It was through the Holy Lady from Tienda that young Ibi first realized her situation.

One day, the Holy Lady came to visit the city where Ibi lived.

So many people came out to the square to see the Holy Lady, and she waved with a smile from her roofless carriage.

At that time, Ibi was also among the crowd.

But Ibi was not looking at the benevolent Holy Lady, but at the girl sitting next to her.

The girl, who looked about the same age as Ibi, seemed to have come from Tienda like the Holy Lady.

She had a face quite similar to the Holy Lady’s, and was receiving people’s attention and cheers next to the Holy Lady, wearing very fine clothes.

For some reason, Ibi couldn’t take her eyes off that child rather than the Holy Lady.

It was because a certain question pierced the top of Ibi’s head and captivated her.

Why is that child so different from me?

In that bustling street, Ibi suddenly became curious.

While I always try not to stand out to others, why is that child so confidently in front of people?

Why do adults who were quick to chase me away act like kind people, greeting that child first?

A pure question captivated Ibi, and it was only as the Holy Lady’s procession was ending that Ibi barely realized.

Ah, I see.

A girl my age can be treated that importantly too.

Just not me.

Has that child ever been hungry? Has she ever slept on the street, or begged or stolen?

Probably not.

Why?

Because just as I am not that child, that child is not me.

Because that child is different from me. I don’t know why, but almost everything is different.

Orphans in the slums naturally realize and accept this fate when they come of age.

But Ibi rather came to hold a new question.

It’s really strange.

If people are all born differently and live different lives, why am I here and you are there?

Why, of all things, am I on the unfortunate side?

Ibi could not find an answer.

Instead, everything from that moment was etched in her mind, occasionally coming back to her even after time had passed.

It was the same when Ibi was twelve years old, running and panting.

“Over there! Split up and chase!”

The shouts and curses of men.

The sound of a large dog barking wildly.

The countless footsteps chasing after her, pounding on the stone pavement.

Ibi was desperately running, trying to escape all those sounds.

And even as her breath reached her chin, she thought.

Ah. You who are different from me, have you ever even imagined a moment like this?

Emerging from an alley, Ibi discovered a collapsed wall and pushed her body into that narrow gap.

If I can just get past here. If I can just get past here, they won’t be able to chase me.

“Ah!”

But something bit into Ibi’s ankle. It was the hunting dog that had been chasing Ibi along with the men.

Ibi struggled without even time to feel pain.

But it persistently held on, and in the meantime, a man who had caught up pulled Ibi out from between the walls.

“Wow, you stubborn thing. Finally caught you.”

“Let go of this!”

The man sneered unpleasantly, but when Ibi kicked him in the side, his expression immediately turned harsh.

“Why, you…”

The man struck Ibi. And still not satisfied, he raised his hand again.

What Ibi felt then was not pain but shock.

At that fierce shock, her head went blank for a moment.

As if her body and mind were separated, it felt like the person curled up on the ground being beaten was not her.

So Ibi became a nameless spectator, quietly watching what was happening to herself.

“Hey, take it easy!”

At that moment, another man shouted.

For a moment, Ibi awoke from that strange sensation.

“If you break a bone, it’ll be troublesome. Why are you ruining what we worked hard to catch?”

But at the man’s following words, Ibi chuckled and returned to that languor.

Of course.

Everything felt ridiculous. For some reason, her mood felt light and fluffy.

While her body was caught here unable to move, her heart felt like it could fly anywhere.

Ah, when I open my eyes, will I be in a cage?

If so, why is it me of all people?

If it keeps going like this, would it be better to just give up on being me?

As Ibi was thinking blankly, it was then.

An unfamiliar sound echoed in Ibi’s distant ears.

The sound of lightning striking.

The sound of men screaming.

And the sound of dogs whimpering.

Ibi could not distinguish whether those sounds were reality or delusion.

The gentleness of the hands embracing her was also unbelievable.

So when Ibi woke up again, she could not easily accept it.

The reality of lying in an unrealistically cozy bed, face to face with an unbelievably kind astrologer.

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.

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Eight years after that memory of a narrow escape.

For another revival, Ibi was being tormented by a reptilian flying creature on the windy hills of Tienda.

“B-butler, please do something about this…!”

Ibi said, uncharacteristically terrified.

Where Ibi is now is the western edge of the cliff in Tienda.

On that green hill where the wind blows incessantly, Ibi in her outdoor attire was pale white because of the bright red dragon fidgeting in front of her.

That dragon was about twice the size of a horse. And it was neatly covered in bright red scales like the sunset.

As Ibi watched the dragon nervously while stiffly frozen, Dies said:

“There’s no need to be so afraid.”

“You know I’ve been bitten by a dog before.”

“That statement is disrespectful to the daughters of Tardes…”

As Dies chided in a lowered voice, Ibi quickly shut her mouth.

Then she glanced sideways at a group of dragons resting in the grass.

In Tiendabis, those red dragons are called ‘the daughters of Tardes’.

This is because they are avatars of the twilight dragon Tardes, who is in hiding due to deep wounds.

Tardes was an essential being for the continuation of the world, like Manana.

If Manana purifies seawater for Tiendabis, it is Tardes who moves the atmosphere that draws that water from the deep sea.

But after being deeply wounded in the war with Noche and becoming unable to fulfill her role, Tardes created beings to act in her stead.

