episode_0002

The name Arjen is famous in the area where she lives.

That’s because even if you look at the entire continent in the first place, you can count with your fingers all the dragons whose locations are completely known.

They were of a different order as living creatures, they did not hide their greed, had no control over their desires, and because they lived for a long time, they were a people who did not hesitate to do anything to relieve their boredom.

Therefore, the area near the dragon’s nest is largely divided into two areas. The surrounding area can either become a land of death where no living being can set foot, or it can survive somehow by making offerings at regular intervals without disobeying the dragon’s wishes.

Unless it is a very important area, most of it goes to the former, but as it happens, the place where Arzen nested was the so-called yolk land, which was a transportation hub and the land was fertile and the mountains were not rough, so crop production was also overwhelming.

What’s even more impressive is that the dragon named Arzen is quite difficult to please.

Every time it appears, its appearance changes because it is a dragon, but even so, its personality changes as if it is a different person or it goes back on what it says, so there are many problems.

Therefore, it would have been easy to die unjustly if he had offended him, so the civilizations that had built their homes near Arjen’s nest regularly made offerings to Arjen.

“Ugh… I don’t know if this is okay.”

The tribute that Arjen demanded from humans was to offer 10 humans every quarter. Naturally, these tributes mainly consisted of prisoners sentenced to death or prisoners of war.

“What should I do now that I feel guilty? This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

However, since war did not break out every year and the number of death row prisoners was not overflowing, it was sometimes necessary to sacrifice orphans or slaves without any relatives.

In this case, since they had not committed any particular crime, those who had already pushed the same person to a place where they were likely to die were bound to feel even more guilty.

“It’s not the first time… but it’s still the first time I’ve offered up an innocent stranger.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. When I listened to him, Colom, who said he had traveled all over the continent, even said he didn’t know where he was from, so he must have come from a fairly remote place. There will be no setbacks, right?”

“But who is worried that there will be regrets? It means I don’t feel like it.”

“Still, I fed you as much food as I could on my last trip, so I’ll take that as some consolation.”

It was a private conversation between two soldiers guarding a carriage with spears in hand, but all the residents of the nearby village had thoughts not much different from those of the two.

The most important thing for them is the feeling that they somehow made it through this year safely.

***

“…So they lived happily for a long time.”

“Hehe, it went really well. Wow!”

When I told the story of Cinderella, which had been buried in my childhood memories, the response was quite positive. No, it wasn’t just okay, it was a very good reaction to see her even shed tears.

‘It was really just fun….’

As a toy for a dragon that completely ate a person in an instant, I thought of all kinds of torture under the guise of play, but for a moment, I ended up playing in a surprisingly healthy way.

“Ugh… This is a good story, but what part touched you so much that you were sobbing?”

When the tears showed no sign of drying up, I asked a question vaguely, and the answer I got was unexpected.

“Ugh, that’s not it… It really touched me that he was abused by his mother… ‘Some kid I know’ also had that experience.”

Right. There seemed to be a consensus that had already been formed outside of the work.

“Hmm… I’m sleepy…”

She must have been tired from listening to the story without moving for a long time, so she yawned loudly and rolled her eyes.

“Umm, yes. What is your name?”

“Huh? me? Eugene… call me Eugene.”

“Hey… That’s an old-fashioned name, I’m Arjen.”

As soon as I hesitated for a moment at the very mistimed shout, Arjen took my arm and headed somewhere.

Although his hands were white and thin, he had no intention of shaking them off, perhaps because the past tragedy had not yet passed from his mind.

“Eugene…Eugene! Let’s go to bed quickly before it’s too late.”

I couldn’t tell the exact time because I was inside a cave, but I was also slowly getting tired, so it seemed like it was deep into the night.

Yes, you should sleep well and on time. But even though he was just going to sleep, he didn’t show any signs of letting go of my hand.

I silently watched where Arjen was taking me, wondering if it was possible. Sure enough, the place we arrived was a room with a large bed.

