Chapter 180 \n<h1>Chapter 180 â Smile, Thunder in Some Places (4)</h1>\nÂ
I asked Aoi to open the door to my room and hugged Nana tightly.
âMay I?â
âOh, yeah.â
Alba, who was clinging to my hair on top of my head, poked me on the head with the staff in his hand.
âThese spirits are just attracted to Nanaâs active dragon qi and are flocking to her. So when Nana moves, they will follow her. They are gathering more and more, and if left unchecked, the power will become too strong, and they will turn into a big mass of lightning.â
While rhythmically tapping my head, Alba explained in a matter-of-fact manner.
A mass of lightning.
Was it that lightning ball that Aoi had shown me several times?
When he had first met the twins and Aoi, she had blackened and wrecked the minivan in which Gasara and the others were in, even though she had taken it easy on them.
The rock griffon Ruten was literally vaporized by Aoiâs lightning ball, and if such a dangerous thing appeared in such a small room, weâd be finished.
âI wonder if I should be happy about the dragon qi that makes her gather so many spirits, even if unconsciously.ăNanaâs potential is even greater than Aoiâs. But thatâs only if she grows up properly. Right now itâs a threat to Nanaâs still immature body. It would hurt Nana herself.â
âAre you saying itâs too early?â
âYes, it is.â
I see.
If the twins have a promising future, not just Nana, I have no complaints.
Iâm looking forward to their growth.
âThere is only one way to deal with this situation. Letâs dissipate the dragon energy that has been activated. Itâs only a temporary increase due to the effects of the medicine, so once itâs consumed, it will never recover. Only up to the amount that matches Nanaâs original power.â
âI see.â
I can understand that.
So, if itâs increasing, we should reduce it.
âThe twins are the first-ever half-dragon, half-human, which even I have never experienced. This kind of situation could happen again in the future. So I want you to learn how to deal with them. Donât worry, itâs not that difficult as long as you follow the proper procedures. Iâm sure you can figure it out.â
âI-I got it.â
Wait, donât put any weird pressure on me, okay?
It makes you nervous, doesnât it?
What if Iâm not as smart as you think I am?
âWell then, Aoi.â
âYes.â
Aoi, who had been watching me and Alba with a serious face in the corridor outside the room on the other side of the open door, nodded at Albaâs voice.
âWhereâs a big place around here thatâs not too crowded? Preferably somewhere thatâs not too conspicuous?â
âWell, the garden behind the house, I guess. Thatâs the place where Ru-anesama and Jaja were taking a walk a while ago. Thereâs a forest outside the garden. There are no other buildings around the mansion, and I think the walls of the estate are tall.â
The mansion itself was quite large, but the land was even larger.
You can look down from the lighthouse that Shouhei and I went to earlier, but the far side of the garden was overgrown with trees and hidden.
âOkay, letâs go there first. Clumsy-kun, there are three things to keep in mind. The first is to run as fast as you can without the spirits catching up with you. The second is to never stop. And donât get Nana excited. Okay?â
âI-isnât that hard?â
I donât know how fast the spirits are moving, but those butterflies are flying, right?
And donât get Nana excited, sheâs a moody girl who gets excited by the most unexpected things.
The spirits are a collection of tiny lightning particles. In addition, they have the characteristic of flying while creating a slight breeze. You wonât be able to take your time walking as more of them will gather, and the gusts of wind and the electrical discharge caused by rubbing their wings together will cause some significant damage to this house. So thatâs why itâs better to go outside at once, isnât it?â
What do you mean by âbetterâ?
What do you think youâre doing in someoneâs house?
Even in this room, which has been crackling since a while ago, itâs starting to get rough out there.
No matter how rich and royal Atol is, I canât just say, âA little bit is fine, right?â
Damn it.
Iâll apologize so much later.
âOkay, thatâs enough chitchat.â
âGot it.â
I hugged Nana again tightly and bent down.
