He rushes to Rico's side, clinging to the bed. She is looking at the ceiling with a dazed look on her face.
"Mommy! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy!"
Idea, Alyria, and other children gather at the bedside. Rico slowly turns his head to look at them, as if his voice has reached his ears.
"......Well, Idea, Arilia."
A small voice called the children's names. They seem to be all right. Liko slowly turns his attention back to me.
"...... linos."
"Rico...... thank God......"
I'm kind of tearing up. She smiled at me and quietly opened her mouth.
"......I haven't slept well in a long time."
Hearing those words, I cried with laughter.
I was so happy to hear those words.
Rico's condition quickly improved. After drinking water and eating a light meal, he went back to sleep and woke up in the evening. He had a light meal with his family. He was a little thin and walked with a limp, but according to Ziwan and Roni, he would be back to normal in a while.
Rico did not remember being swallowed by Lois. He only remembered feeling a strong sense of duty to save Allyria. He pushed Allyria to save her and explained to her that she had been swallowed by the black dragon. Rico looked at him strangely and then apologized to Allyria, saying that he was sorry for being so violent.
Since Rico was still in a dreamy state, we decided to let him rest as soon as possible. When I suggested that she take a bath and rest, her son Idea took Riko's hand and tried to take her to the bath. He must have missed Rico a lot while he was gone. He has been by his mother's side ever since Rico woke up.
Loving his son so much, Rico heads for the bathroom with Idea, Piatrice and the others. I thought it might be a burden for him, but I obeyed May's words that he should do as he liked and did not say anything in particular.
I thanked Chi-wan and Roni for calling me out of the blue. Especially Roni, who had disturbed me during the meal, I served her a full meal at the house. She invited her husband, Doki, to join them and they both ate heartily.
At night, lying in bed alone, I was finally able to catch my breath. It had really been a tumultuous few days. No, it had been a really restless few days since I got involved in the battle over Dorga and Hiyama.
"......But, how can you get involved in such troublesome matters?"
I mutter such words without saying them to anyone. Perhaps because these days have been so intense, I feel somewhat uneasy at the thought of this happening again in the future.
But the good news is that both Rico and Soleil came back safe and sound. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Lady Elsa, His Highness the Regent, the Marquis, Eril, and Master Falco: ....... All the members of the Bartham family have passed away. Compared to that time, the damage to my heart was far less.
"Fu ......"
I sigh loudly and hang my head. I hope nothing more happens to put my family in danger ....... As I was praying for that in my heart, the bedroom door slowly opened. It was ...... Mei who entered the room.
"Mae,...... what's wrong?"
May looked apologetic when I asked her.
"I couldn't ...... sleep. ......"
"What's wrong? ...... don't just stand there, come here."
May slowly approached and lay down next to me.
"Where's Alilia?"
"I'm sleeping at Siddy's place."
"With Sadie? Why?"
"Ever since we finished eating, I've been asking Siddhi about dragon ecology. ....... When she didn't come back, I went to see her in her room and found her sleeping there. Siddee-chan also told me to let her sleep here. ......"
"And Pia?"
"He seems to be sleeping at Master Rico's place."
"And Pia? Are you sleeping with Idea, Pia and the three of you at Rico's place? Rico isn't sleeping, is he?"
"I was worried about the same thing, but Sidie says she's fine. ......"
"......Well, if Sidie says it, it must be true. But why did Alyria go to Sadie to ask about the dragons? If you want to know about dragons, why don't you ask Ferris, Lars ...... Chario and others? Well, there's also the Dragon King, though I wouldn't recommend him because he's ...... useless."
I look over and see May giggling. I ask her what's wrong, and she opens her mouth with a smile on her face.
She says, "It's all right. I don't think Aelyria and the Dragon King will be what the master thinks they are.
"Yeah? What do you mean?"
To Alyria, the Dragon King is just one of her good friends. It seems that the Dragon King follows Alyria unconditionally when he hears her voice. Therefore, I don't think there is much to worry about.
"How do you ...... know that?"
"Because ...... she is my daughter."
"...... is that what it is?"
"Something like that."
May's clear eyes were somehow convincing. As I lay back on the bed, I thought about Lois.
"I think I'll ...... go check on him."
I muttered to myself, and May looked surprised at my words.
The Dragon King had slit her belly open, and stirred up her insides. And then there was the volcanic eruption. The chances of him surviving are slim to none. But there is always a chance. If he were alive, there is no one more troublesome than him.
Thinking of this, I close my eyes and concentrate my magical power in the direction where Royce was. Of course, I could not feel his presence or his magic. He was far away from me, and if he was fully prepared and serious, he could easily hide himself from me at such a distance.
"Master, Master ......"
I hear May's voice and suddenly open my eyes. May is standing in front of me with a worried look on her face. I apologized to her for my mistake.
"I was just thinking about something."
"Is this about the Black Dragon?"
"......, how did you know?"
"That's what I thought, somehow."
May slowly takes my hand in hers as she says this.
"I don't think the master's fears will come true."
"How can you be so sure?"
If something were to happen, Sidie would be the first to notice.
"Oh, I see. Sadie's intuition.
"That's right. Sadie had foreseen this incident to some extent. I am sure that if something happens, she will tell us.
"Well ...... I guess so. The fact that Sidney hasn't said anything to me means that, for now, I don't have to worry about it. Thanks May, that's a relief to hear."
I shook May's hand. She looked a little happy.
"Well, let's go to bed."
"...... hi."
I hugged her gently. The warmth of her body felt like it was slowly soothing the fatigue of my mind.
Meanwhile, in Sadie's bedroom, Sadie, who was just about to get into bed and go to sleep, was frozen in place, her brow furrowed with wrinkles that I couldn't make out.
"......Hey? I have a feeling something terrible is about to happen."
She carefully analyzes the intuition she just felt. Then, she exhales slowly and mutters to no one in particular.
"Well, I guess I can handle it.
With that, she lay down on her bed. Sadie's intuition was right. At that time, the Lace volcano on the island of Rwazan erupted for the second time, sending a huge amount of volcanic ash into the sky.
The volcanic ash fell over a wide area and caused damage to many countries across the sea. The damage to crops was especially severe, and some areas suffered from food shortages that lasted for several years.
Sidi accurately predicted the situation, and Agartha and other countries came to the aid of the people of Agartha, and the fame of Linos and Agartha grew even more. ....... Unaware of the future that awaits them, Linos and his friends are slowly enjoying the peace and quiet that they have not experienced in a long time. .......