Reversal of Authority
Benetric suddenly collapsed. I put on my best surprised act. By now, someone passing out after eating my food was hardly surprising. In fact, I had been expecting it. I had been through this once before, after all. Still, I never imagined she would actually faint like this… She must have been so overwhelmed by the taste of the Drill Apple Pizza that she briefly lost consciousness.
“Professor?!”
I approached her with feigned concern. Even as she lay there half-unconscious, she still clutched the pizza in her hand.
“Haaah… First the cake, and now this combination…? How is this even possible?”
There it was. Complete success. She was already murmuring in awe the moment I got close. Her reaction was almost identical to when she first tried mint chocolate. She stared blankly, muttering that she could not believe it.
‘Just as I thought…!’
Choosing Hawaiian pizza had been a stroke of genius. Like mint chocolate, it was a dish that split opinions sharply. It must have perfectly suited Benetric’s peculiar palate. At this point, was she even a gourmet anymore, or just a connoisseur of bizarre flavors? Either way, I owed it all to Raylin’s advice. Without her, I would have been completely lost.
“Phew… What exactly is on this pizza…?”
Even after regaining her senses, Benetric continued staring at the pizza, trying to identify the toppings. She looked far more composed than last time. Maybe the effect was milder than mint chocolate. In any case, it worked out for the best. Without Derke around, things could have escalated if she had fainted completely like before.
“Here, have some water first.”
I offered her a glass while considering the possibilities. If the taste had not agreed with her, she would have immediately rinsed her mouth. But as expected…
“No, I do not need it.”
“Pardon?”
“I have no need for water. To think you would satisfy my palate again…”
She refused the water and continued her review in a solemn tone. Though her voice was low, I heard every word clearly. She said her palate had been satisfied.
“Ah? Does that mean you liked it?”
“Ahem…! More importantly, you…!”
“Is something wrong? If there is anything that needs improvement…”
I kept up the act until the very end. I could not openly show that I was pleased. That would only wound her pride. She had already set the Drill Apple Pizza aside earlier just to protect her dignity and eaten something else first. Full budget support was now within reach.
‘So I must not rush and ruin everything—’
“No, you… You should become my teaching assistant after all.”
“……?”
What did this woman just say? She wanted me to be her colleague—no, her teaching assistant? And not just any position, but a teaching assistant at a 400-year academy instead of a 4-year one?
—Ting!
The target’s favorability has greatly increased!
A new target now wishes to form a bond with you.
Current bondable target: Benetric (Dragon, Lv. 3416)
Will you accept the bond?
Shock and disbelief washed over me as the offer of a teaching assistant position and the bond requirement were suddenly piled on top. As expected of a professor, it seemed I had to accept her offer to become her teaching assistant in order to successfully bond with Benetric.
‘Bonding with a teacher through bonding…?’
What kind of twisted bond was this? This was not bonding. This was a slave contract.
“…Why are you not answering? Do you dislike the teaching assistant position?”
Of course I hated it. Even if it came from a good person, I would still refuse. But since my counterpart was a dragon, I decided to decline politely.
“Professor? I still—”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. The position I am offering is not an ordinary teaching assistant role. It is the position of my personal, exclusive teaching assistant. You would do well to consider it carefully.”
“Even so…”
“Listen well! If you become my teaching assistant, I will use my influence to free you from your current slave status! Along with the charge of being a dragon hater! For someone with a lifespan as short as a human’s, this is an opportunity that will never come again.”
Benetric had now fully regained her composure and was staring directly into my eyes. My reflection shimmered in her bright yellow pupils—the image of a human servant branded as a dragon hater.
“Is it true that I can be freed from both criminal and slave status?”
“Of course. I have my pride as well. I cannot keep a criminal as my teaching assistant, can I? Especially not a dragon hater.”
“Ah…”
“I am offering you this opportunity because I hold your skills in particularly high regard. Think it over carefully.”
Damn it. I had not expected this. At first I had intended to refuse immediately, but the sudden conditions made me hesitate. Freedom from slave status—if I became her teaching assistant, might I finally have a chance to escape this hellish place? Without the criminal or slave label, my treatment would surely improve as well.
“Um… Professor?”
“See? Opportunities like this are rare, are they not? Now you finally understand the value of becoming my teaching assistant…”
“No, I was wondering—if I become your teaching assistant, what would the term of service be?”
“What? Term of service?”
“Yes. I would like to hear about the salary and other basic conditions first.”
