episode_0116

“Th-this… this is an egg…?!”

We were greatly astonished that the object the Black Dragon pointed at was an egg as large as our bodies. Such a large egg… This must be a dragon’s egg… and the fact that it’s here means…!!!

“You… you were a woman?!” “I am a male, human Dio V Runner!!! And surely those looks… did the other two also think I was a woman!!!” Realizing that the dragon’s egg in front of us belonged to the Black Dragon, we all assumed the Black Dragon was female. The Black Dragon then got angry and shouted that he was a male. Hearing that, my legs gave out, and I collapsed on the spot, speaking to the Black Dragon.

“Sigh… Dio V Runner might not know, but we’re talking to a dragon for the first time… Even if you have a rough male voice, we just made a guess in case…” “…Alright, fine. I’ll understand. Well… if you’re really curious, I do have a way. I’m showing this to you specially, so watch closely.”

“Uh? Wh-what…?!” When the Black Dragon suddenly said he was showing it to us specially, I tilted my head. At that moment, the Black Dragon suddenly began emitting white light from his entire body, and I was greatly flustered. Soon, along with the light, his body began to shrink, and… the Black Dragon had transformed into a human!

“What in the world is this…” “Ah, I told you dragons can transform into other creatures, didn’t I? This is exactly that.” “Hmm? So humans already knew this much. Aria is right. All dragons can transform into other creatures, Zeke. Originally, I dislike transforming in front of humans… but you are an exception.”

The Black Dragon transformed into a male with black short hair and a black suit, and was surprised that humans already knew dragons could transform. Wow… dragons really are amazing creatures… An innate ability…?

“Wait, but where did you get those clothes?” “This? It’s scales. That’s why it doesn’t tear. Hmm… So, to continue the story…”

“Ah, you’re here, darling?” “Hmm?” The moment the Black Dragon was about to continue talking with us, a voice suddenly came from above. We all looked up, and saw a white dragon slowly landing on the rock we were on. Oh… but that voice earlier… it was a bit feminine… Could it be…?

“Uh… is this person…?” “My wife. And these eggs are my children.” “…Y-you’re married?!”

When the white dragon landed next to him, the Black Dragon referred to her as his wife and the eggs as his children, astonishing us all that the Black Dragon was married. The white dragon chuckled and then looked at us, speaking.

“Hohoho… Seeing that this stubborn husband of mine brought you, it seems he’s taken a liking to you. Hello, everyone. My name is Bivi. And this is my husband, Protega. Welcome to our villa, my husband’s and mine.” ‘Such… such a kind soul…’

We were all astonished to see that the white dragon, Bivi, was kind and had an excellent character, unlike her husband Protega. The dragons we had met so far had treated us as mere insects upon first meeting… but this Bivi-nim, far from looking down on us, smiled and welcomed us, which left us utterly surprised.

“My wife, unlike other dragons, does not shun humans. Rather, she tried to understand them. Of course, at first, I didn’t understand my wife trusting humans, but…” “Hehehe~ Now you can understand too, right? You even transformed into the human form you disliked so much~” “…Ahem… But this is also thanks to that human, Zeke, whose legs gave out, wife. Unlike other humans, he was the one who first spoke to us instead of using his fists.”

“Oh my, oh my… To think he’s such a fine person… My husband has welcomed an excellent guest. Well… it would be rude to keep talking to you while looking down like this…” As Protega continued to praise me, saying all this was thanks to me, Bivi was surprised. Saying it was rude to look down like this, she began emitting light from her body just like Protega. Then, Bivi, transformed into a woman with white hair and a blue dress, bowed her head and greeted us.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Bivi, a White Dragon who recently married my husband. It has been my dream to converse happily with humans like this.” “Uh… you didn’t have to transform into a human form… Isn’t transforming uncomfortable?” “Yes. For a dragon to transform, they must expend their power… meaning their stamina. But since we are welcoming guests like this, we’ll endure it. It doesn’t take much power, so you don’t need to worry, Zeke-nim.”

As Bivi smiled and gently said not to worry, we were once again shocked by Bivi’s kind demeanor, so different from other dragons. Well… I do believe that not all creatures of a single race have the same personality… But… did others feel this way when they saw me before? The moment I felt a strange sense of wonder and admiration, I saw Aria’s expression twisting beside me.

“…? Aria? What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you wary because she’s a woman? But she’s married…” “That’s not it… It’s just that the fact that Protega, that dragon, attacked us earlier keeps replaying in my head. Even though Bivi-nim said Protega welcomed us as guests earlier… I just don’t like that he welcomed us as guests *after* something happened.”

