Chapter 137
The season has grown a little warmer, though not enough for the snow to melt.
Morning patrols are getting easier.
On my way to the lake where Eko is, I can see a plaza.
Yeah... Everyone's doing well, aren't they?
I seem to have somehow gotten them to understand that magic first thing in the morning is a no-go.
This may be the thing I tried hardest to get across all winter.
If only we could talk...
I want a voice-calling app on my smartphone.
No, there was a toy in Japan that could understand how dogs felt, wasn't there?
That would work, too... Ah, no, that won't do—we couldn't communicate.
Could magic somehow solve this?
...I can't think of anything at all.
If I had my little sister's knowledge of manga and dramas, maybe I could think of something.
Maybe I should have listened to my little sister a little more.
...Would I remember something just because I heard about something I had no interest in?
No way.
My job isn't useful in this world, either.
My job is cleaning up hoarders' homes...
When I went to clean a house and someone incredibly beautiful came out, I was surprised at first.
Sometimes the eating habits I could infer from the trash really put me off.
It was a company where people could request cleanups handled as top secret... Well, it was fun.
We'd package up the trash and haul it out so the neighbors wouldn't find out.
We'd even change our clothes so no one would realize we were cleaners.
Or we'd go the opposite way and become an incredibly high-end cleaning service... It was interesting.
I wonder who took over my regular clients?
...Oh, well.
Oh, all the lizards are gathered.
It's lively in front of Eko today, too.
The one that followed Drone Clairvoyance seemed to be one I knew, too.
It's a lizard with an incredibly carefree air, and its magic is impossible to pin down.
...Huh?
As I approach Eko, I feel beautiful magic enveloping the lizards.
Following the flow of the magic, it seems to be coming from Eko.
What are they doing?
As I watch, a sudden gust of wind blows.
I close my eyes and wait for the wind to die down.
"Phew."
I look at the lizards again... Lizards...?
...Seriously?
...They're not lizards.
Uh... no way... Is this shape... a dragon?
It's a dragon like the ones you see on temple ceilings and folding screens.
No, its face is more endearing than theirs, though... Is it real? A dragon...?
...Um... calm down. That's right... calm down.
This is another world, after all. It wouldn't be strange for dragons to exist.
Yeah, it wouldn't be strange for dragons to exist.
...Isn't it weird for a dragon's childhood form to be fluffy?
That's not right!
No, that's not what I mean. Well, Fuwafuwa and Marshmallow do feel out of place as a dragon's childhood forms, but...
But that's not the issue right now... What was the issue again?
Their growth rate is way too fast... But even now... No, is that the problem?
Calm down!
Dragons exist in this world.
That much is okay.
And the one in front of me is a dragon.
No mistake about that... They look like dragons, after all.
Fuwafuwa, the Flying Lizard, Marshmallow, the red ball of yarn, and the newcomer.
They're companions.
I've calmed down a little... I think.
I look at the small dragons before me.
They're small, though they're bigger than I am.
They're smaller than the dragons I saw in textbooks.
They're beautiful.
They had scales as lizards, too, but they didn't have a sheen like this.
They didn't have scales when they were a ball of yarn, either.
Now that they've become dragons, their scales have a sheen, making them look as if they're wrapped in a gentle light.
Yeah, they're beautiful.
...Can we still be companions now that they're dragons?
I think of dragons as solitary.
Could this be goodbye, then?
One of the dragons comes closer, and I feel a little nervous.
When its head comes near... I pet it as usual.
...There doesn't seem to be a problem.
It closes its eyes contentedly.
Is the magic I feel in these pale-blue scales Fuwafuwa's?
Marshmallow and the Flying Lizard come over, too, lower their heads, and let me pet them.
Thank goodness.
As I pet them one by one, the remaining two come over as well.
The red dragon is the one that used to be the red ball of yarn, and the one whose scales shine like opals is the newest arrival.
I pet them one by one... They look as though they're enjoying it.
No problem.
...Oh, their names are so far removed from how they look now, and calling them lizards is...