The Small and Precious Dragon
"Ahhh, the benevolent divine dragon has saved us!"
Benevolent? Saved us? Divine dragon? I am a fearsome, cruel dragon with neither blood nor tears. Out of the tens of thousands of words one could hurl at the great dragon Yumitas, why on earth would they pick such pathetically weak ones? I doubted my ears. Actually, no—a dragon’s hearing can detect a needle dropping on the far side of the continent. My ears were flawless. Clearly the fault lay with the vocal organs of these inferior life-forms. Right?
"O divine dragon!"
Gah! They said it again!
"Thank you! We will never forget this grace!"
At the man’s cue, the prostrated tribespeople slammed their foreheads against the ground in unison and burst into cheers. I had just vaporized those hideous magic beasts without a trace. The emotion that should erupt in the face of overwhelming violence is awe or terror, damn it! Why were they moved to tears?!
BOOM!
I slammed my tail against the ground. The tribespeople’s shoulders flinched. Yes. That’s more like it. They finally looked a little scared.
"Do not misunderstand," I intoned in a voice I made as solemn and ferocious as possible. "This grand self is no merciful savior!"
"From this moment forward, every last one of you is a slave to the dragon. Understood? You are nothing more than the dragon’s eternal possessions, doomed to be exploited forever!"
"Possessions…? Slaves…?"
There. That should have gotten the message across. You fools tried to escape magic beasts only to walk straight into a dragon’s maw!
"Ahhh…! Sons and daughters of the tribe!"
Now despair. Scream as you imagine a future stripped of free will! If you resist—well, that would be entertaining in its own way.
"The divine dragon has declared he will take us in!"
"…Huh?"
"It means he will claim worthless, frail creatures like us as his own and watch over us!"
"Wait, hold on a second."
"We no longer have to tremble every night at the magic beasts’ attacks! The divine dragon himself will become our fence!"
Waaaaaaaaah—!!
The tribespeople began sobbing as they clung to one another.
"The divine dragon says he will personally watch over us!"
"What a tremendous blessing!"
"O holy and gracious dragon!"
I stared down at the spectacle in a daze. No, that’s not what I said. I said I’d exploit you. Work you to the bone. It was completely impossible to communicate with them.
Wait. Stay calm. A dragon does not panic under any circumstances.
Seeing through any situation with cold clarity is the virtue of a ruler. Why did these inferior creatures feel no fear? Why did they look upon the avatar of destruction and sing his praises? There was no way the terror and intimidation a dragon radiated could be insufficient. The herd of beasts I had just erased was proof enough. The problem clearly lay with these inferior creatures.
"…I see. Understood."
Think about it. This grand self is simply too overwhelming, too terrifying. There was no way such pressure could fit inside a mere human’s tiny skull. Their weak, stupid brains had exceeded their total capacity for fear. So they were deceiving themselves: That scary, incredible being must actually be on our side. He must be a good person who came to save us. The so-called escape from reality.
Tsk tsk. Pathetic.
So it was true that when fear reached its peak, people went mad and wore deranged smiles. In that case, the solution was simple. If this grand self’s true form was excessively terrifying, I simply had to lower the terror level a little.
Let’s transform into human form.
Polymorph. A dragon’s basic skill. I would take on a suitable human appearance and teach them their place.
First impressions are crucial. What form would be most appropriate?
I spun my genius brain once more. A strapping young man? …That just screams ally of the hero’s party. Rejected. A seductive beauty? A dragon turning into a beautiful girl, wagging her tail, taking the heroine position… Gah! That was the pinnacle of pushover-dragon behavior! Forbidden! Absolutely forbidden!
Then what was left?
…!
A flash. An idea struck me. True horror was always doubled by a twist.
That’s it! Being cursed at and trampled by a little girl would be insanely infuriating, right?
Humiliated humans would charge in rage, and that was when I would show them the difference in power. All that nonsense about a benevolent divine dragon would vanish instantly!
Shrrrk—
My pink scales were enveloped in a soft glow. The massive weight vanished in an instant and my field of vision dropped sharply. The rough texture of dirt against my soles felt unfamiliar. The light faded.
The first thing I saw was a pair of small, smooth hands. Instead of sharp claws, they had round, adorable fingernails. At the edge of my vision, light-pink hair swayed and spilled over my shoulders.
…Isn’t this a bit too small?
The viewpoint was lower than I had intended. Whatever. Size wasn’t important. Presence was. Presence!
