Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume15 Chapter7 (section)

===Part 4===

(...W-What is going on?)

Seeing that appearance that differed so much from his expectations&mdash;

Kamito stood there frozen with his mouth gaping.

Revealed by the Dragon King's drawn curtain was&mdash;

A beautiful maiden, entangled by countless writhing tree branches.

Crimson eyes with seductive charm. Long, faintly phosphorescent hair the color of lapis lazuli. Skin whiter than pearl. Slender arms and legs as delicate as a doll's.

A maiden with otherworldly beauty&mdash;As much as he wanted to use this description, it was clearly evident that she was not human.

On the sides of her head were two beautiful horns.

Surrounded by the writhing branches, the completely naked girl looked down leisurely at Kamito.

Seeing the fully nude beauty before him, Kamito would normally look away in haste&mdash;

However, he even forgot to breathe, completely mesmerized by the sight.

Such was precisely the extent of the maiden's beauty.

"What's the matter? Spacing out like that&mdash;"

A sweet voice came from the girl's lips.

"...W-What are you&mdash;"

Kamito finally spoke.

"I am the king of Dracunia. The dragon spirit&mdash;Bahamut."

The girl slowly introduced herself.

"What&mdash;"

Kamito was instantly at a loss for words.

Feared by all the nations on the continent, the strongest dragon spirit&mdash;Dragon King Bahamut.

To think that Bahamut's true appearance was that of a beautiful maiden, so delicate and frail&mdash;

For a moment, Kamito even forgot his anger from Restia's abduction, rendered speechless.

"Fufu, if you keep staring intently, I'm going to blush."

"...Oh, uh, sorry...!"

Realizing he was staring at a nude maiden, Kamito looked away, blushing intensely.

"Feel honored. Areishia is the only human who has seen this appearance of mine. You are the second person in history."

Saying that, the girl used vines to cover up her nakedness while smiling mischievously.

"A-Are... you really the Dragon King...?"
[[image:STnBD V15 151.jpg|thumb]]

Confounded, Kamito asked.

Indeed, it was relatively common for high-ranked spirits to take human form&mdash;

Est, Restia and Iseria, the Water Elemental Lord, all looked like young maidens.

In that case, was the monstrous gigantic shadow that Kamito and company had mistaken for the Dragon King actually a stand-in made using entangled branches&mdash;?

(...Wait, why do I care about that right now?)

Only then did Kamito regain his senses.

"What are you planning to do with Restia!?"

He readied the Demon Slayer in both hands.

Depending on her answer, he was prepared to fight, even if he had to take on the Dragon King.

However, the girl sitting on the throne did not show any anger&mdash;

"I simply intend to restore her memories as Restia Ashdoll."

That was her answer.

"Restore Restia's memories?"

"Yes. To think you would draw your sword instead of showing gratitude, how unreasonable."

"Why are you doing this? What are your intentions in restoring her memories?"

Kamito continued to question. Although he also hoped for Restia to recover from her memory loss, it was possible that this girl had ulterior motives&mdash;

"No particular intentions. It is just that I am obliged to look after her. This is my duty as the trusted subordinate of my liege, a certain lord&mdash;"

"...A certain lord?"

Kamito cocked his head slightly&mdash;

He recalled what Rubia had said on the ship.

"You mean Ren Ashdoll... Right?"

"Indeed, the creator of the darkness spirit Restia Ashdoll&mdash;"

The Dragon King, who looked like a girl, directed a benevolent gaze at Restia who was sleeping among the trees.

The powerful dragon spirit Bahamut had fought as Ren Ashdoll's trusted subordinate against the armies of the Five Great Elemental Lords. Despite the defeat in the war and Ren Ashdoll's demise, did she still intend to express her loyalty to Restia who was left behind?

Kamito did not know if she was speaking from the heart, but&mdash;

"You're not going to harm Restia, right?"

Kamito asked just in case.

"That goes without saying. Also, I would have done it long ago had I the intention."

"...That's true."

Kamito muttered.

"Now that you understand, I hope you could put away that sword properly. Although she has lost her original power, for spirits who experienced the Spirit War era, she elicits trauma regardless of faction."

"...Oh, sure, I got it."

