Adorably Frightening Little Boy

“He went this way!”

“That’s him! Catch him!”

A group of palace guards chased after a suspicious man who was trying to open a locked area. Fortunately, they had anticipated that someone might target a few areas in the royal castle and successfully caught him in the act. However, the suspicious man attacked the guards and attempted to run away. Little did he realise, the moment he was caught, he was merely a mouse in a trap.

“He’s running to the western ground!”

“That’s bad! That’s where Prince Henry is!”

The suspicious man summoned a ball of swirling wind and attacked the guards once more. He frantically ran to a wide open area and saw a small group of teenagers standing in the centre of it.

Blast it! They are so fast! Oh, that’s… Ha! I can use that girl or the little boy as a hostage!

The man then quickly changed his direction to the girl as the guards kept shouting and chasing after him behind.

“How dare you! Stop yourself at once!”

“You are not getting away!”

“Eeikk!!”

Annette flinched and panicked the moment she saw a bunch of people coming at her.

N-noo!! Why are they coming my way?! Should I attack?? Is it okay to attack?? W-what’s happening?! Annette froze.

Before Annette could process anything further, Henry pulled her in as Lucas quickly stood in front of them, fully on guard. However, Esmeraldo, who lost his grip on Annette’s clothes, stood still as he watched her getting pulled away.

The suspicious man raised his hand and summoned another ball of swirling winds as he closed in.

“Watch out!” Lucas shouted.

Esmeraldo innocently turned to face the man who ran in his direction and his gaze instantly sharpened as he assessed the situation at hand. A moment later, the little dragon’s mana fluctuated. A soft vibration could be felt under their feet before, all of a sudden, a chunk of the ground rose from right beneath that man’s feet and punched him upwards to the sky.

“Whhhoooaaaaaa—!?!?”

From the top of the raised ground, a bunch of crawling vines emerged and caught the man as he fell down, and then tightened themselves around his body.

As the man was left dangling helplessly in the vines in a daze, everyone stood frozen in shock. Their focus immediately shifted to the little boy who stood below the earth tower, unfazed.

“I caught him,” the little boy said calmly. “Hm? He is still awake. Did I hold back too much?” said the little boy as he looked up and tilted his head.

“Did you hold back, sir?!” Lucas was utterly baffled.

The little dragon innocently turned to his favourite mage and asked, “Shouldn’t you place a dark barrier around him?”

“Hm? Why barrier?” Henry turned to the girl in his arms, perplexed.

“Eh?! Oh, um… d-dark magic barrier is basically an anti-magic magecraft. So, um… any basic elemental magic can’t manifest while inside it, sir, but…” Annette awkwardly tried to explain.

“Hm, I see, but don’t use your divine magic right now.” Henry turned to Esmeraldo. “Could you please lower that man so the palace guards can take care of him?”

“I understand.”

“I appreciate it.”

Esmeraldo extended the vines that wrapped around the man down and stopped right in front of the group of the palace guards, who were still amazed by what had happened.

The little dragon, who had been standing still in his spot all this time, finally moved towards Annette and gripped the hem of her clothes, silently standing next to her.

***

The new year arrived, officially ending the main festivities in the Central Square of the royal capital, Eldora.

On the first morning of the new year, the Royal Avenue was opened to the people for the New Year’s celebration. Townspeople gathered along the snow-free road as their gazes fixed upon the balcony of the Royal Palace of Sheldiawald above.

Today, the royal family would show themselves before their people as they offered them the first greeting of the year.

The royal family soon appeared upon the balcony, prompting a loud cheer from the gathered crowd. The King raised a hand, and the people gradually fell silent as he offered his greetings and wished the kingdom prosperity in the coming year.

“My people, as we welcome the new year, may Sheldiawald continue to prosper under the blessings of the Spirit King. May fortune smile upon us, and may we welcome the year ahead with hope and courage. To a prosperous new year for Sheldiawald!” the King announced.

“To a prosperous new year for Sheldiawald!”

A thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd.

The King raised both of his hands, summoning a ball of fire in one and a ball of water in the other. Standing on either side of him, Henry summoned a ball of earth while the Queen summoned a ball of swirling wind. They simultaneously raised their hands higher and launched the elemental spheres into the sky.

Four streams of elemental magic soared into the clear morning sky, each glowing with its own distinct colour. They spiralled around one another as they climbed higher, leaving trails of light behind them.

The four streams eventually collided with each other at the highest point.

BOOM!

The magical lights shattered into countless glowing fragments, scattering across the sky in four brilliant colours.

