Sometimes Misunderstandings Can Be Helpful
Sometimes misunderstandings can work in your favor.
“N-no way…… I never thought I’d lose the initiative to a freshman……”
Sofia’s aura was anything but ordinary. An unusually chilling presence radiated from her. She muttered to herself in a low voice, her tone laced with frustration and regret, yet also a stubborn refusal to accept something.
‘Is she talking to me? What is she saying?’
Her murmurs were so quiet that I couldn’t catch the exact words, but her displeasure was unmistakable. If I said the wrong thing now, I’d be in serious trouble. Still, staying silent didn’t seem like a good option either. It felt like she was angry because of me. If I didn’t step in and ease her irritation, she might just get even more offended.
“S-Sofia? Is something the matter? You look rather pale……”
I asked as carefully as I could, retracing my steps to see if I had done anything wrong. If her displeasure stemmed from my actions, the only solution was to resolve it myself.
‘Ah, could it be……?’
Maybe she was upset because I had been chatting with Derke right in front of her. I hadn’t meant to ignore her, but that was the only thing I could think of. Even so, it was hard to believe that the ever-generous Sofia would get angry over something so small. The thought itself felt ridiculous. Yet no other reason came to mind. Surely Sofia wouldn’t be jealous of Derke.
“Breeder? Let’s talk for a moment, just the two of us.”
Sofia’s voice was icy as she reined in some of her killing intent. Thank goodness. At least this could be settled with words. Maybe it wasn’t as serious as I feared.
“Ah, yes. If I committed any discourtesy toward you, I’m truly sorr—”
“If you’re sorry, then answer me honestly.”
The usual warmth in Sofia’s voice had frozen over completely, as cold as ice. It was a stark contrast to her title as the Dragon of Dawn.
“……Of course. I’ll tell you everything exactly as it is.”
“Good. Then explain how you’re able to understand and speak Dragon Tongue.”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t think I got an answer to that question earlier. Is there a problem?”
“Well, that’s……”
The question came sharp and sudden. I thought I had dodged it earlier, but apparently she still had doubts. I couldn’t figure out what to say.
“Understanding Dragon Tongue is one thing, but hearing ancient Dragon Tongue you’ve never encountered before and replying in it…… that was rather shocking.”
“……!”
“Well? Care to explain, Breeder?”
—Gulp!
I swallowed dryly at Sofia’s question. My lips sealed shut. Nothing came to mind. It felt like being grilled in a pressure interview. I had always prided myself on handling situations with tact, but this was the first time I was completely tongue-tied.
‘Even if I say I don’t know the reason either, she definitely won’t believe me…… She might even get angrier, thinking I’m disrespecting her.’
—Clench……!
Derke had frozen up beside me as well, trembling while clutching my collar like a mouse before a cat.
“Why aren’t you answering? You seem to have a lot of unnecessary thoughts running through your head.”
“……I-I mentioned before that I’m deeply interested in history, didn’t I? So ever since I was young, I’ve read all sorts of books and—”
“Are you daring to lie to my face? Before the Dragon of Dawn, who can even discern falsehoods?”
The moment my flimsy excuse left my mouth, Sofia’s eyes flashed and she cut me off. She stepped closer, as if trying to corner me. I wasn’t sure if she could truly detect lies, but piling on more pathetic excuses wouldn’t help.
I was screwed. Was her favorability dropping? How was I supposed to form a conditional pact now? What should I do in this situation……?
Strangely, I was more worried about her favorability than my life. All the effort I had put in would go to waste if it fell.
“Hmph. Of course you can’t say it easily. After all, you’ve already formed that kind of relationship with a young hatchling……”
“What? Sofia? What have you been talking about since earlier……?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“It’s not that, I really don’t understand—”
“I already told you, didn’t I? Lying in front of me won’t work.”
Ah, so she couldn’t actually detect lies. She was just pushing forward with a presumption of guilt. I had genuinely been asking because I didn’t know.
—Tap, tap!
While I was desperately trying to think of a way out, Sofia approached and stared straight into my eyes. She had stopped walking, but her face kept coming closer. At this rate, our lips might actually touch……
—Thud……!
“Hah, Sofia?”
“Stay still.”
“What are you doing……?”
Unfortunately (or fortunately?), what touched me was Sofia’s forehead. She held my head gently with both hands and pressed her forehead against mine. Even the skin of her forehead felt soft. Her bangs brushed lightly against my cheek.
“Just stay like this for a moment.”
I was bewildered, wondering what on earth she was doing, but Sofia calmly closed her eyes as she looked at me.
‘What is she trying to do all of a sudden?’
But my confusion didn’t last long. The moment Sofia closed her eyes, something astonishing happened.
—Fwoooooooosh……!!!
“What the—?! Light all of a sudden?!”
“I-it’s shining like the sun, desu-yong……?!”
The same light that had purified my classmates earlier flooded my vision. It flashed brilliantly for just a moment before vanishing just as quickly.
“Just as I expected.”
Sofia’s voice followed, calm once more, a smile on her face as if her prediction had been correct.
