Volume 4 46
I am a dragon.
It is the most over-powered species in this universe. However, as I was a loner university student in my past life, I just couldn’t accept the lifestyle of a typical dragon of being alone for all of their lives.
So, even though I made a couple of mistakes every now and then, I tried my best to make a friend in this new life. As a result, I was blessed with a lovely partner and a child and have been living a pretty happy life.
And now, I’m lost.
「..」
Finally coming back to reality, I looked around me.
Okay, let’s try and think back to what has happened before. As usual, I dived into the leyline away from my home to fix up the problems. But when I came out, I found myself here, in the middle of an unrecognisable forest.
What should I do now?
At first, I thought hundreds of years have gone by while I was in Leyline. However, the place I dived in was a steep and rocky mountain. The forest which surrounded me now was flat and over-grown bushland.
If the shape of the land changed, I would have noticed it even at my half-conscious state. So, it’s hard to believe that a long time has gone past while I was in the Leyline.
This could only mean that while I was in my half-conscious state, I moved to a location more comfortable for fixing the Leyline. Still, I’m surprised that I moved so far away from the original location that I don’t even recognise the surrounding landscape.
I somehow need to get back home. But there’s one more problem
「snore?」
The presence of this girl who is fast asleep on my stomach. Or should I say on the stomach of a dragon.
Okay me, calm down.
This girl, who looks around 13 or 14 years old, is sleeping, with her long silver hair scattered carelessly across my jet-black scale.
The girl who looked a couple of years older than Aru had a very small frame. She looked so fragile that I thought she would shatter into a million pieces if I gave her a little nudge.
Her pale pink lips were softly closed together, and you could tell how smooth her pale skin would be just by looking at it. In short, she was very pretty.
The white girly outfit with hooded cape really suited her.
However, I was intrigued by the design which I have not seen in either Ballow nation or in any of the surrounding nations.
Anyway, when I gained my full consciousness, she was already fast asleep, just like this.
I looked at the position of the sun on the clear blue sky and guessed it must be close to midday. She’s sure sleeping well considering its only midday.
She even has a bubble coming out of her nose.
I have no idea why she ended up sleeping here but because of her presence, I can’t move, transform or talk to her.
.. hold up, I can’t transform?
As I realised this truth, I felt the blood rush from my face.
historical
I’m not trying to brag about it, but if a girl like her saw a dragon, a creature known to have immense power, she’ll scream in the best case scenario and faint in the worst case scenario. In between would be running away.
There’s no way I would be able to ask her where this place is.
「No, I just need to calm down. Being a loner is all in the past. As a dragon, I have the most social skill. I’m sure I can talk to her even in my dragon form. Oh, but that failed with the dwarves..」
「hm.」
While my confidence was coming and going, I heard a cute voice and a shiver ran through my body.
Turns out, while I was thinking what to do, I was unconsciously swaying my tail, which ended up waking up the girl.
I slowly, but rigidly tuned my head towards my stomach and saw the girl sitting up and scratching her eyes.
My eyes met her tired red eyes.
When I saw her eyes, I immediately noticed how clear and vivid those two red irises were. But this didn’t mean I wasn’t panicking internally at the same time.
「um... so..」
Using all the social skills which I have learned in the past, I tried to look for a word that wouldn’t intimidate her. However, before I could speak, she looked up, opened her bright red eyes wide and spoke.
「Good morning. Good night.」
「Um, could you try and stay up?」
I spat out the question as I saw the girl casually going back into her sleeping position.
She has already leaned her head against my stomach and closed her eyes. But when she heard my question, she opened them up unsatisfyingly.
「The surface is just the right hardness and it’s very warm. It’s a perfect napping spot so I would appreciate it if you could let me sleep for another three days.」
「Well, that napping spot is my stomach so it’s kind of troubling? Hold up, isn’t three days logically impossible?」
Today was a nice sunny day but the air was a little chilly. However, my jet-black scale would have kept some of the heat from the sunlight, so I guess it made pretty good napping.
Still, napping on the stomach of a dragon? How much does she like napping?
As I trembled in shock, the girl opened her red eyes wide and bowed.
