Chapter 181

Chapter 181 – Smile, Thunder in Some Places (5)

“I’m fine with it, but… even in dragon form, it’s impossible for Kunpei-san.”

“R-right!?”

I clung to Aoi’s words.

Tell him! Tell this stupid rat more!

He doesn’t understand!

He’s forgotten that I’m just a weak high school boy!

“Don’t worry. I told you before. It’s going to hurt a little, but you should be able to take it. Just hang in there!”

“Hey, you’re having fun now, aren’t you?”

You sound so happy on top of someone else’s head.

How can that be? You know I trust you, right?

“How dare you… you shady rat?”

At any rate, the rodents who call themselves wise must be given a crash course in human common sense.

“Listen! A normal human is not strong enough to be struck by lightning without batting an eyelid! In worst case, your heart will stop beating immediately, and even if not, you’ll be severely burned!”

“I know that too. It’s okay, if it’s just a burn, it will heal in a few minutes thanks to your resilience as a dragon, and there will be no burden on your heart.”

“I’m not stupid enough to believe that and let myself be struck by lightning…”

I think you’re looking down on me too much.

The base is still just a human, what a crazy thing to say.

“This is the quickest and safest way, you know? You can wait for the drug to wear off over time, but then Nana might get hurt while you wait, right?”

“… Wait a minute. Let me prepare myself.”

I can’t say anything if Nana is mentioned.

“Then I’ll explain it to Aoi in the meantime.”

If it’s for Nana’s sake, I know I have to do my best.

But isn’t it still too difficult to get hit by lightning?

“I want Aoi to take the form of a dragon and use up all the power of these spirits.”

“Me?”

Aoi and Alba began to have a strategy meeting, leaving me to ponder in fear.

“Yes, no matter how strong Nana’s power is due to the potion, it doesn’t mean that she’s stronger than you are. I know these spirits won’t like it, but you just have to let all of Nana’s stored power dissipate from the outside. Can you do that?”

“So, it’s not impossible, but it’s going to be difficult…”

“That’s why I asked clumsy-kun to become a dragon. It’s not a problem even if it’s a little too powerful.”

“But will Nana be okay? We are a race that is resistant to lightning and wind, but I don’t think Nana can handle it yet.”

“Don’t worry. Nana and Jaja are both small but magnificent sky dragons. And you, in your dragon form, can put up wind wards to block lightning, can’t you? Clumsy-kun can also unconsciously set up a dragon qi ward to protect his body. I’ve already confirmed that with Yule.”

All right!

I’m ready!

“Yeah! I’m ready, you fucking rat! Bring on the arrows or guns!”

I think they’ve been discussing some stuff, but thanks for waiting!

“It’s lightning!”

He poked me on the forehead with his staff.

I know, I know! Don’t be so nit picky about every little thing!

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

I was busy making up my mind.

“Au, dah”

“Hmm?”

Nana started to squirm in my chest.

I saw a white butterfly perched on the tip of her nose, and she was trying her best to catch it.

“Nana, don’t be surprised, okay?”

“Dah?”

Aoi moved her face closer to Nana’s and rubbed her cheeks softly.

She smiled at Nana’s curious face.

“Oh…”

“Aoi!?”

Why did you suddenly take off your top?

Is this what you mean by surprised!

“I’ll tear my clothes if I turn like this.”

As she said that, she took off her thick light pink bra.

It was a pair of nursing underwear for moms that I bought because she said it chafed and hurt from breastfeeding.

“There we go.”

She then took off her pajama pants. First, she took out her tail from the tail hole, then one leg at a time.

Hey, hey, hey. Are you really going to strip naked?

“… Your eyes are kind of scary, Kunpei-san.”

I found myself staring at Aoi as she undressed.

As she reached for her bra and matching colored panties, Aoi looked at me with a troubled smile.

“S-s-s-sorry!”

I’ve seen Aoi naked quite often, haven’t I? What am I getting flustered about now?

No, it’s not like that. After the bath, you know. I sometimes see her when she’s changing clothes.

