Chapter 21 : The Dragon Who Awoke from Sleep (3)

To calm the snake girl down, I first apologized.
[I’m really sorry. I had no idea it was such an important ritual.]

Honestly, I didn’t even know something like ascension could really happen, and I grabbed it purely on instinct.

Whether my apology got through, the girl’s sobbing quieted down a bit.

But her shoulders were still trembling slightly, and her resentful gaze toward me didn’t waver.

Well, her thousand years of effort went up in smoke, so of course a simple “I didn’t know” wouldn’t be enough to forgive me.

‘Is there… really no way?’

I asked the girl once more.

[That thing you mentioned… ascension.]

Partly out of a sense of responsibility, but also just pure curiosity.

[Is there no way to try again? If there’s anything I can do… I’ll help.]

I had no idea what ascension really was, or what it meant to become a dragon.

When it came to finding a solution, the imugi girl probably knew better than me, so I asked honestly.

In response to my question, the girl lifted her head.

In her tear-soaked eyes, there was a faint… glimmer, like she was thinking about something.

“There is… not completely no way.”

The girl finally spoke.

Her voice was hoarse, and her tone was still extremely sharp.

“Normally… I’d have to wait another thousand years.”

Unlike before, she was now speaking casually.

Well, I guess she’s at least a thousand years old, so she’s probably about my age. In that case, no need for honorifics.

“To gather energy from the beginning again, and wait for the right time—just thinking about it is dreadful.”

The girl shuddered as she spoke.

A thousand years.

She seemed overwhelmed by the despair of having to repeat that vast span of time again.

‘A thousand years, huh…’

Even I could vaguely grasp the weight that time held.

“But…”

The girl continued.

And then looked straight at me.

In her eyes was a complex, delicate mix of emotions, different from before.

Resentment, mistrust, and… maybe a faint bit of hope.

“If I stay by your side, I can shorten the time.”

‘By my side?’

I must’ve had a puzzled expression.

What does being near me have to do with ascension?

“Because someone like you—a dragon—emits an incredible amount of spiritual energy.”

The girl explained.

“A mountain that had nothing can become a sacred one just by a dragon residing there, and ordinary animals are more likely to become spirit beasts.”

I never thought the animals I’d seen were ordinary, but after hearing her explanation, I began to understand a little.

Since I was staying there, maybe that’s why the animals seemed different from what I remembered as a human.

Then, looking at me, the girl said:

“If I consistently receive that spiritual energy, I can gather the energy I need for ascension much faster… maybe in about a hundred years?”

‘Spiritual energy? A hundred years?’

They were unfamiliar terms, but I could grasp the general meaning.

The spiritual energy I emit—if she basks in it, she could reduce the time needed for ascension from a thousand years to a hundred.

A hundred years.

Still a dauntingly long time by human standards, but definitely shorter than a thousand.

And for me… well, maybe a hundred years isn’t all that burdensome.

The real issue was that I’d have to live with her for that entire hundred years.

With a girl who resents me for ruining her ascension.

‘…Looks like my family’s getting bigger again.’

I sighed internally.

Sori, Lisette, and now this unnamed imugi girl.

Just like that, I’d ended up with three young girls under my wing.

‘Hmm… though, is Miss Imugi really a girl? She did say she trained for a thousand years.’

And each of them with very unusual stories.

I hesitated for a moment—accepting her to take responsibility was the right thing to do… but thinking about Lisette and Sori made my feelings a bit complicated.

Sigh… still, it’s a fact that I ruined her ascension, and I do feel responsible.

Lisette and Sori were highly adaptable, so I figured they’d be fine.

And this girl had lived for a thousand years—she probably wouldn’t fight with the others.

If I could let her stay by my side for a hundred years and help her regain what she lost, then maybe that was the best I could do.

[If you want, you can stay by my side for a hundred years.]

I conveyed my thoughts to the imugi girl.

[If there’s anything I can do to help you ascend again, I’ll do it.]

Her eyes widened slightly at my reply.

As if she hadn’t expected me to agree so readily.

But she quickly composed herself, and with a pouty face, she replied curtly.

“…Hmph, since you ruined my ascension, of course you have to do at least that much! Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m only relying on you for a hundred years!”

The girl still didn’t bother hiding her resentment toward me, but in any case, she had accepted my offer, and then she clung tightly to me.

“I’m going to drain all your energy!”

‘That just sounds weird.’

It seemed she was thinking of staying close to absorb the energy I was giving off, so I decided to leave her be.

Sori and Lisette, who had been watching the whole exchange from the side, looked back and forth between me and the imugi girl with puzzled expressions.

