Come Here

I had a strange dream.

In it, I had been about to fall asleep when an odd string of text floated up into the empty air, and I had stared at it in puzzlement.

Players?

Was that the word I thought it was?

The hangul hanging sharp and clear before my eyes was startling enough on its own — but the word itself was one I had not seen in so long that for a moment I simply blanked.

Players. People who played games.

Games had been one of the main pastimes of my previous life, and I still carried a hazy memory of having played them often myself.

"So… connecting to the world means someone who might be a user is coming into this other world, and this place is…"

…

Hwaaam…

"Right…"

I was exhausted.

I must have been seeing things.

There was no chance that a status window — something I had shouted myself hoarse for three hundred years ago — would suddenly open now. Far more likely this was the work of some mischievous fairy, or one of those headache-inducing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mages. Someone might ask how they would know hangul, but I had taught them out of boredom once upon a time. Hangul was an easy script to learn; they had picked it up and used it freely enough.

Or, failing that, I was simply dreaming right now.

"Mmnh…"

I did feel rather hazy.

"Weird… a past-life dream, of all things…"

It had been decades since I last dreamed of my previous life.

"So vivid…"

.

.

.

"Ooooooh!!!"

…?

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Something moved beyond my half-closed eyelids.

A small something was racing around inside the nest with frantic energy, hopping so excitedly it put me in mind of a rabbit.

Noisy.

Had the fairies come into the nest again?

I told them not to come in while I was sleeping.

The forest fairies were so full of mischief that unless I warned them repeatedly, they would climb all over me and raise absolute hell. Soft chattering I could tolerate — but the moment it started interfering with my sleep, I had always given them a firm talking-to.

They had been quiet for a while. Crossing the line again would be a problem…

"I did it!!!"

Too loud.

Please just be quiet…

Kuuuuh…

How many times did I have to say it before they understood?

Once this nap was over, I was going to have a serious word with those fairies. It would be nice if they took the hint while I was still being polite about it…

"I can't let this go."

Click. Click.

The small something plastered itself against my face and struck a series of poses, then started babbling at the empty air — a sight that did nothing for my mood. Clearly it had no intention of quieting down. A good knuckle-rap to the head was in order.

In my Polymorph form, a hit like that wouldn't kill anyone.

Rrrrumble…!!!

I opened my eyes.

The dim world beyond my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyelids brightened, and the identity of the creature that had ruined my precious sleep came into focus.

"You opened your eyes? What are you talking about. You're still aslee—"

"Who are you?"

A human.

A woman with short sky-blue hair turned her head with a creak. She looked older than a girl — past her majority, at least — yet her face was strangely bright and unguarded. The kind of looks that put one in mind of nobility, perhaps.

Her clothes, though, scream ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mercenary.

A brand-new one, just starting out on her adventures.

The human woman gripped the sword at her hip and began backing away.

"A human?"

"Uh… I. Uh…"

"How did you get here?"

"I—I was mountain climbing…"

"Mountain climbing?"

At this height?

This mountain was far too tall for a girl who looked like she couldn't take down a single orc. There were plenty of peaks in the area several times lower than the Red Mountain; if she wanted to climb, those were the ones she should have chosen.

She was after treasure, no doubt.

Then as now, there had always been a fair number of thieves who eyed a dragon's hoard. Judging by her reaction a moment ago, this girl had come with much the same purpose.

"You're lying. You came to take the treasure from my nest."

"N-no, I didn't!"

"Hmph."

"I-I'm telling the truth, really! I was genuinely about to just turn around and—"

CRACK!

"Eek…!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

I drove a claw into the ground behind the human as she edged backward. The spot she had been trying to flee through caved in deep enough to swallow dozens of people, and she froze on the spot, the color draining from her face.

"Not only do you have the gall to wake me from my sleep — now you try to run?"

And a human, no less — not even a fairy?

Even a fairy would have earned a thorough scolding for this. A human needed no further discussion. Humans simply weren't cute enough to get a pass.

