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 50
2-37. Together with Friends
Mirea firmly declined Uchikage-Ojichan’s proposal.
Uchikage-Ojichan and Sreiz-san, possibly anticipating this outcome, showed no signs of disturbance. However, Amariaz, who had believed that the likelihood of refusal was extremely low, stared at Mirea in genuine surprise. I, too, was taken aback by Mirea’s response.
Uchikage-Ojichan crossed his arms, and Sreiz-san furrowed his brows in contemplation.
In a country with very few individuals capable of fighting skilled individuals, having Amariaz live under the protection of the stronger oni seemed to be the safest option. If they were to dismiss this proposal due to Mirea’s stubbornness, Amariaz would undoubtedly become the prime target.
Whether Sreiz-san could protect him in such a scenario was uncertain.
Certainly, gathering capable adventurers and knights from the country could potentially defend against threats. However, filling the void left by their absence would require dozens of people. Protecting a single child without explaining the reasons would likely lead to dissatisfaction. Moreover, since the enemy’s arrival was unpredictable, there was a possibility of days without work.
Furthermore, if they were to go to such lengths to protect a child, rumors might circulate, and questions about what was so special about the child might arise. The Gharott Kingdom might not be suitable for hiding and protecting the child.
And besides, in this state…
“Refusing even to leave him at the castle?”
“I don’t want to. He’s my child. Even if it were the king’s request, I cannot agree to that. I don’t want to let him go. My family will protect Atoa with all our might.”
“I will go to the Oni Village! I absolutely will!”
“No!”
Amariaz tried to break free by waving his hands, but it was futile. However, he was vehemently opposed to staying here. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal. To fix the world he had once tried to destroy, he couldn’t allow the mastermind behind this incident to escape.
If Amariaz stayed here, he would undoubtedly be captured. Even though he likely possessed the strength to rank among the top in this country, he had still faced an attempted kidnapping. It was thanks to Yuuzen and Uchikage that he was saved. Even if the strongest person in the Gharott Kingdom were here right now, they wouldn’t be able to protect Amariaz.
“…Can’t you come with me, Amariaz?”
“No, I’ll go! I absolutely will! I have to go!”
“No! I don’t want to let you go!”
“Even if I stay here, I can’t protect Yuuzen-kun! If Yuzuen-kun hadn’t saved me when I was attacked, I wouldn’t be here now! Can you do the same thing!?”
“I can!”
“You can’t!!”
Amariaz hysterically shouted, and Mirea looked slightly perplexed. Taking advantage of that moment, he finally managed to break free and hid behind me.
“I want to be with my friends. That… that will also protect my mom.”
“What…?”
“…Exactly.”
Sreiz-san spoke up. He positioned himself between Mirea and me, standing to protect Amariaz.
“…As a parent, I understand your feelings well. But right now, this child is targeted by opponents too formidable for this country to handle. It’s a shameful truth, but honestly, even I can’t protect this child. Not with all the power, wealth, and military force at my disposal. You claim that you can protect what I cannot. I hope you can forgive me for being blunt, but that is your selfishness.”
Unknown enemies, unknown skills. Dealing with them directly was undoubtedly difficult, let alone protecting something from them.
However, in the Oni Village, it could be done. Besides Yuuzen and Amariaz, there were three others with skills in that place.
With them, they could protect and even search for the enemies aiming for their skills.
And as Amariaz said, leaving from here was the only way to protect his parents. It was what he had been considering not to involve them. No matter how much he disliked it, his biological parents, who had raised him, were irreplaceable.
“…Mirea, please understand.”
“…Why… why is it our child…! I just wanted to do various things with Atoa…! And yet…!”
“Don’t restrain your child. Besides, Atoa is trying to protect you. He’s a smart child who understands his position. So, shouldn’t you become Atoa’s understanding parent?”
“…”
Mirea looked at Amariaz. Tears welled up in her eyes, and some had already spilled over.
Amariaz, too, felt apologetic for this parting. The mental burden of sending away a five-year-old child must be significant. In a voice squeezed out like Mirea, he spoke to Amariaz.
“…Atoa, why are you…”
“Sorry, it turned out like this. I’ll come back once things settle down.”
Saying that, Amariaz walked towards where the carriage was. Kenra-san immediately followed to serve as his escort, but he glanced back at us several times, expressing concern about whether this was the right decision.
Sreiz-san approached Mirea, and Uchikage-Ojichan gave instructions.
“Go. Leave the rest to us.”
“Understood.”
After grabbing my hand, Uchikage-Ojichan followed Kenra-san.
Once the two of them were out of sight, I asked.
“…Hey, Uchikage-Ojichan.”
“What?”
“Was there no other choice?”
“It’s a harsh story, but Amariaz is an important figure for the enemy. We had to separate these two forcefully; otherwise, that woman, Mirea, would be the first one targeted.”
“Why?”
“To find out Amariaz’s whereabouts. Or she might be taken as a hostage. So, before the enemy became aware, we had to create some distance.”
Did Amariaz… know about that?
I had no clue. I had thought he simply didn’t want to meet his mom and that this was becoming a big deal. But I didn’t expect it to turn into such a significant matter.
However, I… didn’t want to be separated from my mom. Even if I knew it was necessary, I didn’t think I could accept it as easily as Amariaz seemed to.
“…That’s why, Yuuzen, protect your friends. Amariaz will also protect you as a friend.”
“Yeah.”
Being with friends turned out to be more complicated than I thought. Yes… yes, I’ll protect them. I believe I can.
We headed to where the carriage was with slightly heavy steps.
Amariaz was already there, welcoming us with a smile that seemed back to normal compared to earlier. It was an obviously forced smile. But that alone conveyed the effort he was putting in.
No one pointed it out. The carriage started moving.
Amariaz made some kind of resolution, and I had decided to protect Amariaz. If this incident could be resolved quickly, he could return home to his parents immediately.
However, something was still missing.
I couldn’t protect Amariaz completely like this. If the skill ? Substitution? hadn’t manifested that day, Amariaz would have been defeated. I remembered that I couldn’t do anything at that time. To prevent the same thing from happening again, we needed more training.
“Uchikage-Ojichan.”
“…Leave it to me.”
Perhaps understanding what I was trying to convey, Uchikage-Ojichan patted my head. It was a bit rough, but…
In the end, we couldn’t bring ourselves to explore the Gharott Kingdom further and returned to the Oni Village.
With a new goal and a renewed sense of determination, a sudden drowsiness overwhelmed me.
Collapsing like a runsack, I fell asleep.