Without You (5)

“So, you’re still going to deny it?”

The dragon fled, reverting to its original form, once again showcasing its majestic black dragon figure.

It hurts to look up at her.

The runaway stomped back to her lair and curled up in her usual spot.

“Since I’m full, I’m going to sleep.”

She trapped me and then acted arrogantly. No matter how I called, there was no response. Her wings twitched rhythmically as if to show off that she was asleep.

Anyway, it’s the middle of the night. I’ll let it go since she just woke up.

I’ll deal with her when she wakes up.

The important thing is that I won. It’s a relief that she fell into my trap; I almost lost the bet.

I was about to leave.

Of course, it was a pretty well-laid trap. Heh heh.

I said I’d leave if I lost, so I guess I’m just barely safe.

This was one of Lord’s two requests. I couldn’t mess it up right after he gave me a new life.

I can’t leave until I get the information I need.

I closed my eyes.

Since the dragon woke up late, I lazed around too.

I slept well and woke up. The sun was probably high in the sky, brightening the world, but I couldn’t see it from inside the lair, so it didn’t matter.

“Hey, Dragon.”

It was well past the time for the dragon to wake up, but there was no answer.

It’s obvious. She’s trying to ignore me.

I walked up to the dragon’s tail and then retreated again.

I returned to my spot and rummaged through my bag, pulling out some corn soup powder.

To make corn soup from scratch, I’d have to peel the corn, sauté onions and other vegetables, and prepare a roux with flour and butter. But this is an instant product – all I have to do is boil it.

As soon as I inherited the Lord’s mana, I discovered this summoning ritual while researching ways to return to my original world.

With this magic, I can summon one modern item a day. As long as I have this, I won’t starve no matter where I go.

I’m too lazy to make anything elaborate for breakfast, so I had summoned a lot of corn soup powder for times like this. There’s still plenty left.

The reason I’m making this now is because of the smell.

The rich, savory smell of corn soup!

I decided to use that smell as bait and put my plan into action.

I poured water into a hollowed stone in the middle, boiled it with a Fireball, and started making the soup.

As the savory smell of corn soup filled the air, I glanced at the Black Dragon and saw her turning her head slightly.

As expected, she was pretending to sleep. My hunch was right. Well then, shall we start the show?

Slurp!

“Hoo-hoo, it’s savory and delicious.”

Then the dragon took the bait.

“What’s that? Yesterday’s food was definitely better than raw meat. Though it was still beneath me.”

“Oh, really?”

Thump, thump, thump.

She walked over and looked down at me. I took a sip of the soup from my cup, pretending as if I were eating a luxurious feast.

“Ah, it’s warm.”

The corn soup really did warm my body. As I expressed that, I felt an intense stare.

Of course, it wasn’t her usual murderous gaze. Her eyes were focused on the corn soup I was drinking.

“Human, do you think I’d fall for something like that? I’ve lived for hundreds of years just fine without such things. Just because it smells a bit good…”

“You sure talk well, huh? I thought you didn’t speak much since all you ever said was ‘Die’.”

As I pointed that out, the dragon, who had been muttering, clammed up again.

She’s a funny lass.

“If you want to eat this, polymorph. In that form, it won’t even make a dent. And don’t forget the terms of the bet. Since I won, you need to acknowledge your loss and stay in human form for a month.”

The dragon didn’t answer.

No response from the dragon.

She glared at me again. The curiosity about the food vanished, replaced by a murderous glare that pierced through me.

“What’s wrong? You lost, didn’t you? Are you, a dragon, thinking of making excuses?”

“I don’t know.”

The dragon turned her back again, her massive wings in view.

“You should keep your promise. Or next time we make another bet and I lose, I won’t leave either, right?”

“Another bet? You want to do it again?”

“That’s right. Why not?”

The terms of the bet.

My victory condition.

It was that the dragon would stay in human form in front of me for a month.

If she kept treating me like an enemy, I wouldn’t be able to get any information from her.

I made the bet hoping that staying in human form might reduce the distance between us.

A way to get closer.

It seemed like I’d have a better chance to bond with her if she stayed human.

Besides, talking to her in her dragon form made my neck hurt from constantly looking up.

“You want me to leave, right?”

“Of course. You’re a nuisance.”

“So, if you want me to leave, you can’t make excuses now that you’ve lost. That way, I won’t make excuses either when I lose.”

The dragon stared at me again.

The dragon glared at me again, but soon, a bright light flashed around her body.

“Happy now? Being in this pathetic human form is annoying, but if it’s to get rid of you, I guess I have no choice.”

The Black Dragon said this, her black hair fluttering.

I thought the same thing yesterday.

Despite the deadly attitude, her beauty was striking. Especially with how well her black hair suited her.

I momentarily lost myself in thought before slapping my cheek.

What are you thinking about a dragon for? You crazy idiot.

Sniff, sniff.

Regardless of what I was doing, the dragon went over to the stone where the soup was boiling and started sniffing it.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?”

“This is my lair.”

