Side Story: The Numb Dragon Princess
"Harder to find than I thought..."
The semen samples from dispensers that I'd started collecting, convinced there had to be something special about them given how Lilith had been hoarding them.
It hadn't been long since I began—laziness had almost stopped me at the outset—but I'd already gathered samples from hundreds, enough to analyze their components.
Of course, nothing special had turned up in any of them so far.
There were minor differences in the amount of vital energy infused in the semen or the volume itself, but nothing like the unique engraving I'd seen back then. No peculiarities at all.
"Did I get it wrong...?"
The artifact Lilith had taken—which was now being mass-produced and distributed to dispensers—and her reaction when I'd mentioned that dispenser made me certain one among them was the one she was hiding.
Now, though, I wondered if even that had been her bluff.
It was too obvious an emotional slip for someone like Lilith.
She could've done it deliberately to muddy the waters.
"What a pain... Should I just quit?"
Collecting dispenser semen and analyzing it was a monotonous, repetitive grind.
I'd been pushing through the tedium out of curiosity about that unprecedented slave engraving—what it was, what mediated it, how it was made, and a dozen other questions.
But the boredom was mounting with every iteration.
"Today... just this one, then I'm done..."
Yustitia muttered to herself as she picked up one more sample from the towering pile.
Maybe investigating up to here and trying a different approach would be less hassle, she thought.
Assuming this one would be ordinary like the rest, she grabbed the vial—then her eyes widened.
"That's... a lot...?"
Dispensers varied in vital energy content and semen volume, sure.
But were those differences significant? Not really.
They fell within normal margins of error, everyday fluctuations influenced by nutrition, health, and whatnot.
Just ordinary stuff within tolerances.
But...
This vial was brimming full, the semen inside overwhelmingly abundant compared to anything she'd seen.
The sheer quantity far exceeded the norm.
And the species listed boldly on the label? Human. That made it even more absurd.
Had they mistakenly collected multiple loads?
Logically, yes—but Yustitia knew better.
She understood dispensers well enough. Back when Lilith proposed the system, amid all the artifacts she'd pried from her, curiosity had led her to peek.
One load for a million won. That price tempted even top-tier dispensers, which was why they'd provided samples.
They did it for the cash, plain and simple.
"Hmm..."
A volume mutant, maybe? Rare, but outliers excelling in specific traits popped up all the time.
Or a special Gift.
Either way, good news.
Lots of volume, nothing else noteworthy.
She broke the seal on the vial, eager to wrap up and crawl into bed for some shut-eye—or whatever thoughts might follow.
And...
The aroma exploding from the vial hit like a thunderbolt, dizzying her senses in an instant.
"This is..."
Thump-thump-thump-thump...
A sudden upheaval in her body, her heart pounding wildly as if she'd uncovered some unknown marvel.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
Thump-thump. The rhythm pulsed through her palm—undeniably real.
"Hmm...?"
Congenital numbness, born from disharmony with her overpowering bloodline.
From birth, stimuli had always been muffled for her.
Emotions like joy or sorrow, senses like taste, hearing, smell—all shrouded in thick fog, barely registering.
The only time she felt truly alive was satisfying her thirst for knowledge, her curiosity.
Even a mighty dragon was mortal at core, and her blood—too potent—caused this affliction.
Passed from grandfather to father, father to her, diluted yet still overwhelming. Neither they nor she could overcome it.
A heavenly curse bestowed at birth.
For Yustitia, who'd borne it for centuries, it was simply her normal.
Not total anesthesia—just dulled. Tasty food registered as tasty; good moods felt good.
Simply blunter than others.
The problem? She was a dragon.
Long-lived dragons grew bored even in fulfilling lives, seeking ever-stronger thrills.
But that was for ancient wyrms who'd lived millennia.
Her limit had been far shorter. Her knowledge-lust and curiosity—her sole joys—had burned out over a century ago.
That's why she'd come here.
This chaotic, merged world brimmed with unknowns.
It offered distractions from tedium.
The perfect playground.
Even so, amusements were scarce.
She'd claimed a prime spot to detect novelties first and waited.
Anyway, it wasn't illness or curse—just her nature from birth.
So this bodily revolt? A true anomaly.
Emotions surged like discovering the unknown.
I want to know.
She knew it wasn't normal.
Just moments ago, she'd deemed it unremarkable.
Now it flipped that verdict. Bizarre.
Which made it all the more intriguing.
A dragon innately resistant to all attributes, yet affected? What was this?
Something even she didn't know.
"This... is interesting..."
What began as curiosity over a novel engraving and Lilith's reaction had evolved into fascination with the source itself—for affecting her this way.
Now she understood.
The one Lilith hid—this was from him.
She traced the label on the vial, smiling faintly.
The name matched one she'd memorized from the list.
"And perfect timing, too..."
With skills like this, it was no surprise: a top-tier dispenser with movement privileges.
For a regular one, she'd have to invade Lilith's turf. This? A huge win.
She'd sparred lightly before—beating her by force was a hassle.
Succubus, yet not. A dimensional transcendent born naturally in her world.
In her original dimension, matured naturally, she'd have ascended to godhood—beyond even Yustitia's potent blood.
Best to go straight: frontal assault.
She cherished this world as much as Yustitia did.
She wouldn't break her own rules or contracts.
"Let me see... Mention the location, right...?"
Sticking to Lilith's rules, she'd summon him here.