The child was expressionless.

<A home tutor cared for me. She said my parents were nobles, so I had to become a proper lady. It was like that for all my elder siblings, too. My brother might have gotten some attention from my father, though. But to me, it was like not having parents at all.>

The child looked at the dragon with her big eyes.

<What about you?> she asked. <Are you all alone here, too?>

<No,> the dragon said. <Lend me your ear. Now that you can speak the True Language, you should be able to understand…the meanings of the cries of the forest animals, and the insects’ buzzing, and the birds’ chirping.>

The True Language enabled communication with all living creatures.

Now the child understood the animals that lived in peace in the forest, and she understood that they were sincerely happy.

<That’s so nice…> In a yearning tone, the child said, <I’d like to stay here, too.>

<If that is what you wish, then you should.>

The child opened her round eyes wide and looked at the dragon. <Really? It’s really okay?>

<Of course. However, if you’re going to live here in Eden, then you must folllow God’s teachings.>

<God’s teachings?>

<No creature here in Eden may fight. You must not harbor hate, resentment, or loathing in your heart. Here, we are all family. We have love and affection for one another. If you can promise that, then you can stay here, too.>

<That’s easy. If that’s the rule here, then the creatures of Eden won’t bully me, right? I’d never hate or loathe them. I’ll keep that promise.>

<All right. Then that makes you and me family.>

The child smiled innocently. <Hey, what should I call you? My name is—>

<That won’t be necessary. Since this is not the lands of men, I will call you you. And you will also call me you. As long as we have love for each other, names will not be necessary.>

<Okay?>

<And no more of that girlish lilt. Overt differences in the sexes can give rise to discrimination. You should speak in a plain manner.>

<A plain manner? …What do you mean?> The child added, <Oh, maybe I should just, um, imitate you,> changing her manner of speech.

The dragon lifted the child onto his back and flew to the temple where he lived.

The child quickly became friends with the animals. It was fortunate that she was only three years old. If she had been a little older, with her heart sullied by the world, then she probably wouldn’t have been able to establish a bond with the residents of Eden.

The child loved the flowers, sang to the wind, and raced through the fields with the rabbits.

She grew close with many different animals, but the one she became especially attached to was the dragon.

<He was the first to show me kindness.>

When she slept, she always leaned against the dragon’s tail, torso, or neck.

The dragon considered that perhaps the child thought of him as her parent—a father who shared her blood.

The child grew incredibly quickly.

The dragon’s blood and the fruit of knowledge had transformed her into a creature overflowing with vitality.

Nine years passed, and the toddler grew into a young girl.

If she had been an average human, then she would still have been around eleven or twelve, but the brilliance of her intellect was comparable to an adult’s, and her physical growth surpassed a human twelve-year-old’s. The blessings from the fruit of God had accelerated her body’s growth, so she became quite tall for her age, and her chest swelled. Sometimes, she could be seen being embarrassed by courtship attempts from brilliantly colored birds, resplendent peacocks, and mighty eagles.

The girl ran faster than the horses living on the island, was stronger than a boar, and became nimbler than a snake.

But over the course of her growth, it was her overall change in color that stood out more than anything. The color of her hair had changed from jet-black…to silver.

It was due to the mercury-like dragon’s blood that had rained over her. The girl’s hair was now the same color as the dragon’s scales.

Her skin became snow-white, her eyes red as if filled with blood, and her hair silver like the moon. All pigment had seeped out of her.

It was around this time that humans targeting Eden visited its shores once more.

The dragon responded to the humans’ invasion, heading out to the cove to drive off their boat—just as he always had.

But in a mere nine years, human technology had progressed by leaps and bounds.

Their handheld firearms were not yet powerful enough to defeat the dragon. But the military vessel that came to attack was equipped with dozens of cannons with enough power to pierce a dragon’s scales. Though the submachine guns the humans carried were, as before, not much different from peashooters, fired from a suitable distance, they could crack his scales, at least.

The sounds of bombardment rang out intermittently. The sparks lit the nighttime sea red.

Silver blood scattered. It was a light wound, but it would look to another like a dramatic spray.

While breaking the warship in two, the dragon thought.

…This won’t last much longer.

His thoughts weren’t on the enemy then… He was thinking about his own longevity.

Judging from the remarkably swift development of military tech, in another ten years—no, perhaps even five, human technology would reach the point where their machinations could deal him a fatal blow. Yes, he was coolly analyzing it.

But he didn’t mind.

The strong would live, and the weak would die. This was the way of the world God created.

The dragon’s era was coming to an end. That was all.

