Prologue
"So let me get this straight... you really want me to walk through that?"
I looked up at the massive gate looming before me.
It was the academy's entrance, and it looked at least twice my size.
"Yep, that's right."
When I turned my head, I found long silver hair and crimson eyes beside me. A small pair of horns, too.
You've probably already guessed—she wasn't human.
"Hey, Iris."
"What?"
"This is an academy, right?"
"It is."
"Don't just say 'it is.' This is Rateil Academy. The academy only dragons attend."
"So?"
I raked my hands through my hair as I spoke. "Make some sense, would you? You want a human like me to enroll at an academy meant only for dragons?"
"Nothing says you can't."
"That's not even—"
"And."
She pressed a slender fingertip against my lips.
"No one will ever hurt you. Because I'll make sure of it."
With that, she took my head in both hands and pulled me toward her.
My face buried in her chest, I flailed wildly.
"Haah... Leon."
Her voice dripped, thick and sweet.
"You are never getting away from me. Never."
How on earth did it come to this?
As I recalled the day I first met her, my consciousness slipped away.