Raylin's Apology Gift
“Ah, what brings you here at this hour, miss…?”
My hand froze at the unexpected voice. I’d assumed it was Johnson, stopping by to waste more coffee as usual……
“Hohawa-!”
A figure unfamiliar to the Rest Lounge stood before me. The voice, however, was very familiar. It wasn’t Johnson’s taciturn, gruff tone, but a hearty and cheerful one that rang through the lounge.
“Miss Raylin?”
“What else! I felt like I didn’t properly thank you yesterday and only showed my selfish side…….”
It was none other than Raylin who had entered the Rest Lounge. She wore her usual cheongsam-style outfit today as well, but something was different. The entire ensemble, top and bottom, was black. The top was cropped short like a tank top, and the bottom barely reached her knees. It looked as though the clothes had been drastically shortened for maximum mobility. Rather than a noble young lady, she resembled someone dressed for battle.
Even so, her cleavage was still prominently accentuated. If anything, the black fabric made her skin tone stand out even more vividly.
‘Is that a training uniform?’
From watching the upperclassmen, I’d noticed how varied their outfits were. They only wore uniforms during roll call. Starting from third year, it seemed they could wear casual clothes for daily activities—much like how corporals and above could stand up their collars or sergeants could don combat gear.
“…So I stopped by to say thank you and apologize!”
“Pardon? Apologize?”
“Yeah…! You must have been pretty flustered yesterday, right?”
Raylin stepped inside while gauging the mood. Yesterday’s incident clearly weighed on her. The usually fiery young lady seemed unusually hesitant today.
“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.”
“T-that is…… I lost my composure for a moment after tasting the flavor of home after so long. Sorry for showing such an embarrassing side.”
“Pardon? You’re apologizing for that—”
“No! Uh, yesterday the joke went too far! I’m truly sorry, Whitey……!”
The Fire Dragon bowed her head deeply before me. Her restless expression was plain to see. Watching her like this, I realized I really had succeeded in bonding with her yesterday.
‘But is there really any need to apologize for something like this?’
Raylin was clearly different from the other young ladies. Perhaps she shared a similar temperament with Sofia and Derke? Other dragons would likely have grown furious simply because I witnessed their embarrassing moment. The predecessor had supposedly turned someone to ash just for stepping on their tail, so it wasn’t an impossible scenario. Burning the witness would have erased the evidence and restored their pride.
“I’m fine. You enjoyed what I made, didn’t you? That alone is enough.”
“No, handling the plants must have been difficult too, so a proper thank-you is only natural—! You should also receive compensation for it! I think it’s unfair for dragons to be treated unconditionally well just because they’re dragons.”
—Thud, thud, thud…!
Raylin approached the counter while asserting her will, her thick boots clomping like clogs.
—Thud!
“…Here, take this!”
She placed a rather heavy paper bag on the counter. Its size looked difficult to lift without hugging it with both arms.
“What is this all of a sudden?”
“A token of gratitude and an apology gift.”
“A gift……?”
“Don’t feel so burdened. It’s really nothing much.”
She grinned and nodded, as if urging me to check the contents. Her expression suggested she hoped I’d be moved by the gift she’d prepared.
—Rustle…!
Without hesitation, I peered inside. Several items filled the bag. What packed it full was none other than……
“Huh? What kind of fruit is this?”
It was a fruit I’d never seen before. Roughly the size of a large apple, its brown skin was incredibly thick and covered in thorn-like protrusions resembling a lizard’s rough scales. At the tip grew sturdy blue leaves. The shape felt vaguely familiar yet strangely alien.
“Hohawa-? As expected, first time seeing it? This is called a Drill Apple.”
“Drill Apple?”
“Yeah, it got that name because the inside is completely hollow. It’s a rare fruit that only grows in small quantities on Valkyrie Island.”
“What? I don’t see any holes, though.”
“Of course not. You have to peel the skin first, right?”
At my question, Raylin grabbed the leaves of the Drill Apple as if she’d been waiting for this moment. Then……
—Crack…!
She twisted and tore off the green leafy part with a simple motion. The stem separated effortlessly despite the thick, hard skin, falling away like a sheet of paper.
“Here, look. See the hollow center?”
Raylin held the cross-section out to me.
“Oh, you’re right. Only the very center is perfectly round and empty. It doesn’t look like the core was removed……”
At first I thought someone had hollowed it out with a knife beforehand. Surprisingly, the inside was completely empty in a precise circular shape. The flesh was yellow, fibrous, and brimming with moisture and sweetness. If you peeled the skin and sliced it neatly horizontally……
‘Wait a minute, this is basically a pineapple, isn’t it?’
It looked like a miniature pineapple. But pineapples don’t naturally lack a core—they’re processed that way in canning factories for convenience. Yet here was a wild version already in that form?
