How to Tame a Sensitive Dragon
—Sway, sway. A pure white hand waves gently toward me. The gesture is as soft as Sofia’s voice. Just watching it makes my feet move on their own, as if I’ve been bewitched. But what on earth is going on? She isn’t even coming out? Does this mean she’s going to skip roll call too? That doesn’t sound like Sofia at all…
‘Maybe something urgent came up?’
—Shiver! Shiver! An inexplicable unease suddenly prickles across my skin like goosebumps. My instinctive danger sense has kicked in. Of course, I have no idea why. It’s just a bad feeling that brushed past my mind.
Whatever Sofia’s intentions are, I don’t really have a choice. I have no option but to walk over and receive her report. Besides, hesitating won’t do me any good. I also want to ask her about Derke’s whereabouts as soon as possible.
‘This weird feeling is probably just my imagination.’
—Knock, knock!
“Lady Sofia? May I come in?”
“Yes, please enter. I have quite a lot to discuss with you, Breeder.”
The moment I knock, Sofia’s cold voice drifts through the slightly open door. It is clearly different from her usual warm, gentle tone. That strange sense of unease flares up again. But it’s already too late to turn back. As the dorm supervisor, I can’t just skip roll call. All I can do is hope nothing serious is happening and step inside.
“…What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming in?”
—Creaaak…
When I hesitate for a moment, the large door slowly opens from the inside. Through the gap, I see Sofia’s green eyes…
“Huh? Green eyes?”
“Hurry up and come in, desu-yong-!”
“D-Derke……?!”
It isn’t Sofia who greets me through the gap, but Derke. She always shows up in the most unexpected places. She really has a talent for startling people.
—Whoosh!
At the same time, two short arms suddenly reach out through the opening.
“We don’t have much time, desu-yong-! Quickly, quickly……!”
Derke grabs my collar and tugs me forward, urging me to come inside. Her voice sounds just as tense as Sofia’s. It carries a mix of anger and dejection. But why were the two of them together? I never imagined Sofia would summon Derke.
“Breeder? I assume you’ve finished roll call on the lower floors?”
“Yes, but… what exactly is going on here…?”
Pulled inside by her small hands, I find Sofia standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me. The full spirit pouch resting on her arm rises and falls with her heavy breathing. Derke, having finished escorting me, strikes the exact same pose and looks up at me with a rather sharp gaze.
“Pretending you don’t know anything won’t work.”
“That’s right, yong-! We already know everything, desu-yong-!”
“So… you’d better tell us exactly what happened yesterday.”
“Tell us right now, desu-yong-!”
Before I can even ask what’s going on, they both raise their voices and interrogate me. I don’t know the reason, but one thing is clear: they are both extremely on edge. I’m not pretending. I genuinely have no idea what this is about. Why are they suddenly demanding an explanation? I’m so flustered I don’t even know what to say.
“Yesterday? I really don’t understand what you mean…”
—Rustle…!
When I keep insisting I don’t know, Sofia steps forward, her pure white robes swaying, and closes the distance between us. Our eyes meet. Her golden irises look unusually cold today, filled with a mixture of hurt and anxiety.
—Slide…
She slowly reaches out and gently strokes my cheek with the same hand she had been waving earlier. More precisely, she softly caresses my right cheek. At the same time, her moist, pale-pink lips move.
“The lipstick mark that was on Breeder’s right cheek yesterday… whose trace was that? It carried a very strong female scent.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’d better tell us the truth right away, yong-!”
Sofia and Derke glare at me with narrowed eyes, pressing harder. Now I finally understand why I felt that sense of unease earlier. A lot did happen yesterday…
“How do you know about that, my lady?”
“Hmm? Are you just that innocent, or did you simply miss the note I left this morning?”
“Ah, the note……?!”
I had completely forgotten. The note that had been slipped through the gap in the night-duty room door. It clearly said to confess the truth during evening roll call. I’d been so busy with today’s hectic schedule that it slipped my mind. I never imagined Sofia had written that note.
“……”
“Seeing you stay silent and only make a flustered face makes me even more suspicious. We were simply curious about what happened yesterday… but this reaction only makes us doubt you more.”
