Chapter 20
“If we keep walking this way, we’ll reach the trail. It usually takes about forty minutes to make a full circuit along my usual route, but it’s manageable... There aren’t any uphill stretches, either.”
“I can walk as long as needed, so don’t worry. I’m fairly fit.”
Well, if he asked why I was so fit, I planned to explain that I’d occasionally gone on adventures here and there, and that my stamina had naturally improved as a result.
After all, it would be a little awkward to tell Kaide that I was a dragon.
Especially since he’d already met Mircania and even had an audience with the dragon in the past, he’d be all the more likely to look at me suspiciously or strangely.
And since I wasn’t confident I could stay calm under that sort of gaze, I was laying the groundwork in advance.
I had no idea how Kaide would look at me if he found out I was Mircania.
The fear that came from that uncertainty was considerable.
“Hmm... There are several things I’d like to talk about, but let’s start with the simplest one. Miss Kana, are you interested in the state of the world?”
“The state of the world... To be honest, I’d say I’m not particularly interested in the big picture.”
To be precise, I simply wasn’t very interested in those things because I already knew how the world would unfold.
But Kaide seemed to interpret my words a little differently. He nodded quietly and asked me another question.
“Then you’re probably more interested in the little things than the big picture, Miss Kana.”
“Yes, I’m more familiar with little bits of information than the overall course of the world. For example, everyday things like a new restaurant opening in the bustling district or a monster wave being expected soon.”
If anything, these little things felt newer to me and more like unknown territory than the grand affairs of the world.
“Oh, are you more interested in that sort of thing? In a way, you might be more interested in news from the domain than even its lords are, Miss Kana.”
“From the perspective of the people who live here, little bits of news tend to matter more than the larger affairs of the world. And even now, the small things are more important to me.”
In the end, I had come here to work as a tutor, and I hadn’t come with any other purpose.
That was why I was sensitive to news directly connected to my own safety, but I wasn’t particularly interested in world affairs and had no intention of becoming so.
I wasn’t likely to have to deal with diplomatic issues, after all.
“Then do you often keep up with news about what’s in Karts’s bustling district or what the people of Karts are doing?”
“...I don’t keep up with much news from outside, but it’s fair to say I’m more interested in it than I am in world affairs.”
“Hmm... In that case, what would you like to do the next time you have some free time?”
I considered his question for a moment.
What would be the most meaningful thing for me to do the next time I had some free time?
I could simply spend some time at a teahouse, or perhaps go on a little outing.
And if the opportunity came, I could even briefly return to my Guardian Dragon form and fulfill the calling written into my fate.
No matter how much I wanted to live, I was living in the body of this world’s Guardian Dragon, after all.
Though rather than borrowing it, I was now the Guardian Dragon myself, so it was fair to say I was the owner of this body.
“Hmm... There are a lot of things I’d like to do. First, I’d like to go to the library and look through some books, and I think it might be nice to go on an outing to the forest now and then.”
“You said you like drinking tea. Don’t you go to cafes?”
“Cafes... Of course, I think going to a cafe sounds nice, but when I have free time, it’ll be these couple of hours before noon and then the time after noon, right? We have tea time then, don’t we?”
I didn’t want to go out and spend money on something I could do here.
Of course, I could always go to my lair and pick up some crystal fragments to sell...
But if I used money I’d acquired so easily for something more meaningful, I thought its value would ultimately increase.
“Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t go to an outside cafe if it meant missing the tea time already scheduled here?”
“Yes. I haven’t had tea here even once yet, but I expect tea time to be the best opportunity to talk with the young master or other people.”
To explain my opinion more clearly, I cleared my throat, looked at Kaide, and continued.
“At least, the people in this residence don’t all do the same work. Each of them fulfills their own role in their own place, but they won’t be doing that during tea time.”
I thought tea time was quite precious, since it was a chance for everyone to focus on one another and take a break together.
“True. Everyone is free to choose who they spend tea time with, but while they’re enjoying it, they can set other matters aside.”
“Yes, that’s why I think tea time, when I can talk to anyone, is better than all the other times when everyone is busy focusing on their own work.”
Conversation comes from having a little breathing room, and I didn’t think it was at all common for everyone to have time to relax together.
How I spent that tea time, which lasted about an hour, was an important question for me.
At least, I’d be spending today’s tea time with Aiden, so I hadn’t given it much further thought.
“Hmm... I, too, think tea time is a wonderful and valuable tradition. It lets me step away for a moment from my position as the Grand Duke, where I’m always focused on work, and talk with the people of the residence as Kaide, just one person.”
Even though I was Aiden’s tutor, there was no reason I had to spend the whole tea time with him.
Aiden might also want to meet and talk with other people during tea time, and if I had the chance, I wanted to spend tea time with the people in this residence, too.
“This may come as a surprise to you, Miss Kana, but the people in this residence always enjoy tea time with others—with whoever they feel like talking to that day. I do the same.”
“Hmm... If even Your Grace does that, then I suppose I can enjoy tea time without feeling too burdened. And I think I may have found an answer to how I might get to know people in this residence.”
At my words, Kaide smiled and nodded as if relieved, then slowly continued our walk.
“Oh, Miss Kana? How much do you know about the North?”
“The North... I’d say I know it somewhat, but I can’t say I know it extremely well.”
“Then there’s a story passed down in the North... or rather, a tale about the Guardian Dragon of the North.”
“The Guardian Dragon...?”
...Out of all the stories he could have chosen, I couldn’t help wondering why he’d brought up that one, but I wasn’t the one steering the conversation.
I could only wait, half curious and half uneasy, to see where Kaide would take it.
“The dragon known as the Iceflower Dragon, Mircania. It’s said that the dragon makes ice flowers bloom to lull monsters to sleep and protect humans. In fact, Mircania has a friendly relationship with our Kalinix family, the dukes of the North.”
“Hmm... Would it be safe to assume you’ve met that dragon in person, Your Grace?”
At my question, Kaide nodded and smiled.
“Yes, I’ve met Mircania in person. I believe I’ve met the dragon about three times. The first would have been at the audience ceremony when I was fifteen.”
The audience ceremony was an event that anyone who took the seat of Grand Duke of the North naturally went through.
In the year a Grand Duke’s child turned fifteen, the heir to the title of Grand Duke of the North and lord of the Principality of Karts would meet Mircania, the Guardian Dragon of the North.
The term referred to that event, and perhaps also to an encounter with the Iceflower Dragon that might happen only once in a lifetime.
It wasn’t unusual for an ordinary human never to meet the Iceflower Dragon in their entire life, so to have an audience with the dragon in person was an incredible opportunity.
“You seem quite curious about the audience ceremony?”
Perhaps he’d noticed how intently I’d been listening. Kaide said that to me, and I could only smile faintly.
I couldn’t exactly tell him that the ceremony was part of my own story—and that I was curious about myself, too.