"…Sorry. I'm sorry…"

"Come here."

"……"

"Come here already."

The human shuffled toward me like a guilty puppy. Earlier she had come bounding in like a dog that hadn't eaten in days.

"You."

"Yes?"

"What's your name."

"Ha-Haring."

"Haring."

I looked down at her in silence.

Human. Mercenary. Age roughly mid-twenties, by my estimate. Noble features, but her gear suggested an ordinary adventurer.

Or a runaway young lady with more spirit than sense.

Three hundred years of experience told me she didn't look like a truly rotten sort.

Hmm.

Decision made.

"You completely ruined my sleep. What are you going to do about it."

"Uh… go back to sleep?"

"You little—"

I raised my hand the way I always did for a knuckle-rap. When the fairies crossed the line with their pranks, a light tap on the head usually did the job of warning them.

There was just one problem…

Rrrrumble…!!

"Eek!"

"Ah."

I was still in dragon form.

I'd been so groggy I nearly hit her as a dragon. Nearly had a corpse to clean up.

Fwaaah…!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

My body transformed.

Mysterious mana wrapped around me, and my form — larger than a hill — shrank, and shrank, and shrank again. Crimson hair spilled down to my waist; a pair of red wings unfurled toward the sky. Twin horns, the mark of a dragon, glowed with a scarlet light, and an elegant black dress — a gift from the emperor himself — settled comfortably around my frame. The crowning touch: a pair of crimson eyes that gathered every last detail into one complete picture.

"Wh-what?"

Before I knew it, I was smaller than Haring standing in front of me.

For some reason, her breathing grew even rougher than it had been when she faced me as a dragon.

I clenched a tiny fist.

"Hold still."

"Wait, wha—"

BONK!!

"Ugh."

Haring came to and pushed herself up from the ground.

When she opened her eyes, she was lying not at the mountain peak but near the foot of it, surrounded by rabbits, deer, and other herbivores. The angry dragon had apparently dumped her here.

Considering the climb had taken her nearly three days, it felt a little harsh — but it was still a remarkably merciful outcome.

"I'll take it."

If the dragon had killed her, or tossed her into a goblin cave, she would have taken a real loss. This was still the newbie zone, but the death penalty hit harder than people expected. You had to be careful.

"Ow ow ow… I've got a lump on my head…"

Haring rubbed the swollen spot and checked her system window.

"Oh. A title."

The intimidation penalty was brutal, but the two hidden pieces were enormous. Rankers would kill for a title like this and still couldn't buy one. If she could sell it, it would fetch thousands without breaking a sweat.

But something mattered more than any of that.

"I didn't get a picture… damn it."

Cute. Insanely, impossibly cute.

The perky little horns and the pair of wings were one thing — but those delicate features and those round eyes! The way she had clenched those tiny fists in anger made Haring want to scoop her up and squeeze her on the spot.

Was a dragon even allowed to be that adorable?

In every novel and comic she knew, dragons were always drop-dead gorgeous women with perfect figures, or tall, handsome men. And yet the true form of that magnificent dragon turned out to be an utterly precious little girl!

Wasn't that too much of a twist?

She had been wearing clothes that looked expensive and rare, but somehow that only amplified the reverse-charm cuteness.

"Photos! I need to take photos…"

If she went back now, she would die.

Mercy had let her survive once, but if she kept hanging around, the dragon clearly would not stay idle. She would have to approach carefully — at the very least, while the dragon was awake.

Haring steeled herself and opened the gallery.

In a gallery that usually covered every topic under the sun, every single post was about her and the dragon.

Haring couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from lifting as she closed the gallery.

Originally she had planned to share everything once she got a proper reward out of it — but her mind had changed. Specifically, the moment she saw the human-form dragon.

"That one's not for just anyone."

Until she captured those dragon eyes in a photo herself, she was not telling a soul.

Haring clenched her fist and set her feet toward the distant mountain once more.