Rehilis.
The red dragon with the extraordinarily noble blood.
A dragon that inherited the blood of one of the rulers of this world possesses overwhelming magical talent merely by lineage.
Is that all?
Overwhelmingly tough scales.
Breath created by compressing the energy of nature.
Moreover, she has a remarkable memory that never forgets once it has been recalled, no matter what happens.
Dragons were almost omnipotent beings.
As such, Rehilis took pride in herself.
After all, she was that great dragon, right?
Most other races were so weak that they couldn’t even be compared to her.
Even now, this holds true.
“Kyah, that’s… lick!”
Kyu.
A tiny rabbit licked Rehilis with its small tongue. Embracing the plump rabbit with pure white fur, Rehilis smiled as she pushed away the rabbit that was licking her face.
“You little rascal!”
Kyuuwu——!
Plump.
A rabbit with white fur and pink eyes.
For some reason, this rabbit had been particularly attached to her since she was a dragon. It was said that other animals instinctively stayed away due to the innate aura that dragons possessed.
Yet, for some reason, Rehilis was the exception.
Rather than fearing and being scared of her, it showed more affection and approached her.
“Well, humans aren’t so bad, either.”
At first, she had sought a way to turn back into a dragon. She tried various magic spells and even dabbled a bit in alchemy while thinking of her original body.
In the end, she concluded that using polymorph would work.
However, the problem was that this polymorph was a magic that had fallen out of use among dragons.
Polymorph is a highly advanced magic that temporarily transforms the very race itself.
After using that magic to become human, many dragons ended up having children with humans and other races.
For dragons who preferred pure bloodlines, the mixture of human and other race’s blood would have been utterly intolerable.
As a result, among dragons, polymorph was deemed forbidden magic.
“Well, it’s not something I should worry about.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t use polymorph out of fear of that rule.
After all, the dragon who established that rule had long been buried into the ground by now.
The reason she hadn’t turned back into a dragon was simple.
“Soft….”
If she became a dragon, she wouldn’t be able to hold the animals that came to her in her arms tightly.
“After all, it’s because of the size….”
A dragon’s body is enormous.
With a size that easily reaches dozens of meters, the power contained within that body far surpasses other races.
Because of that, she had to be careful when she was a dragon.
Even a slight movement from her could pose a great danger to the animals.
Holding them tightly in such a manner was unimaginable.
Moreover, no matter how sensitive a dragon’s senses may be, they couldn’t begin to compare to the soft skin of a human.
“I’m not familiar with fighting yet, but… there’s hardly any chance of it happening.”
After all, this place was a deep forest.
A lush forest where most civilizations didn’t even approach.
Because of that, she could count on one hand the number of times she had fought in her life. Lately, it was odd that she had found herself in several fights; usually, her life was peaceful.
Anyway, for such reasons,
Rehilis didn’t particularly miss her dragon form.
Since there was hardly any chance of a fight happening.
And just as she was in peace,
A stranger appeared.
A mysterious woman.
Long golden hair that reached her thighs flowed gracefully with every movement, and her transparent and clear light green eyes sparkled.
On top of that, she wore a blue dress.
However,
Rehilis could tell.
How sharp the thorns hidden beneath that beautiful exterior were.
Or rather, were they thorns?
No, it was too ferocious to be called merely thorns.
Even in this moment,
The sharp eyes of the dragon were warning her endlessly.
The cold sweat dripped without her even realizing it.
Blood flowed from the tightly clenched fist.
‘Can I protect them…?’
Rehilis glanced back.
Several animals were watching her with shining eyes beside her.
‘Why aren’t they moving…!’
Don’t just stare!
These animals, who had always sensed danger faster than anyone else, and fled whenever a perilous presence approached, were merely gazing at her with their wide eyes.
No matter how much she signaled with her eyes, nothing changed.
Thus, she tried to buy some time by inducing a conversation.
She could feel the woman’s gaze directed toward the scale she was holding.
‘What’s this?’
Could she be a person related to Jörmungandr?
Now that she thought about it, that made sense.
How did she know the exact spot where Rehilis was?
This was a secluded forest, and it wasn’t like there was any hidden treasure here.