If it’s just her upper body, I can’t help but see it when we’re co-feeding every night. It’s not that I don’t like it! In fact, it makes me kind of happy!

What? It’s just the nature of high school boys! I can’t help it!

“Okay, I’ll start then. Uncle.”

“Yes, please.”

Huh?

Start what?

“Suu…”

Leaving me bewildered, Aoi closed her eyes and took a big breath.

While puffing out her tiny little chest, she looked up to the heavens and thenーー.

“… uuuuuugggghhhhh, gaooooooooo!”

She roared.

“Whoa!”

“Fuyaa!”

The silhouette of the creature swelled up at a great speed, emitting a dazzling light.

The wind around it reversed and blew as an updraft.

I held Nana in my arms as if to protect her.

It was too bright and windy to keep my eyes open.

Nana’s body tensed up in my arms.

I guess she was a little startled after all, she was desperately grabbing at my clothes.

“Fueeeee”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s your mama.”

With Aoi still glowing in the background, I nursed Nana, who had started to cry a little.

It’s impossible not to be surprised, right? I’m sorry, okay?

“Goooooooooo!”

There was a loud bang of wind and light, and a high-pitched yell.

When I turned around, there was a huge dragon with blue fluffy body hair all over its body towering above me.

A majestic looking dragon in the sky, flapping its large wings once and rustling the trees around it. Slapping its large tail against the ground with a bang, and ruffling the surface of a small pond.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Aoi as a dragon.

“Grrrr”

The blue sky dragon looked down at me and Nana with kind eyes.

No matter what she looks like, the way she looks at her daughter will never change.

“Auu…”

There was a hint of trepidation in Nana’s eyes as she looked up at the figure.

Come to think of it, isn’t this the first time Nana and Jaja have properly seen Aoi like this up close?

“Guuuu…”

“Uu?”

Aoi curled up her large body and moved her nose closer to Nana.

Nana tilted her head in disbelief when she saw that.

“Look, Nana, it’s your mama.”

“Dah?”

I reached out with my right hand and tapped the head of the dragon’s nose.

I’m still not sure if she understands, but apparently, she’s stopped being scared.

“Aoi, let’s get started. Your appearance is still conspicuous, you know. You’ve not been noticed yet, but it’s better to be careful.”

“Gah!”

Aoi nodded loudly, pulled her face away from Nana’s, and covered us with her body.

This is the back of Atol’s compound.

The land of the royal family with a vast area.

Any citizen of this country, much less this city, would know this, so there would be no one who would come all the way here to see the commotion.

But it’s still noticeable.

She curled up her huge body in the woods, though, so it’s hidden.

“Clumsy-kun, are you ready?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I flapped the wings on my back and my tail wrapped around my waist.

The sensation of moving an organ that doesn’t normally exist is so strange.

“Dah?”

Nana has been looking up at me curiously for a while now.

“It’s okay, Nana. Mom and Dad will take care of you.”

“Dah!”

Nana answered with both hands raised.

I’m actually a little happy that she recognizes me even though I have horns.

“Grrrr!”

At the same time as a low growl, a magnificent black horn grew on Aoi’s temple. The black horn on the temple of Aoi glowed brightly.

“Clumsy-kun, hold on to Nana tightly. There’s going to be a lot of light and impact, so keep her face covered.”

“O-oh.”

I put my hand on the back of Nana’s head and pressed her face against my chest as instructed.

I pressed my nose against the nape of her neck, being careful not to block her mouth and nose.

“Adda…”

“Hold on, hold on, just a little longer, okay?”

As she shook her head, I also shut my eyes.

“Uuuuuuu! Gaaaaaaaaaah!”

Aoi’s yell, which seemed to vibrate the entire air, assaulted my eardrums.

Nana, startled, shook her head and cowered.

“It’s coming! Hold on!”

At the same time as Alba’s shout, a creeping, unpleasant sensation ran across the surface of my skin.

The butterflies began to rub their wings in unison, and static electricity began to build up rapidly.

The hairs on my body began to stand on end.

There was a crackling sound coming from the ground, and it gradually increased, overlapping and getting louder.

