Chapter 4
Bookmark this page
The carriage sped along the highway, cutting through the wind with a whoosh, whoosh.
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but gasp as I looked out the window at the mountains.
From the temple, I could never see this much greenery.
The prayer room was a small chamber surrounded by stone walls on all sides, and even though my bedroom next to it had a window, when I opened it, all I could see was another wall.
Once in a great while, during a ceremony, they’d let me climb the tower and look out over the city — that used to be a treat.
But even that view never changed, so eventually it got boring.
—Freedom is wonderful—
Just as I was thinking that, the carriage suddenly screeched to a halt.
The sudden stop threw me right off my seat.
“What happened?”
Rubbing my head, I opened the door — and saw the soldier trying to calm the panicked horse, his face pale.
“We have to turn back, Saint-sama—”
His lips were trembling.
Beyond his line of sight lay a massive overturned carriage, black smoke billowing from it.
Something was spewing bright red flames toward the wreckage.
It looked like a huge lizard covered in crimson scales.
I’d seen small lizards in the temple rooms before, but this one…
“Why is there a Fire Dragon here…?”
The soldiers murmured anxiously among themselves.
—That’s a dragon!
A dragon!
Overcome with excitement, I jumped out of the carriage.
Because—it was a real dragon!
In the church’s teachings, dragons are said to be messengers of the gods.
But they also taught us that there are evil dragons — black ones — that attack people.
—No one ever told me about red dragons, though…
Is that one evil too?
“It’s dangerous!”
As I started toward the burning carriage, one of the soldiers dismounted to stop me, but I slipped free of his grasp and ran straight toward the dragon.
I didn’t really understand why, but my instincts told me that dragon wasn’t bad.
However, the dragon noticed me running toward it — and opened its jaws wide again, preparing to unleash another burst of fire.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
A man’s angry shout rang out, and suddenly my body was yanked sideways.
“Wah!”
Letting out a silly squeak, I tumbled across the road, my robe scraping against the ground.
I felt something tugging at the back of my collar — like teeth gripping the fabric — and when I turned around, a large silver-furred dog’s face filled my vision.
“A dog? …A dog!”
Still dangling by my collar, I couldn’t resist reaching out and burying my hands in its soft, fluffy fur.
I’d seen dogs before.
There was a nobleman who came to worship once a month, and he always brought a big, fluffy white dog with him.
Every time I caught a glimpse of it, I always wished I could pet it…
“That’s not a dog! It’s a wolf!”
The big… well, wolf growled after letting go of my collar.
And from its fanged mouth — came words.
“It talked…”
I stared at the wolf in utter astonishment.