“That’s right.”

“And the bet is over.”

“That’s true too.”

“Anything made in my lair belongs to me. So give it to me.”

She confidently extended her hand, making a ridiculous argument. After all that talk about human food, it seems even she couldn’t resist the savory smell.

Of course, this was exactly what I had hoped for.

Fearing she might change her mind, I quickly ladled some soup into a cup for her, unlike when she was in dragon form.

She accepted the cup with her small hands.

Still not wanting to be near me, she walked backward, sat against the wall, and started sniffing the soup again.

Then she gulped the soup down in one go.

“Gaaahhh!”

She jumped up, panting with her mouth wide open, and turned to look at me with eyes full of resentment.

“You! What is this? It’s hot! My throat is burning! You’re attacking me!”

My opponent is a dragon.

I reminded myself of this again.

Damn it, she’s cute.

How can a dragon act this cute?

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Youuu!”

Seeing my laughter, her face turned red with anger as she breathed fire.

Even in human form, she could use breath attacks. A high-concentration energy blast burst from her mouth.

“Whoops.”

But it was nothing compared to her dragon form’s breath. I easily blocked it and scooped up more soup.

Then I blew on it to cool it down.

“Calm down. I just boiled it, so of course it’s hot. This one’s cooled down, so it’s fine. Eat it slowly. Don’t gulp it all down in one bite like before.”

The dragon, still huffing, came closer and snatched the soup from me. Then she sat far away again.

She looked at the soup warily and this time, carefully sipped it.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked back at the soup.

It was a satisfied expression.

Not wanting to burn her throat again, she slowly, cautiously sipped the soup, but soon it didn’t match her personality, and she gulped it down in one go.

She made a strange “Hwa?” sound and turned to look at me.

“It’s good, right?”

“What does ‘good’ even mean?”

“Well, if you ask such a fundamental question, I don’t really know how to answer.”

“It was hot earlier. But now…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s warm now.”

The dragon calmly said that, then brushed her hair back and stood up.

“Do all humans eat things like this?”

“Yeah, most do. I doubt even dragons eat raw food like you do.”

“…I think my Mother might’ve said something like that too.”

The Black Dragon blinked slowly.

From that day on, the Black Dragon showed great interest in the food I made.

Thanks to that, the murderous tone in her voice constantly telling me to leave quieted down a bit.

It’s still like that now.

When the dragon put the fried food into her mouth, a familiar sound was heard. The dragon nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Is it good?”

“I don’t know.”

Even as she said that, her hands didn’t stop.

“To clarify, the feeling of wanting to keep eating the same food over and over – that’s what ‘tasty’ means.”

“Is that so? So what?”

She said that immediately, then reached for more fried food. Her words and actions didn’t align.

But there was still no reduction in the distance between us. The only difference was that she now showed a lot of curiosity about food.

Well, it’s good that she showed interest in something. This might be the best way to narrow the distance between us.

Besides, this lass…

When you look at her, she has a lot of cute aspects.

Whenever I took out some cooking ingredients, she would come over and grab them. Always while I wasn’t looking.

It seemed that sneaking food was her last bit of pride.

Whenever I brought out some flour to knead dough, she would stealthily approach, grab a handful, and shove it into her mouth from a distance.

Then she would make a furious face, spit it out, scatter the remaining flour on the ground, and storm over to me, glaring in protest.

“Graaah!”

Yeah, she would unleash a soft breath attack in protest. A breath attack mixed with flour.

If I took out salt, she would eat it.

“Gaaah! You fool!”

Then, as expected, she would take her frustration out on me. But of course, I wasn’t just going to take it quietly.

“I think it’s delicious.”

I grabbed a handful of sugar, which looks similar to salt, and ate it in front of her. Ah, sweet. So sweet.

“It’s sweet and delicious.”

“You can eat something like that? You’re really strange!”

“You’re eating it wrong. Look, you pick it up like this, shake it with both hands, say a little prayer, and then eat it. That way, it tastes good, see?”

“I’m not eating it!”

The dragon whipped her head around. Her black hair swayed as she stomped back to the center of her lair, radiating murderous intent.

But while I was away for a moment, she sneaked back over. How do I know? Because I was secretly watching her.

She picked up the salt again, gathered it in both hands like I had instructed, and shook it as if praying, carefully inspecting it afterward.

Then she ate it. Shoved it right into her mouth.

“Gaaahhh!”

And then, of course, a roar of intense anger echoed through the lair.

“Did you really eat it?”

“You fool! I wish I knew how to kill you. I’ll kill you. Absolutely, definitely kill you. And then kill you again!”

I shoved a lollipop into her mouth.

She was fuming, but the lollipop caught her off guard, and she grimaced.

“It’s a gift. Now don’t bother me while I prepare dinner.”

I shrugged, and the dragon went back to her spot, sucking on the lollipop.

Her cheeks puffed out from the lollipop, first one side, then the other.

“Oooh?”

Judging by her expression, she liked it. Fortunately, peace followed for a while.