Memories of the Beginning
Memories of the Beginning — Ding! [The Dragon Heart accumulated in your body is resonating with a new Dragon Heart!][A Dragon Heart from the same clan has been confirmed (Attribute — Light).]
The messages that appeared the moment I swallowed Sofia's Dragon Heart. It hardly felt like the same object that had been so difficult to accept. Sofia's Dragon Heart flowed into my body with surprising ease. In any case, the effect of the Love Pact was undeniable. Even though my body already held six Dragon Hearts, it seemed an exception had been made, just as Sofia had said. The transparent barrier-like thing blocking my lips vanished, and the heart went straight down my throat. The Dragon Heart was thicker than I'd expected. That explained the lingering soreness in my throat.
Due to the Love Pact, one sealed Dragon Heart has been activated!
Dragon Hearts remaining until the sealed pact is unlocked — 5
"Hmm? Did the seal release because hearts of the same attribute resonated?" The system notifications didn't stop there. It announced that a sealed Dragon Heart had been unlocked. And it seemed that resonating the remaining five would also unseal the pact. The one just unlocked was the Light attribute. That meant a Light-attribute Dragon Heart identical to Sofia's had already existed inside me. Otherwise, there would be no reason for it to resonate with hers.
"What exactly happened here…? According to the message, it sounds like the past Breeder made a pact with the Dawn Clan." My body was starting to feel more and more terrifying. What on earth had I been doing in the past? How could someone who supposedly hated dragons possess six Dragon Hearts? In any case, it seemed that resonating the other five in the same way would unlock the sealed pact. Of course, I wasn't particularly interested in what that sealed pact actually was right now.
"The kiss was sweet, but my head hurts like crazy……." It felt like I'd witnessed something enormous. Was it because the Dragon Hearts had resonated? My stomach churned for no reason.
—Swish, swish…! I muttered while slowly clearing away the system messages that had appeared without warning.
"Breeder…? Are you all right?" Once I'd dismissed all the messages, Sofia's face appeared before me, glowing with a colorful halo. The Dawn Dragon, still flushed from the deep kiss. A single transparent thread stretched from her moist lips.
"Ah, Lady Sofia…?"
"Was my kiss really that clumsy? You look so serious. And more importantly… did my heart reach you properly?"
"That's right…! Yes, this time I was able to accept it without any resistance. I could even feel it going down smoothly."
"Aaaah—?!"
"This… means the pact was properly formed, right?"
"Haaah…? F-Finally—!!!" Instead of answering my question, Sofia let out an excited cry.
Her halo suddenly shone with brilliant golden light.
Her halo suddenly blazed with brilliant golden light. I couldn't remember exactly, but the same kind of light had appeared when I first tried mint chocolate. The halo changed in brightness and color depending on the moment. Red meant anger, crimson meant embarrassment, and this radiant gold probably expressed admiration or joy.
"Haaah-♡ I can't believe it. It feels like a dream! Me, actually forming a Love Pact with Breeder…?!"
"Um, Lady Sofia?"
"Huaaah…♡ As a member of the Dawn Clan who serves the Origin Dragon, is this really allowed…? I might end up being severely punished for this…?" Sofia muttered to herself, her voice and gestures filled with excitement. She looked genuinely overjoyed at the fact that she had formed a Love Pact with me.
"Tsk……." Sofia showed no signs of calming down. "I wanted to ask if there was a limit to overlapping Love Pacts, but seeing her this happy, I just can't bring myself to ask." I was curious about other potential partners, but now clearly wasn't the time. If I asked right after forming the pact, it would be like announcing I planned to cheat, and I'd probably face a dragon's wrath. It seemed wiser to back off for now.
Just as I reached that conclusion—
—Rustle…!
"Huh? What was that sound……?" From Sofia, who was still murmuring to herself in excitement, came the sound of something sliding down to the floor. At the same time, something long and thick suddenly protruded from behind her back. Indeed, something was writhing behind Sofia.
"Hmm? Is that… a tail?"
"Kyaa, kyaaaaah—?! B-Breeder—?! Don't look! Please turn your head away—!!!" That was right. It was her tail. Just like last time, unable to control her emotions, her tail covered in golden scales had emerged. Her Polymorph must have come undone in that instant.
—Wriggle, wriggle…! That aside, Sofia's tail… was surprisingly cute rather than grotesque. Even though she'd told me not to look, my eyes kept drifting toward it. The way the smooth tail sparkled and twitched was oddly fascinating. Maybe it was because she still hadn't completely shed her Hatchling traits? Instead of a sleek, impressive dragon tail, it looked plump and round, making me want to touch it just once—
—Thud…!
"Whoa…? L-Lady?"
"I-I told you not to look, didn't I…?!" Sofia, her face and halo now dyed crimson, suddenly charged at me headfirst. She closed the distance as if embracing me and faced me again. She must have wanted to block my view no matter what.
"I'm sorry. Sofia's tail was just so cute that I couldn't help it……."
"H-How could you call a lady's tail cute…?!"
"But it's true, isn't it? And I've been wondering for a while now…… Why do you ladies take on human forms even though you don't particularly like humans?" I subtly changed the subject to ease Sofia's embarrassment. It was something I'd been curious about for a long time, after all.