âAoi, you run ahead and watch out for the maids and Atol.â
âO-okay!â
From here, we had to go down a long corridor, down the stairs, past the dining room and common room, and through the entrance, before we could leave the mansion.
There are at least around 20 maids in this mansion.
There is also a gardener, an uncle who looks like a butler, and some children who are here for an apprenticeship.
If those people were in our path, we would be in trouble. I donât know how to apologize if I hurt them.
Thatâs why I need to ask Aoi to go ahead of me and take safety measures.
âUh?â\n
âOkay, Nana? Letâs go for a run with Daddy.â
I smiled at Nana, who looked up at me curiously.
Nana gripped my shirt as I held her tightly.
It doesnât seem to be painful. Iâm glad.
âDah.â
Nana smacks my cheek with both hands.
You still havenât given up on apple juice? Youâre a glutton.
Okay, okay, okay.
Iâll let you drink a little of it when youâre all done.
So just wait a little longer.
I looked at the door and nodded silently to Aoi.
When Aoi saw this, she nodded once, and then ran off at a brisk pace, disappearing from sight.
All right, Iâll go with you then!
âUdah!â
Nanaâs happy voice overlapped my booming voice.
I put all my energy into my legs and kicked the floor.
I make a right-angle turn through the door and turned my feet toward the end of the long hallway.
Donât fall down.
To be honest, itâs difficult to run with Nana in my arms.
Even though sheâs light, sheâs still big enough to unbalance my body.
Iâm holding her from the back of her head, gently supporting her on my shoulders, and holding her from underneath her butt, so Iâm worried that she might get sick from the shaking.
The sooner we get to our destination, the better. We have to get where weâre going!
âShouhei-san!â
I turned my attention to the sudden voice of Aoi, who was walking ahead of me.
âAoi-neechan? Nii-chan too, what are you doing?â
Shouhei, who had just climbed up the stairs and was carrying a large bag of some kind, and Kayone and Utai, who were standing next to him with similar bags, stood there in wonder.
âShouhei! Just get in your room!â
Behind me, there were a series of loud explosive sounds that were incomparable to what I had heard earlier.
At the same time, there was a heavy wind noise.
âWhat, what, what, what?â
âWhatâs going on?â
Utai, whose voice was as loud as ever, hurriedly pulled Shouhei to her and opened the door to a nearby room for shelter.
Kayone followed, unusually flustered, and went into another room.
âKayone! Iâm borrowing the backyard! Tell Atol not to let anyone near it!â
âIâm counting on you!â
âSage! Yes, sir!â
Oh, the name of the rat sage lives on here!
When Kayone saw Alba, she hurriedly bowed her head. No explanation was necessary, that really helped!
âSorry! Iâll explain later!â
âNii-chan!? Aoi-neechan!?â
Shouheiâs bewildered voice faded into the distance due to the Doppler effect.
I hurried down the stairs, but still carefully so as not to let go of Nana.
âUda, adah!â
âNana! Iâm not playing with you!â
Look at that!
Nana was starting to enjoy this situation and was excitedly flailing her arms and legs.
She looked happy with a big smile on her face, and the sounds behind us grew louder in response.
Itâs impossible to control Nana and Jajaâs emotions.
Theyâre at the age where they laugh when chopsticks roll over, you know? No, really.
âKunpei-san! Iâll carry you after youâre through the door!â
âPlease!â
Thatâs right.
Aoi can also carry us in the air, right?
Itâs too small to spread her wings when sheâs indoors, but thereâs no problem when sheâs outside.
âKya!â\nÂ
âWhoa!â
At the bottom of the stairs, we passed two maids who were carrying bedsheets and laundry.
If Aoi hadnât held out her hand to stop them, I would have almost run into them.
âIâm sorry! Iâm in a hurry!â
âSorry!â
âDah!â
The three of us walked past, apologizing.
Nana was definitely not sorry, though. In case you were wondering.
âAh, yes.â
âBye-bye, Nana-chan!â
Nana was waving to the maid.
Oh, you. Where did you learn to do that?
How nice, do it for me later.
