[Creative Novel] Ilm the Sea Dragon and Reef the Sky-Dweller 1

[Synopsis]
In a mysterious world where two types of humans exist—the "Sky-dwellers" who live in the sky and the "Earth-dwellers" who live on the ground—Ilm, a sea dragon, lived in the ocean as a marine creature.
One stormy night, Ilm was sealed away in a deep valley of the undersea mountain range by the magic of a young Sky-dweller boy.
Twenty years after being sealed, one day, a Sky-dweller boy named Reef appeared before Ilm.
Reef pleaded with Ilm to help him find his best friend, Malte, a Sky-dweller who had descended to the surface, on the condition that he would release Ilm from the seal.
Transformed into the form of a young human man, Ilm travels the surface with Reef, feeling surprised and moved by the human society and the people he encounters for the first time—.
"I am properly connected to the world, and to the future."
A story of the strange friendship and adventure between Ilm the sea dragon and Reef the Sky-dweller.

Chapter 1: The "Sky-dweller" and the "Earth-dweller"

At the bottom of a certain sea in a world where two types of humans live—those called "Sky-dwellers" who live in the heavens and those called "Earth-dwellers" who live on the earth.
There was a sealed sea dragon.

"Sealed here for twenty years already..."

Ilm the sea dragon muttered languidly.
In a deep valley of the undersea mountain range, inside an invisible cage created by magic, Ilm was trapped.

That Sky-dweller brat.

Ilm remembered that day as if it were yesterday.
It was a stormy sea. An Earth-dweller ship was being tossed about by the rough waves. Ilm poked his head above the surface and opened his mouth, intending to swallow the Earth-dwellers who were about to be thrown into the sea.
By the way, humans are not Ilm's staple food. He didn't actively attack ships on his own, but he was the type to not let an opportunity like this pass him by.

"Ah. A sea monster...! It's trying to attack the Earth-dwellers' ship. Alright, a test of skill it is."

A boy shouted, standing on top of an exceptionally large wave. He was a Sky-dweller who had descended from the sky at some point.
The boy let his soft golden hair dance in the wind, and even in the storm, he did not squint, his large blue eyes shining even brighter.

A test of skill...? Is that not the purpose of saving the Earth-dwellers?

He felt a little puzzled. Ilm did not understand human speech, but the words of the Sky-dwellers seemed to reach across species. He had been caught on the boy's words about a "test of skill."
Sky-dwellers and Earth-dwellers have similar appearances. The differences were that Sky-dwellers could use something called magic, Earth-dwellers continued to prosper on the ground while Sky-dwellers were very few in number, and Sky-dwellers aged very slowly and lived long lives after reaching adulthood—those were the three points. And basically, those two types of humans kept their distance from each other. Rarely, a child would be born between those who fell in love, but a child with the blood of both was considered an existence loathed by both Sky-dwellers and Earth-dwellers.
Ilm the sea dragon had no way of knowing the detailed circumstances of such humans. He had thought that because they were the same kind, they must be companions.

I see. Does he intend to lift the ship under the guise of a test of skill?

He thought the boy was trying to lift the ship, which was on the verge of shipwreck, from the sea to the sky using the power of magic. He must have thought that looking from above, this situation could be used for a "test of skill," but that would result in helping people. He understood that the Sky-dweller boy had come because he judged that it was all the more worth challenging.
However.

"Abominable sea monster, sink to the bottom of the sea...!"

What the boy shouted was, no matter how you looked at it, a spell directed at him.
Ilm didn't even have time to think, 'Ah.' At the same time as his whole body was enveloped in light, he was pressed down with great force and pulled down toward the bottom of the sea.

This is the magic of the Sky-dwellers...!

Even Ilm, with his massive body many times larger than the ship and his great strength, could not resist. While being pulled toward the seabed, he also saw the figures of the Earth-dwellers who had fallen into the sea.

That brat, does he not intend to save the Earth-dwellers...!?

Surprise and indignation.

If that's the case, let me eat them...!

Clang, there was a sound of something closing.
Ilm had been trapped in a giant magical cage created on the seabed.

Ilm does not know.

"Oh well. So many have fallen. Can't be helped. I suppose I'll pick them up."

After sealing Ilm, the boy used magic to pull the people who had fallen into the sea back up and onto the ship.

"They say it's not good to get too involved with the Earth-dwellers, after all. Right, I think I'll head home now."

The boy was satisfied just knowing he had put everyone who fell back on the ship. The ship might sink after that, or it might be lucky enough to be saved. But the boy had no interest in that.

"I've defeated a monster!"

The boy's face beamed at the success of his magic, and he returned to the home in the sky where his father and mother were waiting. The fate of the ship glimpsed amidst the waves had to be left to the heavens.

Ilm's eyes widened.

"Hello."

At the bottom of the sea, outside the cage, stood a boy. Ilm thought that anyone who could stand calmly at the bottom of the sea must be a Sky-dweller.

That brat...!

He looked just like the boy from back then. Golden hair, blue eyes, a slender build. But even Ilm knew that the boy in front of him was not the same boy from that time. This one was clearly younger than that brat.

No matter how unique the growth cycle of the Sky-dwellers might be, they do not regress. He was a different person. For twenty years, Ilm had almost no opportunity to interact with other living beings. In this sealed state, he didn't seem to get hungry or need to eat. He simply spent his time inside the transparent cage, idly watching fish and other things pass by.

Are you speaking to me?

Ilm was bewildered by the fact that joy was dwelling in his heart at that moment. Even though this was a Sky-dweller, who he should have hated for stealing his freedom,

this brat was a different individual.

Thinking that, he felt he could forgive the stirrings of his own heart.

Hey, hey. Sea monster. I'll get you out of here and save you, so cooperate with me.

Get me out of here...? You seem quite young. Can you really do such a thing?

Yes. So, promise me you'll cooperate. Please.

The boy brought his face close to Ilm's and his eyes welled up with tears.

So eyes well up with tears even underwater.

Ilm was impressed by something rather trivial. Ilm knew that humans shed tears when they are sad, in pain, or overwhelmed with emotion. In fact, sea dragons are the same. However, it is only visible to others when they surface above the water.

I want to save my best friend...!

The boy burst into tears.

So, lend me your strength—

A promise is a contract. Ilm understood the weight of that.

However, just staying like this would only let the years pass in vain—.

No light shines here, and I cannot feel the wind. The wind, that pleasant sensation I feel all over my body when I leap vigorously from the sea surface—.

Besides.

Besides, I thought.
The alien creature before me. A different living thing, one that could even be food—.

Besides, this one—.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. Perhaps due to some magical power, the boy's figure appeared clearly as if bathed in light. A creature far smaller than myself, and seemingly so fragile—.

Please, Sea Dragon...!

Pleading eyes. Looking straight at me.
The boy pressed his palms against the invisible, transparent wall. His palms were trembling.
Ilm raised a 'hand' with long claws, many times larger than the boy's palm. Then, he placed his palm against the area where the boy's palm was.
Through the transparent wall, the small palm and the overly large palm met—.

My name is Ilm. Boy. When making a request, let alone a contract, one should state their own name first, don't you think?

The boy's face brightened instantly, as if a flower had bloomed.

I, my name is Reef...!

Reef, the boy from the sky, was brimming with excitement.
Above Ilm and Reef, a long, thin, rainbow-colored fish fluttered its body as it swam past. In the deep sea, that rainbow color is invisible. But—.

"Reef. I haven't even agreed to your request yet, have I?"

"Yeah! But I'm happy you told me your name, Ilm...!"

A single streak of brilliance remained in the pitch-black sea.

◆Work published on Shousetsuka ni Narou◆