「I apologise. I had a very nice nap, Loner Dragon-san.」
「Hey, that was in the past!」
「Is that so?」
「Ye, yeah. I have a husband and a child! I have friends too! Hold up, you heard me talking to myself before!?」
「Yes, well, I was tired so I decided to just ignore it.」
「Next time can please wake up!?」
I trembled at how much she wanted to nap. Although she personally attacked me, I felt relieved overall.
The girl with the silver hair didn’t seem to be scared of me. Even when she saw me after waking up, she remained seated on the ground, right where she was. We even managed to talk normally.
Wording, it’s very important (straight face).
Then, I noticed something. The girl’s ears which peeked out from the strands of her hair was pointed at the tip.
I thought she might be a forest elf, but she possessed a lot of magic to be them. On top of that, I didn’t get a human-like presence from her.
Her presence was much closer to a spirit or a dragon. I was fascinated by this mysterious girl, but first, I decided to introduce myself to this friendly girl. So, she wouldn’t come up with more triggering nicknames.
「I’m Lava. Just call me Lava.」
「My name is Argenton Vanpeel. Please just call me Alge, Lava-san.」
I’m sorry for the girl who simply told me her name, but I was a little hesitant when I heard her name.
Vanpeel was a name you would hear a lot if you were into anime and gaming subculture back on earth.
Argento sounds familiar too.. that’s right, it means silver.
When she gave a big yawn, I saw two fangs growing amongst her teeth. Hold on a minute.
「Are you.. a vampire?」
「Yes. I am a vampire.」
「I thought vampires aren’t supposed to be in direct sunlight?」
「Oh, my Sunlight Resistance is 10 so it’s fine.」
She mentioned a word which I didn’t understand but I just accepted everything which she has just said as a cold sweat ran down my spine.
Well, dragons don’t sweat but that’s how it felt, okay?
I just couldn’t help it.
In both my past and current life, I only knew vampires from stories and fairy tales. Even in this universe, vampires are referring to creatures which like to suck onto other’s mana.
However, I was certain she wasn’t one of the Neighbours. And the Leyline here seemed odd? Unfamiliar? So, if she is a vampire, it explained the strangeness surrounding this area.
Getting a really bad feeling about what was happening, I leaned in towards the girl who called herself Arge.
「Arge-chan, was it? There’s something I really want to ask you..」
Just then, my hyper-reliable hearing picked up the sound of multiple people running towards us.
『I, is that a Yggdrasil level Dragon!? I thought it was just a rumour.』
『Please, step away from Arge-san!』
A woman with an odd eye and her brown hair tied up into a high side ponytail appeared. Along with her was a girl with a golden blonde hair with beast ears showing at the top of her head.
However, the tail growing behind the girl who wore an outfit resembling of a shrine maiden outfit had 3 tails.
Mikoto, who is a half beast half human herself never told me of a case where their species had more than one tail.
Also, as I sensed the magic which was pouring out from the hand of an odd-eyed woman, I noticed that I did not recognise the spell which she was casting.
On top of that, I didn’t understand the language which they were speaking.
..Well, this isn’t the time to turn my back on reality.
Right now, I look like I’m about to eat Arge’s head off.
To prove my point, the atmosphere surrounding the two girls were nothing but hostile.
I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I transform into a human form earlier!?
Not even giving me the chance to explain the situation, the half beast girl started throwing sharp wind blades towards me.
The spell used for the wind blades were also something that I didn’t recognise. With tears starting to fill my eyes, I dropped my wings in an attempt to protect Arge.
However, before I could even move, Arge stepped out, swaying her silver hair behind her.
「Arge!?」
「Wind, please lend me your powers.」
As the odd-eyed girl looked troubled, a gust of wind blew out as she mumbled something to herself.
The wind which she created blew away the blades before it could reach Arge.
Again, I didn’t know the spell she used but I got that it was a pretty cheap spell.
『Arge-san!?』
『Suguha-chan, Felnote-san this dragon is not our enemy. She accompanied me with my nap.』
『Oh, I see..』
As Arge spoke in another language, the two girls dropped their shoulders.
Though they are still giving me this uncomfortable suspicious gaze.
Moreover, I was surprised to know that Arge spoke their langue. After all, she did talk to me pretty casually.
Anyway, let’s do something about this intimidating appearance.