As the last of the luminous fragments slowly faded, the royal family offered a final wave before turning and quietly withdrawing from the balcony, disappearing behind the palace doors as the people continued to cheer.

***

The remaining holidays had passed quietly, and before long, it was time to return to Athenya. The campus had opened its gates early to welcome the students back to their dorms this weekend.

Miss Cynthia, Annette, and Esmeraldo sat inside a carriage and were on their way back to Athenya.

“Listen to me, Esmeraldo. Once the classes start next week, you should stay inside the library while we’re away, alright?” Miss Cynthia reminded the little dragon who sat across her.

Esmeraldo slowly nodded.

“Do not leave the library and wander around on your own! We’ll come to you whenever we can!”

He nodded again.

Miss Cynthia turned to Annette. “I’ll ask Miss Sophie to look after him in the library. Also, hmmm, it’s not like we can introduce him as Esmeraldo.”

“...Aldo,” the little dragon quietly said.

“Hm? My goodness! That’s brilliant, Aldo!” Miss Cynthia exclaimed.

“It was the name my fellows used to call me.”

Annette slightly tilted her head. “Your fellows?”

“My Lord’s other familiars,” Esmeraldo replied.

“Oh, um, the guardians, I see.”

“Okay, I’ll introduce you to Miss Sophie, the librarian, later, but you have to keep your true self secret, alright, Aldo?” said Miss Cynthia.

Aldo nodded.

All of a sudden, something struck Miss Cynthia. “I get the feeling Miss Sophie will ask if I’m collecting another tiny hamster.”

***

“Oh my! Have you acquired another tiny hamster, Miss Cynthia? This boy is adorable!” Miss Sophie gushed after Miss Cynthia introduced the little dragon.

I knew it! thought Miss Cynthia.

Well, more precisely he is a tiny dragon though. Annette silently added.

“Pleasure to meet you, Aldo!”

Aldo, who stood next to Annette, quietly nodded.

“If only our campus had more famous adorable members than ghost rumours, how amazing would that be?” Miss Sophie rested one hand on her cheek as she stared at Esmeraldo with a smile.

“Ghost rumour, ma’am?” asked Annette.

“Ah, you see… The guards said that the past week, some of them heard a woman crying in the forest in front of the campus,” Miss Sophie explained.

“But that could be someone in distress, don’t you think?” asked Miss Cynthia.

“Hmmm… I heard that one of the guards tried to approach the woman but she disappeared before the guard could even take a glimpse of her.”

“I see, hence another ghost rumour appeared.” Miss Cynthia crossed her arms.

“Well, in any case, feel free to keep using the back room. If you ever need me, you’ll mostly find me at this counter, okay, Aldo?” Miss Sophie said as she gently smiled at him.

Esmeraldo slowly nodded again.

Miss Cynthia and Annette led Esmeraldo to the back room where Annette used to hole up.

“Welcome to our secret room! I guess it’s not that secret, but, anyway, no one will bother you while you are here!” said Miss Cynthia.

“I understand,” said Aldo.

“I might need to do some work later, but for now, I’ll accompany you here. By the way, you said Aldo was the name your fellows used to call you by, right? What are they like?” asked Miss Cynthia as she opened a jar of biscuits she had brought.

Esmeraldo fell silent for a while before he said, “Ferno was often shouting at Aqua, who was mostly crying, and Auvry mostly sighing at the other two.”

“Eh?” Annette was puzzled at Esmeraldo’s explanation.

Miss Cynthia, who was about to eat her biscuit, also stopped midway with her mouth open and blinked twice in bewilderment. “Ferno is… Fernoville, the Ember Phoenix, right? And Aqua is Aquantine, the Frostdew Terrapin?”

“Then, Auvry must be Auvrygale, the Golden Tiger?” Annette added.

“Yes.”

“So that’s how you call each other.” Miss Cynthia finally shoved the biscuit to her mouth.

“Um, so why did Fernoville shout at, um, Aquantine?” asked Annette, perplexed.

“Because Aqua kept crying.”

“Hmmm… and what made Aquantine keep crying?” Miss Cynthia asked.

Esmeraldo looked back at Miss Cynthia before he replied, “...Because Ferno kept shouting.”

Both Annette and Miss Cynthia stared at Esmeraldo in silence, speechless.

So that’s why Auvrygale mostly sighed at the other two, both of them silently came to the same conclusion.

“I wonder what they are doing right now,” said Aldo as he picked a biscuit from his plate and shoved it into his mouth.