Sweet Success and Scrumptious Cream Cookies

Munch munch. "Hahaha! Success!" Haring hopped down the mountain, letting out a triumphant yell. She'd taken photos! Five of them, no less! Honestly, she hadn't expected to pull it off so quickly. Their first encounter had gone so poorly, and dragons in movies or novels always had that ferocious image. Having already gotten smacked once, she figured there was a high chance she'd end up dead.

'Sure, there's a respawn cooldown if I die…' But if she could snag even one photo, it'd be worth it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠With that in mind, she'd bolted full speed ahead…

"And she just let me."

The dragon had simply stared at Haring blankly. Probably because no matter what this puny human did, she couldn't inflict so much as a scratch. The dragon looked like she had a ton of reasons to be lazy anyway. Thanks to that, Haring had scored a bunch of high-quality shots and was beyond satisfied.

Once she was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠safe distance from the nest, Haring opened her system gallery. It contained screenshots taken with the built-in camera, and the most recent ones popped up first. A grumpy-faced little dragon and Haring herself flashing a hasty double peace sign.

"Whoa, insanely cute!" Just looking at that face made her heart melt. She wanted to scoop her up in a hug so bad it left a lingering ache.

'I'd have been dead for real if I tried.' Staring blankly while she snapped photos was one thing, but there was no way she'd sit still for physical contact.

"Or maybe?" If the dragon's laziness was maxed out, she might've let it slide…

"Gotta challenge for more next time? Feels like such a waste to stop here…"

The dragon's cuteness was one thing, but what was the whole point of climbing the mountain for a month? The hidden piece, that's what. The goal of her month-long hikes—and what countless gallery users were desperately craving right this moment.

"Two titles feels kinda skimpy."

She hadn't scored any of the classic novel tropes like weapons made from dragon horns, skills, or special abilities. Plus, hadn't the dragon said it herself? There were actually people training under her.

It felt weird admitting it herself, but she had the persistence to climb a mountain every day for a month while everyone else goofed off.

"No reason I can't do it!" She had no idea how tough the dragon's training would be, but it was a game—nothing seemed impossible. Bonus points if she could sneak in a hug.

With visions of a bright future dancing in her head, Haring opened the gallery. Let's see…

"Sorry, but not yet." She felt bad for Yongba, who posted dragon-related threads a dozen times a day, but she wasn't ready to share the location. This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't just some photo quest.

"What? They're deducing it faster than I thought."

How'd they pinpoint the location already? Was posting all those climbing proofs a mistake? Haring shook her head with a wry smile—without them, everyone would've given up ages ago.

'A month of hiking without gallery posting? Nah.'

"Won't that guy come sniffing around too?"

That guy—her big bro. The one who got her into the game and introduced her to galleries. He'd quit gallerizing for streaming, but you never know. Streams and communities were practically twins.

Right now it was just pro gallery buzzing, but if it hit his stream and spread to stream galleries…?

"...Gotta hurry."

Users might flood Red Mountain. Then dragon seekers would swarm, and no more easy meetings. Stream galleries were massive compared to mid-tier pro gallery.

"First things first…"

＊

"Yawwwn…"

So sleepy. Would've been perfect for a deep snooze, but things kept getting in the way. My sleep was mostly gone anyway, thanks to that weirdo Haring doing her bell? salute thing, and the fairies pestering me.

Fairies were whatever, but this odd human kept showing up…

"Dragon-nim."

"……"

"Dragon-nim. Dragon-nim. Or should I call you Flame Dragon-nim?"

"Call me whatever."

"Got it!"

After bolting once, she'd gained some confidence and came more often. Felt like every three days now? On her third visit, I'd planned to chase her off, but she brought snacks, so I let it slide.

'Doesn't do much anyway…'

Compared to the fairies scaling me like a mountain, she was pretty quiet.

Haring scurried forward and pulled a small box from her pouch. Filled with mouthwatering cookies.

"Hehehe. You can look forward to these. Super cream cookies from the village at the mountain base."

"…Super cream, but cookies?"

"Yup. Try one."

I liked cream puffs, but… I took the cookie nonchalantly. Oh right, I'm polymorphed right now. Haring muttered something like "Hand touched!" but I ignored her and focused on the cookie. Looked like a cookie slathered in cream.

Crunch.

"!"

"How is it? Delicious, right?"

"…Tastyyy~."

"Hehe. Costs five thousand—no, ten silver coins. Buff food, super pricey."

"This is good. Bring this from now on."

"Huh? It's kinda expensive…"

"Bring it."

Munch munch. I devoured every last bit, not wasting a drop of cream. Seemed too little for a dragon's body, but polymorphed, I didn't need much. Just enough to fill the belly felt satisfying. Could eat more no problem, though.

Haring looked troubled but nodded.

"You like it that much?"

"Yup."

"…Should've gotten the cheap stuff."

"Hey, you."

"Yes?"

"What'd you do before?"

"What do you mean?"

"In front of me."

Two weeks ago, Haring had struck all sorts of poses in front of me then fled. Thought she'd never come back after that, but here she was, bold as brass. Kinda ridiculous.

Anyway, I'd figured it was some magic or spell.

'No changes, so totally not.'

Haring pondered a bit, then hesitantly answered.

"Photo… uh, like a picture you can save…"

"Photo?"

The kind I knew?