I transformed into my human form and landed in front of Arge. However, they seemed to be even more surprised by this.
That’s weird, I made sure to transform into my usual punk-ish female uni student appearance with the long black hair with red streaks.
『A dragon turned into a human!? Or did the human turn into a dragon!?』
The ear of the half beats girl straightened upright from surprise. And the female, who was standing next to her widened both her purple and golden irises.
I only just noticed this, but her eyes are really big.
Although I have only talked to Arge a few times, I thought she was a pretty calm and composed girl. So, when I saw her red eyes opened wide, I felt a little averse.
However, I gained every courage I could find and asked the silver-haired girl a question.
「Arge-chan, can you tell me where this place is?」
「.. We’re in a forest to the west of Sakuranomiya.」
「.. Is Sakuranomiya a name of a town?」
「Yes, it’s the capital of the United Nations of Clover.」
I didn’t know any town named Sakuranomiya nor any nation called the United Nations of Clover.
Could this mean that I got lost into another universe?
**********
A couple of days have gone by now.
「Lava-san, could you please take this to table 4?」
「Coming right up!」
I took the bowl from Suguha-chan, the girl with the golden yellow beast ears. Then, I walked through the café, my black skirt swaying along with my motions.
Right now, I’m wearing a black dress with a white apron.
On my head was a headband with frills on it called a white brim. The cute dress hemmed with frills looked nothing but a maid outfit.
Every time I walked the frills would brush along my legs which really bothered me. However, that was no excuse to keep the customers waiting.
As I placed the ordered dish onto the table, I turned to the customer and smiled.
「Thank you for waiting, this is a Rare Cheese Cake with a tea.」
This is Cafe May, located in Sakuranomiya, the capital of the United Nations of Clover.
Currently, I am working at that cafe.
After the incident in the forest, I got Arge to explain to Feltone-san and Suguha-chan my situation. When they heard my side of the story, they were very compassionate about it.
Then, they got in contact with one of their acquaintance to see if they could figure out a way to send me back to my own universe. While waiting for their acquaintance to get back, it was decided that I would stay over at the girl’s place.
I was surprised that I managed to get into the town so easily. Especially in this universe where I have no form of ID.
I’m really grateful for Satsuki-san, who is the owner of the cafe. She has been a huge help to me these couple of days.
「I see, I see, well, I’m surprised that a dragon can turn into a human. But, if it’s another cute girl, I can’t help it but welcome you. It must be fate, so just leave everything to Satsuki-chan!」
And like that, she organised everything for me.
Apparently, she is acquainted with the higher-ups of the Clover Nation.
In a situation like this, I cannot thank her enough for the amount of help she has given me. But still, I can’t believe I got lost into another world.
Anyway, while I was staying at their place, I decided to help out the shop as a way of showing my appreciation.
Cafe May seems to be popular within Sakuranomiya and the shop was close to full already at midday.
Apart from the owner, Café May only had one cook and two workers. So, Suguha-chan who only looked a couple of years older than Aru, split herself into three using a spell called「Tail Clone」and was doing her best to keep everything moving.
I can’t cause trouble in a tight situation like this.
However, this is my first time working in customer service. Not stopping my legs were hard enough on its own.
「Arge-chan, Suguha-chan, Lava-chan, let’s have a lunch break.」
After the lunch peeks was over, I turned around as Satsuki-san called out our name.
She was taller than an average woman and wore a green kimono. She decorated her silky black hair with a flowery hair clip.
Like that, some aspects were very similar to Towa. However, the design and such were slightly different from the traditional kimono, confirming that this is not the same place.
Anyway, I knew this place wasn’t Towa the moment I saw the streets fenced with brick houses and calling this shop a café instead of a tea house.
Satsuki-san who always has a bright smile of her face is apparently a vampire just like Arge.
Iris-san, who is the cook at this cafe is a vampire as well so I thought it might be a common species in this universe.
However, when I asked them, they said it was a total coincidence that they all met up and vampires are pretty rare species in this universe.
「Thanks for the hard work. Satsuki-chan is really happy with your work!」
Satsuki-san said with a bright smile and a thumbs-up. However, once the sleeves of the kimono were lifted, it revealed two large spheres on her chest.
Hmmm. I thought Ligurila’s were big but she’s on another level.
