Chapter 30
From the very next day, Ando drove himself relentlessly through training.
And even as he trained, his body continued to change.
His draconic form no longer felt like something barely held in check. Little by little, he was learning how to move within it—how to bear its immense weight, how to guide its strength without being overwhelmed by it.
“Your Dormancy will probably end soon.”
Wani said it casually while brushing down a Steedraptor beside Azu.
Ando paused. He had noticed the changes himself.
He still doubted he would ever reach their height, but lately he no longer had to tilt his head back quite so far to meet their eyes. And climbing onto a Raptor’s back—something that once required a mounting block just to attempt—had become easy enough to do in a single motion.
“Seriously, it’s insane,” Azu muttered. “Most of us still can’t even manage a proper upright form after twenty years.”
Wani smiled faintly.
“Ando is exceptional. He’s growing far faster than he should.”
“No kidding. Yuki’s seriously counting on you.”
Ando’s hands stilled.
Azu continued without noticing.
“I mean, a hybrid between a Dracotyrannus and a human? That’s unheard of.”
For the briefest instant, Wani froze.
Then, almost seamlessly, he steered the conversation elsewhere.
“I’m honestly jealous,” he said lightly. “They say the earlier Dormancy comes, the stronger you end up. Has your body been enduring it well?”
It was smooth.
Natural enough that most people would never have noticed.
He had buried one dangerous subject beneath another before it could fully surface.
—Discern the truth.
The words resurfaced in Ando’s mind.
He forced himself to press forward anyway.
”I have managed well enough,” he answered carefully. “...May I ask what you mean by saying that Lady Yuki is counting on me?”
“Oh, well...” Azu replied casually while continuing his work. “Yuki and everyone kinda hope you’ll stay here in Tatsuno. If you do, then maybe next time that Dracotyrannus shows up, we’ll actually stand a chance. And maybe someday there’ll be even stronger children—”
“Azu,” Wani cut in quickly. “Doesn’t that smell good? Isn’t today the noodle soup you like?”
Azu sniffed the air.
“Oh! You’re right!”
The next instant, he had already tossed aside his tools and bolted from the stable.
“Hurry up and finish so we can go eat!”
His footsteps quickly vanished into the distance.
Wani continued cleaning in strained composure, though the tension in his face was impossible to hide.
“...I’m sorry.”
“You mean for bringing me here,” Ando said calmly, “so that I might one day stand against my father. And so that I might leave descendants behind for Tatsuno.”
That calmness only tightened the ache in Wani’s chest.
“...That is not all you are to us. Truly.”
The words sounded almost dragged out of him.
“You are exceptional.”
A faint smile crossed Ando’s face.
“Because a Demi-Dracotyrannus such as myself may leave descendants? Because I may become stronger than even the Dracoserpens?”
Wani could not deny it.
His throat tightened, but he forced the words out anyway.
“Yuki and the others truly care about you.”
“Because I am useful.”
“No!”
The denial burst from him before he could stop it.
Wani immediately lowered his gaze in regret.
“...Perhaps that is not entirely untrue,” he admitted quietly. “But it is not the whole truth either.”
After that, he faltered.
He did not know how to explain feelings even he himself could barely untangle.
Then a familiar voice spoke from behind them.
“We want you to become part of our family.”
Ando turned.
Yuki stood at the stable entrance.
For once, there was no trace of her usual grin. Her expression was utterly serious.
“We want to live here with you,” she said plainly. “Laugh together. Spend our days together. Just... share our lives together. That’s all. Every one of us likes you, Ando.”
Ando listened in silence.
“And yeah—we do want your strength,” Yuki continued evenly. “If that Dracotyrannus ever appears again, I want you fighting beside us.”
Her eyes never left his.
“And we want more Dracoserpens and Dracotyrannus in Tatsuno. The more family we have, the more we can protect. The more we can build together.”
“So that is why you brought me here, My Lady.”
Dracoserpens alone could not stand against a Dracotyrannus.
That was why they had brought him here.
A Demi-Dracotyrannus.
They had trained him. Earned his trust. Made him feel he belonged among them.
A weapon for war.
And someone expected to bear the future of Tatsuno.
In the end, they were no different from Imresia.
No matter where he went, he would always be something useful before he was anything else.
“Ando.”
Yuki stepped closer.
“We don’t lie to family. We don’t force people to stay. The choice is yours.”
And yet the Dracoserpens had still kept secrets from him.
The truths they revealed had been carefully chosen, arranged so that when the time came for him to decide, the answer most favorable to them would already feel like his own conclusion.
“If you’d rather spend your life being used somewhere else as a powerful living weapon, that’s your choice,” Yuki said quietly. “I told you before, didn’t I? If you want to leave, we’ll see you off. But we want you here.”
Used either way.
If that much would never change, then at least he wanted to remain true to the oath he had sworn.
“Forgive me, My Lady,” Ando said softly.
He dropped to one knee before her.
“War is about to begin in Imresia. Now, more than ever, I must return.”
Rain began to patter softly against the stable roof.
““You have shown me more kindness than I deserve. I will never forget it.”
He rose, bowed once more, and walked from the stable.
Behind him, Wani lowered his head.
“Yuki... I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Yuki answered quietly. “Sooner or later, he was always going to have to make that choice.”
At some point, Ko had silently come to stand beside her.
“So I warned you,” he sighed. “You have quite the fondness for force—and precious little patience for words.”
Yuki said nothing.
Above them, the heavy clouds had swallowed the sky whole, and at last, rain began to fall.
