Epilogue
“That was such an ordeal...”
After Jade had finally released Ruri from his clutches, news of the tuning being complete had spread throughout the castle. When Agate and the other elders found out, they’d gone into hustle mode. They’d deemed it necessary to celebrate the occasion, so they’d made preparations for a party without Ruri’s permission. Ruri had never been more embarrassed in her entire life, but no one could stop the out-of-control old men and their skyrocketing excitement.
The lavish festivities were held a few days later. Once Ruri gave in and joined the impromptu party, everyone showered her with congratulations. After all, now that the tuning was complete, Ruri was fully initiated into the dragonkin ranks. She now aged much more slowly, and her body was much stronger than a human’s—but still weaker than a dragonkin’s. Ruri didn’t really feel the results yet herself, but she figured she’d most likely start experiencing them, little by little, over time.
While Ruri was enjoying the party, Euclase called out to her.
“Ruriii!” Euclase said and handed her a letter. “It’s from Master Beryl.”
“Grandpa?”
Ruri hurriedly opened the letter to see a single photo inside. Apparently, Beryl had brought an instant camera with him to this world. The photo was of Beryl smiling together with Chi on some sort of beach. He’d probably gone fishing, because he was carrying a gigantic fish in his arms—big enough to swallow him in one gulp. It seemed as though Beryl was very much enjoying his stay in this world.
“Nice, looks like grandpa is doing well,” Ruri remarked.
“That is good to hear. We were worried that we didn’t give enough attention to Master Beryl, so that is quite the relief,” Euclase said. “Also, I must say that Gibeon has taken to his job like a fish to water. He may be a former prince of a now-defunct nation, but he is a prince through and through. He must have received a proper imperial education in the ways of running a kingdom. I’m amazed that he’s so quick on the uptake, actually. It baffles me as to why he would turn to a life of crime when he is so capable. Then again, he is still going through his probation period to test his trustworthiness, so I can’t allow him to handle anything too important, but I would say he’s a great acquisition.”
Once Ruri and Euclase finished their conversation, Euclase walked off. Ruri then went to find her parents, who were attending the party as well, and approached them with the photo in hand. Once they saw the photo, both of her parents started giggling, happy that Beryl was enjoying himself.
“Honestly speaking, our old world was way too constrictive for people with mana like us,” Riccia said. “We can see the unseen. We can use power invisible to the naked eye. It was hard trying to lead a life while keeping all of that secret. I would assume that dad must feel positively liberated. I share the sentiment. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Ruri.” With a motherly expression, she patted Ruri on the head, assuming that Ruri was feeling guilty.
Ruri was worried that she’d gotten her family embroiled in this mess because she’d ended up in this world. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel that way, but looking at Beryl’s smiling face in this photo made her feel silly for continuing to worry about it. After all, Beryl and her parents were enjoying what this world had to offer. It was easier said than done, though.
“I’m sorry,” Ruri said, apologizing for dragging her family into this situation, even though it was far too late for that. It was a shame that she couldn’t apologize to Beryl in person, but she was confident that he would come back soon with an unruly amount of tales from his travels under his belt. Ruri might have a child by then as well. Knowing Beryl, he would no doubt play with them the best he could. She couldn’t help but to look forward to that.
“I’m so glad I came here,” Riccia professed. “Plus, it helped me find my life’s mission—revolutionizing the clothing industry in this world. You should come over and help me if you’re ever free, Ruri. I wouldn’t mind at all if you were to help by working as a model.”
“Riccia’s store didn’t see much business at first, but she’s building a core fanbase and is busier than ever nowadays. So much so that she doesn’t have enough staff on hand,” Kohaku explained.
“Heat-sama is helping out too, isn’t he?” asked Ruri.
“Yes, he sure is,” replied Riccia.
Ruri looked doubtful. “Is he taking the job seriously?”
