Silkyne had been busy investigating the movements of the monsters in the forest.
The direction they had arrived from was important, but where they fled mattered just as much. Depending on their path, she would have to issue alerts to any nearby villages or towns—no matter how distant—to remain on high guard.
Fortunately, she eventually judged that there was no need for such drastic measures this time. Even the largest pack would likely dwindle to a non-threatening size before ever reaching civilization. Still, as a standard precaution, she intended to send out warnings anyway. With that in place, even if the absolute worst-case scenario occurred, no settlement would be caught completely by surprise. The young beast had also promised to handle things on his end, so it seemed there wouldn’t be any problems.
A great deal had happened, but the transport of the male Meleo was finally complete. I handed over the souvenirs and decided it was time to head back.
I said my farewells to the male Meleo.
"I'll come to see you again. I’ll bring your owner next time, too. Do your best here. But remember, have the courage to say no when something is impossible. Rely on the caretakers. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Also, the Shelf of the Mind—as long as you haven't forgotten that, you'll be fine. Don’t forget it. Well then, stay healthy. Female Meleos, I’m counting on you to look after him as well. Hmm? Ah, I won't scold you even if you ruin the fruits in the fields. Everyone fails at first. I had plenty of failures myself. If they go bad, I’ll just come back and make them again. Don’t worry. Just take your time with it."
The method for our return was the same as how we had arrived. I would ride on Hakuren's back, while Daga and Galf would travel via Beezel’s teleportation magic. Since Bee-baa was also returning to Village Five, I invited her to ride with us, but she declined.
"I’ll pass," she said. "I don’t want to make the dragon’s mood any worse than it already is."
Hakuren was actually smiling, and her mood didn’t seem particularly bad to me. I had simply wanted her to meet her great-great-grandchild, Fracia.
"If I’m in Village Five, I’ll run into her eventually," Bee-baa said as she picked up her luggage. "And don’t go out of your way to bring her to me, either."
"Oops, that’s right."
As if remembering something, Bee-baa manipulated her magic power and transformed her physical body. Before our eyes, she became a tall, silver-haired beauty with tan skin. To any observer, she was a stunning woman in her twenties.
"Grandmother? That form is...?" Beezel stammered.
"Got a complaint? I am a woman, after all. I always want to be seen as young. It’s only natural."
"Uh, well..."
"When I’m concentrating on my drawings, the extra effort of magic power manipulation just gets in the way. That said, I have no interest in flaunting an aged appearance, which is why I stayed cooped up in that house to work."
I actually recognized Bee-baa’s younger form. She had been one of the spectators getting rowdy during the White Swan Races. She had won big and held a banquet for everyone around her in the stands.
"Um, Grandmother. By any chance, is Mother also...?"
"Well, if she stayed in her usual form, people would realize she’s the wife of the former Count Chrome. But she doesn't look like I do. She claimed it’s hard for customers to approach a shopkeeper who is young and beautiful, so she took on a plump appearance."
Plump? I suppose that made sense. If she ran a tailor shop, her primary customers would be women. If the tailor was too young, she might be underestimated, and if she was too beautiful, it might be intimidating to consult her about clothing.
"In that case, how should I go about meeting her?" Beezel asked.
"Identify her by her magic power. You're family. You should be able to do at least that much."
"Ugh, I-I’ll try my best."
I thought it would be much easier if she just told him the name of the shop, but she seemed to be ignoring the suggestion.
"I'm not ignoring you," Bee-baa muttered. "It’s just, I usually just think of it as 'my daughter-in-law's shop,' so the actual name doesn't come to mind."
"Then, where in the Underground Shopping Street is it located?"
"If I recall, you enter from the bottom side, and it should be on the upper part of the left-hand side... somewhere around the middle."
"Is there anything that might serve as a landmark?"
"Was the sign of the shop next door yellow? No, I think it was blue..."
"...I'll probably figure it out once I go there, right? Please guide me there next time."
"Y-Yeah. That sounds like the least troublesome way. Oh, instead of 'next time,' shall we just head to Village Five together now? I’ll show you my house while I’m at it."
"Thank you. I’d appreciate that."
The matter between Beezel and Bee-baa was settled. Daga and Galf planned to move from Village Five to the Village of the Great Tree using the teleportation gate. That shouldn't be an issue.
If there was a problem, it was the fact that Silkyne was currently writhing in agony behind Beezel. I asked a caretaker who seemed to know the situation what had happened. It turned out that Silkyne had once had a dress made in the Underground Shopping Street of Village Five. The artisan at that shop had been a plump woman who was very easy to talk to.
In other words, she had likely ordered a dress without realizing she was talking to her own mother-in-law.
That by itself didn't seem worth writhing over, but apparently, Silkyne had gushed long and hard to that tailor about how much she loved Beezel and how she wanted him to praise her in the new dress.
I see. All she could do now was pray that the tailor wasn't actually her mother-in-law. But in these sorts of stories, it almost always turns out to be the person you fear most. I cheered for her in my heart to live strong.
I climbed into the pack frame on Hakuren’s back. I also loaded up the books the caretakers had entrusted to me, which they wanted signed by Versa. I made sure nothing was left behind.
"Hakuren, I’m counting on you."
"Leave it to me."
Hakuren floated up gently. I waved to Silkyne and the caretakers who were seeing us off.
"Alright, here we go!"
Hakuren performed a vertical rapid ascent. We arrived back at the Village of the Great Tree in no time at all.
It really was fast. While she couldn't use it to travel just anywhere, it was incredibly convenient. However, it wasn't a method of movement that every dragon could use. Aside from Hakuren, only Dos, Raimeiren, Giral, and Graffaloon were capable of it. Rusty couldn't do it alone, and Draim and Guronde were apparently quite bad at it.
"If you mess up the adjustment, you could be thrown right off the star," someone had once told me.
"That is terrifying."
So, there was a risk of escaping not just the star’s rotation, but its revolution as well? I decided it was better not to rely on it too much. I'd have to make sure Hakuren didn't use it too often, either.
"There are stories of dragons who ended up drifting outside the star for about fifty years, you know?" Hakuren added cheerfully.
Fifty years? Yeah, that was definitely out of the question.
"Okay!" she chirped.