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“U-uh, my stomach hurts, my stomach hurts…”
I woke up to the sound of Sara’s tearful voice as I was shaken awake.
I feel like I was having a sad dream, but I can’t remember.
“Munyuu? Jyo hihya, dodo shita?”
At the same time I asked Sara, I noticed an odd sensation in my mouth.
I took it out of my mouth.
“This is…”
It was the tail of the red dragon child I had rescued yesterday.
“Nezou ga warui no da naa.”
Surely, while I was sleeping, the tail moved and ended up in my mouth.
Such an innocent child. That’s also cute.
“Henna no tabetara, onaka kowasu no.”
I gently stroked Sara’s head, who looked worried with a face that seemed about to cry.
“It’s okay. I won’t eat it.”
Upon hearing that, Sara seemed relieved and smiled brightly.
When I glanced out the window, it was raining heavily.
“Um, Luria-chan, what about this child?”
“Well, uh…”
As I hesitated on how to explain, the dragon child let out a soft “…yui.”
“Ah, that’s right. Luria-chan, when you woke up, under Daru’s tail, this child was…”
“It’s okay. This child is a good one.”
I sat up on the bed and lifted the dragon child onto my lap.
“Ah, did I wake you up?”
The dragon child opened its eyes and nuzzled against me.
“Ryā.”
It pressed its body against me as if it was seeking affection.
I gently stroked the dragon child.
“Did it come in through the window?”
“Umm…”
What should I say?
I can’t tell her I went outside last night and almost became a sorcerer before I rescued it.
That would worry Sara.
And then, after this, Sara would have to lie to her mother.
“Hmmm. Maybe?”
“Maybe?”
“Uh…”
I thought for a moment.
“Ah! This child is lost! It wandered in during the night, so I protected it.”
“I see, it’s cute.”
Sara smiled and stroked the dragon child’s head. The dragon child wagged its tail happily. It seemed like a friendly child.
“Luria-chan, why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
“Ah, that’s right. I forgot.”
I went to the washing area and put on my brother’s clothes that had been hung to dry.
“I got a bit dirty, so I took them off.”
“I see.”
Sara alternated her gaze between me and the dragon child.
Maybe she thought one of us, or the dragon child, had peed.
“Luria-chan, is this child a lizard?”
“…Maybe.”
Dragons are well-known, but few people have actually seen one.
Even I’ve only encountered them a few times in my past life.
“Isn’t a lizard with wings rare?”
“Yeah, it’s rare.”
Since Sara might be scared of dragons, I decided to just say it’s a winged lizard.
As I stroked the dragon child, I recalled last night.
Just before falling asleep, I think Kuro said something.
Half-dreaming, my memory is vague.
But I think I heard “Loa.” Or maybe that was just my imagination.
It’s hard to tell if it was a dream or something real.
“Kuro~ wake up, wake up.”
I shook Kuro, who was sleeping nearby.
“……What is it?”
Kuro replied sleepily.
“Yesterday, did you say this child’s name was Loa?”
As I spoke to Loa, Sara watched with interest.
“Yeah, I said it…fuaa~”
Kuro stretched like a cat, raising his backside, and extended his front legs in a big stretch. His wings flapped in sync.
The dragon child seemed curious about Kuro’s wings and reached out to touch them.
“Kuro, what does it mean that this child’s name is Loa?”
“Ummm…”
As Kuro moved closer, the dragon child happily stroked his wings with both hands.
“What should I say…”
“Take your time.”
“Well, you know…spirits are reincarnated, remember?”
“I remember.”
When a spirit dies, it will reincarnate, so maybe I’ll meet them again.
When Loa passed away, Kuro had told me this to comfort me.
“Did it reincarnate?”
“Yes, it did. Loa-sama, who passed away, has reincarnated.”
It seems the dragon child really is Loa.
It’s not just that Kuro is calling it Loa because it resembles Loa.
“Ryā~”
Loa pressed its face against my stomach, cuddling affectionately.
“But… isn’t it a spirit?”
“Loa-sama has reincarnated into a guardian beast.”
“Wow.”
“Because Loa-sama changed from a spirit to a guardian beast, it’s lost its memories.”
That explains why it seems so much like a baby.
In its past life, Loa was full of knowledge, wise, and reliable.
