Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Dragons Are Squishy
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"...Hmph. Come here, Lua."
"Nyam...."
Worried her makeup would run, the Mi-ra Owner swallowed her tears and pulled my shoulders into a hug, gently stroking them.
"Did you tell Grandfather?"
"......I-I did tell him...."
"You didn't tell him properly...!"
"Meeeow!"
When I confessed that I'd left Grandfather behind at the villa, the Mi-ra Owner's touched emotions shattered completely, and she stretched out my left cheek.
"Ow...! Ouch-meow!"
The sharp sting pierced right through my physical immunity trait, making my tail tremble wildly.
"Hoo.... Still, thanks for the flowers, Lua."
The Mi-ra Owner took the bouquet I'd handed her and turned her head to gaze at the audience seats.
...As if reminiscing about someone she could never see again.
"Wait just a bit? We're still rehearsing."
"Nyam!"
With the Mi-ra Owner's permission, I nodded eagerly, my tail swishing as I hopped down from the stage.
The Mi-ra Owner had been safely with the MooD:iN members in the underground third-floor auditorium.
It was a relief, if nothing else.
Ye-rin, who had been watching from a step behind, finally spoke up.
"...Um, Mi-ra? Who's that little sister...?"
The sudden intrusion of a dragon girl onto the stage had left Ye-rin and all the other members stunned.
A girl who looked human but was utterly out of place—how could they not be?
"...Hello! I'm Iru-a!"
I bowed deeply from the distant audience seats, greeting them loudly.
"I'm the dragon who lives with Mi-ra sis!"
Since my tail and horns were already fully visible, I figured honesty was the best policy.
"...Somehow, she ended up living with me... She's a dragon."
At my self-introduction, the Mi-ra Owner reluctantly confirmed the truth.
"Th-That.... Isn't she an Anomaly? The kind that eats people...?"
"Don't worry. Lua only eats hamburgers."
"...?"
Ye-rin, who knew just how dangerous Anomalies could be, cautiously asked the Mi-ra Owner—but got a response that she was nothing of the sort.
How kind and safe I am is known throughout the world.
Ye-rin's gaze, full of suspicion, turned to me, but upon seeing the utterly innocent expression of this dragon girl, she quickly let her doubts fade.
Thank goodness I'm so cute.
Anyway.
The exclusive stage for the Mi-ra Owner and the MooD:iN members resumed.
They synced their movements around her, swaying to the music.
It was precious time prepared by the complete MooD:iN lineup—for their friend and former leader, who they'd been unable to debut with after that heartbreaking incident.
"...Wowww."
The auditorium's sole audience member, me, was utterly entranced by the Mi-ra Owner's performance.
Her snow-white hair swayed in the dance, tracing angelic arcs.
Each step she took sent out waves of pure charm.
As the intro ended and her lips parted, her singing voice rang out with a power that shook the heart.
Millennium Doll.
This was the moment her long-forgotten dream came true.
Fwoosh—. As the music ended, the spotlight dimmed.
"......Haa. Haa...."
Standing center in the ending pose, the Mi-ra Owner let out elated breaths, as if calming her surging emotions.
The audience watching the stage that concluded her long-buried tale slowly blurred into the light.
Now, the only one left watching was me.
But the emotions conveyed felt like those of thousands, tens of thousands.
The Mi-ra Owner gently picked up the bouquet from the floor, wiped her moist eyes, and smiled more beautifully than ever.
It was the end of a stage that had been both long and short.
"Mi-ra sis is the best!!"
I stretched my hands to the sky and cheered, hopping up and down.
Just as our eyes met and I felt the touching emotions...
"Lua...! I told you not to jump on the chairs!"
"M-Myaa?!"
The Mi-ra Owner scolded me for climbing on the chair.
"Come here!"
"Meeeow! Sorryyy!"
As she came down from the stage, the Mi-ra Owner stretched my cheeks again.
The pull hurt so much, but my heart felt more at ease than ever.
The dragon girl hugged by the Mi-ra Owner, and the four idol members.
"...Hi?"
"Hi-meow."
I returned Ye-rin's greeting while fiddling with my cheeks.
"...Wow. It really is so squishy...!"
By the way, the one touching my cheeks wasn't the Mi-ra Owner—it was Ari-sa, the white-haired Japanese member.
"...Ehehe."
Like someone savoring the jelly pads of a pet's paws, her sneaky fingers crept closer bit by bit.
"Lua, right...?"
"Y-Yes.... That's me... Eek?"
I answered dazedly, then finally noticed Ari-sa's eyes.
Eyes far clearer than a normal person's.
Those were... the eyes of a pure maniac.
"Come hewe! Kyaa!?"
"What are you doing to Lua, Ari-sa."
A flick flew straight at Ari-sa as she lunged to touch me.
"A-Ade-la.... I just wanted to hug Lua...."
"Lua's scared."
"...Hiiing."
The one who stopped her was member Ade-la, with her Western features.
"Sorry, Lua. Ari-sa really loves kids."
Hearing Ade-la's words, I thought, yeah, that figures.
Ari-sa was... a fiendish child enthusiast.
"...Grrr."
Ade-la apologized to me and gently stroked my head.
In the meantime, my eyes met Seol's, the member who'd been silently quiet.
"...."
Instead of words, she gave a faint smile and a wave.
A calm charisma, different from the ice beauty vibe.
"I'm Iru-a...!"
"I'm Seol."
I bowed politely, and a short but soft greeting came back.
After greeting all the members, my eyes landed on Ye-rin, the last one we hadn't exchanged hellos with.
Was talking to me awkward for her?
"...Um, wanna eat this?"
But that seemed to be my misunderstanding. Ye-rin pulled chocolate from her pocket and showed it to me.