“Then, sleep well.”

Arjen threw me on the bed, probably because he thought I was a doll, and fell asleep in my arms.

“Cooooul….”

I had no idea why this dragon was doing this, so I could only stare blankly into space.

***

Arjen had a dream. In her dream, she was full of expectations. For her, dreams were also a place where she could meet friends.

The only light in the dark space was the light shining above Arjen’s head. In that situation, Arjen shouted loudly into the air.

“Guys! I picked up an amazing toy today!”

As if in response to her words, another light was added. The woman under the light had the same face as Arjen, but she was a beauty with a completely different impression, with red hair and emerald eyes.

Unlike Arjen, who is decidedly short, she is slender and boasts large midriff, and she made an impression as soon as she was illuminated by the light.

“Truly, what happened that made you suddenly treat humans like toys? It seems like more than 80 years have passed since everyone, regardless of gender or age, chewed it thoroughly.”

“Uh-huh! If you keep saying that, what will Eugene think of me?”

“What do you think? You’d think I was a crazy bitch who was acting pretentious by even performing a performance of chewing raw human female meat.”

“Uh… Huh? Wasn’t that supposed to happen?”

In response to Arzen’s reaction, the red-haired woman, Rube, tapped her forehead with her palm.

“Oh my… Have you ever seen such a crazy bitch… I can’t do it. You switch with me.”

“En? why? I still have a lot of games I want to play with Eugene…”

“If you’re just playing around and don’t want to see your toy broken, listen to me.”

“Heeing… It’s a blast!”

Arjen puffed out his cheeks and acted childish, as if he was very grumpy. At the same time, the light illuminating Arjen turned off, leaving Rube alone in the dark.

“…Let’s see how good of a human being he is. Looking at Arzen’s tail, it looks like he really likes her.”

Rube had a look of faint but definite anticipation on his face. Although they always bicker, since they are fundamentally the same, there is a high probability that Rube will like the new toy.

***

“Umm….”

When I opened my eyes, a completely unfamiliar ceiling greeted me. As my foggy mind gradually became clearer as I woke up, it didn’t take long until I realized once again that I had come to another world.

“That’s right… kidnapped while eating and sacrificed… a young child… wow!”

I couldn’t come to my senses due to the nausea that came later. Somehow, even though I went through something traumatic, it wasn’t surprising, and I still felt like I was so fine.

It wasn’t that I was fine, it was just that my brain was so busy focusing on other things that I just ignored it. Until yesterday, I was full of fear that I too might become a piece of meat at any moment.

After spending one night here, those fears were diluted, and the shock came later. After nagging for a while, I realized whose bed I was in and belatedly shut my mouth.

‘Arjen……’

An uncontrollable dragon that slaughtered and ate a girl who came in with her for the first time in the blink of an eye, and then behaved like an ordinary girl towards herself.

I slowly shifted my gaze at the fact that there was someone lying next to me whose intentions I had no idea about.

“Uh…?”

For a moment, I was as shocked as if cold water had been poured on my face. This is because the hair visible above the blanket was not the shiny silver hair I saw yesterday, but a burning red.

“Who… who…?”

For a moment, I thought it was someone’s face and checked the sleeping face, but it turned out to be Arjen. Did you dye your hair overnight while you were sleeping?

It was after she opened her eyes that she retracted those foolish thoughts. The moment her emerald eyes met mine, there was a clear look in her eyes that seemed more embarrassed than I had felt at first.

“Uh… Uh…?”

The hair and eye color were all different from yesterday, but the face and voice were the same. Here’s the problem. Can I call her Arjen? What if it’s someone else?

Judging by his reaction when he woke up, he might have been a completely different person, but from what I felt yesterday, it was difficult to make an easy judgment because Arjen himself had such a fluctuating personality.

“This… Arjen deserves it…”

It was her self-deprecating laugh that helped me make my decision.