The Dragon's Favor
The shockwave from Brees Sepiron's single remark was tremendous.
The impact I felt was no small thing, yet Rene reacted far more violently than I did.
From the woman standing beside me poured a killing intent every bit as fierce as the aura the Light Dragon herself had unleashed.
As if proving she truly carried the Light Dragon's blood, Rene fixed her mother with a murderous glare, eyes wide and savage.
"Daughter, it was a joke. A joke! So wipe that look off your face."
"Was it really a joke? To my ears it sounded like the absolute truth."
"I-It really was! No matter what, would a mother go after her own daughter's first love?"
"……"
That single slip of the tongue had driven the trust between mother and daughter into the dirt, and Rene refused to release her suspicion to the very end.
Caught between the two of them, I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
How on earth had things come to this?
From what this body heard, that dragon gazed upon Contractor and remarked that the color of his soul resembled someone else's.
Soul color? What's that?
Who knows? Even this body is hearing the word for the first time since birth, so I haven't the faintest idea.
If even long-lived Frach had never encountered the term, it had to be knowledge known only to the Light Dragon.
That's concerning.
The word "soul" made me hum thoughtfully.
Born in another world, I was a possessor—an outsider.
If the color of my soul differed from the people of this world, there was a high chance the Light Dragon had already seen straight through my true identity.
I still hadn't told Rene that I was a possessor. My secret might be exposed at any moment.
"Even if it's Mother, I will never hand Bern over! He's my precious person! So don't you dare set your sights on him!"
"I understand……"
The Light Dragon conceded the point, yet she kept casting lingering, heated glances at me from the corner of her eye.
Was this really a dragon who claimed she wouldn't covet him?
I was honestly uneasy, but as long as Rene stayed by my side there shouldn't be any major problems.
That was what I wanted to believe—yet a strangely scorching gaze kept pricking the back of my head without pause.
It felt as though a stifling meet-the-parents session had just begun.
The Light Dragon's nest lay inside a natural cave that had formed at the summit of a snowy mountain.
Though it was called a nest, it was in truth a house built within the cave.
Rather than a bird's nest, it was furnished like a human mansion, complete with furniture and every sort of facility.
The only unusual feature was the complete absence of a ceiling—doubtless prepared so she could take flight into the sky at a moment's notice.
Dragons and dragonkin possessed wings, so having no ceiling made leaving the nest far more convenient.
Moreover, situated at the high altitude of a snowy mountain peak, rain never fell there.
"This is my room! Though, other than the treasures I've collected, there's not much to it!"
"Treasures?"
At my question Rene fetched a wooden box from the corner of the room and set it before me.
She gave me a look that said it was fine to look, so I carefully lifted the lid.
Rene's treasure box was filled with glittering things.
"Pretty stones, gems, that sort of thing—I collect them in the box. It's a hobby I've enjoyed ever since I was little, right up until now."
"A childish hobby."
"Is it childish?"
"No. On the contrary, I think it's wonderfully wholesome."
It was a pure hobby, perfectly suited to Rene.
Her body was fully mature, yet the faintly childish side that still peeked through was part of her charm, I thought.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Compared to gambling or drinking, it's a far better hobby. And who knows—it might even come in handy far in the future. So keep cherishing them from now on."
"Yes! I'll make sure I never lose them!"
Beaming brightly, Rene threw her arms around me.
Like a child who could not contain her joy, her cheeks flushed red as she delighted in the moment.
It meant I was a treasure to her.
Rene always expressed her feelings more honestly than anyone, so I smiled warmly and accepted her affection.
"Hugging is fine, but it hurts a little."
"You're the most precious treasure among all the ones I've collected so far, so I have to hold on tight!"
"That's a little embarrassing."
"Even if you're embarrassed, please bear with it!"
"Alright."
While we were spending an intimate, affectionate moment so sweet it could make one blush inside Rene's room, footsteps sounded outside and drew steadily closer.
In response, the corners of Rene's eyes—arched like a bow—shot upward and turned sharp.
Her wariness had skyrocketed from the Light Dragon's single slip of the tongue.
