Stake Your Heart

A system message had appeared out of nowhere. Derke's surprise kiss was already enough to fluster me, but now this notification was blocking my view as well. Everything had crashed down on me at once, leaving me frozen in place.

Dragon's Pact? What the heck is this all of a sudden?

I couldn't bring myself to accept right away. The message was completely new to me. I'd thought it was just a simple promise, but the explanation made it sound incredibly grand. Still, I had no intention of refusing. Resetting rapport to zero and erasing Derke from the slot? No way. On top of that, being able to freely use the rapport target's abilities and perks sounded far too tempting.

It meant unlimited access to the Wraith Legion—a workforce that asked for no wages—and the Dragon's Touch that could satisfy any local dragon's palate. Of course, none of those perks mattered as much as the simple fact that I didn't want to lose Derke.

Reading further, it seemed the pact could only be formed with a rapport target who had reached the Worship stage…

Hold on. Form a pact?

While I was muttering at the translucent status window, Sofia's earlier words suddenly came back to me.

—I can sense a strong draconic aura from your body and mind. It must be the influence of the pact you formed with Derke.

Now I understood what she had meant. I'd wondered what exactly a "pact" was, and now it turned out I was about to form one for real. Sofia had clearly mistaken me for someone who had already made a pact with Derke. I still didn't understand why she'd thought that, or why she claimed to feel a draconic aura from me.

“Uuuu… O-Oppa? What are you thinking so hard about, y'know?”

“Ah, huh?”

“Does Derke seem that untrustworthy, desu-yong…?”

Derke's voice trembled with anxiety as I kept carefully rereading the status window. She sounded like a nervous salesperson worried I might spot some hidden clause. I had no real reason to refuse the pact, yet the final message still nagged at me. If I refused, Derke would be erased from the rapport slot? That single line had shocked me into caution. Even if she wasn't SSR rank, the thought of Derke becoming a complete stranger was unbearable. She had been a ray of light in my difficult academy life. I refused to let her go.

“Untrustworthy? Of course not. I'll be counting on you from now on too!”

“Heheheh-♬ Derke will be counting on you even more, desu-yong-! Well then……”

After accepting, another prompt appeared. There was still some kind of procedure left. The message gave no explanation of what that procedure was. Huh? Wasn't a verbal agreement enough? What else did I need to do? Or was I supposed to write ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an actual contract…?

“Uuuuung……”

While I was wondering what came next, Derke's soft voice reached my ears. I dismissed all the status windows for now.

“Huh?”

Derke stood before me, eyes tightly shut, her cute little lips pushed forward. A faint blush colored her cheeks.

D-Don't tell me I have to kiss her back the same way she kissed me?

Judging by how she was frozen with her lips offered, that seemed to be the case. Instead of a thumbprint or seal, the contract was sealed with a kiss. I'd expected some bloody ritual for something called the Dragon's Pact, yet it turned out to be this simple and adorable method.

“Gulp……!”

Still, my body refused to move. Even though the method was simple, it wasn't easy. I couldn't bring myself to press my lips to Derke's. Her youthful appearance was the problem. She was so pretty and adorable that you could never get tired of looking at her, but in human form she looked far too young. Doubt and guilt twisted inside me. How could I possibly kiss someone who appeared so small?

Of course, she was actually a dragon over 175 years older than me, but that didn't make it any easier.

Even so, kissing a little kid like this…? The guilt is just too much……

A sudden countdown began. Even the system window was pressuring me. Since I hadn't yet placed the "seal," cancellation was still possible. I had no particular taste for this sort of thing, yet the system was forcing me into it, urging me to kiss her quickly.

Fine, whatever. At least she's still better than a reptile!

I couldn't lose Derke over some ridiculous guilt. Showing sincerity my own way would have to do.

“Mwah…!”

“Hweh…? O-Oppa-?”

I pressed my lips to Derke's forehead instead. Yes, her forehead, not her lips. The system had asked for sincerity, so this was my compromise. It was the best I could manage. There was still time left; if this didn't work, I could always go for the lips—

Oh, so this works too!

Relieved by the success message, I finally lifted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my lips from her forehead. Derke's skin was warm and soft, just like a human's.

