Arika, Dragons exist in this world too---

“Hmm? What were you two doing alone just before that you two are leaving me and Dellney here, hm~?"

Rana asked with a little teasing smile on her face, causing Rama to turn his gaze away from his twin sister’s eyes– which, in my opinion based on what I knew of Rana, would just make things worse for us. Strangely, I didn't mind at all as I just chuckled in response.

“It’s fine. Rama just told some personal stuff to me. Now I’m convinced of something though.” I said with a gentle smile before I grabbed Rana and Rama to a group hug. I’ve been with them for quite a while now and I have found comfort with them. Even if I got abandoned by Grandma’s godhood, I’m thankful for their existence in this world that I could keep strong with it all. “Thanks for always being by my side, Rana, Rama. I love you two so much.”

“L–Lady Arika? I think you should only hug and say that only to Rama in this situation!” said the blushing Rana in a gasp. Her words made me think that if she existed in my previous world, she probably would be one of those friends who shipped her friends together, but putting that aside—

“I know I’m just acting as a paid mercenary here, but am I not getting a group hug? That’s a shame…” Dellney gazed down in disappointment with puppy eyes, so I ended up pulling her to the group hug too in response that she giggled and shrieked a small “Yaaay” in response. It’s hard to trust her at first, but she’s already a part of this that I had to.

“Okay, now that we all are in the right mindset of it all….” I declared as I conjured out my staff. It caused Rana to raise her eyebrows in worry.

“Lady Arika, are you trying to vaguely teleport us all instantly to be out of here again?! Please don’t, you already knew how dangerous it could be…”

“No, not that, I learned my lesson! For now, let’s try to build a little something with magic in this forest before we even try to leave. Or…. is that not allowed?”

I took a glance at Rama, who immediately knew what I was trying to do as he grinned.

“Well, if it was a Blessed One like Arika who did build something, I don’t think it would matter. But we still need to ask since they kind of own this territory now…”

“Who do you mean by ‘they’?”

Rama pointed at the sky, and as I looked up there, I finally realized that there was something flying out there. It’s not as big as what it was pictured in novels or even story books, but I immediately knew what it was.

“D— Did you mean dragons?!”

I gasped as my eyes sparkled in excitement as Rama nodded. Now that I think of it, I liked dragons when I was a little kid, but I never encountered any of them in this world yet. I ended up not thinking much of it since there were giant cats in this world I knew as Cheshires and they were pretty much good enough with their fluffs in replacement for dragon’s amazing and large scales.

“I doubt we could get any communication going with them though. They usually don’t understand our language. We can try, though.” Dellney sighed as she gazed upon the sky high. “I’m pretty sure in their perspective, we’re just lost little things who suddenly wanted to build something nonsensical in their now-home….”

Even in fiction that I knew, dragons only knew how to roar or speak their own languages. There are instances where they could understand human languages, but judging from how Dellney said it, there’s a chance it’s not the exact case with this world. They seemed sentient too from how she worded it, that I’m at loss on what to do.

“As Dellney said, we can try.” Rama sighed as he patted my shoulder in worry. Am I that obvious to read, I mumbled to myself– “They may not understand our exact words, but they’re intelligent enough to understand our intentions. The problem is how to…”

“How to get their attention, right~? Don’t you notice? That should be easy in this situation~” Rana commented with a bright smile on her face as if there’s nothing wrong with her idea. “All we need to do is just to go ahead with Lady Arika’s memorial project, they’d come by when we progressed out of curiosity.”

“That’ll just ruin the purpose of getting their permission, Rana, you ___!”

“I agree with Rama! I surely don’t want to get on the bad side of a dragon or more! It’s scary, they’re like some kind of fantasy kaiju Gods, right!”

“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘fantasy kaiju’, but…. Then, we need to fly away to their real nest, which is up in the sky along with other Blessed Ones’ last resting places” Dellney sighed as she rolled her eyes. “I could see Arika— no, the Mage Hero Angelica -- do that with her magic, but it’s not effective for all of us. I agree with Rana’s opinion on this.”

“What if they were mad about it, then?”

“We’ll think about it when the time comes. Those dragons never attack any of us on the ground anymore anyway after the Demon Lord is no more.”

“... You’re right. My bad.”

While it made me confused on what’s going on with the dragons and demon lords and the elves and it made me wish I read through the lore wiki for ETO much more carefully back when I could, Rama immediately agreed on Rana’s strategy upon Dellney’s statement.

“Okay, then. Let’s try to build that memorial then we’ll think about finding another town of civilization.”

I huffed as I went back to conjuring my staff as I prepared myself for using my brand of building magic. To be honest, I don’t know what kind of memorial should I build either. I haven’t really been into much of them in my previous world either, but I feel like I should ask for Rama and Rana’s thoughts on it first, since they were the people directly involved in the tragedy.

“What’s wrong, Lady Arika?” Rana tilted her head curiously. “Aren’t you going to build something?”

“....I’m doing this for you and Rama in the first place, so can you tell me what kind of memorial do you want to build here?” I smiled awkwardly, finally realizing how stupid I was for going through with the plan without any much thoughts put on it. “Do you need a statue? But then, I never saw your older siblings…”

Rana giggled, as she turned her head to her twin brother and pointed at him.

“Rama should be the one to decide. He’s much more emotional about it than I ever did.”

“Hey.”

While Rama was visibly offended and embarrassed at his sister’s statement– which I find kind of cute that I couldn’t help but giggle, making him blush further— he then smiled gently despite his reddened face as he turned away his face from us girls.