Those are these small dragons, the daughters of Tardes.

The daughters of Tardes not only stabilize the atmosphere and draw up seawater in place of their mother, but also carry people on their backs to allow them to travel between Tienda and Bis.

However, it was forbidden to try to tame or own them like livestock.

Dragons are originally sacred and wise beings that care for humans.

As they are avatars of such beings, people naturally had to respect the daughters of Tardes as well.

Even if that being has been persistently sniffing and fidgeting towards a person since earlier.

“Then please wait a moment, I’ll go find someone to carry us.”

Dies left the troubled Ibi behind and approached the dragons sitting in the field.

To ride a daughter of Tardes, one must first politely ask for help and receive permission.

Left alone with one of Tardes’ daughters, Ibi began to speak nervously.

“Um, do you have something to say? Why are you… to me like this… Ah, could it be…”

Uncomfortable with the daughter’s attention, Ibi belatedly recalled what she had in her pocket.

It was a large chocolate cookie. Thinking she might need emergency rations to go to Bis, she had mindlessly brought it along.

As Ibi took the cookie out of her pocket, the daughter of Tardes’ eyes lit up. So Ibi hesitantly held out what was in her hand.

“Um, would you like to eat this?”

No sooner had Ibi offered than the dragon gobbled up the cookie in one bite.

Then Dies, a few steps away, belatedly restrained her.

“Lady Ibi, you shouldn’t do that.”

“Ah, are we not supposed to give them things like cookies?”

“No, if you give to just one, the others will protest.”

“Eek!”

As soon as Dies finished speaking, the daughters of Tardes who had seen the cookie flocked to Ibi.

Then they started bumping Ibi with their snouts as if demanding she give them some too.

“Ah, please don’t do this. I don’t have any more. Ouch…”

Among the daughters, some beat the ground with their wings or directly rummaged through Ibi’s pockets with their front paws.

Ibi turned almost pale as the already scary dragons surrounded her.

But then, the daughter who had eaten the cookie from Ibi roared at her sisters.

At the scolding inaudible to Ibi or Dies, the dragons that had been bothering Ibi quietly retreated.

And that one daughter walked in front of Dies and lay down on the ground.

“It seems she will carry us.”

Whether as thanks for the cookie, that daughter willingly offered her back.

So Dies carefully placed the prepared saddle on top.

After putting on the reins as well, Ibi and Dies climbed onto the daughter’s back together.

That red dragon immediately ran down the hill and threw herself into the air at the edge of the cliff.

Ibi, who ended up falling along with it, felt her heart rising.

Just as she was about to scream, unable to hold back any longer, the dragon flapped its wings and took flight.

Finally able to breathe, Ibi looked up. Tienda, already far away, could be seen at a glance.

That large yet small continent was draped with rainbows here and there due to the large streams of water and spray falling to Bis.

Ibi gazed at Tienda for a while before lowering her head.

Then the endless expanse of the continent came into view. It was Bis.

How long had it been since she’d seen Bis.

Ibi felt mixed emotions as she reunited with that hateful yet longed-for world.

But there was no time to be lost in sentimentality.

This was because the daughter of Tardes, who had been smoothly descending with Ibi and Dies, suddenly stopped in mid-air.

That daughter hovered in the air, leisurely flapping her wings, and Dies, who was consequently suspended in the air, asked what was wrong.

“Why are you doing this?”

Normally, they should have continued descending like this to drop Ibi and Dies off in the Wind Valley directly below Tienda.

However, the daughter remained stationary at a dizzying height and began circling in place.

Ibi grabbed the saddle in surprise, and Dies also grabbed Ibi’s shoulders in front of him in surprise.

Even when pulling on the reins, the daughter just shook her head and didn’t listen. But there was no rough feeling to her actions.

So Dies asked again half in doubt:

“Are you perhaps trying to take us to our destination?”

The daughter nodded her head greatly as if Dies’ words were correct.

It was an extremely exceptional treatment for a daughter of Tardes to personally escort them. So Dies stated the destination without needing to be asked twice.

“We are on our way to the southeast. Please take us to the fork between the border and the southern cities.”

The daughter of Tardes seemed to understand well and beat her wings greatly. Then she began to fly swiftly towards the southeast.

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.

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The daughter of Tardes covered a distance that would take two days by carriage in just one hour.

It was rare for the daughters to leave the area between the Wind Hills and Wind Valley, so Ibi and Dies had quite a windfall with just one cookie.

“Thanks to her, we saved quite a bit of travel time.”

Dies muttered at the southeastern fork they had arrived at in an instant.

It was good that they had come comfortably and quickly, but the date to meet with the helper was already set anyway.

So Dies thought they would have to stay around here and wait without changing the schedule.

But Ibi’s thoughts were a little different.

“Does this mean we have about two days left?”

“Yes, we have time until the morning three days from now.”

“Then can we visit another city? It’s not too far from here.”

Ibi’s expression as she said this was undeniably eager.

In fact, Ibi had been feeling restless ever since Dies’ helper told them to come to the southeast.

This was because the southeast was the region where Ibi had met the astrologer and lived with him.

“I think that would be fine. As long as it’s a city within the southeast.”

Seeing Ibi’s expression, Dies agreed without objection.

So Ibi, suppressing her expectations and preparing for disappointment, headed towards her hometown, mixed with painful memories and warm recollections.

And there, she encountered an unimaginable figure.