“Hmmm…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

I continued to tell Nana as I gently stroked her back.

I know I was saying that, but to tell you the truth, my heart was still racing with nervousness and fear.

At the same time as I was telling Nana, I was deceiving myself.

It’s natural.

It’s easy to imagine what would happen if you were hit by lightning.

At best, severe burns.

At worst, instant death.

I can’t imagine any other outcome.

The only reason I’m able to hold on and not run away is because I trust Alba Germain’s words, and I believe in Aoi.

This championship world representative shady rat deserves to be trusted, considering his track record so far.

And, much to our chagrin, we don’t know of anyone else who can be relied upon for dragon problems and illnesses.

For those of us who can’t go to a public institution or hospital, we can only rely on his words.

It’ll be okay, right?

I don’t mind if I get hurt a little, though I’m sure I’ll complain.

But Nana. I’m begging you, please don’t hurt Nana.

I’m begging you. Alba!

“Gah!”

Aoi’s short roar changed the situation at once.

Even when my eyes were shut, the amount of light was still dazzling, and the surrounding area suddenly turned white.

At the same time, my brain was shaken by an unbearable roar.

The ringing in my ears, which occurred almost simultaneously, was very unpleasant.

I covered Nana’s ears with my arms as best I could, but my ears were unprotected.

The high-pitched sound reverberating in my head makes me feel as if the ground is shaking.

I grit my teeth and endured it all.

It was porbably only a moment.

A few seconds, maybe even less than a second.

Even the sense of time is vague, and all I can feel is the warmth in my arms that I need to protect.

My body, which has lost feeling, tells me that everything is wrong.

The muscles in my arms, legs, and stomach were twitching on their own.

The smell of something burning stuck in my nose.

I remember. This is the smell I smelled at the top of Tusk Crag when I took that blow from Yule.

The smell of my own flesh scorching, my blood boiling, even the air burning.

I’m scared.

Honestly, I can’t stand the fear.

If Nana hadn’t been here, I would have been screaming and flailing around in misery.

Endure.

Nana’s here. She’s in my arms, and she’s counting on me.

I can’t let her see how pathetic I am. I can’t let her see that!

Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft on my back.

My eyes were closed and I can’t open them, but I knew somehow that it was Aoi.

I wondered if she was cuddling up to me, worried about me and Nana.

The hair on her body, which was fluffy to the touch, wrapped around us from the back.

‘Don’t worry, Kunpei-san. I’m here.’

Aoi’s voice, which I couldn’t possibly hear, echoed in my mind.

‘Do your best, for Nana’s sake.’

Yeah, I know.

You’re the mom, and I’m the dad, right?

I can endure anything for our daughter.

That’s what being a parent is all about, isn’t it?

I wondered how long it’s been since the back of my eyelids regained their darkness.

I gingerly opened my eyes, leaving behind only the ringing in my ears that hadn’t stopped.

The high-pitched sound made me dizzy, and I slumped slightly.

I put all the strength I had into my right foot and stepped on it to get myself back into position.

“Hot!”

Hot!

I looked at the abnormal heat I felt in my legs and saw that the hem of my jeans was on fire, blowing out a little black smoke.

I tried to put out the fire, but it wouldn’t go out.

“It’s fine.”

Alba told me in a quiet voice over the ringing in my ears that had begun to subside.

A weak stream of water fell from the tip of my head.

The water soaked my legs and my pants and extinguished the fire that had started to burn.

Ah, I was surprised.

I think I got a little burned around my ankle. It hurts a little.

“It looks like the warding was only weak at your feet. Nana is… yeah, she’s fine.”

Flustered by those words, I quickly inserted my hands into Nana’s sides and lifted her up.

“Nana!”

When I forced myself to look into her upturned face, Nana looked at me with her cute, pouting eyes.

Thank God.

I can’t find any injuries that look like injuries.

“Fueh, fueeeeh.”

Her hands, which had been ripped from my shirt, were clenched tightly.

Ah, she’s going to cry. This is the posture for crying.

