The Light Dragon's Stormy Proposal
Whoosh! Rattle!Rattle! I jolted awake to the sound of the window frame shaking violently.
Glancing outside, I saw someone’s discarded newspaper and a few boxes flying through the sky. The old villa’s window frame rattled like it might rip off any second, but this place was a sturdy building from 30 years ago. Unlike the shoddy constructions making headlines these days, it wasn’t something to fear, no matter how fierce the typhoon got—
Flash!BOOM!!!
“Eek!”
I let out a small grumble toward the ceiling while lying on the floor, but all I got back was a blinding flash of lightning stabbing my eyes.
Nature was just too grand to resist.
“Ugh, my eyes hurt...”
Thanks to the eye-flash, I woke up a bit more. My clogged ears cleared, and I could hear the TV I’d left on.
Huh, did I leave the TV on? The muffled voice filtered through my waterlogged hearing.
I reflexively sat up to grab the remote—when I felt a heavy weight pressing down on my lower abdomen under the blanket.
Is Mir-El sleeping inside the blanket with me? She acts just like a cat, doesn’t she? So cute.
Smiling at the thought of seeing Mir-El’s adorable sleeping face, I lifted the blanket.
“Mir-El, time to wake... up?”
But when I peeked inside, there were no black scales. Instead, like a ghost emerging from the blanket, something with iridescent, mysterious eyes was clinging tightly to my body, gazing up at me.
I freaked out and tried to pull away, but it gripped me so firmly I couldn’t budge.
What the—? Am I being pressed down by a sleep paralysis demon?!
Confusion lasted only a moment before the girl(?)—who’d seemed like she’d never speak—opened her mouth.
“Pleased to meet you. I am— Mmph.”
I hurriedly dropped the blanket. Yeah, must’ve been my imagination. Just a dream. I’d been too stressed lately.
As I denied reality, a voice came from under the blanket, denying my denial.
“Vessel of That One. It matters not if thou art not favorable toward me. But I have one request.”
“...?”
Vessel? What’s that supposed to mean? I opened my mouth to ask, but her words cut me off.
“I wish to impregnate thee. Wilt thou bear my child?”
...After becoming a woman, laying eggs, and turning into a dragon’s parent, I thought nothing could shock me anymore—
What? WHAT?!
“...Pardon?”
“I shall say it once more. I wish to impregnate thee. It shan’t hurt, so stay still just a moment—”
“Oh, perchance. Dost thou prefer pain? If so, I shall accommodate. I can make it as large as possible...”
This mysterious girl, who looked no older than a middle schooler, had just declared she’d impregnate me.
No matter how I struggled, my body wouldn’t move. When I threw off the entire blanket, she was clutching my waist like a cicada.
As if she wouldn’t let go until I consented—
“Liking pain is no shameful fetish; fret not.”
“I am not so petty as to fail to understand even that.”
“Wait, wait!!”
“Hm? Speak.”
“Can you let go first?”
Squeeze— My waist and hips creaked like they might snap, as if she had no intention of releasing me.
“Regrettably, I cannot. Unless I hold thee hostage, my sister over there looks ready to lunge and bite off my head the moment I do.”
“Sister...”
I turned toward where her iridescent gaze pointed. Mir-El, bound head to toe in rings of light, was baring her teeth, pupils narrowed like when she faced a goblin, growling fiercely.
“Piiiii!!!!”
“Mir-El!!”
Mir-El’s pitiful cry echoed through the room.
At my request to talk, she’d replied—
‘Is talk necessary? For the prosperity of our kind, we need only mate. As That One’s vessel, thou shalt surely accept my seed.’
I’d freaked out at first, but as things dragged on, we ended up sitting on the blanket in my tiny room, chatting like civilized beings—at my insistence.
“Pi! Pip! Piiiii!! Grrr!”
Despite it being her first time seeing the girl, Mir-El seemed to know who she was. She growled viciously, demanding I chase her out. Bound in light rings, she couldn’t do much—but her mouth never stopped glaring daggers.
“First, allow this lady to introduce herself. I am a dragon born of the source of light, the first touched by That One’s hand. I am called Arcadia.”
“Ah, yes... I’m Seol Yun.”
Her voice carried the refined dignity of an adult gentleman, at odds with her girlish appearance, complete with polite manners. Her archaic speech swept me up; I replied formally without thinking.
If I’d been any more flustered, I might’ve said, ‘Seol Yun, at your service.’
More importantly, what was her deal? A dragon...? Calling Mir-El her sister—did she mean the dragon once known as Raguna?
