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 19

2-4. New Friend

Why is he up on the tree…?

That question lingered in my mind.

Although the voice was clearly younger than mine, the way of speaking felt a bit strange.

As I tilted my head in confusion, I heard a soft sound. It seemed someone had come down from above.

…From that height?

“Uh, sorry, sorry. You seem okay… maybe?”

“Who are you?”

“Me? Let’s see… What should I say in times like these? Well, never mind. Call me Amariaz.”

“Weird name.”

“Ehhh.”

…Because I can’t see anything, is Amariaz the child in front of me…? His voice gives off that impression.

I try to take off the blindfold again to see his face, but it still won’t come off.

“You’re Yuuzen, right?”

“Huh? How do you know?”

“Well, for various reasons. By the way, what are you doing?”

“Training…”

“Blindfolded training?”

“Yeah.”

I’m not entirely convinced by this training, but… it’s the kind Uchikage-Ojichan used to do. If I don’t do this, it seems I can’t move on to the next step. So, I have no choice but to do it.

Amariaz made a sound of admiration or disinterest—I couldn’t quite tell.

If only I could see his expression, I could understand his emotions, but since I can’t, it’s hopeless.

Ah!

How about asking Amariaz to guide me back?

…Wait a minute.

Why is a younger child than me here? Uchikage-Ojichan didn’t notice him, and that’s weird in itself. Wait, who is this kid?

“Um, why is Amariaz here?”

“I came to see you. Thought we could be friends!”

“With me? Why?”

“I know about you. Don’t you have any human friends?”

“Is Amariaz human?”

“Yeah. You seem to have little knowledge about humans, so I’ll teach you!” 

“…How old is Amariaz?”

“Five!”

“Five!?”

It doesn’t sound like a five-year-old’s way of speaking… Wait, wait! How did a five-year-old come all the way here? There’s supposed to be only me and my mom around here! I have no idea where he came from! His mom must be worried!

“Wait, do you know the way back?”

“I know. Not planning to go back, though.”

“Huh?”

Seems like he really has no intention of going back. The tone in Amariaz’ voice tells me that much. It’s abnormal for a child younger than me to be here, but his way of speaking and his atmosphere are different from an ordinary child.

Wait, what should I do now? Also, this forest is probably filled with dangerous beasts… Uchikage-Ojichan was around before, so they didn’t attack, but now it’s different. I’ll be fine, but Amariaz is supposed to be a normal human. The current situation is really bad.

“Wait a minute. If you’re not planning to go back, what are you going to do now?”

“If it were true, it would be best to live in the Oni Castle, but if I do that, I won’t have many chances to talk with Yuuzen, right? So, I’ll stay in this forest. I heard about the training just now. If you can’t go back, you’ll be taken to a place even farther, right? So here we go!”

Amariaz took my hand. Feeling the warmth from his small hand, I could tell he was indeed younger than me.

“Let’s play together for a while! I’ll teach you lots of things and help with your training! Even though I’m younger than you?”

“If you have better training methods, I might be freed from this training sooner. But I didn’t think Amariaz had that much power. What should I do?”

I thought, but having someone help with my training from a different perspective is welcome.

Even though he’s younger than me, if Amariaz can help with the training, I couldn’t refuse.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

“All right! But why are you doing this for me?”

“I have a little promise. Well, I’ll tell you someday! Training starts tomorrow! If the old Oni grandpa drops you off in the forest and goes back to the Oni Castle, I’ll head to your place! That’s the plan!”

“Got it…”

“Then, that’s it for today! I need to make a place to sleep! Bye!”

Saying that, Amariaz moved away from the spot.

I’m worried whether it’s really okay, but… if he’s that confident, there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Oh. I forgot to ask why Uchikage-Ojichan didn’t notice him… Or rather, I need to go back! Amariaz, I should have asked him about the direction to the Oni Castle!”

Grumbling, I start walking.

In the end, when the sun set, Uchikage-Ojichan came to pick me up.

…I was walking in the opposite direction of the Oni Castle.

Sigh…