“Then? What shall it be, Rama?”

“...One wooden tomb with my own words on it would be enough.” Rama said, crossing his arms. “I doubt the dragons would feel offended if it’s just that, too, so that cuts us from getting permissions.”

“Okay, I’ll start making it. Tell me if there’s something I need to change.”

~*~*~*~

“To our isolated elder brothers and sisters who knew next to nothing from outside worlds. From now on, we’ll have many of our own adventures for your sake too.”

Such words printed right from Rama’s statements were now written in the wooden tomb with my magic, and I wondered if it’s good enough that I took a glance at Rama.

“All good. Thanks, Arika.” Rama smiled, and once again my heart skipped a beat upon his gentle, thankful smile.

I feel like I finally can just realize that I do like him in romantic ways despite how that would probably make Rana squeals in an annoying little joy, that I probably would say anything about it if it wasn’t for the loud sounds of flapping wings that suddenly went down from the skies above.

“A dragon?! They were totally offended about the matter after all?!” Dellney proclaimed, pointing at the dragon that had just arrived down.

…..Is it just me, or is that dragon just focusing on me fiercely? Is it because I’m the one who built that memorial? I gulped, preparing for the worst as I once again conjured my magic staff. But then, I could feel someone spoke through my head in a language I was even more familiar with than the knowledge pushed on me in this world’s language that was pushed to me once I arrived.

“So you’re the one. Granddaughter of Angelica.” it called out to me in my head. It seems like it’s not only me who had those words shot through my head, as if it was an area attack.

“Huh?! What theeee?!”

“Did you hear that, Lady Arika?! What did it just say?! I don’t understand at all!”

“It seems like he’s calling out for Angelica, though! Arika, be careful!”

I gulped before I shouted to my friends in between the wing flapping noises, trying to reassure them.

“Guys, I understand his words! Leave this to me!”

… Even when I said so, I don’t know what to do in such a situation. It’s not like I ever communicated with a dragon in my previous world either, unless you count some sessions of tabletop RPGs I saw my Grandma doing with her friends where she lets me play as the dragon sometimes, even when I’m not very good at being the big bad dragons.

“I see. So it’s true that we didn’t exist on physical forms and just a mere figment of fiction in your previous universe”

Huh? Did the dragon just read my mind? I didn’t say any of those out loud, did I? I was just thinking for myself, right? Can dragons I know in fiction do all of that too? Moreover, this dragon really just disturbed the timing for me to express my thoughts and feelings to Rama, I hope he’s not leaking things out….

“Yes. Yes I did read your mind. I am able to do so exclusively for beings from other worlds like you, as well as the real Mage Hero Angelica. Good grief, you surely thought of many unnecessary things, Granddaughter of Angelica, it’s rather hard to arrange that I am getting a headache.”

“Wait, I should’ve guessed it from how you called me since the beginning, but— You knew my Grandma?!”

“What the ___ are that dragon talking about in such unknown words and accents?! He’s talking with Arika, right?”
“Ssh, Rama! Don’t just casually drop a swear word in front of such a great being! Please forgive us, if you could understand!”

Putting aside the twins’ usual banters, I decided to take a step closer to the dragon anyway while trying to not think of anything personal much, as he could just read my ongoing mind. Though, it’s hard to not think of anything while I tried to approach him since I’m conscious about it now….

“Do not worry, child. Even if I did say anything, those elves native to this world won’t be able to understand at all.”

“It’s still embarrassing to have my mind exposed like that! Couldn’t you just communicate normally?!”

“Unfortunately not, Granddaughter of Angelica. This is why we don’t communicate with beings native to this world either.”

I sighed. I guess this is the timing where I should think of apologizing for the memorial I built. I do feel it’s a little unfair that Rama and Rana didn’t get any closure by the local laws that I knew, that I feel like it should be appropriate for me to build such a small grave in their territory. Or is this dragon saying that lesser beings like us aren’t allowed to even do such a little thing?

“I do not need your apology for that. In fact, we should’ve thought of such things first yet we couldn’t communicate with the children of Wizen on what they needed, so for that we should’ve apologized first.”

Then why are you even here, o great Dragon—

“I’m here for another matter that requires your assistance as the Granddaughter of Angelica, who I am on good terms with.”

The great dragon finally landed, resting his wings carelessly. I swore some of the trees could’ve just broken down by his gestures. Except it doesn’t, and instead the tree slowly drags itself away from the dragon’s presence as if they were alive and moving on its own.

“The trees are surely alive in some forms, no matter which world you are in. It’s just their capacities to move here that are different from your previous world. Didn’t you learn that from your school or something?”

Oh, shut up! This dragon is really invading my privacy of a self-narrative by taking a jab at me in my own thoughts, it started to bother me! Besides, does this world have schools too, or he’s just reading deep into my memories now?! It’s embarrassing!

“While this world does have school in some forms, I do know about how it was in your world from your grandmother. She told me a lot of stories from her school days and beyond.”

Then, what exactly do you need from me? Since you mentioned her, it’s related to my Grandma, right? —Oh, wait a sec.

“Rama, don’t try to attack it. It’s all fine. He just wanted to ask me about my Grandma that he’s communicating with us here, he doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions.”

I finally spoke out in actual vocalized words as soon as Rama took out his wand as I sighed. It would be even more dangerous if Rana didn’t hold him back, so for now I thought to myself— let’s have a listen to the dragon’s problems as I decided to actually speak out my words so the others could understand.