“Don’t tell me you made a pact with another senior too, desu-yong…? If that’s the case, I’ll be very disappointed, yong-!”
While I was still hesitating about where to begin, Sofia and Derke press me again. Derke in particular looks thoroughly sulky.
“Hehe, don’t be so scared. We still trust you, you know? You wouldn’t have turned your eyes toward another dragon and left us behind, would you?”
Sofia gently pushes the sulking Derke behind her and forces a smile. Though she manages to regain her smile, her tone still carries a dangerous edge.
“You didn’t kiss any other seniors like that either, did you, desu-yong…?!!”
“Ahaha…! I-I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
The atmosphere grows even more dangerous. Even so, I can feel a little relieved. At least the favorability drop message hasn’t appeared yet. I don’t know how Sofia and Derke saw Raylin’s lipstick mark, but if they were truly disappointed in me because of it, my favorability would have dropped already. Thankfully, because their favorability is at the worship stage, they don’t seem to be jumping to conclusions. They just want a proper explanation about how the mark ended up there.
“A misunderstanding?”
“Please calm down. I’ll explain everything…”
“Of course you will. I trust you’ll only tell us the truth.”
“We still believe in you, big brother, desu-yong…!”
I need to choose my words carefully. This wasn’t really my fault, but if I tell the truth straight out, Raylin will obviously get in trouble. At the same time, I can’t just lie outright. That could make things spiral out of control. I’ll have to phrase it cleverly. Sacrificing Raylin would be a waste—she’s an SSR-rank dragon I worked so hard to win over. If I can spin it well and then talk things over with Raylin afterward, we might both stay safe.
“Breeder? Are you going to keep answering with silence?”
“No. Actually, it was Raylin who—”
I rack my brain in that brief moment and find what seems like the best approach, slowly opening my mouth. But right at that instant—
—Knock, knock, knock!
—Bang…!
Just as I start to speak, Sofia’s door suddenly swings open. The person who pulled it open without waiting is none other than…
“…Senior Sofia? I came to report back from training and ask why roll call is taking so long—”
““……””
“Hwaaah-? What’s with this atmosphere…?”
The one who walks in is Raylin. She’s still wearing the same tight training outfit I saw her in earlier, covered in sweat and dust from her drills. The moment she steps inside, she freezes, clearly sensing the dangerous aura radiating from Sofia and Derke.
“Who said you could open the door and come in as you please?”
“Ah, I’m sorry…! I was just going to give a quick report like usual and leave…”
“Huhu, Raylin? Just because I haven’t said anything until now doesn’t mean you can barge into my room whenever you like.”
Even in this situation, Sofia keeps smiling—though it is a bitterly cold smile. The veins bulging on her forehead are a dead giveaway. Her expression is smiling, but anyone can tell she is deeply displeased.
“I-I’m sorry…! Then I’ll leave right away—”
“No, actually, this is perfect timing. Come inside.”
“Ehhh?”
“I heard that you left a lipstick mark on Breeder’s cheek yesterday, Raylin.”
“Hwaaat…? H-How do you know about that, Senior…?”
Her timing couldn’t be worse. She walks in right when I’m about to say her name. This completely ruins my plan to defend her.
“Lady Sofia?! I’ll explain everything! Yesterday, Raylin—”
“That’s enough. Breeder, you may leave now.”
“What?”
“Everyone seems unhappy that roll call is taking so long, so go finish it quickly. I need to hear a proper confession from my junior, so please step outside. Now.”
Sofia’s golden eyes flash as she speaks in a chilling voice, all while wearing that same smiling face. She looks far angrier at Raylin, who left the lipstick mark, than at me. Still, I can’t disobey her.
“Th-Then I’ll leave this behind before I go.”
—Slide…!
But I still have one trump card left. I pull out three small pouches from my pocket. I never expected to use them in a situation like this, but I’m glad I made the “three-flavor” meringue cookies earlier today.
“Hm? What’s that?”
“Snacks I made for you ladies during my free time. Would you mind trying them?”
—Roll, roll…
I place a few of the individually wrapped meringue cookies on my palm and draw Sofia’s gaze. They are meringue cookies with a beautiful pastel mint-green hue.