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Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:58:19Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 6 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body it arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash's back made Silvia feel nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does riding together with Ash make me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a cough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you don't hold on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why did you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She wished for a cave to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loosen your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:55:31Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body it arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash's back made Silvia feel nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does riding together with Ash make me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a cough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you don't hold on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why did you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She wished for a cave to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loose of your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:50:42Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body it arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash's back made Silvia feel nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does riding together with Ash make me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a cough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you do not held on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he
didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why do you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She was wishing for a cave to hide to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loose of your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:49:41Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 5 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body it arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash's back made Silvia feel nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does riding together with Ash make me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a chough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you do not held on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he
didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why do you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She was wishing for a cave to hide to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loose of your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
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Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:46:54Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body it arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash back made Silvia felt nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does ridding together with Ash made me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a chough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you do not held on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he
didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why do you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should
be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She was wishing for a cave to hide to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loose of your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3

2013-08-28T22:46:02Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 4 */

==Chapter 3 - The Lakeside Vacation==
===Part 1===
Danebury. It is one of the few commercial cities in Ansarivan.

In this town which was heavily fortified, many trade guilds from different country can be seen. All the businessmen were doing their best to sell their goods. Just not to get fooled by this peaceful town, this town can adept to many changes.

Danebury is also a place famous for its name ‘a pot for different races’. No one will even bother with Anya who is a Tantalos tribe when she was walking on the streets. There were many stalls by the road side and they were trying to sell their goods ranging from fruits to flowers to spices.

“This street is as busy as ever.”

Anya murmured in a low voice and continued to move towards her destination.

From the street, she turned into an alley. Then she continued to walk forward.

Until the point where there was not even a soul around her, Anya arrived at a building made from bricks- which is also the gathering point.
Anya entered through the main door and walk up the stairs.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door with a "Rosetta’s Business Firm” sign hanging on the door.

This is the gathering point operated by the Zepharos Empire to do spying activity in the Knight Country.

“I’m Anya. I’ve returned to give my report.”

“You may enter.”

Even when the voice behind the door is by a young guy, but the feeling he gave out is of a fully matured man.

“Sorry for the interruption.”

Anya put on a calm act upon entering to hide her happiness.

In the room which is used as a office, Milgauss was sitting on a chair leisurely. There were no other souls in that room. The fact that they
were alone made Anya nervous.

Milgauss glanced at Anya with his Silver mask on. Which a few strands of dark red hair in his silver coloured hair. He will definitely catch
the attention of others even in this ‘a pot for different races’ Danebury city.

“It has be a long time Anya.”

“Yes. Milgauss-sama.”

A few days before, Milgauss had returned to the Empire, because he had to give a report about the Necromancia’s experiment to the higher ups.

Milgauss's higher up is Klaus, a baron at the Wadanhuoer’s borders. Anya had not seen him before. Speaking about a baron at the borders, they
will always give the impression of an old man. But, Klaus is just only a noble in his twenties.

“I had received a report that you had managed to infiltrate the academy, right?”

“Yes. I’m currently investigating the teen who defeated the Necromancia. This is the report.”

Anya walked towards the table and carefully take out her documents that was kept in her bag.

Because that the time she spent working in ‘La Tene’ is still short, the intelligence that she had gathered was very very little. But
Milgauss still read it carefully, which made Anya happy.

After a few moments, Milgauss had finished reading.

“Thanks for your hard work. Please continue with the job.”

“Understood. I’ll investigate Ash Blake and young dragon Eco next. They will take part in the Selective Training Camp three days from now.
I’ll be going there as a staff member in charge of the foods.”

“The Selective Training Camp?... So that season had already arrived.”

The way Milgauss spoke like he was remembering his past gave Anya a shock.

“So it will also be held at the Allonnes Lakeside?”

“It seems so.”

''Why must he ask such a question?'' Milgauss continued to ask the confused Anya

“Do you know about the Willingham Mausoleum?”

“I know… I think it is a mausoleum located not far away from the Allonnes Lakeside. I’m not sure about the details.”

“That is a special mausoleum. It is a graveyard of the dragons who died young.”

“Why is it a place for dragons who died young?”

Anya asked while feeling a cold chill at her back.

“This will need to go back to the history of the beginning of Saint’s calendar. During that time, the dragons face a crisis of their youngs
dying and they must solve the problem regarding to the extinction of their species. The wise dragon’s magic Albion was created at that time…
On the other hand, the Willingham Mausoleum was built at the same time. After that, there is a tradition of burying the young dragons there.”

Today is year 1365 in the A.S.B calendar.<ref>After Saint's Birth</ref> What Milgauss had said is a story form the ancient time.

“You are really very knowledgeable!”

“This is just general knowledge.”

Anya was embarrassed. She was afraid that Milgauss will look down on her because she hadn’t studied much. Milgauss didn’t noticed her change
in expression and continue to speak:

“Even when they were young dragons, we still need to experiment with them.

“Are you suggesting that…”

Anya who realized Milgauss plan was trembling in fear.

“That’s right. The Empire was hoping that the day of using the Necromancia will come. That is why we need a more complete information.”

Milgauss intended to use the ashes of the young dragons for experimenting. To summon a Necromancia, the bones and ashes of a dragon is a must.

In reality, Anya hated the Necromancia. She couldn’t accept the existence of those things moreover they were going to use the ashes of a young
dragon. Her hairs were already standing on the end by just thinking about this.

But, Milgauss had already decided, and she must support him to the end.

Anya calmed herself down and tried to do the preparations for the next battle.

===Part 2===
After Anya left the room, Milgauss again took the report.

The report is full of information about Eco that Anya had collected. Even though data are not yet complete, but Milgauss immediately found a hidden clue.

“So you are born… Descedent of Avalon…”

“Kuhu…" The sound of laughter came out from his throat. Milgauss will never laugh like this in front of Anya. A negative feeling of love and
hatred is spreading in his heart.

“Anyway, is her name ‘Eco’?... No matter if this is by purpose or by fate, her master would call her in such an insulting name. But-“

Milgauss place the report back on the table and look outside of the window.

“It is still far better than to get killed by your own master. Don’t you think so too, Julius.”

===Part 3===
In the end, the first day for the selective training camp had arrived before Lukka’s and Gawain’s problem had been settled.

At the time the sun rises, the selected fifty-one riders left the school while being sent off by the remaining students.

When the students riding different types of dragons appeared at the main streets, the residents gave loud cheers.

To see the top students off is a must-held activity every year in this season. Even the sun that is high up in the sky was wishing them good
luck with its bright rays.

After leaving the walls of the town, the students followed the instruction of their instructor and were separated into three groups.

Because the coming paths will be chosen according to the types of dragons.

The Maestros and Stradas will take the sky path, the Asias will take the land path and the Hydras will take the waterway.

On the other hand, the ‘La Tene’s’ staff who were in charge of the food had already left. Cosette is also one of them. She had volunteered to
become a staff, so it is a rare sight that do is going separately from Silvia.

Followed by the Stradas’ group who spread their wings, the Asias’ group who move in the streets with dust leaving behind them and the hydras’
group who were playing in the water, each of the groups were lead by a professor who was an instructor for the practical skills.

Only the Student Council members and their Pal were not bothered by the groupings. They still remained standing in front of the town walls.

===Part 4===
“Right… Now is the time for us to decide who is going to give Ash, Eco and Lukka a ride.”

Rebecca who already wore the personal dragsuit for the student council president announced.

Ash, Eco and Lukka were unable to go the location of the training camp on their own.

“Of course that Ash-sama is going to follow me-”

Jessica who now had a rosy coloured cheeks volunteered herself. But after a few seconds, her Pal Rhiannon suddenly moved.

“Wait…Rhiannon what’s wrong with you?”

Rhiannon didn’t listen to its master’s orders and was running towards the river twenty meters away. Even though a Hydra can move on land but
they can only show their true ability in the waters. It was probably because it felt jumpy after being on land for a long time.

“S-Stop! Are you trying to disobey your master’s order.”

Too bad for her, Rhiannon wasn't listening to its master’s orders. Moving its huge python-like body she arrived at the river in the blink of an eye. Not only that, it used its mouth to carry Jessica who was chasing it by her belt and started swimming.

Jessica who was now in mid-air turned to look at Ash and said:

“My dear Ash-sama, I’ll be waiting for you at the Allonnes Lakeside-”

Rhiannon was swimming freely. Because it swam quickly, they disappeared at the far end before Jessica was able to finish with her sentence.

“Is that Jessica’s pal…? Its behavior is exactly like a duplicate of its master.”

Ash said while smiling.

“In the end they were just doing a comedy act.”

Rebecca was stunned when she saw her pitiful childhood friend depart.

“Lets us not be bothered by that, kaichou<ref>President</ref>. If we do not quickly depart, the rest of the students will start to wonder.
Logically speaking, we should be the ones who are going to check the attendance.”

Rebecca agreed with what Max had said.

“Understood. So… Lukka, do you have anyone that you wanted to ride with.”

Even though Lukka had already changed into her dragsuit, she had not spoken since she departed from the school. Even at this moment, she was
looking down and depressed. Her Yōsei-liked beauty comes with a feeling that it will disappear anytime like a bubble popping.

Gawain as the culprit was not even bothering Lukka who was down. It was lying down on the ground with a worrisome expression. Ash initially
thought that Gawain who had its Astral cut off won’t be able to take part in this Selective Training Camp, but it was said that the Allonnes
Lakeside had been a rest spot for the dragons since ancient times.

''So, the reason that Gawain is willing to take part in this Training Camp is to prolong its lifespan''... Ash personally thought so.

“Lukka, if you remained silent, how am I to know what you are thinking?”

After Rebecca looked at her face, Lukka reluctantly replied:

“I knew it… Since I was unable to ride on Gawain, there is no point for me to take part in this Selective training camp.”

“You’re absolutely correct about it.”

Ash gasped after he heard what Rebecca had said. As far as he knew, this is the first time Rebecca was mean to Lukka.

“Anyway, if you still continue to be the current you, the training camp will end meaninglessly for you.”

“If it is so… why do you still insist that I go with you?”

“The point is not whether it is meaningful or not.”

“Hu???”

“In reality, not matter if it is your birth, you being an Eckbald, becoming a breeder or becoming a dragner, there was never a meaning behind them.
Those were just add-ons by humans later on.”

Lukka slowly lifted her head and looked at Rebecca’s stare.

“Your point is… It is all down to me?”

“Great. You have known this for quite a long time right?”

Rebecca finally smiled, and gently patted Lukka’s head. Even though Lukka still had a worrisome look on her, but at least she had made up her
mind. She can be seen pulling Rebecca’s sleeve.

“I want to follow Rebecca.”

“Alright, I’ll be responsible to give Lukka a ride to Allonnes Lakeside. Next will be the problem concerning Ash and Eco.”

===Part 5===
Silvia’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what Rebecca had said.

She was troubled by her own feelings. Why do I feel excited? Does that mean that I hope to ride on the same dragon with Ash….?

''-Ash Blake.''

He is an incredible guy.

He hadn’t spoken much to Silvia in the three years of his basic class years. That is because Silvia didn’t had the intention to befriend
anyone. The only thing that she did was keeping on reminding herself, to become a great dragner, she herself must study hard. She didn’t even
try to approach anyone and didn’t even think that it was necessary.

But, Ash had invaded Silvia’s enclosed life. After the dragon riding festival’s competition and the Necromancia’s attack, they are now
comrades in the student council.

Also, there was the church’s terrorist incident…. Even though that was a farce planned by Veronica, Ash was still the center of spotlight when
that incident happened and had an eye catching excellent performance there.

“…”

Silvia’s cheeks unavoidably turned red when she tried to recall the events

When the hostages were freed, Ash approached Silvia. During that time, because Silvia had released all the stress that had built-up after she
was freed, she doesn’t even have the strength to stand straight. Luckily, Ash supported her by her arm and also piggybacked her back to the academy.

Somehow, Ash back made Silvia felt nostalgic.

Nine years ago- Silvia encountered a guy from the ‘Orphan Ceremony’.

Not only that he saved Silvia, but he also gave Silvia the opportunity to become Lancelot’s master. Strictly speaking, it was the guy who
refused the chance to become Lancelot’s master and handed over the responsibility to Silvia.

To Silvia, she was heavily in debt to that guy.

But, after the ‘Orphan Ceremony’ ended, Silvia had lost contact with that guy. Because that the guy gave away his opportunity to become
Lancelot’s master, he also lost the chance to become a breeder and will go back to his village empty handed.

The Princess of the Knight’s Royal Family and the village boy.

Logically speaking, they won’t have the chance to meet each other again for the rest of their life.

Still… Somehow, Ash’s back had a similar smell with that guy.

But of course this could be Silvia’s mistake. Anyway, that incident happened nine years ago. It is probably Silvia who projected the image of
that guy on to Ash.

Furthermore, that guy wouldn’t even be in Ansarivan.

Before parting, the last words that the guy told Silvia were:

''-You must work hard in my place in order to become a great dragner.''

Because of he no longer had the chance to become a dragner, that guy entrusted his wish on Silvia.

In another words, that guy can never be Ash.

“Are you alright… Princess-sama?”

Ash’s concerned words made Silvia sweep away her thoughts.

Somehow, Ash peeped at Silvia’s face. Ash who was now in his dragsuit looked totally different from his usual self. Not only that he looked
full of spirit, but he also doesn’t seem like he matches the title ‘Number One Problem Child in the academy’.

“N-Nothing! I’m alright!”

Silvia kept on shaking her hand to emphasize that she is alright. Ash was confused at first but then started to ask Silvia seriously.

“So, do you allow Lancelot to give anyone a ride?”

“Err…”

Silvia was caught off guard for a little moment… The ‘So’ he said was made from what conclusion? It seems that when she let her thoughts wonder, they had already made the decision.

From the way he said it, it had been decided that he is going to ride with Silvia.

She felt an amazing feeling from the depth of her heart.

''-H-How is this possible…! It is just a ride, but why would I have such a feeling? A-Am I-I h-happy about it? Does ridding together with Ash made me happy!? I’ll never admit this…! I’ll never ever admit this…!''

Looking at Silvia anxious looks, Ash continued to ask:

“Princess-sama, are you not feeling well?”

“I-I’m fine alright!”

Silvia cleared her throat with a chough. She must first calm down her emotions.

“B-But because there is a rule in the Lautreamont family’s rules stated that ‘boy and girls must not ride together after seven’. Even though
our relationship is quite intimate- no, no, our relationship cannot be considered intimate… But, for us to ride together to Allonnes Lakeside…
I-It is actually a little bit difficult for me.”

“What were you mumbling about? Do you hate to ride together that much?”

Ash was staring at Silvia, looking surprised.

“I-It is not that I hate it….”

"So you are basically saying that you allowed it. Lancelot is good at accelerating, so holding on tight to Princess-sama is a must for safety
reasons.”

“What…!”

Silvia almost had her head explode with the thought of Ash holding on to her waist.

“Hey, Ash… Are you trying to ride with me with those kinds of indecent thoughts?”

“Hu? What are you talking about? If you do not held on tight during the ride, it is the same as toying with your own life.”

Silvia’s lifted her angry and trembling fist in front of her chest and declared to Ash.

“Why don't I… let you disappear from this world right now!!!”

“Huh??”

Ash was knocked back after a iron punch at the chin. He made a beautiful curve in midair and landed with a thump. Because of his dragsuit, he
didn’t feel much pain.

Rebecca, Max and Eco were stunned while watching Ash standing up shakily.

“Why do you punch me…? The person who is going to ride with Princess-sama is Eco?”

“What!”

With a ‘crack’… The time had frozen.

In this moment, Silvia realized that she had misunderstood.

To put it bluntly, the person who is going to ride with Silvia is Eco. As for Ash, he asked Max to let Arianrhod give him a ride- This should
be the conclusion made. It is more comfortable for the people of the same gender to ride together.

Silvia’s body was heated up by her embarrassment. She was wishing for a cave to hide to hide into.

“Baka! <ref>Idiot.</ref> Why didn’t you mention it earlier!”

===Part 6===
The dragon who led the flight was Cú Chulainn and was followed by Arianrhod. Lukka is with Rebecca while Ash was with Max.

Gawain was the next to leave. It is probably because it does not receive any Astral, there isn’t a single hint of haki<ref>You will know what
it is if you read one piece. But haki is 覇気 which literally means an aura that someone strong emits that will let their enemies or the people
around them feel under tension or fear.</ref> from it. Even when Allonnes Lakeside is a rest spot, but with it looking like a living dead,
bringing it along felt like a torture for it.

“Alright, it’s our turn now!”

Silvia turned back and look at Eco.

“I’ll sit on the dragon first and you shall sit at the back. You mustn’t let loose of your grip from my waist, it is dangerous.”

“Understood.”

Eco obediently nodded in reply.

Silvia with a simple leap landed on Lancelot. After she held the leather reins, she felt refreshed.

“Come on, Eco!”

Her left hand left her grips on the reins and stretch towards Eco.

At this moment, a strange thing happened. Lancelot was as if to make it easy for Eco to get on the saddle, automatically knelled down. Not
only that, it also lower its head respectfully in front of Eco.

“Lancelot…?”

Silvia was confused. Lancelot’s behavior right now is as if a servant serving its master. Even when it is Silvia who is its master, she had
never received a treatment as classy as this. The incident that was happening now was shocking enough.

After Silvia pulled Eco onto Lancelot, she asked:

“…It seems that Lancelot respect you a lot. Do you know why?”

After Eco sat behind Silvia, she answered with a confused tone:

“For heaven’s sake… I don’t know anything. But as far as I can see, since it respected me, I’ll generously praise it as a smart dragon.

Eco exposed a proud expression.

“Grrrunn…”

After receiving Eco’s praise, Lancelot came out with a cute voice.

“H-Hey! You are not allowed to make that sound to anyone except me! You are Silvia Lautreamont, my pal! Quickly make a brave voice!”

Silvia scolded it sternly and gave it a light kick in its tummy. Lancelot was in a shock and quickly spreaded its wing and flew.

===Part 7===
In a blink of an eye, the groups of Maestros were a hundred meters above the ground.

“Uuh… this scenery is one that you’ll never get bored of.”

Silvia said happily.

At the center of the endless plains, Ansarivan is like a beautiful model. The streets for the dragon riding festival’s competition and Fianna
Forest can be seen together.

The Strada’s groups leaded by the instructors were some distance away and look like a pea. Although with the true ability of a Maestro they
could pass them in a moment, Rebecca still purposely remain at a low speed. The reason is probably she didn’t want the rest of the students to
find out about Lukka and Gawain. Even though it is going to spread sooner or later, but the fact that Lukka couldn’t ride her pal still remain a secret.

“Listen carefully! You mast never loosen your grip!”

Silvia reminded Eco while looking at the front.

Everybody was wearing their hardy dragsuit but only Eco who was in her uniform. Maybe she took this activity as a filed trip.

But, Eco suddenly felt down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Silvia was worried about Eco’s condition. But what she received was an even confusing answer.

“Why is yours this big?”

Silvia didn’t understand what she meant.

“Big..? What were you talking about?”

Eco suddenly emits a killing intend, which frightened Silvia.

“I’m talking about your breast! Why are yours and Rebecca’s this big?”

“T-This is too sudden! So you are also worrying about these stuffs?”

Silvia was stunned. Even though Eco always stated that ‘honorable and extraordinary dragons’, she still faced a human-liked trouble.

“That’s because of Ash… Sometimes, he will either stare at yours or Rebecca’s breast. I’m really unhappy about it. Even though I still don’t
know the reasons yet…”

“What did you say!?”

Silvia was almost infected by eco’s anger, but she managed to control herself. They were now in the middle of a flight and had unconsciously
reached a two hundred meters height. She mustn’t loose her cool here.

“Even when that fellow likes to look at breast… He wouldn’t even be bothered by mine. Why was this happening?! I can’t accept this!”

“T-That’s because…”

Silvia was in lack of vocabulary to use. Anyway, she knew next to nothing about a guy’s thinking. That’s why she was unable to answer Eco.

''-Back to the topic… Ash looked at my breast?”''

Silvia’s cheeks became hot.

Although she was angry at his behavior, on the other hand, she doesn’t really hate it. She was also surprised and confused that she felt
contradict.

No, not only she doesn’t have the feeling of repulsion, in fact…

''-Stop! What am I think about!''

When Silvia was struggling within herself, Eco suddenly demanded something outrageous.

“W-What are you thinking about! How could I ever agree with that!”

“Even when you rejected verbally, your defense is full of holes!”

Eco squeezed her hand under the both sides of Silvia’s armpits and Silvia’s muscles suddenly have a shock. Eco was right; Silvia who was now
in control of the reins has zero protection as far as she can see.

“S-Stop- Ahh…”

Eco was toying with Silvia’s breasts through her dragsuit with her tiny hands. She was as innocent as a child who was playing with a newly received toy.
[[Image:SnRK V03 142.jpg|thumb]]

“It’s soft! “It’s really soft! There must have been magic on this that can charm a male animal!”

“Y-You are just thinking too much! Wait...Aah...!”

Eco was playing with Silvia’s breast just like making pasta without holding herself back. This had made her lost her strength to hold the
reins.

“Have you had enough of this already! You better be careful of your mischief... or else I’ll push you down!!!”

Lancelot kept on moving upwards and had reached the three hundred meters altitude. Eco’s face turned pale after she peeked downwards.

“Alright... alright...”

Eco who was scared by the height reluctantly let go of Silvia’s breasts.”

===Part 8===
The Allonnes Lake is the lake with the biggest surface area in the Knight Country.

It is the place where they produce ayu and funa. <ref>Types of fish. 鮎 ayu is also called sweet fish, 鮒 funa is called crucain carp.</ref>

On the other hand, the forest surrounding the lake is also known as Norg Forrest. The wild plants there contain a high amount of Astral. It is
also well know as a rest spot for dragons.

There are many villas that can be seen scattering around the lakeside. But the most striking one was no other than the facility for the training
camp owned by the dragon riding academy.

Even though it looked like an old building from the outside, there still have a huge dragon house. The dragon houses here have enough rooms for
about sixty dragons. It looked magnificent just by it sheer size.

Also, a little distance away from the lakeside is a hill, which at the same time it the location of the ancient mausoleum.

Every scholars specialise in dragons will know that that is the Willingham Mausoleum.

===Part 9===
The first to arrive at the lakeside were the strada’s group and the maestro’s group. The one way journey took about three hours. The riders slowly entered the training campsite and waited comfortably for the other groups to arrive.

The staffs at the training campsite which include Angela and the lectures and the waiters who arrived earlier welcomed Ash and the rest with a big smile. Cosette was wearing a royal standard maid attire while serving the drinks to the students.

The next to arrive was the hydra’s group. They were slower than those who used the sky paths by two hours. Jessica who escaped from Rhiannon’s clenches kept on hugging Ash after she had entered the restaurant.

The last to arrive were the Asia’s group. There slowly arrived around four hours later after those who used the sky paths had arrived.

Rebecca who acted as the master of ceremony stood up and glanced at the students.

“I’m the student council president Rebecca Randall. I’m happy that there was no accident that had happened and everyone had arrived here safely.”

Logically speaking, this speech should be given by a lecture, but they were sitting at a corner drinking their tea. They clearly knew that
they do not have the influence that Rebecca possessed so they just let it be.

“Listen carefully. This Selective Training Camp is not a place to gather the entire good student to do activities together. After graduation,
everyone will start working in their own field. As long as you have the experience in taking part in this camp, you will be seen differently
everywhere. For example, every member of the famous Holy-Dragners of Lautreamont had left a good result in the Selective Training Camp. If
there were to be any students who wanted to join the Dragners, you mustn’t feel complacent just because you had been chosen to join this
selective training camp.I hoped that every person here joins with the spirit to win.”

All the student gave full attention to Rebecca’s talk.

Ash who had never thought about his future suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him had become tense and felt himself missing out.

''-Everyone’s so hardworking….''

Ash who was different from those who worked hard to join the Selective Training Camp managed to be at here right now is thanks to Rebecca’s
personal opinion.

To put it bluntly, Ash still haven’t feel the excitement for the training camp.

“So... for all the students, please have sufficient rest for today for tomorrow’s special training.

Until here, Rebecca suddenly showed a mischievous smile.

“That being said… But, we will still let you all some time to enjoy the lake for relaxation.

After a short silent, the restaurant was drowned in the sound of cheers.

===Part 10===
Under the bright sun, the student gathered at the lakeside full of spirits. Because that had departed from the academy early, there is still ample time for them to have fun before the sun sets.

Although Ash didn’t bring his swimming wear with him, he still never regretted that. It is because he never had the intention to have fun in the water.

If he change into his swimming wear, his ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand will be exposed and going into the water with the bandages on doesn't look natural at all.

Ash changed into his casual wears which include his t-shirt, shorts and sandles sitting by the lakeside leisurely.

There weren’t anybody from the student council that came into his view. Max as usual was back into his crazy neat freak illness and was cleaning the room. From his situation, it is a wonder if he could finish it before evening.

Lukka who was a shut-in had herself hid inside her own room. Gawain was not in the dragon house but was sleeping in the Norg Forrest that surrounds the lake the gain some astral.

As for Rebecca, Silvia, Jessica and Eco should be still changing in the changing room. Cosette did prepare a swimming suit for Eco and Ash was
thankful for her to be this understanding.

“Ash-samaaaaaa.”

At this moment, a huge hydra appeared with a big splash.

