Child of Thunder and Dragon of Powdered Snow
"Valm! Why did you do something like that!?"
It was a scolding from his father.
Unable to understand, yet unable to retort, the young Valm ran out of the house.
"Brother!"
Even young Sera's call didn't reach Valm's ears. She watched as his figure grew smaller through the open door, and glared at her father.
"Father! It's cruel to be angry! Brother did it for my sake―――"
"I know."
While fiddling with his own hair, which was also a bit wavy like Valm and Sera’s, their father sighed.
"…Even so, that was a bit too much."
Valm had knocked down several local children. The reason? Because Sera had been surrounded and taunted by some neighborhood bullies.
The blame should have mostly fallen on the bullies. Still, this should have been a trivial squabble between children—if Valm were an ordinary child.
Since he was five, Valm had been training with a spear as part of his preparation to become a knight. By the time he was eight, he was training with adults in combat, and his spear skills were already on par with seasoned knights.
He had even caught the attention of the "Sword Saint," who had taken him as an apprentice.
Though still a child, Valm was strong. He was adept at handling magic, and his spear skills were already on par with his father, a current knight.
He absorbed knowledge from his training and real-world experiences like a sponge, growing at an abnormal rate. His father believed that by next year—no, in just six months—Valm would surpass him.
Valm, with his strength comparable to a seasoned knight, had struck the children out of anger.
What happens when someone like Valm, with such strength, hits children in a fit of rage?
The bullies had no time to escape and fell before Valm’s blows. Naturally, they were all severely injured. Some suffered broken bones and internal injuries, wounds so severe they could have been fatal.
Thanks to the emergency healing magic from the church’s healers, all of them survived, but they were still unable to get out of bed, even after receiving treatment.
Valm claimed that he had held back enough not to kill them. While they hadn't died, the injuries were far beyond the level one would expect from a children's quarrel. And thus, his father’s scolding.
But to the eight-year-old Valm, it made no sense. He had just punished the bullies who were tormenting his little sister, so why should he be the one to be scolded?
His father sighed again and gently patted Sera's head.
"However, I also spoke too harshly. I will talk to Valm again later. This time, I won’t shout. We’ll have some hot milk and talk it through."
“…! Yes! Absolutely, absolutely!"
Sera’s face brightened. Valm would return after his training, once the sun had set. She thought to herself how much she hoped the sun would set soon, and then she closed the door that had been left ajar.
During a flight training session that day, while riding a wyvern, Valm lost his balance and fell, breaking one of his legs. Perhaps because of the earlier incident, Valm stubbornly refused the healer's treatment. He also refused to listen to his father's words.
Sulking, Valm avoided even the dragon stable where his lifelong companion, the dragon Flugel, lived, and instead spent several days staring absentmindedly at the Ice Snow Mountains from the corner of town.
It was during this time that a girl called out to him.
"……Valm."
With a quiet yet soothing voice, his name was called, and Valm frowned as he turned around. His eyes widened in shock. The white-haired girl standing there was—naked.
"W-w-wha?!"
"……? What's wrong?"
The girl tilted her head and approached Valm. Startled, Valm missed grabbing his crutch and stumbled backward, sitting down on the ground while awkwardly scooting away from the girl.
"F-f-f-f-f-f-f-fo-fo-fo-fo-fo-f-f-f-fo-FOOOOOR CLOTHES!!?! Why are you naked!?!?!"
"Clothes... oh. They're too tight."
"Who takes their clothes off just because they're tight!? If you don’t wear clothes, you’ll— you’ll catch a cold!"
"A cold? I won’t catch a cold."
"You WILL catch a cold! Go home right now! Put some clothes on!"
"Ehhh…………"
"GO HOME!"
Despite her dejection, the girl reluctantly turned and left, while Valm, his face bright red, chased her off. What was that girl? How did she even know his name? He was left confused as he made his way home that day.
And the next day, in the same place. The white-haired girl appeared again. Once again, she was naked.
"Valm."
"You again... I told you to wear clothes."
Grumbling, Valm reluctantly took off his fur coat and threw it at the girl. The girl tilted her head in confusion as she caught it.
"You'll catch a cold."
"Don’t tell me about it. You're training all wrong."
Valm raised his arm, showing off his muscular bicep despite his young age. The girl smiled at him.
"That’s true. Valm has never caught a cold, right?"
"Yeah, because I’m tough… wait, how do you know that? How do you even know my name…?"
"I know everything about you. Like how you recently fought with your father."
"How do you know that?! Has it become gossip?! My father has such a loud voice…"
As he said this, Valm grimaced as he recalled the time when his father had scolded him. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn’t accept it. He hadn’t done anything wrong. It was the bullies who tormented Sera who were at fault.
The girl, now wearing the coat, sat down beside Valm.
