A Dragon Husband?
"H-Honey...?"
"Yes! Honey!"
A glamorous woman with horns much like mine — and a black tail to match — had appeared at my front door and started calling me Honey without the slightest preamble.
I was so stunned I could only stare blankly at her face.
"Excuse me~"
She slipped off her high heels as if it were the most natural thing in the world, set them neatly aside, and strode right into my house without waiting for an answer.
"E-eek! W-why are you just barging into someone else's house like that...?!"
I hurriedly stepped forward and blocked her path. I at least had to stop her before she got past the shoe cabinet. If I let her in this far, it would feel like I was actually accepting this whole situation.
"Hmm...?"
She tilted her head, looking rather confused herself.
"Of course I should! This is Honey's nest and mine!"
"...What? N-nest?"
My mind went completely blank. In the end, I failed to stop her from walking into the house.
"Wow~ It's so cozy. Perfect for the two of us~"
She looked around the living room, marveling at every corner — a glance at the sofa, a glance at the desk, a peek toward the kitchen — before turning back to me.
"Come on in, Honey~"
Right. Thinking about it, both this woman and I were strange. I had been a perfectly normal man just this morning. So... it made sense to hear her out inside first. If someone overheard a conversation like this out on the street, that would be its own headache.
"...Sit on the sofa for now."
"Ah. Of course, Honey!"
She sat down without the slightest hesitation. The way she neatly put her legs together and leaned back against the cushions looked far too natural — like someone who had already been living with me for years.
"Who are you...?"
And what came back was a crystal-clear answer without a shred of doubt.
"I'm Honey's husband!"
"...H-husband?"
Every word out of this woman's mouth landed like a stun gun to the brain.
Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she clapped her hands.
"Ah! Come to think of it, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet! I'm Noxia!"
...Right. In South Korea, the land of courtesy, at least exchanging names first would be proper.
"...I'm Kim Wolyang."
"What an adorable name... Kim Wolyang... Wolyang!"
Noxia rolled my name around in her mouth like she was savoring it.
"Um, if your name is Noxia, are you a foreigner?"
Even as I asked, my gaze drifted to the top of her head and behind her waist. Horns. And a black tail. No matter how you looked at it, that was not an appearance you could explain with she's a foreigner.
"Ah, never mind. Are you maybe... a dragon or something...?"
"That's right! And Honey's a dragon too~"
"...I am?"
"Yes!"
The more questions I asked, the deeper this maze seemed to get. Standing around felt awkward, so I plopped down onto the living room floor. Looking up at Noxia on the sofa, I tried to press on.
"By the way, how did you even find my house...? All of a sudden."
"Because this is Honey's nest, of course I had to fly here! Hmm... is that strange?"
"It's a little strange, yeah...?"
Tap. Tap.
My tail stood stiff and drummed against the floor. My head throbbed at the thought that we were getting nowhere. I pressed my forehead and swept my long, trailing hair back.
...This is way more inconvenient than I expected.
Then—
"Ah."
Noxia suddenly leaned forward. The distance between us closed in an instant.
"Honey! You've got hair stuck to your cheek~"
Her face was so close I flinched without meaning to. Too close. Way too close. And this gorgeous woman was smiling so fondly as she carefully plucked the strand of hair from my cheek that my face even started to tingle.
"Y-you're too close! W-we just met today...!"
Noxia casually pulled the hair from my cheek and glanced at it for a moment. Then, instead of tossing it aside, she slipped her hand into her skirt pocket.
"...?"
And then she smiled innocently, as if nothing had happened.
"Hehe~ We'll get to know each other gradually, won't we?"
"E-even so, that kind of thing... I-I think we should keep some distance for now!"
I quickly stood up and backed away to the dining table. Noxia's expression immediately drooped.
"Hnnn..."
...Was I too harsh?
But I gave a small shake of my head. I had only known this person for five minutes.
What on earth was even happening. I was starting to wonder if some hallucination-type ability user had grabbed me and I was starring in a Truman Show YouTube video.
"N-Noxia...? I need a moment to think by myself, so could you please sit there quietly...?"
"Okay. Got it~"
Her quick agreement and easygoing tone almost put me at ease. Almost. Noxia was still staring straight at me like a golden retriever.
...This is a lot of pressure.
Still, I needed to check things on my own first. The apparent culprit behind all of this.
Dragon Maman.
Let's start by checking this class.
"Status Window......"
I murmured it as quietly as I possibly could, since Noxia was right there.
Fwoom.
"Ooh! Honey's Status Window!"
"...?"
I had definitely said that super quietly. And judging by her gaze, Noxia could somehow see my Status Window too.
I thought Hunters' Status Windows weren't visible to other people without special equipment...
Anyway. Let's figure this out quickly. First... the trait.
There was only one. And the name was a little weird.
Beloved White Dragon?
I tapped on the trait.
I skipped it immediately. I did not see that. Number one bride candidate, my foot...!
Right. Skills. Skills are more important. For all I know, a skill could be the real culprit behind all of this.
And so, with my mind thoroughly blown, I tapped on the skill window. But once again, there was only one. And even the name was ominous.
"Do you know how lucky Noxia of the Black Dragon Clan is?
Well, of course.
She's the husband who took such a beautiful White Dragon as her 「wife」!"
[Black Dragons are very evil! Though they're extremely gentle toward you!] — ALWAYS ACTIVE
: Noxia takes damage on behalf of her wife.