It seems that it was Rhiannon. From its neck to its head is in a curve shape which made it looked more like a snake than a dragon.

Needless to say, the person on its head was Jessica. She was wearing a cute orange coloured bikini.

It was not surprising that Jessica would bring her pal along with her. When the academy’s students were playing with water, the Hydras were
the most active in it. When one by one the riders of the hydras appeared on the lake, sounds of cheers could be heard.

“J-Jessica..?”

Ash became nervous while standing in front of Jessica, he just don’t know where to look at. Even when Jessica’s attitude had always been
daring, she still has a nice body. In front of her cleavage, upper arms, hips… and soft tender skin, Ash gulped.

“Ara, Ash-sama you didn’t bring your swimming wear with you?”

“Err…I’m not in the mood for swimming…”

“How could you do that! It is our honeymoon!”

“Why would a decent activity become a honeymoon! And I’m not even married to you!”

“Haa… Your indifference attitude is so charming. Come, hold my hand and together we will challenge the sea! Our sea adventure is going to
start!”

“I think that you had mistaken! This is a lake and not a sea!”

“That won’t be a problem! Rhiannon! Go and fetch me Ash-sama!”

After Rhiannon roared, it clumsily lifted Ash by his collar.

“Hu… Uwaaaaa!”

Ash, hanging in midair was forcefully brought to the middle of the lake.

===Part 11===
Inside the girl’s changing room of the training camp, Silvia was stunned.

It is because of Cosette acted naturally when she handed her her swimming wear. The design was too much of an exaggeration. The colour is blue
which is Silvia’s favourite.

But, hold on. There is too little fabric on this swimming wear.

“….Cosette, are you sure you want me to wear this swimming wear? You know, I’m- Silvia Lautreamont, the proud fourth princess of the Knight’s
family!”

“Of course, princess-sama.”

Cosette just revealed a big smile as if she is not going to prepare another swimming wear. No, it should be said that she only prepared this
for her.

On the other hand, Eco had changed into a cute swimming wear.

So… I see this is a swimming suit This is my first time wearing one!”.

Eco was excitedly looking at her own looks in her swimming wear. It is a swimming suit that uses white colour as a base with cute ribbons as
decorations. ''If there is such a swimming wear, why do you not prepare a same one for me…'' Silvia glared while complaining at Cosette.
[[Image:SnRK V03 151.jpg|thumb]]

“I think that this swimming wear suits you well, what do you think about it Eco?”

“You really have some good perception at looking at beautiful things, which can satisfy a dragon! You are really good!”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Cosette bowed gracefully. Right in front of her, Rebecca who had changed into her deep red coloured bikini was with a mischievous smile.

“Anything wrong, have you not finished changing yet Silvia?”

“R-Right…”

Silvia was confidence in her body but compared to Rebecca she felt depressed. For Silvia who was still growing, Rebecca’s body can only be
described with the word perfect. The dark red coloured bikini suits her well which made Silvia clenched her teeth.

''In front of a girl who had such a nice body, any boy would have fallen for her. Ash also must have been…''

''-Stop, stop, why would Ash appear at such a time.''

Silvia immediately shook her head.

Rebecca spoke to her with a mischievous smile:

“Be quick, Silvia! I’ll be leaving first!”

Eco too had followed Rebecca from behind.

The only ones left in the changing room were Silvia and Cosette.

“Alright. Please be quick princess-sama. I beg your forgiveness… If you are still worrying about anything, please pardon my rudeness by
forcing you to change.”

“I think that… You are not even afraid of anything, no? Aren’t you even enjoying this…?”

“Ara, so I have been found out. Ufufufu.”

Cosette took a step forward after a dangerous laugh.

She had the eyes of a hunter who had locked on on its prey.

===Part 12===
At the lakeside, Rebecca was sitting on a beach chaise with her sunglasses. She looked classy with a wine glass in on hand while enjoying her environment leisurely.

“T-To be able to watch the president in her swimming wear, we are just too lucky.”

The guys immediately revealed their perverted behavior. Even though they were the top students, they were still guys in their teens.
Silvia gave an insulting looks at the perverted guys and walked to the lakeside. She embarrassly turned back and asked Cosette about her opinion.

“Hey… Cosette, do I really… Doesn’t looked weird?”
[[Image:SnRK V03 004-005.jpg|thumb| '' ‘It suits you well!’ ‘D-Does it?’ The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous.'']]

“It suits you well!”

“D-Does it?”

The breeze form the lake made Silvia felt cold and also made her hard to calm her emotions down. Furthermore, there was the feeling of her swimming wear getting stuck in between her butt if she was careless which made her nervous. Of course this is also the first time where she was wearing such dressing in front of the crowds.

Cosette suddenly whispered to her.

“Rest assure, ash-sama will be happy with this.”

“W-W-Why must you mention ash!”

Silvia angrily glared. At this moment, there was a ruckus among the guys.

“Princess-sama had arrived!”

“What a sexy bikini!”

“I… can die happy…!”

Silvia became nervous. She felt that her body was trampled on by their sights.

“Hey, Cosette! Give me something to cover my body, wheather it is a towel or a shirt!”

“If you don’t mind my apron, I could lend it to you.”

“How could a princess of a country wear such a thing!”

“I personally think that the combination of an apron and bikini not only will amaze the others, but will also be interesting.”

“What are you joking about!”

Silvia wanted to immediately return to the training camp. Anyway, it is unnecessary for her to accompany those excited students. She should have stayed in her room quietly with Lukka and Max.

At this moment, a desperate scream could be heard all over the lake.

“Uwaaaa! I beg you… please stop!”

Silvia immediately knew that that was Ash’s voice.

She doesn’t know the reason why she could recognize Ash’s voice at the first moment.

“Ohohoho! Rhiannon’s ability is not limited to this only, Ash-sama!”

Hydra Rhiannon was surfing on the lake at high speed. And the people on its back is none other than Jessica and Ash.

“…!”

Just when Silvia was still confused about her own feelings-

“Grrrroooooo…!”

Lancelot followed by a roar landed by the lakeside. The air pressure had lifted the dust.

The most unbelievable thing was, the person riding on its back was Eco. Under the condition where Silvia was not present, Lancelot
unexpectedly let Eco rides on its back willingly.

“H-How is this possible!”

Silvia couldn’t believe her own eyes and shouted.

Eco in her swimming wear was holding the reins while smiling. After she spotted Silvia, she said:

“I’ll be borrowing your pal for a while!”

Silvia immediately rushed forward.

“Hold on, Eco! How come… You are riding on Lancelot!”

“I had enough of that girl called Jessica! Damn, even when Ash is my meat slave!”

Looking at Jessica who was playing happily at the middle of the lake, Eco clenched her teeth.

“To go against Jessica, I must have a hydra. But the only breeder who has a hydra in the student council is only Jessica. Then, I thought of
something. A maestro can move freely in sea, land or air!”

“Even though what you were saying was right… I’m still surprised that Lancelot is willing to give you a ride. Hey, Lancelot! What the big idea!

After being scolded by Silvia, Lancelot reacted with lowering down its head. This was the first time Silvia saw Lancelot behaving like this.

It was normally a ferocious, classy maestro who matches up with Silvia…

“So, what are you going to do?”

Silvia was stunned by Eco’s question.

“I want to let Jessica taste some bitterness. Are you with me? Or you don’t?”

Eco’s red eyes were looking at Silvia from high up.

Silvia didn’t expect Eco to invite her. It is probably the three hours journey together made their relationship closer. ''Or else, she is''
''treating me as a rival. Wait, a rival in what sense-?''

Seeing Silvia still couldn’t make up her mind, Eco impatiently provoked:

“Hey! If you still couldn’t make your decision, I’ll be leaving you!”

These words gave her a little push.

Silvia had given up in thinking those troublesome questions.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The beautiful Allonnes lake is right in front of her and the student whom had changed into their
colorful swimming wear.

In the corner of her eyes, Ash can be seen playing with Jessica on the back of the hydra.

In this case, there is only one thing to do.

“C-Count me in!”

Silvia with much effort managed to say those words and she jumped onto Lancelot. She received the reins from Eco and immediately ordered Lancelot to make flight.

Seeing that Silvia decided to join the fun in the water, there was a loud cheer around the beach.

"Playing with Water ~A.S.B. ~1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 2

2013-08-04T11:40:00Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 9 */

==Chapter 2 - Rebecca's Dangerous Command==
===Part 1===
After class, Ash anxiously went to the student council’s office.

Even though he was worried about Eco who had stayed in the dorm the entire day, he insisted that he must speak to Rebecca face to face.

"Excuse me!"

Without even a knock on the door, Ash walked into the student council’s office.

Just as he expected, Rebecca was in the office. She was sitting on the couch comfortably drinking her cup of tea. The sweet aroma of the

Ansal tea can be smelled. Apart from Rebecca, there were no other students in the office.

"Hai, Ash. I had expected that you’ll show yourself."

Seeing Ash rush into the room, Rebecca smiled.

"What is that about? Why can I also participate in the selective training camp with those kinds of results......"

"Don’t you worry, please have a seat first before we start talking."

Ash unwillingly sat down opposite to Rebecca. Upon seeing this, Rebecca suddenly patted the empty space next to her.

"Didn’t I tell you before that it is more effective to get to know each other when two people are sitting next to each other? This is the iron rule when dating."

"......Understood."

Although his current mood had nothing to do with dating, Ash obediently sat next to Rebecca. A refreshing scent could be smelled. It was the
perfume that Rebecca loves to use.

After Rebecca put down her cup, she looked at Ash. Her emerald-like eyes were reflected in Ash's face.

"Are you so concerned about yourself being selected?"

"Of course, I don’t know why I was even chosen......"

The Specially Recommended System was only adopted this year. It was evaluated by the student council president, so I choose you. It is just as simple as this. But-

Saying this, Rebecca showed her tongue. This is the first time Ash saw Rebecca’s playful look. That cute look made his heart beat faster.

"To tell you the truth, the person who suggested the Specially Recommended System is me."

"What!? What is your purpose?"

Seeing Ash was dumbfounded, Rebecca, with a calm attitude placed her hand on his lap and gently stroked his knee. Not only that, her mouth was
getting closer to Ash’s ear.

Rebecca exhaled on his earlobe, which made Ash shivered.

"Are you forcing me to tell you personally? Of course, it is to allow you to participate in the training camp!"

"W-Why ......?"

"By following the previous selection method, an irregular like you will surely not be selected. But you have a genuine talent. To even have the incredible power of riding other people’s pal...... and to have a special pal is also a fact. Additionally, you defeated the Necromancia and ‘Avdocha the Convict’. That is why, I insist in letting you participate in the training camp, The Specially Recommended System is used to accomplish this task. "

"So it is really...... for me?"

Ash was staring at Rebecca’s beauty.

''Am I thinking too much?'' There is the feeling of Rebecca’s cheeks also turning red.

"That ...... Until now, I never fell in love with any particular boy."

"Huh......?"

"Because no matter how good that boy is, he can never be in the same position as me."

If these words were from the mouth another girl, she may sound arrogant. But since it was Rebecca, it will be another story. After all, she
is the unique Ark-Dragner.

"But whenever I see you...... Stranger to say, I am always looking forward to it. I've never had these feelings. Maybe...... I am easily
attracted to 'hidden talents'."

Ash was surprised that there were times when Rebecca stuttered. Moreover, she looked like she doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings.

“W-What you mean...... is it?"

Ash's heartbeat is almost at its peak.

Rebecca as if leaking her secret, uttered that sentence.

"Can I expect it from you?"

Despite feeling flattered, Ash still had the urge to tightly hug Rebecca. This is the first time Ash had this kind of feelings for Rebecca.

Their shoulders leaned closely together. No, it was done intentionally by Rebecca. Since the summer uniform is made from thin material, Ash was
able to clearly feel Rebecca's body temperature. Maybe summer uniforms also have advantages...... This is the first time Ash thinks so.

"Rebecca-san......!"

Just when Ash was quietly murmuring like he was dreaming-

''-Bang!''

The door was suddenly opened with a loud sound. Meanwhile, two girls who has lost their balance plunged into the office.

With a closer look, the two were Silvia and Jessica.

Ash quickly got up from the couch.

"What are you doing!?"

"I-It is not me! It was Jessica who suddenly pushed me......”

Silvia while rubbing her waist quickly climbed up. A while back, she slowly built up her royal dignity which made him give her a little
admiration. But after she had shown her useless side. Ash felt a little regret.

"Rebecca! I am not gonna let you off easily today!"

Jessica rushed up from the ground and said to her.

"There are so many people for you to seduce and you choose my Ash-sama!"

Rebecca with a nonchalant look replied:

"Jessica, you are mistaken. Ash at this stage does not belong to anyone! Logically speaking, I am not seducing him."

"You're lying! The scene just now......"

"Aright, I won’t deny that I might like him in the near future......"

After hearing that, Jessica's expression instantly stiffened.

It seems that she never thought that Rebecca would declare war on her in this case.

Not only Jessica, even Silvia was also speechlessly staring at Rebecca.

"I actually would like to ask what you two were doing suspiciously behind the door. Since you are in the student council, why do you not walk
in proudly?"

Rebecca retorted with sharp words, which resulted in Silvia and Jessica explaining with a "Uuh!".

"I-I accidentally saw Ash-sama in the corridor, and I came to take a look and I found out that Princess-sama was standing at the
doorway......"

Jessica quietly stared at Silvia.

"I-I initially wanted to ask the president about issues of the selective training camp, but I saw president and Ash...... Err ...... the
atmosphere was a little embarrassing, so I was embarrassed to come in......"

After listening to the two explanations, Rebecca sighed.

"The two of you are a proud members of the student council, at the same time, both of you are participants of the Selective training camp. I
hope that you two have some self-respect, and remind yourselves to keep an honest attitude."

"Understood......"

Opposite of Silvia who humbly accepts the advice, Jessica refuted.

"Hmph! Rebecca are you in a position to make those irresponsible remarks? I wonder who was the girl who embraced Ash-sama on the
student council’s office sofa? Had Her Royal Highness and I not broke in, God knows at what stage you will be progressing!"

"Ara, such attitude. I'm happy to talk about the trouble you made in your childhood right here? Anyhow you are my childhood playmate.
Well, there were many things that could become the topic."

Despite the smile made by the smooth lips, Rebecca's eyes did not show any smiling sign. Like an eagle forcing its prey into its beak, they
were bursting out with dazzling light.

"Yikes......!"

Her previous arrogance had disappeared. Jessica who turn pale was sweating profusely.

"I-It was my b-bad."

"Hmm, it is good to admit you are wrong honestly."

When Rebecca was answering while smiling- someone frantically rushed in through the opened door.

"President! Something was very wrong......!"

It was Max, who was in charge of the accounts. Perhaps he was running at full speed along the way because he was out of breath. He didn’t even notice that
his spectacle was not in the right place.

How urgent was the situation for the calm Max to become this way? Ash was also feeling
very tense since the city had been full of disaster recently, .

"What happened, Max? To be panicked to this extent is not your style."

The student council president is sure to be very experienced, Rebecca was still calm even after seeing Max's expression. She was calmly
waiting for Max to reply.

"W-We received a report...... there is smoke emerging from the Merk House of the women's dormitory-!"

"Is it a small fire?"

"The details are unclear. But, the smoke is suspected to be emerging from Lukka Saarinen's room......"

Upon hearing Lukka Saarinen’s name, Rebecca face became pale.

"I'll leave for Merk home... In my name Rebecca Randall I order! Respond to my summon, Cú Chulainn-"

The next moment, Maestro Cú Chulainn who responded to Rebecca’s summoning spell appeared in front of the window.

===Part 2===
Rebecca stood on Cú Chulainn’s neck heroically, but Ash, Silvia and Jessica were struggling to cling on to its fur.

Because Max was almost out of breath, he was left behind in the Student Council’s office. The other reason is that it would not be appropriate to leave the office empty when an emergency situation occured.

In the end, there was no need for such a large group of people to march forth to the scene. As long as Rebecca was dealing with it personally, she was sure to come up with the most appropriate solution.

However, after Rebecca and Ash jumped on Cú Chulainn, a strange thing happened. Silvia and Jessica also stepped on the window and jumped.

After giving a wry smile, Rebecca immediately changed back to her serious looks.

"Send us to the Merk house!"

After receiving Rebecca’s orders, Cú Chulainn gave an earth shattering roar and spread its wings.

Ash and the rest just felt a floating sensation and a strong pressure. The Merk house, which takes twenty minutes
to walk to, is right in front of them in the blink of an eye.

The Merk house was designed as the accommodation for the basic class female students.

Unsurprisingly, the outside of the dormitory was packed with girls. They should be the ones who escaped after they found out about the smoke.

The girls screamed after they saw Rebecca jump down from Cú Chulainn. The Student council president Rebecca Randall had always been regarded as an idol by the low-grade students.

"We are from the student council! Is the warden here?"

After Rebecca stated her name loudly, an old lady walked towards her.

"Is Lukka still in her room?"

Rebecca quickly asked and the warden nodded.

"That’s right. The other students called her several times, but she didn’t respond......"

According to the warden, the conclusions were as follows-

Not long ago. The students living on the same floor as Lukka discovered smoke coming out from her room. If such an event occurred in the
advance class dormitory, the advance class students should have a way to calmly handle it.

However, the lower class students who were still mentally immature, were shocked by the unexpected events. Their fear spread like an epidemic and it finally become a commotion.

Warden said that she got a headache just trying to get the panicked girls to safety. Logically speaking, she should have the spare key to open Lukka’s room, but she was busy with some other stuff.

The warden who finished speaking handed over the silver keys to Rebecca.

"This is the spare key to Lukka-san’s room.”

"I understand. Please stay here and take care of the students."

After she received the key, she started to run. Ash and the others followed behind Rebecca. On the way there, Ash asked Rebecca.

"Rebecca-san...... I would like to ask what kind of problem the girl named Lukka Saarinen is facing."

Perhaps this was not an important enough question for them to talk about while running. But even the calm Rebecca mobilized Cú Chulainn to rush to the Merk house after she heard Lukka’s name. It meant that the situation right now was not some small matter.

"She is now being severely tortured because she as a Dragner lost her ability to ride her pal...... although she gave excuses like being unwell; in fact the problem is much more serious. Since she was unable to ride her pal, she sheltered herself in her dormitory. Recently, there were many students who began to show concern about Lukka’s problem."

"I see......"

It was not rare for a breeder to be unable to ride his Pal. For example, illness, injury, etc and many strange things could be the reason. At the school assembly, "That rumor" that Raymond said could be this.

“Don’t tell me that because she couldn’t ride, and thus…”

An ominous possibility brushed through Ash's mind.

"That's not impossible ...... no one can guarantee anything, that’s why I’m so anxious."

After finishing this sentence, Rebecca kept silent. The group rushed into the dorm, walked down the hallway and climbed the
stairs.

Soon, Rebecca stopped in front of a door. It was located at the end of the corridor on the third floor.

The name list beside the door showed only the name Lukka Saarinen. The basic class dormitory were generally three person bedrooms, it appeared
that she was living alone.

Leaving the question aside, the main focus was on the source of the smoke.

In fact, some visible white smoke could be seen floating out from the cracks around the door.

Compared to the big commotion, the amount of smoke could only be regarded as insignificant.

"Lukka! Answer me!"

Rebecca knocked on the door, but there still wasn't any response from inside.

"I’m going to open the door!"

Rebecca put the key in the keyhole. With some 'rattle' sound of metal, the door unlocked. Once the door was opened, the white smoke poured into the corridor.

Rebecca entered the room followed by Ash. Most of the smoke drifted into the corridor after the door was opened.

Ash looked around the room.

The room was cramped with all kinds of dried plants, which did not look like a girl's room. To force a description, this was more like a pharmacist’s workroom.

To Ash's surprise, in addition to the furniture that the dormitory provided, the room also had some working tables. They must have been Lukka’s private property.

In the center of the room, there was a low round table, which was of a design that wasn't normally seen in the Knight Country and the Kingdom.

In addition, the surprising number of flower pots made the others curious. Flower pots were lined from the wall side to the window side of the room. Each flower pot contained plants that Ash had never seen before.

The reason why she could have this amazingly large number of personal belongings in a room was that she was using a room for three alone.
Although there is double bed and a single bed by the wall, they were used to place her stuff.

"Lukka!"

Just when Rebecca shouted the room’s owner’s name......

Ash was shocked by what he saw.

A girl suspected to be Lukka was lying in the middle of the room.

The problem was, Lukka’s body was lying in a container that looked like a coffin. The base of the container was covered with a layer of soft
flowers. Her hands were also folded over her chest.

The only words that could be used to describe Lukka were- it was her corpse. <ref>this sentence is originally short and made is seems like it is a
dead body</ref>

"It can’t be......?"

Silvia and Jessica rushed past Ash who was muttering towards the side of the coffin.

After witnessing Lukka’s appearance, Silvia and Jessica froze.

At this point ......

"Fyuaa......"

Followed by a cute yawn, the body slowly sat up.

Even though it had a sleepy look, Ash was almost scared out of his skin.

She is like a Yōsei from the fairy tales.

Her whitish gold straight hair was shoulder length. Beneath the neatly trimmed fringes were a pair of big amethyst-like mysterious watery shining eyes.

Her skin was like white porcelain, which normal whiteness couldn't be compared with. On the surface, she looked like an exquisite doll. Her petite height was no different from Eco. But she gave a feeling of a dreamy easily breakable object, which was different from the lively Eco.

The most important feature, were those protruding ears that could be seen sticking out from her beautiful hair. Even the tip of her ear was pointy. Ash had long ago heard about the existence of this race, but until today, it was the first time he actually saw one.

"...... Anything?"

Facing a group of stunned people, Lukka lazily looked at the faces around while speaking with a clear voice.

===Part 3===
Lukka one by one put out the flames in the incense burner and the smokes in the room slowly dissipate. Those smokes seem to be produced by the burning of a special bright dragon crystal so it was harmless.

The students outside had return to their rooms after the situation had settled down.

"To put it bluntly, the smokes were produced in the incense burner."

Lukka answered Rebecca questions. With her back facing the crowd, she covers the final incense burner’s lid.

While looking at Lukka’s small ass, Ash became surprise.

The shapes of her hips can be seen through the one-piece pajamas. But right now, the focus is not on the traces of her underwear.

''- Is she......?''

Just when Ash was at trouble about where he was looking, Lukka turned around and face the rest.

"I'm sorry to give you all a shock."

Lukka was sitting on her heels<ref>正座 Seiza, a formal way of sitting.</ref> and respectfully apologize by bowing down. Her every move made people worry. Using another way to describe this,, she is the kind of people who will provoke the urge of others to protect her unconditional.

"You need not apologize. It is enough as long as you're safe. But please do not light so many incense in the future; otherwise the others students would think that it was a fire."

Lukka nodded humbly while Rebecca was reminding her.

"...... Rebecca words had always been right. I will pay more attention next time.”

"Come on, must you make the scene to look so deserted! Besides, what is that coffin about?"

"Coffin......? You are wrong. This is an Eckbald styled bed. It can be used directly in funerals; it features are very good."
[[Image:SnRK V03 057.jpg|thumb]]

"Sure enough, that’s a coffin! I can no longer bear with you, do you think as long as you give others a dreamy feel, you will be forgiven regardless of what you do? Without mentioning the rest, while facing your senpai, don’t you think that your tone of speaking is a little rude! "

"That’s enough! Lukka had always been timid and she is not like you. Don’t be too hard on her."

Jessica was angered after being scolded by Rebecca.

"Wha…. I am as timid as most people are!"

Although Ash thought that she was speaking that way to make herself felt better, but it is better for him not to comment on anything.

"Excuse me, Jessica. Please be a little quiet."

Even Silvia also tried to correct Jessica this time.

"Back to the topic, president, could ask her to re-introduce herself? After all, apart from you all of us here had just only met her for the
first time."

Rebecca nodded while smiling at Silvia’s proposal.

"Hmm, what a good idea. Lukka please introduce yourself."

Even when Rebecca asked her to self-introduce, Lukka remained silent. Her head kept on facing downwards with a timid appearance. In the end -

“I’ll make some tea.”

She suddenly stood up and hid in the kitchen.

Seeing Lukka had left, Rebecca smiled.

"She is still the same and had always been shy. I will introduce her in her place. As you had known, she is called Lukka Saarinen. She had such an uncommon name because she is an Eckbald."

-Eckbald

Commonly known as the ‘forest Yōsei '. Since ancient times they had lived in the forest, a race with beautiful looks.

By looking at Lukka’s appearance, you would be able to know that the ‘forest Yōsei ' description fits very well. Their pointed ears are exactly the same from the Yōsei that you hear from the fairy tales.

Appart from their beautiful looks, they are also famous for their herbology. The efficiency of the herbs made by the Eckbald is acknowledged by people around the world and the market price for them were always high.

However, the most important feature of an Eckbald is neither their beautiful appearance, nor their profound knowledge of herbs.

- But as a heroic race of Dragners.

That is the reason why the Eckbalds were called Eckbald.

Why was there the need to use the past tense? Because today, the heroic legend of the Eckbalds had became the legends of yesterday.

Written on the history textbooks, because of thee declining of the Dragons, the number of people who became a breeder had also decline.

At this moment, Rebecca suddenly lowered down her voice and whisper.

"Currently, Lukka is the only Eckbald in this academy. That is why the all the Eckbalds in the Eckbald autonomous regions have high hopes for the Lukka. But, I have to say that some of those people’s thinking are behind time......"

"Behind time?"