Both Jaja and Nana were treated like little idols in this mansion.
They are very popular, especially with the young maids, because they show off their loveliness.
When I give them baths, they join in saying, âPlease let me wash them too!â
Oops, itâs not the time for that.
Aoi and I ran through the ridiculously large entrance.
âWhatâs with the uproar!â
Atol came running out from the other side of the corridor, looking bloodthirsty.
âAtol, Iâm sorry! Iâll apologize later!â
âPrince! Iâm borrowing the backyard!â
âS-s-s-sage-sama!?â
Oh.
That prince is faltering and acting all suspicious!
Heâs always been so irreverent, so this is refreshing.
I also feel like Iâve seen that side of him before, but for the sake of Atolâs honor, letâs say I havenât.
âKunpei-san!â
âPlease!â
Aoi, who was the first to open the front door and spread her wings, reached out her hand.
I took her hand and entrusted my back to her.
âIâm going!â
Every time Aoiâs wings flapped, our bodies floated up.
âDah, kya!â
âWhoa, Nana, donât go crazy.â
Nana moved around in my arms energetically, as if she was enjoying the feeling of floating.
âUgh, huh?â
Aoi, who was lifting me up with both arms, made a strange sound.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âItâs kind of hard to fly. Huh? Why?â
Aoi flew through the garden of the mansion, swaying left and right.
âThe way the sky dragon flies is with the help of the spirits. Iâm sure itâs more difficult to fly than usual because the spirits that should be under Aoiâs control are now under the influence of Nanaâs dragon qi, which has become more active. Itâs terrifying.â
Alba explained calmly on top of my head.
So youâre saying that for such a little guy, sheâs now more powerful than Aoi?
Is that something to be happy about?
âItâs kind of complicated, but itâs not a problem!
âUdah!â
Hey, Nana-sama.
Mamaâs in trouble, so cut me some slack.
âUncle! How about over there?â
âThatâs good. Letâs go down there.â
Aoi was looking at a small pond in the woods.
Itâs faster than I can run, after all. At first, it was wobbly, but now itâs stable.
Thatâs the daughter of the king of the dragons that rule the sky.\nVisit wuxiaworld.eu for extra chapters.
After landing gently in a slightly open space, Aoi loosened her arms from my body and wiped her slightly sweaty forehead.
Â
âGood work.â
âNo problem!â
She puffed up her chest to appeal, but unfortunately, it was not that big.
Iâm kind of sorry about that.
âAre you thinking about something weird?â
âNo.â
That was dangerous.
I donât know why girlsâ intuition are so sharp, like Mikuma and Saeki. What are you, an esper?
âUncle, what are you doing here?â
Aoi returned her gaze to Alba, who was still stomping around pompously on my head.
âYes. Iâm sure we can get away with a few big lightning strikes here.â
Lightning⊠hey, you knowâŠ
âIâm here too.â
I donât have the kind of body that can handle being struck by lightning.
âAoi has her own things to do, so you are the only one who can hold Nana. Itâs a little painful, but I donât think itâs going to do much damage if youâre a dragon.â
â⊠Are you going to turn Kunpei-san into a dragon again?â
Again?ă
Itâs been a while since I spent the night in the bathroom of a shelter during the Tusk Crag incident.
âAoi, you have to endure. If he was hit by lightning like that, heâll die.â
â⊠Itâll be okay, right?â
Huh?
Iâm not sure why youâre being so serious.
Thatâs right, though, if you become a dragon, you wonât be able to move for a while.
I mean, itâs not like itâs that serious, right?
âOh, Iâm not flawless in this matter. Rather, I need you, Clumsy-kun, to keep turning into a dragon and get your body used to it.â
âYouâre not going to explain it to me in detail, are you?â
â⊠Someday, I promise.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
Iâm the one who got left behind.
Youâre talking about Nana, right?
