“Atlas has become strange..!!”
When Lucia saw my transformed self, she started weeping like the sky had fallen.
“What the heck is going on suddenly??”
“Wow… it doesn’t suit you.”
“What doesn’t suit me!!”
The friends who came in next were horrified by my appearance too.
What’s wrong with this look?
The distorted reflection in the mirror was actually pretty appealing.
Broad shoulders, long limbs—one could say I was a prime specimen of a bulked-up alpha male.
My original body wasn’t that pitiful.
If I only gained muscle without growing taller, it would end up looking like a dwarf, or as people say, a little person.
To prevent that, I had worked tirelessly on my build-up.
Honestly, it’s a good thing this world has an aura.
Even though I had worked hard for this body, the proportions made me feel small because of my height.
In that sense, this body, close to 190 cm, looks fantastic—as long as it’s not a fake.
I thought about wanting to live like this forever, but it didn’t sit well with me since it’s not real.
While I was getting absorbed in my reflection, I suddenly felt a strong killing intent from behind.
-Boom!
“Hey, that’s dangerous!”
“W-What are you doing..!!”
Out of nowhere, Casey swung her sword at me.
“Where did the old man go?!”
As Casey’s sword whisked by, my transformed body reverted to its original state.
I looked like someone who was surrounded by threats, fully on guard.
Was she that shocked at my sudden change?
Polymorphs, classified as powers, were tricky enough that even experienced knights found it hard to distinguish.
“See? I’m back to normal!”
-Swoosh!!
Once again, Casey lunged at me with her rapier.
Given the way she was targeting my vital points, she seemed dead serious.
Avoiding it was easy, but taking damage would only prolong this pointless standoff, so I decided to suppress her, and upon examining her stance, I noticed something interesting.
She was attacking in a position she often used during our sparring.
-Clang!!
As the tip of the rapier met the crossguard of my squirette’s weapon, the aura concentrated at the tip of the rapier shook violently.
Casey’s thrust contained an embedded aura; if I defended carelessly, that aura would explode, and I would incur major injuries.
However, if I could seize the flow, it was possible to nullify the explosion with my aura before it detonated.
The aura that was about to explode was swallowed up by mine, creating no incident whatsoever.
Casey simply wore an expression of heightened caution.
“Do you get it now?”
“… What was that just now?”
Casey’s eyes were filled with confusion.
What she had just seen from the polymorph was too vivid.
If it had been a clumsy transformation, it might have been easier to spot; using polymorph only increased the confusion.
“W-Wait…was that a polymorph? No wonder it felt odd… you were actually a dragon, weren’t you?!”
“Not at all. I just did it because I can.”
Gemma, who had seen me use polymorph, sparkled her eyes.
It seemed she mistook me for a dragon that transformed into a human.
When Casey lowered her rapier, she began to feel around my body randomly.
“… You really are the old man, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am.”
It seemed she only then accepted it.
“Old man, please… don’t do that again.”
“Why? Was it too cool?”
“… No, it’s just that you seem not like yourself, so please don’t do it..!!”
Casey’s grip on my collar trembled.
“Got it, I won’t do it. If I do it one more time, I might really get stabbed.”
She really seemed startled, so I decided to stop the jokes there.
.
.
.
I had seen from the window that the party was only within the castle, but the streets were already buzzing with festival vibes.
Though biased, it felt like all the prominent figures from various nations had gathered in one place.
The principalities didn’t throw their own festivals, but the various guilds and associations were keeping the street lively in their own ways.
What does that mean? It meant that it was going to be a real pain to get outside.
“I don’t want to blend into a crowd like this wearing white clothes.”
I was already short.
Among such crowds, it would doubtless be hard to avoid bumping into people, making me jostle around in all directions.
Just thinking about what would happen to my pristine white uniform made me shudder.
“If you’re going to worry about that, you should just ride in the same carriage with me instead of being stubborn.”
“I’m not riding, so just get going.”
“Scared, huh? Then I’ll head off first and wait for you, take your time.”
