“If you so desire, I can grant you my strength. The strength to protect the ones you love from any misfortune”
I want it. Of course I do.
“However, that will make you unhappy. You would have to give up a normal life. It would mean turning your back on becoming one with the person you love, giving birth to a child and raising it. Do you desire my strength even then?”
The strength the owner of the voice had was the power to defeat your enemies. If she obtained it, she would be thrown into a world of battles, whether she wanted to or not. That was a life far too different from the life of a normal high school student. The owner of the voice thought of that kind of life as an unhappy one.
Yes. It would be convenient.
However, Shizuka thought of it differently. She thought that not being able to live a normal life was convenient. That it was a good thing.
“Convenient you say?”
The owner of the voice was puzzled by that unexpected answer. Shizuka happily talked to the puzzled owner of the voice.
That's right. The people I love all have strong powers. And just like you say, they are lonely. Satomi-kun is the loneliest of them all. He's the strongest, but also the loneliest. In order to support him, I would need to be strong enough to be able to walk with him, side by side. That's why I'll become lonely or whatever it takes. In this world, there are those you can't support unless you do...
“...I understand. It's because of that heart of yours that you drew me in...”
The owner of the voice wasn't talking to Shizuka through sheer chance. It had chosen a person with a suitable heart that it could entrust with its power. Upon hearing Shizuka's words, the owner of the voice understood why she had such a heart, and it rejoiced that it hadn't been wrong.
Eh? What do you mean?
But since Shizuka wasn't aware of those circumstances, she was confused by the voice.
“It's nothing. It's just... if the princess of the sword could think like you, she might have led a happy life”
Isn't happiness just all about the situation and mood?
If one had a strong power, they would most likely be unhappy if they lived among normal people. But that might not be the case if they lived with other people with powers. Shizuka believed that power itself couldn't determine if one would be happy or not.
“Well said. You really are the poster child for strength”
Is that a compliment?
“It is indeed. It is the highest degree of praise from me”
Okay then...
Supposedly it was a compliment, but it didn't feel like one to Shizuka. It's possible that it wasn't meant to be a compliment for a girl. With that in her mind, the small doubt and dissatisfaction she was feeling didn't go away.
That might be true for―
Shizuka wanted to ask a little the owner the voice for the specifics, but halfway through her sentence she realized something important.
That's right, I still haven't heard your name. I am Shizuka. Who are you?
Shizuka still didn't know who she was talking to. That's why she casually asked, but the answer she received was something completely unexpected.
“My name is Alunaya”
Eh?! You mean the one that appears in the legends of Theia-chan's country?!
Shizuka was taken back by surprise. She was so surprised that her clouding consciousness that was fading away from hypoxia cleared up for a moment.
“That's right. I am the ruler of the fire dragons, the Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya. Shizuka, I will entrust you with my power. You may use that overwhelming power to protect what you wish. Then let us start!”
Ah, w-wait a minute!! I still have so much to ask!!
The huge power that had been hidden inside of her wrapped around Shizuka. That power pressed its surroundings and swelled up, greatly changing Shizuka's fate. She was given the power to protect those which she held dear. Or it might be a power to let her draw closer to someone in solitude. Rather than pure power, it might have been Shizuka's hopes. Because in the end, everyone wanted a place of their own.
Like that, Shizuka chose to coexist with the dragon of legend.