Quelling the inquisitive crowd isn't as simple as I'd like.
I can't exactly explain away all of these events with lies, especially since I'll be telling the whole country the truth soon. I also can't let it simmer in their thoughts without addressing it at all. On the other hand, I should avoid divulging too much or raising too many extra questions. Yet, if I step forward and make an announcement as if I own the place, that's exactly what will happen.
I glance towards Nina to find that she's already giving me a knowing smile.
[Fufufu...leave it to your lovely wife.] (Nina)
I raise my eyebrow at her.
I would be lying if I said I don't have any concerns about just turning her lose to handle this, but I also think it's best if the words come from her, and we can't exactly stand around here much longer planning what to say while the crowd watches.
"You sure?" (Mizuki)
Nina nods, then slowly raises herself into the air with gravity magic without another word, causing me a pang of apprehension. Seeing her rising above the ground, the restless crowd slowly quiets and focuses their attention on her.
Nina sweeps her gaze over the silent crowd, then her voice booms across the Park, full of authority and lacking her normal playfulness.
"Hello, little elves. I can see that you are confused, so allow me to rectify that. It sounds like some of you were under the impression that Mizuki cannot use magic. However, that is untrue. I've only allowed this rumor to spread because it's what Mizuki told the humans when we lived among them, and I couldn't be bothered to tell a different story once we came here. Rest assured, though, that your royal and noble families, including Queen Elira, are fully aware of Mizuki's abilities already.
"As for why he'd hide his magic from humans, it's rather simple. His magical abilities are quite...exceptional, and he's concerned about what the humans might do in an effort to exploit him if they knew the truth. Naturally, I would massacre anyone who dared try such a thing, but that would be an annoyance we'd still rather avoid." (Nina)
I can't hide the shock on my face.
That's...actually a kind of genius explanation. Concise with minimal additional information about me, and it plays into their belief that Elder Dragons look down on other lifeforms. It also exploits their bias that humans aren't to be trusted. Maybe I was worrying about her handling this for nothing. It seems she can be rather cunning and tactful when she wants. I suppose that only makes sense – she's dozens of millennia old, and Azazel did once tell me that Elder Dragons are supposed to be smarter than humans.
Hearing Nina's words, a wave of surprised murmuring sweeps through the crowd before transitioning into more subdued whispers and nodding. It seems like I was right in thinking that they'd find Nina's explanation reasonable.
After a few moments, the elves once again start casting furtive glances at me. However, instead of the shock and apprehension evident before, their expressions and whispering tones seem to be laced with good-natured curiosity. I even see a few gazes that I could swear are...sympathetic?
As the chattering continues among the crowd's members, Nina's lips twist into a small smirk.
"I'm glad you all seem to understand, and I trust that we won't need to harbor such concerns about the elves while we are here. Now, I understand that some of you may be curious about Mizuki and his abilities after hearing all this. If so, you'll be pleased to know that there will actually be another Royal Announcement happening very soon, and any of your questions about Mizuki will likely be answered when it's held. Until then, I ask that you not bother me or my husband with such curiosities." (Nina)
The crowd once again falls silent as Nina's words echo in the open air. However, this time there is no burst of chatter after she finishes speaking. Instead, a deathly quiet seems to linger in the Park for several long moments. The reason soon becomes all to clear.
"Did...did she just call him her...husband?"
Nobody knows who first spoke the words, but they echo just as loudly as Nina's through the Park. Then, slowly, I feel the incredulous eyes of dozens and dozens of elves slowly fixating on me, the weight behind their gazes more intense than ever.
[Fufufufu...oops, did I let that detail slip? Silly me...] (Nina)
I hear Nina's self-satisfied giggle echo in my head. I can't do anything but pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes in exasperation.
That fucking dragon...
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
'Hmmm...perhaps I've spent too much time like this.'
Nina can't help but think so as she sits cross-legged on the couch in the so-called 'family room' of Mizuki's dwelling. Or rather, she's always told that it's technically Alto's dwelling, but she can't bring herself to take such a farce seriously. Mizuki conjured the money to purchase the structure, he used his abilities to bring it to this uninhabited area of the Elven Kingdom, and he is the sole reason that this little city of elves can even exist right now.
In her mind, she's the only other person who could claim some measure of responsibility for this dwelling, since she reshaped the mountain it sits upon. As for the whole matter of the elves' so-called laws saying that the house cannot belong to Mizuki, the concept would bring her to tears with laughter if it wasn't so simultaneously infuriating.
