Chapter 3 : A Promise by the Cliff

There’s a reason why Rachel is showered with love by the villagers. She’s a “bright” child, as they say—one who tries to help her parents on her own and doesn’t throw tantrums.

But even Rachel has one flaw.

“Oops?”

She’s careless.

Rachel, who had been sitting near the cliff reading a fairy tale book and gazing at the sea, suddenly wanted to see the bottom of the cliff and stood up. Slowly, going against the wind, she lay down at the edge of the cliff and looked down.

At the end of Rachel’s gaze, the waves crashing against the cliff created a magnificent white spectacle.

“Wow…”

Rachel kept that sight in her eyes until the very end. She was clever, so she knew it was time to end her picnic, which had lasted a little over an hour.

As she was getting up to head back home, a sudden strong wind hit Rachel.

Her light, five-year-old body momentarily stumbled, and Rachel lost her balance.

“Uh, uh? Uwaa?”

Struggling to regain her balance, Rachel’s last step was not on solid ground but in the air.

“U, Uwaaa!”

In an instant, Rachel’s body collapsed and began to fall.

But it was only for a moment; she felt her rapidly falling body slowing down. Rachel, who had been panicking in momentary fear, sensed something was wrong and cautiously opened her eyes.

“Uh, uwa? Uwaa?”

Her body was floating in the air. It felt like she had become a magician from a fairy tale book.

Rachel, turning her head to grasp the situation, soon came face-to-face with a huge, unfamiliar creature looking at her.

“…Earthworm??”

What.

An earthworm?

I was momentarily stunned by the sudden personal attack. How could my body be seen as an earthworm? At least there are similar creatures like snakes, right? But to compare me to an annelid…

…No. Maybe it’s because the little girl hasn’t had a chance to see a snake yet.

Earthworms are relatively easy to spot on the ground, while snakes might be dealt with by adults before a child can even see one. …That must be it.

The little girl, who had been moving her head around until a moment ago, fixed her gaze on me and stared blankly. I was suddenly afraid.

What if she cries?

To this child, I was a truly unfamiliar creature. And I was very big, too.

But surprisingly, she didn’t cry. Instead, she had a look full of curiosity. Then, as if she found the fact that she was floating in the air fun, she looked at her hands and giggled.

Wait, come to think of it, how did I make her float in the air?

It’s certain that I used telekinesis. There was no special energy emanating from the little girl. And there was no other being around that could have caused this, so it was definitely me.

But the problem is: how did I do it?

…I’ll check this later. What should I do with this child?

Should I try talking to her? But wouldn’t she be surprised if I spoke?

I wanted to move as carefully as possible because I might accidentally hurt her if I tried to do something. Fortunately, the telekinesis didn’t stop, so I didn’t have to lift her physically. I moved my body slowly along the cliff with a gentler motion than ever before during my month of flying.

Then, the child floating near my head also began to rise slowly.

“Uwaa…”

The child, perhaps having accidentally looked down, clutched her clothes with both hands and closed her eyes.

Gently, I placed the child on the cliff, pulling my head back slightly to avoid scaring her. I looked down at her while supporting my body by holding the cliff with both hands.

“Uh…”

The child, seeing me, seemed flustered and brought her hand to her head. But she started to fumble around, as if something that should be there wasn’t.

“My hat!”

Hat?

I slightly lowered my head and saw a straw hat precariously hanging on a rock below the cliff. I went down and carefully lifted the hat with my claws, then returned to the cliff. I wanted to use telekinesis to grab it, but I still didn’t know how to use it.

Startled by the sound of my claws gripping the cliff again, the child looked this way.

I silently placed the straw hat in front of her.

“Hat!”

The child, who came running with a pitter-patter, quickly picked up the hat and placed it on her head. She seemed to think for a moment, then looked at me. Suddenly, she bowed her head.

“Thank you!!”

She then offered me a candy she was holding.

I froze at her unexpected behavior.

The child gently placed the candy on the ground and suddenly asked a strange question.

“Um… are you a big earthworm??”

What.

“You can’t be…? Earthworms aren’t this cool-looking. They just wriggle.”