I am not long for this world.

He suddenly noticed that the irritating spray of submachine gun fire had ceased.

The dragon had not dealt with those attackers. He was preoccupied with the warship.

Yet at some point, the humans who had landed on the beach had all died.

No… They had been killed.

The cove was red with blood—a sight similar to the scene he was responsible for nine years prior.

At the center of the carnage, there stood a little dragon.

Her long silver hair, left to grow as it pleased, trailed in the wind. Her white clothes were like flapping wings.

The girl danced around the battlefield, effortlessly evading the storm of bullets as she took life after life. She struck one man with a supple leg, and his head burst open. Her dainty palm pierced straight through another enemy’s chest, armor and all.

She was every bit the daughter of the silver dragon. It was as if a little dragon were helping her parent.

Yet…no.

Surely the girl wanted to believe it was so.

That she was the silver dragon’s daughter.

The dragon felt a pang of sadness in his chest.

Having fended off the humans, the dragon and the girl returned to the temple. The girl was worried about the dragon’s wound, but she was relieved to learn it was minor. Fortunately, she had not sustained any injuries.

<What do we do?> the girl asked, gritting her teeth. <The human weapons are developing so quickly. At this rate…you’ll be killed. You’re Eden’s protector.>

<Indeed. In the near future, I will be killed,> the dragon replied.

<Why do the humans keep coming to this island?>

<Because Eden has many of God’s creations…such as the tree of life and the fruit of knowledge. Humans lust after those things because happiness in this life is their greatest conundrum—their ever-fleeting quarry.>

<But if you die, all those things will be turned to ash.>

The silver dragon was the guardian of Eden.

When the guardian died, Eden would burn. The fruit of knowledge, the tree of life, and the nectar—all of it would become ash. God would not hand His creations over to the unworthy.

<Even as ash, the creations of Eden can be used as valuable resources. As the Guardian of Eden, I am an exception—when I die, my body will not become ash.>

The dragon’s fat would be made into potent fuel, its blood would be processed into powerful medicine, its scales armor, its teeth swords, its flesh nutrients—all priceless treasures.

To the humans, Eden and the dragon that protected it were worth pursuing, no matter the sacrifice.

<But we…just want to live in peace…without causing trouble for anyone…,> the girl said.

The dragon’s blue eyes beheld the troubled girl. <Do you want to live?>

The girl tilted her head and said, <Isn’t that obvious?>

It was not obvious.

In the lands of men, attachment to life could be taken for granted. But this island was different. After the creatures of Eden died, their souls were guaranteed salvation. Therefore, although creatures born in Eden did not seek death, neither did they mourn it.

Could it be…? This child…

Telling her to wait for a while, the dragon headed to the depths of the temple.

Long, long ago, there had been a time when the silver dragon was revered by humans. Whenever people were struck with natural disaster, or when other nations went to war with them, the people would bequeath offerings to the dragon. Gems, gold and silver, flowers, clothing, dolls, grains, young women.

I had no use for any of those things…

But perhaps the child would need them.

The room where the dragon arrived contained many offerings.

The dragon stood there before gems of many colors. He knew that human women liked gemstones. But a dragon could not understand human tastes. Which of these dazzlingly shining stones should he choose?

He considered the options for a while, but it soon became clear that this was a fruitless endeavor, no matter how much time he spent deliberating. So the dragon chose a treasure, taking the greatest care not to nick it as he made his way back to the girl.

Laid atop his great claws was a garnet necklace. He had chosen it because it was the same color as the girl’s eyes. <I want you to have this.>

The girl accepted the garnet. <This is…for me?> How pretty, she said in a delighted tone, then hugged the gem to her chest. <I’m so happy. Just as happy as that time you gave me the fruit.>

Then the dragon was certain. <If you like it, then I’m glad.>

He was glad, but sad.

A creature of Eden would not have been pleased by a gem.

This child belonged in the lands of men, after all.

The dragon pointed with a claw to the room where the offerings were kept. <There are even more gems in that room. There are clothes, too. All of it is yours. You should dress yourself however you like.>

Still clasping the garnet, the girl nodded, then went into the offerings room.

With sad eyes, the dragon watched her go innocently.

The girl stayed alone in that room for nearly two hours.

The dragon continued to wait for her. The dragon would not grow angry and impatient as a human would, no matter how long he was kept waiting. Having lived thousands of years, two hours was equivalent to the blink of an eye.

When the girl emerged from the room, she was dressed in deep red from head to toe—dress, corset, blouse, and ribbon.

All of it was the same color as the garnet.