My Subordinate Looks at Me Cutely

"...Maybe you should get up first?"

"I am most humbly honored, my Sovereign!"

She smashed her forehead into the floor with enough force to punch through the linoleum and the concrete of the studio apartment beneath it. Tiamat still showed no sign of rising, her entire body trembling. A tall, voluptuous beauty prostrate in the middle of this cramped studio made the already tiny room feel so packed I could barely breathe.

"I told you to get up. That's an order."

"Yes! I shall obey my Sovereign's command!"

Only then did Tiamat spring to her feet. She folded her hands demurely over her stomach and looked down at me—then, realizing she was taller, hastily dropped to her knees to match my eye level. Her snake-like pupils, glittering with blue light, dripped with deep reverence and blind loyalty.

But the moment that gaze landed on the huge black horns sprouting from my head, the tiny wings on my back, the thick tail swaying behind my hips—and on my height, which stopped right around her chest—

"...Hic, hic...!"

Fat tears rolled down Tiamat's cheeks.

"Why are you crying again?"

"Forgive this one, O Great Lord of Ruin...! This lowly servant dares to behold my Sovereign's cute—most noble countenance, and cannot contain this overwhelming emotion...!"

She said cute. I heard that loud and clear.

Tiamat clutched at her ample bosom and poured out a heartfelt lament.

"How can such a small and adorable—no, such a dainty jade form contain the majesty to swallow the entire world?! An absolute sublimity that would stop a mortal's heart with a single glance...! This Tiamat could die of awe and have no regrets!"

......

The so-called most fearsome of all magical beasts was rattling off worshipful rambling at machine-gun speed with sparkling eyes, and a strange sense of embarrassment made the tail behind me go stiff.

"Just... calm down for a second. Walking still feels weird for me..."

I carefully set my feet down and stood up from the sofa. But the sweatpants I'd originally been wearing dragged under my feet, and thanks to the tail, my center of gravity lurched backward. I staggered.

Wait, huh?!

The sense of balance I'd lived with in my original sturdy build was completely different from this tiny body's. Two huge black horns jutted from the top of my head, so even a slight turn of my neck made me wobble, and the wings on my back and the heavy tail flapped and thrashed of their own accord with every step, raising a complete ruckus.

I lurched—

"My Sovereign?!"

CRASH!

The instant I unconsciously tensed my tail to catch my balance, the thick appendage smashed the wooden chair beside me with a satisfying crack. The chair slammed into the wall in an instant and shattered into pathetic pieces.

...Aigoo, this is actually driving me crazy.

While I stared blankly at the wreckage of the chair, Tiamat dropped to her knees, her face ashen, and inspected my body.

"I tremble at the thought that even a speck of a scratch might have marred your jade form! I shall immediately disintegrate that blasphemous splinter of wood—guilty of the high treason of striking my Sovereign's sacred tail—into several hundred million pieces!"

"No! The chair didn't hit me—I launched it with my tail, so please just stay still..."

I reined in Tiamat, who was radiating killing intent at the chair, and let out a long sigh.

Hoping a splash of water might clear my head, I started toward the bathroom—only for the wings on my back to catch on the doorframe with a thunk. When I tilted my head, my horns smacked into the doorway with a solid bonk.

"Ow..."

The horns themselves were absurdly hard—hard enough to crack the doorframe—but a deep sigh escaped me at the fact that I couldn't even control my own body. I somehow made it through the door and, holding up my pant legs with both hands, finally stood in front of the sink.

I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water over my face. The chill snapped me awake, and the face in the mirror came into sharp focus. Facing my awkward reflection, I took a deep breath and told myself I needed to get used to this.

Inhale. Exhale.

But with every breath in and out, a strange sensation churned deep in my lungs. It wasn't just oxygen coming in. The mana scattered throughout the studio—and even in the air beyond the window—was being sucked inward with a single breath, swirling into a massive vortex.

Zzzzt—

The fluorescent lights in the room flickered in response to the sudden surge of mana.

...Huh?

With every beat of my heart, a colossal energy circulated through my veins like a spinning pinwheel. Even after unleashing that massive Dragon Breath that had vaporized the gate, my mana was already filled to the brim. No—it was overflowing, savage residual mana rising off my skin like heat haze.

The entire world is a battery made just for me.

I'd heard mage-type hunters had to chug expensive potions just to replenish their mana. My body was a perpetual-motion engine that naturally sucked in mana just by breathing.

I towel-dried my face and returned to the living room sofa. Tiamat, who had been waiting quietly, approached and knelt.

"My Sovereign, perhaps a little something to refresh the palate."

What she carefully drew from Subspace was a palm-sized crystal radiating a luminous blue glow from within the darkness. Even at a glance, it was a top-grade Magic Stone packed with an enormous amount of condensed mana.