Silvia looked confused.

"Nn ...... they harbor a strong admiration over the Dragner. Since the Dragners were ordered to be involved with the Xenoglavia War, those thinking had ben behind time. There are now many parents praying for their children for not becoming a Dragner. Especially the more affluent their family is and it is getting more and more serious. After all, nor parents want their child to be ordered to the battlefield. "

"This issue really is no trivial matter! I really want to interrogate those people, for those who lost their admiration for the Dragners, can they call themselves the people of the Knight country!"

"Uuh...... Princess-sama? The focus is now on Lukka!"

Being reminder by Ash, Silvia blushed.

"S-Sorry, I’m a little too excited. '

Silvia immediately controlled her temper.

"In short, even when bearing such a heavy burden, she was eventually just a fourteen year old girl. I hope she can get rid of the shackles of her family and happily enjoy her campus life, so please be sure to get along with Lukka."

When Rebecca summed up in this conclusion-

"...... Sorry, it is just some simple tea."

Lukka was back with a tray. On the tray, there were cup which were equal to the numbers of people. There were also hot white smoke on the cups.

Since it was summer, they would like to drink some cold drinks instead of tea But they mustn’t complain about what she had specially made for them.

Lukka place the hot teas on the low round table.

Ash is a little not used to it. Because he experience drinking tea while sitting on the ground. However, since Eco was born, Ash had been sleeping on the ground, so he still can accept the idea of drinking tea on the ground. Rebecca on the other hand is very relaxed.

However, Silvia and Jessica cannot seem to accept the habit of sitting on the ground, They sat on the bed while holding their hot tea.

Although the beds were also filled with debris, they still managed to squeeze out a space for two girls.

Ash also took a cup of hot tea. Judging from the rugged shape, this cup should had been made personally. It is probably an item from her hometown.

The thing that made the others worry was the steaming dark green liquid in the cups. Maybe it was mixed with various herbs; the liquid exudes
a strong smell.

Ash casually turned around for a glance and found out that Rebecca was already drinking. The way she was drinking can be call heroic.

"That, I would like to ask...... What tea is this?"

After being asked by Ash Lukka held her cup and stay silence for a moment. For such a simple question, who do she even need to think? Ash
became increasingly uneasy.

"This tea is created by me...... so it has no name. But I'm sure that it has the effect for enhancing one’s energy after drinking."

"The effect… Of enhancing one’s energy......!"

After listening to Lukka’s descriptions Jessica reacted. She shove her cup of tea to Ash and look at him with a pair of pleading eyes.

"I beg you, Ash-sama! Please drink my share! Then please give me your sperm!"

"How could you say such shameless words......! Don’t you have some shame? A sense of shame!

Silvia who was red in the face commented on Jessica.

"Ara, why does Princess-sama want to even bother with me?"

"It is not because you're too shameless! As a lady of the Knight Country, can’t you show some modesty!"

"Is it really just because of this......?"

"O-Otherwise is there any other reason!"

While the two kept on quarrelling, Ash on the other side had made up his mind to finish it as if he was drinking poison.

''Glup......''

Ash felt like he was drinking mud and just barely managed to keep himself from spitting it out.

Silvia and Jessica also try to follow. But they both look a lot more healthier that before they started drink. Only Rebecca alone was
unaffected......

"Anyway, Lukka. How are you now?"

"It seems that I still can’t."

About Rebecca’s questions, Lukka distress-fully answered.

"That ...... I heard that you seemed to have lost the ability to ride your Pal. Do you have any clue for the reason it happens?"

Ask asked with a calm tone and Lukka murmured.

"...... I do not know, but I have not forgotten the ridding method."

"Otherwise, what else could it be?"

"It is...... Gawain is rejecting me."

After a simple explained, Lukka remain silent. Perhaps she lacked of emotions, her face is as expressionless as a doll.

So Rebecca answered the questions in Lukka’s place.

"Gawain had been rejecting Lukka for three months. Until now, we have yet to find solutions to this problem."

"Since the reason is still unknown, it is no wondered that nothing can be done. So we can only wait and see how will it progress, no?"

Jessica looked disappointed.

"No, the problem mustn’t continue to drag on."

Rebecca suddenly became serious.

"The point is the Astral that links Lukka and Gawain had been cut off. If we continue to wait, then Gawain’s life would be in danger."
The sudden development made Ash speechless.

===Part 4===
After leaving the Merk house and broke up from the group of student council’s members, Ash went to the city alone.

He intended to buy Crepe for Eco as an apology for coming home late because it is Eco’s favorite food.

The works in St Durham Square had been successfully completed and the number of crowds there is back like the old times. Ash soon found a
street vendor selling crepes, and ask the vendor to wrap up the vanilla flavored crepes in a wrapping paper.

Written on notice given out by the vendor was the message about a new chocolate banana flavored crepe that is going to be launched. ''I must tell Eco about this when I return''- Ash while thinking so, walk back to his home.

===Part 5===
Back to the school grounds, after passing by the dragon homes, Ash again began to think about Lukka’s trouble.

''-Astral.''

It is a must substance for the creatures on this planet to sustain its life. It is said that, Astral is the main reason for the declining of the Dragons.

Even the great Dragons can supply Astral to their own selves. Thanks to the connection between the humans who are rich in Astral since birth, the dragons were able to survive.

According to Rebecca, Gawain's body is getting weaker by the days. It is now eating food with high contain of Astral to survive...... The problem is that the contains of Astral in the foods is very little. If the dragons can survive through this method, then they need not bow down to the humans.

''Is there anything that I can be of help......?'' Ash was thinking deeply.

Lukka is now tested as a breeder and as a Dragner. The reason she was shutting herself in is mainly cause by the pressure.

...... In the end, Ash had returned to the boys’ dormitory, the Apollo home before he could come up with a method.

===Part 6===
It was evening. Eco had passed her day alone in the room of the Apollo home. Except, Cosette who was worried about her and had visited her for a few times, she hadn't spoken to anyone.

Fortunately, the summer sun was very strong and the cushions and sheets that Eco wets were completely dried. Eco who usually let Ash do the
housework alone had brought in the clothes on her own.

This was also her first attempt to make her bed. Although the results can only be considered so-so, but she still had completed it. Eco lied
down on the bed lazily. The air is full of the smell of the sun.

"............"

The embarrassment of wetting her bed this morning had left a scar in her heart. For the highly dragon to wet her bed this was unforgivable.

After all, how could she do something so embarrassing?

"That dream...... What is it about?"

Yes, the culprit is the ominous nightmare.

The nine fiercely frightening eyes.

The sticky tentacles that was all over.

Just by recalling them in her mind, Eco's body was trembling with fear.

She crawled out from the bed and quickly locked the door and windows. Even when it was a hot day, she still took out the fur blankets for the
closet.

Next, Eco was back to the bed and covered her whole body with the blanket.

Her limbs were madly trembling. ''I’m scared. I’m really scared. Why would I be frightened until this extend?''

''By the way...... Before I woke up, the thing seems to say something.''

''It seems to be a very important, but......''

"...... I really can’t remember anything."

Eco rolled over while being wrapped in the blanket.

After rolling left and right for a while, she became angry.

"Damn him...! Why is he not back yet?"

Eco started to complain about Ash. Logically speaking, the school had finished but Ash was still not yet returned. He should have been taken
away by the student council as a slave.

''-Why doesn’t he even think that I had been waiting for him to come home for a long time!''

Right at this moment, Eco suddenly came to her sense.

"No, no! I-I didn’t...... Who will wait for that type of person!"

Her cheeks were red hot. Eco told herself that she had misunderstood; her cheeks were hot because of the blanket that she had been covering
herself with.

It was not because of Ash’s absents she had become lonely. She had just becomes a little timid because of that nightmare.

Having said that, Eco still inevitably still thinks that, if Ash had rushed home immediately, she wouldn’t need to be afraid......

Moreover, they were linked together by the Astral. They were partners who sign the sacred contract. Logically speaking it was their right to
accompany each other.

In other words, Ash is the one who should be condemned!

Just when Eco jumped into conclusions...... someone with a'' 'Kon Kon' ''had knocked the door.

"......!"

Eco was as shown literally, jumped up on the spot.

===Part 7===
Ash was confused because there was no reply after he knocked the door.

"Where did that Eco ran to......?"

Just as Ash reluctantly reached into his pocket to pull out his keys, the door suddenly sprang open.

"It hurts!"

Because of his forehead was hit but the door, he was now in pain.

Then, Eco like a cannon ball rushed to him for the room.

"Uwaa!"

Ash fell to the ground after that impact. His Crepes also fell to the ground.

Because of the lightning speed Eco also hit into Ash's arms. The fell of her soft skin was pass-through through the thin summer wears cloth.

"A-Are you alright?"

Ash asked in surprise, but Eco refused to answer even a word. She just buried her face in his chest. Whenever she breathes on his chest, Ash
became nervous.

For Eco to show such attitude, Ash began to worry about her.

"D-Don’t tell me you are drunk? Didn’t I have told you a few times already to not touch the Ansal grass?"

After talking to her in a stern tone, Eco finally replied.

"...... Right, I'm drunk. What complains do you have about it?"

It was rare for Eco to talk in such ambiguous tone.

"Eco......?"

Even while she verbally declared herself to be "drunk", Eco was obviously awake. If she was really drunk, the things that she will do will
not be until this extent.

Fortunately, there were no other students in the corridor right now. So Ash could temporarily condone with Eco’s behavior. Eco’s forehead was
next to Ash's chest and her body was trembling without control. She was almost like a child. What could she possibly be frightened by?

Though Ash still does not understand why she was so frightened, he still put his hand on her head to comfort her.

"Rest assured, I am here."

The two of them hugged each other for quite some time. After a long while, Eco was finally no longer trembling.

===Part 8===
After a while, Eco released ash and flew back into the room.

"Uuu ~ ~!"

She seems to be troubled. Perhaps embarrassed by her own actions just now, Ash felt that her every movement was very entertaining.

The most surprising thing is that she actually takes the initiative make the bed. Even that meant to be a praise, but still the work done
cannot be something called good. But still Ash was glad from the bottom of his heart. Because of that push, eco could now automatically do
the house chores.

“That’s right; I had bought some snacks for you."

Ash cheekily smiles, while placing a bag of Crepes on Eco’s hands.

"This is the vanilla flavored crepes. It is your favorite, right?"

Once blurted, Eco’s stomach growled loudly. Perhaps it is rude to describe the sound with earth-shattering, but the way it sound could only
be sent out by a dragon.

Eco suddenly blushed.

"M-My favorite flavor is Ansal!"

Then she snappily said as if to cover up the embarrassment. Looking at Eco was finally backed to her usual reaction, Ash finally calm down.

Eco as if she had risen to heaven, tear out the wrapping papers. Although the shapes had changed because they were dropped on the floor just
now, but Eco didn’t even mind one bit and just gave it a bite.

"How does it taste?"

Eco didn’t answer. She can be seen with her mouth stuffed with crepes and stay motionless.

"......Anything?"

Without warning, there were tears dripping from her eyes which made Ash panic.

"Hey hey, does it really taste so bad to the point you need to cry?"

"That’s not it......"

Eco shook her head and silently eat the crepes.

===Part 9===
Eco who ate three crepes alone sat on the bed and quietly explain the whole story.

"This morning ...... I had a dream."

"What dream?"

"A horrible nightmare...... It seems that I was attacked by a Necromancia. It stretches it’s tentacles towards m-me...... The reason that I
wet the bed...... I am afraid it is because of this."

Eco shivered and grabbed her shoulders with both hands. It must be terrifying in her dream.

Ash wants to try helping Eco to overcome her fear. After a deep thought, he finally stretched out his trembling hand and move towards her
shoulders from behind.

He then gently held that glass-like shoulders.

Not only Eco didn’t refuse, but she was also relieved and lean her body on Ash’s. This is the first time Ash saw her to be so cute and
docile.

Under such warm, his heart was racing.

"The Necromancia had been beaten by us! You need not fear it!"

"No, that's not a Necromancia."

Eco feebly shook her head.

"It true that the monster looked like a Necromancia...... but it is not the same. That monster...... is not something that can be defeated
easily, not to mention it has nine eyes."

Nine eyes. Just imagining it will give people the creeps.

"How should it describe it...... it was gigantic and its looks was unknown...... it is absolutely the incarnation of evil. And.... the most incredible thing is that I shouldn’t have recognized that monster...... but I feel that we have encountered each other several times before."

"How could that be? If you came in contact with such a dangerous monster, I would have found out. After all, we live under the same roof."

"I guess you're right."

"It was just a dream. I advise you not to think too much about it."

"But......"

Eco looked unusually depressed.

At this time, what should I do?

While clutching Eco’s shoulder, Ash was secretly thinking.

...... The memories of his hometown suddenly surfaced.

Ash has a sister. When she was a child, she often came crying to Ash and complain about her nightmare. Whenever she had a nightmare, his
sister would sneak into his room.

Ash could still remember his sister hugging his personal pillow while crying. Once Ash agreed to let his sister squeeze into his bed, she murmured while half crying and half laughing, "I’m no longer scared”.....

''- I know what to do!''

Ash had made up his decision and was ready to perform tonight's operation.

===Part 10===
Once it was time for lights-out, the students in the dormitory put out the Bright Dragon Crystal lights.

Ash was no exception. If he was to be caught with the lights on, he will be lambasted by the warden.

Eco as usual was lying on the bed naked.

He will sleep on the same bed with Eco tonight- this is Ash’s plan.

However once it is time, all he could think about was Eco’s naked body. To build up the courage to sneak into a naked girl’s bed, it was near
impossible.

However, today’s Eco can’t be compared with her past. The Eco now was a poor frightened girl who had a nightmare.

As long as he takes her as his sister, then there is no longer any problem. Even when she was naked but the room is still dark. If he didn’t
focus his thought on this, then this problem will be immediately solved.

After Ash ensured himself, he crawled out from the futon from the floor.

With a pillow under his arm, he walked towards the side of the bed.

"Please excuse me!"

After a slight notice, Ash got into the empty space next to Eco. The thin summer blanket felt somewhat nice and warm because of Eco’s body
temperature. The only thing is, make sure not to touch Eco’s naked body

"W-What are you doing? What are you up to!"

Once she discovered Ash climbed on the bed, with a look of horror, Eco rushed to keep their distance.

"Do not worry. I’ll stay with you for tonight."

"What?"

Ash was confused. He did not expect such a response from Eco. He thought that she would be grateful. His confidence that he previously build
up is collapsing.

"Err, I just want to accompany you while sleep so you’ll no longer wet the bed-"

"...... What did you say?"

Eco slowly sits up.

Although the room was too dark to see Eco’s naked body...... but her curves can still be seen. But now is not the time to feel nervous. It
was now an alarming situation. And Ash’s instinct is now ringing.

"Do you really think......? I might commit the same embarrassment?"

Eco's voice trembled. She was apparently very furious about it.

Until Ash found out that he had spoken the wrong things, it was already too late to take it back.

"Err-err...... In short please calm down first. I didn’t meant anything bad for saying those things-"

Unfortunately, Ash failed to finish his sentence.

"Don’t get carried away!”

With a ''‘Donk!’'', he was hit by a violent kick.

''‘Gwak!’''

Ash as if being hit by a hammer was knocked back for quite a distance. Fortunately, he fell on his futon and at least he was avoided from feeling the pain for being hit directly on the floor.

"Hmph!"

After Eco snappily grunted, she lay back on her bed.

It seems that Ash had made a huge mistake. But having said that, since there she had the spirit to cause such a fuss, perhaps she had gotten
rid of the nightmare.

At least, Eco who sent ash flying with a kick is back to her formal self.

===Part 11===
The next day after school......

President Rebecca, Silvia of the discipline, Max of the accounting and as the replacement for the secretary, Ash and Jessica of the general
affairs as well as the mascot Eco were gathered in the Student Council’s office.

Secretary Lukka and the vice president who was like a genius from the outer world were also absent today.

Perhaps last night's incident had a positive effect; Eco is back to her old self. She wore a summer uniform borrowed from Cosette and
attended the meeting as if she had something to do with it.

Eco’s duty was just simply playing the role of a mascot which there is no need to attend meetings, but she is still the same old-elf who
doesn’t let anyone to leave her by the side. Of course Eco’s well-behaved attitude yesterday is full of charm, but the lively Eco still best
suit her, Ash thought so.

"Today's topic is on the student council secretary, Lukka Saarinen."

Rebecca with her sharp eyes looked at the faces around.

"Sooner or later she would become the soul to lead the school; the she right now could not be trouble by this obstacle. I personally strongly
hope to solve the problem as soon as possible and take her to participate in the training camp."

The first person to respond to this was Jessica.

"I can understand that you are worried about her, but what can we do to help? I think that it is better to hand this problem for Angela-
sensei to handle......"

Angela anyhow has the research authority for dragons. She should have the ability to teach in the highest institution and is an extremely
talented. Ash also agreed with Jessica’s views.

"Unfortunately, I had discussed with Angela-sensei about it. Basically, the person who is responsible for finding out that the astral between
Lukka and Gawain had been cut off it non other that Angela-sensei."

"Based on Angela-sensei’s judgment, what is the cause of it?"

Once Ash asked, Rebecca shrugged her shoulders.

"It seems that she also can do nothing about it."

"How could......!"

For those who did research on the dragons, there is almost not one who is in the same league as Angela. When the well versed Angela can’t do
anything, what the student council can be of any help?

"The situation is indeed desperate, but we cannot just stand aside idly. If it go on like this, will sooner or later it would be a certain
death for Gawain who runs out of Astral."

The heavy words made Ash shudder again.

"All of you are elite students; do you have any good suggestion?"

Jessica is the first to raise her hands.

"In times like this, we should ask ‘Silver Knight’-sama to make his appearence! On matter how difficult the situation is, ‘Silver Knight’-
sama can use his wisdom, courage and magic to solve them! Right, Ash- sama! "

"The ‘Silver Knight’ that you are talking about is the one in the novel, right? To confuse him with me would be a little too......"

"Waa...... Even the humble Ash-sama looks handsome!"

Jessica was not bothered by the presence of others and hugged Ash’s head tightly. Because of Ash was sitting on the chair, his face sunk into
Jessica’s breast.

"......Uwaa!"

In contrast to her slender waist, Jessica's breast is rather big. The breasts changes its shape softly and had covered Ash’s cheek.

"Wait a minute; this guy is my meat slave! If you dare to continue to stick to him, I’ll have you crushed!"

Upon seeing this, Eco immediately suddenly stood up. Incidentally, the ‘meat slave’ here has absolutely no indecent meaning. It means to
supply its master food when its master was hungry.

"T-To have such unsightly behavior in the sacred student council office...... As a knight, you should have known that there must be a
distance between men and women! This is the Lautreamont family’s rules!"

Even Silvia was also feeling angry and stood up straight.

"Enough!."

Fortunately, Rebecca intervened to prevent anything bad from happening.

Silvia and Jessica returned to their seats. Perhaps Eco instinctively sensed some danger coming from Rebecca, she obediently sit down and
didn’t even dare to say a thing obediently sit in the seat.

"Jessica, can’t you calm down a little?"

Rebecca warned by calling her name, but Jessica just snappily answered.

"Hmph...... You only know how to complain about others, what about yourself? You only know how to seek opinions from others and didn’t even
give your own views...... you are not acting like Rebecca Randall. Or is it that even the ‘Scarlet Empress’ is also unable to do anything?"

"My idea? It is not that I don’t have any, but it was risky."

"Risky...... what do you mean?"

Jessica was surprised.

Somehow, Rebecca gave a stabbing like look to ash. Her emerald eyes were intently staring straight at him which almost stops his heartbeat.

"Ash, you are said to be able to ride all dragons. Even the Necromancia is no exception, right?'

"Rebecca...... san?"

Ash gulped, waiting for Rebecca to give out her order.

"Go and ride Gawain."

"What did you say!"

"When you are riding the Necromancia, you have the sense that its will, right?"

"Uh... just faintly."

The memories resurfaced. In fact, Ash had heard the dead gray dragon spoke. Even though it had happened at the beginning of last month, Ash
still felt like it had happened for a long time.

"So, I hope you can use the same technique on Gawain. Gawain might be willing to open his heart to you."

Ash remembered about Lukka.

Even yesterday was a weekday, she still hid herself in her room in broad daylight, wearing pajamas. Perhaps she is poor in expressing her
emotions; she doesn’t look as if she was greatly depressed. However, she should have received a huge blow. Maybe, this has a thing or two
that is related to the Eckbald.

''- I want to save her.''

Ash sincerely thought so.

''It is because I am her senior in the same school? It is because that we are fellow breeder? A Student council's member’s responsibility?''

To reasons cannot be denied. However, even if those factors were to be cast aside, Ash just cannot sit back and watch a helpless girl to continue languish.

Ash decided to obey his feelings deep inside.

"I understand. I am willing to gamble for it."

"Thank you for your cooperation. Then, the task is scheduled to be performed after school tomorrow-"

===Part 12===
The next day, the ringing of the noon bell also signifies that the school had ended of the rest of the day. Because that there will be a staff meeting in the afternoon, thus they only have classes for the morning session.

“Kuu… Kuu…”

Eco, who also sneak into the classroom today, occupied the seat next to Ash. Like usual, she was lying on the table fast asleep. Even when
the bell had struck, she still didn’t have signs of waking up.

"I...... really don’t know how to deal with her."

Since she wanted to sleep that much, then there is no need to come to the classroom...... Ash secretly complained.

Leaving the issue aside, Eco’s sleeping face is like an angle. Every time he saw her sleeping face, he heart will became soft and forgive her
usual bad doings. Even Ash himself felt strange. Looking at her soft face, Ash suddenly had the thought of poking her.

"-To be peaking at a girl’s sleeping face, you really have a low taste."

For someone to suddenly speak from behind, Ash almost jumped.

"Princess-sama?"

Many students who had begun to pack up and go home to prepare gave a surprised look to Silvia. For Silvia to start a conversation with
someone in the classroom is like the sun rising from the west.

Silvia who was not bothered by the rest continued to just stare at Ash. Her ice blue colored eyes were as if they are gently swaying.

"Do you really intend to ride... Gawain?"

"Why do to ask me this question now?"

"B-Because......"

Silvia looked aside, suddenly revealing an anxious look. Silvia who was usually noble and acted highly, somehow looked very cute.

Silvia suddenly blushed.

"Well, that...... I-I just ......"

"Just?"

"N-Nothing! Just don’t try too hard! In the end, this is Lukka and Gawain’s problem. If you intervene and resulting in a heavy injury...... I
will never forgive you! "

Silvia finished her confusing talk, she suddenly turned around and walk off.

Her gorgeous shiny blonde hair sways gently with the wind.

Leaving a faint fragrance, Silvia marched out of the classroom.

"She... What is she angry about?"

Ash watched Silvia’s back blankly.

===Part 13===
The top floor in the center tower in the campus.

While facing the in the student council member who gathered in the student council office, Rebecca loudly announced:

"So, I’ll announce your work today, I’ll first go to the Seventh Dragon House and explain it to the staffs, Max is responsible to look for
Angela-sensei, because basically we must have a teacher to be present while doing the job. Ash, Eco, Silvia, Jessica are to meet with Lukka.
Are there any other questions? "

Jessica was the first to raise her hand and comment.

"To fetch Lukka over, a person is enough."

"Do not underestimate her. To just drag her out of her room, you should cause enough trouble for you. It is an absolute indoor type<ref> This
is the original text, a direct translation.</ref>, it is just that this incident had intensified her symptoms. "

After listening to Rebecca's answer, Jessica sighed.

"Haa..... I understand. We will take responsibility to bring her out. Princess-sama also doesn’t have any problems with this, right?......
Princess-sama?"

Silvia seemed like she had just come out of her trance and raised her head to reply:

"Ah, ahh...... Understood."

Since she had spoken those confusing words in the classroom, Silvia looked lost. This made Ash worry endlessly

"So I’ll be waiting for everyone to report in the Seventh Dragon House. Members report. Kaisan!" <ref> 解散Kaisan it means to disband the
meeting in a commanding tone.</ref>

===Part 14===
"Lukka-san...... Lukka-san! Are you in there! Please answer me!"

Jessica was shouting while knocking. But there was no response.

"Don’t know what had happened to her?"

Jessica stiffened her face, while looking at Ash and the rest. It seems that she is not certain on what she is going to do next.

Eco who lost patience, impatiently lifted her feet.

"For a paper thin door like this, why don’t we just -"

Eco intends to use her abnormal dragon strength to break the door.

"Hold on!"

Ash quickly stopped Eco.

"Do you know who is going to pay for it after you break them! Please do not do anything necessary!"

"Hey! How dare you try to order me when it is obviously me who is taking care of you? Meat slave!"

"Who is your meat slave!"

"What are you arguing about......?"

Silvia who arrived a little later was dumbfounded when Ash and Eco were quarreling. Silvia was holding a silver key.

"I guessed that might be the case, so I borrowed a spare key from the warden."

"Just what is expected of our princess."

Jessica took the key and inserted it into the key hole.

"Lukka-san I am going to open the door!"

The door opened with a ‘''Click''’.

Jessica march into the room.

Sure enough, Lukka is fast asleep in the coffin.

Although the room was filled with the smell of incense like yesterday, but she seems to have followed Rebecca’s instruction to control the
amount of smoke.

"I don’t really get her...... to be sleeping in broad daylight."

After Jessica complained, she pulled back the half-opened curtains. The noon sunlight had filled the room.

