第８９８堀：天上の庭 (Part1)
### Chapter 898: The Celestial Garden
**Celestial Garden**
**Side: Tori**
Above the clouds, atop the mountain we had climbed, there existed a landscape of meadows, forests, and rivers.
Yes, I know how strange that sounds, but there is no other way to describe it.
*“Heh. So this is what they call a plateau.”*
That voice came through the drone.
Ah, I’m currently holding the drone myself, making sure it doesn’t get broken in the crossfire of a battle with Doral. It’s also to avoid making Doral wary of it.
But setting that aside, you just said something interesting, didn’t you?
“A plateau? Comet, do you know about this kind of environment?”
*“Yes, a plateau. Well, only through knowledge from books and videos on Earth. A plateau refers to exactly the kind of place you and the others are looking at right now. It’s a landscape where plants and trees manage to exist in high-altitude areas where, normally, even survival would be difficult. That kind of land is called a plateau.”*
“To think such fertile land exists atop a mountain where even living seems so harsh.”
I agreed with Mauve-san. I never imagined such an incredible place existed.
However, Comet’s opinion seemed different...
*“Mauve, this is by no means a fertile land. The ground on a plateau is limited. And as for the forest, that’s all there is. It’s certainly far richer than other mountain peaks, but there are no vast farmlands, no meadows for livestock, and the trees are limited. This is by no means a good place for people to live. The limits of life would be reached very quickly. Well, for a minority group like that Doral fellow, it might be just right.”*
I see. Comet is right. The space is finite, and it’s hard to say that crops or water are abundant. If many people lived here, I think resources would be depleted in no time.
As I was nodding in agreement, Charl, who had been listening, voiced a question.
“Comet-san. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be even harder for the Dragon-kin, who possess such massive bodies as dragons, to live here?”
“Indeed. Wouldn’t they need several times more food than a human to satisfy those giant bodies?”
*“Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right. I was thinking of them in their human forms, which is how they look right now.”*
It’s true. Since dragons have such large bodies, they should need a corresponding amount of food. How do they manage that?
Perhaps hearing us talk, Riel, who was walking ahead with Doral, asked...
“Hey. Come to think of it, doesn’t being a dragon mean you need a lot of food? There’s greenery here, sure, but isn’t there a shortage of meals?”
She asked it point-blank. And surprisingly, Doral answered her quite honestly.
“My dragon form is constructed from magical power. My base is this.”
“Oh, is that so? Then, you aren’t actually a dragon?”
“Have you ever seen a real dragon?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, I guess I haven’t.”
It’s true. I’ve never encountered a wild dragon. The closest I’ve come is a Wyvern. Well, they are common enough in Weed, though.
“Hey, Mauve-san, have you ever met a dragon?”
“No, now that you mention it, I haven’t either. Wait, did I see one when we were dealing with the Lich?”
“Come to think of it, that’s right. The Lich was controlling a Dragon Zombie back then.”
“That was a tough time.”
“...You people survived even after fighting a Dragon Zombie?”
“Hm? Ah, well, we were desperate back then.”
“Yeah, I really don’t know how we managed to take it down.”
If I recall, the battle with the Lich was the one where Mauve-san and the others became known as the Heroes of Defense. To think there was a Dragon Zombie on top of the Lich.
“...I see. It makes sense that I lost so easily. If you defeated a Dragon Zombie, it’s no wonder you could defeat me. But, we’ve strayed from the topic. Since it’s natural for us to be in human form, we don’t struggle much with food. Besides, if we have magical power, we can go without eating or drinking for quite a while.”
“Whoa, being able to get by on magical power sounds like the Fairy race.”
“Fairy race? Are there beings similar to us?”
“Yeah. They’re much smaller, though. They fly around using magical power... wait, thinking of it that way, are the Fairy race close to dragons or Dragon-kin?”
Ah, now that she mentions it, that’s true. Didn’t Narjia-san and the others say their bodies were composed of magical power?
“But that makes me curious about something. Are there dragons that don’t transform into humans? You know, there are a lot of those in legends.”
“That depends on the clan. There are clans like ours that live quietly in human form, and there are clans where the dragon form is the base and they can turn into humans.”
“Whoa, there are ones like that too? That’s mysterious.”
“Is it? Just like Riel-san, who is human-based but has cat features, there are probably types where a cat has evolved to walk on two legs, right?”
“Ah... I get the feeling.”
“Exactly.”
Doral is surprisingly good at explaining things; he’s very easy to understand.
As we were talking about this, we suddenly saw smoke rising from the forest.
“Oh, smoke.”
“That’s right. The Dragon-kin village is in that forest. This way.”
Doral entered the forest, and we followed, but...
“Huh? This forest doesn’t have a single sign of life either.”
Just as Riel said, like the forest at the foot of the mountain, this one felt devoid of any living creatures. I was wondering why, when...
“Guests. That is because we live on this mountain peak.”
An old man appeared from the depths of the forest.
Well, even though he was an old man, his back was straight, and he looked like a healthy grandfather who didn’t even need a cane. However, he lacked the horns and tail that Doral had.
“Um, who are you? And why do animals disappear because you guys live here?”
“Hahaha, my apologies. I am Gaul of the Dragon-kin. And if dragons like us are present, ordinary creatures are too afraid to come near. On top of that, we are constantly emitting magical power.”
“Magical power? What do you mean by that?”
I felt something off about Gaul-san’s words and asked.
“Hmm. Setting aside you adventurers, if you say you feel nothing, it makes me lose a bit of confidence. Well, I suppose it’s expected of those who defeated Doral.”
“Chief, did you already know?”
“Of course. You didn’t think I’d leave the defense of the village entirely to the youth, did you? Now, to answer your question, young lady: we are diffusing the magical power of us dragons throughout this area, acting as a deterrent so that not only beasts but even monsters don’t come near.”
“Eh? Deterrent? Was there something like that?”
“...I didn’t notice.”
Riel and Kaya looked at me, but...
“Sorry. I didn’t notice either. What about you, Mauve-san?”
I hadn’t felt any such magical power or pressure. Had I become dull?
“No, I don’t feel anything either.”
“Same here. Though, there are times when we can tell if a dungeon has a strange flow of magical power or if a powerful monster is leaking it.”