The Fiery Big Sister?
The moment our hands touched, a system message popped up: [Accept Condition-Based Rapport?] This was the second one after Sofia. These status windows always appeared at the most unexpected times, leaving me flustered. I still hadn't cleared Sofia's yet, and now Raylin's quest had suddenly appeared out of nowhere? It seemed condition-based rapports could be handled simultaneously without issue—as long as I had the capacity to manage them. The order of completion didn't seem to matter either. What truly counted was satisfying the ladies' palates. Who knew you could tempt dragons with food? At this point, they felt less like supreme beings and more like finicky cats.
That aside, what would her conditions be this time? Raylin hadn't stated hers yet. With Sofia, she had directly presented her own demands.
“Just as I thought—you're someone I can actually talk to. The more I see you, the more I like you!”
“You're too kind. If it's a request from you, milady, of course I'll do my best to fulfill it.”
“Hwahat—? You look cute, but that confident attitude…! I like it even more! I knew I could count on you!”
Raylin replaced every exclamation with her signature “Hwahawa.” Is this some kind of Dragon Speech too? No, earlier the ram-rabbit had understood her words, so it was probably the common tongue. She was just a dragon with unusually expressive emotions.
—Thump thump thump!
That aside, a rhythmic pounding had been echoing from my shoulder for a while now. Palm meeting shoulder, creating sound. Raylin had been enthusiastically patting my shoulder over and over. On top of the arm draped around me, her chest kept brushing against my side, making it impossible to ignore.
How am I supposed to not notice when she keeps pressing up against me like this…? Even though she had used Polymorph to change her appearance, it seemed dragons couldn't freely alter their human forms at will. That made sense—starting from the third-years, their physical development was noticeably different. If they could choose any shape, why would they pick petite, slender bodies?
—Pat, pat…!!
My shoulder was starting to feel bruised. I liked her straightforward, passionate personality, but her emotional expression went a bit beyond “clear” into “over the top.” Just what about me did she find so appealing?
“R-Raylin, milady…? By the way, you mentioned a request. Do you have something else you'd like to ask of me?”
I changed the subject to escape her vigorous patting and the distracting pressure of her chest. At the same time, I hoped to learn the exact conditions for the rapport. I couldn't accept it blindly without knowing what they were.
“Oh, right. It's nothing big. Just that.”
“Pardon?”
Releasing the shoulder hug, Raylin pointed at the pot that had held the army stew.
“You said that soup dish from earlier would be tomorrow night's menu, right?”
“Ah, yes, that's correct.”
“Today's version was fine, but… could you make tomorrow's even fierier and spicier? The more stimulating, the better!”
Her crimson eyes sparkled with excitement as she laid out the quest conditions in earnest. The army stew must have left quite an impression. There was no reason to refuse this kind of request. In fact, it worked out perfectly. I could tackle both conditions tomorrow.
This is hitting two birds with one stone… Wait, no—Raylin would actually have to like mint chocolate for that metaphor to work.
I wanted to ask if she liked mint to save myself trouble, but I kept quiet, worried an unnecessary question might lower her favorability. Still, army stew was far easier than mint chocolate. It didn't require hard-to-obtain ingredients like chocolate, so compared to mint chocolate, this was simple.
“Whitey? Why aren't you answering?”
“Ah, my apologies. I was just thinking about how to make it even more delicious for you.”
“Really? So, what do you think? Think you can do it?”
“Of course. I'll do my absolute best for you, milady.”
Acceptance. While answering Raylin, I mentally accepted the condition-based rapport. Then…
Target: Raylin (Lv.500 / Fire) — Favorability Relationship
Success Condition: Satisfy Raylin's nostalgic palate with bold, fiery flavors.
Time Limit: By tomorrow evening
Once I accepted the rapport, the expected messages appeared. Uniquely, Raylin had started at the favorability stage. Was that thanks to the army stew? Everything else was standard. Third-year, fire-attribute dragon. Given her fundamental fire attribute, it made sense she had been classified as SSR rank. Dragons were meant to breathe scorching flames, after all.
Ah? But what was this? Raylin was “nostalgic”? Did she miss the taste of home? Suddenly I found myself craving ramen and kimchi too.
“…Really?! You'll really do your best for me?”
Raylin gazed at me with eyes clearer than rubies, sparkling with delight. Her expression looked like she was about to burst from how proud she felt. It reminded me of the way I looked at Derke.
“Yes, of course. It's your request, after all.”
“Hearing you say that makes me even more excited! It was the taste of home I haven't had in so long! I'll be looking forward to it!”
“Raylin, milady? By the way, what do you mean by ‘taste of home’? Are you familiar with army stew?”
“Huh? Army stew? Is that what that soup dish is called?”
“Ah? I thought you knew it since you mentioned the taste of home.”
Of course she wouldn't know it. She had probably just meant the flavor was similar. Especially the spicy taste seemed to have struck a chord with her.
“I've never heard of that dish before. Still, it was surprisingly similar to the food from the eastern continent where I used to live. Ever since I was little, I've loved spicy, tingling broths.”
“Spicy, tingling broths?”