“Kuuuuh……!”

“Derke?”

The pact had been completed without issue, yet Derke's expression was far from pleased. She glared at me with puffed-up cheeks, clearly dissatisfied that I'd given her a forehead kiss instead of a proper one. Even though the pact had been formed correctly, I now seemed destined to face a dragon's wrath. Finally, Derke spoke, her voice full of complaint.

“T-That's not how you make a Dragon's Promise, desu-yong-!”

“I… I know that, so calm down, okay? The pact is already complete—”

—Hop!

Derke suddenly leapt toward my face while I was still bent over from the forehead kiss.

“——Mwah♡”

Her lips met mine properly this time. Soft, moist, and decisive, Derke's lips stamped the seal herself, as though securing an exclusive contract over my share of the pact.

“Hup? D-Derke……?”

“Now it's done, y'know-!”

Kisses with Derke always came suddenly and passed in an instant. Though light like a French kiss, the depth of her affection came through clearly. It felt fluffy like cotton candy, yet undeniably sweet.

“Now it's done…? It wasn't done before?”

“That's how you're supposed to make a promise with a dragon! Mama taught me that lips have to touch for it to be proper, y'know…!!”

After the kiss, Derke spun away, cheeks flushed crimson. She seemed embarrassed by what she had just done. My own face felt just as hot. Strictly speaking, I'd just been ambushed with a kiss by a dragon lady over 170 years my senior…… Still, if she was satisfied, that was all that mattered.

“Heehee, heh……♪”

Derke's ears were bright red as she turned her back and let out a small giggle. Kissing me had apparently put her in a good mood.

I felt guilty about kissing her myself, but…… I guess this turned out for the best.

I could only watch her back with a warm smile, grateful that everything had worked out.

“By the way, Derke? What exactly is the Dragon's Pact? It wasn't just a simple promise, was it?”

Kisses and pecks aside, there were more important questions. I'd formed the pact, but I still didn't understand what made it different.

“Mama said it's a very important promise you only make with someone precious, y'know-! It's a special promise you can only make with someone who isn't a dragon, desu-yong…!”

“But why now, all of a sudden……?”

“I actually forgot about it until I heard Senior Sofia earlier, desu-yong-!”

Derke still wouldn't meet my eyes. She kept her back turned while she spoke. Over her shoulder I could see her flushed cheeks. Every so often they twitched, as though she were secretly grinning from ear to ear. She might be over two hundred years old, but she clearly wasn't ignorant of what a kiss meant. It also meant she truly cared for me.

“Even if it just came back to you, did you really have to go as far as making a pact?”

“Of course I did, y'know-! I don't want anyone taking Oppa away from me, desu-yong-!”

“Huh? Taking me away?”

At my question, Derke spun around and shouted, her face flushed with emotion. Her voice was firm and resolute.

“If Senior Sofia found out we hadn't made a pact yet…… she would've stolen the order from me, y'know-! Derke won't give up Oppa to anyone else, desu-yong-!”

Was it because of her Worship-stage rapport, or because of the pact itself? Derke's reaction was intense. She wouldn't yield even to her senior when it came to me. A strange possessiveness shone in her emerald eyes. Yet seeing how much she liked and followed me brought an involuntary smile to my face.

“Ah… I see. Thank you for caring about me this much. I feel the same way—I want to stay with you too. So let's keep getting along from now on, okay?”

“Mm-! As long as you keep Derke's secret, Derke will do anything for Oppa, y'know-!”

“I'm grateful just to hear that. I don't expect anything grand from you. If we can just keep smiling at each ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other like this, that's enough for me.”

“Heheheh-♪ Derke likes Oppa's smiling face the most too, desu-yong-!”

Derke beamed at my words. It was hard to believe that someone so pure and cheerful was the Death Dragon…… The contrast never quite matched up.

“…Ah! But something feels a little strange, desu-yong-!”

“Huh? Strange? What do you mean?”

“Mama told me that once you make this kind of promise, half of Derke's heart would go to Oppa through the mouth…… But it didn't happen to Oppa, y'know…!”

“What? Heart?”

“Mm-! Derke's heart……”