“I found a few by luck while returning from practical training yesterday. I brought them especially because I thought of you, so try a bite.”
Raylin skillfully peeled the skin and held out a bright yellow piece of flesh.
“Ah, then I’ll gratefully eat it.”
I reached out to take it, but……
“That’s not it.”
“Pardon?”
Raylin shook her head and didn’t hand it over. Was she upset I hadn’t extended both hands politely?
“…Quickly say ah~.”
“What?”
“Open your mouth…!”
“???”
“Your hands are covered in dough, so it’d be inconvenient to eat by yourself!”
She brought the fruit to my lips, insisting she’d feed me directly. As expected, Raylin was nothing like the other young ladies. Personally feeding fruit to a human? Was that even possible?
“Uh, quickly…! If I keep holding it like this, my arm will hurt?”
Raylin urged me with flushed cheeks. It seemed her favorability toward me was at play. We were still only at the ‘blind faith’ stage, yet her actions carried a clear sense of affection.
“Ahem! Then I’ll eat well……”
—Haap!
There was no reason to refuse such kindness. Acting prim would only lower her favorability. When else would I get to enjoy this kind of treatment? Better to accept it quickly and finish my work. I still hadn’t touched the tasks waiting for me……
—Crunch, crunch…!
The flesh of the Drill Apple crushed between my teeth, releasing sweet-and-sour juice throughout my mouth. The cool, sweet juice and fibrous texture were quite pleasant. In fact, it tasted exactly like pineapple, only slightly more tart with a crispier bite.
“How is it? Tasty, right?!”
“Yes, it’s really sour.”
“Eh? Is that all your reaction?”
“Ah…! It’s sweet and sour—exactly my taste! Thank you so much for preparing this for me. Thanks to you, my fatigue is completely gone!”
Oops—I’d almost made a huge mistake. Even with a bonding target, the other party was still a dragon. I couldn’t afford to treat her half-heartedly just because I was busy. No matter how approachable Raylin was, a dragon’s pride had to be respected.
“Really? I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Of course. Maybe because you prepared it for me, it tastes even better!”
“Puhuhut-! By the way, you seem to have been busy. Sorry…! Don’t mind me and go back to what you were doing.”
“Pardon? No, a simple conversation is……”
Raylin was exceptionally considerate. It felt as though I’d gained a real older sister. Even a blood-related sister probably wouldn’t treat me this well.
“It’s fine. I just came to see your face for a bit before heading to practical training this afternoon.”
“Practical training? Ah, come to think of it, you returned late by yourself during the last roll call too, didn’t you? What kind of training is it…….”
—Squish, squish…!
I responded while finishing the dough, chatting as casually as a hairdresser washing a customer’s hair.
“Yeah, I train alone every day operating the Demon-Slaying Fire Cannon.”
“Demon-Slaying… Fire Cannon? I’ve never heard of it. Is it some kind of weapon?”
“Yep-! It’s the name of a weapon created to deal with Ditronos. It’s a primordial armament made with the ancestors’ technology, and among current students, I’m the only one who knows how to handle it.”
“Oh, is that true?”
“Because of this, I’m in a special class for operating magical engineering firearms by myself. Thanks to that, I’m exempt from morning classes… but it gets a bit lonely. Training keeps me so busy that I even stepped down as student representative starting this semester.”
Raylin kept chattering, her loneliness clearly genuine. In a way, it was like having a specialized role—similar to a tanker or mortarman. As expected of an SSR-rank dragon, she was an elite. Having also served as class representative, she must be highly regarded within the academy. That explained why even the current third-year representative, Tiana, couldn’t speak freely in front of her.
—Rattle!
Raylin grumbled while naturally taking a seat, complaining that she needed to pick a deputy shooter soon but didn’t know who would be suitable.
“I see. It must be tough every time— Ah? Oh no……”
I’d been so absorbed in her words that I made a mistake. This dough was meant for basic coffee biscuits, but while chatting with Raylin I’d forgotten to add anything to it. If I baked it like this, it would just turn into bland flour bread.
“What’s wrong, Whitey?”
“Ha, it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, is it? Tell me. Today’s a rest day for the lounge too, so what are you making this for?”
“Pardon……?”
I thought I’d misheard at first.
“What are you making so early in the morning on a rest day? I’m just curious, so tell me~”
“R-Raylin, miss…? That thing you just said……. Is it true?!”
I couldn’t help but be shocked by Raylin’s words. My voice even trembled.
“Huh? What do you mean by true?”
“…You said the lounge is closed today? But today is a weekday?”
“Hohawa-? Whitey…? Don’t tell me you didn’t know anything?”
“How would I know if no one told me……?!”