Chocolate.... The perfect snack that any kid adores.
The sweet cocoa scent tickled my nose.
"Sorry, Ye-rin. Lua can't eat that."
The Mi-ra Owner, knowing I couldn't eat anything but hamburgers, refused on my behalf.
"Huh? If she can eat hamburgers, can't she eat chocolate too?"
She can eat hamburgers but not chocolate?
Ye-rin blinked in confusion at the bizarre logic, but only for a moment.
"I didn't believe it at first either. But Lua really won't even drink water unless it's a hamburger."
"Not even water...?"
"Yeah. Hamburgers only."
With the endorsement from reliable leader Mi-ra Owner, Ye-rin nodded in acceptance and apologized to me.
"...I didn't know. Sorry, Lua?"
"It's fine...! Thank you for thinking of me!"
Her kind gesture touched me, so I thanked her right away.
"I... I want tail too...."
Ari-sa, held back by Ade-la, fixated on my swishing tail.
Sinister gaze...
"Ari-sa. Keep that up, and Lua might chomp you."
"...H-Huh?"
In full guardian mode, the Mi-ra Owner teased Ari-sa lightly.
"Lua might look like this, but she's a super strong dragon."
"...R-Really?"
As Ari-sa panicked, I played along, baring my fangs.
"Kyao!"
"H-Hiiik!!"
Ari-sa let out a cute, Japanese-style squeak and... charged at me?
...Huh? Charging?
"If I can hug such a cute Lua, getting bit is fine...!"
"Wheung?!"
Poof! Caught by Ari-sa, I was trapped, helpless as she manhandled my tail and horns.
Rub rub on the horns. Stroke stroke on the tail.
"Ehehe.... Wings too...!"
"Nooo!!"
Wings were absolutely off-limits, so I twisted free from the infinite touching prison.
"...?"
"H-Help me...!"
For reference, I'd fled behind Seol.
No matter how I thought about it, Seol seemed like someone Ari-sa wouldn't dare touch.
"You think hiding there will save you? Come hewe!!"
"Pyaat!!"
Ari-sa casually reached out with both arms and charged.
Unfortunately, the escape from infinite touching prison wasn't behind Seol—it was Ade-la.
Run, gotta run!
I'm gonna get groped! I don't wanna be tamed!
With the pattering of the fleeing dragon and the fiendish child enthusiast chasing behind as background noise, the Mi-ra Owner and Ye-rin began talking.
"How was the practice stage? Wanna try what we talked about?"
Stage? What we talked about?
Like when idols invite guest singers to concerts and share the stage?
"...Yeah. I want to."
The Mi-ra Owner watched my frantic escape with affectionate eyes, then slowly nodded.
"Really?!"
"Lua caught... Huff...! Is that for real, Mi-ra?!"
"...Really?!"
"Mi-ra sunbae...!?"
Rin, Ari-sa, Seol, and Ade-la all held their breath in disbelief.
"Not full-on idol stuff, but... I want to let out some energy... Whoa?!"
As the blushing Mi-ra Owner made excuses, the four members crushed her in a group hug.
"Puek...! C-Can't... breathe...."
In the chaos, I got swept into the crowd and trapped in the embrace.
"Mi-ra...! Thanks for telling us...!"
Ye-rin patted the Mi-ra Owner's back, sharing her joy.
"Does this mean Mi-ra's becoming an idol again?!"
Ari-sa's fuss was bonus.
"S-Save... meee...!!"
Trapped in the idol prison, I wriggled amid the grand somethings.
My head height lined up perfectly with their chests.
Squishy and soft things pressing on my horns... No, I'm gonna die squished!
"Huh? Lua?"
"Ehehehe...."
By the time the Mi-ra Owner noticed me wedged in, I was sitting on the floor, clutching my stiff tail to my chest, grinning vacantly with a dazed look.
"Gyaoung...."
I felt my intelligence dropping.
"You okay, Lua?"
"Yeees.... F-Fiiiine...."
"Guys.... Isn't there a place to rest?"
I seemed fine, more than ever, but to the Mi-ra Owner, my state looked off, so she immediately looked for a rest spot.
"W-We have our own lounge, but...."
"Then let's go there...!"
The Mi-ra Owner scooped up the limp dragon girl and quickly followed Ye-rin's lead to the lounge.
"Myaaaang...."
I just let out a cute mewl, my stiff tail swishing.
Half-reclined on the plush sofa, taking a rest.
"Mi-ra? Any hamburger's fine, right?"
"Yeah. Doesn't matter much."
"There were convenience store burgers in the practice room, so I grabbed some.... Take these for now."
For my listless self, Ye-rin brought convenience store hamburgers from somewhere.
Wait, isn't that the one I got from Grandfather?
Must've dropped it absentmindedly while changing floors.
"Lua. Eat this."
"Waaung...."
As the unwrapped hamburger crept closer, I opened my mouth and chomped it down.
My hunger filled, and my foggy mind cleared bit by bit.
"Lua revived...!"
Soon as my wits fully returned, I jumped up, arms spread wide.
The dragon that won't fall!
As I grinned smugly, Seol—the blonde ponytail who'd been silent—asked me a question.
"I have something I'm curious about with Lua. Can I ask?"
"Yes! Ask anything!"
"Is the dragon in this photo you by any chance?"
"Ming?"
On the phone screen, dangling a cute cat doll keychain, an SNS post was lit up.
The attached photo clearly showed a pink dragon girl flying in the sky.
Sharp horns poking from pink hair.
Flapping wings.
Swishing tail too.
...No matter how you looked, it was me.
I'd never imagined I was known to this extent.
"It's Lua...?"
I wasn't the only shocked one. The Mi-ra Owner also gasped upon seeing me in the photo.