The Temple Pilgrimage
“Breeder oppa…?! Why do you look so tired desu-yong-?”
Derke’s voice reached me as my steps slowed on the increasingly steep mountain path and stone steps. I must have looked exhausted. “Ah, it’s nothing. I just couldn’t sleep well last night……” I forced a casual smile, trying to sound as normal as possible. Derke peered at me with suspicious eyes, but I kept smiling. I couldn’t exactly tell her that Sofia had almost given me a mint-chocolate kiss.
‘Did I tease Sofia too much?’ I’d gotten carried away earlier because her reactions were so cute. Sofia had blushed furiously and warned me in a stern whisper, covering my mouth. It wasn’t anger so much as embarrassment, but her final attitude had been firm. If I didn’t want to experience another mint-chocolate kiss, I was to stay at the very back and follow from a distance…… I had no choice but to obey. That was why I was now walking side by side with Derke at the very rear.
Come to think of it, weekends must allow casual clothes. Derke beside me was wearing an outfit clearly meant for going out.
“Don’t tell me…… Senior came looking for you again last night? You told Derke you were going straight to sleep yesterday desu-yong-?” Her expression suddenly turned cold, as if she had witnessed everything. The bright smile vanished.
“O-of course not! I just couldn’t sleep because I was worried about what happened yesterday!” It seemed the events of early dawn had been Sofia’s solo action after all. I had to deny it completely. I didn’t know exactly how the three of them had ended their “negotiation,” but the thought of Derke finding out about the dawn incident was terrifying. She would probably rip my soul out and send me straight to the afterlife. Or worse, I might spend eternity as a wraith by her side, unable to pass on.
A shiver ran down my spine. The possibility wasn’t zero. My life literally hung on every word.
“Is that really true desu-yong……?”
“Of course! By the way…… did you finish talking with the seniors yesterday?”
“Huuuung……” When I frantically waved my hands to change the subject, Derke finally relaxed her stiff expression. Then she suddenly smiled with satisfaction.
“That’s right desu-yong-! Both Sofia senior and Raylin senior acknowledged our relationship desu-yong-!”
“What? Acknowledged your relationship?”
“Until Derke gives you the Dragon Heart…… they agreed to recognize Derke’s priority regarding your ownership desu-yong-! Regardless of age or school year……!”
“Priority? What does that mean……?”
“That’s right desu-yong-! Whenever, wherever…… Derke is allowed to be with oppa first desu-yong-!”
“Ahaha, I see.” It was an agreement the person in question hadn’t known about. Still, it was just like the generous Sofia to acknowledge the order without regard to age or year. ‘At least the talk went well……’ Wait, no? She came to see me at dawn, didn’t she? To give me her Dragon Heart. And she did it without Derke knowing, even though Derke had been granted priority. Was she exploiting the loophole in the clause “until the Dragon Heart is given”?
It seemed negotiations were only surface-level; the real competition continued in the shadows. A hidden struggle to claim me no matter what. ‘Is this what they call a catfight…… or should I say dragon fight?’
Anyway, I’d have to be careful living among these jealous dragons. The bad endings waiting for me were clear: mint-chocolate kiss, death by spicy mala hotpot lava kiss, or having my soul ripped out. Three choices, all disastrous.
“Breeder oppa……? If you’re really tired, have this desu-yong-!”
“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden……?”
Derke suddenly pulled a small pouch from her clothes after seeing my serious face. Inside were a few tiny meringue cookies.
“……Isn’t this what I gave you yesterday?”
“That’s right desu-yong-! Derke was saving them on purpose…… and now giving all that’s left to oppa desu-yong-!”
“Why give them to me?”
“Sweet things make your eyes sparkle desu-yong-!”
Derke offered the cookies with sparkling green eyes full of innocent sincerity. ‘Having my soul extracted is scary, but…… how can someone this pure be a Death Dragon?’ This had to be a setting error by the original author. She was closer to an angel than a death dragon. How could such a bright hatchling govern death?
“Hehe-♪ Heh, hihit……!” Just seeing Derke’s smiling face gave me energy. Looking at this pure side of her, I thought she might actually be closer to my ideal type than Sofia—except for how she looked like a little sister.
“Nah, I’m fine. I can make my own snacks—Hap……?!”
Just as I tried to refuse her kindness, an overwhelming sweetness hit my tongue. It felt like my entire mouth had been stuffed with sugar.
