Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Parasite
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What in the world had happened?
“Groan…”
Lazily stretching, one person rose from my bed.
No… one dragon.
“Had a good sleep.”
Veronica had slept so soundly that even her fingertips brimmed with leisure as she stretched.
She casually pushed aside the bedsheets and sat up, rubbing her cheek to greet the evening… not morning.
[What are you doing, Chancellor?]
How was I supposed to process this situation?
Why, how, for what reason…
Had Veronica slept in my dorm, in my bed?
It was a situation that demanded an explanation, no matter who saw it.
[Why are you here?]
“Too lazy to think about it.”
Veronica swung her legs back and forth, chuckling innocently as if it were nothing.
…So, to sum it up.
She’d just wanted to sleep, didn’t have anywhere good, and picked my dorm?
[Does that even make sense?]
I was certain of it.
Veronica must have heard “not worth her keep” thousands of times by now.
Considering the years she’d lived, even thousands might not cover it.
“No, listen.”
Veronica perkily raised one finger with a snap.
The gesture was so bold it almost made me question if I was the one in the wrong.
“I don’t have a designated sleeping spot.”
[And?]
“All over Yoram… the library, that bench by the fountain…”
Not bragging, but… they were all unauthorized occupations.
“So, while you were gone, I borrowed your dorm.”
[So you broke in?]
“Hey~ That’s harsh wording. I’m the chancellor.”
[You didn’t get permission from the resident.]
“I’m the chancellor, so I give permission. If you don’t like it, you get out.”
A thoroughly unreasonable landlord.
She wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t right either.
[Why sleep in my dorm to begin with?]
“What’s yours or mine.”
[It’s my dorm.]
“It’s my building.”
Every time I said something, she shut me down with twice as much.
Words weren’t getting through anymore, so I quietly lowered the whiteboard.
“But think about it honestly?”
Veronica tilted her head, half-buried in the sheets.
Her tone showed no hint of remorse.
“Me sleeping here means I could’ve caught any thief right away~”
[?]
“That means I protected your place.”
[Who?]
“Me.”
[What thief?]
“Didn’t happen.”
[Exactly.]
“But if one had, I’d have caught it, right?”
Absurd logic.
Claiming credit for warding off a nonexistent threat.
Mukurebi looked like it wanted to clap on my behalf from atop my head.
“Fine, next time I’ll ask permission before sleeping.”
[I won’t give it.]
“Then I’ll sleep secretly.”
Mukurebi sighed atop my head.
Same species of dragon, but the vast difference in prowess was too much to bear.
[When are you leaving?]
“Hmm… after I wake up?”
[You just slept.]
“That was a nap.”
[You just woke up.]
“Let’s call it the brief gap between sleeps.”
[That doesn’t even—]
“Anyway, didn’t I say it while talking? Talking makes me sleepy.”
Who says they’re sleepy while talking?
…Come to think of it, she wasn’t human—she was a dragon.
Flick.
Veronica had already pulled the sheets back over herself.
She really meant to sleep.
“But hey.”
Veronica peeked her head out from under the sheets.
“You know this bed is super comfy, right?”
[Yes.]
“I picked it out and brought it myself… so it’s not wrong to say it’s mine.”
What was she getting at?
Now she was claiming ownership of the bed too.
[Then where do I sleep?]
“Hmm… here?”
Veronica lifted the sheets slightly and patted the spot beside her.
A gesture inviting me over.
I stared at the scene wordlessly.
My mouth hung open, but the mask hid it.
“Want a lap pillow?”
[Please leave.]
When would this dragon finally leave my dorm?
My mental energy was draining in real time.
“Hey~ Don’t be so heartless.”
Grinning playfully, Veronica flipped the sheets over herself and headed straight back to dreamland.
I let out a long internal sigh and headed to the living room sofa.
“…Monster.”
Mukurebi murmured softly from above my head, tone laced with lingering awe.
I didn’t deny it.
No logic, manners, or common sense got through to Veronica.
Monster was the only word that fit.
***
Swish.
Mana threads, finely tuned, sliced through the air and wrapped around the training dummies in an instant.
Snap.
About four seconds later, the mana threads around the dummies crumbled and vanished.
‘Not bad progress.’
I could now weave the threads with finer density and texture, dramatically extending the time they held without breaking.
‘But efficiency’s still crap no matter how I look at it.’
That was the problem.
No matter how intricately I wove the mana threads, a skilled opponent could snap them easily.
Plus… chances to even wrap them around someone’s body were rare.
‘Not the way.’
Wrapping alone wasn’t enough.
It had to deal decisive damage in that moment.
‘Link daggers or something.’
Swish.
I opened my inventory and pulled out some cheap daggers.
Then I drew out mana like thread and began wrapping them around the blades.
But…
Snap.
The threads scattered into the air and vanished.
