First Glance (1)

Winter.

The winter season has fully begun.

The stove in the restaurant started working. Compared to the outside, the restaurant is very warm, but the dragon still feels cold and curls up under a blanket.

Compared to the people at the ranch, the restaurant is warm. After all, restaurant work isn’t done outdoors.

“Huh…?”

A cold wind blows in the night sky. As I finish cleaning up the restaurant after business hours, a white snowflake falls onto the back of my hand.

It’s the first snow.

The snow clouds covering the night sky shyly let the snow down. Watching the snow fall little by little brings back memories.

During the war, accumulated snow made everything difficult. On the battlefield, these white, cold clumps were just a nuisance.

But this isn’t a battlefield. I looked at the falling snow with a different heart. I didn’t think it would accumulate. The snow falling sparsely was very weak.

Thinking about it, if the snow accumulates, the restaurant business would have to be paused. The white snow might be a blessing that purifies the heart, but it also means more work.

“Rurin, let’s go upstairs and sleep.”

“You’re finally done?”

Rurin rubbed her eyes and got up. She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself. Her hair hung down as she swung her legs off the table. Then she jumped down.

Then she dashed towards me.

I naturally grabbed the dragon’s arm and led her downstairs. This scene rarely changes.

Since we have a bathhouse, it’s only right to use it in the winter.

Taking a bath every night has become a mandatory routine.

“Krururuker!”

A low-level monster caught from the northern land. Now, Kadish, the bathhouse caretaker, kneels to Rurin with a strange sound. This monster, resembling an ogre, handles the cleaning and water management of the bathhouse.

“Phuaaah!”

After taking a bath, Rurin runs towards the beer can. Beer always comes before drying her soaked hair.

She wants me to dry her hair for her. This cheeky girl.

After drying her hair and going up to the second floor, this dragon naturally slams my door open, rolls onto the bed, and opens a beer can.

“Khaaah! This is the taste! Aren’t you going to drink?”

“I’m not a beer person. On days like this, it’s on the rocks for me.”

Single malt whiskey. In the case of the distilled liquor stocked in the warehouse, drinking it straight is the best way to enjoy it. But sometimes, on the rocks isn’t bad either.

On the rocks might be less sharp than drinking it straight, but I think it brings the flavor out more.

When I want to end the day with a light drink, having half a glass on the rocks is the least burdensome.

“It smells good, but it makes you lose your memory! You drink such scary liquor well!”

Rurin blacks out after drinking whiskey. As a bundle of curiosity, there’s no way she hasn’t tried whiskey.

After drinking and causing a ruckus, she would wake up and wonder why she was there. She’d repeatedly say things like, ‘I don’t remember yesterday! It’s strange!’ After that, she started avoiding whiskey on her own accord.

“I don’t want to lose even a little bit of my memories with you. So I don’t drink that.”

But her proclamation is a bit unfair.

I patted Rurin’s head and opened the window. The snow was still falling softly. If the snowflakes get thicker, it might accumulate. For now, the sparsely falling snow adds to the scenery rather than being a concern.

“Oh, it’s snow!”

Rurin got up too and noticed the snow blowing in through the window.

“Snow or whatever, close the door and come in. I’m going to sleep.”

My hair was dry, and I felt good with half a glass of whiskey. I jumped into bed. Rurin finished her beer, crushed the can, and snuggled next to me.

“Go sleep in your room. And your hair isn’t fully dry yet?”

“I’m not sleepy.”

“Not sleepy, my foot!”

“My foot? What’s that!”

I ended up using language from my hometown again.

“Alright, then let’s have another match today.”

“Hehe, good! I won’t lose today!”

Lately, we’ve been playing various games before bed because this dragon refuses to leave my room.

The score is a slight lead of 18 wins and 15 losses.

If Rurin wins, she can do whatever she wants next to me, and I don’t mind. Eventually, she snuggles up and falls asleep in my arms.

If I win, Rurin is sent back to her room.

Of course, that’s not the end of it for this dragon. Even if I send her away, she sneaks into my room by dawn. I often don’t notice her sneaking in while I’m in a deep sleep, but she’s always there in the morning.

So it seems like there’s no need for a bet, but there’s actually a clear difference.

Lately, I can’t sleep well with this dragon fidgeting next to me. I don’t know why. Actually, I don’t want to know.

For a comfortable sleep, I need to send her away. It doesn’t matter if she sneaks in after I’ve fallen asleep. As long as my sleep isn’t disturbed, it’s fine.

The important thing is falling asleep. Falling asleep comfortably.

Today’s game is Jenga, a game from my hometown. You stack small wooden blocks into a tower and remove them one by one. The one who topples the tower loses.

Playing Gonggi was completely banned after my flawless defeat last time. It’s Rurin’s hidden talent, but it’s not a talent with much use.

