2
High above the sands, at the same time as Subaru made his prayer.
Subaru had anticipated the first floor’s examination would be as difficult a challenge as all the others, but even with his imagination, he would never have predicted the being Emilia would encounter or the situation she would be placed in.
There was no one in Lugunica, no one in the world who didn’t know its name.
If the Witch of Jealousy was a symbol of terror, then this was a symbol of hope and trust. That was a testament to how much this being had achieved.
The grand and enormous being’s name was…
“Holy Dragon Volcanica.”
Repeating the name that it had spoken, Emilia felt her body turn suddenly cold.
It felt like she couldn’t even breathe without permission. That was the force of a true dragon’s presence. It held the whole world in its grasp.
“ ”
Inhaling, Emilia looked up at Volcanica’s body again.
The scales bathed in a deep blue color gleamed like jewels, and each seemed as sharp as a masterwork sword. Its thick front and back legs had black, boulder-like claws, and its face, which resembled a ground dragon’s, gave the impression of an ancient being. It had golden eyes that had seen an unbelievable length of time. Its head had two large, thick horns that sharply pierced the heavens.
The Holy Dragon’s body was maybe fifty feet or so long. It was hard to say for sure, because it was hunched over, with its wings and tail furled. However, being that big without standing up, it couldn’t be contained inside the building, which made perfect sense.
The first floor must have been constructed outside specifically for Volcanica.
“…Uh…ummm, Volcanica! I came to take the examination! The first floor’s examination! I’m here to challenge it!”
“ ”
“I don’t know how difficult it will be, but…but I am in a really big hurry, so please! If I don’t do my best, it will be a problem for Subaru and the others. So whatever it is, bring it on!”
Slapping her cheeks with both hands, Emilia stopped herself from cowering.
“I’m used to people grading me. There are people who hate me for being a half-elf, and people like Echidna, who can be a little mean, but…but there are also people who put their faith in me, too, like Subaru and Ram and Beatrice and the others.”
Emilia touched the magic stone at her breast as she spoke.
Emilia’s precious family that was still slumbering there had been the first people to affirm Emilia, who had a habit of always seeing things through rose-tinted glasses.
And in addition to that family, there were all her friends and comrades here in the tower who had acknowledged her.
“So, I don’t mind what anyone else thinks!”
Emilia spoke sharply, even if she was talking to the Holy Dragon, who had almost overwhelmed her initially.
Her soul had been on the verge of being crushed by the overwhelming difference in presence, and her limbs trembled so much it felt like they might shrivel away. But even after she had come face-to-face with a being who had bore witness to vast eons of time, Emilia absolutely wouldn’t lose to it.
“ ”
As she clenched her fists, her purple eyes gleamed assertively.
Volcanica slowly blinked. And then it opened its majestic jaw…
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
“ ”
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
“…Huh?”
Emilia held her breath, prepared for whatever challenge Volcanica might give her, but hearing the heavy words that escaped with the dragon’s breath, she cocked her head. It was a familiar line.
“Umm, that’s what you said before, right? I’m the person who came to the first floor, and you’re Volcanica… That’s it, right?”
“ ”
“…Ah! Is it because I didn’t introduce myself? Sorry. I’m Emilia. Just Emilia. There are a lot of people who don’t really remember me at the moment, as it happens, so it would be a little hard if you asked me to prove it, but I’m Emilia!”
“ ”
“…Is that not it?”
She thought perhaps that skipping her introduction had maybe upset the dragon, so she took a moment to introduce herself, but Volcanica’s response didn’t inspire much hope.
“…Maybe…”
Emilia gingerly stepped forward, staring into its golden eyes.
With one, then two steps forward in this place so close to the sky, Emilia moved closer to Holy Dragon Volcanica. She boldly approached the being whose every breath felt solemn.
Then she reached out her hand, touching a scale on its front leg.
“…It’s cold.”
The scale was like ice, or frozen steel.
How long would it have to stay still to lose enough heat to end up like that?
Wouldn’t that mean death for most living things? Long periods of stagnation robbed a body of more than just its vitality.
“—Thou who hath reached the tower’s peak, petitioner of omnipotence who treads upon the first floor.”
“ ”
“—I am Volcanica. By ancient oath, I ask thy will.”
Looking down at Emilia touching its front leg, Volcanica repeated itself once more.
A third greeting. That wasn’t just rebuking Emilia for forgetting her manners.
She was reflected in Volcanica’s deep eyes as they looked at her, but they also seemed not to reflect anything.
The reason was clear.
“Did you become such an old dragon that you forgot about the examination…?”
A mental death, rather than a physical one, had taken the long-lived dragon.
For Emilia, who had to overcome the first floor’s examination, this was an even more difficult challenge than the actual examination.
The examination for Maia, the first floor of Great Pleiades Library.
Time: as long as her allies can stay alive. Attempts: unknown. Challengers: one. Examination contents: unknown.
—Examination start.
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