According to Draco, I'm not related to her by blood. We are strangers, connected only by something spiritual called a soul, something I can't easily comprehend.
’Ereshkigal might know something about this…‘
My soul was once shattered into pieces in the Sumerian underworld.
Back then, I still possessed the power of a Beast, so it's not strange that my soul could have been transmitted across time to Emperor Nero.
Whether I believed Draco's words or not wasn't the important issue right now.
What was certain was that she resembled me.
Feeling some sort of fateful connection, it wouldn't be strange to call Draco a daughter or even family.
And yet, the reason I couldn't immediately nod yes to her desperate plea to be loved was…
“…Could you just give me a little more time?”
It was probably because I was nothing more than an ordinary person now.
Draco didn't cry as if the world had ended. She didn't resent me. She wasn't disappointed, and she didn't show any negative emotions on the outside.
Considering Draco‘s nature, where her inner feelings almost always matched her outward expression, I wanted to think of this as a good thing.
I was sick and tired of relationships where I was either blamed or disappointed.
At the very least, I didn't want that kind of relationship with Draco.
This one thing was my sincere feeling.
“There are many things I wish to try. It would be good if you accompanied me.”
“Alright.”
Fuyuki by day was peaceful, unrelated to the Holy Grail War of the night.
Everyone was living their ordinary daily lives. Office workers went to work, and students went to school.
We wandered through the city center of Fuyuki, just as we had at night.
Contrary to her words about having many things she wanted to do, Draco did nothing.
She walked half a step ahead of me. Her gaze was fixed forward, her walk more like a march than a stroll.
Even when I tried to walk alongside her, Draco would speed up and overtake me if I got too close.
Half a step. She maintained exactly that much distance. Was this distance created because of my rejection?
I felt a pang of guilt, but seeing her glance back from time to time to check if I was following, it didn't seem to be the case.
Draco‘s steps halted in front of a small building.
“It‘s a kindergarten.”
“So in modern times, even children this young are educated.”
“It's more for the purpose of looking after children for busy parents. Of course, there's an educational purpose too.”
Draco seemed to have found it interesting, as she watched the kindergarten for quite a long time.
Her gaze was mostly on the children running around and playing inside the grounds.
“Do you want to play with them?”
“As if.”
Draco snorted as she spoke. She seemed genuinely disdainful.
“I am merely puzzled. About how those things can be so joyful.”
Isn't it natural for children to laugh and play without a care in the world?
I was about to voice this question but quickly shut my mouth. Such a life didn't apply to an emperor who had been close to death since birth.
“Maybe it‘s fun because… playing is fun.”
“What a trivial vocabulary.”
“I suppose so.”
“Try harder. The flatterers in my court pleased my ears with words tens of times sweeter than yours.”
“That doesn't sound easy.”
Draco let out a "hmph" and started walking again.
I wanted to believe that her slower pace meant her mood had improved.
“…I wish to visit a place called an amusement park.”
For the first time since we started our walk, Draco stated a desired destination.
“An amusement park? It might be a bit cold, are you sure you‘ll be okay?”
Though I said that, neither Draco nor I were worried about the cold.
The concern that came out of my mouth was something akin to an unconscious reflex.
Draco, aware of this, nodded to mean it was fine, and I searched my memory for the way to the amusement park.
As usual, Draco's face was expressionless, but I could catch a glimpse of the emotion called anticipation.
We arrived at the amusement park quickly. It took exactly 10 minutes.
There were many cotton candy stalls at the entrance. I flinched upon seeing the machines, but Draco didn't mention it.
“There are a lot of people.”
She said that instead. As Draco noted, the park was quite crowded. Much more than the last time I came.
There wasn't a single person alone in the bustling crowd. Families, couples, friends, and so on. Each was holding hands with their own connections, looking around inside the park.
“Should we hold hands too?”
Draco was silent at my suggestion. Judging by her demeanor, it seemed she was secretly hoping for it.
“…Is there a need for that?”
“Your hands will get cold.”
I gave her a reason, and she didn't discard it.
“Do as you please.”
Our joined hands were warm.
Was it a coincidence? Just as we held hands, a father and daughter passed by us. They, like us, seemed to have come to the amusement park just the two of them.
The only difference was that we were simply holding hands, while that father was carrying his daughter on his shoulders.
Smiles were spread across both of their faces.
Draco envied them so much that her mouth hung open. It looked like she was about to drool.
Should I give her a shoulder ride? I pondered it, but it was a difficult task. Draco herself was light, but the weight of her tail was no joke.
