I Was a Small Fish When I Reincarnated, but It Seems That I Can Become a Dragon, so I Will Do My Best - Extra Chapter 109
4-29. Ouren the Ouryuu
A pair of large, imposing eyeballs fixate on me.
Just the sternness of that face was enough to make my body feel rigid.
Even though he wasn’t moving, the thought of him moving, of him looking at me with intent, flooded me with anxiety.
I briefly regretted whether it was truly okay to unseal him.
He squinted his eyes, widened them, and after a moment, shouted as if he had just remembered something.
<Yuuzen, is that youuuu!!?>
“What theee!!?”
“Whoaa!!?”
His loud shout caused the cave to tremble. The surface of the underground lake churned violently, breaking the silence of the space all at once. Amariaz and the other two instinctively covered their ears to endure the noise. However, Uchikage and Karna seemed to be smiling happily.
What, what, what, what!?
If you suddenly shout like that, it feels like the cave’s going to collapse!!
And your voice is so loud!!
Shut up!!
My internal screams fell on deaf ears as the dragon in front of me lifted a massive arm and slammed it onto the ground. Then, he brought his head closer, eyeball looming over me.
“Wooooaaaah!!”
<Are you Yuuzen!? Is that really Yuuzen!?>
“Y-yes, yes, yes, yes!! Clooose, close, close, too close!!”
I didn’t quite understand what “that” meant, but I reflexively responded anyway. There wasn’t enough time to calmly consider my words in this situation. Considering a giant eyeball suddenly looming so close, there was no way not to be startled.
The dragon scrutinized me for a while, then sighed as if he had come to a realization. Amariaz seemed to be almost blown away by the breath, but it wasn’t directed at me. He then shifted his gaze to Uchikage and Karna beside me.
<…So that means…?>
“Long time no see, Ouren-sama.”
Uchikage-Ojiichan, slightly bowed, but it seemed like the dragon didn’t recognize him. He frowned, looking puzzled.
<…Who?>
“That’s Uchikage-Ojiichan.”
<Uchikage!?!>
The voice wasn’t as loud as before, but it still shook the earth with surprise. He brought his enormous head closer to Uchikage.
<You’ve gotten quite old! But you seem lively! I seriously didn’t recognize you!>
“Uh, Ouren-sama. I apologize, but it would be helpful if you could take on a human form. I can’t understand what you are saying.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
Hmm, I understand all of his words, though…
I wonder why…
He muttered <I see> then retracted his head. The next moment, along with a slam, a large amount of white smoke spread throughout the cave, obscuring our vision. However, unlike the smoke from a bonfire, it was more like dense fog, so it didn’t make it hard to breathe.
We could hear shuffling footsteps. As the smoke dispersed aimlessly, a figure approached.
He had long white hair tied back, wearing a predominantly white kimono. The beautiful outer garment was embroidered with patterns resembling waves, and he wore black trousers with armor on his shins. His eyes were snake-like, yellow. It gave him a slightly sinister look, but judging from his tone in the previous conversation, he seemed unexpectedly easygoing despite his appearance.
Perhaps because it had been a long time since he took on a human form, he approached while rotating his shoulders and neck. Having slept for four hundred years, his body was stiff, and every time he moved his joints, they made cracking sounds. His neck, in particular, seemed to be in bad shape; when he turned it around, we could hear cracking sounds all the way from here.
“Man, that hurts.”
“You haven’t changed at all, Ouren-sama.”
“Well… I’m like an immortal being, after all. Because I’m a dragon. But anyway!”
He slapped his knee and made a smile. Then he approached Uchikage and, with a serious look replacing his smile, stared at him.
“Why did you unseal me?”
Rather than expressing joy at the reunion, he prioritized this question. With his gaze fixed, he crossed his arms. Clearly displeased, he furrowed his brows, not hiding his frustration as he spoke.
“Why would you unseal us? There should be records of us in history. If Yuuzan is here, it means about four hundred years have passed since then… Even now, in this era, we are probably still known as malevolent beings, right?”
Uchikage had apparently already anticipated that he would say such words and quietly nodded. Unperturbed by the words laden with frustration, he didn’t try to placate him but instead affirmed them.
“As Ouren-sama says. Even now, you four individuals are feared as beings who once sought to destroy the world.”
“Then why unseal us? Even though… it might cause another war because of us.”
Ouren was in a slightly bad mood now.
Even though he had just awakened, he quickly understood how much time had passed by looking at me. He remembered what had happened in the past and expected that the same perception persisted in this era.
His prediction was spot on, and he glared at Uchikage-Ojiichan even more intensely.
Because he felt that there was no point in resuming activities here now that he had awakened.
Just by awakening, the countries that learned about it would likely perceive this situation as a serious matter. It might not have been widely known yet, but it was only a matter of time.
If an evil god awakened, it would undoubtedly cause a commotion.
Having prepared for that, he understood that there must have been some reason for unsealing him. However, he still didn’t know if that reason was acceptable.
That’s why he confronted Uchikage-Ojiichan with this question before expressing joy at the reunion.
Uchikage-Ojiichan explained in one word the reason for unsealing Ouren.
“Angels have appeared.”
“…Say-what?”
“The angels who allied with ‘something’ we fought desperately against have begun to move.”
“…Meaning, devils and oni were unable to handle them?”
“Hmm.”
He wasn’t lying.
Angels were likely already allied with a small number of believers or even a majority. With their abilities, they were already a threat, and it was somewhat uncertain whether demons with similar abilities could deal with them. Since there had been a generational change among the oni, and only Uchikage-Ojiichan possessed the abilities, there were very few who could fight against the angels.
However, he predicted that if someone discovered the essence of the oni, there would be exceptions.
In fact, Tatareba, Uchikage-Ojiichan’s disciple, had fought against the angel Kyuuri, though she hadn’t discovered the essence of the oni, she managed to survive, albeit barely. She believed that if someone who had undergone rigorous training as an oni discovered their essence, they would possess almost equal power to them.
However, their numbers were scarce.
It was unlikely to have a favorable outcome if they challenged unknown enemies with only devils and oni.
So, to counter them… they unsealed the entity known as Ouren.
Ouren had a complicated expression, but then he seemed to realize something and turned around. Our eyes met, then he glanced at Amariaz.
Seemingly understanding the situation, Ouren turned back to Uchikage and sighed.
“These two.”
“Thank you for your understanding”
“Sigh… Angels are moving… We have to clean up after them, so there’s no choice but to act…”
He scratched his head and muttered in a tone that sounded like resignation. His irritable expression gradually softened, and he smiled.
Seeing this, Uchikage also breathed a sigh of relief, seeming relieved for some reason. Perhaps he had been unusually tense.
There was a brief silence, but it was a perfect calm to organize thoughts and prepare mentally.
With a determined nod, Ouren put his hand on his waist and raised one hand.
“Well then, let me introduce myself again… Long time no see, Uchikage. And Karna too.”
“Yes.”
“Nice to see you again.”
“And… “
This time, he turned his body toward me and Amariaz.
Then, he raised his hand in the same manner.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ouren. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I’m Yuuzen.”
“I’m… Amariaz…”
“Amariaz, huh? Surprisingly complicated name.”
“S-shut it…”
Amariaz seemed a bit strange… Wonder what’s wrong?
Oh well!
Anyway, does this mean that Ouren will be coming with us?
Great!!
The next moment, I was suddenly lifted up by Ouren.
“You’ve grown, Yuuzen!”
“Aaaahhhh!!”