Chapter 13: Jern-sensei.

Something cracks behind us. The first rays of the sun are coming through the windows.

I turn to look at the giant statue of the dragon crackling. Through every crack that forms, the light starts coming out.

The statue keeps crackling until all its pieces burst away in all directions with a sonorous blast.

I protect my face with my arms as a cloud of dust hits me.

"Mmm… I missed the fresh scent of the lake in the morning," says a deep male voice that resonates in the whole throne room.

I move my arms away from my face.

I catch a glimpse of an imponent creature through the dust cloud. Purple glowing eyes shine on top of the head of the massive dragon.

He must be three times larger than Ignis.

As the dust dissipates, I jump back at the thundering presence of Jernlegeme the unwavering.

His complexion is way more studier than Ignis'. Scars cover his brawny body. Thick copper scales give him a majestic glow when the light of the sunrise hits them. The wings stay folded as we couldn't fit in the room if he opened them.

Now that the dust has set completely, Jernlegeme notices us for the first time.

"Who should I thank for liberating me from that dreadful prison?" Jernlegeme says as he looks down at us.

"Inoue Ellie and Sasaki Rin. Ignis sent us," Ellie says as I'm cleaning the whole mess that happened in my face when all the dust hit the tears in my face.

"Ignis, my friend. I always knew you'd find a way," says Jernlegeme to the sky with sentimentalism. "From now on, Jernlegeme the unwavering is in debt with you. Inoue. Sasaki."

“You’re welcome,” Ellie says. “It’s not like we had any other choice.”

Ellie explains our whole situation to Jernlegeme, who listens quietly and closely.

“That’s quite a tricky mess my friend got you into,” says Jernlegeme. "What do you say if I take you to my favorite hot springs to compensate you?"

"Thanks, Mr. Jernlegeme the unwavering, but…" says Ellie.

"Oh! Please. Call me Jern!" says the dragon.

"Well. Jern, we actually need to…" says Ellie.

"Oh my! The sun is coming out!" Jern says, excited. "Come on! Get on my back! You're going to love it!"

“Love what?” Ellie asks.

“Just trust me!” Jerns says like a little kid.

I exchange a look with Ellie, she looks as excited as me to ride a real dragon. I guess we will tell him later.

We pack the parts of the staff in our backpacks.

"Come on!" Jern says as we get on his back, then climb all the way to his neck and hold to a protuberant scale.

My right-hand touches Ellie’s left just a little bit. But there’s no more space to hold on to. I look away from her to hide my blush, which I find stupid because I was crying like a baby over her shoulder a few minutes ago.

"Hold on tight! I’m a little rusty after being petrified for so many years, so this will be a little agitated!" Jern exclaims.

Jern raises and breaks the rock ceiling of the throne room with one smash of his head and climbs all the way up to the ceiling. I hold tight as the rocks from the ceiling fall close to my head.

The sun is rising, and the ruins are still here. Mama and Neb will be able to tell that we made it because of this.

Jern starts unfolding his wings. "Oh! This feels great!"

Once fully stretched, the wings cover the ruins completely.

"Ready?" Jern asks.

"I think so," Ellie says.

Jern starts flapping his wings. One. Two. Three…

"Aaaaaaaaa!" I scream as Jern jumps and starts flying over the lake, creating waves on the surface with every flap.

With every flap of wings, we get farther and farther away from the ground. I take a final look at the now tiny ruins and Emtwon.

Thank you. I say to the places that have made me realize so many things in so little time.

We enter a cluster of clouds, and the sight disappears.

Everything is gray and humid for a few seconds. Then, a dreamlike view surrounds us.

You might say that it's like going on a plane. There’s some truth to it. But the view through the tiny plane’s window is nothing compared to this.

The morning sun paints the clouds a vivid orange, pink and purple. Jern flies close to the clouds, I try to touch the colors while my hair blows in the cool morning wind.

"This is amazing!" I shout.

"It's great to know that you can talk!" Jern mocks.

In the distance, I glimpse a couple of snowy peaks. From what i can remember from the map, that's where the next piece is located.

"Hey! Jern, I know you want to take us to that hot spring place, but we actually need to go to those peaks!" I scream against the wind.

"Don't worry about that! The springs are halfway through to the peak of Fellenfehr," Jern says.

Great. He's taking us anyway.

"Also. You're quite heavy! Even I have to take a break. The springs will be the perfect spot to rest!" Jern says.

I imagine a hot ofuro. I think it's not such a bad idea after all.

We continue our flight in silence until Jerns decides to plummet to the ground.

“AAAAAAH!” Ellie and I scream before Jern spreads his wings again a couple of meters prior to turning us into smashed adventurers.

Jern laughs. “Did I scare you?”

“That wasn’t funny!” Ellie says and kicks Jern’s neck.

“But look ahead! Admire the glorious hot springs of Skarphet,” Jern says.

Three houses rest on top of three steep mountains, from whose emanate numerous steaming waterfalls.

Jern lands next to the house in the center, which is also the largest.

As we get down of Jern, a group of women burst out of the house screaming. “Jern!!! You’re back!”

“I’ve missed you, girls,” Jern says, transforming into a tall, muscular man around his thirties.

The women run to hug and kiss Jern, pushing us out of their way.

“Have you come for a full treatment?” asks a kind voice behind me.

“Yes! Three full treatments, please!” Jern says as he hugs a senior man half his height. “It’s nice meeting you all again.”

“Again? But if you were petrified for decades, how are they still so young?” Ellie asks Jern.

“That’s because of the magic of the springs, girl,” one of the women says to Ellie. “Now, you definitely need some help.”

The women take an unwilling Ellie through a bridge to the house on the left mountain.

“Let’s go, kid!” Jern says as he friendly hugs me and makes me walk to the bridge on the right. “Rulm’s hands are magical.”

“Rulm?” I ask.

“I’m Rulm. Nice to meet you,” says the senior man.

“Rin,” I say, shaking Rulms soft hand.

“Can I call you Rin as well?” Jern asks excitedly.

…

I can confirm that Rulm’s hands are truly magical after getting the most heavenly massage I’ve ever had.

I start getting closer to Jern as he talks to me about his adventures, love interests, and the cool history of the springs.

“Do you have places like this in your world, Rin?” Jern asks me as we get inside a warm spring pool with jaw-dropping views of the mountains.

The water is right on point.

“We do, but I’ve never been to one with these views,” I say. “Jern. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” Jern says.

“Do you ever move on from a past love?’” I ask.

“It depends,” Jern says thoughtfully. “Some loves are toxic, and you should move on. But some loves will stay in your heart forever, and there’s nothing bad about it. The heart is a room with plenty of space, but only has one spotlight.”

I stay quiet, thinking.

Jern’s snoring lulls me until I fall asleep as well.