Since I didn’t react, she seemed to interpret it her own way and stopped calling me an earthworm.

“Then what should I call you?”

The child looked at me as if asking for my name. She seemed to have vaguely realized that I was an intelligent being.

What should I say?

Should I even speak in the first place?

I could turn around and quickly disappear into the sea. But I didn’t want to do that.

This child was the first human I’d encountered in this world, the first to respond to my kindness. I didn’t want to ignore her.

[…I am a dragon.]

“Uh, uh? Where is the voice coming from? My head is ringing…!”

[The supreme being, the incarnation of the sea and rivers, the agent of storms and rain. The one who solely rules the sky.]

“D, dragon…?”

[Human child.]

“Yes…”

[This place is dangerous. Why did you come?]

“But… I wanted to see the sea… I’m sorry… I won’t do it again…”

The child lowered her head as if disheartened. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

I felt like I was momentarily possessed by the spirit of a dragon.

That self-introduction, brimming with confidence and arrogance, is definitely not something I could do in my right mind. But a moment ago, I blurted it out without realizing it.

Next time, I must introduce myself normally, no matter what.

So, what’s left now is to deal with that child.

[What is your name?]

“Ra, Rachel…”

As expected, Rachel had come all the way here alone to see the sea. It was a relief that there was no special circumstance.

To send her back as she was… the forest is strange.

I could feel red energy flowing from various places in the forest. It was similar to the energy emitted by the shark I had savored in the sea.

The fact that the red energy was not a unique characteristic of the shark but also manifested in terrestrial creatures was strange. And I was dominated by the thought that the shark’s mindless attack on me was related to that energy.

If she goes like this, the child might be attacked in the forest.

In the first place, it was a miracle that she had crossed this forest.

Then I have to send this child back, but I can’t take her directly.

At that moment, I felt something chaotic in the distance.

…! …!

Light and sound.

The villagers were searching the forest to find Rachel. If this continues, they will find her safely.

…Then what I have to do now is make a promise with Rachel.

[Rachel.]

“Y, yes.”

[You said you came all the way here to see the sea.]

“I won’t do it again…”

[Do not tell the humans of the village about me.]

“……?”

[If you promise that, I will show you the sea next time.]

“………!”

Rachel’s eyes widened. She stamped her feet, trying to suppress her joy.

“I promise, I promise!”

I was relieved to see Rachel holding out her pinky finger.

Children are pure and young, but they are more trustworthy than adults. Rachel will most likely not break this promise. Would a child who came to see the sea by deceiving the village adults be able to break a promise to see the sea? I don’t think so.

[Someday the time will come. If you wait until then, I will show you the sea.]

“Yes! Mr. Dragon!!”

Finally, I was called a dragon, not an earthworm. I was deeply moved.

With those words, I dived into the sea to avoid being seen by the people who were getting closer. At the same time, I felt the people who had come out of the forest running to Rachel.

I saw Rachel looking down at the cliff.

The plan I had first set up had gone awry… but it seemed to be going in a good direction.

“Hic, hic, sob, sob…”

“Will you do it again, or not?”

“I won’t do it again…”

Rachel was being scolded by Sophie. She was shedding tears like chicken droppings without even touching the stew she loved so much.

“Oh…”

Sophie felt her heart soften at the sight of her daughter crying. In the end, she fed Rachel the stew and then gave her time to reflect alone in her room.

“………”

After Sophie left, the crying that had continued for a while stopped instantly. Rachel wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and quickly sat down at the desk, beginning to draw something on a piece of paper.

“Sea…! Mr. Dragon…!”

That’s right.

Rachel is clever. No, she’s cunning. She knew how to use the villagers’ prejudices, and through this, she was able to escape the village and elude the surveillance of her parents.

The reason is simple.

‘I want to see Mr. Dragon!’

A long, blue creature was drawn on the paper.

Now the sea was secondary.

An amazing being who saved her and promised to show her the sea.

The dragon.

Rachel already missed the dragon. Therefore, she created time to be alone by deceiving her parents with fake tears and crying.

Below the picture of the blue dragon, the words [Operation: Meet Mr. Dragon] were written.