If Draco was 35kg… then her tail was 70kg? A direct hit could be fatal, so the weight was probably about right.
Combined, that's about 100kg. Let‘s imagine placing 100kg on an ordinary person's shoulders.
Just placing her on might be possible, but the moment Draco moved around, my spine and shoulder bones would surely be shattered.
“Hooo…”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Right. Just once should be fine.
I crouched down in front of Draco.
“What are you doing?”
“Get on.”
I felt slender legs come to rest on my shoulders.
I took a deep breath. I can do it. I can do it.
“Hup!”
“Kyaa!”
…?
She‘s not heavy?
I had braced myself for 0.1 tons and stood up with all my might, but I didn't feel any monstrous weight at all.
Only a lightness, less than a sack of rice, rested on my shoulders.
“W-what are you doing!”
“Ah. Sorry. I thought you‘d be heavy, so I used too much force.”
So she can retract her tail.
Because of the recoil from me using too much force, Draco, who was on my shoulders, was almost launched into the sky.
If she had been even a little late in grabbing my shirt, that would have actually happened. Draco becoming a star in the night sky… is that going too far?
An enraged Draco pulled my hair.
“You!”
“Ouch. Ouch.”
“We are not heavy!”
So that was what she was mad about.
Enduring Draco‘s anger, I slowly looked around the amusement park.
Draco, who had been engrossed in tearing out my hair, also eventually began to watch the rides moving and shining with beautiful, colorful lights.
“Want to try that one?”
“…It does not look unpleasant.”
We rode the merry-go-round first.
“Will this one have a height restriction?”
“I just need to grow a little, right?”
“Oh. You transformed like a middle schooler going through puberty.”
“It is our authority.”
And then we rode the roller coaster.
It had a reputation for being quite scary, and indeed, everyone in the same car with us screamed.
But the expressions of the two of us sitting in the very front row were endlessly serene.
It was only natural. This was just an ordinary fast train where swords and spears didn't fly, and magic wasn't cast.
Although my body had become ordinary, my senses remained the same, so it wasn't scary at all.
“Phew. That was more boring than I thought. Right?”
“…Ye… yes. It… it was boring. Hmph.”
…I stand corrected. Maybe it was a little scary.
After the roller coaster, Draco suggested a break. I followed her lead tactfully.
We sat on a random bench and made idle chit-chat. We also bought and ate churros, the unwritten rule of amusement park snacks, and also bought cotton candy.
I only bought cotton candy for Draco.
“Aren't you having any?”
“I just don't feel good about cotton candy for some reason.”
“Is that so.”
“It is.”
Watching Draco melt and eat the cotton candy with her small mouth was truly cute.
It wasn't just my sentiment.
The people passing by, especially middle and high school girls, couldn't resist patting her on the head at least once as they went by.
“So cute~!”
“Hmph. You may pat our head with all your heart and soul.”
“What is this, a character concept? So cute! I‘ll do my best, Your Majesty~!”
She was a massive hit.
“Is she your daughter, mister?”
“No. She‘s my niece. I‘m just looking after her for a bit.”
“You don't look alike, but I felt like you did. I knew it~.”
There was also a student who asked me various things.
“Oppa, are you married? What about me?”
“To ask such a question upon first meeting…”
“Just kidding, just kidding!”
The modern sensibility. I couldn't keep up with their energy.
“Want some candy? Or, I have cookies I baked myself!”
“How about some potato chips?”
“Present them all.”
Draco, with her tail hidden, was just a pretty foreign child. Who could possibly think of this child as the Beast that would destroy humanity?
“And at the same time, who would think a child like this had such a sad past…”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. It was nothing.”
The students who had been fawning over Draco were long gone.
They asked for my number and for a date, but since I didn't know how long Draco would be here, I couldn't give out my number.
Besides, my contact information is the hospital's. And I have no intention of going back to the hospital.
“You‘re quite popular.”
“…Huh? I guess so. You're just full of charm, Draco.”
“We were not referring to us, but, well. That is correct. Hmph!”
Draco seemed to be in a good mood. I wasn't feeling bad either.
I wished it could have stayed that way, but unfortunately, we still had important matters postponed.
A voice I had always wanted to hear, yet never wanted to hear, came from the entrance of the amusement park.
“I‘ve been looking all over for you, Lupus.”
“Pant… Johanna-chan… could you consider… pant… me being human, and maybe… run a little slower… please.”
Still carrying Draco on my shoulders, I was reunited with Chaldea.