard them from a distance under their sun-resistant cloaks, probably didn’t appreciate it.

　But Liliana needed whatever time she could get away from them.

「The weather is starting to feel warm,」

「Nya~...」

「Woof?」

　Came the listless replies from Garounya and Liliana beside her—Liliana sprawled out, Garounya slumped with her legs flopped forward in defeat.

　Liliana being relaxed was only natural, but Garounya had started out as Jilbagias’s bodyguard and emergency stand-in.

　Now she had somehow ended up as Liliana’s caretaker—and possibly her pet cat—and being left behind instead of going to the front had clearly hit her harder than she liked to admit.

“I’m not even Liliana’s bodyguard, you kn—yaaa,” Garounya muttered, voicing a complaint she almost never allowed herself.

　Liliana wilted a little at that, and Garounya hurried to add, “B-but it’s not that I dislike you, meow. Of course not.”

（…Time just refuses to move, Lyla thought.）

　With Liliana’s head resting on her lap, Lyla stroked her hair and gazed absently out across the lake.

　Her days in the dragon’s cave had been miserable—but these days, spent doing nothing but waiting for Jilbagias to return, were even harder to endure than those days.

『What if... something happened to him on the battlefield?』

　She didn’t want to think about it, but the fear crept in all the same.

「...」

　Even Liliana, who looked perfectly at ease resting on Lyla’s lap, would sometimes open her eyes with a faintly troubled, distant look and stare out across the lake. She, too, was far from calm.

（Since he’s a member of the Reiju clan, he’s harder to kill… or so I tell myself…）

　And the healing he normally relied on Liliana for was now something he had to manage alone. Not that anyone doubted his transpose curse—after all the injuries he’d taken during training and while treating night-elves, no one did.

（But… he has to sacrifice humans in order to heal his injuries…）

　Just imagining it made her chest tighten in pain.

　It was a secret shared only between Lyla and Liliana.

　――The secret about his true identity.

　If he were ever injured and forced to claim human lives just to recover, how unbearable would that be for him?

　He was, after all, out on the battlefield. He had long since prepared himself. Prepared himself to defeat the Demon King, even if it meant sacrificing his own kin.

　How much anguish must be gnawing at his soul――

　Lyla, who now had only him left to protect, couldn’t even begin to fathom such a burden.

「I wonder what Master’s doing nyeo~w,」

　Garounya said, flicking up the hem of her maid skirt with playful kicks.

「He might be killing humans left and right by now, meo~w… Oh—but since it is daytime now, he might be taking a nap instead.」

　No longer needing to match Jilbagias’s schedule, Garounya had completely reverted to being diurnal.

「... Most probably.」

　Lyla could only give a vague reply.

　Whenever the topic of war arose, she never knew how to respond, and even Garounya—usually so close to her—felt oddly distant at that moment.

　――To Garounya, humans were an enemy to be despised.

　They were the ones who hunted the White Tiger tribe for sport and tormented them for years.

　That was why, when Jilbagias killed humans, it caused her no pang of conscience; if anything, it left her feeling refreshed.

「...」

　And so Lyla’s heart cooled. She found herself thinking, this girl truly belongs to the other side.

　――Yet she was grateful to Garounya.

　When Lyla had been presented to him as an apology, exhausted in both body and spirit, it was Garounya who had stayed by her side and eased her fears.

『I’ll share a bit of meowy snack with you!』

『Lyla! Shall we go to the bath together, meo~w?』

『If your maid dress gets a tear, just ask that person to fix it, meow.』

　From everyday matters to the ins and outs of maid work, she taught Lyla everything, step by step.

　It’s because Garounya was there that Lyla had been able to settle so quickly into Jilbagias’s retinue.

　But...

「Ha~ah, I want to go to the frontline too, meow… I want to avenge my ancestors!」

　Muttering that, Garounya hopped to her feet and began practising a combat form on the spot. Even as a form, it was ferociously brutal: gouging at vital points with her claws and crushing bones with fists and kicks.

　— Skills intended to kill the 『Enemy』.

「To get young master to take me along to the battlefield… I’d have to become Fist Saint.」

　She said, continuing to strike out as if challenging the very logic of the world itself――

　However she struggled, she remained an enemy of humankind.

「...」

　Lyla silently averted her eyes from Garounya.

　She was wondering what would happen to Garounya.

　When Jilbagias’s true purpose came to pass.

　And what she would do then.

　…No, she knew that the answer was obvious. His foes were her foes.

　In that case, she…

「――Ah」

　Lyla’s quiet exclamation stopped Garounya in her tracks.

「What’s the matter, nya?」

「…No, it’s nothing.」

　Lyla smoothed it over with a light smile.

「I just thought I saw a fish jump in the lake.」

「Eh, fish?」

　Garounya’s eyes grew as round as saucers as she peered at the lake’s wind-rippled surface.

（So… this is what that pain means.）

　Lyla quietly touched her chest while Garounya was searching for the supposed fish.

　When she pictured the inevitable future awaiting her and Garounya, a small, sharp ache stirred in her heart.

（This pain――）

　Magnified a hundred or a thousand times,

（Is surely what he――）

　Then perhaps she could understand his feelings, if only a little. --- Yes… this was it. This feeling…

　Lyla smiled faintly and gently laid a hand over her chest,

　as though trying not to forget the ache,

　… or perhaps cherishing it.

「... Hm?」

　At that moment, Garounya turned around.

　From the direction of the mansion, Vigne—the night-elf maid wrapped in her light-blocking cloak—was rushing toward their direction.

「Everyone! His Highness is returning tonight!」

「Eh, so fast!?」

　Garounya’s tail sprang upright, and she let out a startled cry. Even Liliana pushed herself up, unusually responsive to the night-elf’s words.

「Has the war... finished? Or is it—」

　The news came far too soon, and Lyla’s anxiety tightened— but Vigne gave a reassuring smile.

「His Highness is safe and sound. Evaloti has fallen.」

　She too must have only just received the report; a note of excitement lingered in her voice.

「His Highness fought like a raging lion, felling the Hero, the Sword Saint, and countless others—――」

　A sudden, sharp pang ran through Lyla's chest.

「―― However, although the fortress fell earlier than planned, the demons suffered losses far beyond anything we expected…」

　Vigne’s expression crumpled.

「His Highness’s retainers… Kvirtal-sama, and Alvar, and the rest… they…」

　It was unusual to hear her hesitate.

「... All of them were killed in action.」

　Lyla and the others drew a sharp breath.

　Since their meeting in the Reiju clan's territory, they had spent the whole winter among the demonfolk. The three young men—those he jokingly called the “Three Idiots”—had been surprisingly warm-hearted for demons, never looking down on those weaker than them, and well loved by all――

　Lyla had also spoken with them many times.

　For them to be—

「Killed in action...」

　Garounya murmured, fear flickering in her voice.

「...」

　A cold dread spread through Lyla as well.

　Killed in action.

　And casualties among the demons were far harsher than expected.

　It could only mean—more likely, most probably—

　That something unusual had taken place.

　――And indeed, it had.