To say she happened to find it while strolling, there was no race that lived within at least several dozen kilometers of this place.
Then, there must be a reason she sought this place…
“Who are you?”
“I?”
The lack of information was overwhelming.
She had to gain some information by all means.
It was a light-hearted question thrown out with that in mind.
Yet the response she received was shocking.
“Jörmungandr’s girlfriend.”
“…What?”
She forgot to establish her concept.
The answer that returned was so shocking that she couldn’t help it.
Girlfriend?
Is that what it means?
Did it mean that which she understood?
Rehilis’s head spun.
That immense and powerful Jörmungandr having a girlfriend?
Especially with such a small and delicate woman?
Although she knew that the power contained within her was not weak… still, the words she uttered were shocking.
As Rehilis’s mind swirled,
The woman, watching her, smiled faintly.
“Did you not hear? The girl holding that scale is his girlfriend.”
“Uh, uh….”
“So care to explain? How did you come to have that scale…?”
The woman’s light green eyes glistened ominously.
Rehilis’s instinctive sense tingled.
It was chilling.
As she froze momentarily, the woman burst into laughter.
“Pfft, ahahaha…!”
“…?”
“What’s wrong? Why are you so stiff? I was just joking.”
Just like that, the atmosphere from a moment ago turned into a joke.
In an instant, the smiling woman walked toward Rehilis, wiping away the tears she had shed from laughing.
Involuntarily flinching at her approach, the woman apologized as if she were sorry.
“Sorry, you looked too cute. I might have gone a bit too far with the joke.”
“No… it’s fine.”
“I’m Raquielia. What about you?”
“I’m Rehilis.”
“Nice to meet you.”
A light greeting.
Passing by her, Raquielia reached out her hand toward the animals behind Rehilis.
“Come here!”
With a posture that seemed several times practiced, and familiar phrases,
The animals that had been naturally circling around her jumped excitedly toward her.
“Oh, how cute.”
The plump rabbit hopped into Raquielia’s embrace.
It rubbed its fluffy white fur against her body with all its might.
Only after seeing that scene,
Rehilis relaxed.
Animals were the best at sensing what kind of being the other was.
Seeing those creatures happily jumping in as if they were long-time friends, she took it that this woman at least was not an evil person.
“By the way, it’s amazing. I never thought the animals would approach a dragon quite like that.”
“Did you… know I was a dragon?”
“Yeah, you gave off the feel of a polymorphed dragon, right? I’ve seen them in person before.”
Her words brought her many thoughts.
As far as she remembered, dragons used to roam around polymorphed at least several thousand years ago.
But to have seen such a dragon directly?
Then how old is she…?
Such questions bubbled up, but
She resolutely decided to contain them.
It was her instinct.
Somehow, the moment she brought it up, she felt a certainty that she wouldn’t be able to live in this world any longer.
Rehilis’s ruby-red eyes subtly glanced at Raquielia.
‘She’s beautiful….’
There was no room for argument.
She was immensely mysterious and beautiful.
Could she be a human?
That didn’t seem likely.
It was too different from humans, given the mysterious aura she radiated.
‘Then an elf?’
This seemed plausible.
Though she had never seen an elf directly, she had read numerous tales about them in ancient books during her childhood.
They had long ears.
A race that was very familiar with nature.
Additionally, they were said to be incredibly long-lived.
Seeing her now, she could openly assert that she bore a striking resemblance to an elf.
Just as she was gazing at Raquielia,
“Oh, by the way.”
Raquielia’s lips parted.
“Do you know where Jörmungandr is?”
“I don’t know exactly where he is. Jörmungandr is… always wandering around. I at least know where he lives.”
“Is that so?”
Raquielia’s lips curled upward.
Her bright expression was filled with the excitement of meeting a long-lost friend.
“I’m curious about how much our Jörmungandr has grown. Do you want to come?”
“Um, sure.”
It had been a while since she last saw Jörmungandr.
Rehilis nodded enthusiastically.
Yes, that’s it.
It was simply that she hadn’t seen him for a long time.
There weren’t really any other feelings.
“Hmmm….”
And watching her closely,
Raquielia observed Rehilis intently.
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