Kamito slowly lowered the Demon Slayer.

Terminus Est, the strongest sword spirit, was apparently feared by even the Dragon King.

"However, a spirit like you should be able to destroy me within the blink of an eye, right?"

Kamito spoke while in trepidation inside.

After all, the other party was the Dragon King whose power was second only to the Elemental Lords. Being able to wipe out Kamito in an instant would be nothing unusual.

However&mdash;

"That is not true, unfortunately."

The Dragon King shook her head slowly.

"...Huh?"

"I can neither leave this castle nor exert my full power outside its premises. I am truly powerless&mdash;"

"You can't leave the castle?"

Kamito asked in surprise. Indeed, it was well-known that Dracunia's Dragon King never appeared in state-level conferences or ceremonies&mdash;

Hearing that, the Dragon King smiled with fragility&mdash;

"Yes, it is thanks to this contemptible curse cast by the Earth Elemental Lord&mdash;"

She moved her body slightly within the vines.

Instantly, the writhing vines restrained the girl's arms and legs.

"...!?"

"This is the Earth Elemental Lord's curse. Bound to this land of Dracunia, I can neither leave this place nor return to Astral Zero&mdash;"

"No way..."

Unable to find words, Kamito instantly fell silent.

Supposing this curse dated back to the Spirit War, then&mdash;

This girl had spent several thousand years all alone in this kind of place.

That loneliness was impossible to imagine for Kamito no matter what, given his limited lifespan&mdash;

At that moment, an idea suddenly occurred to Kamito.

"Oh right, maybe I can use Est's power to lift the curse&mdash;"

"The sacred maiden who came here a thousand years ago also did the same thing."

The Dragon King shook her head.

"Sacred Maiden Areishia?"

"Yes... However, she failed. The curse was too strong and it corroded her health as the sword spirit's contractor&mdash;"

"I-Is that what happened...?"

Kamito bowed his head and gritted his teeth. Sacred Maiden Areishia had taken on the curses accumulated in Est, causing her to turn into stone after defeating the Demon King.

"Fufu, no need to make that kind of face. Even thousands of years are nothing to a spirit. Furthermore, life watching over humans has been rather interesting."

The Dragon King shrugged and looked at Restia.

"Today is truly an excellent day. I am finally able to contact the one my lord left behind&mdash;"

Cradled by vines and branches, Restia slept with a peaceful expression.

"Restia is still Restia, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Uh, is she currently still a spirit?"

Kamito asked.

From his perspective, rather than transformed into a human appearance&mdash;

Restia felt like she had been reborn completely as a human girl.

"...Well..."

Hearing that, the Dragon King contemplated for a moment&mdash;

"Indeed, the way she is now, perhaps she might be considered human like the rest of you."

"..."

"However, it is a borrowed body after all. She has simply lost her traits as a spirit because she has been separated from her true body in Astral Zero. Once she recovers her memory and reestablishes her link with Astral Zero, she should recover a spirit's power&mdash;"

"Really...?"

Kamito looked down at his leather-gloved left hand. In that case, even though the spirit seal had vanished, the spirit contract itself that was established with Kamito still had not been annulled?

"Can her memories be retrieved?"

"I will try everything I can. It is the least I can do out of loyalty to my lord."

The Dragon King nodded slowly.

Kamito held Restia's hand gently.

...Currently, that was all Kamito could do.

Watching him like that, the Dragon King chuckled and smiled tenderly.

"&mdash;You really love that contracted spirit, don't you?"

"...What!? Cough, cough..."

Kamito choked so much that he kept coughing.

"Dear me, I was only kidding. To think you would go that red, how cute&mdash;"

The Dragon King giggled in delight.

"C-Come on, you..."

However, Kamito could not bring himself to get angry at that adorable face, smiling innocently...

Was this really the terrifying Dragon King with the booming voice?

"Then what about Leonora?"

"...W-Why are you bringing this up!?"

Surprised again by another shot out of left field, Kamito was shaken.

After all, something like that had just happened with her. Kamito could not help but recall the sensation of that extremely bountiful bosom, causing his face to instantly heat up.

"Seriously, she already tried so hard and you are Casanova too."

"...Don't tell me, you saw what happened just now!?"

Kamito could not help but shout.

