“Then, let me introduce myself again,” she said with a crescent-moon smile and a willow-soft bow. “I’m Nalu Geyas, from the once-prosperous, now-fallen merchant house Geyas. If you don’t mind, from now on I’ll be your guide, my lords.”

She tucked the jewel box with the Skyseeking Herb away like a firefly sealed in amber, careful as snowfall. Then she presented her beauty of a maid to us. “This is my personal maid who grew up by my side—Yafina Geyas.”

“Our gratitude for saving my lady and me is carved in stone and flowing water,” Yafina said, voice like a silver bell in a quiet shrine. “If you ever need me, just say the word.”

Yafina’s deference was thick as incense smoke. Figures—master and maid; their tones matched like twin reeds in the same wind.

“I’m Yumigawa Sumeragi,” I said, keeping it plain as clear sky. “And you don’t have to call us ‘my lord.’ I’m not used to girls my age calling me that.”

“No way!” Lanxia cut in, sharp as a snapping fan. “Lord Yumigawa, your status in this world is as lofty as a mountain peak. How could you mingle with the common crowd?”

“Lanxia, you too,” I sighed, breath like fog. “Don’t tack ‘lord’ onto my name.”

“This dragon will be Yumigawa-kun’s mount for life—(blushing)—roar, roar!!” Lanxia flipped like a page caught by a breeze, faster than a summer storm.

“Lanxia really is a dumb dragon,” I muttered, dry as winter grass.

Lingxiao shot a wordless look at Lanxia, who’d entered ‘shy’ mode like a lantern suddenly shaded. Then she introduced herself, voice soft as spring rain. “My name is Yumigawa Lingxiao. I’m my dear big brother’s little sister.”

“Yumigawa Lingsaki. Same,” Lingsaki echoed, her tone smooth as still water.

“My name is Tianyu Lixue,” Lixue added, a polite bow like a crane at the shore. “I’m a friend of Sumeragi and his sisters. Please take care of me.”

She lifted a hand for a shake, simple as sunlight—yet—

“Yu… Yumigawa?!” Nalu and Yafina froze, eyes wide like startled deer.

“Don’t tell me…” Yafina breathed, as if a shadow had brushed the lamps.

Nalu’s face turned solemn as temple stone. “C-could it be you’re from the Mizumi Clan of the Central Continent, my lords?!”

“We truly never meant to doubt you,” Yafina added in a rush, words tumbling like beads from a broken strand. “It’s just… it’s too hard to believe. If we’ve been disrespectful, please forgive us.”

They looked at us like we were thunder behind the clouds. A bit much. Is the Mizumi name really that scary?

“You’re being rude, you know,” Lingxiao snapped, temper flaring like a snapped lute string. “You’re acting like we’ll eat you. You don’t have to be so stiff—this is just annoying.”

“Just keep things the way they were,” Lingsaki said, calm as a lake at dusk. “None of us—brother included—likes being worshipped to the heavens.”

“No worries!” Lanxia stepped in, patting the air with a grin bright as noon. “From this dragon’s observation, Yumigawa-kun and the others are gentle and easy to talk to! Born of the Mizumi Clan yet down-to-earth—virtues rare as phoenix feathers!”

I stared at her, at once amused and tired, like listening to a rooster crow at midnight. Is she really Dragon Kin?

Books say the Dragon Kin are proud as the sky itself. So why is she like this, all loose reins and no shame? Hill gets a pass—he’s a whelp who grew up on the Central Continent. But Lanxia was raised in the Dragon Realm from the egg. Strange.

“Hmm?” Lanxia blinked at me, head tilted like a curious sparrow. “Yumigawa-kun, why the conflicted look at this dragon? Could it be—!”

“I’m with Lingxiao on this one,” I said, deadpan as a winter pond. “You’re a dumb dragon.”

“Eh—eh? Why?!”

“Pfft!”

Nalu burst into laughter, a sudden brook over stones. “Sorry, that was rude of me. May I call you Yumigawa-kun like that?”

“Of course,” I said, letting it roll like wind through bamboo.

“Good. People like you, with no airs, are a first for me,” Nalu said, a sigh drifting like mist. “Most nobles I’ve met—even minor knightly ones—wear arrogance like a peacock’s tail. As for princes? Don’t get me started.”

“True,” Yafina added, cheeks blooming pink like peach blossoms. “The nobles we’ve seen were all drowning in their own superiority. So your easy manner, Young Master Yumigawa, really surprised us.”

“Yeah,” I said, the memory flickering like lanternlight. “When I first reached the Eastern Moon Continent, I ran into one brainless noble pup. Court death, no brakes.”

Strange how nostalgia creeps in like evening cool, even for something just a year or two old.

“Heh. You get used to it—no.” Nalu smiled, eyes bright as morning. “With your status, you don’t have to. Honestly, there’s no one above you in this world.”

“Stop. Cut the flattery,” I said, hand slicing the air like a fan.

“I’m just stating facts,” she replied, light as a falling leaf.

“Even so, talk of status gets stale like cold tea,” I said. “Let’s pick a direction first.”

Lixue yawned, bored as a cat in sun. “Speaking of, where’s the map? Even with guides, we should learn the lay of the Northern Abyss Continent.”

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