“What? I still have no idea what you’ve been talking about……”
“I can feel a strong presence of our kin from your body and spirit. It must be the effect of the pact you formed with Derke.”
“???”
What was she saying now? The presence of our kin? Was she calling me a reptile? The more explanations I heard, the more confused I became. Sofia’s words were hard to understand. Still, I couldn’t break the solemn atmosphere. Judging by her expression, it seemed like things might pass without incident. I simply looked at her in silence.
“……Moreover, I can sense an exceptionally pure and strong soul. No wonder you became close with a young hatchling so quickly…… I understand.”
No, the person involved doesn’t understand at all, though?
“With your warm personality, it’s only natural.”
—Rustle……!
After finishing her monologue, Sofia pulled away. The warmth faded as our foreheads separated. Her silken hair brushed past me as she moved back. Most striking of all was the faint smile she now wore as she looked at me.
I didn’t know what had just happened, but it seemed luck was on my side. She no longer seemed to care much about me using Dragon Tongue.
‘Wait a second. Now that I think about it, isn’t this body actually a dragon?’
A sudden possibility flashed through my mind. At first, I had dismissed it as nonsense. But after hearing Sofia’s words, and considering that in a dragon gacha game the Breeder was the only human…… something about the setting had always felt off. Yet after living in this body for a month, there had been nothing physically draconic about me.
“Breeder? What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“Ah, Sofia? Well……”
Sofia’s clear voice pulled me out of my confusion.
“You must have been quite surprised by what just happened, right?”
“……Yes. Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t.”
That was all I could say. My head was still a mess. I wasn’t even sure if my body was a dragon or not, and then there was the sudden claim that I had that kind of relationship with Derke…… I couldn’t add anything because I didn’t understand either point clearly. I was just relieved that things had passed without issue.
“I’m sorry for startling you. I didn’t come here to say those things……”
—Rustle……!
Sofia, now much calmer, trailed off and rummaged inside her uniform.
“Here. Please accept this.”
She handed me something the size of her palm.
“Huh? This is……”
Two thin plates wrapped neatly in paper. I knew what they were without even looking. It was what Sofia had promised to give me.
“……Is this chocolate?”
“Yes. I only meant to give you this, but we ended up wasting far too much time. Your free period will be over soon.”
“Don’t worry. As promised, I’ll make you a delicious dessert.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what it would have been like if I had made a deeper promise with you back then. Sharing dessert with you and……”
“Yes?”
Sofia was acting strange today. She kept adding things I couldn’t quite understand, her voice shy and trailing off. The fiery intensity from earlier was gone, replaced by a soft pink blush coloring her pale cheeks like peach blossoms. We had managed to get past the crisis, but her current demeanor was still puzzling.
“Ah, it’s nothing……! By the way, the dessert you made today. Could I try some too? I’m really curious what flavor it is that made my classmates end up like that!”
Sofia quickly changed the subject and avoided my gaze. She glanced around, pretending to check on her still-unconscious classmates. It was clearly an act to hide her reddened face. Her stiff movements were so awkward that it was almost cute how obvious her attempt to steer the conversation was.
“If you’re alright with it, I’d be happy to serve you some. Could you wait just a moment?”
“D-Derke wants to eat more too, desu-yong……!”
Once the heavy atmosphere had completely lifted, Derke, who had been hiding behind me, finally spoke up again. Ever since yesterday, everyone had become obsessed with biscuits.
“Sure. Can you wait a little? I’ll prepare yours right away too.”
“Hehe-♬ Okay-yap-!”
—Clatter, thud……!
I quickly brought out a fresh batch of biscuits from the kitchen. Most of the setup was already done, so all I had to do was arrange them on a tray. The misutgaru powder mixed in easily with just a quick stir.
“Sofia? These are called biscuits.”
“Biscuits……? I’ve never heard that name before. How do you eat them?”
Sofia’s eyebrows twitched as she looked at the biscuits. Her curiosity was clearly piqued by the unfamiliar dessert.
“Just pick one up with your hand and eat it in one bite. The sweetness can be a bit strong, so if it’s too sweet, try it with the misutgaru powder on the side. And the honey goes in the drink—”
“Mm, thank you for the kind explanation. But I don’t have much time.”
Sofia cut off my lengthy explanation and picked up a biscuit without hesitation. She licked her lips as if she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“……I’ll try it first and decide.”
“Derke will eat well too, yap-!”
With those words, the two young ladies seated at the counter table each picked up a biscuit. Then, at the same time, they popped them into their mouths and began chewing.
““Crunch……!””
The moment the two dragons bit into the biscuits……
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased significantly!
Effect:Gourmet Feeding skill activated
Even Sofia, who hadn’t reacted to my desserts at all until yesterday, was responding now.
‘Did the picky Sofia actually enjoy it?’
The target is already at the ‘Worship’ stage of empathy.
Note:Further favorability increases have no effect.
“It’s delicious today too, desu-yong-?!”
Ah, and of course Derke, whose tastes were far more generous than Sofia’s, joined in as well.
Due to the effect of ‘Gourmet Feeding,’ the empathy target will do anything for you today!
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?