kscans

Chapter 783 - Two Cats, in the Sky

—Now then. Let me take a moment to talk about my Starlight Beast, Sapphire.

With wings that span just over twenty meters when fully extended, he boasts a scale that puts him head and shoulders above all other confirmed tamed beasts.

His head, equipped with a long, magnificent beak, has the distinctive shape of a Pteranodon. His overall form might be more aptly described as a wyvern rather than a dragon.

Well, whether pterosaur or wyvern, he's still a 'dragon,' and in any case, he's cool, huge, and super cool. But the charms of my pride and joy don't end there.

Thinking back to when we first met, he took to me almost instantly—or rather, in a flash—even though I had utterly demolished him in a battle that lasted about a minute. As you can guess from that, this Sapphire, or Saffy-chan (kun?), is incredibly friendly.

He gets summoned only to find a stranger on his back, but he doesn't mind one bit. Whether it's someone he's just met or not... even if it's a certain [Traveler] who starts fooling around on his back, he's got the magnanimity to accept it.

He's loyal not just to his master, but to his master's connections as well. With that kind of personality, it's impossible not to dote on him like a cat... or rather, like a dragon. But still.

Even for the friendly Sapphire, there's something of an affection ranking.

And the order goes like this—first place, me.

Well, that's a given. And it's not like I've cheated my way to the top out of some master's bias; we've run experiments where we summon him at the same time as the other top three, and the confirmed data shows he flies straight to me. I don't care if you say, 'Of course he'd prioritize his master when his master calls.' No matter what anyone says, Sapphire is mine and I'll never give him up. If you've got a problem with that, come at me.

Putting that aside, in third place, Sora-san.

Well, this is also a given. As my partner, she spends the most time with me, so naturally, she spends more time with Sapphire than anyone else. She even recently acquired the [Rider] skill, and their bond is steadily deepening through their interactions. Plus, she's incredibly sweet and gentle with him, so of course he'd grow attached.

And then, after that, fourth place and below are all pretty much tied, with the top three standing out. But if Sora, who spends the second-longest time with him, is in third place...

Then who, you ask, is in second?

Well, that's... pretty obvious, isn't it?

"—Whoa...!? H-hey, wha... what's up with you! You're full of energy!"

And so, back to the matter at hand, high up in the sky.

For the first training session, continuing from the first day, I handed the reins to my senior and entrusted Sapphire to her. The cry of distress that rang out a second later was so predictable that I couldn't suppress a grin.

It was something I already knew would happen.

His mood was noticeably better than yesterday's, soaring through the clouds on a very mischievous trajectory. The dragon paid no mind to the screams of the kitten on his back. However, despite her screams, she didn't let go of the reins—or rather, the 'threads'—and her guts to dig in and hang on were impressive. Nacchan-senpai will be fine on her own.

Which means, the only problem is this one.

"—Why the long face, Nia-chan? You should be used to this by now, right?"

"........................I don't know what you mean by 'by now' or 'should be.' I have no idea. Also, if you let go of me, I will scream and cry like it's the end of the world."

I had a firm grip on her slender waist, and she was safely within the protection of my `Luna Nobody, Guardian of the Shimmering Moon`. The high-altitude winds, the G-forces from the excessive speed and wild turns—I was absorbing all of it, so it should have been perfectly comfortable for her. But judging from her face, she unfortunately wasn't feeling so great.

Well, it can't be helped.

"If you keep making that face, Saffy's going to get all depressed and feel bad again, you know."

"Ehh... Eeeeeh... C'mooon... give me a break... I like Sapphire-chan, but I'm the frail type of player who doesn't fly through the sky..."

That said, she only whines like this at the very beginning of each day. After flying for a while, her complexion usually starts to improve... In other words, Sapphire, who was hyped up from having his favorite on his back, was delivering his usual, cheerful, fatal-blow of a greeting.

It's a pure expression of affection. Just quietly... no, I mean, solemnly accept it.

"—Hey, why are you so ridiculously calm?! I'm freaking out here! I'm genuinely in trouble! What am I supposed to do?!"

"There's nothing to 'do.' Just keep doing what you're doing," is all I can say.

"Your calm and composed voice is so irritating!!!"

Well, this kitten over here also seems to be in top form, so I'll just leave her be.

"...Hey, you. You still don't have the [Rider] skill, right? How in the world are you stuck to him, even upside down, without even looking like you're holding on?"

"Guts."

Even with her face turning blue, or rather, pale, Nia-chan has certainly grown, seeing as she no longer screams. If she keeps adapting like this and one day mistakenly acquires the skill, Sapphire will be thrilled. Go for it—

I sent a half-hearted cheer from the bottom of my heart.

"Alright, Nia, your training starts now, too. Neither I nor Ashe have any intention of demanding perfection from the get-go. Just do your best with what you can, okay?"

"Mmmph........................ Nn. Your hand."

"I won't let go. Have I ever let go? Just relax and do your best."

If I intended to give an impossible order to a frail non-combatant, I would have assembled the three-person cell yesterday. I wouldn't waste precious time like this.

So, what I said is true. Therefore...

"Your goal is... let's see, how about continuing for five minutes straight?"

"Yeah, no, that's impossible. This isn't the kind of thing you can use for long periods of time, you know."

"My apologies. Well, again, just do what you can."

".................."

I said it in a light tone, and she shot me a sidelong glance. I wonder what's going through Nia-chan's mind...? I have a pretty good idea, but if I say it out loud, she'll probably get mad.

—I want to push myself, even just a little, to be of help. I could tell that's what she was thinking. I gave her a casual smile, as if to say 'just thinking that is more than enough.' I wonder if my feelings got through to her?

The indigo-haired girl let a wistful sigh dissolve into the sky.

"Okay, here I go...—`Truthnight Aquamarine, Night Queen Seeing Through the Moon`."

And amidst the blue of the sky, she made twin stars of brilliant indigo shine.

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Meanwhile, the constant BGM (Nacchan) never stopped.