“Lisette, you have a big sister now.”

“Yikes… Sora, how was that grilled snake you had before?”

I set aside the children’s reactions for now and looked down at the imugi girl who was still clinging to me and sniffling.

[So, what’s your name?]

At the very least, I should know her name.

After all, we might have to live together for a hundred years.

The imugi girl hesitated for a moment at my question, then pouted her lips and replied.

“…Mir.”

Mir.

That was the name of the child.

From the next day on, life in the cave changed a bit.

We still got up early in the morning and started training, but now we had one more spectator.

Mir didn’t join the training herself, but sat at a distance and watched Sori and Lisette sweating as they did push-ups, squats, and ran around the cave with curious interest.

“Hmph, what use is that kind of simple physical training.”

Sometimes Mir would mutter mockingly like that, but her eyes didn’t seem to hold just ridicule.

Maybe she was feeling something different from her own thousand years of lonely training, something in the way those kids acted.

Sori threw herself into the training even more.

Now, even without resting between sets, she could complete two sets in a row, and her performance didn’t drop compared to doing just one set.

Ever since the fight with the wolf, it was as if she had awakened to something—each of her movements showed confidence and even sharpness.

“Wah-cha!”

Lisette still looked tearful as she followed the training, but she had improved a lot compared to the beginning.

Especially after starting the exercises, her stamina and magical ability had started to improve little by little.

When she felt too tired during training, she would sometimes practice magic on her own, and when Mir gave her a few tips, she was able not only to create small light orbs again but also to float and maintain them in the air.

Of course, it still didn’t seem like it could be used in actual combat.

“How was that! Did you see? I can do it too!”

Even with a small success, Lisette proudly shouted toward Mir. Mir seemed to like Lisette and took the role of a daily magic tutor.

“It’s only the beginning of learning control.”

Mir scoffed at Lisette, but I didn’t miss the faint smile that briefly appeared on her lips.

There was still a subtle tension during meals, but things were much better than in the beginning.

As usual, Mir ate the food I gave her without complaining, and sometimes she exchanged a word or two with Sori or Lisette during meals.

“Ugh, this meat’s tough.”

“No, sis, this part is the tastiest!”

“Hmph, do you think my thousand-year-old taste buds are the same as your childish ones?”

Most of the conversations were like that, but compared to the icy atmosphere I’d expected at first, it was rather heartwarming.

Then one afternoon, after training, while the kids were taking a break—

Sori was playing a kind of jacks game by herself with some small stones she had picked up in the corner of the cave.

Lisette sat next to her, watching with interest, and Mir, as usual, sat on my back with her arms crossed, watching them.

Sori’s hands moved quite skillfully.

She tossed the little stones into the air, caught them, and quickly grabbed others from the ground—it looked pretty fun.

“Wow, Sori! You’re good at that!”

Lisette exclaimed in admiration.

Sori blushed a little and smiled.

“I practiced after seeing the village kids play it when I was little.”

At those words, Mir’s expression subtly changed again—I didn’t miss it.

A fleeting look of envy… and loneliness.

A moment later, Mir stood up and hesitantly approached Sori.

“…What is that, is it fun?”

Her tone was gruff, but there was clear curiosity in it.

Sori looked surprised and widened her eyes as she looked at Mir.

“Huh? Oh, this? It’s just throwing and catching stones.”

“Can I try it too?”

At Mir’s words, both Sori and Lisette looked shocked.

A thousand-year-old imugi, and even more so, one as cold as Mir, was asking to play.

Sori hesitated for a moment, then beamed and said,

“Yes! Sure! Let’s play together, sis! I’ll teach you!”

Lisette joined in excitedly from the side.

“Then I’ll be the judge!”

Mir looked a little flustered by their unexpected welcome, but she quickly sat down, pretending to hide her embarrassment with a fake cough.

“Hmph! It’s not like I wanted to do it—I’m just annoyed at how bad you guys are!”

And so, the strange game of jacks between the three girls began.

The thousand-year-old imugi girl, Mir, was clumsy at first with this new game, but her focus and competitiveness helped her pick it up quickly.

Sori kindly taught her how to play, and Lisette chattered on, scoring who did better.

At first, it was awkward and clumsy, but over time, the sound of their laughter began to echo throughout the cave.

“Sis, that’s cheating!”

“Is it against the rules to float the stones?” (using magic)

Mir insisted that magic counted as skill, still wearing her usual grumpy expression, but she couldn’t quite hide the occasional burst of laughter.

A child who had lived only for ascension for a thousand years.

For Mir, this ordinary little game might be her first taste of simple fun.