Chapter 1: Life in the Mountains is Tough

“…Nn… guuu…”

After a while, I heard a groan from the black dragon sleeping soundly next to me.

Thinking that I couldn’t just leave him like this… I sat beside the black dragon, waiting for him to wake up.

Of course, being naked, I thought I’d get a little cold and maybe catch a bug, but as expected of my skills, I adapted in the blink of an eye and my health was perfectly fine.

However, I really want some clothes soon.

As I was wondering what kind of clothes to make next, I heard a voice from the black dragon that sounded like he was fully waking up.

“Hah!”

With that sound, the black dragon sat up, swinging his head around as if checking his surroundings. When he found me, he stared intently.

“…”

“…”

“…Why are you still naked?”

“Because I don’t have any clothes to wear. Since some dragon burned them up.”

When I gave him a reproachful look, the black dragon scratched his head awkwardly.

“…My apologies for that… However, it was the result of our battle… Wait, why am I still alive? You were the victor. Will you not take my life?”

“I don’t really want something like that. What I want right now is new clothes.”

At my words, the black dragon looked dumbfounded for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.

“Gwaa-hahaha! You say you don’t want my life! I shall honestly thank you for sparing the life of the defeated. Then, to show my gratitude, how about this? There should be human-sized clothing at my castle, so will you come? Let me welcome you.”

“Is that alright?”

“I do not mind. Besides, you have defeated me. In fact, you can take any gold, silver, or treasure in the castle if you wish, you know?”

“I’m not really interested in that stuff. As long as I get some clothes, I don’t need anything else.”

“To defeat me, the Dragon King, and only ask for a single piece of clothing. What a selfless fellow!”

The black dragon laughed merrily.

After laughing his fill, the black dragon lowered his posture as if prompting me to get on his back, so I took him up on the offer and climbed aboard.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am the Dragon King, Ragnir. I permit you to call me Ragnir casually. After all, you are the one who defeated me.”

“Got it. My name is Wazu.”

“Then, Wazu. Hold on tight!”

With those words, the black dragon—Ragnir—flapped his wings and soared into the sky at once.

I could only marvel at the scenery from even higher up in the sky.

Ragnir’s castle wasn’t that far away, and we arrived in no time.

Standing there all alone was a massive structure—a castle.

Its walls gleamed in the sunlight, and it had gigantic gates that even someone with Ragnir’s massive build could easily pass through. The castle within the walls was entirely pure white, possessing a stern and majestic architecture.

As if to show this was his residence, Ragnir landed on one of the castle’s balconies.

I got off Ragnir’s back as well, looking around to check out the inside of the castle.

“What do you think? My castle is quite magnificent, is it not?”

“…Yeah, it really is amazing… It’s miles better than the royal castle of the Iscoa Kingdom.”

When I praised it honestly, Ragnir snorted proudly with a “hmph.”

“So, where are the clothes I can have?”

“Umu. I shall go fetch them. Naturally, I cannot let you walk around the castle naked. Wait here for a while.”

Saying that, Ragnir disappeared into the castle.

From what I could see from the balcony, the interior architecture was also massive, seemingly allowing even Ragnir to move around freely.

While waiting for Ragnir to return, I was gazing at the panoramic view from the balcony when suddenly, a small mass fell from the sky. Sensing its presence, I looked up, and the small mass landed perfectly right on my face.

My vision went dark, but I managed to grab the small mass and pull it away from my face.

When my vision brightened and I checked what I had grabbed, it turned out to be a small white dragon.

It was a tiny dragon, about the size of my head, and it was staring at me with its round, adorable eyes.

“…”

“…”

The little dragon tilted its head as it looked at me, so I tilted my head to match its movement.

Then it tilted its head the other way, so I tilted mine the other way too. This went on for a little while.

From an outsider’s perspective, it would be a bizarre sight—a naked man and a small dragon mirroring each other’s actions.

I thought it would continue like this, but it ended abruptly.

“Kyu!”

“It chirped!”

Surprised by the sudden cry, I let go. I thought the now-freed little dragon would just fall, but it flapped its tiny wings and started flying around me.

“Eh? What? What’s going on?”

As I followed the little dragon’s movements, it suddenly stopped right in front of me and started twitching its nose. It seemed to be sniffing my scent.

Am I okay? Do I smell bad? I did wash up with water before climbing the mountain, though.

As I observed to see what it would do next, the little dragon suddenly moved closer and rubbed its cheek against mine.

“…”

When I just let it be, the little dragon flapped its wings again, this time landing right on top of my head. It refused to move from there, radiating an aura of total relaxation. With a “Kuaaa…” it let out a yawn and completely went limp.

Wondering what to do, I simply followed the urge welling up inside me and gently stroked the little dragon.

It felt absolutely divine.

It was such a heavenly texture that made me want to pet it forever; my hand just wouldn’t stop.

The little dragon also seemed to enjoy the sensation of being petted, looking very comfortable.

Hmm… Between this wonderful texture and its slightly cool body temperature, it feels like it would be super cozy to hug while sleeping.

As I continued to pet it, I heard a heavy thump thump sound of something walking toward me. When I turned my head toward the balcony entrance, Ragnir appeared. He was carrying various clothes in his arms.

“Sorry to keep you wait—”

Ragnir saw me, stopped in his tracks, and let his jaw drop wide open.

What’s wrong? Did something happen?

Before I could even ask, Ragnir’s massive body began to tremble, and he let out an angry roar.

“What do you think you are doiiiiiiing?!”

…Eh?

“No, what do you mean? This little dragon suddenly fell from the sky—”

“I’m not asking you, Wazu! I am asking Meal!”

Meal? Could that be the name of this little dragon?

“Kyui! Kyui!”