Heat was a spirit, a being who operated under a different logic than humans. He lived in a world divorced from concepts such as labor. Not to mention, it was hard to believe that someone like Heat, whose mind was only occupied by women, would be a diligent worker. In fact, even as they spoke, Heat was in the middle of hitting on the servant women.
Gibeon eventually joined the mix, and after Heat and he had a rather involved conversation, Gibeon pleaded, “Please let me call you ‘teacher’!”
Looking satisfied with the prospect of having an underling, Heat arrogantly replied, “Very well, then.”
The two womanizers were hitting it off.
“Heat-chan is doing his job. He’s also been helping with advertising by being a model,” Riccia trilled.
Ruri couldn’t believe that Heat was practically dancing in the palm of her mother’s hand. “Mom, do you know Heat-sama’s weakness or something?” she asked.
“Tee hee hee,” Riccia answered with a suggestive giggle, ultimately leaving the matter to remain a mystery.
When Ruri walked away from her parents, people came up and offered her drinks left and right. This was supposed to be a celebration for her, but she had the sinking suspicion that everyone just wanted to drink. Since all the guests were pounding back way more alcohol than what they offered her, it was hard to say who was the star of the party—her or the booze. Nevertheless, Ruri was having fun seeing everyone enjoy themselves.
Eventually, Ruri got light-headed from drinking, so she went to the garden in order to sober up. The breeze wafting across her skin felt great. She took a deep breath of the sea-infused air and exhaled. She could hear chattering and laughing off in the distance.
Ruri then walked away from the voices and headed toward Jade’s office. She knocked, opened the door, and entered to find Jade hard at work.
“Jade-sama, are you sure you’re not going to the party?” Ruri asked.
“I have too much work piled up that only I can sign off on. Besides, all they want is an excuse to drink. The Nation of the Dragon King’s people love festivals and parties, after all. Especially dragonkin.”
“That’s true. Everyone has been drinking and having a ball without even realizing you’re not around, Jade-sama.”
“That’s perfectly fine, so long as they don’t destroy the castle.”
“Isn’t that a pretty tall order for them?”
Whenever they held a party where drinking was involved, it was practically guaranteed that the dragonkin would run amok and destroy the castle. Then, the following day, it was customary for them to repair things all over the place while recovering from their hangovers. They were probably destroying parts of the castle walls at this very moment.
“That reminds me,” Ruri began, “I’ve never seen you in a drunken rampage before, Jade-sama.”
“Of course you haven’t. Someone is bound to stop the Dragon King if they go berserk.”
“Surely.”
The Dragon King was the strongest dragonkin of them all, so several dragonkin would need to pile on in order to contain him. Just the same, Ruri didn’t want to see Jade act like that. His approval ratings would no doubt plummet.
With that in mind, Ruri figured it would be an issue if a Beloved went on a drunken rampage as well. She wished that Celestine would be more careful to preserve her image. As for Lapis, Awain normally scolded him when he got out of hand, which meant that Lapis probably wouldn’t influence anyone around him. Ruri reminded herself to be careful as well.
After Jade finished navigating his paperwork, he put down his pen.
“Are you finished already?” Ruri asked.
“No, just taking a short break.”
Jade stood up, took Ruri’s hand, and moved over to the couch. He pulled some sandwiches from his pocket space and placed them on the table. He’d evidently had food prepared in advance since he had no intention of joining the party. Then he set Ruri on his lap.
This was Ruri’s usual position, which was fine when she was in cat form, but it was slightly embarrassing when she was in human form and Jade’s face was awfully close.
“Here you go, Ruri,” Jade said, grabbing a bite-size sandwich and bringing it to Ruri’s mouth. He watched in satisfaction as Ruri pushed her hair back behind her ear and took a bite.
On Ruri’s exposed nape was a scale the same color as Jade’s eyes—proof that the dragonheart had been tuned. Jade slowly leaned in and lovingly kissed the scale. After a long, confirming kiss, he looked at Ruri again and gently traced it with his finger.
“Jade-sama, you’ve been touching that spot a lot,” Ruri commented. Jade had been continuously checking and touching her neck ever since the tuning was finished.
