About a dozen villagers were together with Maruka and her parent, but there were also some villagers that came from other directions.
Those people too came back to the village after some time.
About two hundred people altogether.
「Mumu. It’s more than we have in the Silverlight Barony」
Perhaps because a sense of rivalry awakened inside Sheryl, she groaned with her hands on her chin.
「I’m the head of this Wagaka village. I’ve heard you brought Maruka here. Would I be right to presume that the two with red hair before me are dragons……? Can you explain the situation?」
The village head stood straight despite his wrinkled appearance.
Iris and the rest were led into the village head’s house where they explain the reason for their appearance.
「I see. You’ve traveled all this way for the sake of our village…..I had no idea there were people so kind」
The village head seemed impressed.
「Well…….our Guardian Deities are a kind bunch. I just so happened we had dragons living nearby, so we asked them to carry the thing」
Sheryl shyly answered.
「Umu. This Mistress is a kind Guardian Deity!」
「Hey, Muriel. I was the one to suggest this」
「Sister Iris is always kind. She hugs me tightly in her sleep everyday」
Eclipse revealed their night activities.
「W-Wait a second, Iris-sama. Such an enviable thing, every day!? I want to hug Eclipse-chan too. Or better let me join! I want to hug you both!」
「Come to think, I haven’t slept with Sheryl in quite a while. I’ll come to play next time」
「Yay!」
Sheryl discarded all shame as she cheered aloud in another village.
「If Eclipse goes to sleep together with Sheryl…..perhaps I should sleep with Iris instead……It’s not like I want to be hugged…..I thinking of using Punigami as a pillow sometimes!」
「Punini」
「You’re always welcome」answered Punigami.
「Marion. You could’ve honestly said you wanted to sleep together with Iris. Iris-chan doesn’t mind sleeping with you, right?」
「Well, I’m not against it…..yup, I don’t really mind」
Iris answered Jessica as she escaped the eye contact.
It’s not strange for friends to visit for a sleepover.
Yet something so obvious felt excessively embarrassing.
Marion too turned red like her dragon form and her gaze wandered around.
「Right, right! If Iris says so then it’s absolutely normal! Expect me to come when I feel like it!」
「Un…..feel free….!」
Although it didn’t concern the water shortage, this was nevertheless an important discussion.
「By the way, there is something on my mind since a while ago. It’s pretty hot here, is it not? The snowballs are being cooled by Iris and Eclipse, but the moment we leave they will immediately melt. It’s all useless unless we melt them gradually」
Muriel unexpectedly said something reasonable.
Iris haven’t thought about it at all.
She thought it would be okay as long she brought them here, but, on the second thought, there was also a storage problem.
「Oh, in that case, how about leaving the snowballs in the cave? It’s cool there all year round, the snowballs should melt slowly. We will simply use the water accumulated in the cave」
The village head made a suggestion from his knowledge of the local geography.
「Then it’s okay to just roll them there? Marion. You have another task」
「Yes, yes. Good grief, that’s what happens when you associate with busybodies」
The party approached the snowballs once again where Marion and Jessica transformed into dragons.
「Ah! They are dragons again!」
Maruka came running their way.
Knowing the dragon’s identities, her fear was apparently replaced with curiosity.
She happily observed the two dragons.
「M-Maruka! Behave yourself!」
「Yes, you are being rude……please, forgive her. You’ve helped our daughter and even entertained her…..come here, Maruka. Let’s go home」
Maruka’s parents came running after her to bring her back to the village.
「Don’t wanna. I want to stay with these people for a while longer! This might be my only chance to see a dragon so close!」
Indeed, you can’t encounter a dragon under normal circumstances.
Maruka, being a curious child, didn’t want to miss any opportunities.
Of course, her parents not willing to let her be around strangers is also understandable.
Iris herself was already okay around Maruka, so she wasn’t particularly for or against it.
As it is a family problem, outsiders should stay silent.
「Wait a minute」
The village head said as Iris and the rest observed the family.
「I’ve had a conversation with these people and I can assure you they are people of virtue. You don’t have to be on guard. After all, they brought these snowballs from so far away. There is no problem with letting Maruka play with them. I guarantee」
「……I see. It the village head says so」
「They don’t look like villains, I guess…..」
「It’s alright! Even I can tell whether someone is bad or good!」
Having said so, Maruka separated from her parents, trotted towards Iris, and clung to her arm.
「Hiyaa」
Iris raised a weird scream at this sudden development.
「Alright, Maruka. Be sure to come back before dinner」
「Please, take care of Maruka」
Maruka’s parents lowered their heads.
Iris and the rest bowed in return.
「So? Where were you about to go?」
「Puni」
「We are going to carry the snowballs to the cave so they won’t melt too fast」
「That place. It’s big enough for these snowballs!」
「Guide us then」
The village head nodded when Muriel said so.
「Umu. Then I’ll leave it to you. I’m counting on you Maruka」
「Yes, Leave it to me」
In that way, Maruka ended up being their guide to the caves.
13th of November marks the beginning of official distribution of the book version 1
The exact time might differ by the regions, but it should circulate around the country in a week or so.
Take a good care of me.