“Since you won yesterday, I’ll go first today!”

“Do as you please.”

Rurin lay on the floor with a serious face and started removing a wooden block from the middle. It came out without much resistance.

“Phew!”

Rurin smiled at me. It was a mocking smile, the kind that says, ‘Let’s see what you can do’.

She’s still relaxed. I focused on the bottom part of the Jenga tower. In a crouched position, my weight centered on my knees.

“Hey, you!”

She disappeared from my sight and then appeared behind me, tickling the soles of my feet with her fingers.

“Ticklish! This naughty dragon is cheating? You sure learn bad things quickly. But I still succeeded! Hehe.”

“Is your foot made of iron? If it’s ticklish, you should fail!”

“You’re kidding. Try cheating again, and I won’t let it slide.”

Sqqqquish!

I pinched the cheek of the powerful dragon who cheated. She got dragged along, her expression turning sour.

“It hurts! Let go! It’s my turn, so don’t touch me. I refuse you right now.”

Rurin pushed my hand away and knelt back down, reaching for the wooden tower with slightly trembling fingers.

But there’s a saying that you should return what you receive. No, you should return a little more.

Rurin was in a state of intense focus that she rarely showed. I quietly got up and moved behind her. So far, it was the same as Rurin. But I’m not that soft. If you’re going to cheat, do it properly.

I approached Rurin from behind and grabbed the ends of her hair. At that moment, she realized what I was doing and pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows.

“Revenge!”

I brought the ends of her hair to her nose and tickled it.

Tickle, tickle.

“Hueeeng? Achoo!”

Rurin eventually sneezed from the tickling. Naturally, the wooden block she was holding and the tower collapsed.

“Victory! Haha!”

I stood up, making a victory sign. Rurin got up with a clearly aggrieved look and started complaining.

“You! That’s unfair! Who does that! Tickle my nose?”

“If you’re going to do it, do it right. A sneeze should make the tower collapse, right?”

“That’s cheating! It’s invalid!”

“Who was it that tickled the soles of my feet first?”

“Who was that! If there’s such a person, bring them here. I’ll roast them.”

“Shall I prepare a griddle? Or will you roll yourself?”

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

Rurin huffed and stormed out. It seemed like she felt guilty, so she retreated. Now’s the time to sleep.

A peaceful day passes like that.

When I wake up in the morning, as always, Rurin is curled up next to me, holding my hand tightly. Today’s concept seems to be holding hands, not hugging my waist.

I carefully remove her hand, get up, and stretch. As I’ve said before, Rurin never wakes up in the morning.

After stretching and waking up, I open the window to ventilate and get some fresh air. But what the…

I almost fell over in shock at the view outside.

Sure, it snowed. It definitely snowed. But when did the snowflakes get thick enough to pile up to my thighs?

It seems like heavy snow fell with incredible intensity the deeper the night got. And the snow is still falling.

The snowflakes are different from when I first encountered them yesterday.

“Huh?”

I immediately thought the business was ruined. This is a big problem.

The town below the hill is probably in chaos too. I didn’t think Greek City was a place where it snowed this much.

I quickly went outside. The door wouldn’t open. Are we isolated? I didn’t want to blow off the door, so I opened the window and went outside.

Starting from the hill, the whole world is white. It’s a world of snow. My legs sink deep. This isn’t the kind of snow where dogs and kids can play.

How did it pile up so much?

Clicking my tongue at the sky’s trickery, I used magic to melt all the snow in front of the door. I went inside, opened the restaurant door, and went up to the second floor. Snow removal is necessary. We need to clear a path to the ranch and the city, or we’ll be isolated.

“Rurin!”

She has no intention of waking up. Waking Rurin up in the morning is a very difficult task. I went to the closet and got fur clothes, a fur hat, and fur gloves.

I dressed her, put on the hat and gloves. Then I carried her down into the snowy world. I could feel her curling up more from the cold.

When I mercilessly put a snowball down her neck…

“Aaah!”

I could see Rurin’s eyes pop open. The dragon, who was about to throw a fit, looked around at the unfamiliar scenery, confirmed I was there, and looked at the snow again.

“You…? What is this? Why is there so much snow? Am I still dreaming? Is that it?”

“No? It’s reality. Sleep later and help me a bit.”

“I’m sleepy…”

Rurin walked towards me, dozing off. Then she staggered and fell into the piled-up snow.

“Puhuuup! The snow is cold!”

Then she spat the snow out and started thrashing around. She’ll wake up on her own if I leave her. It’s a satisfying sight.

“Alright, with your mouth open like that, use your breath. Fire your breath towards the hill! Gently! At the snow!”

“My breath? Use my breath when I just woke up?”

She says that, but this dragon always listens to me.

Rurin rubbed her eyes and started using her breath. The snow disappeared where her breath hit, easily creating a path.