Chapter 8 : The First Girl (8)

Consciousness slowly floated to the surface of sleep.

Rather than full sleep, it was the sensation of waking from a deep rest.

The air around me, the faint sound of water droplets running down the cave wall, and… the small, warm presence at my side.

‘…Huh?’

I slowly opened my eyes.

The first thing that came into view was a strange sight.

A human girl, fast asleep, curled up close against my huge side.

Sound.

The child was breathing softly and evenly, deeply asleep.

Was it because she cried so much yesterday, and got tired from the strange exercises?
Or… was being next to me unexpectedly comforting for her?

To be honest, I was flustered.

For someone like me, who had always slept alone in this cave for a very long time,
having another living creature sleeping so close was a first.

Especially a small human child who once feared me as a monster.

It wasn’t unpleasant.

Rather… it was a strange feeling.

The warmth from her tiny body and her steady breathing oddly caught my attention.

I stayed perfectly still, afraid that even a small movement would wake her and throw her back into fear.

I simply looked down at her sleeping face.

How much time had passed?

The girl began to stir.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and slowly her eyelids lifted.

Her still-sleepy, blurry eyes wandered through the air for a moment, then met the massive scales of mine right in front of her.

“Eek…!”

The girl let out a short gasp and sprang up in surprise.

Realizing where she had fallen asleep, her face flushed bright red and she scrambled backward in a panic.

It was as if she had touched lava.

I watched her in silence.

An awkward silence followed.

I deliberately acted as if nothing happened and slowly got up.

Crack, the sound of bones shifting as my massive body rose from the cave floor.

“Exercise… start.”

My low voice echoed through the cave.

Perhaps remembering yesterday’s grueling ordeal, a flash of despair crossed her face, but she stood up without complaint.

Nod.

Unlike the first day when she froze in terror,
now there was a sense of resignation and even a hint of familiarity.

Despite her resignation, I proceeded with full-fledged training.

‘Still… not enough sleep.’

Sleepiness, enough to make my past life self scream, kept coming over me.

Waking up every day like this was nearly a first, and it felt like my head would split open like a migraine.

I wanted to quickly make this girl strong enough that no one could mess with her,
and send her back outside.

The girl got into the stance I had taught her.

Push-ups.

Yesterday she couldn’t even do three properly before collapsing.

Today, five? Maybe six? She bent and straightened her arms.

She was still groaning and trembling all over,
but she was clearly better than yesterday.

‘…Huh?’

I was a little surprised.

Can someone really change this much in just one day?

The kids I remembered from when I was human weren’t like this.

Exercising for just a day or two didn’t make you visibly stronger.

Next was squats.

Same story.

Yesterday she could barely do a few and kept falling down.

Today, she managed quite a few with a much more stable posture.

Of course, she still looked exhausted,
had to pause to catch her breath, but she didn’t give up and pushed herself to complete the set.

Final exercise: running.

I pointed to the spacious area of the cave with my finger… no, my claw, and told her to run.

She started to run, stumbling.

She ran a bit longer, a bit farther than yesterday.

Of course, it was nowhere near 10 kilometers, but the fact that such a small child could keep running in this dark and uneven cave floor was impressive in itself.

‘Wait, what was her name again?’

During a short break to catch her breath, I walked up to her and asked.

I couldn’t keep calling her “girl” or “child” forever.

“You… name… what?”

Startled by the sudden question, she looked up at me.

She hesitated for a moment, then answered in a very small voice.

“…Sori… yo.”

The “yo” at the end probably meant politeness.

A sign she still saw me as something to fear.

“Sori.”

I said the child’s name aloud.

Still low and rough in tone, but I tried to pronounce it more gently than before.

She looked a bit surprised by my voice, but didn’t respond.

‘Sori, huh…’

Not a bad name.

It was just a small change — learning her name —but it made her feel a little different than before.

After a suitable break, the training resumed.

Push-ups, squats, running.

Simple and brute repetition.

But Sori adapted at a surprising pace.

A few days later, though she still groaned and had to take breaks, she was able to nearly complete 100 push-ups and squats.

Her running distance had also increased noticeably.

‘This kid… isn’t ordinary, is she?’

Watching her train, I couldn’t shake that thought.

