“Hey, old man. What is this world, anyway?”
‘I don’t know.’
The dragon said bluntly. But he sounded a little happy.
As if he was a cat who was being scratched in just the right way.
‘It was in order to learn such things, that I cast aside my mortal form, which had lived for so long, and ascended to my god seat. That way, I could stand in place and witness everything that happens.’
The young dragon sat down and looked up at the sky, dumbfounded.
The stars sparkled from between the gaps in the trees.
‘And so the gods call me names, such as ‘Wanderer of Realms’ and ‘The One Who Glimpses Eternity.’’
“You’ve lived that long, and you still don’t know?”
‘Aye… That is just how the world works. And so I will not stop to wander, to watch and to think.’
The dragon spoke with a love and yearning towards all things.
When listening to his words, Fi felt as if everything was wrapping around him. Enveloping him gently.
“If I had seen the world like you did, old man. Then maybe I wouldn’t have…acted so stupidly.”
‘You are you. You are not me. Koji Itsumi, the boy who innocently and carelessly believed in the world around him. Or Fiacur, who suffers from his own foolishness. Which will you choose? It is up to you.’
“What…do you think that I should do?”
‘What do you want to do?’
Just like before, he answered a question with a question. However, Fi also knew that it was really an answer that was in the form of a question.
His actions were just a matter of his point of view. Good and wrong acts were just a matter of the results at the time. There was no point in asking the dragon god to tell him of the right path.
Especially since this dragon had lived for tens of thousands of years, and still did not understand this world.
And so the dragon kept on asking him.
What did Fi want to do?
“I…still don’t know. But…right now. There is something I want to do.”
‘What is it?’
A faint fire of resolution appeared in Fi’s heart as he said it.
“I want to…to help Sheto.”
The scene appeared in his mind.
Sheto would hate being saved by ‘him.’
Still, that was what he wanted to do. And that was everything.
“Right now, it is what I want to do. I think.”
‘That is fine.’
The dragon seemed to be nodding with satisfaction on the other end… Somehow, Fi was sure of it.
‘You will be very busy, starting tomorrow. Sheto is in a place, where he is very close to death. If you wish to help him, you will have very little time for sleep.’
“…Seriously?”
‘In any case, you should rest for now. When you wake up, we can get to work. Later then.’
The call ended.
They had talked for over an hour.
“We… Huh…”
Fi looked up at the sky full of stars. And he laughed quietly.
He thought of how the dragon god was surely being scolded by his subordinate dragons for talking on the phone for so long.