TEASER CHAPTER 8 PART 34
At dusk, Iris Dina was
visiting a store full of miscellaneous items with no sense of uniformity in the
commercial district.
The place she visited
was a fortune teller's shop where Zonne was based.
Irisdina swallowed a
gulp of air as if to swallow down the tension rising in her throat, and then
she entered the fortune teller's shop.
Inside the store,
Zonne was sitting comfortably in a simple rocking chair, while puffing on his
pipe.
A distinctive sweet
aroma wafted through the store.
"Oh, miss. What
can I do for you?"
"I am here to ask
you a favor."
Simply and
straightforwardly, Irisdina conveyed her intentions.
Her request was that
he be present at the upcoming negotiations between the Francilt and Waziart
families, as Nozomu's guardian.
"Hmm, in other words,
you want me to be your backer in your negotiations with the vampires?"
"Yes. I know this
is a very selfish request, but I humbly beg you."
Bowing deeply,
Irisdina waited for Zonne's answer.
This proposal should
not be a bad deal for Zonne, who did not want to provoke Tiamat inside Nozomu.
(Ah, so that's how it
is. Father's purpose, too, in telling me to contact Nozomu, was to ask for the
cooperation of Zonne-dono, who is now Nozomu's guardian...)
Irisdina came to
realize the true intentions of her father after coming here, as well.
Realistically, in this
town right now, the person who can be relied on most against Vitora in terms of
strength is not Nozomu, but the old man in front of her.
Dragon, the highest
rank of the spirit species. If he is the chosen guardian of Tiamat among them,
he would definitely be dependable.
But Zonne's answer was
not a favorable one for Irisdina.
"It's impossible.
We dragons have nothing to do with the mundane affairs of humans. Whether
vampires or not, we do not interfere."
"... Why? I
apologize for the personal nature of the matter, but Vitora is completely
targeting Nozomu. It would be unwise to put any more pressure on him at this
critical time."
"Perhaps you are
misunderstanding me, but I am Tiamat's guardian. I am by no means entirely on
the boy's side."
Gnashing her back
teeth, Irisdina sighed in her mind
"I found out
after I trained him that he can't use spirit magic. It seems that the elf girl
has done her best to make him able to sense the presence of spirits, but that's
about as far as he can go."
"... Then, why
did you train Nozomu about spirit magic?"
"If I stay close
to that boy, if Tiamat ever resurfaces, I can seal him off instantly."
Of course, he was also
partly motivated by Nozomu's will, who wished to be able to control Tiamat's
power for Irisdina and the others.
Or rather, that was
the main point in Zonne's mind. But, as a guardian, Zonne's position was that
he could not be completely swayed by his feelings.