Who are they to tell someone like her husband that he cannot set up a nest where he wants? Absolutely ridiculous! It seems only more so when she considers all that Mizuki has done for them, and the fact that he chose an area that had been completely uninhabited by the elves for the entirety of their existence on this planet. Yet they have the audacity to act like Mizuki, and by extension she as well, should live at their discretion! Every time that this dwelling is referred to as Alto's or Alara's, the reminder of these things irritates her all over again.
Though, it's not like she holds anything against those two for it – they're just doing as Mizuki has asked, after all. In fact, she's grown to like Alara's presence in their little group, despite how abrasive others might consider it. She was a bit more resistant at first, given Alara's initial disrespect towards Mizuki, but with how deferential the elf is to him now, she's mostly over those past transgressions...at least with respect to Alara. She's a rather magnanimous woman, after all. She can appreciate people that learn their lesson and repent, and Alara has certainly done that.
As for Alto, she's actually her favorite non-dragon – besides her husband, of course. As a dragon, she's especially sensitive to the intentions and feelings of others, and the more time she spends around Alto, the more she likes her. Though it took some time to develop to this level, she's certain that Alto is more fiercely determined and loyal to Mizuki than any other member of their group, even Ilina. She can practically feel the mix of gratitude and admiration wafting off the elf whenever Mizuki is around.
'It's a shame that Mizuki doesn't seem to have any romantic intentions with her. Knowing what I do now...'
She lets out a deep sigh.
'My thoughts are wandering again. Is this another consequence of spending so much time in this form?'
Yes, that's the very question she'd been pondering before she got distracted. She casts another discerning glance towards her body, her eyes lingering on the soft, pinkish skin that's both strange and familiar to her. Though she has certainly adopted this form before in her life, she's spent the overwhelming majority of the last several dozen millennia as a dragon.
So, for the first couple weeks after she joined Mizuki, existing in her human form felt somewhat unnatural. She missed her wings, her towering vantage point, and the comfort of her protective scales, and walking on two legs felt so unsteady by comparison. Fortunately, most of this discomfort has faded with time, and she's even come to quite appreciate certain aspects of her human form.
For one, she appreciates how convenient this smaller, nimbler, more dexterous form is. It's less cumbersome to get around, and it's much more suited for enjoying all of the fun games and activities that Mizuki has introduced her to, as well as wearing the silver wedding ring she's grown quite fond of. Her fight with Veyron also proved just how useful her extra maneuverability as a human can be in combat.
The second major benefit of this form is the change in her senses. It's not that her human senses are functionally better. In fact, her hearing, eyesight, and even her sense of smell in her dragon form are decidedly superior. However, her human body's senses differ in two areas that she has thoroughly enjoyed – taste and touch.
The diversity and intensity of flavor experiences when eating food as a human is incomparable to that as a dragon, and she prefers the former without exception. This is only reinforced by the humans' and elves' apparent affinity with the art of cooking. She enjoys this particular change in her senses so much, in fact, that she's become a bit of a foodie.
This is a far cry from the relationship she had with food as a dragon, which involved relatively bland meals with a less rich sense of taste. Moreover, Elder Dragons, like some other magical higher-existences, can naturally sustain their bodily needs through a sort of metabolization of magic – something Mizuki would no doubt be incredibly fascinated by if she'd ever thought to mention it to him. Consequently, she rarely ate before meeting Mizuki.
Alas, as much as she enjoys food – especially sweets – she's at least as grateful for the other major upgrade in her senses...touch. Her human skin, while still much sturdier than a normal person's, is vastly more susceptible to outside forces and sensations than her dragon form's scaled skin. At first, all she could focus on were the feelings of weakness and vulnerability that brought her. But eventually, this discomfort was outweighed by other benefits.
Simple things like taking a hot bath, running her hands over soft fabric, or lying down on a plush bed – what she could barely feel as a dragon became a comparably euphoric experience as a human. Then, there is intimacy with Mizuki. Every form of contact with him just feels so warm and delightful, to the point that she finds herself nuzzling against his chest, hugging him, or otherwise seeking out skin-to-skin contact every chance she gets. Those sensations have just been so unexpectedly intense and enjoyable for her.
Needless to say, this had led to some...forwardness, on her part.
Alas, as much as she's enjoyed all of these facets of her more human existence, she's also become concerned about those very same changes with time. Specifically, she's noticed some...oddities, in her behavior. Oddities that, as a dragon, concern her, and that she can't help but attribute to having spent so much time in a human body.