I asked just in case, and without any intent to hide, she nodded.
“Mm, yes. Raguna was indeed the name. What is it now?”
“Piik!!”
Mir-El resisted fiercely even while bound, as if shouting, Why should I tell you?!
One might expect fear or anger at that, but the girl just smirked and scooped up the fully restrained Mir-El.
“Pi! Piii!”
“Such manners toward a sibling after so long...”
Mir-El seemed to cry out for me to stop. I rushed over, snatched her back, and hugged her tight.
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise that a mere human dared take what was in her grasp. But soon, she smiled faintly, intrigued.
“Hmm, my sister has found herself a fine vessel. I thought she’d perished among mortals, fulfilling her fate.”
“More importantly, forget names. Tell me your identity and purpose.”
“Hm?”
She tilted her head at my words, then furrowed her brows slightly, frowning.
“Did I not just say? I came to have thee bear my seed, as That One’s vessel. And, incidentally, to see my sister.”
“Who’s ‘That One’?”
“That One is That One.”
“...What kind of explanation is that?”
I voiced my dissatisfaction at the unhelpful answer, but she just shrugged, as if that were the best she could do.
“Hmph, I cannot say more yet. Ask again when my sister grows. She is my sibling, as am I.”
“Thanks to the fate binding thee and her, she faces fewer restrictions than I.”
“Her growth is incomplete now, so her memories are faint, but they shall return swiftly.”
“Memories as Raguna... right?”
“So it shall be.”
Arcadia. Her words were a shock.
So my Mir-El... wasn’t a new dragon, but the evil dragon Raguna with lost memories?
Suddenly, conversations with Tae-hoon flashed back. If he learned this...
He’d try to kill Mir-El without hesitation.
I reached out to the growling Mir-El.
“Grr... Pi?”
Pet, pet.
“Grumble...”
Stroking her head, she made pleased sounds—the Mir-El I knew. The cutest, bravest, strongest dragon in the world.
If parents don’t believe in their kids, who will? Parents side with their children against the whole world.
A supermarket lady’s words popped into my head.
“Silly thoughts. Mir-El is Mir-El. Right?”
“Pi~”
Mir-El nodded, agreeing with me.
“Sister, thy pretense grows excessive. Thy body may be young, but time does not erase all. One might think thee truly a hatchling.”
“Piiik!!!”
The girl stared blankly at Mir-El, then stood.
“Hast thou heard all thou wished?”
“Well... more or less?”
“Then disrobe. I shall finish quickly and depart.”
“W-Wait! I still have questions! Stop!!”
“What is it?”
I barely stopped her from undressing and got her to sit back down for more talk. Close call on forgetting the most important part.
“Why do I have to bear your child?”
“Because thou art That One’s vessel.”
“That’s what I’m asking! Who’s ‘That One’? You’re skipping too much!”
“I said it’s hard to explain yet. Mortals are slow to grasp.”
“Grasp or not, why should I do it?!”
I yelled at the incomprehensible girl, and for a split second, killing intent thick enough to prickle my skin settled in the room.
“Know that I show thee great consideration. Though thou standest on the path to oblivion, this lady was first touched by That One. A mortal dares not demand understanding from me.”
“Grrrr!!”
“Then kill me.”
“...What?”
Against Arcadia’s killing intent, I flopped back flat, going all-in.
Thanks to 【Maternal Recovery】, it wouldn’t hurt much anyway.
From her story, her goal was species propagation—and I seemed essential. To avoid losing negotiation leverage, I put my life on the table.
“I don’t wanna bear a stranger’s kid.”
“And yet thou didst for that one?”
“Mir-El—”
I held back, not wanting to hurt her by saying it was unplanned.
“Mir-El’s my beloved child, so it’s fine. But not some intruder trying to force herself on me.”
“Hmm...”
Wow, when did I get so eloquent? Tae-hoon would’ve applauded if he’d seen.
“I see. Very well.”
She’s giving up? Score!
“Then I shall stay by my sister’s side and strive to win thy favor. Since ancients say the wife is queen before marriage among mortals, following mortal customs could be amusing.”
“...Pardon?”
Flash! Lightning cracked outside as Arcadia dropped the bombshell.
“Thou mayst call me Arka.”
And so, in our tiny home—where scraping money to feed Mir-El was a struggle—a dragon was added.
A dragon gunning for my chastity, no less.
But she looks totally like a girl... how’s she even gonna do it?
With that one question lingering, life with a new dragon began.