I was not some naive child. I could not accept without examining the details. No matter how generous the offer sounded, I had no idea what hidden motives might lie beneath. While preparing to change jobs, I had learned that working conditions and benefits must always be checked thoroughly. If I signed without thinking, I would have no one to blame but myself—because I would have agreed to the contract.
“How foolish…! Such things are of no importance whatsoever!”
“Excuse me?”
“You probably do not realize what an honor and blessing it is for a mere human to become the teaching assistant of Benetric, a dragon of the noble Rift Clan! So hurry and form a contract with me…!”
When I asked about the conditions, Benetric only spouted nonsense. She was clearly flustered and trying to cover it up with empty words. Of course the term of service would not be short for a teaching assistant. And it was obvious what kind of work she would demand—constantly forcing me to create bizarre dishes. In that case, the dormitory supervisor position, where I could frequently meet other SSR-rank dragons, seemed far better. Even if the immediate working conditions were not ideal, I was finally beginning to establish a stable foundation. Weighing everything, it was not a position with an entirely negative outlook.
“…In that case, I must decline after all.”
“W-What did you just say?! You… What did you just…?!”
“Thank you for the offer, but I am sorry. I will serve my punishment here as forced labor.”
—Ting!
The bond with the target has been terminated.
Favorability with the target is maintained, but no corresponding benefits will be granted.
You can never form a bond with this target again.
The moment I expressed my refusal, system messages appeared before my eyes. It had been the same when I rejected Johnson.
“H-How insolent…!”
Benetric raised her voice sharply and sprang to her feet. She slammed both hands on the table and glared at me, her lips trembling.
“You dare refuse a dragon’s offer? I showed mercy to a criminal, and yet you reject that grace…?”
“Um, Professor?”
“You have just damaged my pride! Do you understand what that means?!”
The entire lounge trembled faintly as she shouted at me. It felt as though the air pressure had dropped heavily. The surrounding atmosphere pressed down on me with tangible weight—the same oppressive sensation I had felt yesterday in Diora’s hideout. Strangely, however, I did not feel my throat tightening or my body stiffening like before.
—Ting!
Light’s Purification has been activated.
Remaining duration of Light’s Purification: 5 hours 30 minutes
‘Huh? What is this now? Light’s Purification?’
A system message appeared out of nowhere. Light’s Purification was Sofia’s unique ability. Thanks to it, my body must have remained unaffected. But when had this [Light’s Purification] been cast on me? I had not encountered Sofia today. The last time had been yesterday at the hatchling training grounds. So it must have been applied yesterday, yet I could not recall any opportunity for it to happen.
‘When exactly did this get on me—’
“…Breeder? Where are you looking right now?!”
“Ah? Professor?”
It was unexpected. Benetric had just called me by name.
“I will give you one more chance. Obediently become my teaching assistant and prepare special dishes for me alone for the rest of your life…!”
She really was insane. As expected, the teaching assistant position was apparently a lifetime contract. In that case, serving a fifty-year sentence was preferable. Besides, I had no desire whatsoever to work for the rest of my life under a superior who was nothing but hysterical.
“I am truly sorry, but I must refuse. And if you continue to force the teaching assistant position on me, I will consider the monthly supply of mint chocolate desserts we agreed upon to be null and void.”
“What…?! Are you, a mere human, threatening a dragon right now?! And you call yourself human? Do you not value your life at all—?!”
Her roar echoed throughout the lounge. Normally I would have fainted on the spot. But the effect of Sofia’s ‘Light’s Purification’ was remarkable.
‘It does not bother me at all.’
Was it neutralizing Benetric’s killing intent in real time? Her shouting only made my ears ring; nothing else felt unpleasant. Thanks to the ‘Flame Dragon’s Inferno’ Raylin had cast on me earlier, I did not feel intimidated in the slightest. Instead, an inexplicable boldness wrapped around my body.
“You may dispose of me however you wish. But have you ever heard the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs…?”
“…What did you say?”
“If you get rid of me now out of simple anger, you will never taste that dessert again.”
“You insolent little…!”
The Flame Dragon’s Inferno still burning hot inside me gave me the courage to stand against injustice. Words I would never have dared to speak under normal circumstances flowed out effortlessly.
“And you will never get to taste any of these occasional special dishes like today either. Are you sure you are all right with that?”
“T-That…!”
With more confidence than ever before, I overwhelmed Benetric—a mere human facing a fully grown dragon.