The moment Leopold spread his wings and soared through, the darkness faded behind him. His vision was filled with a vast, blinding white light, causing him to narrow his eyes instinctively.
After more than a decade of living underground, his pupils had yet to adjust to such bright light.
“Sunlight! It's sunlight!” Isabella cried out in pleasant surprise beside him as the exit ahead suddenly opened up.
A genuine breeze carrying the scent of grass and trees rushed in. As Leopold passed through the final rocky wall of the fissure, the boundless, azure sky unfolded above their heads.
The three dragons flew freely in the direction Oliver pointed. There was no stone dome, no fake light simulated by fluorite—only the real sun hanging directly overhead, illuminating all creation!
“Hahaha—haha—” Blake's laughter drifted from ahead, filled with unvarnished ecstasy. “Freedom! I'm finally free!”
Oliver clung to Blake's back, his hands gripping the scales behind Blake's neck in a death grip. “M-Mr. Blake, you... you're going too fast...”
“Fly higher!” Blake folded his wings and suddenly flipped in midair. “Look below! We are the true masters of the sky!”
“Leo!” Isabella's voice came from ahead.
Leopold turned his head. Isabella was looping back from ahead, her white dragon wings shimmering with a faint golden halo in the sunlight as she glided next to him.
“...This is the real sky,” Isabella said softly.
Leopold nodded and slowly said, “I have never seen a sky like this before.”
It was the truth. There were fragments of the sky in the original owner's memories, but those belonged to the other Leopold. As for him—the soul that had tumbled from the modern world into the body of a dragon—this was his first time seeing this world's sun with his own eyes.
Blake made a sharp turn ahead and let out a joyful shout, “Let's go! There's a lake ahead!”
Leopold looked in that direction. Sure enough, a shimmering body of water nestled within the folds of the distant mountains, perfect for washing off the grime from their bodies.
“Oh my god! Lord Blake, what—what are you doing?!” Oliver shrieked in terror, but Blake had absolutely no intention of stopping. He dived straight toward the lake.
Splash!
The two plunged headfirst into the water. Blake folded his wings, looking with satisfaction at the massive splash he had made on the lake's surface. “Hahaha! You'd better get used to life on a dragon's back!”
Oliver surfaced, coughing up water. “...M-Mr. Blake!” His voice was a mix of grievance and helplessness. “Couldn't you have warned me first?!”
Leopold was in no rush to land. He hovered a few yards above the lake, picking out a suitable spot before landing by the shore.
Like Blake, Isabella dove down from the sky and plunged into the lake. In her white dragon form, she submerged her head, then snapped it back up, shaking off a shower of water droplets.
Seeing this, Leopold cast aside his lingering reserve and waded into the water. He stretched his dragon body, the cool lake water bringing a wave of pure comfort.
“Leo!” Isabella swam over with her head submerged, surfacing just two paces away from him. She shook her head, sending water droplets flying playfully onto Leopold's face.
“...Did you do that on purpose?” Leopold blinked.
Isabella didn't deny it, the corners of her mouth curving slightly. “Who told you to just stand there like a statue?”
Just as she spoke, Blake popped his head out of the water further away, a silvery-white fish clamped in his mouth. Its tail was still thrashing wildly, splashing water all over his face.
“Hahaha!” Leopold and Isabella burst into laughter at the same time.
By the time the four of them sat down on the shallow beach by the lake, the sun had already warmed the rocks.
“Honestly, Mr. Blake...” Oliver sat on a sun-warmed rock by the lake, completely soaked.
Blake rolled over onto his back, belly facing the sky, and let out a long sigh with his eyes closed. “...Now this is the life.”
“You almost drowned Oliver just now,” Isabella shot him a displeased look.
“Isn't he perfectly fine?” Blake didn't even open his eyes.
Oliver sat nearby, wringing the water out of the hem of his shirt. “...I really am fine. I just swallowed a couple of gulps of water, nothing serious.”
“See? Even he says he's fine.”
“Oliver, did you say we'll reach Cabin Village once we cross that mountain ahead?” Leopold suddenly spoke up.
“Yes.” Oliver nodded, pointing toward the east. “Once we cross that ridge and go through a stretch of forest, we'll be there.”
“How do you plan to introduce us to the villagers when you get back?” Leopold turned to look at him. “As three evil dragons?”
“Three evil dragons?” Oliver blinked in surprise, then quickly waved his hands. “N-No, of course not! I wouldn't say that... I'll just say you are... friends from afar, staying in the village for a while.”
“Though... it would be best if you entered the village in your human forms.”
“Human form is certainly more appropriate. It won't frighten the villagers.”
Oliver let out a sigh of relief and stood up from the rock, wringing the last puddle of water from his hem. “Then... shall we set off now?”
“Let's go,” Leopold said as he shifted back into human form.
Isabella stood up as well. In her white dragon form, she shook her wings, sending water droplets flying. She then shifted back into her human form and shook out her damp white hair.
Blake also returned to his human form, looking up at the distant ridgeline. “We just have to cross that? Doesn't look too far.”
“It looks close, but it'll take over half a day to walk there.” Oliver had finished wringing out his clothes and slung his damp coat over his shoulder. “The forest is quite difficult to navigate, and there are many magical beasts...”
“Then let's go,” Leopold took his first steps. “While it's still light out.”
The ridge was steeper than it looked, but fortunately, the slope was even, with no sheer cliffs that required scrambling on hands and knees.
Leopold walked at the front, with Isabella half a step behind him. Blake brought up the rear, leaving Oliver sandwiched in the middle.
After walking for about an hour, signs of human life became more frequent.
“The village is just ahead.” Oliver parted a clump of waist-high wild grass and pointed. “Another half hour of walking, and there will be a small river where the forest ends. If we follow the river, we'll see the fields of Cabin Village.”
“Sounds good.” Blake stretched behind them. “Finally, a proper place to sleep.”
“Wait,” Leopold suddenly stopped in his tracks, his golden eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
“There's a magical beast nearby.” Isabella noticed it too. She turned sideways, her ice-blue eyes narrowing slightly. “To the east, about two hundred paces. The thing is hiding behind a tree trunk!”
“Alright, alright, finally some action!” Blake rolled his wrists, tiny ice crystals already beginning to form in his palms.
The three of them instinctively assumed combat stances, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze with them.
Rate on N.U.