I patted the top of my head. A pair of smooth, cream-colored horns.
As long as the horns are intact, it’s fine!
No matter how human I became, hiding the horns—pride and dignity of a dragon—was out of the question.
"Insignificant bugs!" I leaped lightly onto a nearby boulder and looked down at the crowd. I thrust my chin out arrogantly and wore the most haughty, overbearing expression I could muster. I even twisted the corner of my mouth to reveal a hint of tiny fangs.
"Prostrate yourselves at this grand self’s feet immediately! Anything taller than my eye level is unforgivable blasphemy!"
So? How does it feel to be treated like slaves by a little girl? Your faces must be burning with rage. You must be trembling with humiliation.
The tribespeople were staring up at me with blank faces.
They’re finally scared! Or maybe the humiliation has left them speechless!
But then.
"Ahhh… ahhhhh…!"
The red-haired chieftain at the very front suddenly clutched his face with both hands and began to wail.
"Why are you crying again?!"
"How could we not?! The divine dragon has personally donned small, soft skin to match his gaze with us lowly humans!"
"Wait, what the hell are you even—"
The clearing once again turned into a frenzy.
"He has hidden his own light so our eyes would not be blinded!"
"Look at those small, adorable feet! He even concealed his claws so we would not be hurt!"
"Long live the divine dragon! Our lovely savior!"
A second round of tearful adoration. And this time it was far more intense and fanatical than before. Consideration? Eye level? Lovely?
"Y-you lunatics!"
Goosebumps raced across my skin. No. This was dangerous. If I kept talking to them, my noble and wicked dragon identity might be shaken to its core.
"Ahem! This grand self is busy, so I shall take my leave!"
Bang!
I returned at once to my massive dragon form, spread my wings, and shot into the sky.
"The divine dragon ascends!"
"O benevolent wind! Please blow across this land once more!"
"Next time we will prepare offerings!"
With their praises at my back, I flapped my wings like a madman and fled above the clouds. Do not misunderstand. This was absolutely not running away.
It is nothing more than a strategic retreat!
I kept climbing until I pierced the clouds. Even after the altitude rose so high that the village looked like a single dot, the boiling irritation showed no sign of subsiding. Consideration. Mercy. Savior. Those words refused to leave my head. Dragons do not show consideration. Dragons rule. They exploit. They monopolize. Consideration is something herbivores do.
"This is unfair! Why does no one recognize my true worth?!"
I stopped flying and hovered motionless in the air. I was furious. My insides churned. If I returned to the nest like this I would get stress sickness and wouldn’t be able to sleep. Just then, a dense primordial forest and a rugged rocky mountain came into view beneath me. Perfect. Right there.
"I!"
I took a deep breath.
"Am!"
My throat swelled.
"A fearsome!"
My vision flashed white.
"And evil!"
KWAAAAAAA—!
A pink beam tore across the world. Where the light passed, trees vaporized. The forest vanished. Then the rocky mountain was obliterated.
A pitiful scream seemed to echo from somewhere, but… it had nothing to do with me, right?
After a long while, I exhaled the lingering heat from my mouth and looked down. A gaping hole. Flattened earth. Only then did the lump that had been stuck in my chest slide away.
"Mm. Satisfactory."
Yes. This was it. Behold the terrifying scene of destruction. The forest and mountain had been redeveloped with perfect cleanliness. What part of this looked like the act of a benevolent guardian? If only that stupid red-haired fool could see it. Then instead of spouting nonsense about mercy he would have burst into tears begging for his life.
"As expected, this grand self is fearsome."
Grrrr. My mood improved considerably.
"Haaaam…"
Once the tension released, sudden drowsiness washed over me. Come to think of it, I had been flying nonstop and firing off breath attacks like crazy. It was quite the schedule for a baby dragon freshly hatched from the egg.
I slowly flapped my wings toward the nest where I had first awakened. The moment I reached the cave I flopped down on the smooth floor, belly pressed to the ground. I curled my tail around myself, covered the tip of my nose with a foreleg, and used my wings as a blanket. The sleeping posture of a dragon.
"Today was just a rehearsal…"
Those stupid inferior creatures seemed to be under some massive misunderstanding, but next time would be different. I would make them scream in terror without fail.
"Just you wait… next time… offerings… lots of…"
Gorong— gororong—
Pleasant vibrations echoed through the cave.