The Magic Begins
After completely healing Jung Ayeon's wounds, she and I stepped forward to face our opponents. The moment we stood before Rick and the woman, the Academy President's secretary—the lizard beastman—suddenly came to mind.
"The lizard concept is already overlapping with someone else's character."
"Shut up!!!"
The woman standing beside Rick snapped irritably at the word "lizard."
"I'm not a lizard, I'm a dragon, you son of a bitch!"
"I'm still technically a human, you fucking bitch."
No conscience at all. Where exactly do you see yourself as a human, dear?
'You're really going to die.'
The woman flicked her tail back and forth, clearly in a foul mood. She glared at me, head held high, and growled.
"This body is a Black Dragon! I am not an existence that some primitive human can treat lightly!"
"Black... you said?"
"That's right!"
I pointed at the Black Dragon with a trembling hand.
"Black?! You racist piece of shit!"
"N-no! Fuck! This body believes all races are equal!"
"There's a perfectly good word like 'dark'—why insist on 'black'?"
"Dark sounds too childish!!! And this body is not racist! Black Lives Matter!!"
The Black Dragon flailed desperately, spitting out whatever words it could to deny my accusation. Finally sensing the discomfort, it scrunched up its face and roared at me in fury.
"Fuck!!! Now that I think about it, my original form is black, so what's so weird about calling me Black?!"
"Then you should've said that from the start. You confused me."
"You motherfucking bastard!!!!!"
Its intelligence seemed a bit lacking, but it was definitely a dragon—every time it stomped its foot, the ground trembled slightly.
Rick, who had been watching this exchange, crossed his arms and declared proudly toward us.
"Hah! Our family has commanded dragons for generations! The Black Dragon here is my familiar!"
A family that commands dragons, huh.
'So that's why the D for Dragon is in their name.'
At that moment, I thought of Spencer. If she'd brought a dragon to the tournament, she might have had better odds.
"Hey, why didn't your sister Mommy Milk D Spencer bring a dragon?"
"......My little sister has not yet received a dragon allotment."
Rick's eyes looked strangely complicated. When I turned my gaze toward Spencer, she puffed out her cheeks and openly expressed her dissatisfaction.
"I asked for a Red Dragon that handles fire! Not some magma crap!"
"Little sister, as I told you before, all the fire-handling dragons are already fully reserved."
"Hmph! If it's not fire, I'm not interested!"
Spencer proved she was a true ace fan by only demanding a dragon that handled fire. While Rick was busy trying to calm her down, I realized exactly what dragons meant to them.
"Dragons? The way you're talking about 'allotments,' they're basically just pets."
"Shut up!"
"Did you at least train your pet properly?"
".......Don't ask."
Rick muttered with his head lowered. It seemed the pet training hadn't gone well. Since this was a common issue for beginners, I decided to offer some help. I pointed at the Black Dragon and spoke to Rick in a kind yet serious tone.
"Be honest. Lately, the dragon isn't listening to you very well, is it?"
"That's right! For some reason, it's been especially disobedient lately."
"There are no bad dragons in this world. If a dragon is misbehaving, the problem lies with the owner."
"Is that so."
Rick, true to his role as the Black Dragon's owner, seemed to lack intelligence as well. He nodded in agreement and began listening attentively.
I pointed out the mistakes Rick was currently making.
"First of all, if you're taking it out for a walk, you should have a leash on. Why isn't it wearing one?"
"I forgot! I'll go get one right away!"
"Hold on. If you're the owner, listen to everything first."
There were still more points to address. Jung Ayeon seemed to understand my intention and joined me.
"Have you registered your pet? You absolutely must."
"Have you given it its vaccinations and deworming treatment? Those are the basics."
"I definitely did those! Do not worry!"
"Good job."
"Excellent."
Rick straightened his back and spoke proudly. He really did seem to have a sense of responsibility as an owner. Ayeon and I moved on to the final point.
"When you go get the leash, don't forget to bring poop bags too."
"Bring a muzzle as well. Others might get hurt."
"Understood! I'll bring them right away, so please wait a moment!"
"That's the right attitude. Start with the basics."
"Take your time and make sure you bring everything properly."
Rick turned around and hurried off to gather the supplies. The Black Dragon, who had been listening to all of this, could no longer hold back. It roared a Dragon Fear toward the sky.
"This body is not a fucking pet!!!!!!"
The Black Dragon snatched Rick with its tail as he went to fetch the items and slammed him into the ground. Then it grabbed the stunned Rick by the collar and shouted.
"Think for once, you idiot!!! Don't fall for that shit!!!"
"Ah!"