The pouch that had held the meringue cookies floated upside down in the air. Derke had used a wraith to dump every last cookie straight into my mouth, crumbs and all. So sweet. It felt like my tongue was melting. My blood sugar must have skyrocketed. Even my salivary glands exploded. It was as if sugar had been injected directly into my veins. ‘The fatigue…… it’s all gone……?’ Energy surged through my body in an instant. The tiredness vanished and my eyes snapped open. Nothing beats sweets when you’re exhausted.
“Waaah-♪ I didn’t know oppa’s eyes could get this big desu-yong-!”
“Cough……! Derke? Because of the lounge construction, I won’t be able to make snacks for a while on weekends. Is that okay?”
The meringue cookies melted away the moment they touched my tongue. Thanks to how quickly they dissolved and were absorbed, I could finally speak again.
“It’s fine desu-yong-! It’s hard to hide snacks in the dorm anyway…… and I heard that on today’s pilgrimage we’ll get to eat lots of delicious food desu-yong-!”
“Huh? Delicious food?”
“That’s right desu-yong-! Today is the one day even first-years can eat as much tasty stuff as they want desu-yong-!”
Derke spoke with obvious excitement, adding in a cute afterthought, “Of course, the snacks oppa makes are still the best in the world……” She was surprisingly thoughtful for a young hatchling. Still, the idea that we’d get good food at the pilgrimage……
—Hurry…… I want to get there already!
—What’s for lunch today? I’m so curious!
—Wait, they’re not just giving snacks?!
—I heard from the seniors that it’s on a whole different level from cafeteria food!
—I was already happy that the cafeteria food got better lately, and now it’s even tastier……?!
Excited chatter filled the air around us, mostly from the first-years. Everyone looked full of anticipation. The actual pilgrimage to the Primordial Dragon seemed like an afterthought. The scene reminded me of my first religious service during military service—the one time we could enjoy food we normally couldn’t have. The first-years were probably feeling the same thrill. After all, only fourth-years were normally allowed to use the lounge. I’d wondered how the lower years managed, but apparently there was this weekly event to ease their cravings. If they’d kept the hatchlings locked up without any outlet for four hundred years, there really would have been chaos. Still, it was surprising that the academy had a system to satisfy desires in such a barren environment.
—Hey, first-years? Can’t you be quiet?
—Who said you could chatter during a sacred pilgrimage?
—If you guys make noise, we’re the ones who get scolded!
—Just wait until this week is over. We’ll have you all gathered up.
—S-sorry……
The cheerful chatter didn’t last long. It was suppressed by the second-years. They must have been lenient because it was still the first week for the new students. Starting next week, the adjustment period would end and direct supervision by the seniors would begin.
“Haa, Derke? Do you know how much farther we have to go?” I whispered to Derke while climbing the slope, keeping my voice low so the second-years wouldn’t hear.
“We still have a long way to go desu-yong-! I already came here with my friends yesterday, so Derke knows the way well desu-yong-!”
“Oh, really?”
“We just have to climb as far as the Wyvern Training Ground desu-yong-!”
“What……? That far? Then why is everyone walking instead of flying?”
The news that we still had a long way to go brought another wave of fatigue.
“It’s to show respect to the Primordial Dragon desu-yong-! I heard we’ll be punished if we fly over the heads of our ancestors desu-yong-!”
“This is insane……” Dragons really were obsessed with pride, even after death. ‘I was happy about having weekends off……’ At this rate, it was no different from being forced to hike with the section chief every week. I might as well have stayed behind making desserts.
“Huu, hup……!” Still, my stamina had improved compared to before. I wasn’t struggling too much yet. I’d even taken down Indra’s arm without much trouble earlier. I was just starting to breathe a little harder.
“Haat……? Breeder oppa? Are you having a hard time desu-yong?”
“Nah, I can manage. Are you okay?”
“Ung-! Derke’s perfectly fine desu-yong-!”
No matter how small and delicate she looked, a dragon was still a dragon…… Derke walked with a bright face, not a single drop of sweat on her. She simply seemed happy to be walking with me, like a puppy out for a stroll. The other girls were the same. Even this kind of mountain climb seemed like nothing more than a casual outing to the dragons.
“Glad you look so energetic.”
“Breeder oppa? If it’s that hard……”
With those words, Derke suddenly stopped in front of me.
“Huh? Derke? What are you doing right now?”
She bent forward and turned her head to look at me sideways……
“Derke will carry you on her back desu-yong-!”
“What? What are you……”
“Don’t refuse and hurry up and get on desu-yong-!”
Derke was suddenly offering to give me a piggyback ride.