Perda, all ready to go, was already in the carriage, looking at me worriedly about the crowd outside.
Honestly, I really did want to ride, but I was holding myself back.
Riding in a carriage with another family’s crest on it would mean I’d be unable to achieve my goals.
It’s true that if I used my teleportation skill, I could bypass the crowd and head straight into the castle, but… would that really be okay?
Wouldn’t it be better to just rent a carriage and go leisurely?
“This won’t do.”
After mulling it over, I finally came to one conclusion.
I went back to find my companions who were preparing to go out and enjoy the festival from the upper floors.
“Back already? Did you decide that enjoying the festival with everyone was better than the party?”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.”
River waved at me as soon as I returned, but there was only one person I was targeting.
“Gemma, help me out!”
“Uh… Gah!? Wh-What is this about?!”
Gemma was startled when I suddenly asked for help.
“Just let me ride one more time.”
“Huh?!”
——————————–
Many people were gathering at Castle Prigia.
The castle, lavishly decorated to welcome guests, was bustling with visitors lined up for entry.
From the king of a nation to the saintess of the Church Country, and the elven healer from the forest, it was a party like no other.
At the entrance, there were attendants checking invitations along with mages present as a precaution against any doppelgangers or similar situations.
The idea of having to take such precautions against doppelgangers—monsters I had never even heard of in my life—was simply absurd from the servants’ perspective.
“Uh…?”
Something appeared in the sky.
It sparkled in gold, and I wondered if it was a shooting star, but then it started approaching the castle.
I initially thought it was an external attack spell, but the defensive magic did not activate.
It could either be a magic that wouldn’t trigger defensive spells, or a high-level magic altogether.
But that’s not what was important.
What mattered was that the golden something was plummeting toward us with incredible force.
“AAAHHH?!”
The guards shrieked as they saw the golden object descending at a speed that didn’t allow them to react.
“Here’s the invitation.”
“Uh… Yes, I’ve checked the invitation! Atlas… Titan-sama!”
.
.
.
[You ask for a ride at a time like this…?]
Gemma lent me her back once again.
I had considered various options, but ultimately, the simplest and most impactful choice was to make a grand entrance by riding on Gemma.
“Thanks as always.”
As I scratched the neck of a grumbling Gemma, she said, [Don’t brush it off like that! Do you have any idea what it means for a dragon to carry someone?!]
“I know.”
[You know and still..! Ugh… I don’t know!!]
Having dropped me off at the castle, Gemma vanished back into the sky.
She would likely join the others to enjoy the festival, I wondered what she meant by asking if I knew what it was like for a dragon to carry someone, but honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure.
However, I could take a guess.
Dragons are the greatest race. Even the arrogant high elves bow their heads before dragons.
Had they ever carried someone on their backs?
Absolutely not.
Carrying someone like that would mean submission and yielding; for a dragon to carry someone, that might symbolize humiliation rather than anything else.
Thinking back, whenever Gemma was to let someone ride, she wouldn’t put them on her back but would hold them in her hands instead.
I felt a bit guilty for constantly asking for favors, so I made a promise to do something nice for her next time.
“….”
I landed in a spot where people were getting off their carriages to enter the castle, so the area was buzzing with others who had also disembarked.
If I eavesdropped, I could hear what they were saying, but I decided against it.
If I happened to hear anything strange, I was bound to get angry.
“The Gold Dragon let you ride her back… Who are you, really?”
“Just an Academy student.”
Before I could say anything, someone jumped in and spoke first.
It was a familiar voice, and though I was a bit annoyed that they interrupted me, I recognized it.
“Wow, what a grand entrance! Looks like I’m about to be overshadowed as the protagonist!”
Just then, Nivas Perda, who had just gotten off the carriage, approached me with undue familiarity.
He was always unnecessarily friendly, but today it was even more so.
“Did you just arrive?”
“Yeah. Unlike someone, I came through the blocked path.”
Nivas pointed toward the crowded street beyond the entrance.
