“….No matter how I think about it, it’s weird.”
Sephir, her cheeks puffed up like a balloon, complained.
“Kyuu?”
“Yeah…? What?”
Both I and the hatchling tilted our heads in unison, looking at her.
Sephir seemed annoyed by our response, as she squeezed her eyes shut and yelled at the top of her lungs.
“How can I fail and you succeed? Does that even make sense?!”
“Um…”
“This is absolutely impossible!! Something fishy must be going on.”
“Umm….”
“Could it be that my charm took effect a bit late? Yeah… if that’s the case, it would explain things… right? There’s no way I could fail… hehehe…”
“…..”
Her murmuring, devoid of reason, gave off a terrifying vibe.
Next to her, Athena was lost in thought about something.
I shifted my gaze from the somewhat deranged Sephir to Athena.
“What are you thinking, Athena…?”
“…..Nothing.”
After a moment of silence, Athena gazed thoughtfully at the hatchling and then sighed deeply, ruffling my hair.
“Anyway, congratulations, Hera. You’re the first being across all races to tame a dragon.”
“R-Really?”
To be honest, I still hadn’t grasped the situation properly.
Me?
Taming a dragon??
It was hard to believe that someone who couldn’t even use magic correctly had tamed a dragon.
And it wasn’t like I was doing some ridiculous gesture of blowing a kiss to appeal to it.
‘Unless it’s just that I was funny and that’s why it’s showing me kindness…?’
Perhaps it wasn’t really tamed.
Maybe it had just approached me out of curiosity, thinking, “What’s this? How interesting!”
….But if that’s the case, it would be quite hurtful.
..Anyway, it’s still good to have a dragon show me favor, even if it’s similar to how one looks at a clown.
“Kyuu..”
As I sat there deep in thought, the hatchling rubbed its head against me as if asking for my attention.
“Are you bored?”
“Kyuu!!”
It reacted cutely, as if answering my question.
‘Oh my. It’s so cute…’
For some reason, Athena’s gaze towards the hatchling became even sharper.
“Shall we head back soon…?”
When I cautiously asked Athena, who wore a cold expression, she sighed and turned her gaze away from the hatchling.
“….Yeah.”
And so, we dragged the muttering Sephir, who seemed to have lost her mind, back to the inn with our new pet.
*
A pink-haired succubus suggested, “How about Poppy?”
“Grrow…..”
“….Hmph.”
The hatchling growled lowly, as if indicating that it didn’t like it.
We were currently gathered around the bed in the inn, trying to decide on a name for the hatchling.
It couldn’t just keep being called “hatchling”; it was decided that giving it a proper name was a good idea.
Sephir’s eyes lit up as though she had a great idea and suggested, “How about ‘Bluey’?! It fits perfectly with the blue scales!”
“Grrowwww…”
“……Forget it then.”
Once again, Sephir was rejected by the hatchling.
It seemed Sephir had no sense for naming things.
Athena, appearing uninterested, gently patted my head and said, “Hera, you choose the name.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. From now on, you’re the master—so you should at least give it a name.”
With sparkling eyes, the hatchling looked at me, as if full of expectation, causing my heart to ache.
‘So cute….’
How could it be this adorable?
If it were up to me, I’d want to keep it forever.
As I reached out my hand, the hatchling happily climbed up onto my shoulder.
I patted the hatchling’s head, and it leaned in, closing its eyes in pleasure.
“Kyuu…”
It seemed content, trusting me as it nestled against me.
Anyway, a name.
I wasn’t particularly good at naming things…
In fact, I had hardly named anything before.
The only name I could recall giving was to a hamster I had when I was young, which I named Pojji.
But as Athena suggested, since I had tamed it and would take care of it, giving it a name seemed reasonable enough.
I wanted a name related to blue…
The beautiful blue scales that enveloped the hatchling. I wanted to incorporate that feature into the name.
‘Speaking of which, its scale color… it’s just like aquamarine.’
It bore a striking resemblance to the bright, shining blue gemstone.
“How about Mari?”
Athena raised an eyebrow at my suggestion.
“Mari?”
“Yeah. Its scales are the same as aquamarine, so I thought I’d borrow from that.”
“That’s nice. It rolls off the tongue.”
Athena responded positively.
“Kyuu!♡”
The hatchling seemed to like the name, bouncing up and licking my face.
“Ah! G-Get off me! That tickles!!”
Thus, we had finally decided on a name that satisfied everyone.
Well, almost everyone.
Sephir was sulking in a corner, making a disgruntled face.
“Isn’t Poppy cuter than Mari?”
“Grrow….”
“I-I was just saying that!!”
“Grrowwww…”
“Ahem… By the way, I had something to say.”
Sephir drew our attention with a pouty expression.
“I think I need to return to the demon realm.”
“Huh?”
She’s going back to the demon realm?
“I’ve been getting calls from my subordinates since earlier. I ignored them so far, but I think I’ll be suspected if it keeps up.”
So she was a commander after all.
Sure, she might seem a bit ditzy, but Sephir is one of the commanders. Her absence would likely cause a significant ripple in the demon realm.
I cautiously asked Sephir, “Sephir… we’re on the same side, right?”
She had become someone I had grown fond of.
If she were to return to the Demon King’s army, and we ended up facing each other as enemies later, things would get quite complicated for me.