It was clearly different from the growth speed of human children I knew.

I marveled as I grilled the remaining venison—if a little girl is this capable, the humans out there must be terrifyingly strong.

Based on my experience of reading many novels, each world has different power limits, so I shouldn’t judge based on the standards of my previous life.

“This is delicious.”

When I see her smiling so purely while eating venison, she just seems like an ordinary child again.

Ah..!!

Come to think of it, she said she had a “curse” on her. Maybe she was just special from the beginning?

I could only vaguely guess that this “curse” might actually be some kind of extraordinary power or strength.

In a group, those with special powers are often ostracized.

“Is that why she was abandoned? Because she was different from the other kids?”

Thinking that made me feel even more pity for the child.

To be abandoned and driven to death just for being different.

With a sense of compassion, I continued living together with Sori.

Aside from training time, our cohabitation was relatively peaceful.

Every day I went out hunting for food, and now I was fairly skilled(?) at controlling my flame breath to cook the meat.

Of course, the outside still burned and the inside was often undercooked, but it was certainly better than before.

“The snake is huge!”

Unable to find proper animals nearby, I caught a large-looking snake, and Sori ate the grilled snake meat without complaint—actually, she seemed to enjoy it.

‘Hehe.. grow up nice and strong.’

As time passed, Sori no longer flinched or froze when I moved or spoke.

She had clearly become more familiar with me than before.

Sometimes she would flinch when I brought my giant nose or forepaw close to correct her posture during training, but she no longer screamed or ran away.

One day, Sori tripped over a rock while running.

As she was about to hit the ground hard, I instinctively swung my large tail to gently cushion the spot where she was about to fall.

Thanks to falling onto the soft dirt, she wasn’t hurt, and she looked at me with surprised eyes for a moment.

“Dragon… thank you.”

I looked away as if nothing happened, but my heart tickled strangely again.

One day, after finishing training, Sori collapsed flat on the ground again.

I stared at her blankly.

Now she could do 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and run 10 kilometers, twice a day.

The strength hidden in that small body was astonishing.

And at the same time, I felt a heavier sense of responsibility.

“Will this training really be effective?”

Feeling the weight on my shoulders, I started preparing root vegetables.

Strangely, they talked right after I pulled them out of the ground, so I roasted them with fire before bringing them back.

Since nutrition is important for a child’s growth, she had to eat vegetables too.

Then, as a side dish, I started preparing the remaining meat.

It was time to make dinner.

Even though my cooking skills were terrible, I knew Sori would enjoy the food, so I clumsily but sincerely prepared to breathe fire.

Today again, I looked at the deer antlers I had left in a corner of the cave.

Now that I think about it, that creature—it didn’t seem like an ordinary deer.

These antlers—I’m drying them to make a broth for Sori later, and they glow every time I breathe fire.

“Could it be… radiation?!”

No way, right? They’re not even made of stone.

I should try it first and only feed it to Sori after I’m sure it’s safe.

After finishing my thoughts about the antlers, I tore off a piece of deer meat with my claws—something I had gotten used to.

At first, it was a mess with flesh and tendons tangled together, but after a few tries, I got the hang of it.

I also got slightly better at picking out the most edible parts.

Next was fire control.

After many trials and errors, I finally made some progress.

“This is even… Maillard!”

Instead of blindly spewing powerful flames like before and burning the outside, I now tried to keep a low, steady fire and rotate the meat to cook it evenly.

Of course, it still wasn’t anywhere near a professional chef’s level, but at least it wasn’t just a pile of charred ashes anymore.

With a sizzle, the smell of roasting meat filled the cave.

The smell that once seemed foul was now oddly familiar.

Or maybe I was starting to like it because it made me think of the anticipation in Sori’s eyes.

I placed the meat I judged to be properly cooked on a flat stone.

This stone was basically Sori’s personal plate by now.

I set the stone plate down near where Sori was resting.

Usually, after training, she collapsed from exhaustion, but once she smelled meat cooking, she would recover and wait for me.

Today was no different.

She was already sitting up, staring at the meat I had placed down.

She seemed even more excited about the food.

It even looked like she gave a small nod when I approached with the meat.

I wasn’t sure if it was a thank-you or just a reflex.

With her small hands, she picked up the still-warm meat.