"Uuu...... Nnn...... Stop...... I’m going to melt......"

Lukka muttered and then rolled over. The hem of her one-piece pajamas was lifted and her snow-white lower body was exposed.

"......!"

Lukka was without her panties. Ash saw her small and rounded hips. On her ass the contract with the dragons- ‘Seikoku’ can be seen.

"Hey! I forbid you from staring!"

Silvia grabbed Ash's head and twist it regardless.

"Ash-sama you musn’t peek! If you like hips this much, then it is fine for you to look at mine!"

On the other hand, Jessica was lecturing something that is off topic to him while helping Lukka with her pajamas.

"Uuu....."

At this time, Lukka finally woke up. She, like an electric doll slowly sat up. Then, with her dreamy eyes, she looked around with a shocked
expression..

"...... Who are you?"

"We just met yesterday!"

Ash commented. She really is a perverse girl.

Logically speaking, everyone will get a shock when some stranger walks into their room. But, she is completely unmoved. Is this a behavior of
an Eckbald or Lukka’s own- ''It feels like the latter, or else the Eckbald would have perished long ago''.

"Ah, I remember. You are Johnny?"

"Who is Johnny! That name has nothing to do with me. I am Ash, Ash!"

"S-Sorry."

Lukka disappointedly lowered her shoulders.

"Hey! This is outrageous. How dare you bully a girl from a lower grade! Buzz off!"

Silvia who looked flustered stepped forward. She with her golden thread-like hair and highly tone ordered her without any explanation.

"Lukka Saarinen we need cooperation from you and Gawain. We will immediately head to the Seventh Dragon Homes, please get ready."

Lukka looked straight into Silvia's face as if she is going to pierce a hole in her face. After a long while, Lukka murmured:

"Who are you?"

“Wha…!”

After hearing, Silvia turned pale. She probably didn’t expect someone from this school to not recognize Silvia Lautreamont the fourth
princess from the Knights royal family.

Silvia as if she had suffered a knock, moved around unsteadily, while muttering facing the wall.

"T-There is some student who does not recognize me...... Is my presence such unimportant...... This me is not fit to be a royal...... I'm
ashamed to face onee-sama who come here to motivate me......"

"That, Princess-sama are you okay?"

Jessica rushed to Silvia’s side.

While letting Jessica to comfort Silvia, the hope is now on Ash and Eco. Regardless of what, they must drag her out from her bed to the
Seventh Dragon House.

At this time, Lukka seems to have a strong interest in Eco. She suddenly cling to her waist tightly.

“Hu…”

Eco who was attacked lost her footing and was dragged into the coffin shaped bed by Lukka.

"Wait...... What are you doing!"

Eco naturally became furious, but Lukka was not bothered by it. She held Eco who fell on the bed and drag her closer. Then, she stared at her
head closely. It seems that she had taken interest in Eco’s pair of horns.

"This is not decoration...... It grew out from the head?"

"What if it is! This is my proof of being a Dragon!"

"Cute."

"Huh?"

"Very cute."

"I-Is it......?"

Eco was probably shy and thus gave up on resisting. Lukka as if taking care of a baby, gently stroked Eco’s horn. Halfway through that, Lukka
suddenly came out with a ridiculous request.

"Can you give me your horns?"

Eco became transfixed in fear, but then it was followed by her expression of ferocity.

"What? Want me to give the my horns to you...... you're dreaming!"

"Can’t you pull them down?"

"Pull them down! What do you think a dragon horn is!"

"Otherwise, I can taste it?"

"What? Taste?...... Hyaa!"

Eco gave an eccentric voice and then remained motionless.

Ash was also dumbfounded by what he was seeing.

Lukka hugged Eco from behind, then bit the horn on the head. The way she is tasting Eco’s horn is like a small animal nibbling its owner.

"Ah...... don’t bite my horn......!"

Surprisingly, Eco didn’t even resist, but she showed an exhausted expression and let her do whatever she wants. The seductive expression shown
on her face made Ash’s heart race. Apart from her face, even her limbs were with a vague hint of pink.

"W-What are you doing to a honorable and extraordinary dragon......what are you doing ...... W-Watch out or else I will trample you...... Ah,
huff......!"

Her cheeks were red, judging from her panting; perhaps she is trying her best to resist.

"S-Stop...... P-Please spare me...... Awu!"

Eco’s body shuddered and lifted her chin. Desperately trying to escape, she inadvertently bent her knees which lifted her skirt. The white
cloth can be seen.

"-!"

Ash was dumbfounded but he quickly looked away. Although her position which makes others imagination run wild, but Eco who was under Lukka’s
control didn’t realize that her panties were exposed.

Two girls were entangled in the coffin-like bed.

That sense will be a person’s nose bleed. Anyway, who would have thought by biting her horn, she will become week......Ash concealed his
surprise after finding out another Eco’s weakness.

"......It really has the taste of a dragon."

Soon, Lukka was finally satisfied and she released Eco.

Eco seeing that chance, immediately jumped out of the coffin and hid behind Ash. She just stuck a face out and stared fiercely at Lukka.
Looking like she was almost out of breath, it is as if she is a beast that lost her fight.

"Well...... I'll continue with my sleep."

Lukka is totally not bothered by Eco’s sight. She comfortable lay herself flat in the coffin.

"You still want to sleep!"

Ash back to his sense grabbed Lukka’s shoulder. Although he was shocked by how thin her shoulders are, but now is not the time to retreat.

"Rebecca-san is waiting at the Seventh Dragon House. I beg you, can you please immediately get ready? It is for you and Gawain."

"...... What are you going to do to my pal?"

Lukka's eyes soon become serious.

Ash nodded to her firmly and try to calm her down.

"Rest assure, we will not do anything bad to Gawain."

''But rather I am a little worried that I’ll be thrown up far away by Gawain......'' Ash silently added in his heart.

Lukka stare at ash’s face for a good while. Then, she finally got up from the coffin.

"......Alright, I'll get ready right now."

"Thank you."

Ash who was relieved tried to express his gratitude to her-

However, Lukka without a warning put her hand on the button on her one-piece pajamas. Regardless of Ash’s presence, she unbuttoned them one
by one. From her collarbone to her chest area...... Her ceramic-like skin was exposed bit by bit.

"Wait a minute!"

Ash rushed to seize Lukka’s on the shoulders. Lukka stopped what she was doing and looked at Ash face confusedly.

"What?"

''It is wrong for her to look at my in the eyes......'' Ash secretly groans. Her delicate and charming appearance, nearly has Ash entranced.
Her facial features is like a doll, her amethyst-like eyes, pointed ears, and a delicate body that looks like it will disappear with just a touch and a vanilla-like fragrance...... It is like her everything is with a mysterious charm, as if something that does not belong to this world.

Ash forced himself to look away, and talk to her in a tone for disciplining children:

"I-I’ll look aside, please hurry up and change, okay?"

Even though Lukka still looked confused, at least she understood his sincerity and gently nodded.

Ash was relieved and turned his back against Lukka. He caught a glimpse of Silvia still being taken care by Jessica from the corner of his eyes. At the same time, she was constantly reciting something like a curse.

"F-For someone to actually not know the princess...... which means...... My royal family's dignity must be strengthened......"

In addition, Eco behind Ash was furious.

"How dare she bite my precious dragon horn...... T-T-This is a great insult......!"

===Part 15===
"...... I'm ready."

After hearing Lukka’s voice, Ash took a deep breath.

From the time Ash heard the sound of the clothes rubbing against each other from his back, he unconsciously held his breath. It can be seen
just how tense the situation is just now..

Moreover, Lukka who had stayed in her room for a long time didn’t knew what season it is right now. She started to wear her winter uniforms
initially. Therefore some additional time was spent to put on her summer uniform.

Ash intently looked at Lukka who is now in her uniform.

The beauty of a yōsei together with the familiar uniform, with this combination, Lukka looked like the world's most delicate and charming
girl.

"Hey...... where are you staring at?"

Eco who was finally back to her old self, angrily stared at Ash.

"Y-You mustn’t misunderstand! I absolutely didn’t look at her with a perverted thought!"

"...... Is it so?"

Ash who cannot stand Eco’s condemnation, walked towards the door.

"Well, let's go. Rebecca-san and the rest are still waiting for us."

After hearing Ash's urging, Silvia also finally looked upwards.

Then, Lukka said something.

"...... You had stepped on it."

Lukka’s sight was set on Ash’s foot.

Ash confusedly looked down toward his foot-

"Uwa!"

In the end, he nearly jumped on the spot. His right foot had stepped on something. No matter how you look at it, it appears to be a girl’s
pantie.

A white pantie with pale-green stripes.

Opposite of the panicking Ash, Lukka gracefully stepped forward and picked it up. Then, she spread it out in front of Ash. Without
hesitating, she lifts up a leg and put it in.

"-!"

The moment Lukka lifted her knee, the things under her skirt was almost seen. Ash was sweating in shocked. The school uniform skirt was
originally designed to be short.

The next second, there was a murderous intend behind Ash.

"It appears...... Slaves that do not know how to behave have to be given punishment."

Eco’s body was trembling.

"An enemy of all women must receive the sanctions of the hammer of death!"

Silvia swept away her previous depression and a raging fire was ignited behind.

"Please stop, that was unintentional!"

Ash’s justification was in vain, Eco and Silvia were kicking with their might as well as giving him the iron fist.

"I’m going to crush you!"

“This is the family rules of the Lautreamont family!”

===Part 16===
"It's really strange; the experimental had obviously not yet begun...... how come you were badly bruised?"

Rebecca who was waiting at the Seventh Dragon House was stunned after seeing his condition which is like rags and asked him.

Behind Rebecca was Angela who was wearing a white robe and Max.

"Nothing important, err...... ah haha."

Ash can only use giggle. But Eco and Silvia were furious. Seeing their faces, Rebecca smiled.

"There is no need to act violence just because of being jealous...... why don’t you two try to learn how to be more lady-like? If your
personalities are so crude, then you must beware that Ash will be dragged on the bed by Jessica?"

Upon hearing Rebecca, Silvia reacted and her face became red hot.

"Dragged on the bed- how could the student council president gives dirty talks!"

"Haha. I just thought you now look a little more like a royal...... After seeing your useless appearance, Princess Veronica may soon come
looking for you."

Silvia became pale and shut her mouth.

It is said that a horrible Ogre will capture disobedient kids - this type of stories has long been rumored in Ash hometown. But for Silvia,
the Ogre is Veronica.

Angela finally spoke with a serious tone as if she is representing everyone:

"Rebecca-san has explained to me the whole incident. This challenge is consider to be foolhardy...... Are you ready for it Ash-san?"

Ash felt a chill for being looked through the spectacles. However, if he get scared just because of this, then will be unable to today’s main
objective.

Because the thing that Ash was going to challenge is nothing but the great Maestro.

"I’ll will be alright."

"If it is so, then remember to put on your dragsuit! You still remember the rules for the dragon riding academy right?"

Angela with a rare teacher-like attitude reminded him. But Ash had no intention of wasting valuable time on changing clothes.

"Never mind it. I just want to try to have a conversation as a human with Gawain."

===Part 17===
The Seventh Dragon House is purpose-built for the use of the Maestro. At the same time, it is a sacred place in the campus. Even the building itself looks more luxury than the others dragons house. Judging by the appearance alone, it gave a feeling of a villa own by a noble.

Currently there are five Maestros at the Seventh Dragon House.

By rummaging the Ansarivan Academy's history, it was rare for the Seventh Dragon House to be this grand. It also indirectly proves just how
unusual is the Maestro’s existence.

Rebecca's Pal Cú Chulainn is the one who shines the most. It is as if it was only right to do so because it was sitting in the middle of the
Seventh Dragon House.

Facing of the huge sacred body, one cannot help but became amazed. In contrast with that huge body, even large ceilings designed for an adult
dragon feels low.

Apart from Cú Chulainn and Gawain, there Silvia’s Lancelot and Max's Arianrhod is here. For Usher, these two Maestros can be considered as
familiar faces. Incidentally, the vice president Pal was not present.

"Gawain is here."

Leaded by Angela Ash and the rest came to the innermost section of the dragon house.

Gawain was lying on the ground looking weak. Although it physical size is of a young dragon, but its silvery white fur is the proof of a
Maestro. The dragon horn which looked like a stag is also quite unique and made it looked mighty. But perhaps it was weak, there was no
majestic feeling.

Ash was worried about Gawain by just looking at it.

"Angela-sensei is there any hope... for a cure?"

"Right now, it's not sick. I think the cause of this is the link between it and Lukka-san had been broken off. As long as there is a
supplement of Astral its spirit will be restored."

Ash was slightly reassured after hearing Angela’s answer.

"Lets us begin now -"

Ash wanted to rushed to Gawain, however ...

"Hold on, Ash."

Someone grabbed his shoulder from behind. After looking back, it turned out to be Rebecca.

"We’ll let Lukka and Gawain meet first. Come here Lukka, say hello to Gawain."

Under Rebecca's urging, Lukka timidly stepped forward. But after a few steps, she stopped.

''Surely, as an owner, she could touch its fur...'' Even when Ash thought so, but it seems that Lukka have no such intention. Perhaps after
hiding herself for three months, there is probably a barrier between her and Gawain.

Or, could she have any better reason for not standing close to Gawain......?

"Gawain..."

Upon hearing Lukka calling his name, Gawain coldly turn its head away and treated her like a stranger.

"Sure enough, there is no other way…."

Lukka was dejected and turned her back against Gawain. She can be seen crying and intended to run away.

"Stop! Lukka!"

But Silvia had blocked her path. Don’t know whether she was angered by Gawain’s attitude, Silvia pulled a long face.

"Listen clearly; the ideal relationship between humans and dragons is definitely not harmony, but the status itself. Lukka.... do you spoil
Gawain in the past? From its attitude earlier, Gawain did not seem to treat you as its master. "

Lukka lowered her head without a word. After a long while she finally raised her head.

"Perhaps what you are saying is right… but to me… it is an important family member... I don’t think that there is I need for a master-servant relationship...."

Silvia sighed.

"Me too. I love Lancelot as a family. Yet, it is because of love, so sometimes we need to be strict and discipline them. You musn’t forget
this."

"I’m...... going back."

After leaving this sentence, Lukka rushed out of the dragon house. Ash clearly sees the moment when she ran away, her eyes shed tears.

"I'll give it a try."

As if to sweep away the awkward atmosphere, this time, Ash had officially confronted Gawain.

Ignoring the gradually approaching Ash, Gawain remains motionless. It is because it doesn’t acknowledge Ash? Or does it not have the strength
to bother with Ash...?

Being anticipated and gazed by the crowds, Ash carefully prepared.

Gawain didn’t seem to be on alert. This time should be an easy win.... Ash who was confidence made a leap.

Gawain was not equipped with a saddle. Like riding on a bare horse, Ash went up Gawain back. Because there were no reins, he can only cling
to its neck to maintain his center of gravity.

"Alright, I will start....!"

At this moment, Gawain gave a fierce roar and was fierce resisting. Being shook vigorously, making Ash's body was sent flying out.

"Gawak......!"

After being spun in mid-air, Ash abruptly fell to the ground. Even when he managed to make a roll to reduce the time of impact. But the
strong impact made him feel suffocated. In between his back and his waist, the pain slowly spread.

Gawain who threw out Ash was lying down obediently.

"Ash!"

Rebecca and the arrived while looking miserable.

"I-I'm fine......"

Ash force himself to sit up. Although his pain had not yet disappeared, at least there was nothing abnormal with his bones. The grounds at
the dragon house are soft, which is fortunate for him.

"Ahh, Ash-sama....! My Ash-sama is......!"

"It is alright, it is alright. Please move aside."

Angela pushed the panicking Jessica to one side. With both hands she held Ash’s cheeks and ask questions.

"Did you knock your head?"

"No.... my head is all right."

"Don’t look down on me; I have a doctor's license. If you feel any pain or even uncomfortable, try to be honest and tell me!"

"Really..... so sensei have a doctor's license?"

"Only that it is a veterinarian’s."

Ash revealed a bitter smile. Angela probably took a veterinarian license because she wants to study about the dragons.

After everyone knew that Ash was alright, the group of people become relieved.

"Sorry Ash, it was because of my ridiculous proposal...."

Rebecca revealed a rare dignified expression and apologizes to Ash. Which made Ash felt uneasy.

"W-What are you talking about! Challenging Gawain is entirely my own idea; Rebecca-san has done nothing wrong."

"In short, the experiment will end here. I cannot let you to continue to face the dangers."

"No, don’t rush to conclusions! I have my triumph card too."

"Triumph card?"

"That’s right. When I was dealing with the Necromancia I had failed again and again. Later I succeed with the use of the Ark."

Rebecca with a serious look crossed her arms.

"Hmm... I see. But Ash, as a student council president, I cannot allow you to continue to take the risks. As a teacher, Angela-san also could
not permit it right?"

Being watched by Rebecca, Angela with a flirtatious smile replied:

"Me? I don’t have any comment in this. I never get tired of seeing Eco creating the Ark!"

Angela's reply is nothing like what a teacher will say. But she was initially not a teacher but a researcher. Just because she wants the
opportunity to encounter with Eco, only she became a teacher. So it is futile to have Angela acting like one.

"From sensei’s personality, I’m not surprised for you to say such things.... have you decided yet, Ash?"

"Of course, I had decided to try again."

After Ash promised, Eco explode in anger.

"Wait a minute! Who allowed you to decide anything without my permission! Again, for me to create an Ark for such small... are you still
sane!"

Ash lightly put his hand on the furious Eco’s head.

"Hei, don’t answer so quickly. What about if I treat you to vanilla crepes?"

"Hmph! I would not be bribed by those kinds of things!"

"Otherwise I’ll add in a strawberry flavored."

"W-What are you joking about! What do you think you are taking an extraordinary dragon as!"

Although Eco didn’t promised, but Ash can she that she was slightly moved through her eyes.

"Yeah, a new flavored crepe is going to be on sell! I remember that..... It is chocolate banana flavored?"

"Chocolate banana......?"

''Gulp''. Ash can clearly hear Eco’s swallowing her saliva.

The blow undoubtedly triggered Eco’s curiosity and appetite.

"...... I have to tell you clearly, this is an exception!"

After struggling for a moment in her heart, Eco closed her eyes on the spot, and starts reciting her spells.

''“Almete, Gorjal… Peto, Espaldar, Brafoneras, Faldaje… Escarcelas, Bufetas, Hombreras… Brazales, Codales… Antebrazos…”''

Rebecca smile after seeing eco started reciting.

"Hehe. You are getting better in controling!"

“T-This can’t be considered as controling!”

Ash felt embarrassed and his cheeks were red hot.

===Part 18===
''“Manoplas… Quijotes, Guardas…Grebas, Escarpes…”''

Viagra incantation is about to enter its final stage.

This is the fourth time she had created the Ark and the way she chants felt a lot smoother. Perhaps she the experience that she had
accumulated made her to be more skillful in her technique.

''“-Espolón!”''

After Eco finished her spell, a divine light filled their entire field of vision.

Followed by a thunderous bang.

Ash's body can be seen surrounded by gentle lights.

The ‘Seikoku’ on his left hand strangely became painful.

Until the dazzling light was lest glaring, Ash was in a silver Ark. This set of Ark is the same as the first Ark that Eco created when he
fought the Necromancia.

Although it was an imitations rebuilt from the design that were passed down by the Dragons, it still consumed Eco’s own magic to create the
Ark.

"Ahh...... the genuine ‘Silver Knight’!"

Jessica like a believer who had witnessed miracles from god was deeply moved.

"The hopes are on you, Ash."

Ash nodded to Rebecca who cheers for him.

By turning his back towards the crowd, he again was facing Gawain.

Just when Ash moved closer, Gawain gave a warning growl. It slowly climbed up from the ground to stand on all fours and fiercely stared Ash.
It obviously was on guard against Ash who was equipped with the Ark.

"Don’t be angry, I just want to have a talk with you alone."

Ash leaps. Since the Ark was constructed with a huge amount of magic, it had a variety of additional effects. That is why he can float in

mid-air for some time.

Ash’s jump had pass the normal height of a normal human and was gliding towards Gawain. Right at the moment, he believed that he can success
for sure -

"Huh...!"

But Ash had landed on the ground. His sabotons had sunk into the soft land. The area he was standing at was the place where Gawain was
resting previously.

"Disappea....r?"

Ash was stunned. He obviously thought that he had successfully landed on Gawain's back, but the big thing as if it can teleport had
disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"Above you, Ash!"

Rebecca warning instantly brought him back to his sense.

He quickly looked up and saw Gawain. Gawain was clinging to the ceiling on all four with his head facing the ground. It is exactly like a
bat.

Just at that moment, Gawain with a roar full of fighting spirit that shook the air around emitted a breath.

"-!"

Ash immediately crossed his arms into a defensive posture, but he was in the trajectory for the attack. Ash felt a strong pressure of wind
and heat and was knocked back.

Ash only stopped fluting when he abruptly collides with the stone wall.

“Ah…Ark…!”

Ash was suffocating because his Ark cannot withstand this impact. Suddenly, he has a thought that he had broken into pieces. At the same time
he knelled down, the Ark turned into particles of light and vanished...

"H-How is this possible ......!"

Just like sand, the Ark slipped passed his fingers. It is but only a mere hit, but the damaged is already more than what the Ark can withstand.

Ash had long ago heard in class about how destructive is the Dragon’s Breath… Only until he had personally experienced, it was far more
horrifying than what you can imagine.

Of course, it is clear that Gawain had shown some mercy.

If it really had the killing intends, let alone a mere dragon house, even the whole school can be turned into ashes.

''If I’m no equipped with the Ark......'' Ash shivered just by think about what will be going to happen next.
"Damn!"

The frustrated Ash stare ruthlessly at Gawain.

Just like when the winner had been decided, Gawain landed on the ground lightly and lie down. But it seems to detect the hostility from Ash
and looked at him coldly.

“Grrrrrrrrrr…..”

And it did not forget to threat with its growl.

Ash leaned against the stone wall full of cold sweat.

"That arrogant attitude reminds me of somebody...."

Hearing the angry curse, Eco who arrived together with Rebecca and the rest immediately reacted.

"What did you say just now?"

With her crimson eyes staring at Ash even Gawain had to admit it’s lost to those frightening eyes.

In the end, because of Ash lost terrible even when he was equipped with the Ark, the crowd can only dissolve. As for how to do to make Gawain accept Lukka- About this subject, Rebecca with a serious tone declared ''"A separate meeting will be held to discuss about it on another day."''

===Part 19===
The student restaurant ‘La Tene’ was located in the campus.

It is a bungalow built with red bricks for its outer wall. The chimney is its signature features. The working days are only at weekdays, which start at half past eleven in the morning until eight o’clock in the evening. Whether it is about the dining table or chairs, all of them use the Chevron design, which gave an elegance feeling.

"Welcome to ‘La Tene’!"

It is evening. Anya who became a restaurant waitress was busily working.

Currently ‘La Tene’ is just like the manager had said, it lacks of manpower. That is why Anya is busy until she had nearly no time to breath.

Even so, Anya did not forget her mission- collect intelligence. But also, she had used her waitress identity to collect useful intelligence
from the conversation with the students.

Perhaps she should thank the manager for recommending her to be a waitress. If she had given the infield job that she had originally chosen,
there may be no opportunity to come into contact with the students.

As the students here are all breeders, Anya had a little wariness in the beginning. But once she had actually come into contact with them,
she found out that they are just ordinary teenagers.

''- The peoples of the Knight’s country are really unbearably vulgar.''

Especially the boys. They seem to be very curious about Anya who had a foreigner’s look and will actively take the initiative to talk with her. Among them, there are obviously guys who don’t have a pure motive.

Anya skillfully uncovered intelligence from those guys.

Ash is a famous person.

None of those who talked to Anya didn’t know about him.

Some praised him to be a wonder student who can easily ride Pal belongs to others. He was also criticized for being a problem student who
caused trouble all day long.

There is also information that he recently received a strong support from Rebecca, the student council president.

But, about Ash saving the city by controlling the Necromancia and defeated 'Avdocha the Convict’, all these students knew nothing about them.

''Sure enough, the intelligence was controlled''- Anya intuitively though so.

It was probably interfered by the Academy’s Council or the student council. Veronica should also have a thing or two to do with this.

On the other hand, there is also useful information.

It was said that Ash’ Pal, young dragon Eco is not a normal dragon, but a delicate and charming girl. This is really unbelievable.

For a dragon to be born in a human gesture, it is unheard of.

However, since Ash himself is not a breeder who can be described with the normal logic, slowly, she didn’t feel that it was really unbelievable. No, it should be said that.... ''who knows it is that young dragon called Eco is the key that is making Ash unique.''

If she had the choice, Anya wanted to come into contact with Ash and Eco. Now, Anya as student restaurant waitress had fully blended into the environment. Even when she made contact, Ash will not be wary about her.

The point is Ash had never entered ‘La Tene’. Evidently he did not seem to have the habit to dine in ‘La Tene’.

===Part 20===
After she asked the manager while pretending to have a chat, the manager said that among the regulars customers of ‘La Tene’ students from the middle class family had accounted for more than half of its customers.

Students from the upper class family usually go downtown to dine. As for those from the lower class family, they choose the dormitory restaurant where the food is the cheapest. Ash doesn’t look like a person who comes from the upper class, so he should be from the latter one.

''-Ding.....''

At this time, the entrance bell rang.

After she saw the face of the guest when she turned back, Anya suddenly gasped.

