Chapter 7

“Phew… So this is what Mother sees in the world, huh?”

The black dragon Erebus looked around with an expression of wonder.

“With my scales alone, it’s amazing that I can transform like this. Truly wondrous.”

“It would’ve been impossible without Mother’s scales. This body is made by summoning Mother’s data from her scales using my own power.”

“Mother’s data?”

So it’s information about the body… feels kinda like genes, maybe?

“But even with all my strength, I couldn’t perfectly recreate Mother’s body.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Though it resembled me quite a bit, it was smaller than half my size.

Even Erebus, who embodies pure darkness itself, couldn’t create a body identical to mine… Am I stronger than I thought?

「Grrr… I don’t get it!」

Unlike Erebus who successfully completed his dragon form, Sylphid seemed to be struggling.

Her attempts to imbue her power into my scales were being disrupted by the wind, making it difficult for her to focus.

“You should try staying calm. First, infuse all your power into Mother’s scale.”

「My power… grrr…」

Sylphid continued trying to channel her power into my scale, but it wasn’t going smoothly.

「Maybe only Erebus could do it? Maybe I just can’t…」

“I don’t think so… You’re probably just not getting the hang of it yet.”

「Getting the hang of it…」

“I managed to get the hang of it through that small body. Why don’t you try doing the same, Sylphid?”

At my suggestion, Sylphid glanced at the small dinosaur lying on the ground.

「That little thing… Hmm… It smells kind of funny, which makes me feel uneasy…」

“I’m not telling you to stay there permanently, just to get the feel of it. How about trying to inhabit that body for a moment?”

After pondering for a while, Sylphid approached the fallen small dinosaur.

「It’s not very appealing… But if I can fly with Mom…!」

Sylphid entering the small dinosaur. She really wanted to fly with me this badly, huh?

Even though she flew with me as wind before, she must have desired a proper body.

As soon as Sylphid entered, the dinosaur’s skin strangely began to turn white.

While Erebus turned black, Sylphid turned white, huh?

“Grrr… Having a body is incredibly heavy…”

“I agree. I didn’t realize how heavy having a body would be.”

With great effort, the Sylphid-possessed dinosaur slowly rose.

For the children who never had bodies before… flesh and blood must feel incredibly heavy.

“Still, I think I’m starting to get the hang of possessing something.”

The small dinosaur possessed by Sylphid began moving around and eventually jumped up and down.

Her somewhat clumsy movements made me chuckle involuntarily.

“Now that you’ve somewhat adapted to having a body, why don’t you try inhabiting a scale next? Try creating a body while remembering the sensation of having one, using the information from Mother’s scales as a basis.”

“Hmm… Though I don’t fully understand, I’ll give it a try!”

Thus, after leaving the small dinosaur, Sylphid began attempting to enter my scale.

“Hmm… The feeling of having a body… Mother’s information… Anyway, I’ll try creating it with my own power…”

Sylphid gave her best effort to create a body.

She experienced various failures – sometimes creating a scaly creature covered in scales, other times a wingless lizard – but after several hours:

“I DID IT!!!”

After several hours of effort, a pure white dragon form was finally completed.

The peculiar part was that it had two pairs of wings.

“Mom! Look! It’s a sleek body!”

“That’s right. It feels thinner than mine.”

The overall impression was slim and delicate, with two pairs of wings giving it the appearance of a body designed for fast flying.

“It took some time, but this will do.”

“Hehehe. Now I can happily fly with Mom! The other kids will surely cry tears of envy when they see me!”

“They won’t be able to cry tears until they make their own bodies though.”

Watching Erebus and Sylphid bicker, I smiled.

“Well then, let’s teach this method to the other children.”

“That’s right! Mom! It feels unfair for just us to have bodies!”

“Hmm. Meeting the other ones directly… will be new for me.”

I chuckled slightly at Erebus’ comment. The other children aside from Sylphid were fixed in place and couldn’t move elsewhere.

“For so long, the others have only known Mom and Sylphid’s stories. We’ll finally meet them for the first time. Interesting.”

“Don’t worry! Erebus! They’re all good kids!”

At our words, Erebus slowly nodded.

Then, let’s start by meeting Ifrit, who’s closest…

“Ah, since the other kids might also have trouble getting the hang of it, we should take this small body along, right?”

“That’s true. There’s a possibility the others might also struggle to get the hang of it.”

Like in Sylphid’s case. The others might be similar.

I picked up the fallen dinosaur.

Though it had already gone cold and started decomposing slightly, carrying it wouldn’t be difficult for me.

Holding the small dinosaur corpse, I addressed Erebus and Sylphid.

“Then, let’s depart. Starting with Ifrit, who’s closest.”

Thus, accompanied by the two children who gained new bodies, I headed toward the burning volcano.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The process of the other children gaining bodies had its ups and downs, but everyone somehow managed to obtain one.

During this process, the small dinosaur corpse used for practice lost its form and was buried in the ground.

Anyway.

“I never imagined we’d all gather like this! Hi! I’m Ifrit!”

A slightly smaller red dragon greeted cheerfully.

Probably due to his childlike nature, he felt younger than the others.

“Now I don’t have to be alone in the vast empty sea anymore. Tethys. Nice to meet you.”

The blue dragon with fins instead of horns introduced herself calmly.

“Mm. I’m Sagarmatha.”

The dragon with a transparent gem-like body spoke little compared to the others.

Still, why is Sagarmatha made of gems? I don’t understand the scale color classification criteria.

“My name is Yggdrasil. Moving like this feels very awkward since it’s my first time, but please take care of me.”

The green-scaled dragon spoke gently.

“I’m Erebus. The idea to borrow Mother’s scales to create bodies came from me. So everyone owes me one.”

“Erebus. Don’t say things like that.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Erebus, who was the first to borrow my scales to create a body, spoke boastfully, then quickly quieted down when I lightly reprimanded him.

Really, how did he end up like this?

“I am Shamash! I will become the most beautiful being!”

The gold-shining dragon boasted about his beautiful scales.

Considering both Sagarmatha and Shamash, I wonder if the scale colors are based on each child’s unique attributes?

“I don’t need to introduce myself, do I? I’m Sylphid! I’ve met all of you before I got my body!”

The pure white dragon with two pairs of wings smiled brightly.

By the way, everyone’s quite small. Even the largest, Sagarmatha, was only about half my size.

With these newly acquired bodies, I wonder what the children will do next. I’m looking forward to it.

Due to giving scales to the children, I absentmindedly scratched my chin where the scales had been removed, revealing bare skin underneath.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Every dragon has a special scale under their jaw.

Unlike other scales, this one grows in the opposite direction.

According to ancient records, this scale was considered a dragon’s weak point, and those claiming to be dragon slayers supposedly pierced it to take a dragon’s life.

However, considering most “dragons” slain by dragon slayers were actually drakes or wyverns, the reversed scale likely isn’t a true weak point.

When questions about the mysterious reversed scale deepened, a scholar from a certain empire happened to gain the opportunity to ask the empire’s guardian dragon about it.

Upon receiving the question, the guardian dragon reportedly summarized it with annoyance.

“I have no reversed scales.”

The empire’s guardian dragon, whose scales shone silver, had no reversed scales under its jaw.

Instead, there was merely a patch of skin the size of a scale, uncovered by any scales.

The longest-serving protector, teacher, standard-bearer, and companion of humanity – the name-forgotten dragon.

What exactly happened to it?

This was a moment of greater mystery for scholars studying dragons.

– From the records of a dragon-obsessed scholar.