[A married couple being one body is only natural, right?] — ALWAYS ACTIVE
: You and Noxia share certain information, including each other's status and location.
"......Hahaha."
"What's wrong, Honey? Did you see something good?"
Hmm... something good.
"Umm... I have no idea anymore. Just..."
"Ah, you were looking at your skills, Honey!"
Honey. Honey.
...I really needed to fix this form of address first. Even if the System, the Status Window, the trait, and the skill had all hammered in that Noxia and I were a married couple, reality was still reality...!
"F-for now, the word 'Honey' is banned! Stop saying it!"
Noxia blinked, looking slightly flustered. Then she sank into thought for a moment.
"Ah!"
She clapped her hands as if something had occurred to her.
"Wife?"
"No!"
"Hmm... then how about a sweet 'babe'?"
"E-eek! R-rejected! Something normal! Just Wolyang!"
"Hmmm... ah."
Noxia's eyes curved into a smile.
"Wolyang~"
"..."
I had definitely asked her to call me that. So why did it sound so affectionate coming from Noxia, like she was still calling me Honey...!
"Urgh...! Just don't talk at all!"
Thwack. Thwack!
This time my tail drummed against the table leg rather hard, not the floor. I wasn't angry. The situation was just too dizzying. I couldn't exactly snap at someone I had just met, and more than anything, Noxia was looking at me with such innocent eyes.
...Does the tail express emotions a bit too broadly?
Apparently it didn't only do that when I was angry.
Noxia gazed at my face fondly for a while, then her eyes dropped to the tail tapping against the table leg.
"H-Honey...... are you mad?"
"...Huh?"
Unlike before, her voice was cautious from the start. Noxia quickly stood up, then slowly approached me with restless steps — this time really carefully reading my expression.
"N-no? Mad? Not at all... the situation was just a little overwhelming..."
Thwack. Thwack!
The moment I finished speaking, my tail drummed even harder against the table leg. It was like a second self throwing a tantrum, demanding to be acknowledged. Like it was lodging a protest. Looking at Noxia's restless expression only made it worse.
"W-why is this tail doing this...? S-stop it."
I hurriedly grabbed the tail with both hands.
Thwack. Thwack!!
The thing showed no intention of stopping.
"You're really mad, aren't you...? I'm sorry. Honey..."
Before I knew it, Noxia's slowly approaching footsteps had brought her right in front of me.
"N-no. That's not it, I just..."
Then Noxia carefully wrapped her hands around both of mine, and looked down at me with serious eyes.
"If there's anything that would make Honey feel better, please tell me."
She held my hands firmly and continued with complete sincerity.
"If there's something you want, I'll bring you anything. If there's something you want to do, I'll make it happen!"
"Uh, uh... that's really not it."
Thwack...! Thwa——.
The tail that had been drumming against the table leg in protest stopped as if by magic.
...And then.
Sway, sway.
As if it were in a good mood, the tip of my tail began to swish lightly from side to side like a rattle.
"H-huh...?"
Noxia's expression brightened instantly at the sight. Even her black tail started swaying along.
"Ah...! See, you WERE mad!"
"No... that's not—"
"You should have said so sooner, Honey~ Hnnn... I was so scared!"
The hands wrapped around mine squeezed a little tighter.
"Hurry up and tell me!"
Honestly, I was a little tempted. She'd grant a wish? And she was a dragon. It really did sound like she could make anything happen. Besides, the skill had already certified Noxia as my husband! anyway.
...It was uncomfortable, but. Given what my class was, I should think of Noxia as my spouse—
No. As a pretty close friend! That seemed like a better way to think about it.
Anyway, something I wanted...
"Hmm..."
I thought for a moment, slightly avoiding Noxia's blatant stare.
And then.
"...Can you help me get my job back?"
"What?"
"I want to see my kids again..."
You never know. She might actually go Understood like a dragon in a comic and make it happen with a flourish. Nothing to lose by asking.
Noxia rolled her eyes as if chewing over my words.
"Teacher...?"
Then she tilted her head as if something had clicked.
"Looking after children...... ah, aha!"
Her expression lit up.
"I'm fine with that! Shall we?"
"H-huh? Really?"
The answer came so easily I was the one who got flustered.
"I can go see the kids again?"
"Of course!"
Noxia smiled with complete confidence and pulled on my hand.
"Come on. This way, Honey!"
The place Noxia gently led me by the hand was... none other than my room. More precisely, toward the bed...
"W-wait a second."
A bad feeling made me stop in my tracks.
"Why are we going to my bed...?!"
Eight minutes earlier.
Incheon Coast. A father and son were enjoying some fishing on the calm sea.
"Hehe. Dad, look at this! It's huge, right?"
The child proudly held up a bucket with a fish in it.
"Haha. Catching one that size — I'm proud of you! Dad'll catch one too in no—"
WHOOOOSH—!!
A violent wind suddenly swept overhead.
"Wh-whoa?!"
SPLAAASH—!
The once-calm sea churned as if a typhoon had hit. The boat listed hard to one side before barely recovering its balance. It had nearly capsized.
"S-son! Are you okay? Y-you must've been scared, huh? Aigoo. Looks like a typhoon's coming. Let's head back."
"D-Dad... j-just now..."
The child pointed at the distant sky, his face deathly pale.
"Th-there..."
The man reflexively looked in that direction.
"W-why is that airplane flying so low...?"
That black airplane... was flying toward Kim Wolyang at a terrifying speed.