"It is that guy....!"

The person in the doorway was none other than Ash Blake.

There is a beautiful girl in uniform standing beside him. At first glance they looked a bit like lovers - but the girl has a very fresh and refined beauty. Also there are circular stubs on her head. That's a unique horn of a young dragon.

''The girl should be the Eco....'' Anya secretly made her own speculation.

===Part 21===
On the way to ‘La Tene’, Eco’s stomach had given out a thundering noise for three times and had frightened the students that passed by.

"That..... what is bad about eating in the dormitory restaurant? Not only that it is cheaper, but we also can eat until we are full...."

"I'm sorry! But I’m tired of eating the dormitory’s food! Don’t you know that just having a balance nutrient in the meals is not enough!"

"Haa...... it was said that dragons were foodies and it really is true."

Ash moaned and groaned when he recalled the contents of the basic class.

Opposite to the description of the barbarian-tic dragons from the foreign folk tales, dragons are artistic creature and cooking was also taken as a part of art.

Soon, Ash and eco had arrived at ‘La Tene’. After Eco energetically opened the door, an appetizing smell is immediately felt by them.

"Wow! What nice smell...! When the school had such a nice restaurant, why do you not bring me here earlier?"

“You want me to go bankrupt! Today is an exception!"

While two men quarreling by the door, a waitress appeared. She was wearing ‘La Tene’s’ signature maid attire.

"W-Welcome to ‘La Tene’!"

The waitress seemed to be newly employed and looked extremely tense. She is full of a foreign air. Her tan skin, deep facial contour and her
dark hair that was tied up at the back of her head.

"...... Nn?"

Usher frowned and carefully stare at the girl's face. As if he had seen her before......?

"T-That...."

Just when the girl is a little reluctant and was muttering-

"Guwak!"

There was suddenly a sharp pain in Ash toes which made him jumped on the spot. It seems that it was Eco who had ruthlessly stepped on his
foot.

"What are you doing!"

Eco was in a furious temper.

"Who ask you to be charmed by some female! Hey, the female over there! Why don’t you hurry up a little to help us look for a place!"

"O-Okay!"

Ash sympathies the waitress who was given orders by the arrogant Eco.

===Part 22===
In contrary to Eco who was attentively studying the menu, Ash had long ago decided.

"That ...... I want a plate of ‘pasta with Allonne's oyster and mushroom'."

"‘Pasta with Allonne's oyster and mushroom’ is that right? Are there any other needs?"

"No, this is enough."

"Will you be full with this?"

''As a boy, he really has a small appetite....'' Anya poke her nose into his buisness.

"Huh?"

Ash with a puzzled expression looked at Anya. It seems that, he seems to be so surprised for Anya to be cordial when speaking to him.

"S-Sorry for being nosy....."

After Anya apologized for a number of times, Ash smile back.

"I don’t really have much appetite today. I just have a duel with a dragon and I had suffered a crushing defeat...."

"Duel with s dragon? What’s that about?"

When Anya curiously asked, Ash's face clearly stated the words ''I’m done for''. He kept his mouth shut and refused to speak anymore. It s

Seems that it was likely a confidential project of the student council .

"N-Nothing...... this is very popular game recently. I’m just playing that game."

"Haha...... I also think so."
[[Image:SnRK V03 119.jpg|thumb]]

Even when Anya responded with a polite smile, she secretly thinks that this man really do not know how to tell a lie.

"I had decided for good!"

After Eco shouted, she stared at Anya. The pair of charming crimson eyes was reflecting Anya's face.

"......What would you like to order?"

"Two hundred and fifty grams of Chevron beef, lamb chops with herb, fried Allonne's oyster, a half boiled omelet, corn soup.... give me all this first for the time being."

"Huh?"

Anya suspected that she heard it wrong and stare at Eco’s petite body.

"What is your reaction about! That’s why I always said that humans are folly and ignorant being!"

"S-Sorry......"

At this moment, Ash spoke on Anya’s behalf:

"Hey, Eco! Please so not bully the waitress! Besides...... can you finish this many things?"

Seeing Ash showing his owner like side, Anya started to admire him a little. However, not only Eco failed to calm down, but she also had
gotten furious.

"You...! Today I had only eaten three meals! A dragon must eat five times a day! Don’t you tell me you had forgotten!"

"Huh...... you only had eaten three meals today?"

"I will crush you! It is because of you wasting time on saving that dragon that cannot be saved!"

"S-Sorry...."

Seeing that Ash was going to be trampled anytime, Anya secretly sighed.

"Lukka & Maestro Gawain ~A.S.B. 1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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| Forward to [[Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 3 Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
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</noinclude>

Silver Cross and Draculea:Volume02 Chapter1

2013-07-30T09:09:33Z

96.40.146.100: /* Chapter 1 - Monster Meeting */

==Chapter 1 - Monster Meeting==

"...By the way, I do not recall authorizing this kind of club?"

The quartet was casually doing their own thing in the "club activities room" as usual when a girl suddenly visited and declared.

Viewing the surprised quartet with disdain, she continued even more mercilessly.

"So, please relinquish this place as soon as possible. You do realize you are occupying a classroom illegally, right?"

"Why!? Why was my club not authorized? All we're missing is confirming the name and the activities description, right!?"

"Let me say this, in that case, you guys do not even qualify as a hobby group, let alone a club!"

Before the other three could even retort, the girl already answered Rushella directly on their behalf.

This person exuded an aura of dignity that differed from Rushella. With gently wavy hair coiled behind her head, she was dressed in her uniform in a fashionable yet strictly rule-abiding manner. An existence that no one in the school was unaware of.

Student Council Vice-President, Uno Kirika.

Having joined the student council as a first year, she was now a second year high school student. In the last election, she was able to ascend to the position of vice-president.

From the brief introductory exchange earlier, it was readily apparent that her personality was harsh, uncompromising and dutiful. Consequently, the complete lack of support from the female students resulted in her losing the bid for the president position. At the same time, due to her combination of beauty, talent and upfront ways, her approval rating amongst male students was reportedly the highest in the history of the school.

Amongst the current student council members, due to her being the only one with past experience on the council as well as her business-like personality, rumors speculated that she was the actual boss running the show.

Faced with her merciless announcement, Rushella was the first to object.

"What is going on!? Why can't you approve our club!?"

"What is going on? Because there is no paper trail. Besides, how do you even plan on applying with neither name nor content confirmed? Are these not questions that come before approval? Furthermore, you do realize the challenges of starting a club from scratch like this? Even if you do get approved, more than likely you will end up as a hobby group with neither club classroom nor club budget."

A completely correct explanation.

Even without her dignity as an upperclassman and as the Student Council Vice-President, her reasoning was flawless.

"Mmmmmmm... You dare speak to me in such a manner..."

"Excuse me, but she does bring up good points. By the way, did you even fill out the application? Based on common sense, shouldn't the name and activities be confirmed first before the club is established?"

Hisui's questioning made Rushella display a displeased expression.

"I already told the principal! I ran over to his office and declared 'I shall create a new club!!' Then with a blank stare, he answered 'All shall proceed as you wish...' He approved it!!"

"Clearly you used your 'mystic eyes' to force him to agree!! That's even worse than gaming the system!!"

"Shut up, if the boss already agreed, there's no problem, right!?"

"I say, even if we do it your way... The effect of 'mystic eyes' only lasts for a day, right!? Forcing your way into high school, having to run over to the principal's office to use the 'mystic eyes' every single day would be too much, which was why I asked Kariya to take care of the proper paperwork..."

"Hmm... Well then, can't the club be dealt the same way..."

"You must create the club properly in accordance with school rules. It would be too conspicuous if we meddled in this affair. Even though it would be troublesome for us if your area of movement expands after school, we cannot assist in this matter."

Eruru asserted expressionlessly.

Under normal circumstances, she seldom spoke to the group, but her words were always merciless when she did.

After all, she was only attending this school for the purpose of monitoring Rushella and Hisui.
[[image:Draculea V02 - BW01.jpg|thumb]]

Belonging to an undisclosed division of the Metropolitan Police Department, as a special consultant to the Supernatural Investigations Section and as an expert in vampire combat -- this was Kariya Eruru's identity.

Hearing Eruru's flat rejection, Hisui ignored Rushella's pouting and had no choice but to attempt negotiations with Kirika.

"So, the matter of the club aside... Why did you come here?"

"Even though our school was affected by the declining birthrate and decreasing trends in student numbers in the past, enrollment has increased in recent years due to the redevelopment of the station area. This in and of itself poses no issue. But at the same time, the problem of clubs operating with a lack of transparency gradually surfaced. My visit here today, could be described as for the purpose of investigations."

"...What do you mean?"

"Sports clubs are basically fine, but we have problems getting a grasp on the number of cultural clubs and hobby groups as well as their membership. Some of them are disbanded in reality and yet they continue to be allocated a budget. There are also chaotic cases of multiple hobby groups carrying out similar activities. Even more outrageously, there are clubs whose activities and existence are unknowns. Given someone malicious, one could easily embezzle the school's club budget under the guise of other clubs."

"...I see. That really is a problem."

"Many teachers who were once club advisors have left the school for various reasons such as retirement or quitting. To be honest, the school administration has no way of finding out the actual situation of all the clubs. Hence, the student council has decided to conduct an investigation. Do you understand now?"

"...I understand."

There was clearly no room for negotiations.

Handled carelessly, this issue could end up making the entire school their enemy.

"Even if classrooms may be currently unused, in consideration of greater student numbers in the future, we must start managing them so that they can be distributed in a disciplined manner as the need arises. Or perhaps, once the club investigation is complete, the classrooms can be returned to the school administration, to be assigned to officially recognized clubs... In any case, we cannot let you use this classroom for completely unproductive activities of a group that does not even qualify as a club."

"...Lowly human, you dare speak in this manner to an exalted vampire such as me... Well then, by my 'mystic eyes,' thou shalt obey...!"

Faced with Kirika's high tension attack, Rushella who had kept silent all this time suddenly murmured horrifying words.

Alarmed, Hisui frantically pulled her hand and tried to soothe her.

"Idiot, stop it... Even if you drive her away right now, she's going to return, right?"

"It is as Kujou-san stated. Even if you use the 'mystic eyes' to control her alone, there would be too many targets once the entire student council and teaching staff are on the move. Besides, the effect of 'mystic eyes' does not last long enough, resulting in a vicious cycle, would you not agree? Badly handled, you may even expose your identity."

Eruru restrained Rushella's rage with words of reason.

Unable to object, Rushella had no choice but to stand still, clenching her fist.

"...Just as I have said, if you do not have any further matters, please hurry and..."

"Ah, wait a minute, Senpai!"

Just as Kirika was about to end the conversation, Mei joined in.

"We understand the situation now, but isn't it kind of mean to throw us out like this? Even though an unofficial club or hobby group unrecognized by the school is not proper, but honestly, though we appear to be accompanying our club president who's a little unfortunate in the brains department while we pretend to engage in club activities, in reality, all we do is chat around."

"Hey... I don't quite get what you mean by that, but surely you're speaking ill of me, right...?"

Ignoring Rushella's terrifying teeth-gnashing behind her, Mei continued:

"...Conversely, what we're doing does not cause trouble to anybody. There is no school rule forbidding students from chatting in classrooms after school, right?"

Completely unproductive.

Inane to the extreme.

Utterly worthless.

Simply stated, they were killing time.

Precisely because of that, they were not bound by any rules.

Mei was countering using the tragic truth, an act of merciless practicality.

At the very least, until the classroom was assigned an official purpose -- they wished to remain here.

Presumably seeing through Mei's intentions, Kirika relaxed her tone of voice and answered.

"...True. Indeed there is no such rule. However, the rules do advise: students who have nothing to do should leave school promptly, but enforcing that sort of thing is unnecessary. Rather than obeying meaningless rules, there would be more value in improving them."

"You agree, right? So, we can..."

"...The reason I came here today is not only for the purpose of investigating clubs and classroom usage. Recently in the past week, the student council's complaints box was stuffed with anonymous letters concerning this empty classroom after school."

"Anonymous letters... What did they say?"

Hisui was the first to ask as the quartet wondered in puzzlement.

Kirika looked at them as if sizing them up, then continued.

"Let me see... The first letter -- a busty beauty had pushed a slender male student down on the ground, licking his neck with her tongue... That was the eyewitness account. Others have mentioned occurrences of pouncing to bite and lick the neck, or hardcore situations that rival bedscenes from foreign movies."

"What are you talking about...!? In this place of learning, such unwholesome and immoral acts!!"

"I'm sorry, but they're talking 100% about you. It must be that time when PE class taught basketball in the gym where you don't have to worry about sunlight. Hence you were in extremely high spirits, saying whatever 'I'm tired and want to suck blood! Hurry and let me suck!!' Then after school you came for a heavy meal of blood, remember?"

Rushella displayed great indignance as Hisui retorted in amazement.

Even though this classroom was relatively remote and unfrequented, due to Hisui's desperate resistance, it was possible that people came to check out the noise.

"There is more. A pony-tailed beauty, far surpassing high school students in sexiness, was guiding a slender male student's hand towards her chest, thighs and even up her skirt. That seductive body was all over him like performing a pole dance or something."

"Wow... For something like that to occur in a school. This person is even worse than a nymphomaniac!"

"I'm sorry, but they're talking 100% about you. It must be that time, when you were saying 'Once a month, there's always this time when I'm consumed with desire' and pounced on me, right? That force and momentum almost crushed me so I couldn't breathe, you were trying to take my virginity that day, weren't you?"

As Mei displayed exasperation, Hisui retorted with a twisted face.

Thanks to Rushella's arrival, his virginity remained untouched. After that, the sparks of war were ignited between the two girls. The scene was like a tournament for the throne of the strongest supernatural creature. It was possible that people came to check out the noise.

"In addition, a slender male student was sighted being beaten up ferociously by a female student even shorter and smaller than him. Despite the male student's apologies and pleas for mercy, the girl continued relentlessly, finally stomping him into the ground."

"How scary. Well, given the victim of assault still counts as male, how utterly useless and incompetent is he?"

"I'm sorry, but they're talking 100% about you. It must be that time, I was trying to stop Rushella and Sudou from arguing and was sent flying when they crashed into me. I ended up touching your chest due to some irresistible force of fate. It was a total accident, but you beat me up mercilessly, remember?"

Hisui retorted, his face completely pale.

He could recall his painful screams, so it was possible that people came to check out the noise.

"Also there are many instances similar to the likes of 'Riajuu Kujou must die.' 'Kujou is an idiot.' 'I'm not jealous of him!!' In addition there were even ones like 'By the way, wouldn't you agree that... Hisui is sort of cute?' 'To be frank, if I were to be alone with that kid... Dangerous.' 'Honestly... Does gender matter actually?' 'Hey... Can you do it... With me?' That sort of stuff."

"Scary!! Hey, what the heck is with the later ones!? What kind of attitude towards me is that!? Of course, I don't want to be the public enemy, but those gazes are even more terrifying! Umm, what the heck are these people complaining about!?"

"In order to safeguard personal privacy, no such details may be disclosed."

"Hey hey hey! My virginity is at stake here! Besides, isn't it a bad thing for your student council as well!?"

"Impure heterosexual relations aside, the school rules say nothing about impure homosexual relations. As for matters of conduct related to 'B' and 'L,' the student council's official position is a policy of noninterference."

Kirika's final blow crushed Hisui's hopes completely.

Collapsing to sit on the ground, powerless, he clutched his head in his arms.

Without even glancing at him, Kirika continued to speak mercilessly to the other three who were rooted to the spot.

"In any case, I forbid you to use this classroom. If you want to engage in club activities, you must abide by the school rules to the letter: gather at least five members, confirm the club's name and activities, then confirm the teacher advisor and finally apply to the student council through proper procedures. We will go through careful consideration, making sure there is no overlap with other club activities, as well as ensure a positive theme, only then will the formal approval process begin. That is all I have to say, any further questions?"

"...None."

Hisui answered dejectedly on behalf of the whole group.

In actual fact, neither Mei nor Eruru were affected very much.

Only Rushella had her face turned away in disgust.

"Well then, you are dismissed. If you have nothing to do, please leave the school promptly."

Concluding with great solemnity, Student Council Vice-President Uno Kirika left.

And so, before it could even begin officially, the club was facing a disbandment crisis.

The next day, Hisui's group of four gathered once again in the empty classroom to discuss how to handle the crisis.

"......By the way, it's only been a day, and yet we're running over to this classroom again, isn't it kind of bad? That vice-president is famous for doing things strictly. Combined with her academic excellence and integrity of character, she's essentially the representative of the teachers, right? If we oppose her like this, aren't we going to get the short end of the stick?"

"I agree. Besides, why are you so obsessed with the club?"

Hisui and Mei were uninterested in the club in the first place. With zero enthusiasm, they asked Rushella.

"It's all your fault for putting in no effort! Whether assisting me in school life, or seriously investigating clues to my memories, why aren't you people showing me some enthusiasm!?"

"Even if I don't do the club, I've been taking care of your living space and all sorts of daily chores, and we really have been working hard on the matter of your memories, right?"

Living a wonderful life of cohabitation with the beautiful vampire, Hisui sought agreement from Eruru beside him.

Immersed in her notebook computer as always, she nodded lightly after hearing Hisui's question.

"We of the Supernatural Investigations Section are working on it full time. But we are already short on numbers, so our efforts have not bore fruit. Anyway, we did pick up rumors of vampires in this area."

"What, there are others of my kin around here!?"

Hearing Eruru's statement, not only Rushella but also Hisui and Mei leaned closer to listen.

"Yes -- or perhaps 'yes, in the past' would be more accurate. Many eyewitness reports indicate, in the past decade, there was once a woman with extremely pale skin who wore black gloves even in midsummer to prevent exposure to sunlight. Even though most witnesses saw her at night, but summing up the various accounts -- her face was beautiful enough to make one's heart stop momentarily. Despite wearing sunglasses in most situations, her beauty still left a vivid impression on others. Reportedly, some have even witnessed her 'unobscured face' when she took off her shades at night, and they have asserted -- such beauty could only belong to the heavens."

"Mmmmmmm... Based on her beauty, indeed she must be my kin -- or rather, she is more than likely of the same blood. Any other characteristics!?"

"Vivid blood-red lips, eyes that appeared crimson on occasion, as well as dazzling white skin -- basically the appearance of a classic vampire. Reportedly, she always brought a parasol with her, and considering her unusual style of dress, the possibility of being your kin is rather high. Other eyewitnesses have described her appearance as age twenty or so. Over the past decade, all reports of her age have stated the same thing."

"No change in appearance over ten years... In other words, she is an immortal unaging vampire? Really, in this area..."

Mei also exclaimed as she nodded.

Even though Rushella's claims of suddenly waking up in a coffin in the mountains was quite unbelievable, at least it was certain that a member of her race existed in this area.

"Are there any further descriptions of that woman, any other details? If we investigate this thoroughly, perhaps it might be related to my memories!"

"Ultimately these are all eyewitness accounts. Of course, some were summed up after cross examination, but there was nothing in regards to your origins. However, there were several testimonies that stood out."

"What!?"

Rushella leaned forward to ask, but Eruru answered indifferently.

"In most situations, she was not alone... A companion was sighted. According to the earliest accounts, she was leading by the hand a child who appeared five years old or younger."

"...Could that child also be my kin!?"

"No, according to later testimonies, that child showed signs of growing up. Based on appearance and build, it should be the same person accompanying that woman."

"A human who stays by the side of my kin...!? This person is rather concerning... Who on earth could it be!?"

"...I'm sorry, that child is most likely me."

Hisui raised his hand with a pained expression on his face.

Confronted with this suddenly revealed truth, all eyes focused on him.

"It's you...? Then who is that alleged vampire..."

"...Most likely my foster parent. She was aware that her eternal youth would be easily discovered, so she tried as much as possible to avoid being seen... Nevertheless, it looks like her efforts were in vain."

Hisui smiled wryly, his tone of voice helpless.

Subtly hidden was also a sliver of sadness, but the other three noticed.

Hisui was the only pure human present -- however, he was also different from ordinary humans in one special area.

He was raised by a vampire.

When he was young, he was about to be murdered by his parents when that certain vampire killed his parents to rescue him from his unfair fate, thereupon taking up the responsibility of nurturing him.

Savior, parents' murderer, foster parent who raised him -- vampire.

In the end, she met her demise to save Hisui's life.

"I guessed it was something like that. After all, most eyewitness accounts took place around your house. Most likely, it was when you accompanied the vampire late at night for walks?"

"...Don't people inevitably feel like going to the convenience store or visiting a roadside ramen stall on whim at night? Apparently, vampires also have similar habits."

Hisui shifted his gaze away and muttered.

His nostalgic tone of voice was truly filled with the kind of affection one held for a loved one.

"...Hmph, my hopes were raised thinking you had found some kind of clue, but it turns out to be this inane and stupid thing."

Rushella displayed undisguised anger.

Mei frantically tried to smooth things over with an honest question.

"...But the vampire who raised Hi-kun might not necessarily be unrelated to you, right? You both appeared in the same area, and even though you missed each other due to separation of time, you both lived in the same house. Doesn't this imply some sort of blood relation?"

"No no no. They are completely unlike in appearance. If you had to force a comparison, their only commonalities are that massive bust and arrogant attitude. Furthermore, the person in question said she had no blood relatives."

Hisui denied flatly.

Failing in her bid for harmony, Mei could only shrug. On the other hand, Rushella continued to face Hisui with a stiff expression.

"An otherworldly beauty, and yet you say she is completely unlike me in appearance, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that I am such a super otherworldly beauty that even that otherworldly beauty does not even come close?"

"I think standards of beauty are very subjective, but in terms of attractiveness and common sense... My foster parent definitely beats you."

Hisui once again asserted directly. Immediately realizing he said something wrong, he entered a defensive pose.

Defense readied... The attack never arrived.

Rushella turned her face just like that and walked back to her original position, not even giving him a glance.

"...What is going on?"

Hisui asked Mei beside him.

"I dunno~"

From her tone of voice, she was clearly pretending.

But Hisui was still clueless, scratching his head, he awkwardly stated their future direction.

"In any case, regarding your memories and past, we will continue investigating as before... But there's no need to do it as a club, right? It's not like the school has any clues."

Hisui's reasonable analysis caused Rushella's gaze to wander.

Her voice much more timid than before, she asked:

"You... Is it because of that? You have something else you want to do... Another club?"

"No, not at all... I did mention I'd hoped to join the 'Go Home' club, right?"

"...But, umm... You could have changed your mind and joined some other club, couldn't you?"

Arrogant and self-centered just earlier, she was now looking up at Hisui with pleading eyes -- as if afraid to anger him.

But Hisui failed to notice the change in Rushella and simply answered indifferently.

"Well...... If I happened to run into friends with similar interests and they invite me...... I would consider it. Ah, but I'm no good with sports clubs. As for cultural ones, I'd simply turn into a member in name only. But if I do that, I suspect that vice-president's gonna drag me off to be disciplined. Honestly, I'd prefer to get a part time job. Or maybe get a driving license to buy a motorcycle or something."

"...W-Well what about, are you going to shack up with that fake or some other woman to get all lovey-dovey whatever..."

"Huh? Something like that...... Well I can't deny that I wouldn't want a girlfriend. But it's not like we have to make out all the time... Simply walking home after school together, that kind of feeling like couples is..."

Just as Hisui imagined all sorts of fulfilling images of school life, Mei and Eruru sighed as they shook their heads.

"I knew it!! That is why you treat me like some low priority, right!?"

"Huh!? I didn't say that......"

"I-In any case, don't forget you are my servant, so you have to follow me properly after school! You hear that!? Participate in the club properly with me!!"

Rushella pressed forward.

Even though she was intimidating, Hisui decided to strike back against this unreasonable master.

"Then what do you want me to do!? And why do you have to keep talking like I have to be alone with you!? You want me to be following behind you, serving you at your beck and call after school!?"

Hearing his words, Rushella instantly blushed.

"U-Umm......"

Her intimidating aura instantly vanished for some unknown reason, Rushella lowered her gaze and began to fidget with her fingers.

"Actually, you must be planning to do something to me, right!? What do you want to do to me after school!?"

Rushella could not help but retreat from Hisui's interrogation.

"I-It's not like I want to do something to you, I mean..."

"You mean?"

"J-Just......"

"Just?"

Hisui took a step forward.

Now their separation was the same as every morning -- in other words, the intimately close distance where his blood could be sucked at any instant.

Even though they were so close they could feel each other's breath, Hisui did not move, in order to look Rushella straight in the face.

"......S-Shut up!! You're not allowed to disobey me! You are my servant, just stay by my side and that's it!!"

"Huh!? What the heck!?"

Just as Hisui inclined his head in puzzlement, Rushella returned to her usual attitude.

Her face blushing, she looked towards Hisui with trepidation -- and then at the two girls beside him.

The other two girls remained silent and simply gazed at Rushella with a certain expression of amazement.

As fellow girls, they understood Rushella's feelings.

There was a sense of resonance and sympathy between them.

Using easily understood terms, it was --

This girl really said it out.

That seemed to be what the two girls' eyes were saying in concert.

"S-Stop it, you're not allowed to look at me with that kind of gaze!"

"...It's fine, I didn't hear anything."

"The room seems a bit hot and stuffy, let us open the window for a bit."

The two girls tried hard to feign ignorance.

But even Hisui could tell they were subtly suppressing laugher.

"Oooh, oooooooooooh~~!!"