"You were sad and frustrated because your father scolded you, and you couldn’t focus on your training."
"So you were watching…"
"Yeah, that’s right. And then you fell and broke your leg. Even as an apprentice, you’re not fit to be a dragon knight. You can’t face Flugel like this."
Comforted by the girl, Valm felt as if Flugel himself were speaking to him, and his heart grew warm.
"Yeah, maybe. I was stubborn and refused treatment… if I had just accepted the treatment back then, I would’ve been able to return to training by now."
Looking up at the sky, Valm sighed, feeling regretful. He glanced at the girl, who appeared to be slightly older than him—perhaps around ten years old. Her face bore a resemblance to Sera’s, refined and graceful. She was a stranger, at least not from the town.
"Now that I think about it, where are you from? Why are you here without clothes? Are you the child of a traveling merchant?"
"...Don't you know?"
"How could I know? This is the first time I've met you, right? Or… have we met somewhere before?"
Valm tilted his head, perplexed. The girl thought for a moment and then smiled, as if she'd just come up with a playful idea.
"It's a secret."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
Valm shrugged his shoulders in confusion.
From then on, the girl appeared in the same place, at the same time, every day. She never showed herself in the town, nor would she appear if anyone else was nearby. Because of this, Valm began visiting the spot alone, without telling his father or Sera, often with his crutches in hand.
He talked with the girl about many things, though she never initiated the conversation—he would talk endlessly, until there was nothing left to say. Even when their conversations ended and silence followed, it was never awkward. Just having her next to him was enough to make him feel at ease.
One day, as Valm muttered about wanting to walk normally again soon, the girl tugged at the hem of his coat and led him down a relatively flat path to begin some light rehabilitation.
Sometimes, they would walk to a hill to pick flowers, or to the foot of the mountains to build a snowman. For Valm, who had been wielding a spear since he was little, these simple activities felt fresh and enjoyable.
"See that tower over there? That’s a remade prison from the ancient ruins, called the Codai Ruins. It's a notorious prison that never lets criminals escape. It's a local landmark of Steria."
Pointing to a large tower visible from the foot of the mountain, Valm spoke, laughing as he added that it was something his father had told him. The girl quietly listened, her attention fully on him.
This peaceful life continued for about three months, and Valm’s leg steadily improved. He no longer needed his crutches and could walk normally again.
One day, however, when Valm arrived at their usual meeting spot, the girl was nowhere to be found. He waited and waited, but she didn’t show up. While thinking about her, Valm suddenly realized—he still hadn’t asked her name.
His leg had healed, and his father and instructor had been urging him to return to training. He wouldn’t be able to visit this place much longer. He had to tell the girl today.
So, Valm continued waiting, even as the sun set and the moon rose. But still, she didn’t appear.
Even so, Valm refused to leave. Something suddenly shoved against his back, like a gentle push. Surprised, he turned around to find Flugel, his beloved dragon, who had likely escaped from the stables.
"Flugel! What are you doing here…?"
It had been about three months since he last saw Flugel, and Valm was greeted with a low growl, as if the dragon were mildly upset.
Feeling like he was being scolded for not visiting, Valm awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"S-sorry, I’ve been busy… I was planning to come see you tomorrow, really. Look, my leg is better!"
Valm hopped up and down excitedly to show off his improvement. Flugel snorted in disbelief and bit Valm’s collar, tossing him onto his back. Surprised, Valm quickly spun in mid-air and landed lightly on Flugel’s back.
"Flugel, what’s going on—"
Ignoring Valm’s question, Flugel soared into the sky, his powerful wings lifting them both with incredible speed. In an instant, they were high above the clouds.
Now accustomed to the icy coldness above the clouds, Valm slowly opened his eyes. Below him stretched the vast, glittering Ice Snow Mountains, bathed in moonlight. Valm took in the breathtaking view, savoring the crisp, heavenly air.
Flugel gave a low growl, as if to say, This is your world. Valm, feeling a sense of guilt, gently petted Flugel’s mane and apologized softly.
"I’m home."
Those words were a return to the sky, to where he truly belonged. Looking at Flugel’s white mane, Valm suddenly remembered the white-haired girl. Her hair had been as pure as snow, beautiful in its whiteness.
"Flugel… will you listen? Let me tell you about these last three months. Right after I broke my leg, a girl appeared out of nowhere, and she was—"
Valm, reminiscing a little wistfully, spoke of the girl. Flugel listened quietly, just as the white-haired girl had done.
It was a story of Valm’s childhood, of an unnamed girl. A gentle, bittersweet story—Valm’s first love.
——.
T/N: Thanks for reading this far! With this Volume 3 Translations are over.
Whenever a Volume 4 is announced or released I will be sure to translate it!