"Yes, I borrowed the eyes of the flying dragons that were carrying the Dragondola."

"Gah..."

It was most likely Far Sight magic for sharing a familiar's vision. Even though she was unable to step foot outside of the castle, a mythical-class dragon spirit was still not to be trifled with.

"She is quite awkward, so she can't even distinguish her own feelings clearly."

The Dragon King spoke with a wry smile.

"Why not take Leonora? She comes from a good family, her personality is upfront, a very fine girl indeed. And her breasts are huge too... Ah, or perhaps you like them small?"

A vine had stretched out to him unnoticed and poked Kamito in the side.

...Despite being a curse, it seemed like she could control them to some extent.

"L-Leonora is a very attractive girl, of course, but... Hold on, I have no intention of that at all."

Kamito replied somewhat glumly.

"Then which of the four do you intend to marry?"

"M-Marry...?"

The Dragon King smiled mischievously.

"As the king of Dracunia, I'd like to recommend Leonora, but if I had to choose among them, the Ordesia princess is not bad. She looks quite reliable. If necessary, you can become the emperor of Legitimate Ordesia too&mdash;"

"C-Cut the nonsense!"

"That ponytail girl has quite a large bust too. I expect her to be the type that is more loyal and devoted than anyone once she falls into love. The hellcat girl is a bit dishonest with her feelings, but she does have a cute side. Oh, and that blonde girl is no good. Despite her prim and proper elegance, she is in cahoots with my mortal enemy the Water Elemental Lord&mdash;"

(Th-This fricking dragon spirit...!)

Kamito mentally clutched his head.

No good, at this rate, he was going to get caught in her pace...

"Ahhh, so definitely amusing, you humans&mdash;"

After saying a bunch of stuff, she smiled contentedly.

Then she put on a serious expression again&mdash;

"Hey, why do think a spirit like me is ruling this country as king?"

"...?"

Indeed, there were no other known cases of a spirit ruling a country in the human realm. Ordinary spirits would not take much interest in the human realm.

"I hope to understand the race known as humans more deeply. This is in order for me to know why my liege, Ren Ashdoll, took an interest in your kind, to understand her feelings&mdash;"

"Ren Ashdoll took an interest in humans?"

Kamito asked. It was his first time to hear about this.

The dragon spirit girl nodded in response.

"Ren Ashdoll sensed some kind of potential in mankind. Hence, on the brink of demise, she entrusted a portion of her power to them. Instead of the powerful races of the dragons and giants, she entrusted it to you humans&mdash;"

"..."

Kamito looked down at his own chest.

Why had she&mdash;the Darkness Elemental Lord&mdash;caused what was known as the Demon King's power to reincarnate in humans? Now that it was brought up, he definitely found it unbelievable.

"Initially, I only started observing mankind in order to understand Ren Ashdoll's feelings. But during the process, I gradually came to love the fragile race called humans and fell in love with this country of Dracunia. They are almost like my own children&mdash;"

The Dragon King smiled with gentle eyes. However, Kamito sensed a faint smidgen of what seemed to be loneliness in her serene expression.

No matter how much love she poured out, human lifespans were limited after all. How many of her children had this dragon spirit girl witnessed passing away from her vantage point in the castle?

And because she needed to maintain her dignity as the Dragon King, she could only show her true appearance to the sacred maiden a thousand years ago and Kamito, the Darkness Elemental Lord's reincarnation.

"..."

Kamito looked up at the Dragon King and said:

"Let me stay here for now until Restia wakes up. I could drink tea with you and chat."

"Fufu, unfortunately there's no tea... Ah, though there is tree sap if you want to drink it."

"I'll pass..."

&mdash;Just as Kamito shrugged...

"...!?"

The Dragon King's calm expression suddenly turned serious.

The seductively charming crimson eyes narrowed, gazing into the distance.

"Looks like something ominous has come&mdash;"

She said in an icy voice.

"...Something ominous?"

"Yes... I sensed the presence of filthy darkness."

The Dragon King closed her eyes as though transferring her consciousness somewhere far away.

Then she said something shocking&mdash;

"&mdash;That girl... Could she be the Dusk Witch?"

"...What!?"

Kamito widened his eyes.