The situation finally caught up with her, and she began to break down in tears.

“Gyaaaaaaaah!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. You must be scared. It’s okay now. Come on, stop crying, princess.”

“Gyaaaaaah!”

I tried to quiet her down by making funny faces and shaking her whole body gently, but she wouldn’t stop crying at all.

I’m in trouble.

She’s in full-on crying mode.

The only person who can stop her is Aoi.

I can handle Jaja, but Nana is a mama’s girl.

I hugged Nana back to my chest and looked at Aoi, who was probably above me.

Aoi, still in her dragon form, probably smiled with a troubled expression.

She was looking down at Nana and me with her eyes narrowed.

“Guaa…”

Aoi’s thick, fluffy tail dexterously moved as she stroked Nana’s cheek.

“Nnbiiiiiiiii!”

Aoi stroked Nana’s cheek with her tail over and over again as she cried out with large tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Hic… egh”

I wondered if she had cried and screamed until she felt better.

“Aoi, your wounds still haven’t healed, have they? Stay in that form for a while. You’ll heal faster in dragon form.”

“Is that so?”

I asked Alba, who was waving his staff over my head.

Or rather, what are you doing?

“Just a little bit, okay?”

Alba waved his staff as he said that.

“I’m trying to get rid of the spirits that have calmed down after the thunderstorm. It’s not good to have too many of them around.”

He responded to my silent question.

I looked around to see if that was the case, and the spirits slowly scattered in all directions.

Thank God.

I’m not sure, but it looks like things have calmed down.

“Ahn…”

Nana, who had wiped the tears from her cheeks with Aoi’s tail, let out a strange sound.

“It’s done, Nana. Let’s go back to the room and have some apple juice, okay?”

We haven’t eaten lunch yet either.

I’m sure Nana will sleep now that she’s had such a good time.

I wonder if Jaja is asleep yet?

I’ll have to go check on her later.

“… Dah”

Nana looked up at Aoi on top of her head for a moment, then suddenly held out her hands.

“Mmm, mmm!”

“Huh?”

Does she want to be held?

Does she understand that the big one in front of her is her mom?

“Grrr.”

Aoi growled and scratched her cheek with her big hand.

So you want to go back to your original form, but you can’t go back yet.

“Nana, wait a little longer, okay?”

Red smoke was rising in places from the dragon’s body.

That’s the dragon’s healing ability. A little bit of it was rising from my leg, and the pain was disappearing as quickly as it came.

There was probably no trace of the burns I had received earlier.

“Mnn! Baa!”

I managed to restrain Nana from flailing about.

Nana, you’re hurting me.

I know you prefer mommy to daddy, but it still hurts me.

“Maa!”

Eh?

“Guu!”

Aoi and I both froze at the words she said.

“Maa! Ma!”

“Gua!”

Wait!

Wait a minute, Nana!

What did you just say?

“Maa! Maa!”

“Guooo!”

Aoi suddenly roared out, and began to shrink rapidly with luminescence.

“Whoa!”

“Nana! Say that again!”

I closed my eyes, feeling a little dizzy, and when I opened them, I saw a naked Aoi clinging to my shoulders in a desperate manner.

She still has some scars in places, but I guess she couldn’t afford to worry about it.

“Baa!”

Nana laughed when she saw Aoi’s usual appearance.

“Maa! Maa!”

“Uh-huh! Look, it’s mama! Mama!”

Aoi was so overcome with emotion that she was on the verge of tears.

She held out her hands and took Nana away from me.

Forgetting to even put on clothes.

“Maa!”

“Yes! Yes!”

… How nice.

Aoi was crying, her face tearing up as she rubbed her cheek against Nana.

I guess Nana was the first to talk.

Jaja was the first to fly and crawl with her tail, but I didn’t expect this.

And the memorable first word was ‘Mama’.

… Where’s Papa?

As Aoi and Nana rubbed their cheeks together happily, I held out my free right hand in vain.

The rat sage laughed happily above my head.

“You look lonely. You.”

“Shut up.”

Leave me alone for a minute!

“Maama!”