The Angry Fire Dragon?
The image of a furious Fire Dragon—puffed up like a fluffy steamed bun—flashed before my eyes. It was her true form hidden behind a red cloth. The voluptuous silhouette stirred unnecessary imagination. She looked incredibly soft and cozy. I wanted to bury my face right into it. Her presence dwarfed even Diora’s. After spending so much time rubbing shoulders with unfriendly other races—mostly males—even this sight alone made it hard to keep my composure.
‘Get a grip. If I don’t, my face is really going to touch her…….’
I struggled with all my might to maintain distance. If I hadn’t, what would have happened? For a moment, I might have been happy. But touching the body of a lady who was essentially a goddess of the continent was sacrilege. I might have been burned to death on the spot. Since she wasn’t even a contracted partner yet, such recklessness would be no different from suicide.
“Hohwaa…? Sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?”
Raylin finally relaxed her arm and lightly draped it over my shoulder. That had been dangerously close.
“Thank you for being considerate.”
“Haha, no need to thank me for something like that. The more I see you, the cuter your reactions are, you know?”
Though I hadn’t known Raylin for long, she was different from the other ladies. She was quite honest with her emotions and straightforward. She didn’t seem to care much about pride. At times, she didn’t even feel like a dragon.
“…Anyway, don’t worry today! This big sis—Ick, another slip of the tongue…! Anyway, just trust me, White Dog!”
“Ah, it’s an honor. Thank you!”
She called herself my big sister and told me to trust only her. It didn’t sound like a simple slip of the tongue. Still, there was no reason to feel bad about it. She really was an incredible big sister, and there was no reason to refuse her help with evening roll call.
That said, it was strange. I hadn’t had any personal dealings with Raylin, yet she was endlessly kind to me. If I had to compare, she was similar to Derke. Friendly toward humans from the very start. No, wait—could it be that she was only like this with me? Come to think of it, starting off with high favorability was suspicious when I thought about it again. There had to be a reason.
‘She’s treating me this friendly even before eating the biscuits? The army stew only got two stars. Aren’t SSR-rank dragons all picky eaters like Sofia?’
Just as I was muttering to myself, she spoke up.
“By the way, shall I try some? —Hah!”
—Crunch, crunch…!
Raylin tossed the two biscuit fries she was holding straight into her mouth at once.
‘If she swallows that much at once, she’ll choke.’
I was curious what kind of review she would give, but also worried. Biscuits were meant to be eaten with a drink to bring out their flavor.
“Hohwawa—?! I-It’s delicious?”
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah!! It’s crispy and salty—exactly my style! It would go perfectly with some strong liquor from my hometown!”
“I’m glad it suits your palate.”
I had been worried she might not like it, but as expected, nothing beat biscuits as dragon feed. On top of that, it even made a dragon think of alcohol—this was a success.
‘Should I make biscuits the signature menu of the lounge at this rate?’
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
This will be reflected as-is upon successful conditional empathy.
Conversely, failure will nullify the increase and turn the target hostile.
While I was lost in thought, the status window appeared as usual. As expected, nothing boosted favorability as directly as biscuits.
“White Dog? Can you give me one more…? The salty taste really whets my appetite.”
“Is that so? Please take a whole handful.”
“Huh? Really—?! Is that okay?”
“Yes, there’s plenty, so that much is fine.”
“Thanks, White Dog—! Your kind heart really suits you……!”
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
……
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
The favorability of the conditional empathy target has increased.
The moment I showed Raylin kindness, notification windows overlapped and popped up in a frenzy. It was the same when I first treated the fourth-years. Sometimes the favorability increases would flood in like a broken system.
‘Huh? Is this right? Does favorability keep rising from the same dessert?’
If Derke had a generous appetite, Raylin’s personality itself seemed generous. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense. Maybe the trigger was treating Raylin specially by offering more biscuits? No, a proud dragon wouldn’t do that. There had to be another reason. I couldn’t figure it out right now, but it wasn’t a bad thing. At this speed, I could become close with her just as quickly as with Derke.
—Rustle, rustle…!
While I was clearing the status window, Raylin grabbed a handful of biscuits from the bag and transferred them into the pouch on her thigh. Her face was more flushed than ever.
“Miss Raylin? The biscuits I just secretly gave you… please keep it a secret from your classmates.”
“Of course! Just trust me, White Dog!”
“Phew, as expected. By the way, Miss Raylin? There’s something I’ve been curious about since last time—may I ask?”
“Huh? What is it? Ask me anything!”
“Why do you call me White Dog?”
I asked now that we had grown closer. We had nothing else to talk about on the way, and I had been wondering since yesterday. I figured she would answer willingly.
Why call me White Dog when I had a perfectly fine name? I couldn’t help but be curious.
“…Of course, it’s not that I dislike the nickname.”
I added the extra line while watching Raylin’s reaction, just in case.
“Huh? Ah…! Th-That? I-It’s nothing!”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, there’s no reason…! You don’t have to worry about it!”