Rick finally came to his senses and began glaring at me in anger.
"How dare you trick me!"
"You got reeled in all by yourself. What are you talking about?"
"And fuck! You said you raised a dog—do you even follow the basics?"
This bastard? Unforgivable.
"You son of a bitch! Who the hell are you to disrespect our Choco-hyung?"
"W-wait, but you said it was a dog!"
"He's listed on our family registry, you fucking bastard!!!"
"Ah...... I see... I'm sorry."
Thinking about Choco-hyung suddenly made me feel like I should visit home after a long time. While I was thinking about stopping by once this situation was over, Rick had already picked up his wand. That reminded me of something I'd said before fighting Spencer.
"Hey, does your name have a D in it like Spencer's?"
"It does!"
"Really?"
His name is Rick, but it has a D in it?
"Then is your name not Rick, but Dick?"
"No, you fucking bastard!!!!!"
"What a shitty name."
Rick swung his wand wildly as if about to throw it to the ground in rage. Then he pointed it at me and declared.
"My name is Dragonia Rick! It's not something like Dick!!!"
"You should've said that earlier. I almost misunderstood."
"I'll kill you!!!"
At that moment, I thought of Spencer's flat chest. Spencer was called D Spencer, yet her actual chest was tragically small. I wondered if the same applied to Dick, so I quickly asked.
"Hey, your sister had a seriously flat chest. Is your magic stick also seriously small?"
"You son of a bitch! Why the hell are you bringing that up all of a sudden!!!"
"Shut up!!! My magic stick is on a completely different level from a pathetic thing like yours!!!"
This time, even Spencer joined in, protesting alongside Rick.
"How are you going to prove it?"
"Hah! I already have ten wives! This is the weapon of a mage who protects household peace!"
Then, as if to verify whether that was true, a tall succubus suddenly stepped forward from the succubus group. She immediately fixed her gaze on Rick's lower body and stared intently. She probably had some kind of clairvoyance ability.
"W-what is this!"
Embarrassed by the succubus's blatant stare, Rick covered his important parts with both hands and took a step back. As he retreated, the succubus who had been observing him until now let out a short snort.
"Pfft."
That alone was enough to make Rick collapse on the spot. Then he pointed at me and said to the succubus.
"T-that guy will be even more pathetic! Hurry up and check him!"
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
The succubus waved her hand as if annoyed and looked at my lower body. Unlike with Rick, she only glanced at me briefly before immediately reacting.
"Oh my."
Her reaction was slightly different from before. Surprise, excitement, admiration—various emotions rose to the succubus's face. Rick, who had been watching, now openly displayed despair.
Regardless, the succubus who had joined the group began talking with the others. As soon as their conversation ended, several of the succubi started licking their lips. And unlike before, very sticky and viscous gazes began flying my way.
Lilith seemed curious too and called over the succubus who had observed earlier.
"Just how is it that you're all reacting like this?"
"Great Matriarch! It's seriously insane!"
The two whispered about something, and Lilith brought her hand to her mouth in astonishment. Then she silently patted the slightly flushed Jung Ayeon's shoulder a couple of times before returning to her seat.
I walked over to the still-sighing Rick and put my arm around his shoulder.
"T-this can't be happening..."
"You called it the guardian of the household, right?"
And then I delivered the finishing blow.
"Watch out. A homewrecker might come for you."
"Fuuuuuuuuck!!!!!!"
It went in very deep. Rick's hollow scream echoed across the area.
Spencer and the Black Dragon, unable to watch any longer, began comforting him.
"Stand up, big brother! You're the world's greatest mage, aren't you!"
"Get up. The mage I acknowledged wouldn't crumble over something like this."
".......You're right."
Rick regained his composure and slowly rose to his feet. He stared directly at me and declared.
"I am the strongest and greatest mage in the world."
"Oh yeah?"
I met his gaze calmly and said,
"Actually, I can use magic too."
"Hmph! A guy who hasn't even grasped the truth of magic dares to speak of it!!!"
As Rick mocked me with all his might, I glared at him and spoke solemnly.
"Listen well. I'll show you magic."
"If you can, then do it!"
"If you don't want to die, everyone cover your ears!"
I shouted to everyone present. Upon hearing me, Elsia, Hye-ji, and Jung Ayeon quietly covered their ears. Lilith, looking puzzled at Ayeon's action, also covered her own ears. The rest of them just stared blankly, but there was no longer any reason to show them consideration.
I chanted in a grand yet sinister voice so that everyone present could hear.
"From this very moment, you will all become aware of the act of blinking your eyes."
The inescapable magic had begun.