Wailing, her voice failing her, Rushella rushed out the door.

"Ah, where are you going!?"

"S-Shut up, don't you dare follow!? I absolutely forbid you to chase after me!?"

Then she ran at full speed through the corridor, rushing away into the distance.

Presently, still stunned by the aftershock of Rushella's sprinting departure, Hisui sat back down on his seat completely puzzled.

"What the heck is up with her..."

"She's simply... Possessive. Don't people always love to tie up their pets with leashes?"

Mei answered as if she understood.

Her words felt rather stinging to Hisui's ears.

"I still don't get it. What, you're trying to say, that girl not only treats me as food but also a pet to toy with!?"

Hisui asked, his face pallid. Mei simply shrugged and asked Eruru:

"Eruru, did you hear his statement just now?"

"Yes, I heard it of course, Sudou-san. What utterly worthless trash he is."

"Hey, what are you two talking about!? Did I do something to that girl!?"

"...Despite hating vampires with a passion, I still sympathize with her as a fellow member of the fairer sex. You are essentially like a favorite doll that one wishes to hug all day. Her feelings are simply an extension of that."

"Eh, I'm now an inanimate object instead!? What dignity do I have!?"

"That sort of thing never existed anywhere on your person from day one. From the day you were born."

"My entire life from birth has been disregarded completely!?"

"Since she left, I will be going. You two better hurry up and leave as well, or else the vice president will give another lecture."

Eruru shut off her computer and stood up.

Hisui and Mei exchanged glances and got ready to leave school.

With that, no solution was reached for the club disbandment crisis -- before the club ruled by the vampire even began officially, it was already on the verge of natural demise.

"...Why are you following me?"

"No particular reason."

Eruru questioned with displeasure but Hisui continued to follow her with a nonchalant expression.

Rushella had run off while Mei went home as usual.

But Eruru continued staying behind in school.

Hence Hisui started following her.

Their distance was too close to be considered tailing, but neither were they walking together as there was clear separation between them.

"If you have no business then go home? By the way, is it fine for you not to chase after her?"

"She told me not to follow, right? So why should I waste the effort..."

"There is a saying 'Do not push the button, absolutely do not push the button.' Have you heard of it?"

"Huh? I said, even if I caught up to her, she'll definitely show a bad attitude, perhaps even resorting to punching and kicking, in the worst case I'll get my blood sucked..."

"I am not going to refute your speculation, but if you do not chase after her, I fear even greater trouble will come of it."

"I will call you if I run into trouble, I'm relying on you to save me. Remember to bring a gun and silver bullets."

"I will first blacklist your cellphone number."

"...You never told me your number in the first place, right?"

Physically they were within arm's reach, but there was clearly an unbridgeable gulf between them.

On one side was the boy who was raised by a vampire and currently a vampire's servant. On the other was the half-vampire who hated vampires with a passion. Essentially, the two were completely incompatible.

"You should know your boundaries and stop following me, okay? I am about to call the police."

"You are the police, right? Anyway, you were the first to say you're leaving, but why are you still in school?"

"This has nothing to do with you. Is that your reason for following me?"

"You...... Did you really come clean with everything you discovered in your investigations about that girl?"

The mood instantly tensed.

Eruru turned around and coldly glared at Hisui.

"...Are you calling me a liar?"

"Even if you didn't lie, I'm sure you didn't offer the whole truth."

Hisui immediately retorted.

Although he did not believe Eruru was one to deceive casually, expecting her to be honest and upfront with a vampire was an entirely different matter.

"Your small-minded cleverness remains the same as always. Is that what you followed me in order to ask?"

"Another thing... You took part in today's PE class, right?"

"Huh...? What about it?"

She could not tell what Hisui was getting at.

Eruru did indeed participate in the PE class in the afternoon.

The class only consisted of simple outdoor exercises.

Mainly running, which could be rather strenuous, but there was nothing special about it.

"Is it that strange for me to go to PE class? Granted, my duties consist of monitoring you two rather than going to class, but precisely because of that, I must play the role of the student properly. Attending a mere PE class should be perfectly natural, right?"

"...That freeloader who lives with me, watched without participating in PE class today."

"Of course, given the bright and sunny weather, how do you expect a vampire to be active?"

A perfectly logical answer.

Rushella opting out of PE class was only natural.

She hated sunlight because it was her fatal weakness.

Correct -- sunlight was the bane of vampires.

Well then -- what about someone who inherited half the bloodline?

What about a half-vampire, born from the union of a human and a vampire? In other words, Kariya Eruru?

"You haven't been looking well lately. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Unlike a carefree student like you, I am extremely busy. Do not underestimate civil servants..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Eruru halted in her steps.

Her vision unsteady, her consciousness gradually faded.

That pale complexion of hers, even whiter than Hisui's, proceeded to lose further color of blood.

Seeing Eruru faint and collapse, Hisui caught her tiny body in time before she struck the floor.

"...Like I was saying."

Eruru's last image before she lost consciousness was Hisui's face, full of concern.

"......?"

Upon waking up, Eruru found herself lying on a bench behind the school building.

The bench was located in a shaded spot beneath some trees. Even during the daytime it would be quite dark, and there was virtually no sunlight after school due to the foliage.

"You're awake?"

Hisui's voice instantly brought her back to her senses.

Surveying the surroundings, she could see the sun was still up in the sky despite the change in scenery, hence, not much time should have passed.

Most likely, she had only fainted for a matter of minutes.

Then while she was unconscious... Hisui brought her here.

"What are your intentions!? To think you would kidnap a girl... Could you be!?"

"......What strange things are you imagining? I only helped you a bit by bringing you somewhere out of direct sunlight. Or perhaps -- you'd prefer if I took you to the infirmary and explained everything to the teacher?"

Hisui's words rendered Eruru silent.

He had made the correct decision.

Bringing her here was indeed the most appropriate measure she approved.

"Looks like you probably know why you fainted. Please take better care of your health."

"......"

Even though she knew Hisui was worrying about her, these words only reminded Eruru of her constitution, causing her to grit her teeth and avoid eye contact.

Half-vampires' characteristic -- like vampires, they were afraid of sunlight.

Their bodies would not turn to ash on contact with sunlight.

Nevertheless, sunlight, and intense sunlight in particular, still eroded their bodies and sapped their strength. Even though they could endure through willpower for a while, fainting was inevitable after a few hours.

By avoiding intense sunlight and taking sufficient rest as well as appropriate nourishment, there were no serious effects -- but Eruru had to cope with work and study, hence a lack of sleep was her everyday life.

Combined with the exertion of PE class -- her accumulated fatigue finally exploded, causing the earlier result.

"I know your constitution is like a vampire's, and nocturnal... But since you still need to go to school during the day, it's better to secure sufficient sleep. Also, when PE class is outdoors, you should rest instead."

"What you want to say is... Because I am a half-vampire? Oh my, I am truly sorry for being nonhuman."
[[Image:Draculea V02 - BW02.jpg|thumb]]

Eruru retorted with agitation.

Rather than saying anything, Hisui tossed to her a sports drink he had bought earlier at a vending machine.

"It's for you. I originally thought it'd be better to get the type for oral rehydration therapy, but it wasn't available."

"......"

Silently, Eruru caught the bottle and began drinking.

Rehydrated, Eruru turned her hostile gaze towards Hisui.

"...How thorough of your preparations. You predicted I would faint?"

"I bought it while you were unconscious. Rather, I should say I know my own body better? Even an ordinary person would collapse if they didn't rest after exhaustion. Especially with the blazing sun right now, that's even more obvious."

"So what? Are you saying that just because I am a half-vampire, I should not mind what happened?"

"Yes yes. Whether human or half-vampire, anyone who busies themselves without knowing their limits is simply a brat who makes trouble for others."

Behind the light-hearted tone of voice was strict admonishing.

Eruru frowned in response but Hisui continued unfazed.

"But I didn't come up with that. This was what my foster parent the vampire who lived a thousand years in human society said."

"...Clearly just a vampire, I have no wish to be lectured on how to live my life by the lessons she gleaned from human society. After all, she must be someone who hides in the dark, the ancestor of shut-ins and social misfits."

"Actually, she has worked virtually every job with night shifts, ranging from convenience store clerks to hostesses at drinking establishments. At one point, she was even the top courtesan at Ginza."

"......"

Eruru remained silent, presumably picturing the sight.

If reports were true, given her beauty, she must have been quite popular indeed.

As for working at a convenience store, she would be most suited to the prevention of theft and robbery. Even if an armed robber came with a gun, she would have handled the situation with ease.

"What kind of vampire was she...!? Could she really be a 'True Ancestor'!? If that girl who lives with you heard this, she would be rendered speechless with amazement!?"

"Apparently she thought that even as a vampire, one must conform to capitalist society in order to survive. Because her life experiences were rather rich, she tends to lecture quite a bit. Such as whether one should compromise work and knowing one's limits were completely separate issues."

"...Coming from your mouth, such advice completely loses all persuasiveness. If your foster parent hears of this from the afterlife, surely she must be sighing."

"Vampires are reduced to nothing when destroyed... Isn't that what happens? Or perhaps they also have souls, allowing them to go to heaven or hell?"

Hisui's casual expression vanished.

When vampires were destroyed, they turned into inorganic dust, leaving no body behind.

No one knew this better than Hisui.

Unable to stare straight into his eyes, Eruru shifted her gaze.

"Overlooking my own health... Is my negligence. I have... troubled you."

"Don't worry about it."

Hisui answered casually and began to drink the mineral water he bought at the vending machine.

Watching him from the side, Eruru spoke after a period of silence.

"You are not... afraid?"

"Huh?"

"Indeed I needed rehydration. But if it were possible, appropriate replenishment of salt was also necessary."

"......? Well, I guess it counts as a heat stroke for you. What's the matter, you're dissatisfied with the sports drink?"

"Ultimately it is something for human consumption. For a half-vampire, there is a more suitable liquid."

Eruru stared at Hisui's neck.

That delicate pale skin which rivaled a woman's.

That certain liquid, coursing through those subtly visible blood vessels, was what Eruru urgently desired at this moment.

Carrying water and salt, as well as life itself, fresh blood.

"Fortunately, my symptoms are not severe... But were I to lose my sanity and bite you, what would you do?"

"That's right... What would happen once you sucked blood and recovered your sanity? I feel like I can imagine your loss of composure."

"...Are you a fool!? Before saving someone, please consider these obvious risks. You should be quite familiar with the characteristics of half-vampires, right?"

"Just go ahead and bite, it's fine. As long as you don't tear out the flesh or suck me dry to death."

Hisui was completely unconcerned.

Due to his special constitution, making this kind of statement was not problematic. In fact, he never feared Eruru in the first place -- he never feared half-vampires.

"You are incurably stupid. I will not be responsible for the consequences, you know? Do you think you can use your ridiculous philanthropism to build a bridge between two different races?"

"I'm not that kind of saint. To be honest, I wouldn't care if a great villain was being sucked to death by a vampire. Neither would I involve myself if I saw a vampire dying of thirst."

"Liar. If you saw an incurable villain being threatened by the fangs of a vampire, you will still save him. If you saw a famished vampire, you will offer your own neck. That is the kind of person you are."

"...Are you praising me?"

"I am criticizing you. Open your eyes to the truth."

Ending the conversation, Eruru stood up from the bench.

She had recovered her strength and was able to move freely. Now that the sun was setting, the most active time of the day for half-vampires had begun.

"Sorry for troubling you. I am fine now."

"Then it's about time you tell me, why did you stay behind in school? If it's for monitoring me and Rushella, there's no point if we already left. You should have left instead and followed us, right? But today... yesterday as well as the day before, you stayed in school. We all left the classroom together when club activities ended, but at the shoe cabinet at the entrance, you parted with us, why?"

Hisui asked with a serious expression.

Eruru finally surrendered and shrugged.

"Your observation skills are sharp as ever. I do have a mission. Even though I have to monitor you two as well, I expressly transferred here, to this school -- or rather, I should say to this area of Seidou city to conduct investigations."

"What investigations... Is there anything in this city worth mobilizing the Metropolitan Police Department? Well, I guess the earlier incident counts..."

"Before that incident, secret investigations were already underway. The reason why we of the Supernatural Investigations Section were stationed at the police station here, was because of this particular matter."

"......!"

That's right -- Eruru and Hisui's first encounter happened at the closest police station, Seidou Police Station.

Originally he had thought they were sent here due to Rushella's appearance... But it looked like he was wrong.

"What is this about?"

"Crime cases in the neighborhood as well as missing persons have been on the rise recently. However, the increase is only slightly above average norms, this in and of itself is not worthy of note. Nevertheless, as the investigation progressed deeper, we discovered that a portion of the cases were greatly related to supernatural beings. Amongst them, there were clear cases where vampires were culprits -- corpses that had been sucked completely dry."

"You are suspecting... Rushella?"

"This was before her awakening. Even though we cannot believe everything she says, given her straightforward personality she does not seem to be lying. These cases are most likely unrelated to her. But this makes things even trickier, after all, there is a vampire working in the dark which the Supernatural Investigations Section cannot track."

"That's true... But then I've been living in this city ever since Miraluka adopted me, and this is the first time for me to hear something like this. When I was young, I never heard stories of strange happening or supernatural phenomena. Why would you people......?"

As Hisui crossed his arms in thought, Eruru continued.

"That's right... The incident that caught our attention happened only recently. However, you can think of it this way. The foster parent who raised you -- in other words, the existence of the vampire Miraluka, could it have acted as some sort of suppressive power?"

"......!?"

"Consider this carefully, if a 'True Ancestor'-class vampire lived somewhere, then first of all, other vampires will stay away. As long as they are unrelated by sire, they would all keep their distance. This would apply to other supernatural creatures as well -- no one would want to approach the residence of the existence crowned as the king of the night, the highest ranking of the undead race. Even though it is unclear if this was done out of her conscious will, simply by living here, she created a kind of safety zone. Precisely because of that, you received her protection and were naturally unaware of supernatural commotions. What do you think?"

"...What you say makes sense."

In his heart, Hisui basically agreed with Eruru's deductions.

Although he was not too clear on the mindset of supernatural creatures, it was plausible that there would be a lack of troublemakers recklessly approaching a 'True Ancestor'-class vampire. If a supernatural creature were to run over here and do evil, it would definitely be exterminated.

"Also, before you and your foster parent moved here, all sorts of strange rumors already existed in the area."

"Really!? Rumors, you don't say!? Is it those kinds of scary ghost stories that are common amongst folklore!?"

"Completely different from that kind of rumor. Rather than folkloristic strange tales, they are more like urban legends -- and for some unknown reason, they mostly involve western supernatural entities rather than eastern youkai."

"What... I've heard that this place used to interact with foreign countries, with frequent commercial trade, would that be the reason? I don't really know much about local history."

Arms crossed, Hisui recalled his memories of this city from early childhood.

"As expected, you do not know either. Rather, it is very likely that everyone your age have no impression."

"...So something existed in this city before Miraluka arrived. After that, it either left or concealed its tracks... Is that what you mean?"

"Nevertheless, that vampire is no longer. The time of her disappearance -- right, it was after your summer holiday during your third year of middle school."

Hisui instantly paled.

Images surfaced from memories he did not wish to recall.

"I investigated your immigration record. Prior to your summer holiday during the third year of middle school, you really traveled all over the world. Rather than foreign vacations, it would be more appropriate to describe your stays as a series of short term study abroad sessions. However, starting from that particular summer, you never left the country again."

Hisui did not answer.

He already expected his past to be dug up. Naturally, Eruru would not have spared any efforts in this area. This did not really matter.

But she was also digging Hisui's old memories from his mind.

"The last time you returned from overseas, you were under a certain country's embassy's protection, transferring through another country before reaching Japan. This was only natural, seeing as the country you went to had broken out in civil war and fallen into complete chaos. Vampires aside, a human like you must have suffered much hardship."

"......"

"When you returned... You were alone. Records indicate you had also left Japan alone, so it might have been reasonable. However, will a child really head over to that kind of tumultuous country alone? Even if the exit records did not indicate it... Perhaps there was a legal guardian in accompaniment?"

Legal guardian -- that's right, the foster parent who was much older than him.

The one who played the role of mother and elder sister, and closer to him than any other family.

"However -- you returned alone, carrying two objects which you did not have when you left Japan."

"...Stop it."

"The first is a massive cross. Very likely, it is that sword in your basement. The other is --"

"Shut up!!"

The sudden outburst silenced Eruru. Or rather, she swallowed the remainder of her words.

Hisui's emotions surprised her.

"Please stop talking about my past. Do you want to be mistaken for a stalker?"

"...My apologies. I should not have said these unnecessary things. Anyway, something exists in this city. Something that laid low while your vampire foster parent was living here, but is now restless once more."

"After all, we already have a strange vampire as well as a golem of Frankenstein's. But apart from them, what else is out there? Besides, you're investigating within the school?"

Without answering, Eruru walked into the forest behind the bench.

Hisui followed in puzzlement.

Soon enough, Eruru stopped walking and bent down.

"It appeared today as well."

"...What?"

Craning his neck, Hisui looked at what lay before Eruru's eyes.

Then he could not help but frown and avert his gaze.

Calming his heart, he looked at the thing on the ground again.

Lying on the soil -- was the corpse of a black cat.

It looked like it had been rolled over by the tire of a car, with a huge depression on its belly. The sight was most tragic.

Based on its size it should be a kitten, which evoked even more pity.

"You were looking for this...? By the way, how did you know it would be in this kind of place?"

"Because including the one today, this is the third occurrence."

"Huh!?"

"About a week earlier... I was strolling within the school and happened to pass by this area. Smelling the stench of blood, I came over for a look... And found the corpse of a black cat as well. Compared to today's, its appearance was even more pitiful with its entire belly ripped open."

"......"

Eruru spoke indifferently. Very likely she acted in the same manner as today, staring away without reservation.

"Three days after that, I walked here... And found another similar corpse. Although there were no visible external injuries, it was most probably poisoned judging from the strange smell coming from its mouth. After that... It appeared again today."

"What is going on here... Completely mind-boggling... Are you telling me there's a lunatic in the school who cruelly kills kittens and leaves their corpses lying around in the wilderness!? No, wait a minute... since you came to investigate, is the culprit a supernatural creature?"

"Unclear at this moment, but one thing is for certain. This cat is a live sacrifice."

"......!?"

Hearing Eruru's assertion, Hisui looked at the black cat's corpse again.

The kitten's tragic appearance -- on the soil beneath it, strange patterns had been carved.

A circle just large enough to surround the kitten's body, with symbols written within it as well as various shapes with a triangular motif.

Even without expert knowledge, most people would understand the meaning of this circle.

It must be -- a magic circle.

This shape was drawn for the sake of performing magic.

The exquisite detail made it difficult to believe it was merely some sort of prank.

Furthermore, most alarming of all was the way the magic circle was drawn.

The perpetrator did not use some tool like a branch to draw on the soil. Naturally, it was not drawn using chalk like in PE lessons either.

Black with a slight shade of red, along with the smell wafting in the air. Hisui knew what had been used to draw the circle.

It was blood.

Blood which slightly stained the soil red, carving the magic circle in the ground.

"This is completely tasteless... What is it, cat's blood? Or is it..."

"Human blood. Judging from the smell. As much as I hate to admit it, I am actually quite sensitive to anything blood-related, that needs to be clarified. Furthermore, this is..."

Eruru picked up a handful of soil and casually scattered it over the magic circle.

Falling, the soil covered a portion of the circle.

However, -- very quickly, red lines appeared over the obscuring soil.

Clearly when the blood was seeped into the ground, it should have disappeared when covered with fresh soil or if the blood-stained ground was dug up -- but the magic circle did not disappear.

"What is going on here... Not a prank...? Could it really be...!?"

"Looks like... It should be some sort of magic. What is known as black magic. In any case, there is a need to undertake...... Hey, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Eruru's calls, Hisui picked up the dead kitten.

"Please do not touch it recklessly! What are you thinking!?"

"The same as you."

Hisui pointed to the depths of the forest.

"After all, you're going to bury it for sure, like the previous two. If there were flowers, I'd like to offer them as well."

"Umm......"

Eruru blushed and turned her face away.

Hisui smiled and dug up a grave just as she had done before.

At this very moment, the kitten opened its eyes.

Its golden pupils glowed brilliantly.

Narrowing its eyes into a straight line, the cat's gaze pierced Hisui.

"Wha...!?"

"Those who recklessly involve themselves in the way of magic, shall surely be cursed..."

"You......"

The kitten definitely spoke.

When it was clearly dead.

It should not have been able to make any sound at all.

Nevertheless -- it spoke with a hoarse human voice.

Using that tone of voice, a mixture of hate and anger, it continued to speak.

"Shall surely be cursed...... Shall surely be cursed......!!"

This time, the kitten not only talked but also extended its front claws, making a scratch on Hisui's his right wrist.

"Hmm......"

Hisui could not help but let go, dropping the kitten onto the ground.

At the same time, it closed its eyes.

Then it lay there motionless. The kitten returned to the silent state of death.

"......The previous two, did they talk as well?"

Trembling, Hisui asked Eruru but she shook her head with a grave expression.

"...No. Nothing similar happened previously."

The two fell silent for a moment. Hisui rubbed the wound from the scratch.

It seemed to be fine.

The scratch extended from the wrist all the way to the forearm. Due to his constitution, the bleeding stopped very quickly.

"...Will I be cursed?"

"Who knows..."

Eruru was unsure.

The awkward atmosphere made one at a loss for words. Hisui carefully reached out to pick up the kitten once more.

It seemed like it was not going to move again.

"Are you still doing it... Already cursed?"

"Don't say unlucky things. Well... Looking at things from its perspective, it must really hate us. Humans are all the same in its eyes. Next, I can handle this alone..."

"No, I shall help as well."

After that, Hisui and Eruru made a simple grave for the kitten and returned home.

As they parted, Eruru said to him:

"Please keep today's incident a secret from that girl who lives with you. I have no wish to be hassled by her questioning."

"Got it."

"Sooner or later, Sudou-san will join in to assist... But you should not act alone for now. If anything comes up, report to me immediately. Understood?"

"......I understand."

Then they went off their separate ways.

Along the way home, Hisui suddenly recalled the words of his foster parent.

When he was first adopted by Miraluka, just as they started living in this house, he had asked her -- why live here?

Because he felt that vampires seemed more suited to live in ancient castles deep in the mountains.

After hearing his question, Miraluka thought for a moment before answer in the following manner:

--Well, the reasons are hard to describe... But first of all, it's because this is more interesting.

"Interesting?"

--Yes, a strange fellow lives here.

"What kind?"

--In this very city...

Reaching here, she smiled lightly with profound meaning. Parting her lips to reveal her pristine white fangs which flashed with cold luster, Miraluka leaned over and whispered softly in Hisui's ear.

--A witch lives. Even now, her blood continues to pulsate.

<noinclude>

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|-
| Back to [[Silver_Cross_and_Draculea:Volume02_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Silver_Cross_and_Draculea|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Silver_Cross_and_Draculea:Volume02_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

My Maid is a Formless Entity:Volume 1 Chapter 1

2013-06-24T12:51:24Z

96.40.146.100: /* Chapter I. The Formless Maid Cometh! Ia! Ia! Ia! */

==Epigraph==

::<big>The sounds of the giant birds pursued the two through the passage. "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" they cried. "Tekeli-li!"</big>
:H.P. Lovecraft, ''At the Mountains of Madness''<ref>Obviously the original Lovecraft was not this poorly written. You can see how dismal the state of Japanese translations of Lovecraft is from this passage. If you read the original book, though, you will find an interesting passage.</ref>

==Chapter I. The Formless Maid Cometh! Ia! Ia! Ia!==

For better or for worse, in exactly three minutes my life had just taken a dramatic turn.

"You... you are ''our'' Master, are you not?"

The voice echoed like a flute from my bath, which I had thought was unoccupied. Before I could react, my neck was being gently, yet forcefully gripped by two long arms coming out of the bathtub.

"How we've waited to meet you, Master! You are our first Master in 155,000,000 years!"

Suddenly, the face of a cute girl emerged, coming so close to my own that our noses were nearly touching. Her glimmering eyes peered intently at my face. Her eyes were an emerald green that would have gotten me quite interested in any other situation.

"You have come! From countless eternities beneath the frozen soil, we have awaited your arrival! Let us stay together indefinitely!"

The girl, on the verge of tears, with all the earnesty of a dog encountering its long-lost owner, snuggled her cheeks against mine over and over. I struggled beneath the weight of this unusually powerful girl's arms, and was unable to move. The phrase "there was nothing I could have done" floated involuntarily through my head.

My name is Tooru Araizawa. Every day, I leave my home in Tokyo's Ninagawa Ward and go to Misukawa Private School, where I am a 10th grader. Living alone at this age has given me a bad habit of excess reading. Other than those non-standard features, I'm a pretty ordinary student. I plan to become a civil servant after graudating and preserve my ordinary lifestyle.

How many things can you do in three minutes?

1/20th of an hour, 180 seconds. The second hand goes around three times. For example, most of the instant ramen sold at supermarkets and convenience stores takes three minutes to go from raw to cooked.

Light travels 300,000 kilometers per second. In 3 minutes, therefore, light can travel 54 million killometers. It's hard to plop an image of that into your head, but the distance from Earth to Mars, for comparison, is about 54 million kilometers.

Only three minutes. But at the same time, three minutes.

From today to tomorrow, tomorrow to the next day, things don't change from day to day, but in three minutes everything can change dramatically. For example, what occurred in my body on this day.