‘Right.’
Come to think of it, most weapons in this world were infused with mana by default.
My mana threads unraveled the instant they touched anything laced with mana…
Meaning… to wrap threads around a dagger, I needed a mana-free weapon.
‘Or make one.’
Of course… finding materials and a blacksmith to craft it was on me.
A hassle, but if the gains were worth it, maybe.
‘Hmm.’
My gaze drifted to the aquarium in the corner of the dorm training ground.
Inside… a single fish floated belly-up, drifting with the current.
‘…….’
Swish.
I tuned mana into a thread and hooked it onto its tail.
Then… I tugged ever so lightly…
Swoosh.
For some reason, the mana thread held steady without unraveling.
Mukurebi was dragged right before me with a gurgle.
“Eee…”
Flap flap.
A fish dangling upside down in midair.
Mukurebi flailed its limp fins through the air, glaring at me with gloomy eyes.
‘Sorry.’
I knew its body wasn’t normal, but I hadn’t expected zero mana.
‘I said sorry.’
I tried to explain, but Mukurebi wordlessly turned its head away.
Not even worth responding to.
At this rate, it might really bite my back someday.
‘Tch…’
Splash.
In the end… I couldn’t even properly apologize and just returned it to the tank.
Then I silently refined my magic.
Swish.
Overlapping lines on lines deepened the shadow into a thick abyss.
《Abyss / Intermediate Magic》
「Encroaching Water Streams」
The abyss spread.
Soon, tentacle-like water streams extended and coiled around the dummies.
‘Hmm…’
The magic I could handle ranged from basic to intermediate.
Advanced magic was possible via 【Word of Command】, but that was tantamount to walking toward death myself.
‘Why can’t I do advanced?’
Was the barrier to advanced magic just that high?
Or did my all-‘lowest’ talents make it loom even higher?
And…
“That’s not how you do it.”
A voice from behind.
Turning, I spotted a bundled-up blanket floating in the air.
A dragon wrapped snugly inside, hovering.
[Chancellor?]
Veronica peered down at me with half-lidded eyes, fiddling with the blanket before twisting her body slightly.
“You little shit… didn’t practice at all over break, huh.”
…I’d said it before, but break was for resting, not holing up in my room practicing nonstop.
“Yawn…”
Rustle.
Veronica yawned and descended.
The blanket cascaded to the floor, and soon her two feet touched the cold training ground silently.
“Whatever… bring food.”
I thought I’d misheard.
Unauthorized squatting wasn’t enough—now she wanted me to cook?
[You make it, Chancellor.]
“I don’t know how to cook.”
[Why not?]
“Want me to roast a lizard or something?”
At Veronica’s outrageous remark, Mukurebi in the corner let out a deep sigh.
Even as fellow dragons, it seemed to lament her profound shortcomings.
***
“Hey, you little shit, all you got is canned crap?!”
Swish swish.
Veronica started ransacking my dorm kitchen.
Cupboard doors, drawers, display cabinets, the magic fridge-like device.
She flung open anything openable, yelling all the while.
I stared blankly at the scene, then shook my head at her dragging the blanket everywhere.
[Canned stuff’s good.]
Especially the fruit cans up top.
Those were the best.
“I get it tastes okay… but that’s all?”
[Yes.]
Veronica shook the can in her hand, looking ready to hurl it at the wall in frustration.
“Is this how people live?”
[It’s plenty for me.]
“…Thinking this is ‘plenty’ makes you crazy too.”
Veronica stared piercingly at the can in her grip, then…
“…Pineapple too?”
Murmured as she sniffed it, somehow procured a spoon, and popped the lid.
Clunk.
One bite.
“…….”
[It’s good.]
“……Saying stuff like this tastes good pisses me off.”
Even as she said it, her hand busily scooped up more.
Slurp slurp.
Devouring the can relentlessly, she shot me a glare.
“Put a lizard in next time.”
[Just don’t come.]
Next time.
Sounded like she definitely planned to squat again.
“…Tch.”
Veronica clunked the empty can on the table, then dragged the blanket to the living room sofa like nothing happened.
And then…
“Food hit the spot, nap time…”
[How many naps is that?]
“Food makes you sleepy.”
[No.]
“Eat some and lie down. You’ll get it.”
She lifted the blanket corner and patted the sofa cushion.
[No thanks.]
“Hey~ You’re no fun.”
With that, Veronica pulled the blanket over and went quiet.
The steady breathing mixed with faint snores meant… she was out already.
‘…….’
Why had this dragon so naturally planted herself in my dorm?
Ransacking the kitchen, scarfing cans, dragging the blanket to flop on the sofa…
Veronica had evolved from unwelcome guest to full-blown parasite.
‘Haa….’
And so… the bizarre cohabitation with the parasite dragged on for another week.
Before long…
Yoram welcomed the new semester.