“Alright. I had some straw mattresses brought in over there…”
So saying, Keita pointed to a corner in the room. It was quite common here to have mattresses filled with straw instead of wool.
Sheto nodded with a sleepy expression, and then he took off his bow and weapons and laid them by his pillow. A moment later, he was sleeping soundly in his traveling clothes.
‘…Well, perhaps we should leave as well. Tell me if anything happens. For just today, you have unlimited calls.’
“You should just make all calls free.”
The gods chuckled and then their presences faded away. The room grew quiet. Fi helped Keita clear the table and then let out a sigh.
“That was a…exhausting day.”
“Now that I think about it, where will you sleep, Fi?”
“Huh? …Ah. Indeed.”
Sheto had been even more tired, and had taken up most of the sleeping area. Fi could just curl up next to him. But Sheto tended to move a lot in his sleep.
“You could sleep over here. I could lend you my bed.”
“No, I can’t do that. Just lend me some random cloth and I will sleep on that.”
Keita nodded and led Fi to the next room and handed him some furs.
“Woah, this is huge. Is it a boar?”
“A hunter gave it to me when I first started to live in this house.”
Keita turned off the magic light and sat down on his bed. At the same time, Fi wrapped himself up with the furs.
“By the way, you sure know a lot about my world, Fi.”
“Huh? Uh, yeah. With a guardian like that, you can’t help but learn things.”
While feeling pain, the small dragon opened his mouth.
“I…think you’re amazing.”
“…Really…?”
“After all…the other Heroes… They’re just killing or being killed. And yet, you’re here and doing work that is useful.”
Now that he thought about it, what had happened to the village he had ‘saved’? And what did the people think after he died?
What were his old friends doing now?
As Fi wondered about such things, Keita answered with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“It’s not like I’m doing without any selfishness, alright?”
“Selfishness?”
“I can use magic and fight a little, but… To be honest… I’m scared…”
Keita muttered. He then lay down on his side and pulled the blanket over his body.
“I did want to go to another world and do different things. But I didn’t want to defeat the Demon King and save the world. Besides…those domestic protagonists usually…come off as smart.”
“So you wanted to look smart and not just ‘over-powered’?”
He said a little jokingly. Keita then buried his head under the blanket.
“I have an early morning, so I’m gonna sleep. You can take it easy. Good night.”
“Yeah. Good night.”
Keita was quick to drift off to sleep. Or perhaps he was just pretending. But there was no need to find out.
Quiet as possible, he began to make his way out of the room. The kobold and the wolf suddenly raised their heads.
“I just need to relieve myself. I’ll shout if something happens. Sleep.”
“Mmm…sorry.”
He went outside and was greeted by a cool night breeze and a sky full of stars. His horns could sense through the wind, not just the footsteps of small animals, but the breathing of the night patrol.
Fi went around to the back of the house and saw that there was a single apple tree standing there.
He sat down by the roots and made the call.
‘What is it? Miss me already?’
“As if… Well, maybe a little.”
‘Is this about Keita?’
Fi sighed.
“I never knew that there was another way to do things.”
‘It cannot be helped. You were called by Zephalis, and he would never have thought of it. And even if you suggested it, he would not have agreed.’
“That’s…true.”
‘Besides… That way is not always the best way. Indeed, if you have knowledge and skills not in this world, you can use them to save those who are suffering. However, you could say that you are also robbing others of this world from developing those skills on their own.’
“Robbing them…?”
‘Such skills can create a momentary leap. By surpassing previous techniques, there may be surprising advancements. However, shouldn’t such things be left to the geniuses of this world?’
Fi thought for a moment and shook his head.
“If you can help people who are suffering, shouldn’t anyone be able to do it?”
‘Well, what if the person with the knowledge and techniques suddenly disappears from that world?’
“That is…I guess the people who remain can deal with it?”
‘Perhaps. Perhaps not.’
“What is that…”
But the dragon god did not want to explain. He just chuckled.
I suppose he wanted Fi to think about it for himself.
“So, you think that Keita is doing it wrong?”
‘What do you think?’
“Don’t answer a question with a question. I’m asking for your opinion.”
‘I do not have the right to judge a person’s actions like that.’
The dragon’s voice was colder than the night air.
‘I only ‘watch.’ I do not create or grow. And so I do not judge those who accomplish or try to accomplish something.’
“But you’re a god?”
‘It’s because I am a god.’
Fi pretended like he didn’t hear the irony in his voice.
Instead, he rubbed his body, which was starting to get cold.
“It’s pretty cold out here. Even for a dragon.”
‘Warm up and sleep well. Or you will catch a cold. You will feel better tomorrow.’
“Thanks. Good luck with your work, old man.”
‘Why do you want me to work so much… I don’t think it would be so wrong to rest a li-’
Fi hung up and returned to the house.
I like the interactions between these two