Finally Safe To Reminisce

Takao’s patience had nearly reached its limit when he finally got the chance to separate himself and Sumire from the group and talk privately. He, Sumire, Mikami, Yumiko, and Kenta had all been forced to hold still and receive treatment until the guild's healer was satisfied. Now that Kenta was holding the other's attention by recounting their epic quest through Death’s Cradle, this was the perfect chance. He pulled Sumire far enough away to talk without being overheard, but not too far, since he feared the people who ambushed them could still be around.

“What’s going on?” Takao pressed, worried and impatient.

“I don’t know.” Sumire admitted fearfully. “The whole way out of the dungeon, I kept feeling weaker and weaker. I thought I would be fine once we got out. Then I saw her, and everything went black. I can’t believe she’s here.”

Sumire wrapped her arms around herself, shaking slightly. Takao placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. They sat on the grass together, and Takao waited a moment before voicing his next question.

“Who is she?” He asked gently.

Sumire breathed deeply, and shook her head.

“I don’t know her name, but I remember her clearly. She was there when I woke up from resting. I felt so weak that I could barely move, but she was standing right in front of me. I was in my true form, my dragon form, but she wasn’t afraid. She smiled right at me when she saw I was awake. Then there was this horrible presence. Worse than a demon, worse than anything I’ve ever felt.” She stopped and gripped herself more tightly. Takao waited. He got the sense she never planned on revisiting these memories. After several moments, she continued.

“I thought for sure I was dead, but my emergency magic activated just in time. It’s an enchantment I placed on my cave. It teleports me away if I’m in danger. Next thing I knew, I was lying in the snow on a deserted mountain. Eventually, my strength returned, and I flew to Sukiya under an invisibility spell. Which is where I met you.” She finished.

Takao met Sumire’s eyes and they both smiled, remembering the moment when they’d met. He’d been terrified at first. Sumire in her dragon form was intimidating to say the least. He knew now that she was powerful, but also kind and caring. He knew she would never use her power irresponsibly, even if she sometimes threatened to.

Yet this dark haired woman hadn’t been afraid at all. She’d even somehow frightened Sumire. The woman gave Takao a bad feeling. He hoped they wouldn’t see her again, but felt certain they would.

“How far away is your cave?” Takao asked.

“Far. It’s across an ocean on another continent.”

Takao wasn’t entirely sure how far that was, but felt assured it was very far.

“Then how did she find you?” He wondered.

“I wish I knew.” She said.

They sighed in sync, then looked at each other and smiled again. Takao held Sumire’s purple gaze. He was glad to have a partner as good as Sumire. They’d been through a lot together. They’d seen and done so many things, and Takao wanted to experience even more with her. Whoever this dark haired woman was and whatever she wanted with Sumire, Takao didn’t care. He wouldn’t let her take Sumire, no matter what.

“Ahem!” Kenta coughed loudly.

Takao nearly fell backward as he shifted away from Sumire. He hadn’t realized he’d been leaning closer to her. Sumire looked flustered as she stood up and took a half step away from Takao. He felt his cheeks burning as he stood up.

“Come tell us about your fight against the death mite possessed carcinus!” Kenta called.

Takao liked Kenta, but was beginning to think the man had some kind of strange vendetta to interrupt he and Sumire at the worst possible moments.

He and Sumire joined the other adventurers, and took turns recounting their epic battle against the undead carcinus. After the bronze eagles were rested and ready to fly again, the thirteen adventurers prepared to leave. As they readied themselves, Takao remembered something and caught Kenta to question him about it.

“Just before the carcinus appeared and whacked Mikami, he was yelling something about refusing to leave without ‘it’. What was he going on about?”

Kenta looked confused for a moment, then understanding dawned on his face.

“Ah. That. I nearly forgot about that. Feels like it was days ago.” He said in monotone. “Well, it doesn't much matter now if you know or not, so might as well tell you. To put it nicely. Mikami is a raging gambling addict.”

Takao doubted that was putting it nicely, but didn’t point this out to Kenta.

“He’s got a lot of debts, so I was gonna help him pinch some of the carcinus shell. It’s valuable stuff, so would’ve gone a long way to paying off his debts.”

“By pinch, you mean steal, right?” Takao accused, but Kenta just shrugged.

“Carcinus shell is regulated by the guild, so technically illegal, but no harm done really. Specially since we didn’t actually take any. Besides, there’s always more shell than we can carry, and no one was gonna miss it. What can I say? When your partners in a bind, you help 'em out.” Kenta said with a shrug, then continued preparing to leave.

Takao didn’t agree with Kenta’s methods, but felt like he aligned with the ideology. As he prepped their bronze eagle for flight, he wondered if he would do the same thing for Sumire, and eventually concluded that he probably would.

Once all the adventurers were ready to leave, Takao and Sumire mounted their eagle and with a great flap of metallic wings, they took flight. Takao, who had never flown before, found himself clinging desperately to Sumire the whole time, but she didn’t complain. They had to stop once along the way to let the birds rest, but the journey that had taken days by horse, was finished in only a few hours.

They landed in Sukiya as the sun was setting. Since Takao and Sumire’s injuries were the least severe, the guild healer begrudgingly permitted them to go home without further treatment. They left before she could change her mind, and swiftly found their beds back at the small apartment they shared.

As he fell asleep, Takao finally remembered that their entire quest had been part of an advancement test. Since they didn’t get the carcinus shell, he wondered if they actually failed?

Sumire’s Exposé!
Different dragon gods prefer different places when they rest. Some like open spaces, while others prefer caves. The dragon god Sumire for example, rested in a cave that was just large enough to hold her while in dragon form, but required her to shift to a smaller form to enter and exit.