“Yeah! Sometimes we'd even dip seafood or meat in spicy oil and eat it like that……”
—Gulp…!
Raylin closed her eyes and licked her lips, as if recalling the past. The taste of her hometown's food must have come flooding back. Being from the eastern continent, and wearing clothes reminiscent of a qipao… she probably enjoyed bold, spicy Chinese-style flavors.
“I think I understand. Then, would it be all right if I prepared a special dish just for you tomorrow at this same time?”
“Great! I'll drop by around this time tomorrow too.”
Perfect. It wouldn't be too difficult. I could just build on the army stew recipe. Adding a few ingredients would make it much spicier. I'd need to ask the ram-rabbit to prepare the extra ingredients in advance.
“Ram-rabbit? You heard Raylin, milady's request, right?”
“Heard it loud and clear!”
“Tomorrow evening isn't just for her—I'll need to pay special attention to the whole menu. Can you prepare as many ingredients similar to what I'm requesting as possible? I'll give you a rough idea of the additional recipes.”
“I'll do my best!”
“Good. First of all……”
—Scratch, scratch, scratch!
The ram-rabbit diligently noted down my additional orders. He was probably feeling the pressure too—suddenly a lady had shown up and declared she'd be expecting tomorrow's dinner.
“…And for the noodles, if possible, use thick ones—”
“Hey~ Whitey?”
“Oh, milady? You were still here?”
Raylin's voice cut in while I was busy teaching the recipes. She stared at me with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, how long are you planning to stay here? Aren't you going back to the dormitory?”
“I'm almost done. I was thinking of stopping by the lounge on the way back for a quick errand.”
I had planned to portion out the fried biscuits.
“Hwahaa…? Really? It's already this late—are you sure you'll be okay?”
Raylin slowly turned her gaze and pointed at the wall of the kitchen. A wall clock hung where she indicated.
“Ah? It's already this late……?”
The hands pointed to 8:20. It was ten minutes before evening roll call. Time really flew by today.
“Shouldn't you head back soon?”
“I suppose I should.”
“Right? Then, since this is fate, let's go in together.”
“Pardon?”
—Grab!
Before I could even respond, Raylin linked arms with me over the shoulders. Was it because of her favorability-stage rapport? Calling me “Whitey” and showing friendliness first—unlike the other dragons, Raylin was quick to display affection.
“Milady? That's my luggage…! I'll carry it myself! Please give it here!”
“Nah, it's not even heavy. Besides, look at you right now. You're covered in flour—how could I not feel bad for you?”
“Even so……”
“It's really fine. Walking into the dorm alone was getting a bit boring anyway!”
—Step, step, step…!
Led by Raylin's hand, I walked out of the dining hall. She even carried the bag of biscuits for me, despite my repeated refusals. It had been a while since I'd received such warm kindness. It felt like having a friendly neighborhood big sister.
Sofia had been kind too, of course, but she never showed her feelings so openly. Whether because of pride or not, she only offered help indirectly.
“Whitey, by the way, what's inside this bag? It smells really nutty and savory—don't tell me it's food?!”
Still keeping the shoulder hug, Raylin chatted cheerfully. And it wasn't just words she pressed against me.
—Squish…!
Just like in the kitchen earlier, her full, elastic chest kept brushing against my shoulder.
Wow… it's really soft. I had worried a fire dragon might be hot-tempered, but her flames felt warm rather than scorching. And soft, too. Maybe all SSR-rank dragons had good personalities by default.
“Yes, it's dessert for the fourth-year ladies tomorrow. I made extra because I've been busy with various things.”
“Tch, if it's for the seniors, I can't just grab some. The smell's been bothering me—I really wanted to try one.”
Raylin clicked her tongue and licked her lips.
“Haha, would you like one? I made plenty, so a few won't be a problem.”
“Hwahawa—! You really mean that……?!”
“Of course. I would never lie to you, milady.”
“Great! Let me have a taste then!”
Was it because she was from the eastern continent? Instead of “dinghao,” she said “hwahawa”… The speech pattern didn't quite match, but individuality was its own charm. It wasn't unpleasant at all.
“It's really nothing special, but please give it a try. I think you'll like it.”
“Awesome! Ah, but I've been feeling bad just receiving food and dessert all the time.”
“Pardon? Did you just say you felt bad?”
Raylin, holding a couple of biscuits, paused and muttered to herself. A dragon feeling sorry toward a human? Was that even possible phrasing? It was similar to the situation with Sofia's tail. Honestly, she was surprising in many ways. Was there a special reason she was so kind to me? Or was it because the army stew had been that good?
“I can't let this slide! Since I received food and dessert, I'll help you with tonight's roll call!”
“You? With roll call?”
“You've been working hard, right? Don't worry tonight—just trust this big sis… ahem! No, just trust me!”
—Whoosh!
“……?!”
Suddenly declaring she'd help, Raylin pulled me close by the shoulders. The sudden closeness almost buried my face in her chest. She had said “big sis” just now— I nearly experienced that big-sister feeling firsthand. The twin peaks beneath her vibrant red qipao still lingered vividly before my eyes.