Dragoon

This is the tale of a young girl who was no longer a goddess.

◇

Rudel mulled over how to treat the former goddess who had come to the academy. If he simply left her at the ruins of the temple, she would die, and having lost her godessly abilities and mana, the young girl had no means to survive. Looking no more than fifteen, her beautiful blond hair, and body you could call art were splendid, but their contents were much too unfortunate.

At present, she was eating in the boys' dorm cafeteria, dangerously wielding her spoon and fork to eat as she sullied the area around her mouth. Ever since she obtained a body, the goddess had faced numerous problems The reason Rudel and Aleist had taken so much time lay in how difficult it was to look after her.

"Oy, granny over there, why are you spilling so much? The table and your clothes are a mess."

Aleist looked at the former goddess as he cautioned her, and the goddess tried to do something about it… but once that proved hopeless, she gave up and talked back.

"S-shut it. And you're not looking after me anyways. The one looking after me is Rudel."

Right, ever since the formed goddess obtained a body, it was mostly Rudel looking after her. Aleist had no experience in child rearing, but Rudel had looked after his stepsister Lena before.

"I'm fine with looking after you, but more importantly, what are you going to do when I'm in class? We're going off to class now."

Rudel flipped through a book titled, 'Training your Dog', as she asked the former goddess. The goddess only knew the word class as its dictionary definition, so she tilted her head in wonder.

"Can't I just follow you?"

On those words, Luecke- who didn't believe she was a former goddess- answered.

"You're not a student of the academy, so you can't take part in classes. More importantly, why don't you decide a name soon? On top of it being hard to address you, it's painstakingly annoying to explain to other people."

Eunius was eating his breakfast, and he didn't seem very interested in the former goddess. Perhaps dissatisfied with the attitudes of the four boys, the former goddess stood from her seat and wept as she protested.

"Even I'm getting tired of saying former-goddess every time! Everyone makes a dubious face… isn't my beauty enough proof of my divine origins?"

She was definitely beautiful. If her mouth and clothes weren't soiled, she might even look divine. Rudel closed his book as he looked at the former goddess.

"Former goddess, sit down when you eat. And it's good manners to keep quiet, so you don't bother everyone around."

"Erk, got it."

"That's a good girl, good former goddess. Have a flan as a reward."

"Yippee!"

Saying that, Rudel presented his own desert flan. The former goddess rejoiced… Aleist looked between Rudel and the goddess, and the book in Rudel's hand as he muttered. He should have noticed something was off when Rudel was reading a book on dogs rather than dragons.

"You… Rudel's thinking of you as a dog, you know."

The goddess froze half-way through her delicious flan.

◇

"What's with those blasphemers!? I don't need them, I can survive alone."

The former goddess angrily walked through the campus. Before Rudel and the others could head off for class, she finished up her flan and ran out of the dining hall. Her mouth and clothes still dirty… The academy staff saw from the card hanging at her neck that she was authorized by the Arses house, and stopped themselves from cautioning her.

"Very well, I'll show them. I'll make it all by myself."

And like that, the former goddess knew the first thing she needed was a place to sleep. She didn't know why, but the card she got from Rudel hanging at her neck let her get into mostly everywhere. Using it, the former goddess tried to search out a place she could live. She didn't have any interest in the finer rules of humanity, and she didn't really understand what it meant to be at school.

"Let's see… that building looks like a worthy temple to me."

The goddess set out for the dwelling that didn't reek of men, the girls' dorm. As she approached, she was stopped at the entrance. The female knight on duty surrounded her with a number of female soldiers.

"What!? What's all this!?"

"There are a few things I have to ask you, but first off, could you show me your ID?"

Panicked as she was, the former goddess handed over the card she got from Rudel. After the female knight wiped the grime off the card, she breathed a deep sigh and let the goddess into the dorm. Cautioning her not to make a mess.

While the female knight saw her off inside, a new soldier recruit asked in a perplexed tone.

"Umm, was that really alright? Letting that child into the girls' dorm?"

"You're new around here, are you? Listen well… these past few years, the girls' dorm has been at peace. It's all because the princess is here, but before that, those damn brats would always try to look for openings in our patrols and try to infiltrate. But at this point, there's only one man who'll ever try to enter the princess-occupied girls' dorm."

"Eh!? There's one who still breaks in!? That's a huge problem, isn't it? Before I was stationed here, they told me, you can harm low ranking nobles if need be, just prevent anyone from getting through."

"… Rudel Arses. The eldest son of one of the tree lords. He boldly enters the girls' dorm through the front door."

"That's definitely strange. There's no way such a thing would be permitted! The princess is here, so naturally, even the child of an archduke should receive considerably punishment!"

The new recruit let out a sound argument as she latched onto her superior's tale, but the female knight spoke with a serious look on her face.

