Isekai Nonbiri Nouka

Chapter 900: Old Lady

「I was having such a nice sleep, and you woke me up! And to top it off, you’re discussing how to burn down my house?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!」

I’m sorry.

「Don’t apologize! Just let my words go in one ear and out the other!」

…Huh?

You mean don’t listen?

「Are you trying to kill me?! An old lady with only a handful of years left?!」

I never meant to….

「Then don’t apologize! Just stand there with an air of authority and let my words slide off you!」

Uh…

「Don’t react! Just let it pass!」

But…

「No buts! Listen, I have every right to be angry! My house was about to be burned down, wasn’t it?!」

Y-Yes, that’s true.

「So I’m angry! You ignore it! That’s all there is to it! That’s all I ask! I don’t expect anything more!」

But then, what’s the point of—

「I’m not trying to squeeze an apology or repentance out of you! But if I just sat here smiling after nearly having my house torched, my guts would boil over! So I need to be angry!」

I really am sorry.

「Don’t apologize! How many times do I have to say it?! I’m just putting on an act to protect my fragile pride!」

But still…

「I said don’t apologize! If you have complaints, take them up with that dragon who gets grumpier every time you apologize! Look at her, she’s gearing up, making all sorts of clanking noises with her armor—wait, no, not now! Think before you act! THINK BEFORE YOU ACTTTTTTT!!」

-0-

It had been only a short while since we met the old lady who had been buried beneath the small hill.

Her name was Bianasista Chrome.

She is Beezel’s grandmother.

When we took her to Mereo’s ranch, Beezel was utterly shocked.

「Y-You are alive?!」

「What kind of rude greeting is that?! Wait a second. Are you really Beezel boy? I could’ve sworn he used to be much cuter.」

「Do you have any idea how many years it’s been since we last met?! I am Beezel, your grandson.」

「…Got any proof?」

「Of course.」

Beezel then performed a strange dance.

Very strange dance.

「It’s the dance I performed for your birthday, honoring you, Grandmother.」

「Ah, yes, yes. That’s the one! I remember now! You really are Beezel boy! You’ve aged, haven’t you?」

「And yet, Grandmother, you remain unchanged.」

「Hahaha! I tried to use some makeup to make myself look younger, though.」

「My apologies. However, considering you look the same as you did two hundred years ago… Hmm? Could it be that the cosmetics you’re using—?」

「They’re from Aphrodite Beauty Products.」

「My wife’s store?!」

「Well, Shirukine manages it, so the quality is good. I’ve been a loyal customer.」

「Thank you for your patronage… Or rather, wait a moment.」

「Hm? What’s the problem?」

「You didn’t seem surprised when I mentioned ‘my wife’s store.’」

「Well, of course, I already knew.」

「But how?! When I got married, you had already gone missing!」

「Hahaha.」

「You won’t fool me with laughter!」

「If you’re going to question me, then you should’ve realized at the mention of ‘Aphrodite Beauty Products’. That store has only been around for about a hundred years.」

「Ah—!」

「You’re still far from it. I’m honestly worried about whether you’re even fit to be one of the Four Heavenly Kings.」

「According to village chief, you were inside the house buried under the hill… But you weren’t just sitting still in there, were you?」

「Of course not. That was just one of my homes. As soon as I built it, a dragon rampaged nearby, and the whole thing got buried.」

「Where have you been since then?」

「Heh, that’s a secret…. Alright, alright, don’t glare at me like that. I’ll tell you.」

「Then, where?」

「Village Five.」

「…………………………」

「Did you not hear me? It’s Village Five near Shashaato City. One of my former subordinates invited me, and it worked well with my job, so I got a house there. When I have free time, I hang out at a cafe called Kuro and Yuki in the village.」

「……………………………………………………………………」

「Oh? What’s the matter? Why did you suddenly freeze? Well, I suppose it is close to the royal capital. Maybe that surprised you?」

Beezel’s grandmother turned away from her stunned grandson and looked at me.