“Pardon? Then don’t tell me there’s really no reason for calling me White D—”
“W-We’re going to be late for roll call! White Dog? Let’s hurry up—!”
The usually bold and straightforward Raylin suddenly started stammering and avoided answering. Her face turned as red as her hair. Her attitude had completely flipped the moment I touched on something sensitive.
“…Why are you just standing there blankly?! We really will be late for roll call if you don’t move!”
While I stood frozen at Raylin’s sudden change in demeanor—
—Grab!
“M-Miss……?”
Raylin seized my wrist without warning. I couldn’t tell if it was to avoid my question or because we were truly short on time.
“Hurry up and move! Hurry……!!”
“Miss? A little slower……!”
I could only be dragged along, dangling toward the dormitory. Her speed and strength were so great that my feet floated in the air.
*
“Phew, we made it just in time. Good thing we’re not late.”
Raylin’s speed was lightning-fast. We reached the dormitory in the blink of an eye. But fast wasn’t always good.
“Ugh……!”
Thanks to her, we arrived comfortably, but the shaking had made me nauseous. It had been a long time since I last felt motion sickness.
“Hohwaat…? White Dog, are you okay? Want me to pat your back?”
“N-No…! I’m fine.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know you were this weak.”
“……”
It’s because you’re too fast, ma’am. …I wanted to say it outright, but I could only smile awkwardly.
“Anyway, thanks to you, Miss, we arrived right on time. Let’s start roll call right away.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s get to work.”
—Press!
Without even a moment to catch my breath, I entered the night-duty room and pressed the alarm button.
[—Riiiiiiiiing!!!]
The bell rang loudly through the dormitory hallway again today.
“By the way, Miss? You said you would help with roll call earlier—what exactly did you mean by that……?”
“Ah, don’t worry about me. Just do it like usual, like usual~”
Raylin hid inside the night-duty room and waved her hands. I didn’t know her intentions, but since she said she would help, I decided to proceed as usual. It didn’t matter if she didn’t help. I had gotten the hang of it by now. I just wanted to finish quickly and rest. There was a mountain of work to handle tomorrow as well.
‘Still, I’m actually starting to look forward to first-year roll call a bit.’
—Kyaha…!
Giggle…♪
—Shh! It’s roll call time. Be quiet…!
—I want to eat delicious snacks today too!
—Derke said so! Breeder teacher is giving out tasty things again today!
—Waaah…! As expected!
—Derke is the best!!
Was it because of the star-candy-covered biscuits I handed out yesterday? The usually solemn roll call time was filled with bright voices. Just listening to these innocent voices felt healing.
—Rustle…!
As promised, I picked up the bag of biscuits and slowly stepped out into the hallway. Like Santa Claus in the middle of winter.
—Waaah…! He’s coming!
—Don’t tell me we get to eat all of that?
—I’m so excited to see what it is today…!
—Murmur, murmur…!
The moment I appeared in the hallway, I really felt like Santa Claus. The little ladies looked at me and cheered in unison. Of course, since it was roll call, they kept their voices as low as possible, but the excitement and anticipation were clear in their sparkling eyes. Now they all just seemed adorable.
“First-years, report.”
“First-years, reporting!!”
As always, Tina, the class representative, conducted the report. She no longer stammered or trembled, perhaps having adapted somewhat to academy life.
“…Total of 10 students! No absences!”
“I will now conduct room inspections. If your rooms are still messy after I pointed it out two days ago, there will be no snacks today.”
—Huuueeek…?!
—Th-That can’t be…!
—Q-Quick, clean up right now…!
The new students panicked at the sudden threat. Some tried to tidy their rooms late. I hadn’t originally planned to go this far. However, with Raylin secretly watching from behind, I ended up proceeding strictly by the book. Even with a reliable backup, I couldn’t afford to slack off myself.
“Cleaning now won’t make a difference. Everyone stop and wait.”
With those words, I entered the first room—Derke’s.
“Oh, pass.”
As expected, thanks to the Wraith Legion, Derke’s room was spotless. Cleaning odds and ends must have been a piece of cake for her.
“Good work, Derke. Here, take this. Today’s snack.”
“Waaah…! Thank you—desu-yong!”
Derke’s green eyes sparkled as she held out both hands expectantly. Just as I was about to place a handful of biscuits into her palms—
“…White Dog, can you stop for a moment?”
Suddenly, Raylin’s low voice came from behind. She had been quietly hiding in the night-duty room, but now she was slowly approaching me with a serious expression.
““Haat…? I-It’s the senior?!””
The first-years froze in place like frightened herbivores. I was also puzzled by her sudden action. Why was she doing this all of a sudden? Her expression looked quite serious—had I done something wrong?
“Yes? What’s the matter?”
“White Dog, what are you doing right now?”
—Grab!
At the same time, Raylin snatched my wrist. She stared intently at the biscuits in my hand with a grave expression. The warm big-sister face from earlier was long gone.