Mahoutsukai no Yome (The Ancient Magus' Bride)

It won't take long.

Be patient.

How did I get here?

Elias was telling me about the dragons, and...

Dragons?

Yes, dragons.

They've been on the move lately.

I've been asked to check it out.

Here, in Iceland, is the dragons' nest.

They're on the verge of extinction, just like us mages.

The handful of surviving breeds have been rounded up here to be taken care of.

It's remote and scarcely inhabited here, which makes it a perfect hiding space.

Are they vicious?

The majority of them were weeded out long ago.

There are more docile ones now.

I see.

Chise!

Elias!

His half-baked talent makes him cocky.

He hasn't changed much.

See, look over there.

The last land of the dragons.

Hey, let her go.

Hey!

Does she plan to just keep sinking?

My body feels heavy.

Chise.

Chise.

Chise.

Well.

What an unusual guest.

You smell like a mage...

albeit a young one.

A sapling.

And you smell of plants, flowers, and rocks from another place.

It's a nice scent.

His eyes...

His whole body is like a forest of moss, too.

He's a breed of dragon called an uil.

He's both father and the mother to the forest, bearing vegetation on his decaying body.

Apologies for the rough handling.

Welcome to the land of dragons, Daughter of Thorn.

Why me?

There was commotion among the ariels.

They said that Thorn had finally taken an apprentice.

For them, rumors spread literally like the wind.

You arrived quite quickly this time around.

When are you going to stop hiding in your apprentice's shadows, Thorn?

Or rather, Ainsworth?

When the old fogey finishes his bumbling.

It's been 300 years, and you still haven't stopped toying with people, have you, Echos?

Do you want your apprentice to freeze to death, Ainsworth?

I'm... I'm fine.

You're absolutely soaked.

Nettles in the shadow...

Ring of holly...

I'm dry.

Th-Thank you.

What are you grinning at?

At this little brat acting like he's all grown up.

Shut it.

Chise, that's Lindel.

He's a mage, like me, and caretaker of this dragon's nest.

Caretaker?

His duty is to keep the land of dragons hidden from the sight of ordinary humans.

Hence, "caretaker."

Despite his appearance, he's a mischievous senior, even more ancient than I am,

so be careful around him.

How dare you...

Hey, hey!

Are you done talking?

Let's play.

Let's play! Let's play!

Come on.

Those are dragon hatchlings.

Let's play.

Let's play!

Please?

The one with wings is a gwee.

Come on!

The one by your feet is a beana.

Come on, let's play!

The slow-moving one is an uil.

Granted, that's just what I call them personally.

Let's play!

Come on!

Hey, are you listening?

Lindel.

Let's play!

Tell me, has there been any trouble lately?

They're making a fuss again, are they?

Food has been scarce this year.

A number of the dragons have been traveling far.

Chise, would you mind playing with them for me?

What should we do?

Over there.

Let's jump off and practice gliding toward the pond.

Humans can fly these days, right?

Er, that might be hard without having my bones and muscles modified at the genetic level.

Yay!

And now I'm wet again.

Hey, can we try that?

That was awesome!

He has wings, so I guess he must be able to fly.

He's all tattered, though.

Have you never seen a dragon before?

S-Sorry, I didn't mean to...

I didn't mean it like that.

Uncle Nevin's awake.

It's won't be long before I return home.

I'd supposed you would prefer to watch over the rollicking young instead.