“…Oh my… Is what this lovely person says true… darling…?” “…Ahem…” When Aria mentioned that Protega had attacked us earlier, Bivi slowly began to turn her head towards Protega. Then, as a shadow began to fall across Bivi’s smiling face, Protega saw that chilling smile, turned his head, and avoided her gaze. Seeing that, we realized. Bivi is stronger…

“Darling…? Didn’t I tell you…? That even though I recently laid eggs, there was no need to be *that* sensitive…?” “But wife… I had no choice for my beloved family and kin…” “So, thanks to that, you almost crushed important guests…? Are you calling that an excuse…?” “……”

The moment Protega tried to argue that he couldn’t help but be sensitive to protect his family, Bivi slowly raised her fist. Protega, seemingly frightened again, avoided Bivi’s gaze… How on earth did these two start dating, and how did they get married…? The moment I, seeing their dynamic, wondered how they started dating, Dio V Runner crossed his arms and said with interest.

“Hmm… So there’s such a person here too… no, such a dragon. Where I lived, the kindest people were always the scariest.” “Oh dear~ How embarrassing… Hohoho… But actually, I wasn’t gentle from the start, you know?” “Huh…?”

When Dio V Runner said that, just like where he lived, the kindest people here were the scariest, Bivi chuckled and said she wasn’t gentle from the start, and I spoke in bewilderment. At that moment, Protega’s face hardened, and he turned his head away from Bivi, leaving me even more stunned. What kind of story was there, exactly…?

“In the past, Bivi was an incredible woman… one no other dragon could stop. With sharp eyes and a rough personality… she was, literally, a belligerent woman. Instead of gentle words, she often used harsh ones.” “That’s right~ Then, I fell in love at first sight with my husband, whom I met by chance~ He’s good at studying~ He has enough leadership capacity~ And he’s even handsome~ So, to absolutely make this man mine, I secretly kidnapped him and challenged him to a fight out of nowhere~ Even giving him a choice: fight more or date me~” “……”

Dio V Runner and I, hearing Protega and Bivi’s love story, instinctively stiffened our faces and turned our heads to look at Aria. Aria, seeing our reactions, pointed at herself with her finger and began to get agitated.

“No!! I’m not violent like that!! I never did that to Zeke-nim…” “You haven’t done that to me, but there are some similar aspects.” “You’re not as belligerent as that dragon, Bivi, but it’s an undeniable fact that you use harsh words towards others, isn’t it, Aria?” “What!?”

Aria tried to retort that she hadn’t threatened me like Bivi, but I countered by recalling how Aria had used violence towards others, not just me. And Dio V Runner also countered, recalling that Aria had indeed used harsh words towards others, causing Aria to become flustered. Protega then looked at me and sighed, saying.

“You must have had a tough time in a different way too, Zeke.” “…Protega-ssi, you must have had a very hard time too… But how did Bivi-nim change her personality?”

“Hmm… If I continued to have such a belligerent personality, I felt like… there would be no answer for myself, you see. So I started reading books on etiquette and culture. It was hard at first, but looking back now, I think I made a good decision~ Well… thanks to that, my past self feels quite embarrassing… And actually, even while talking about it, I felt a little ashamed, so I hid it with laughter…” Bivi said that she had learned etiquette and culture since then to become as gentle as she was now, and then revealed that she was actually a little embarrassed telling her past story. I let out a dry laugh and understood Bivi. Well… everyone has an embarrassing past.

“Well… when Bivi suddenly decided she couldn’t go on like this and started reading books, I was greatly flustered too. But she kept trying and succeeded in changing her personality. However, her fists are still powerful.” “Hohoho… My strength, having been trained previously, didn’t change to match my gentle personality, it seems. By the way, I’m so sorry… I’m truly sorry for making you stand and talk like this… We don’t have furniture like chairs…”

Bivi, who had been talking about her personality, apologized for not having chairs and making us stand while talking. Dio V Runner then searched for something in his backpack and spoke to Bivi.

“You don’t need to worry about it. But to worry even about something you might not have, your character truly is good.” “Ahaha… Thank you for the compliment. But I can’t keep you all standing like this…” “Don’t worry. Well… it’s not a spacious chair… but for now, how about being content with just this?”