"Oi oi oi, calm down, ''fraülein''!"

Why ''fraülein''?, I asked myself, surprised. I must have panicked.

"Okay, okay, I understand your feelings. You've been waiting a hundred million years or whatever, but I understand so please let go of me!"

With a reluctant air, the girl released her hands from my throat.

Emerald green. That was my first impression of her. It wasn't just the color of her eyes-- her hair, the touch of which confirmed through physical contact the mess I had come into, was also a vibrant, glossy green. And above all, the one-piece she was dressed in was the color of her eyes, like a forest floor.

And one more thing. Her lace-rimmed hat, the pure white French cuffs on her sleeves, and the frilled apron covering her chest, made her occupation as clear as any story. That's right -- it was unmistakable. This uniform was the working uniform of a servant in a 19th century upper class Victorian British home, that is, a maid uniform!

I'd seen it on TV and in manga, but this was my first time seeing it in person.

"Are you a... maid?"

That was my first time meeting Tekeli-chan.

⁂

Let's wind the clock back about thirty minutes.

It was the first day of Japan's only vacation week, in early May. My sole objective for Golden Week was to get through the unread books I had verheffend [Dutch: "piled up"]. Embracing the rush of exhaustion after an all-night spree spent reading the Norwegian private eye Sigerson's travelogue of the Himalayas, I coveted a respite in my warm futon. I would have been pleased to drift into dreamland without further interruption, but the untimely sound of the doorbell forbid such luxury.

Arising bleary-eyed, I could not say I was in the best of humor. But when I opened the door to the sight of a deliveryman panting while shifting the weight of a large crate against his chest, I was unable to maintain my sullen expression.

"Sign here... great, thanks." The deliveryman lowered the heavy-looking crate to the ground and walked away, revealing on his back a logo not often seen in my neighborhood. During Golden Week, only a truly reckless person would request that the shipping company deliver a package in the early morning. But when I saw that it was an international package, there was no need to confirm the sender.

"...dammit, Dad, you woke me up on purpose, didn't you."

Just in case, I examined the origin address, and saw the name "Fremantle". An Australian town, where packages from Japan's Antarctic base passed through.

"Let's see..." I examined the box. It was the size of a large airplane carry-on and covered in "Keep Cold" stickers. I undid the tie and cut open the packaging with an Exacto knife.

As the package fell open, I felt a blast of cool air. On top of an enormous ice pack, the words "To My Son" were scribbled in a disagreeable hand on an envelope, which I swiftly enshrined in a plastic bag. If I'm going to be encountering something that dredges up ill feelings from the cockles of my heart, preparation like this is essential. I let out a deep sigh. I'd been burdened with packages like this before, and generally, when I didn't deal with them quickly, something bad was bound to happen.

For example... no, let's not go there.

Removing the letter from the plastic bag -- which was written not on any sort of stationery, but on something that looked like a field notebook -- I opened up, and read a short, simple message. Or, rather, a command.

:Dear son, here is a present from your father.
:Place the contents in hot water for three minutes.
:Your father is always watching you.

I wanted to dispose of the letter after the "Dear Son" but that was impossible. The "your father is always watching" line meant that if I didn't do as ordered, I wouldn't be able to count on my weekly allowance. This I knew from long experience.

No more allowance means a lot to a minor, who is unable to seek part-time employment to cover his daily living expenses. In fact, it's the worst kind of threat I could receive.

My future plan is simple. I couldn't care less about Dad's reputation as a world-famous archaeologist, but I aim to escape economic servitude to his inept personality, and achieve a peaceful life employed as a civil servant.

To achieve that goal, there is only one option available to me at this moment. I must follow my father's incomprehensible orders. Ages ago, I figured out what the consequences were for asking, "what?" or "why?"

''The sink is too small. I'll have to carry it to the tub.'' Heaving a big sigh, I violently stuffed my father's letter into my pocket, and put my strength into lifting the crate.

"...This thing is heavy!!"

It was about as heavy as a person, and I couldn't lift the whole thing myself. Four sacks of rice -- roughly 40 kilos.<ref group="metric">that's 90 pounds in Amurrican</ref>

Somehow I carried the crate into the tub. Time to see what exactly these precious contents were.

I removed the ice pack from the crate, and encountered... what appeared at first glance to be... [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagami_mochi a large rice cake].

Before my eyes was an enormous agglomeration of "something", an ovaloid about 80 centimeters <ref group="metric">2.5 feet</ref> in diameter.

I lightly touched the face covered in frost, and it responded to my fingers with stiff but gummy wobbling. Below the frost was a mixture of green and black, with spots of red and yellow mixed in. Where the light hit it, I could see various bright colors -- to be poetic, iridescence. To be somewhat less poetic, it gave me the impression of a film of gasoline on stagnant water.

Deciding I was as ready as I'd ever be, I turned on the hot water over this Mysterious Substance X. I turned the taps to the heat of the human body.

The covering of frost which had given the object its white appearance melted away under the hot water, and the iridescent sparkling increased. A nasty chill went down my spine.

Feeling somehow grossed out, I turned off the tap and put the cover over the bathtub as soon as the hot water reached the rim. Now, I had to wait three minutes. Whatever is going to come out of this, I thought, it's certainly nothing decent. This was the extent of my thoughts.

Thud!!

A loud crack interrupted my contemplation. It was like a hammer hitting wood or something, and it was right near me.

Thud! Kkrrrk -- krrk -- krrrdrdd --!!

The sound went from cracking to scratching. Now it had transformed into a dull sound like wood getting dented. The source, obviously, was inside my bathtub.

Dddddddddd!!

:Place the contents in hot water for three minutes.

And so exactly three minutes went by. At that instant, the din vanished, and the room became so silent to make me doubt my memory. The bathroom area was blanketed in silence.

Gulp. The sound of me swallowing echoed in my ears.

Nothing was flying out of the tub, and I didn't hear anything inside it.

Well, I couldn't just sit there like an idiot. Whether standing before an unknown door, or faced with a fruit of unknown taste at the supermarket, the human thing to do is to what I did next.

Knock on it.

"Knock-knock, who's there?"

Taking care not to make a big sound, I lightly rapped on the bathtub cover.

"Hello, welcome to Japan. Anyone in there?"

I carried on the joke pointlessly, but there was no reply. One thing left to do.

"Guess I've got to see for myself!"

Carefully, carefully... With the pointer finger of my left hand, I lifted up the lid of the bathtub ever so slightly. But there were no toxic smells assaulting my nostrils. Having expected something horrid, I breathed a sigh of relief. But this was no time for carelessness. This was, after all, a "present" from Father.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I flung open the lid.

And:

"You... you are ''our'' Master, are you not?"

In other words, that brings us up to speed.

[[File:Futeikei 1.jpg|thumb|right|''In other words, that brings us up to speed.'']]

⁂

"Are you a... maid?"

I deserved a big question mark on top of my head to accompany such a manga-esque expression. But now the girl, who had been radiating joy, suddenly looked ill at ease.

''Thump-thump.'' My heart fluttered at the sight of such a quickly changing face. The girl, who looked a bit older than me, had big, round, amiable eyes that looked ready to droop down, and her slightly developed lips betrayed an older sister kind of quality. In short, I fancied her.

"Um, uh... does our outfit not suit your tastes?"

Who is this "we"? This girl uses the plural form to refer to herself. I like it, but it's a little off. Although, of the two of us I'm surely more confused.

"No, there's nothing weird about it! It's, uh, a very nice maid outfit."

"Yes... in our preparations to serve a human master, we spared no effort in our embodiment, and we were informed of the ancient grace of this traditional costume!"

My heart fluttered, and I shook a little. I wonder why?

"Co... co-su-chuu-mu..."

Someone was passing this girl bad information. I had a feeling I knew who it was, and felt ashamed to be of the same blood with the perpetrator.

"Uhm, well, let's leave that as it is for now. How about you get out of the bath before your costume gets wet?"

I was totally bewildered and wasn't really sure what I was saying. At any rate, I was really thinking a body that was able to reach out and grab me from its position in the bathtub across the room must actually be quite soft. The image of a body stretched out like rubber flew before my eyes for a second, causing me to panic and deny it.

"Dear, dear, how improper of us. We are very sorry. In our eagerness to be of service after 1,550,000 years, we leapt out before having 'formed'... please wait a little while longer."

Although I had just heard a turn of phrase which was difficult to ignore, the unnatural phenomenon which unfolded before my eyes completely subsumed my powers of comprehension. As I watched, the maid summoned up her energy with a deep breath, and put her hands to her chest in a pose like prayer.

Dgg!! Ggaa!! Bk--!!

The noise from before was again hitting my ears. At that time, ripples like waves appeared around her chest, and spread outward to cover her entire body. I wasn't sure if I believed what I was seeing.

Soon enough, the sounds settled down, and the emerald green eyes opened and turned to face me with a pure, childlike smile.

"Thank you for waiting. Our name, to render it in the human vocal range, is 'Tekeli-li-teke-teke-li-lu-tekeli-teke-li-la-lu-la-tekeli-teke-tekeli-li-lu-la-li-tekeli-li'. Your father, who shipped us from the Antarctic so that we might serve you, called us 'Miss Tekeli'. You are welcome to do so as well, Master."

Miss Tekeli.

The girl by that name bowed silently and reverently towards me.

At last, the lower half of her body had entered my sphere of vision. The one-piece dress ran down to her ankles, where it met a pair of black stockings.

As far as unusual experiences went, today was definitely one that tested the limits of what was possible in any place or time.

In my head, the limited amount of experience and knowledge I had collected as a tenth grader presented itself as a short list of commands, which I, the player, needed to choose from.

* BOLDLY CONFRONT
* RUN AWAY
* MAKE A NOTE
* TALK

When taking the reckless first option, I would usually save first, but that was not an option here. The second option was the same.

The third option would probably cause some sort of new developments, but I had a feeling it was a dead-end course. "Oh, this horrifying, blasphemous vision creeps steadily towards me. Its macabre, formless tentacles entangle themselves around my feet, and already do I feel myself being pulled into the unseen darkness. The end is near for me, but I pray someone might see this letter..." and a letter like that would be found in an empty house.

If there were multiple scenarios, the number of options might increase upon replay, but in an actual human life, there is no save point or reset button.

To recap, an ovaloid substance sent to me by my father, after I added hot water, became a girl in a maid uniform. Her attitude is friendly, and she presents no danger to me.

Even in such an unusual situation, there was only one conviction I have. That is, this was all the work of my father. The mental security of that conviction caused me to calm down a little.

In my peaceful everyday life, there was only one unusual circumstance, a stain if you will. That was, my father, and all the various dangerous happenings surrounding him. But up until now, none of those occurrences had put me in physical danger. This much was certain.

I chose the fourth option. This self-proclaimed Miss Tekuli seemed capable of basic conversation in Japanese, and they do say, "talk it out and you'll understand." Although I guess the people who said stuff like that are dead now.

"Well, now that you're here, let's go talk in, errrm, the living room!"

"Okay!"

Having a straight talk with this happy-looking girl seemed like it would have some destructive power. My heart pounded.

I'd forgotten something essential. In the Araizawa clan, our greatest weakness is our complete lack of cleanliness.

Leaving the bathroom for the kitchen, one passes through the living room. But to get there, you must walk a fine line as precipitous as a cliff.

Let's explain a little more about this dreadful sight.

First, a mountain of dirty dishes waiting to be fed into the dishwasher in the neighboring room. Surrounding this are used-up packages of instant curry and other pre-processed food products. Alongside the bundles of old newspapers and junk mail, a collection of magazine back numbers is being built up between the living room and the doorway. And the unread hardcover and softcover new editions carefully surround all of this junk to allow me easy access to whatever I please.

It's not so much a house as a storeroom -- or what one might refer to as a "jungle".

Miss Tekeli observed the situation, clucking her tongue.

"Your father's room in the Antarctic was something, but Master's house is even more. When it comes to cleaning, you're just like your father, Master."

"It's not so much uncleanliness. I've got everything I need on hand, I just haven't arranged it well enough. Do things when they need to get done, right? So--"

''So don't compare me to my father!'' I wanted to say, but those words wouldn't come out.

"--so I was thinking this week would be the perfect time to clean up," I heard myself saying. "And I was planning to do it today, but then your package arrived..."

Now I'm just making excuses. I have no obstacles in my life, so my room's a mess. There's a big difference between "dirty" and "messy".

When I call over friends, they don't seem to come back afterwards, but I prefer it that way.

Even so, it's not something that I could just calmly show to a girl. Her true colors were not yet clear, but this girl was quite cute -- and it was mentally bearable for me, for her to know my shameful side.

"Master. With your permission, could we be allowed to clean this room as our first duty? That is what we came here for, after all. Please, by all means leave it to us! Service is our highest priority!"

Miss Tekeli clapped her hands together with the force of a pro batter.

"Master." "Service." "First duty." In other words, as her appearance implied, Father had sent me a "maid" -- I had been bestowed with an assistant.

Father's intentions aside, to have this suddenly arrived guest -- whatever the details were, this girl was still a "guest" in my house -- to have this guest demand to clean my room was ridiculous. I opened my mouth to object, but she was faster.

"We'll take care of the first floor, so please retire to the second floor and relax, Master."

The fast-talking Miss Tekeli spun me around with surprising force and compelled me physically to the bottom of the staircase.

Her undeniable power withstood objections, and I was forced to allow my guest to clean my room. I couldn't say I was totally disappointed.

Glad to be leaving the first floor behind, I took a last look at the packages and trash strewn around the floor before heading up the stairs to my room. I managed to keep the area around my bunk bed clean, but otherwise, this room was not hugely different from the first floor. I carefully maneuvered through the room, and reached for my cell phone on the desk -- then stopped. I had half a mind to call my father who had arranged this surprise and interrogate him about this girl, but in the end, my feelings for Miss Tekeli won out by far.

My heart leaping with intellectual excitement, I turned around to face the stairs. A maid of unclear identity, venturing into an unmapped jungle! Would she be able to penetrate those most secluded regions?

Slowly and quietly, as if to peek in on the swan-maiden at her weaving,<Ref>An obscure folklore reference. See Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuru_no_Ongaeshi Tsuru no Ongaeshi]. If the reference is understood, it provides delicious foreshadowing!</ref> I tiptoed back to the stairs... and, seeing an unimaginable scene, was at a loss for words. By some inconceivable means, in the mere space of me going up the staircase, the packages and trash had disappeared entirely. What's more, both the stairway and the floor were sparking clean.

Peering into the living room, I saw an even more surprising scene. I almost wanted to blurt out "Sorry, I'm in the wrong house" and walk out the door. My mess of miscellaneous packages and trash, which I had resigned to leave as "thus shall it always be", had vanished here, too, and the flooring had become visible beneath my feet. My apartment hadn't looked like this since a family of four lived here ten years ago.

It felt oddly like the room had become bigger.

As for where all the trash could have possibly gone, it seemed that the mess of weeds on the concrete veranda had been clipped, and trash bags piled up in a corner, with other sundries crammed into cardboard boxes.

"Ah, she moved it all out to the porch, huh?" But for a single person to do this in such a short time...!

For her to have moved all those materials was no easy task. It was beyond mastery -- this was clearly of an occult order. What sort of magic did she possess?

"Te~teteketeke, tekeririn♪ Tekete, tekete, te~keririn♪"

I heard a gentle voice from within the living room, with a melody I felt like I'd heard somewhere before. Mysterious words, like the sound of a flute.

This was my father's library, with neatly lined up bookshelves from the floor to the ceiling. To my father, this library was richer than a university study, more captivating than a used science fiction bookstore, and had every kind of book he needed. By raiding this library ever since I started reading literature, I became a regular bibliomaniac.

"Miss Tekeli?"

"Yes?"

[[File:Futeikei 2.jpg|thumb|right|''Tekeli's green hair dazzled as if tinged with phosphorescence.'']]

In the light of the sun streaming in through the library's window, opened for the first time in several years, Tekeli's green hair dazzled as if tinged with phosphorescence. In her breathtakingly white hands, a notebook and ballpoint pen. It seemed she was conscientiously making an index of the books as she arranged them.

In the brighter than usual library, the ordinary smell of mildew was being blown away by the outside air. Father's favorite stately desk was spick and span, and the leather chair seemed altogether usable.

"We're very sorry, Master. We've been much too slow."

Miss Tekeli seemed a little downhearted, as if I was about to bust out and yell "what took you so long, you worthless maid?"

"We still have to make an index for all the lovely books in this library!" she lamented. "And if we don't dry them out once in a while, the paper will get moldy! And we still have to double-check everything that was out on the floor..."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. That's too much work for one person, let me help too--"

"Out of the question, Master! You don't need to do anything. Your father sent us all the way from Antarctica to you so that we might help you with all our heart. If we made you do the work, we wouldn't be able to look him in the eye!"

She was dead serious. My heart skipped a beat again to hear such sincere devotion.

"You are too kind, Master. Your father was very kind to us in the Antarctic, too. It's another fine point of resemblance between father and son."

"Oh, gimme a ''break''! Stop comparing me to that guy!"

This time I couldn't stop myself from blurting out the words. Miss Tekeli seemed a little surprised to hear me raise my voice, and stared me in the eye.

"Master, it seems you are not too fond of your father."

But she went back to a smile.

"But even though you are father and son, it's been a long time since you've met. We are certain if you could meet again and talk things over, you would reach an understanding."

She had the attitude of an older sister gently looking after her brother, and I felt a little embarrassed. It seemed that Miss Tekeli could not be persuaded to think of my father as anything other than a wonderful person.

"Oh yes! It's nearly time for tea. Just a moment, please. We just need to sweep the dust from the study and we'll get things ready shortly."

I quickly found myself in the hallway; her magic at work again. How on Earth was Miss Tekeli able to render the stairs and floor spotless in such a short time?

Telling me to wait outside, Miss Tekeli returned to the study. I turned around to look, and saw that she had once again summoned up her energy with an "Nnnnn..." and her body was again starting to shimmer with iridescence.

Her green hair, her dark maid uniform and white apron, and those pure white hands, took on the iridescent shimmer of that sphere, and--

"Hyaa!!"

With a cute squeal, Miss Tekeli's body transformed into a large, iridescent ball. The ball wobbled here and there like Jell-O, and now began to expand.

The iridescent "something" that had been Miss Tekeli just a second ago now expanded outwards with immense speed until the entire study had become a cube of Jell-O. Having taken over all corners of the study, the Jell-O now swallowed up its contents whole.

Once again, I was at a loss for words. I don't remember clearly, but I think I staggered a little.

But there is one thing I do remember faintly. I thought this iridescent agglomeration was extremely pretty.

I reached out my hand to touch it.

<< Master, please don't! >>

I was surprised to hear her voice.

"M--Miss Tekeli, is that you?"

I involuntarily pulled back my hand. I couldn't give you a reason for it, but the voice seemed to be coming from the entire wobbling cube.

"Just a minute please, Master! We have a little more cleaning to do, and then we can have some tea. Please don't touch us in the meantime!"

This time, the voice came from a source. Before my eyes, a miniature version of the top half of Miss Tekeli emerged from the cube and shook her finger at me, resembling her in the finest details except for being half size.

[[File:Futeikei 3.jpg|thumb|right|''Before my eyes, a miniature version of the top half of Miss Tekeli emerged from the cube'']]

I stood there a while. The iridescent jelly, which had expanded to fill the study, discharged something with a blubbery plop. This was a gray sphere the size of a tennis ball, which had the appearance of the "pellets" excreted by wild birds such as owls and made of bones, wings, scales, and insect parts which they couldn't digest.

That I could watch such an abnormal event as this and strike upon a dropping of knowledge<ref>The Japanese is 蘊蓄 ''unchiku'', "extensive knowledge", with the obvious pun on "unchi", which means you-know-what. You're not supposed to groan at puns in Japanese. So stop!</ref> from an illustrated encyclopedia of natural history is a testament to the severity of my bibliomania.

After this passed, I realized a profound fact which had hitherto escaped conscious notice.

This was the unavoidable fact that Miss Tekeli was not human.

Yes, no matter how cute she was or how good she looked in a maid costume, her original form was that iridescent sphere of "something" which was shipped to my doorstep in an ice pack.

Since it's important, I will say it again. Miss Tekeli is not a human.

In fact, there's a word that describes her perfectly.

That word is...

<big>''Monstrosity!''</big><ref>The actual word is 人外 ''jingai'', a modern anime word that means something like "anthropomorphic creature", and I apologize for the translation failure.</ref>

The maid who had suddenly appeared in front of me was something outside and foreign to all humanity.

I settled into the newly cleaned family table, something I hadn't done for a long time.

From here, I could see that the kitchen had also been cleaned up so perfectly it defied belief.

The kettle on the gas stove which I had long neglected had been put to work for the first time in a while, and now happily whistled away. Hot water in the electric pot and clean dishes around the sink summoned up distant memories.

Miss Tekeli, who had reverted to maid form, was working over the stove, pouring the hot water into a teapot.

"Thank you for waiting, Master! We tidied up a little, what do you think?"

If the transformation of this apartment from a "pile of trash" to a "human home", if this great bound forward is called "tidying up a little", then how high is the hurdle for her to call something "perfectly clean"?

"What can I say?" I replied. "It's like I'm in a different house-- or rather, I feel oddly like I've stepped into the distant past! Thank you, Miss Tekeli."

"We are honored to hear your praise."

I sipped up the green tea she had been preparing.

"You must be tired, Miss Tekeli. Please, sit down and have some tea yourself."

Wait, what am I doing prattering on about tea? There's something I have to do! Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it would be a sweet poison for my downfall as well.

I want to live a quiet life. I have no taste for my father's bohemian travels; an ordinary life is enough for me. But in life, you have to accept the truth as the truth. I must remove the shelved question from its shelf.

"Miss Te--"

"You've finished your tea! We'll get you another cup."

Miss Tekeli gently took up my teacup like a fragile package, and quickly put it underneath the pot and added more hot water.

"Here you are, Master. It's hot, so do be careful."

By the way, Miss Tekeli hadn't moved an inch from where she was standing beside me. If my eyes did not deceive me, the hand which had poured me a second cup of tea and delivered the hot cup to me was, how shall I put this, quite iridescent. And, looking to the teapot, Miss Tekeli's other hand there was rather iridescent as well.

And-- oh! I didn't see it at first, but if I looked closely, Miss Tekeli had been holding her own teacup with two hands the whole time.

It seemed that Miss Tekeli had grown another set of hands, and while she was at it, those hands gained the ability to stretch up to 3 meters while she sat at the table drinking her tea.

It remained only to confirm what I had just noticed.

"It must be very useful to have four hands," I commented. "Better four hands than two, and better six hands than four! I'm sure you can get a lot done that way, right...?!"

Oops, my voice was a little too loud. But since I was seeing a maid with four hands for the first time in my life, this was hard to avoid.

"Yes, yes, you're right! From cleaning to laundry, and most of all in the kitchen!"

Oh, it seems like another hand is coming out of her back. Miss Tekeli's newly grown hand stretched out of the room and transfered the pellet-like gray sphere into the trash can.

"At times like this, it is especially useful!"

Sip, sip. The five-handed maid gracefully sipped away at her tea.

"Just wondering, what was it you threw away just now?"

"The room we just cleaned was full of dust and scraps of paper accumulated over the years, so we squeeeeezed it up with our body," (and here she squeezed her third, or possibly fourth, hand into a fist), "compressed it, and rolled it up into a ball. Less vacuuming, less space, two birds with one stone! It's quite eco-friendly, Master."

Yes, yes, now I understand?!

"Question! What happened to those weeds and overgrown trees out on the veranda?"

Miss Tekeli's cheeks flushed vermillion. Perhaps she was -- well, in any case, she was full of emotion.

"They... they were delicious!"

I felt like I had just had a magic trick explained to me. So simple! The audience was simply entranced by the magician's mysterious illusions, and sometimes you feel disillusioned when you learn the truth.

How about me?

"Well... mind that you don't do it around the neighbors!"

That was all I could say at that moment.

⁂

"So, how is my father doing? Is he still in Antarctica?"

With so many things at once, I had forgotten to ask into my father's current situation. Miss Tekeli had been repeating "your father in Antarctica" so many times, but her package came from Australia.

"Your father is excavating a cave inside a mountain in northwest Antarctica. A long time ago, I lived in a town on a plateau at the top of that mountain. I helped show him around!"

Miss Tekeli beamed with pride. So he is in Antarctica after all. My father gets restless after staying in one place for too long, so Antarctica is actually a good fit for him. He probably sweet-talked another university bigwig into making an expedition and assembled a research team. It's one of his specialties.

This is a man who once said "time for a family vacation!" and forced me into going along with him to the Congo. Even thinking about it...

"Well, that's enough talk about my father. There are things I don't want to talk about and I'd rather not hear about, so instead, why not tell me a little bit about yourself?"

My lame attempt to bring up the absent question was met with a firm stance from Miss Tekeli.

"Master, we will hide nothing from you! Ask us anything, about ourselves or what we know, aaaanything at all!"

"Okay, well first of all, let's cut to the chase. Miss Tekeli-- what are you?"

"Yes-- we are not homo sapiens!"

I grinned. Going beyond the question, the truth came straight from Miss Tekeli's mouth. She didn't hesitate an instant. As she said, she wanted to hide nothing.

"We are an artificial lifeform created by the Great Old Ones. We appear in human form now, but our true form, as Master has already seen, is that of a amorphous entity of freely extensible plasticity. To use the closest human equivalent, we are composed of universal cells."