"You definitely can't go against him. I'm not saying it because I fear his authority or might, that boy… Rudel-sama boasts a technique far scarier than any of that…"

Seeing her superior shake as she hung her head, the new recruit gulped down her spit. Just what could be happening in this academy… but outside the eyes of the recruit's serious worries, her superior's downcast face was just a little red.

◇

"Despite how it looked from the outside, this place is full of small rooms. But the rooms are bigger in this area. It's similar to the rooms around Rudel's place, so I'm sure there are some extravagant ones around here… I'll make one of them my own."

The former goddess talked to herself as she walked. At the end of her path was Fina's room, guarded by high knights. As the building held a similar make to the boys' form, the former-goddess determined it was the best room and walked right up to it. Of course, she didn't forget to flash the card she got from Rudel.

(This card really is amazing. All the people who don't believe me no matter how I explain, they suddenly listen after they looked at this card… but it's a bit vexing.)

"… Arses House!? W-wait just a moment. No, please wait."

The high knight who looked at her as a suspicious person, upon seeing the card, her complexion suddenly changed as she rushed into the room. As she did, a few dreadful noises and footsteps came from within before the luxurious doors were slammed open with good momentum.

"Where's master's pet!? I'm sure it's super fluffy and… flu… fy? Wait, fluff aside, all I see is a filthy woman. Sophina, what is the meaning of this?" (I rushed when I heard we had a guest with a card saying she was master's pet, but the only one here is a woman who's mouth and clothes are all dirty… hah, what a let-down.)

As Fina expressionlessly burst out, the former goddess was surprised. But even in that situation, she felt irritated when Fina spoke ill of her.

"I am a goddess. Former as it may be… no matter how you look at it, isn't that treatment just terrible? And what do you mean by pet…"

The former goddess tried to nail in her anger, but Fina wasn't interested in the slightest as she struck up a conversation with Sophina.

"Meaning it's that? He's showing me his woman to tell me to give up on fluffadise? This must be a challenge from master."

"You're wrong, princess. Why are you interpreting it like that? It seems she's involved with Rudel-dono in some way, and she might be of considerable statue. It's possible he left her with a message…"

"Don't lie to me. Master would fail to read the mood and come to me directly if he wanted to say something. He'd never use such a roundabout… I see! So that's how it is!"

Fina's expressionless face suddenly turned to the former goddess. As the former goddess took it with surprise and fear, Fina made a grandiose declaration.

"You're master's new disciple! The fact you came to me, your senior disciple is proof that master told you to gauge your own abilities… very well, I'll show you my true strength!"

"Wha- even like this, I'm a goddess, hey, wait, don't strip me! If anything rips, Rudel will scold me!"

Fina attempted to strip off the former goddess' clothes. Even in that situation, she remained expressionless, and feeling fear from her clothes suddenly being pulled away, the former goddess fled from the spot. Half in tears, her clothes only half-worn, she ran as fast as she could.

"What are you doing, princess!?"

"It's just as you saw. And naturally, I won that one." (Hmm, what a trifling junior disciple I've gotten. Master must have knotholes for eyes… to take a child so unsuited to fluffing as his disciple, the day I surpass master might be closer than I thought.)

"That may have been Rudel-dono's fiancée!"

On Sophina's words, a huge jolt ran through Fina's body.

"I-it couldn't be…" (Impossible. There's no way master could have a fiancée! I mean, I pleaded to father, did all those dodgy deals, and spread rumors to crush his fiancee candidates! If that's how it is, then I have no choice but to borrow the forbidden mother power or fluffadise will forever be a dream.)

A discouraged Fina. Noticing Fina act different than usual, she must be in love with Rudel… Sophina made no such misunderstanding.

(I'm sure this girls' going to start something crazy again.)

Sophina was beginning to understand her lord.

◇

Half in tears, the former goddess timidly walked the halls of the girls' form. Unlike how she boldly carried herself at first, now she carefully searched out the exit. At times, she would see underdressed girl students walking around, and she would make sure not to be seen.

But one wrong turn in her flight from Fina, and she had ended up completely lost. At this point, even the former goddess didn't know if she was crying because of Fina, or crying because she was lost.

"To hell with it all, making fun of me… I'll get back on them someday."

Makin statements unthinkable from a former goddess, the former goddess walked towards what she hoped was the exit. But to that goddess, the true goddess descended.

"Hey, aren't you Rudel's…"

"Haau!"

The former goddess turned around to find Izumi with a kind look on her face. As they had been introduced at the start, the formed goddess remembered her face. On the appearance of the gentle Izumi, this time the goddess shed tears of gratitude. On the woman who looked like her goddess of salvation, the former goddess began to pray.

"M-my goddess."

"Eh?"

As the former goddess put her hands together in prayer, Izumi spent a moment in thought.