But Sephir smiled brightly, as if reassuring me.
“Of course! If you die, I die too. Plus, we only joined the Demon King’s army for our own gain; there’s no deep bond or anything.”
“…That’s a relief.”
“Hehe… What’s this? Are you happy because I’m on your side?”
She looked at me with a playful smile.
I expressed my honest feelings to her.
“Yeah. I’d like it if you were always on my side.”
“Eh?!”
Sephir was taken aback by my words, her face turning slightly red.
“Re-really? Well… if that’s the case, I can’t help it. I’ll become your ally…!”
Sephir trembled as she spoke.
I smiled brightly at her, conveying my gratitude.
“Thank you, Sephir!”
“Ugh…!”
Sephir’s face was turning bright red like a ripe tomato.
Hmm… has she caught a cold?
But can demons even get colds?
While I was pondering about Sephir’s flustered state, Athena quietly muttered beside us.
“…..Sent from the heavens…”
“…..Kyuu.”
Huh?
What did you say, Mari?
As we played with Mari, before we knew it, night had fallen.
Sephir left for the demon realm again.
She said she’d sort out her position as commander and return soon.
But judging by what she said, it didn’t sound like she’d be back quickly.
Well, considering her position, she couldn’t just walk away without consequences.
‘But if Sephir does step down from her commander position… who will take her place?’
The four commanders in the demon realm, ranked just below the Demon King.
Commander 1: Dark Knight Tyrus.
Commander 2: Berserker Lycan.
Commander 3: Immortal King Melrum.
Commander 4: Goddess of Lust Sephir.
In the brutal world where power is supreme, these beings had never come down from their thrones of command, instilling fear in the empire day after day.
But now, one of them is on our side.
This would deal a tremendous blow to the Demon King’s army.
Perhaps we could reach a happy ending much faster than in the original story.
‘Protagonist… I’m working hard for this…’
Even though it wasn’t something I planned at all.
Anyway, I hope time passes quickly so that Robin can take down the Demon King.
Then I could live without a worry.
Without having to think about all these troubles…
“Hera, are you sleepy?”
Seeing me lost in thought, Athena called out to me.
That was when I finally snapped out of my reverie.
“Um… I’m a bit drowsy.”
Perhaps because I had moved around a lot looking for Mari today. My body bore signs of fatigue.
“Go to bed first. We’ll be heading back to the mansion tomorrow, so keep that in mind.”
“…Okay.”
I felt a bit down.
During my time with Athena in Karman, I had felt a far greater sense of freedom than when I was in the mansion.
It was probably because there was nobody here who disliked me.
Just thinking about receiving the pitiful gazes from the maids back in the mansion made it feel like I was choking slightly.
‘It’s okay… Athena is here..’
Plus, now I also had the adorable Mari who held deep affection for me.
I wouldn’t feel lonely here as much.
And they say people adapt, don’t they?
Even though it’s hard and painful right now…
I thought that someday I would be able to laugh and live even in the mansion.
“Kyuu…?”
Sensing my mood, Mari nestled into my arms, rubbing against me.
“Are you comforting me?”
“Kyuu.”
Her gentle comfort made my eyes misty.
Yeah, if this little hatchling could comfort me, I shouldn’t be feeling so gloomy.
I wrapped my arms around Mari’s body and lifted her up in an embrace.
“Kyuu?!”
“Hehe, how about we take a bath together, Mari?”
“Kyuu?”
“Huh?”
Both Mari and Athena let out sounds simultaneously.
“Bathing with that thing?”
Athena frowned as if displeased by the idea.
“I was actually planning to wash her. She seems a bit dirty.”
It wasn’t obvious, but I could see some foreign substances stuck between Mari’s scales.
Having lived in the cave until now, she likely didn’t have a way to clean herself.
I thought I should give her a good wash.
“Kyuu! Kyuu!”
Mari seemed excited about my suggestion and started bouncing around cheerfully.
“Not happening.”
“Eh…? Why?”
“I won’t allow you two to go into the bathroom together.”
“Uh…? Why not?”
“….If I say no, then it’s a no.”
I couldn’t quite grasp the reason, but Athena was firmly against it.
“….Grrow.”
Mari growled softly at Athena’s words.
“…Oh really?”
As Athena furrowed her brows, a strange tension stirred between them.
Why was it not allowed?
I couldn’t understand why there was a need to separate Mari and me.
‘Is she possibly jealous…?’
Maybe she doesn’t want Mari and me to grow closer.
Just like Lily used to feel.
Occasionally, when it was just me and Dania going for a bath, Lily would always throw a fit to join us.
“…..I’ll stop you from being alone with my sister….”
She probably felt like she was being left out when we became close without her.
Athena might have felt similarly. Of course, Mari isn’t a human, and she’s a dragon…
‘But um… wouldn’t it be okay?’
It may be a bit cramped, but it shouldn’t be a problem.
The space here is quite spacious anyway.
I gently took Athena’s hand, which was casting a strange look at Mari.
With a sigh, Athena shook her head.
“This is really not okay, Hera.”
“Really? No… what I mean is.”
If she was jealous of our closeness, couldn’t we just grow closer together as a trio?
I carefully suggested that to her, who looked puzzled.
“Do you… want to join us for a wash?”
“What……..?”
Athena’s eyes began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
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