"T-That's a simple matter! Living in our original massive bodies…… is more inconvenient than you'd think, and even small movements consume quite a lot of stamina and mana."
"Aah?"
"In contrast, human forms are easier to move in and consume less stamina and mana. Even taking into account the mana needed to maintain the Polymorph, that is."
"I see. But why specifically human forms? There are many other races, after all."
"Well, even I don't know the exact reason. It's just that the default Polymorph setting has been human since our ancestors' time……?"
Oho, so my curiosity was finally satisfied. Everything came down to mana efficiency. Their original forms might be powerful, but they apparently had poor fuel economy.
"A-Anyway…! That's not what's important right now, is it? Now that we've formed the Love Pact, we need to look into Breeder's past!"
"My past?"
"Yes, I mentioned it earlier, didn't I? And the fact that your body can only receive Dragon Hearts through a Love Pact…… makes me very suspicious about what happened to you in the past." Sofia, her face now as red as a tomato, hurriedly changed the subject. Yet she didn't turn her face away and instead kept pressing closer to me. She looked embarrassed, yet her eyes held a hint of suspicion toward me.
"Um, Lady Sofia? Exactly how do you plan to look into my past……?"
"It's simple. Just physical contact with the contractor is enough to glimpse it."
"What? Physical contact?"
"Why are you so surprised now? You were doing just fine until a moment ago, weren't you? Through that, I'll find out what kind of things Breeder experienced in the past…… and what other dragons you've formed pacts with."
"What? Pacts…? What do you suddenly mean by th—?"
—Chu♥ Sofia launched another surprise kiss. Once again, she didn't allow questions. She was simply showing me with her body. Other dragons and pacts? Had Sofia noticed something? Sofia's lips were truly sweet, but a slight chill ran down my spine at the feeling that something important had been discovered.
—Smooch…! Chu♡ Whether she noticed or not, Sofia was pouring all her effort into the kiss. I could no longer tell if she was truly curious about my past or simply wanted to kiss me. It was becoming difficult to distinguish.
"Hehe, right now Breeder is practically mine♥ So stop thinking about other things and leave your lips to me. You'll learn the truth soon enough……." Sofia pulled back briefly and spoke in a sticky tone. Her golden eyes scanned my face.
—Chu, smooch…! Slurp♡ After giving me just a moment to breathe, Sofia resumed the intense kiss. This time she boldly thrust her tongue in from the start.
"It feels like a snake has entered my mouth……?"
—Sluuurp, slurp, smooch…♡ Sofia's tongue moved desperately. Though it was her first time and somewhat stiff, she was giving it everything she had for physical communion. She seemed more motivated than ever. Even though she was quite clumsy, it was rather endearing. I felt somewhat suffocated, but perhaps it was because her suspicious gaze had disappeared. Watching Sofia's desperate efforts, I couldn't help but find her adorable. Even the way her tail stood stiffly behind her and wagged looked just like a puppy greeting its owner.
"……." However, Sofia's desperate tongue movements didn't last long.
"Mmm?" Suddenly, the deep, intense kiss stopped. I tried to take the lead in that moment, but Sofia's reaction was strange.
"…Puhah? L-Lady Sofia?"
"……." It wasn't just her tongue that had stopped. Her entire body had gone rigid like stone. It was as if all bodily functions had ceased in an instant.
—Frozen! She had literally stopped in place. Like the legendary stone statue, she remained completely still. No matter how much I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, she didn't budge.
—Flash…! The only thing visible was the golden pupil shining brightly between Sofia's half-closed eyelids.
***
Reading a contractor's memories was quite simple. Even the slightest physical contact was enough. Truly just "simple" physical contact. For example, even just touching fingertips would suffice. But Sofia had deliberately chosen……
—Chu, smooch…♡ a bold physical contact. Partly to hide her tail, and partly to feel a sensation more addictive than mint chocolate. Of course, it was also possible to read the memories left in Breeder's body through a kiss.
—Fwoooosh…! While their tongues were fiercely intertwined, a bright flash filled her mind and her body suddenly stiffened. Breeder's vivid past memories unfolded before Sofia's eyes in an instant.
"Aah…? This scene… is the one I saw earlier during the day……?" After the momentary flash passed through her mind, an unrealistic sight spread out before Sofia. Atop an incredibly high mountain peak. Near a black spire, several people could be seen. Five dragons, including Sofia's ancestor, and a single human standing in their center. A man with silver hair and black eyes. A human with a dignified appearance, surrounded by dragons. That was right. He was none other than……
"Breeder?! No, he looks far too old to be called Breeder. What on earth is this……?" Sofia tried to shout, but no sound came out. Only her inner voice echoed in her mind.
"Our long-time friend and ally, Breeder…! Please calm yourself and listen to us! It won't be long now before we can seal Detronos with our combined power……!" One of the five ancestors spoke first, kneeling before Breeder in a praying posture. A dragon was kneeling before a mere human.
"Aah? That person is definitely……?!" Sofia, who had been peering into the past memories within Breeder's consciousness, let out an inner gasp. And for good reason—the one offering prayers to Breeder was none other than…… the founder of the Dawn Clan.