Since I reincarnated from human to human, I kept my memories because our species is the same.
“Oh, I see. A baby, huh? Loa, Luria will take good care of you, okay?”
“Ryariyā.”
Loa happily chirps.
“Ah, Kuro. Where’s Loa’s mother?”
“There is no mother. Probably?”
“Probably?”
“There are children born from the parents of animals, guardian beasts, and magical beasts, as well as those born from nature.”
“Hmm? That’s a strange story, huh?”
To be born without parents… It’s almost like a spirit…
“Ah! So, it’s the same as a spirit?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow…”
Kuro licked Loa.
It was like how a mother cat would groom her kitten.
“Dragons are very doting on their children, so the parent dragons will protect them properly. They won’t be abducted by sorcerers.”
“Eh, abducted…? What do you mean?”
I glanced at Sara. She tilted her head in confusion.
I had explained to Sara that Loa had wandered in last night, so I couldn’t mention anything about abductions.
“Well, yesterday, Loa seemed just like a sorcerer.”
“I can understand that.”
Yesterday, Loa had a body made of something like mercury.
“Sorcerers seem to have the ability to turn living creatures into sorcerers.”
“Scary.”
Then Kuro said, “I don’t really know either, but…” and continued explaining.
It seems that sorcerers have the technique to turn creatures and guardian beasts into sorcerers.
It is very difficult, and turning a guardian beast into a sorcerer is especially difficult.
“It’s concerning.”
“There must be a lot of necessary steps, materials, and rituals, so it’s not something that can be done often.”
“We have to be careful.”
“Probably, the spirit-repelling barrier from yesterday was to smoothly turn Loa into a sorcerer.”
“That’s concerning. Suspicious?”
While talking with Kuro, Loa left my hands and fluttered toward the window.
“It flew, amazing!”
Sara chased after Loa, so I chased after them too.
“A mere official couldn’t do something like that. There must be a bigger organization behind it.”
“The Church?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s possible that the Church of the One God is involved.”
“Hmm~. Should we let Father know subtly? I’ll write a letter.”
Fighting organizations is too much for me.
After all, I’m just a five-year-old, I can’t go out freely, and I don’t understand it all.
“For now, what I can do is raise Loa with care!”
I can leave the investigation of the organization and the official’s background to Father.
I have the important task of raising Loa, who has no parent dragon, properly.
Loa, who had moved to the window, was scratching at it with its claws while chirping “Ryariyā.”
“Outside is rainy, so you can’t go.”
“…Ryā.”
Loa was looking longingly at the lake, feeling a little down.
As I petted Loa, Sara tilted her head.
“Luria, what did Kuro say?”
“Well, Kuro said this is Loa, and that it doesn’t have a parent.”
I’m not really sure about sorcerers or anything, and Sara probably doesn’t either, so I only told her the important things.
“It’s lonely when you don’t have a mom.”
Sara might have seen herself and Loa in the same situation since she hadn’t seen her mother for a while.
She gently stroked Loa.
“Hey, Luria, is Loa Kuro’s friend?”
“Looks like it.”
Sara and I both petted Loa.
Loa tilted its head and licked my finger.
That action was exactly like the old Loa from my past life.
When I saw that, I suddenly understood, and realized that this child was truly Loa.
“…Loa.”
“Ryā?”
“Thank you for coming to see me, Loa.”
“Ryā~?”
Loa looked puzzled, tilting its head.
In my heart, I thought, (Thank you. Louisa was saved because of Loa. Thank you.)
I hugged Loa tightly, grateful.
I’m really happy to have met Loa. Even if Loa doesn’t remember, it’s fine.
“Luria, are you crying?”
“N-No, I’m not crying.”
“Mm. I understand.”
Sara seemed to have figured something out and nodded repeatedly.
“Sara understands because I was lonely not seeing my mom.”
It seemed that Sara was crying for Loa’s situation of not having a parent.
I didn’t deny it and continued hugging Loa.
Loa chirped happily, “Ryariyā.”
Carro was keeping watch on the headboard as usual, and Kolko was patrolling the room.
Meanwhile, Daru was still sleeping with his belly facing the ceiling.
Even though we were talking quite loudly, there was no sign of him waking up.
Daru was a baby, so it couldn’t be helped.