33 — 31. Aira's Favorite Food, And Sara's Feelings

After leaving Iris’s office, Reet made his way back to the dormitory to gather supplies for the journey ahead.

When he arrived, he spotted a familiar face.

“Sara!”

It was his childhood friend Sara, who belonged to the Central Knight Order. Though her posting kept her in the royal capital, she lived in the same dormitory as Reet.

“Reet! It’s been so long!”

As Sara hurried over, she immediately noticed the small dragon Reet had brought with him.

“Wait, is that a dragon?”

“Yeah. Her name’s Aira.”

“That’s incredible! You’ve been chosen by a dragon!”

Sara exclaimed excitedly, fully aware of how difficult such a bond was to achieve.

“Nah, it was just luck…”

Sara then leaned down toward Aira and spoke to her.

“I’m Sara. It’s nice to meet you.”

In response, Aira hissed in warning.

“Sshhhaaaa!!”

“Wait, are you being wary of me?”

“…Yeah, sorry about that. But she gave the same reaction to the princess earlier, so…”

Actually, she didn’t show this kind of rejection toward Commander Ursu, though, Reet thought, but of course, he kept that observation to himself.

For some reason, she seemed to show hostility toward girls.

Dragons are difficult to understand, Reet mused.

“Ha ha. Well, it’s sudden, so I can’t blame her.”

“Sorry about that…”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Here, a sign of goodwill.”

Sara pulled a small package from her bag. When she unwrapped it, the contents revealed a croissant—something special and far from ordinary bread.

It was a crispy, sweet pastry that had been trending in the royal capital recently.

“Would you like to try some?”

Sara broke off a piece and held it out to Aira.

Aira’s eyes widened as she stared intently at the fragment.

“Ah, Sara, actually dragons don’t eat—”

At the very moment Reet was explaining this, Aira stretched out her short front limb, snatched the croissant, and brought it to her mouth in one fluid motion.

Watching this, Reet was reminded of a chameleon catching food with its tongue.

“Wait, I thought you said dragons don’t eat?”

Reet said, scratching his head.

Then Aira turned her head toward him and looked up, her eyes shining with genuine wonder and excitement.

“Could it be… you liked it?”

When he asked, Aira nodded in agreement.

Apparently, she had been captivated by the croissant.

“Then, I’m glad. Want some more?”

Sara held out the rest. Aira grabbed it eagerly and brought it to her mouth, completely absorbed in devouring the pastry. Despite her cheeks already puffing out with the portion she was working through, she kept bringing more to her mouth.

“I’m happy you enjoyed it.”

“…Sorry about this, Sara. I never would have guessed she’d like croissants.”

“Ha ha, yeah. That was unexpected.”

“I owe you one. I’ll treat you to something next time.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Sara then looked at Aira and gently placed her hand on the dragon’s head. Just moments before, Aira had been hissing with all her might, but now she simply gazed at Sara and allowed herself to be petted. She hadn’t let her guard down entirely, but apparently she now recognized Sara as someone who gave her delicious food.

It seemed the effectiveness of food was absolute.

I should ask the princess to prepare some croissants for her too.

“Well, I’ve got duties to attend to, so I should be going. See you later, Reet.”

“Yeah. See you.”

Sara turned on her heel and walked away.

Then, around the corner, Sara spoke quietly to herself.

“…So he bonded with a dragon. Reet’s amazing.”

Sara clenched her fist tightly.

“Somehow, he keeps moving further and further away.”