I showed a bitter smile as I thought about that.
I maximized my learning ability to learn as much of their language as I could. As a result, I could have a casual conversation without a problem. So, I felt a little awkward now that I could clearly understand what Satsuki-san was saying.
「Personally, I think I still have a lot to improve. Also, could you please stop referring to me with a 「chan」..」
The uniform for the café which she has organised it for me fitted so perfectly that I was surprised. However, it was kind of embarrassing to wear such a cutesy outfit at my age.
My actual age is over 500 years old and no one had ever referred to me by 「chan」. So again, it was kind of embarrassing.
「Now way, I always refer to a cute girl by 「chan」! Also, it’s only natural to make a cute girl wear a cute outfit! And Lava-chan, you’re a cute girl.」
「Um, I mentioned this before, but I’m actually a lot older than I look and..」
「Satsuki-chan is forever seventeen!」
「I don’t think that’s a logical reason.」
No matter what I said, Satsuki-san seemed to be satisfied overall. So, I stopped making comments about it.
Although I found it rattling, it didn’t feel bad being told I look cute.
If Nectar was here, he would probably beg me to transfer the image. So, I’m glad he wasn’t here.
.. though, it’s kind of lonely.
When I saw what Satsuki-san has prepared us for lunch, I lost my words.
「um, thi, this is..!」
「It’s Omurice. Weren’t there any in Lava-san’s original universe?」
I couldn’t even reply to Suguha-chan, who asked me the question with a tilted head and her ears twitching curiously.
In front of me was a pile of fluffy and creamy sheet of golden yellow egg with some sort of writing on top of it using a bright red tomato sauce. No doubt, this was an omurice.
Holding back my excitement, I gently dug into the mount with a spoon. Inside it was a rice that has been mixed with ketchup.
I Travelled the food into my mouth. The soft rice, the sweet and sour flavour of the tomato sauce, the chewiness of the meat, and the crunchiness of the onion and the capsicum all danced in my mouth.
「????!!!」
I trembled at this undoubtful taste of omurice.
Towa Nation did have rice, but they didn’t have any modern food like this.
I continued to eat on, thinking how happy I was to come across this nostalgic taste in such an unexpected place. Then, Suguha-chan, who was sitting next to me shook Arge was sleeping face first on the table.
「Arge-san, Arge-san, it’s lunchtime. Please wake up.」
「hmm..」
Arge, who finally woke up already has a dribble showing from her mouth. Seeing this, I gave another bitter smile.
In the past few days, I learnt that Arge will sleep anywhere at any time if given the opportunity.
It was to a point where I thought she would sleep in all day if she didn’t have any plans.
Suguha-chan waking her up was becoming a very common scenery throughout the day.
「Suguha-chan, I admire how you always look after Arge.」
「Of course, I’m Arge-san’s friend. It’s my job to look after her!」
Suguha-chan, who sat up proudly with a spoon in one had looked so adorable, that I couldn’t help it but pat her head.
Seeing how she was trying as hard as Aru has been back at home, it made me want to support her.
Symphasized with Suguha-chan, who shook her three tails in a bashful, yet a joyful way, I spoke to Arge as well.
「Come on Arge, this omurice is really delicious. You should eat it before it cools down.」
「You’re right. It’s better to eat delicious food while it’s still delicious. Thanks for the food.」
Arge, who looked as if she was about to step into her dreams picked up the spoon and started to eat.
Unlike Suguha-chan who was shoving as much food as she could into her mouth, Arge ate piece by piece in a very well-mannered way.
I was surprised to learn that vampires could eat normal food as well.
It was even more surprising to see how much Arge worked throughout the day, regardless of how much she enjoyed napping.
She attends to each customer more professionally than I do, and when she shows that customer service smile, she looks like a portrait of an ideal maid.
I don’t know much about her, but because we met in such an outrageous way, I was flabbergasted by this contrast.
When I asked her why she thought about it for a little, then responded with a soft smile, 「If I took a break, then I’ll cause trouble to both Suguha-chan and Lava-san.」.
Silver hair with red eyes. Pale pink lips with a beautifully shaped face. Her expressions were weak, but I saw that she thought about others around her.
Like that, I continued to eat my omurice, grinning like an idiot.