Close Call on the Fourth Floor
After my quick improvisation, I muttered, “Phew, I really shouldn’t push myself like this next time……” I took a slow, steadying breath on the landing. With the tension finally easing, my legs began to tremble. Cold sweat trickled all the way down my spine. Only the fourth-year roll call remained. If I climbed just halfway up these stairs, I’d reach the fourth floor. I never expected evening roll call to be this intense. It felt like a hero standing before the final ascent of a tower. In my heart, I was a dragon slayer steeling myself for one last boss fight. Truthfully, I had no intention of provoking the dragons. I was simply doing my duty as dorm supervisor. Still, I suppose I lacked flexibility. All I’d wanted was to confirm the SSR-ranks, yet I’d nearly made an enemy of the third-year representative. Of course, Tina’s naturally combative personality hadn’t helped. She was the textbook arrogant, violent dragon who looked down on humans. Cross the wrong one and you’d never recover the bones. I owed my survival to the SSR-grade twin sisters. As a bonus, I’d gotten a good look at them in person. They didn’t seem particularly fond of humans either. Being third-years, they all carried quite the temper. Still, thanks to them I was alive, so I’d better bring them dessert later and try to strike up a conversation.
—Thud, thud, thud…!
After calming myself, I headed straight up toward the fourth floor. Any later and the fourth-year ladies would start complaining. ‘This time I’m really just going to breeze through it. Show my face and head right back down.’ That was genuinely the plan. I didn’t want to cause any more friction. I’d only meant to ask whether anyone had any issues and then leave, but……
“Huh? What’s going on here?”
Upon reaching the fourth floor, I couldn’t help muttering to myself. The hallway was unusually quiet—eerily so. Not a single dragon in sight. ‘Don’t tell me the graduating class is skipping roll call? Even if they’re basically seniors pulling rank, skipping the actual check-in seems risky.’ Even if that were some unspoken custom, the complete absence of any reporting staff was serious. What on earth had happened? My mind went blank for a moment. I waited, but no one appeared.
“It can’t be…… right?”
A dry swallow slid down my throat. Something felt terribly wrong. They say “what if” kills people, and a sudden wave of anxiety hit me. Had they all gone out without permission? The entire fourth-year class, on the very first night? Why was no one here? If anything happened to the full headcount, the responsibility would fall squarely on me. The dragons might be absent, but since I couldn’t punish them, every ounce of blame would land on my shoulders.
“Damn it.”
A painfully obvious tragic ending flashed through my mind. Heart pounding, I started moving, determined to check whether anyone was actually here. I had just reached the first dormitory room when—
‘What? The door’s open? Don’t tell me they rushed out so fast they forgot to close it……?’
An uneasy feeling crept through the narrow gap. —Bang!!
Panicking, I grabbed the handle and yanked. I shouldn’t have opened that door. At the very least, I should have knocked. Maybe the nonstop workload had dulled my judgment for a second.
“Kyaaaaaaaah—!!”
“Waaaaah?!”
The moment the door swung open, a dragon-like shriek erupted. Sofia was the one screaming. I yelled right along with her. Because……
Sofia had just slipped out of her negligee, revealing her pale stomach and underwear. She was in the middle of changing.
“B-Breeder?! What exactly do you think you’re doing?!”
“……!”
I was too flustered to answer. Inside the lavish, palace-like room, Sofia had been changing from a comfortable negligee into a pure-white ceremonial robe—probably getting ready for roll call, albeit quite late.
“A-Answer me! Why would you barge into a lady’s room without knocking?! I thought you weren’t that rude……!”
Peeking at a dragon’s body like some kind of thief. Even if I died here, I’d have no excuse. Yet for some reason Sofia only shouted in anger; she didn’t attack.
[Target’s Favorability has Decreased! (Current Relationship: Neutral)]
[If the target is not a Sympathy Target, entering a Hostile Relationship will make Conquest impossible. Caution!]
Sofia’s scolding was accompanied by a system message that popped up before my eyes. She wasn’t a Sympathy Target, but the biscuits must have raised her favorability somewhat. I’d expected instant hostility, yet we remained at the “Neutral” stage. That was probably the only reason I wasn’t dead. Even so, I needed to keep managing her favorability. Otherwise I’d lose any chance of ever connecting with her in the first place.
“I-It’s a misunderstanding……! That’s not why I—”
“Not why? Then why did you open my door and walk in?!”
“…M-Mint! I had something urgent to tell you about the dessert you requested……!”
“Mint?”
At this rate the misunderstanding would only grow worse, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind—mint, the keyword Sofia was crazy about.
“Yes, mint! And a dessert that contains mint!”
“Mint? Dessert……?”