“Yes, because it’s a mark that you are mine in the truest sense,” Jade said, looking extremely happy.
Once she saw Jade’s face, Ruri fell into a contented silence, but then she remembered. “Oh, right. My grandpa sent me a photo,” she said, passing the picture to Jade.
“Your world has some useful tools. I wonder if we can make something similar...”
“Seraphie-san might be able to make one for us if we ask her.”
“Hmm, Master Quartz would give me quite the dirty look if I were to occupy too much of Lady Seraphie’s time.”
“Well, yes, Quartz-sama does love Seraphie-san dearly.”
“That is how male dragonkin operate. You should resign yourself to that, Ruri.”
“Yes, yes,” Ruri replied, already having done so. Or rather, she’d already “accepted” that fact.
“It seems that Lord Beryl is quite enjoying himself,” Jade noted.
“Chi as well. I’m glad they’re enjoying it like a vacation. Still, I’m positive that grandpa would be fine anywhere he went.”
At first, Ruri had been surprised that Beryl had left, leaving only a single letter behind, but once she’d thought about it rationally, she’d realized that there was nothing she needed to worry about. Beryl was a Beloved, and he had Chi and Andal with him. That was why, while she wasn’t too concerned, she did feel relieved in a different way to actually see him safe and sound.
“Grandpa seems to be enjoying himself, so you don’t need to worry too much either, Jade-sama,” Ruri assured him, knowing that Jade felt guilty about Beryl leaving. Jade’s aggressive tactics toward the Imperial Nation’s nobles may have also been him taking out his frustrations. There was no need to worry, though, not with Beryl seeming to be having a blast in the photo.
“That’s true. I’ve made the nobles of the Imperial Nation take responsibility. And if Lord Beryl doesn’t think anything of it, then things are probably fine.”
“Right, right. I’m sure he’ll pop back home before long. And it seems that mom is enjoying herself as well, so I’ve decided to put it out of mind too.”
“So I see.”
Ruri paused, then murmured, “Now that I’m tuned, I’ll be living a different kind of life from my parents and grandpa, won’t I?”
“Yes... Do you regret it?” asked Jade.
She shook her head. “I do feel a tinge of sadness, but seeing grandpa and mom having the time of their lives makes me realize that I should stop thinking about what’s yet to come and focus on enjoying the here and now. I don’t want to regret the future.”
“Did you omit Lord Kohaku from that on purpose?”
Ruri smirked. “Fair point. But my dad likes being wrapped around my mom’s finger, so I think that he’ll be fine so long as she’s happy.”
Ruri would have to part ways with them one day, but she wanted to enjoy the present and worry about the future later.
“I know I’ve said something similar in the past, but I will once again vow to you. I will be by your side to make up for the absence of your parents. Forever, till death do us part,” Jade said, hugging Ruri tightly.
Ruri wrapped her arms around him as well. “I will be by your side forever as well, Jade-sama.”
That vow was likely to be fulfilled, so long as they never doubted it.
The two slowly drew together and shared a heartfelt kiss. And then it happened. A loud crash resounded and the floors shook.
Disappointed, Jade slumped where he sat. “Well, they finally did it,” he said, knowing that someone had destroyed the castle. He let Ruri off his lap and stood up. “I suppose I have no choice.”
“Are you off to check?” asked Ruri.
“Yes, they’ll need someone to stop any dragonkin if they’re running amok.”
“Tee hee hee. Being a king is hard work, isn’t it?”
“It makes me want to push this job onto someone else and get back to spending my time with you.”
“That would be a nice idea. Once you quit being king, then I say we build a house next to Chelsie-san’s and live there together.”
“That wouldn’t be too bad,” Jade remarked.
“In that case, let’s go to Chelsie-san’s place sometime and find some land where we can build a house!” Ruri said excitedly.
“I can just picture Chelsie’s face now.”
As they discussed their future plans, Ruri and Jade left the room hand in hand, smiles stretching across their faces.
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