「Listen up, Dragon Tamer.」

I’m not a Dragon Tamer, though…

「Just shut up and listen! This world is vast! There are countless terrifying beings out there that someone like you could never hope to defeat!」

Ah, yeah, I’ve always been aware of that.

「A great example is the village chief of Village Five. You would never win against them! Keep that in mind!」

…………

「Huh? What’s wrong? Now you’ve gone stiff just like Beezel. Is this some kind of new trend?」

Ah—uh, well, um… What should I even say to this…

「Oh, right, you said you’re not a Dragon Tamer. So what do you do normally?」

I-I dabble in a bit of farming…

As I answered, I met Beezel’s gaze, who had just snapped out of his frozen state.

What do we do?

…Don’t just shake your head like that as if there’s no hope!

She’s your grandmother!

Do something!

Look, she’s already started lecturing us about how we should learn from Youko.

T-this is only making the situation worse!

-0-

Let’s try it again.

The old lady’s name was Bianasista Chrome.

She was Beezel’s grandmother and the mage who had taught him how to use teleportation magic.

Teleportation magic required an innate talent, but just being born with it didn’t mean one could use it freely right away.

It was a skill that had to be learned. However, because it was so reliant on talent, records about it were scarce, and even when they existed, they were often kept secret.

That meant the only way to truly master it was to be taught directly by someone who could already use it proficiently.

In Beezel’s case, that teacher had been his grandmother, Bianasista.

And this Bianasista…

She was one of the Four Heavenly Kings from two generations ago.

The previous Four Heavenly Kings…the one with long name…

Anyway, she was that guy’s superior.

At his invitation, she had settled down in Village Five.

It is possible that we had crossed paths at some point.

Her current job? An illustrator.

She drew book illustrations.

Most of the time, she worked in Village Five, but whenever she needed to focus on big projects, she would hole up in that house buried under the hill.

As for the books she illustrated…

She had been doing the illustrations for Versa’s books.

No wonder the art style looked familiar.

It was hard to believe such youthful, energetic drawings had been done by an old lady.

Well, if she enjoyed it, I had no complaints.

I could just wish her good health and leave it at that, but…

「Disappearing like that—what do you think you were doing?! I won’t accept it if you say you don’t know how much trouble you caused back then!」

Beezel was furious.

「Are you even listening?! No, you’re not! Your favorite phrase was always ‘just let it go’! I remember it perfectly! Well, let me tell you this—there are things you can let go and things you can’t! You didn’t attend Father’s funeral—wait, you did? What? You were actually there? You’re not senile enough to skip your own son’s funeral…. You’ve been keeping in touch with Mother regularly? You’re joking, right?」

And then, there was Shirukine-san. She already knew about the illustrations.

「So the pen name Granny Bi… was Grandmother all along…? That means that illustration… and that scene’s artwork…」

Even the caretakers were familiar with the illustrations.

「Shirukine-sama, we’ve prepared books for her to sign… Please ask her!」

「Wouldn’t paper be better if we’re asking for a drawing?」

「I’ll bring a big sheet of paper!」

It seemed Versa’s books had spread far and wide.

Was that a good thing?

「Village Chief. I heard you were acquainted with Versa-sama… I’m actually a big fan… So, if possible, could you get her to sign this book? And, um, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to hear some stories about when she was writing it…」

One of the caretakers approached me, holding a book written by Versa.

Ah—just label it so I know whose is whose, and I’ll ask her when I see her.

I’ll collect them all later.

After giving that response, I headed off with Hakuren and the young beast to its new home.

I had left in the middle of work, after all.

As for Beezel’s grandmother…

Ever since she found out I was the village chief of Village Five, she hadn’t made eye contact with me.@@novelbin@@

I should give her some time.

-0-

「Like hell I’ll let my finished artwork be burned!」

Holding a broom, Granny Bi stepped out the front door—

And found a dragon waiting.