Just as I’d hoped, Sofia reacted immediately. She even licked her lips. The mere mention of mint had apparently whetted her appetite. Thank goodness. At least her favorability wouldn’t drop any further. I’d nearly lost a major target.
“Yes……! This was the only time I could speak with you privately, so I took the liberty of coming. Please forgive my rudeness!”
“B-But why come so secretly?”
“Why? To protect your pride, of course.”
“My pride?”
“Yes. None of the other ladies know that you enjoy the scent of mint, do they?”
“H-How did you……?”
“Ordinary people can’t appreciate the true flavor of mint. Most of them actually dislike it. They might even treat you like some kind of weirdo…… or dragon.”
“……”
Sofia couldn’t argue. Apparently mint received the same treatment no matter the race. It was a divisive flavor that created clear likes and dislikes. As someone who adored mint, Sofia had no choice but to agree with me. While she stood speechless, I drove the point home.
“That’s why I came during evening roll call, secretly. I was worried the other ladies would give you trouble if they found out you liked mint……”
“Does that mean you…… are serving as both the lounge attendant and the dormitory supervisor?”
“Yes, that’s correct. You didn’t know?”
“Not at all! I thought the staff were still doing the checks like before…… Anyway, turn around and wait! I-I’ll get dressed right away……!”
“Ah, yes.”
I turned around without another word. I hadn’t meant to, but I felt a twinge of regret. The shock had been so sudden that I hadn’t even gotten a proper look…… Just as I finished turning toward the door—
—Rumble rumble rumble……!!!
‘What now? An earthquake……?’
The dormitory building suddenly began to shake. I could hear something rushing toward us in a hurry. I remembered experiencing something similar at the lounge earlier today. This was definitely the sound of dragons stampeding over. It had to be because of Sofia’s scream.
—Bang!
Sure enough, the door flew wide open.
—Sofia? What happened?!
—Student Council President, are you all right……?!
—What was that noise just now? Sofia actually screamed?
Exactly as I’d feared, dragons came pouring in. Every single one of them was already wearing their neat, uniform-like school attire—far more proper than I’d expect from fourth-years.
—Huh? Aren’t you that attendant from earlier?
—What’s going on? Where’s the on-duty professor……?
—Hey, human. Are you the new dorm supervisor?
—Why are you in Sofia’s room?
The dragons who had rushed in started firing questions the moment they saw my face. ‘This is bad. How am I supposed to talk my way out of this one?’ I’d managed to convince Sofia, but how was I going to handle this many dragons……?
“Ahem! Everyone, please step back. There seems to have been a misunderstanding.”
While I was still struggling to find an answer, Sofia—now fully dressed—stepped forward.
“Student Council President, what happened? Why is a human attendant in your room?”
Diora, the first among the gathered fourth-years, asked the question.
“W-We just had a small commotion because a bug appeared in my room.”
“A bug? Ah, right. You were terrified of bugs.”
“Ahem. I was personally reprimanding him over that issue.”
“So that’s why you screamed?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for causing a disturbance so late at night. Also, since Breeder will be serving as dorm supervisor from now on, I believe we can conclude tonight’s roll call here.”
When Sofia gave her plausible explanation, the dragons at the door nodded in unison. Because it was Sofia speaking, they accepted it far more easily than I’d expected. Muttering things like “I changed for nothing……” “Ugh, now I have to change again. What a pain.” “Since I’m already dressed, maybe I’ll go burn some mana herbs,” they began to drift away one by one.
“Phew. Breeder, would you close the door for me?”
“Ah, yes.”
Once all the dragons had left, Sofia let out a relieved sigh. I did the same internally as I shut her door.
“That was repayment for protecting my pride earlier.”
“Pardon?”
“For keeping the fact that I like mint a secret.”
“Ah……! Thank you for your generosity, Miss Sofia!”
Now I understood why she had covered for me even at the cost of her own embarrassment. That pride of hers really was something else.
“……Enough with the empty formalities. More importantly, what exactly did you come to tell me? If it’s about dessert, didn’t we already finish that discussion this afternoon?”
Sofia cut straight to the point, a sharp glint flashing in her golden eyes. If I had caused all this commotion for a flimsy reason, she clearly wasn’t going to let it slide.
“W-Well……”
“Don’t stall. You’d better speak quickly. Otherwise, as Student Council President and fourth-year representative, I’ll have to make you pay for damaging my pride……”
“Miss, have you ever heard of mint chocolate?”
“Huh? Mint…… chocolate?”
Mint chocolate. At those two words, the sharp glint in her eyes vanished, replaced by a bright, sparkling curiosity—like a dragon who had just spotted a pile of shining jewels right in front of her.