Ashes and Kingdoms

On the road, Nix told me about the village. The village chief originally took the leadership position of the village, but died in an accident and inherited the trail. Her temperament and precise judgment were almost acknowledged by everyone, so she said there was nothing in particular to be able to do.

Many of the humans gathered here were saved by the lawman Kveris, who spoke earlier. Kuveris himself still goes around and helps people, but sometimes he comes back to the village to see how things are going.

"Oria talked to me frankly, but I snuck into a whorehouse and let her go, and then I got caught and jailed by a store caution stick. It was Mr. Kuveris who put that out for me, wasn't it? But they didn't give up, and it was like they were gonna tighten me up again and make me throw up Oria's whereabouts, so I ran away in a big hurry.... I just don't know what to say about this, but we were lucky"

"Huh?"

And Finn frowns. Nix flaunted his shoulder.

"Mr. Kuveris said so. The sharp loan that Oria's relatives caught was certainly a terrible, but not the worst, deal. Worse in nature, the purpose is not to take the gold eye thing away, but just to hurt it... it seems that women are rarely raped and slaughtered, regardless of whether they are children or old people. We were lucky that Oria and Farnayne were treated as' merchandise 'without getting hurt."

"Oh no..."

Finn groaned with a bad chest. A consciousness so dark and cloudy that it made me want to unwittingly shake it off, scattered among the many consciousnesses I had touched by the time I got here. Was some, or all, of those possessors such outrageous men?

If so. And if you can.

I want to grab those filthy things from the sea of consciousness and crush them...

Indulging in anger and disgust, Finn grips his fist all the time, biting his lips and silencing. Nix looked up to heaven with a loud sigh.

"Besides, after the two of them were taken away and I chased them, the village got worse and worse, and there was a big riot. When Mr. Kuveris stopped by, he died a lot because of a mixed war between an army that came to suppress him and the mob and the inhabitants, as well as the private soldiers of the money lenders. As it turned out, we got away with it. Olya's mother couldn't do it.

Oh, man. Damn, even though the north is tough with dark beasts, it's the end of the world that the country is crawling with human-skinned beasts. What is the emperor doing? "

To the sighing Nix, Finn had no words to give back. I have a desire to defend Emperor Varys, but I can't make excuses after all this talk. Besides, if they think Finn is now under the emperor's command, they will make the residents here suspect uselessly, and Nix's position will be troublesome.

As Finn shut up, Nix smiled bitterly and slapped him on the back.

"You're an idiot, it's not your fault, so don't get sick. There are things that Dragon Marquis can't do."

"Oh.... even the Emperor,"

"I don't know. Well, I guess so."

Nix blurred his shoulders and then looked back at Lena, changing his tone and said:

"Aside from the stinking stories, don't tell Oria too much about Lena. Because if you find out you've been with me since I was in Comris, I'm sure you'll be disappointed."

"What?"

When Finn was decent, Nix made a deliberately cold voice with a slightly ill-willed eye.

"You're not happy to know that it actually belonged to another woman just a little after seeing her first love again."

"No, wait, that's not it. It's a misunderstanding."

"What a misunderstanding. Don't tell me you didn't know Olya liked you at Comrith."

…………

How far are you kidding and where are you serious from? Finn was confused and stuck in words.

I realize that Oria was, yes, looking at herself somewhat favorably back then. But when it comes to love, I don't feel slightly different. The two mothers and children, out of the anxiety and loneliness of not stopping by, couldn't they have just wanted to rely on Finn, who belonged to the Great Zone?

Most of all, if the person feels it's love, whatever the facts, there is one memory to be formed.

Finn doesn't really know anymore when that happens, and Nix doesn't seem to be treating him seriously as a 'lover' either, so I eventually decided to leave that aside.

"Regardless of Oria, it would be different if I belonged to another woman. Sure, bonding with Lena is something special, 'cause she's a dragon."

To Finn, who said that seriously, Nix looked frightened and Lena looked just a little sorry. As Finn was bewildered by the reaction between the two, Nix sighed as he shook his head.

"... well, if you say so"

But hey, he kept going, but there he turned a complicated eye on Finn and Lena, and in the end, he blurred, okay.

Finn gets caught in the shadow of words he couldn't utter, and feels restless. Walking after Nix, he just looked at his nail tips.

(In a way, it's true that me and Lena are each other's)

A human being who is given the life and power of a dragon. A dragon that exerts its power through a vessel called Man. The two beings linked are difficult to understand, and there is no gap between them for others to enter.

(But apart from that and this, right?

'Cause I'm not in love with Lena, and even Lena says she likes to be clean all the time, but that's not what we call romantic sentiment, and the race is different in the first place.

Thinking about it all the way around makes me less and less understand. Immediately he chose a solution called shelving.

(You'll see in time)

Sooner or later, if you decide you want to marry someone and have a seat. Or vice versa, if Lena finds a dragon companion from somewhere.

While realizing that he didn't like the idea a bit, Finn threw a whole lot of problems at himself in the future, including the emotions.

Contrary to Nix's expectations, Oria soon became friends with Lena.

"Hey, you got no obsession or anything?

"What are you talking about? Okay, so you suspect you've remembered your old fever? I didn't think you were that narrow."

"It's not, it's not! But look, it would be funny if you and Lena pulled Phineas from both..."