"What business brings you to my room?"
"He's the benefactor of my one and only daughter, isn't he? I have to treat him with the utmost sincerity."
The Light Dragon came carrying a tiny tray balanced on her massive palm.
She carefully set the tray down between Rene and me.
On it rested an apple as blue as ice and a cup filled with liquid that endlessly bubbled with foam.
Seeing her mother come simply to look after the guest, Rene's wariness eased a little.
"It may not be much, but I hope you enjoy it."
"Not at all. Thank you for your kindness. I'll gladly partake."
"Mother? If you're done with your business, could you leave now?"
"Alright."
The Light Dragon departed with a dejected expression.
In the original work, Brees Sepiron transforms into the most vicious dragon of all—yet here she was being thoroughly cowed by her own daughter……
Not only did it feel dissonant; I even felt a little sorry for her.
As the saying goes, no parent can win against their child—it meant she truly doted on Rene.
"Can't you treat her a little more kindly now?"
"Mother tried to steal the man who will be her daughter's husband, you know? I absolutely cannot let that slide!"
"But she said it was a joke."
"I've lived with Mother for decades. I know her habits when she's being sincere and when she's lying. The way she bowed her head to me was unmistakably genuine."
Rene pouted and vented her dissatisfaction.
It was a scene that revealed her possessiveness.
It seemed the conflict between mother and daughter would take quite some time to resolve.
"……More than anything, even if it was a misunderstanding, she threatened Bern. I saw with my own two eyes how he suffered under Mother's killing intent. I can't forgive her so easily."
So it hadn't been simple jealousy.
Rene had been angry on my behalf.
Her precious lover had been threatened by none other than family.
Even I would have confronted my family about it.
Once I imagined the situation, I understood Rene's feelings a little better. I quietly drew her waist close and embraced her.
"Thank you for worrying about me. But don't treat her too coldly. She's your only family, right? And to me, she could become my future mother-in-law."
"……Alright."
Rene was half dragon, half human.
In other words, Rene's father was human, and he had likely already passed away.
With her husband still alive, she would never have tried to seduce her future son-in-law.
Seeing her happy daughter, the Light Dragon must have felt the loneliness of a widow keenly.
That was why she had made that slip of the tongue.
"Well then, let's try the drink and fruit that Mother-in-law prepared for us herself!"
Just as I was about to pick up the fruit from the tray and put it in my mouth—
Suddenly Frach's voice flowed into my mind.
You've gone mad…….
Huh? What?
Ah, I'm not speaking to Contractor, so don't misunderstand. What this body is referring to is the fruit you're holding.
Is there something wrong with this apple?
An apple, you say…… Well, aside from the color of the skin, it does look similar enough to be mistaken for one. But that is no ordinary fruit like an apple.
At the words that it was no ordinary thing, I paused and examined the fruit.
It looked perfectly normal from the outside, though.
You know what this is, don't you?
Of course I do. That is a Frozen Heart. In the Absolute Frozen Tundra, which lies even farther north than these snowy mountains, a flower called the Millennium Ice Flower grows. This is the rare fruit that comes from its pistil.
A fruit that can only be obtained from a place even more extreme than here…… So it'd be a burden for a human like me to eat, right?
On the contrary, it will be good for Contractor. I've heard that consuming a Frozen Heart imbues the body with harmless cold energy that slows aging. You'll maintain your youth for the next fifty years.
"Not much," my ass!
The moment Frach finished explaining, it was a fruit with such absurd effects that I nearly cursed out loud.
Immortality—the dream ability for mortal humans.
Among them, it granted agelessness.
A realm one could only reach by attaining enlightenment and undergoing a complete bodily transformation—achievable just by eating a fruit.
I couldn't help but be astonished.
Th-Then, is this drink special too?
Hmm…. Could you dip your finger in the drink and bring it close to this body?
I followed Frach's instructions.
Then Frach flinched and trembled.
It was a more intense reaction than when she saw the Frozen Heart.
What kind of effect did this one have?
I gulped nervously as Frach continued.
……It's simply water with an aphrodisiac mixed in.
Well, that's surprising in its own way.