When Dio V Runner took out about five of the folding chairs we had sat on from his backpack and unfolded them, Bivi and Protega were greatly surprised. Indeed… since these were pieces of furniture we hadn’t seen before, it was just as surprising for them… because they were items from another world…

“Oh ho… So this is technology from a distant place, it seems. We don’t mind. Especially Bivi, she’ll be more concerned about you standing than we are…” “Yes. But this time… I should have at least prepared some snacks… Ugh… I apologize…”

Bivi, momentarily relieved that Dio V Runner had taken out the chairs, now started feeling bitter about not having prepared snacks to eat while talking… Wow… hearing her speak like that, her past self becomes even more unpredictable…

“It’s… it’s alright, Bivi-nim. We’ll be leaving soon anyway, so you don’t need to worry. There’s somewhere we want to visit quickly.” “What? You’re leaving soon? Hmm… It’s a little disappointing, but I suppose it can’t be helped… Instead, please promise to visit us here again later. I’ll have many things prepared then.” “Yes. Aria will be by my side then too… so I suppose there won’t be any more attacks… Hahaha…” “If you attack Zeke-nim again, what happens next… I’ll leave to your imagination, Protega-nim…?” “…I will keep that in mind.”

When Aria, with a chilling smile, warned Protega that if the dragons attacked us again when we revisited this place, she would leave the consequences to his imagination, Protega avoided Aria’s gaze and replied. After that chilling warning, we sat on the chairs Dio V Runner unfolded and began to talk. When we mentioned that we had defeated the World Tree, Protega said in surprise.

“What?! You were the ones who defeated that monster? A giant suddenly appeared and the ground started shaking, so we were preparing to defeat that giant too…” “That’s right…! The moment we finished preparing for the subjugation, that giant suddenly fell with a flash of light… So that was you! My goodness… you’re incredible people!”

As Protega and Bivi expressed admiration that all three of us had combined our strengths to defeat the World Tree, I scratched my head in embarrassment. By the way… I never imagined… that dragons would also discover the World Tree and try to come to the Kryton region… But if dragons had also come to the Kryton region… thinking that it could have become chaos itself, I secretly thought it was fortunate that the dragons were late. Then, Bivi looked at the section in an exploration book that contained information about elves and said.

“By the way, elves also suffered at the hands of humans, it seems. We were the same.” “Hmph… There were many humans who underestimated us enough to hunt us… That’s why we kept being stubborn, so as not to be looked down upon.” “Ah…”

As Protega sighed and explained why they had looked down on humans as mere insects and why they had been stubborn, I finally understood. The cause of all this… was humans again, wasn’t it… The moment I lamented that dragons, like elves, had also suffered at the hands of humans, Aria nodded and said.

“Hmm~ So it was the same for elves and for you. But out of all those people, to aim for Zeke-nim… you really have rotten luck, don’t you?” “Hmph… Perhaps we were lucky, rather. If we hadn’t been beaten by you and Dio V Runner, we might still have remained blockheads. Hearing your story, I secretly felt that we also needed to change. Thank you, Zeke. And you too, Aria.”

“Hmm? Thankful after being beaten? Isn’t that a little strange?” “No. It is right to be scolded if one has done wrong. It just so happens that you enlightened me, Aria.”

When Protega suddenly thanked her, Aria, puzzled, mentioned having been beaten by him. Protega then said it was right to be scolded for wrongdoings, indirectly saying Aria had enlightened him. Dio V Runner and I nodded, agreeing with his words. However, Aria still seemed unable to understand Protega and said with a serious expression.

“I can’t understand it… But well… since Zeke-nim seems to agree with that statement, I suppose I’ll have to accept it…” “A moment like that will probably come for you too. So far, I’ve appeased you or scolded you with words, but someday, if you go down the wrong path, I might have to use my fists.”

“…On a day like that… if a day like that comes… will I be able to stand up again?” Aria worried if she would be able to stand up again if she were to commit a grave mistake significant enough for me to have to hit her. I chuckled and stroked Aria’s head, saying.

“Don’t worry. You just need to try your best to make sure something like that doesn’t happen.” “…Hehehe. Then I just need to stick close to Zeke-nim.”

Aria, hearing my words, relaxed her expression and giggled, saying she just needed to stick close to me. Bivi chuckled, seeing our harmonious appearance. Then, Protega pondered something deeply and asked me.

“Zeke, by the way… didn’t you mention earlier that you were going to some underground facility?” “Ah, yes! Do you happen to know anything about it…?” “…This is out of concern for you… It would be better not to go.” “Huh…?”

Does Protega-ssi know something about that facility…?