âNo, itâs okay. Iâm talking about me.â
âYeah. Donât worry about it, Clumsy-kun. Here.â
As soon as Alba swung his staff, a ripple-like distortion appeared in the space in front of me, and when I put my hand underneath it, a small white fragment fell from the center of the ripple.
When I looked at the piece that fell onto my palm, I knew. It was a piece of Jaja and Nanaâs eggshell.
So why do you have it?
I collected those without missing a single piece, and I keep them under lock and key at the bottom of my desk in my room.
Well, thatâs enough about that for now.
For now, Iâll just quickly turn into a dragon.
I opened my mouth wide and put the shard in my mouth.
I chewed it with a crunching sound.
Itâs not a tasty flavor or texture.
Itâs like chewing sand, and frankly, itâs hard to swallow.
But if I swallowed it without chewing, my throat would be in trouble.
Itâs dangerous if you donât chew it finely.
âAaah! Nnngh!â
Nana, who was getting angry, slapped my mouth with both hands.
âN-Nana? Itâs not like Iâm eating a snack. Itâs, um⊠yes! Medicine! Itâs medicine!â
Donât be so desperate to hit me in the mouth!
It hurts more than you think!
âWhoa, whoa.â
What is that? What is this feeling?
Itâs the first time Iâve experienced the sensation of my back, buttocks and temples rising up.
Oh, on second thought, this might be the first time Iâve been in a perfect physical condition when turning into a dragon.
\nAt the top of Tusk Crag, I was in a state of extremes, and at the shelter, I was asleep before I knew it.
âHmmâŠ! H-how is it going?â
âAh, yes. Iâm fine.â
I show my back to Aoi for confirmation.
Yeah, the tail and wings are in place.
Itâs strange to be able to move them like you can move your fingers.
Iâve torn my clothes again.
Iâve ruined my top, bottom, and two sets of underwear since Iâve been here, though the first set was ruined before I even knew it.
The jacket is almost unrecognizable due to the wings that have popped out. This is not clothes anymore, itâs just a piece of clothâŠ
âDah?â
Nana, who was staring at my temples, has a strange look on her face.
Come to think of it, is this perhaps the first time youâve seen me like this?
âItâs papa. Do you understand?â
âAhm.â
She nodded her head and sucked her thumb.
Yeah, well, thatâs okay.
âOkay, Alba. Is this okay?â
âThatâll do for now.â
âHmm?â
A ripple spread through the space again, and a beautiful white blade appeared from it.
Carefully holding the hilt that appeared with the blade facing downward, I positioned it in front of my body.
âThe Dragon Fang Sword?â
The sword, which Rouge had just returned to Alba, was Albaâs terrifying sharp treasure.
I know youâre curious, but unfortunately, thatâs no good.
Youâll have to wait until youâre older⊠or maybe not even when youâre older.
âWhat are you going to do with this?â
âThis sword is the only instrument in this world that can interfere with spirits. Itâs based on the fangs of a powerful dragon, after all. It can affect not only spirits but even the phenomena that they cause.â
âHmm? Oh, yeah.â
âIf you donât understand it, say you donât understand it.â
No, itâs not that I donât understand everything.
I mean, this sword can cut spirits, right?
âYouâre going to repel the spirits with this?â
âThis is whatâs called âgrounding.'â
âGrounding?â
Aoi and I looked at each other with a question mark on our faces.
Whatâs a grounding?
âYou have them in your home appliances, donât you? Theyâre used to release excess electrical charges to the ground.â
Ah, that.
Itâs attached to the power plug.
âItâs necessary to divert the excess of lightning that hits you, Nana and Aoi to the ground so that you can work safely, right?â
âEh?â
What did you just say?
âDid you just say âhitâ?â
âYes?â
I asked again, and Alba replied without hesitation.
No, wait, wait, wait.
âIâm sorry, Iâm going to ask you one more time, but lightning is going to hit me, Nana and Aoi.â
âThatâs what I just said.â
Hey, you.
âWhat do you mean?â
Can you say it again, this time in plain English?
âAs a parent, I want you to take Nanaâs excessive energy head-on.â