"Fool!!

It's totally a couple interactions. Finn laughed as he listened. When I tried him, it was no surprise or anything. Oria is a sweet sister who gave treats to Nellis and Farnayne. There's no way I can be so long on guard against a fluffy jean-like girl wearing soft light.

I said that Oria would look back at Finn and make him look nostalgic.

"Maybe I, since I was in Comrith, have really noticed about you. Somehow I decided on my own. This person would protect me, depend on me, unlike others. Now I think about it."

…………

"I never thought you were a dragon marquis. I'm surprised your father's a fish."

"I wonder if you'll forget that already"

What are you talking about, Nix rides himself out, and Oria exposes Finn's bad jokes. The laughter bounced off and washed away the slightly drifting cut.

After a heartbreaking dinner wrapped in soothing air, Finn lit a bonfire platform around the village with Nix. In a world that sinks into thin ink, the flames gleam like bumps and gems. Finn didn't dare to focus on Lena. Doing bad things and drawing the attention of the beast is the end of the line.

As he walked, Finn looked back at the village in a strange mood.

This is not my home town. Everything is different from the city of Nanais and windmill huts, in terms of terrain, size and inhabitants. Yet I felt as though I was born and raised here and had been lighting the lights this way for years at sundown. It was so peaceful here.

My legs stop very naturally. As I perceived his heart, Nix also stopped and whispered.

"It would be like a dream"

"... oh"

"Sometimes I dream about everything I've been doing, and I really feel like I've lived here all my life, as a villager. Or vice versa, I'm dreaming of being here right now... and I think it's time to wake up. If he shakes his shoulder and looks up all the time, he'll see a little blue light in the dark."

"Don't we have to protect the bonfire all night here"

"Not so far. For once, we'll take turns watching in pairs, but there's little sign of the beast approaching. I'm more worried about humans."

"Right."

Then for a while, both walk in silence. Finn asked quietly as he transferred the pine fire to the next table.

"Happy with your life here?"

"That's a tough question," Nix grinned bitterly. "I don't have to worry about being fed by the beast. I'm satisfied with that. But I can't tell you how much life we have here. Anyway, I'm short on stuff. There are limits to what we can make for ourselves, and we can hardly get the money from the outside world to buy or sell it. We don't have a doctor, and we're all helping each other..."

That's it, he shook his head small. Then, gradually, I look up at the sky deepening blue.

"Besides, if people get together, there will be problems. It's not the same to my heart, like I'm one of them. There are certainly more people in the village than we did when we fled in, and what we didn't care about while on the run, as soon as we calmed down, can be a problem. Honestly, I'm anxious to see if I can keep doing this. But I'm not going anywhere else."

"If you don't run away and hide better, we'll figure it out."

"There's no shortage of things or people. But maybe if this village is publicly recognized and comes and goes, the beast of darkness will come with us.... Hey Phineas, you look hard again. It's not a problem you can solve. We'll take care of ourselves. You don't care, go back north and kick the beast of darkness."

With his verbal butt, Nix looked slightly off. It's not so easy to leave the darkness because we know each other. Finn smiled thankfully for his care.

"Oh, I will. You won't have to worry about Oria's change of heart."

"Oh, my God, when did you become such a confident man, this"

Nix laughs and flirts with Finn. Finn envisioned a distant future as he greeted the great.

One day, when the northern lands are safe. If Farnayne's wounds healed and came out. Nix and Oria might bring the family and come and see us. As it were, they might live in a new northern town.

They are not the only ones, people who have left their homeland after being chased by dark beasts and rough humans, who may return.

If such a day becomes a reality...

(Let's do our best)

If we keep going one step at a time, I'm sure this dream will come true. That's probably all I have right now. Power as a dragon march, connections with the emperor and allies named Islev, as well as willing and dependable companions. I have what I didn't once have when I left Nanais. There must be something I can do.

When Finn renewed his resolve, he left the village early the next morning.

Besides Nix and Oria only greet the village chief, apologize again to the child who frightened him, and then walk away like a normal human being. After being so far away from the village, Finn rose high in the sky again on the wings of Lena.

Come on, let's hurry up to Comris. My uncles may be here by now. "

When you get here, it's not that far. It's okay to go slowly.... Hey Finn, I knew Finn was so pretty. "

He received abrupt compliments and Finn felt weak. He says thank you, vaguely, for what he did all of a sudden.

What's wrong with you? I suddenly said that.

I don't know what to do. I just thought...

Heh heh, and a small sign of laughter. Lena just seems happy to be alone and doesn't look like she can explain it to me. Finn tilted his neck, but turned forward without pursuing it.

Looking from above the far sky, even the sparkle of the sea, which is still far away, looks small. A dark blue shard that flickers between the hills and woods. For the first time in a while, Finn unconsciously flaunted his mouth.

When I look at the sea, I feel like I'm back home. The calm, sometimes rough, distant, everywhere ocean just sits there, and the kind of emancipation that touches a different world than here.

(By the time we get back to Nanais, the season will be changing)

Hopefully, instead of a dark, dark, rough winter sea, a bright blue, glowing summer sea could welcome you home. Finn tasted the memory of playing with everyone in the orphanage softly and then went back to his chest once again.

Now, the breeze blowing was cold and smelled like a relatively dry rock.