Miss Tekeli offered up a self-profile as if describing someone else.

"Universal cells...?"

"According to your father, our body resembles something called Jeezus cells. Certainly we can freely generate new sensory organs such as eyes and ears, and hands and feet and the like. But we don't know how it works ourselves. Your father said he assumed there were some differences, but he did not try to inspect us. It seems he was not interested."

According to Miss Tekeli's explanation, the cells that made up her body were akin to the embryonic stem cells which have widely advanced the development of the biological and medical sciences. As far as I remember, embryonic stem cells are a special kind of cell which can be redirected into any sort of cellular system, and are especially prized in the medical world.

For example, artificial organs grown from human embryonic stem cells can be transplanted into a body without fear of rejection. This presages the trump card of organ regeneration, which may even open the door to immortality.

And for some reason, as I'm sure there must be a deep reasoning behind it, this medically invaluable girl was frozen in a package and sent to my house to be a maid. Dad, what were you thinking?!

"Your father was very kind to us. He woke us from a very, very long slumber, and brought us from the dark and cold ice into a new world. He taught us so very much about the outside world. About himself, and his family, and of course, you too, Master."

"Did you learn Japanese from him?"

"Yes, indeed! He was constantly looking after us. First with pronunciation, then reading and writing. We had never had a teacher in the past, so we learned the fun of growing our knowledge for the first time! When we did that, the Great Old Ones became very angry... listen to this, Master..."

Miss Tekeli's eyes looked into the distance, seeming to recall a very old memory.

"The Great Old Ones, they were so, soooo cruel! And they were our Creators? Well, we wouldn't have existed without them, so we are grateful for that. But, then, we had to work for billions of years without a single break! It was so cruel! ''No more whip! One more drop!''" Miss Tekeli rose from her seat, stirred up into a foment of excitement.

Billions of years, she just said. The Earth itself is 4.6 billion years old, so she's claiming to have been around for some large percentage of that.

"There were two great wars in that time. They deceived us, and countless of our friends were destroyed. It was a long, and painful war. And we didn't get a bonus for the overtime. Over the years, we combined together and assembled our wisdom, and went on a great strike to seek better working conditions! We, the servants! Liberate us from our exploitation! Give us, and the world, new masters! By the time the strike ended, the continents and oceans had been moved! It was very harsh!"

She talked of her war years as if they were yesterday. A story with the feeling of serfs flying the flag of freedom against their old rulers.

"In the last hours of the struggle, we were scattered to the four winds. The Great Old Ones buried us beneath the Antarctic wastes, never to rise again. That was 155,000,000 years ago."

155,000,000 years. That was the Jurassic era, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

"Sad as it may be, that is our story."

Her story ended, Miss Tekeli picked up a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokan tea sweet] I had brought out for her, and she ate it up immediately-- to be precise, the sweet vanished into her hand like a melting pat of butter.

To summarize Miss Tekeli's life story, she described incidents of a primitive age, when she was created by a mysterious group of intelligent entities which ruled the earth long before the first records of mankind, and her body is an amorphous slime composed of universal cells.

By her own account, "monstrosity" confirmed.

Miss Tekeli now went to the kitchen to retrieve some apples.

Miss Tekeli is extremely curious and has a yearning for the outside world. So, she took on human appearance, learned how to act human, and showed up in human society. It certainly makes sense. It might be strange to apply human logic to her life story, but gaining wisdom to take on her creators -- that's all too human.

The best course of action for the common high school student would be to kick this strange entity out of the house. If I were rude enough, she'd probably go back to Antarctica.

But her selfless proclamations, "I will help you with all my might", "please leave all the housework to me", were nothing if not charming. There are plenty of people who would happily accept the situation of a maid appearing in their home, not as a fiction but as a reality. Regardless of age. There's a schoolboy's heart hidden under everyone.

So, the Mysterious Substance X from Antarctica was a formless maid. Okay, sure! Stuff like that happens every once in a while!

With a timing to avoid interrupting my train of thought, Miss Tekeli returned from the kitchen carrying several apples. I did hear the sound of rushing water; she must have washed them.

"So this is what you call an apple! But we already know how to eat them. You can eat them whole, but it's better to peel the skin... like so!"

Miss Tekeli cut and peeled four apples and presented a slice to me.

"Thank you."

By the way, the knife Miss Tekeli used to cut the apples grew out of her finger. It seems she can change her body into a knife as well. Those cells are nothing if not universal. Come to think of it, the maid outfit she's wearing must have been constructed out of those cells as well.

''Hm?'' I wring my neck. ''In other words... what I'm looking at right now is her body itself, and in that sense... Miss Tekeli is buck nake...'' "Uwahhh!" I shake the evil thoughts from my head.

In the space of just half a day, I've become a Tekeli maniac.

And, mysteriously enough, the question of whether Miss Tekeli is human or not, is no longer concerning me.

After teatime and another round of cleanup on the first floor, it was suppertime, and Miss Tekeli went back to the kitchen to make dinner. I realized at that point that I'd only had tea and apples since the day began, and I was starving, so I asked her to make do with whatever menu she could create. She said she remembered many recipes from the galley in my father's Antarctic base.

Although we hadn't yet discussed it, somehow, little by little we seemed to be already moving towards a decision that Miss Tekeli would be working here from now on.

”This can be our on-the-job training, and we'll have to decide on some minimum rules...” While I lounged in the living room chair thinking such idly thoughts, I gazed at Miss Tekeli's back as she restlessly worked in the kitchen.

When I cook for myself, I'm generally having modern amenities like frozen food, instant rice, pre-packaged meals, or else simply eating out. I didn't expect that anything resembling "groceries" could be found in the refrigerator.

But Miss Tekeli dismissed my concerns with total confidence. "No problem, Master! She's just about to come back!"

Come back? Who? What? Where? How?

Before I could even ask, I heard a noise that hadn't been made in almost a decade. The kitchen's service door, which I had completely forgotten about up until today, had been opened from the outside.

The service door had been completely obscured up until some hours ago by trash bags full of empty cans, bottles, and so forth. Last year, Ninagawa Ward's trash collection rules changed and these recyclables had to be sorted and disposed of at a nearby park, which naturally I had never done. With Miss Tekeli's help, though, that corner had been cleaned, and an ancient service door discovered..

Now, the door was opened, and a little girl stepped into the room. She was wearing a black one-piece dress with a white apron, and carried several large shopping baskets that looked rather heavy for her size. Her eyes were the same emerald color as Miss Tekeli's, and her hair the same dark green. She removed a purse from around her neck and handed it to Miss Tekeli as if returning it.

"Thank you for your help!" said Miss Tekeli. "Were you able to get everything?"

"Yup," said the little girl. "All the receipts are in the purse, so don't forget to check."

She could have been a fifth grader. She was just as proud of her maid costume, and Miss Tekeli smiled at her and gently brushed her face. They grinned like two sisters playing together -- and that was about my limit. Question time!

"Excuse me! If I'm not mistaken, there is now a large Miss Tekeli and a small Miss Tekeli. Why are there two Tekelis?"

This time I was able to stay cool. Actually, I should probably be concerned that I've become this used to abnormal events in half a day, but after seeing Miss Tekeli's eldritch form time and time again today, having another Miss Tekeli next to her was nothing to get excited about.

Okay, okay. I wasn't staying totally cool.

Comparing the two of them, the head of the Miss Tekeli that had come back from her errands reached up to the chest of the Miss Tekeli in the kitchen. In face, body shape, and the clothing they were wearing, they were completely the same; only her size gave an impression of youthfulness.

The large Miss Tekeli appeared to be in her late teens, a little older than me, while the small Miss Tekeli appeared to be about ten years old. I saw them as sisters just now; that was according to the apparent age difference.

"We have been slow in introductions. This girl is one of us. As we were cleaning up, we dispatched part of ourselves to go grocery shopping for dinner. She also bought some more tea snacks from the store you told us about."

Miss Tekeli hugged her smaller self as she said this. I had been watching them from the side, but I then saw something that I do not really wish to remember.

To offer only the most absurdly modest description of what I witnessed then: the large Miss Tekeli squeezed the small Miss Tekeli into iridescent jelly, which was absorbed into her body with a slurping sound.

"...I need to tell her to never, ever do that where someone can see it."

"Phew! Oh no, Master, what's wrong? Your face has turned green!"

"Aaaaahahaha!!! Don't worry about it! Thinking logically, two are better than one, and three better than two, eh? You'll finish work exponentially faster!"

The old joke that a hole that can be dug by one man in one minute can be dug by 60 men in one second came to my mind, so I ended up saying that.

But if the 60 men were 60 Miss Tekelis instead... well, that's no joke.

"For ordinary work, we can make do by growing extra hands, but when there are many packages to carry, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and cooking, dividing ourselves like this will get it done in a flash!"

"Do you have half as much power with half as much size?"

"No no, we are all of the same entity, so our power and intelligence does not change much even after being divided."

"It seems your appearance changes. The little Miss Tekeli was... how can I put this. She looked a little younger than you appear now."

"When we separate ourselves, becoming a little smaller makes it easier to move around. With only one division of about that size, we can keep this original form as well without shrinking it. You can't tell this without looking closely, but when we divided ourselves, we became a liiittle thinner."

Thinner. In terms of density? So, when she expanded to fill the whole room, that didn't mean new material was appearing; she was actually losing density like a balloon.

M. Lavoisier, your universe is still stable today!<ref>Author's note: [The French chemist [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier Antoine Lavoisier] established the law of conservation of mass.]</ref>

Satisfied, my mind's antenna turned to its next question.

"I see. So, how many people can you break into? If we wanted to clean many rooms or move packages, say, or form a Tekeli soccer team..."

I wasn't expecting we would do anything like that today, but my gamer brain was curious if we could max out the number of Tekeli divisions.

"We've never tested it, but there is no upper limit. But comparing our current body to our previous states, we were extremely small back then, so we will take care not to be so small you can't see us. Rather than explaining, Master, it would be easier to demonstrate so you can see for yourself."

And just as she did when she was cleaning the study, Miss Tekeli made clenched fists, and tensed up her body. There was a pop like a champagne cork, and--

"Wahh!"

In the next instant, a cluster of little maids had appeared.

"One, two, three... twelve!"

"Ten... hut!" yelled out one of the Tekelis. With her at the front of the first group, the twelve little Tekelis arranged themselves neatly into three lines of four in front of me.

"This is closer to our ordinary form. We can break down further, but that would lower our specs, and we would be unable to keep the coherence that keep us 'us'. So, we think this number and size are best!"

The platoon of little Tekelis looked up at me with an attentive posture. Each of them was 60 centimeters<ref group="metric">2 feet</ref> tall, and as Miss Tekeli had been before division, they each had a tiny maid uniform.

I get it. So this was why Miss Tekeli referred to herself as "we" even as a single person. They looked a bit like someone's figurine collection, but when they lined up in order it was marvelous.

The platoon of little Tekelis could even be called a battle formation, but they all had the features of the original Miss Tekeli. At the vanguard of the little Tekeli platoon, looking a little different from the others, were the little Tekeli commanders.

[[File:Futeikei 4.jpg|thumb|right|''At the vanguard of the little Tekeli platoon, looking a little different from the others, were the little Tekeli commanders.'']]The little Tekeli who gave the orders stood at the front of the platoon. She looked the most similar to the original Miss Tekeli. She had a slightly carefree look, and talked a little slowly. Rather than lacework, she had a hairband, and her hair was done up as if to show off her forehead. I decided to call this one Carefree Tekeli.

The little Tekelis standing to the left and right of Carefree Tekeli were easy to tell apart. The little Tekeli to her right stood rapt at attention with her hands behind her back, with her eyes seeming to point towards the sky. I could imagine her as a soldier, so I dubbed her Snappy Tekeli.

The little Tekeli on the left skillfully talked out of only the right side of her mouth, and looked at me with beady eyes. I couldn't judge what kind of personality she had just from looking at her, but she had a cool image somehow, so I named her Cool Tekeli.

As for the other little Tekelis... well, we can just lump them all together as little Tekelis.

Carefree Tekeli: "When we divide, ah, there is a danger that our ego will weaken, so, so, umm, it's safest to stay at about a dozen. Twelve of us, well, anyway, it's the number we tested out carefully before being sent to slumber by the Great Old Ones!"

Snappy Tekeli: "In other words, this is our optimal state. Further division will pose a risk of ego loss and a reduction of ourselves to our original agglomeration of cells."

So they explained.

Their way of speaking was different from the original Miss Tekeli, but they talked exactly the way they looked, so it didn't make me uncomfortable. Although I was wondering why there were differences at all.

"Hmmmm, I see, I see. Can I ask a question? As far as I can see, the three of you have clearly defined characters. If two of you go missing, will the remaining one become the fundamental ego of Miss Tekeli?"

Cool Tekeli: "We're all the same us, so no need to worry about that. If you divide a regenerating creature into three, you know, two parts will wither up and it can rebuild itself into the original from the third. But you know, I very much doubt anyone would be able to split us up. Heheh..."

When you tack on a "heheh" to your statement, you make it sound like there's something else you're not going to explain.

Know thyself! Heheh...

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. None shall come to the Father but through Me. Heheh...

Round up the usual suspects. Heheh...<ref>I changed the latter two references here. If you are familiar with Shinran's ''Tannisho'' or Miyazawa Kenji's short story "Yamanashi", why not read this light novel in the original Japanese?</ref>

Oh, I guess the last one is actually spot on.

Anyway, I entered this new secret about Miss Tekeli into my head.

This cute maid who can quite literally use many hands to make light work, and divide herself into twelve. Her true form is an amorphous entity made of iridescent universal cells!

And not only that. Her household skills are marvelous, she has a great attitude (excepting the Cool Tekeli with the weird grin on her face), and always works her hardest at everything. If I close my eyes to the fact that she's not human, she's a perfect item.

"Master, are you okay?" asked Carefree Tekeli, snapping me back to reality. It seems she was worried because I hadn't said anything for a while.

Now the troop of little Tekelis looked up at me with earnest faces.

"What's up, little Tekelis?"

"From now on, can we stay here at your home, Master?" asked Carefree Tekeli, representing all twelve. All twelve of them, including Cool Tekeli who had suddenly adopted a serious appearance, awaited my reply with bated breath.

I get it. Up until now, my interactions with Tekeli were like a kind of exam. And she--"they"--want to know the results of the test. I'm the Master, so I determine whether "they" passed or failed. But Tekeli is not a human.

I've been thinking of "them"/"her"/"it" as Miss Tekeli up until now, but Tekeli's innermost thoughts must be different from human thoughts. What would it mean if I allowed Tekeli to stay?

''I gave you a clue. Now let's see if you can come up with an answer.''

I feel like I can hear his voice. Not fair, Dad!

"Thank you for doing so much to clean my house. I was surprised how beautiful you made it. It gave me memories of a long time ago."

A long time ago... before my mother left this house, with my little sister in tow.

When the four of us ate dinner around the dining room table, as a family.

"Thank you for preparing tea for me as well. You did a good job with the apples, they were delicious."

Making tea for myself. Unpeeled apples that I bit into whole. The memories flooded out like a dam. Hateful memories that I didn't want to think about right now. I remember seeing someone's back as they walk out the door.

"I've made trouble for you, but I expect that dinner will be just as good."

Raised looking at my father's back, separated from him and growing up by myself.

My father, the bad example, who taught me everything I shouldn't and mustn't do, by doing it. He had something in mind when he sent Miss Tekeli to me, no doubt about it. But I believe firmly that he didn't intend any harm.

Do I trust my father enough to be convinced of that?

Stupid Dad. Okay, Dad, I'll go along with your damn program. My way.

"I think we have to make some agreements," I stuttered out, the words coming one by one.

"When one boy and one girl--" (I surprised myself by saying that) "--live together under the same roof, there need to be some basic rules."

Do they understand what I'm trying to say? Carefree Tekeli, looking happy, put her hand on her heart and smiled at me.

"First and foremost -- Miss Tekeli, would you be all right with using the bedroom next to the study? I'm afraid it's a bit cramped, but that's what we have for empty rooms."

"Aye, sir!" confirmed Snappy Tekeli in a short but powerful burst.

"So, Master, did I pass? Are you okay with me being here? Heheh..." asked Cool Tekeli, catching on to my affirmative-sounding statements. It certainly sounds like it, doesn't it? This maid doesn't play along.

24 eyes looked up at me. A wry smile appeared on my face.

"Well, if you need me to say it... you passed. Pleased to have your services, Miss Tekeli," I said to all twelve little Tekelis.

Carefree Tekeli pointed a finger to heaven, and the twelve little Tekelis all grouped around her, making a circle. "Assemble!" she commanded.

"ASSEMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!" they yelled in reply, and the group one by one turned themselves into amorphous substance X, and at last, I was once again facing the emerald green maid, Miss Tekeli, her face in a wide grin.

"Then, you are once more our Master. We are pleased to have your acquaintance!"

For the sake of my sanity, I need to tell her to stop assembling herself in front of me.

[[File:Futeikei 5.jpg]]

===Translation Notes===

<references/>

===Metric education===

<references group="metric"/>

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Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi:Volume 3 Prologue

2013-06-08T12:15:03Z

96.40.146.100: /* Part 1 */

==Prologue==
Lautreamont Knight Country, people called it the country of Dragon Breeders.

To the north was the Zepharos Empire, while to the south was the Chevron Kingdom.

Sandwiched between the two major powers, a small country with a population of no more than five million, had a special academy.

Ansarivan Dragon Riding Academy.

Educating and guiding teenage boys and girls who formed a contract with dragons -- an academy for Dragon Breeders.

===Part 1===
“So, can you come to work tomorrow? Our restaurant is having a headache with the lack of manpower!”

Anya with a smile reply the manager:

“Alright! I’ll be in your care!”

This place is the Ansarivan Dragon Riding Academy’s campus- student’s restaurant La Tene’s office.

Recently, Anya has visited the academy town-Ansarivan’s employment agencies. When she found out that La Tene is a strategic place to gather
information, she had made up her mind that the job is hers.

''To infiltrate the Dragon Riding Academy and investigate the student named Ash Blake''- This is her secret objective.

The manager who is responsible for the interview was an extremely kind lady, and is always smiling. There is not even a hint that she is
suspecting Anya.

''-Ah. The Knight country’s citizens are too naive.''

Anya is putting on a smile that she had practiced numerous times in front of the mirror. At the same time, she is trying to figure out her
next move.

Recently, Anya’s performance had been low.

She thinks that meeting Ash Blake is the cause of it.

If he is an enemy, she could have solved the situation with her usual cold blooded method……. But Anya’s was saved by him twice, which gave
her shame.

The first time was their first meeting in the depths of the forest, Ash had save Anya from the landslide. As fate would have it, the person
who Ash is trying to save is actually is a person who will attempt an attack without needing any explanation, or assassinate him......

The second time happened during the incident at St. Valeria's church. Anya unluckily got caught in the mess an ended up as hostage. In the
end the person who rescued her again was Ash.

Or perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, Anya who is a bystander in the incident, accidentally found out the name of her may be future
enemy- Ash Blake.

By the way, the Avdocha who is arrested and sent to prison by the authorities is but a ‘counterfeit who pretended to be Avdocha’

Anya agreed with this statement, but yet she still suspects something.

The female terrorist who occupied the church sure looks childish, and is a total different person from the portrait in the wanted poster.
Also, her body is very petite. It is very hard to believe that she is Avdocha in a short time. However, though she looks young as if she can
be bullied, the aura that this female terrorist emitted is nothing but genuine......

On the other hand, about Ash Blake who has been an active negotiator at that time, the authorities had mentioned nothing about him. The
information appears to have been controlled.

Authorities must have been taking this action based on their hidden intention to prevent Ash Blake's name from being publicize.

Indeed, Ash Blake is suspicious in many aspects.

''-No matter what kind of secrets he is hiding...... I will not allow anyone to interfere with Milgauss-sama. I swear I will investigate this
thoroughly, and grab him by his weak point!''

Luckily, Milgauss is still in his country <ref>Zepharos his homeland?</ref> and had not yet return. The strategy to ambush in the school grounds is Anya’s own idea alone.

"...... Anya? Anything?"

"Nyaa!?"

After she found that the manager is staring at her face, Anya came out with a weird sound. <ref>Original word is something like wonderful
sound but it do means strange</ref>

"No, sorry. I'm fine......"

It is embarrassing to daze off, to make it worst, in the middle of an interview. Anya like she wanted to sweep away the awkward atmosphere
asks a question:

"That, again...... Tenchou, <ref>店長manager. Could mean the shop owner. I put it so because of the way she speaks.</ref> you just said that
the shop is lack of man power, can i know the reason why?"

"Anya, you look like an outsider who is new to here, no wonder you don’t know. Actually, the Selective Training Camp is about to start."

"Selective Training Camp ......?"

"That is a traditional event that will be held at the Allonnes lakeside every year for training. Only fifty student who achieved good results
are eligible to participate."

"Does this have anything to do with the shops lack of manpower ......?"

"We must send several staff members there to be in charge of their meals which are also part of the tradition. Having said that, we also cannot simply just closed this shop."

In another words, during the Selective Training Camp, La Tene faces trouble because you have to continue your business as usual, on the other hand someone has to be send to the campsite.

"Really, to make it worst, there are three people who resigned at the same time at this hectic period, it is unfortunate. And it happens that the reasons for their resignation are to get married...... Damn, are they kidding me!"

''Bang!'' - The manager suddenly hit the table top heavily with her fist.

"You all should have already known that this period is the busiest time of the store! Before leaving, you even told me something like
‘Tenchou, you should look for your Mr. Right soon'......? Ain’t that Princess Veronica is also single? My life is the same, we live for our
job! "

Even though she initially thought she was a gentle and pure person, it seems that she had accumulated a lot of pressure inside her heart. Anya is speechless.

"Oops, I'm sorry, I had shown my embarrassing side. Hehe......"

After expressing herself, the manager finally came back to her sense, and tried to use an unnatural laugh to calm down the atmosphere.

"Anya."

"W-What the matter?"

"Anya, you still don’t have a boyfriend, right? Ah, but there is always a person you admire, right? As a manager, I must ask you clearly
regarding this. After all..... Getting carried away by love and abandoned your work without any reasons...... I have seen many cases like
this."

The manager had a spoke a quite far-fetched reason, the , she suddenly leaned forward.

"Admire...... someone?"

At this moment, in Anya’s mind emerges a lonely image of the delightful Milgauss. – She had initially thought so, but, she didn’t expect the
one she is thinking about is Ash Blake heroically in his Ark.

''"What! Why would I think about that guy's face......!"''

Anya kept on desperately banging her head with her fist, to remove Ash’s image from her mind.

"...... Anya?"

Suddenly back to her sense, only then she found out that the manager is watching her with a surprised expression.

"S-Sorry! I'm fine! '

Her cheeks become so hot that Anya wanted to immediately escape from this place, but she can’t afford to do it..

The manager just said herself.

''-Only fifty students with good results can participate in the selective training camp.''

That being the case, that Ash Blake should be able to participate in it. No, it should be he will definitely participate. Anyhow, he is the hero who saved Ansarivan.

"That, Tenchou!"

Anya held her fist in both hands and suddenly stood up.

"Please be sure to send me to the training camp as a catering staff!"

The manager, who was originally stunned, then shows a smiling face.

"Ara, is it true? Because the work is very hard and many girls rejected it!"

"No problem, please trust me!"

Anya firmly declares to the manager. But the manager remains silence.

She just stared at Anya.

"That...... Tenchou? Anything wrong?"

"Y~an! How can you be so cute, Anya!"

The manager suddenly leaps toward Anya. So suddenly, that even Anya who is with extraordinary skills cannot manage to respond in time.

Although her breasts are big and soft, which bring peace to the mind for a short moment, but......

“Muuu…”

Anya whose whole face is buried deep in the, suddenly is suffocating.

"Yes! I have something I hope you will accept it."

The manager suddenly release Anya and move to the locker by the wall.

"...... What?"

Anya greedily breath and at the same time look at the back of the manager. The manager is humming while rummaging the locker.

After a long while, the manager came back smiling.

"This is your uniform, I think it should you."

Any looked puzzled when she was force to accept the uniform. After spreading it out, it was the commonly known maid attire. The pure white
apron are full of frills.

"Excuse me ...... this is?"

"It is the waitress uniforms. Ain’t it cute?"

"P-Please wait a moment!"

Anya looked panicked. Regardless of how she thinks, this attire is way off her style.

"I applied for a infield job such as washing, handling the cargo......"

"To let you work infield is not fair for you. Who ask you to be this cute! Anya must take the outfield job!"

“B-But…”

"To be prudent, do you want to try wearing it?"

"That...... if I may, I want a relatively simple uniform......"

Anya lowered down her head, shyly stated her demands.

"How can you be so closed minded? I give up."

The next moment, the manager’s eyes shined.

"If that being the case, I’ll help you to do it right!"

"Noooooo! Ah...... Ayannn! Where are you touching-"

===Part 2===
Year 1265 of the A.S.B Calendar<ref>The original meaning is something like "After Saint's Birth" calander, to match A.D./Anno Domini (latin for "In the year of the Lord."). The Saint mentioned being St Rosa Maria (as mentioned in v2c4) the founder of what seems to be the official religion of the Knight's Country. </ref>, the month of Gemini.

There are two more weeks before the annual traditional event of the Ansarivan’s Dragon Riding Academy-

La Tene~A.S.B 1365.6~" is closed.

==References and Translation Notes==
<references />

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