Dragonlord

Ep 208. You’re Not From This Time, Are You? (1)

Ep 208. You’re Not From This Time, Are You? (1)

“…Is he dead?”

“No!...Probably.”

“…Probably?”

“Look, it was just a light smack on the head. I didn’t think he’d just…go out cold like that.”

“…”

It hadn’t taken very long for Serenis to reunite with her brother.

Unfortunately, what caught her attention most in their reunion wasn’t Patrick himself – instead, it was the carriage behind the awkwardly-standing mage.

…And the elven knight that laid motionless by the cart’s side. Even a couple pokes to the head failed to produce any noticeable response.

“Look, I had no choice, he noticed Iris was missing and was about to go call up a bunch others to look for her! It’s not like I can talk my way out of that!”

“That’s still no reason to resort to violence, Patrick.”

“…But you resort to violence all the time.”

“…”

While the dragonlord only gave back a narrow glare in response, Iris quickly cut through the two siblings, making her way towards the fallen knight. She briefly checked for their breathing and pulse, letting out a small, relieved sigh afterwards.

“…At least it’s nothing serious. He should be up after a while, I’m sure he’ll be able to make it back to Senon on his own later. But then it’s only a matter of time until they notice we’re gone, so…we should hurry and leave.”

As soon as Iris finished her piece, Serenis briskly prepared to leave as she readied herself to change forms again.

But the enforcer immediately put her hand over the dragonlord’s shoulder, shaking her head to stop Serenis in place.

“Actually, let’s…not have you fly us the rest of the way. Especially not in your other form. There’s no telling how many airborne keeps we’ll find like Senon, so unless you’re planning to demolish every single one, it’d be wise not to draw too much attention.”

“…Hm.”

While that was all it took to stop the dragonlord’s transformation, Patrick’s expression was hardening by the second as he turned his head towards the distant horizon.

Though, with how dark the night was, he could hardly make sense of what he was even looking at…or how far he was looking at.

“Wait, but if we’re not flying there…we’d have to walk, won’t we?”

“…Yeah?”

“Isn’t that way too slow?”

“I mean…it’d be slower than having Serenis fly us, but we’ll try to hurry and-“

In that moment, both mages’ eyes drifted towards the exact same direction.

“…”

“…”

In the awkward silence that followed, even Serenis followed their gaze – towards the empty carriage that had temporarily been relieved of a driver. Unaware of the misfortune that had befallen its owner, the steed that had been pulling the cart seemed as content as ever, indulging in the unexpected moment of respite.

 And soon, both mages were beginning to have the exact same thoughts forming in their heads.

“…”

“…”

Patrick and Iris wordlessly met each other’s gaze.

Hijacking a carriage was a crime. That went without saying.

But to delve a little deeper, flying over Karia’s border was already a crime.

Using deceit to fool the knights was a crime.

Breaking out of the dungeon was a crime, and…

Truth be told, their entire goal – destroying Letherien’s divinity – was probably the most heinous of crimes in these parts.

So, with all that said…

‘Would stealing one carriage really make a difference?’

Of course, Iris – a representative of an organization that presides over law and regulation – was loathe to commit herself to such acts…

…Is what Patrick would’ve liked to believe, but by the time he realized the enforcement rep was already seated at the driver’s seat, beckoning him and Serenis over.

“What are you waiting for? Get on.”

“…Iris, you’re the enforcement sector’s representative. Are you sure you can be stealing things like this?”

“I left some coin in his pocket.”

“…That’s not the point.”

“Well, would you rather we walk and waste time? Letherien could be burning another city to the ground in the meantime. If we can save hundreds by stealing a cart, I’ll gladly do it.”

“…”

Her words made sense. Just the words, at least.

So, Patrick was probably just imagining the smug grin on his friend’s face.

✧   ✧   ✧

After an entire night’s worth of traveling, the party found itself passing by a rural village – a typical farmers’ land, with wheatfields encompassing more than ten times the land houses occupied.

And while Serenis remained perfectly indifferent by the scenery, with elves occupying this otherwise ‘typical’ farmland, it was nothing short of amazing for Patrick.

“Huh…so even elves grow crops. That’s interesting.”

“…Is it? They’re people, just like you.”

“Still! Elves are different from humans. I mean, they live way longer, for one. I’ve never even heard of an elf farmer back in Wayla.”

But what followed Patrick’s short observation was a long sigh from his sibling.

“…A longer lifespan is not necessarily a good trait, Patrick.”

“Huh? Why? What’s there to be bad about living longer?”

“Not every day is a joyous occasion for the living. If one’s life is filled with nothing but misery, then a longer life is but a curse to them.”

“Wha…that’s so negative. And that’s not a common thing, you know.”

“…”

In that moment, Serenis wordlessly gestured towards the front of the carriage.

Soon, Patrick’s gaze drifted over towards Iris – the enforcer rep who was still driving the cart half-asleep.

And once, the deity of mana who’d possessed a limitless lifespan.

“…Iris, you wanna switch? You look like you’re about to faint.”

“Huh? Uh…I’m fine. It’s nothing…”

“No seriously, I’ll take the reins. You used up a ton of mana last night, and you stayed up until morning afterwards. Those mana pills aren’t elixirs, you know.”

“…I guess…”

But when Patrick prepared to get up and head towards the front, Serenis briskly rose to her feet first, pushing Patrick back down onto the carriage.

“I’ll do it. Take care of Iris.”

“…? Do you even know how to drive a carriage?”

“I need to make the steed go forward, yes?”

“…Yeah?”

“That’s not difficult.”

With that, Iris soon shuffled out, with Serenis replacing the enforcer as the driver.

Though, instead of properly taking the reins, the dragonlod instead gave a pressuring, menacing glare towards the poor steed before her.

“…”

“…”

A beast wouldn’t understand words.

But it definitely knows what to do to not get eaten by a predator.

And with the carriage continuing to apace, Iris slumped down onto the back of the carriage, eyes already closing against her will.

“Ugh…yeah, maybe using portals back and forth and staying up after wasn’t a good idea. Wake me up if something happens.”

“Hey, before you go to sleep…can I ask you something?”

“...Sure. What?”

“Why did you want to become a human?”

“…?”

Her friend’s unexpected question was more than enough to make the enforcer open her eyes back up. She gave a narrow, questioning stare towards Patrick, doubting what she’d just heard from him.

“…What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Y’know, just curious. Serenis told me that you basically threw away your divinity. Like you didn’t even want it.”

“I mean…I did.”

“If you avoided Serenis, you could’ve kept living as a deity though, right? Why’d you…well, give up?”

“…”

A long pause settled into the carriage as Iris seemed to ponder the question. Even though it shouldn’t have been a difficult question to answer, the enforcer found it strangely difficult to string her words together.

Or find the correct word, for that matter.

“…Because I was unhappy.”

“Unhappy? You, a deity?”

“Yep.”

And with that, Iris’ eyes closed themselves once more as she laid down onto the carriage floors, adding to her answer with a half-asleep voice.

“You’ve seen how some of us are. I hated being a part of the Twelve…most of us don’t even talk to each other. And even if you do manage to make another friend, they just end up dying in the blink of an eye.”

“…Are you saying I’d die in the blink of an eye?”

“If you live forever, everything dies in the blink of an eye.”

“….”

“I wanted to live with others. Not above others.”

Although there were the few occasions where Iris missed having an infinite amount of mana, she never truly regretted her decision to discard her divinity.

…As proof, she had a genuine friend sitting across where she was, nodding his head to the enforcer’s story.

A friend who hopefully wouldn’t die in the blink of an eye this time.