"My mana's already overflowing just from breathing, though...?"

The words trailed off as a sweet, cool mint scent wafted from the Magic Stone and brushed the tip of my nose.

...Huh?

My mouth flooded with saliva. It wasn't because I was lacking nutrients or mana. My instincts had identified that glittering crystal as the sweetest snack in the world. Like how you have a separate stomach for dessert.

Grab!

Before I knew it, I'd reached out and snatched the Magic Stone, then lightly bit into a corner with my tiny fangs.

Crunch! Crunch-crunch!

The Magic Stone crumbled as softly as a cookie, and a mint ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flavor as cool and sweet as ice wrapped around my tongue.

"Hahh..."

A rapturous flavor that refreshed me all the way to my brain. As the sweetness threatened to melt my mind, the thick tail behind my hips started thumping the side of the sofa—tap, tap—cheerfully, completely independent of its owner's reason.

...Why does this taste so good?

Twenty-four years of human pride be damned—every cell in my body was dancing with joy at a single bite of dessert.

Tiamat, who had been watching this scene in a daze, flushed pink across her cheeks.

"Ahh... the way you clutch the Magic Stone in both hands, puffing out your cheeks as you nibble... how can it be so sublime and adorable..."

"Mmph... what?"

"Ah, it is nothing! There is powder at the corner of your mouth, my Sovereign."

Tiamat produced an elegant handkerchief from her bosom and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carefully wiped the corner of my mouth. Her gentle touch as she leaned in close, and the faint scent of the sea, made me feel even better.

I picked up the remote from the table and turned on the TV. The moment the screen lit up, a news anchor in a suit delivered an urgent report over red breaking-news banners.

The footage switched to helicopter shots of the devastation across Eunpyeong-gu. A massive crater marked where the gate had erupted, and Magic Stones still lay scattered where they'd fallen.

The Association official delivering the on-site briefing wore a face thick with shock and terror.

A burst of static. I hit the remote and shut the TV off.

The whole country's in an uproar.

The entire nation of South Korea had been turned upside down by a single blast of my Dragon Breath. If that investigation net caught me and my identity got out, my peaceful daily life would be over that same day.

I absolutely cannot get found out.

I set aside the complicated thoughts for now and looked down at the baggy T-shirt and pants dragging on the floor. Clothes that didn't fit my body at all meant I was one wrong move away from falling over again like before.

I need to do something about these clothes first.

"Tiamat."

"Yes, my Sovereign!"

"Can you make clothes with mana or something? I keep stepping on my pants, and the tail makes it hard to walk."

"If it is my Sovereign's command, anything is possible."

Tiamat flicked her fingers lightly, and a gentle mana wrapped around my body. The baggy clothes that had been dragging on the floor dissolved into light, then instantly transformed into a luxurious black dress and undergarments that fit my small body perfectly. A clean slit in the back let my wings slip through comfortably, and the rear was precisely cut so the thick tail could move freely.

Oh... not bad.

The clothes settled lightly against my body, and moving became much easier. However... the unfamiliar squeeze of undergarments around my chest, and the cool, open sensation down below, gifted a sense of transgression—and something stranger still—to someone who, until moments ago, had been a man.

...There's nothing on my chest. Do I really have to wear this?

If I dug any deeper into this weird feeling, I was going to start feeling a little self-loathing, so I forcibly wiped the thought away.

"Haaah..."

I flopped onto the sofa and stared at the ceiling as the plush cushions wrapped my whole body in warmth. I'd lost the thing I'd held most precious, but... if I'd never even used it, losing it couldn't be that big a deal, right? And lying here in the corner of my room, stable and comfortable like this, was a hundred times better.

Besides, Tiamat would handle all the annoying stuff, my mana recharged just by breathing, and the clothes were free.

For now, I'll just eat something tasty and loaf around.

Having quickly found a compromise with this inescapable reality, I swished my tail back and forth.

"My Sovereign, is there anything causing you discomfort?"

Tiamat knelt at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my feet and asked carefully.

"No. Thanks to you, I'm very comfortable."

"I am most humbly honored...!"

"We're going to be living together from now on, so take care of me."

"This Tiamat shall offer up her very soul to safeguard my Sovereign's rest!"

Watching her swear loyalty with sparkling eyes, looking for all the world like a giant dog, I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm tired now, so let's get some rest."

I buried my head in the plush pillow and let my eyes slide shut. A deep drowsiness swallowed my consciousness in an instant.

......But immediately after.

Once she'd confirmed the small, even breathing of my sleep, the loyal-hound light vanished from Tiamat's blue eyes in an instant.

Sssssss—

From beneath her feet, pitch-black shadows began to slowly devour the entire studio apartment.