The little dragon seemed to be answering Ragnir’s question somehow, but with just its chirps, I had absolutely no idea what it was saying.

I just hope it isn’t saying anything weird…

“What, what…? You like it here, so you’re going to stay here forever?! Don’t say such foolish things! I will not allow that!”

Ragnir’s face flushed with anger.

“Look, look, Meal~! There’s a place you’ll like even better, you know~? If you stay in my arms, it’s far more comfortable, and it will fill me with happiness too. There’s a perfect place right here where we can both feel happy~”

I take back what I said earlier.

Now he was sporting a painfully forced smile. Ragnir dropped the clothes he was holding in a heap and repeatedly pointed at his own arms, gesturing for it to come.

“Kyui!”

“What do you mean, ‘No’? What do you mean, ‘No’?!”

“Kyui! Kyuu~!”

“What do you mean, ‘Smelly’? What does ‘Smells like a dragon’ mean?!”

“…”

“Stop pinching your nose! Even your father gets hurt, you know!”

“Kyui! Kyui! Kyuii!”

“‘I’m never leaving! Plus, I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life with this person’—Don’t say things like that right in front of your fatheeeeeeeer!!!”

At the little dragon’s words, Ragnir clutched his head and crouched down on the ground.

Looking at him, I was in shock.

—He’s been calling himself ‘father’ for a while now… Does that mean this little dragon on top of my head is Ragnir’s child?

As I was thinking, Wow~ Ragnir was a papa, huh… I also sent a mental note of gratitude to Ragnir for conveniently translating the little dragon’s words into something I could understand.

Though Ragnir himself was still crouching on the floor…

Meanwhile, the little dragon on my head repeatedly patted my face with its tiny front paws with a tap-tap-tap, as if greeting me and saying, “I look forward to being with you from now on.” That sound was the only thing echoing in the area.

After that, I decided to ignore Ragnir—who had started crying for some reason—and picked up the dropped clothes to get dressed. However, because the little dragon, Meal, absolutely refused to get off my head, I had no choice but to put on the underwear and pants, slip on the shoes, and just wrap my top half in a cloak.

I resolved to make proper clothes for myself later.

“…Uu… I knew… I knew a day like this would come eventually…”

Ragnir, you’re annoying.

By the time I finished changing, Ragnir had somehow recovered.

Though his eyes had been filled with pure despair up until then.

Once he recovered, he guided me through the castle, albeit with heavy steps.

The interior was also unified in pure white. Despite being a castle in a place like this, there wasn’t a single crack or speck of dirt; it was perfectly pristine. I walked down the castle corridors while conversing with Ragnir.

Meal, who was on my head, was already asleep. She really is still just a child.

“So, this dragon sleeping on my head without me realizing it really is your daughter, Ragnir?”

“Umu. She is my daughter, and her name is Meal. The cutest in the world, my pride and joy!”

…Most parents say that.

“Wazu… I will barely tolerate the current situation… But, I hope you understand that if you lay even a single finger on her… I’ll kill you! I’ll super kill you!”

Hahaha, I don’t think you can kill me.

But I’ll keep that in mind…

Feeling Ragnir’s genuine murderous intent, we continued through the castle until we were finally led to the audience chamber.

The audience chamber was also unified in pure white like the rest of the place, but it felt more accurate to describe it as a shining, radiant white.

Perhaps because the audience chamber where one meets the master of this castle is, in a sense, a symbol of power and a place that embodies the king’s majesty, that influence made its construction even more elaborate.

The place where the king’s throne sat was two steps higher than where I was standing, and in the wide area on the first step, a giant white dragon was lying down, gazing in our direction.

That giant white dragon wasn’t quite as large as Ragnir, but it was still massive enough to thoroughly intimidate anyone who looked at it, and its white scales rivaled even the pure white of this audience chamber.

When its eyes caught sight of me and Meal, they shot wide open.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! Could this be your greeting and announcement that you are marrying our Meal? Oh dear. I haven’t mentally prepared myself yet… No, I’m absolutely not against it, you know? In fact, I’m all for it! I was just a little surprised since it’s so sudden. I trust my daughter, and since you’re the partner she chose, I’m on your side. You can rely on me as much as you want!”

…Swish, swish, swish, swish.

I waved my hands at super high speed to indicate, “No, no, that’s not it!”, but—

“Wh~a~t~? Marriage, you say…? So you were after Meal after all, you bastard…”

Ragnir clenched his fists, brought his face close, and glared at me as if looks could kill.

Hey, too close, too close! You smell like a dragon!

Wait, what happened to the conversation I just had with Ragnir?

We built a friendship through battle, didn’t we? Can’t you trust me?

It’s true that Meal seems like she would be great to hug. Between her size that fits perfectly in my arms, her white, glossy scales, her slightly cool body temperature, and the fact that she’s holding on tight and won’t let go even while sleeping on my head—I do think she’s cute.

I think so, but… doesn’t jumping straight to marriage mean skipping a few steps?

I mean, our species are way too different…

Besides, we just met… Wait, no, no.

The conversation suddenly veering off course made my own thoughts veer off course too.

First, I have to clear up this misunderstanding.

I glared back at him as if to say, Why the hell are you doubting me?, and Ragnir gasped, his eyes widening as if he just remembered something. He shook his head vigorously from side to side before turning back to the white dragon.

“N-No, Mel! This guy is my… my… what is he?”

“Eh? What do you mean ‘what is he’… I wonder what…”

Ragnir and I started pondering, unable to find a clear answer.

“…”

“…”

“…Ah, wouldn’t ‘guest’ work? Or maybe ‘friend’?”

“Oh, that is indeed correct. Umu. Mel, this person is my new friend and an invited guest!”

Ragnir and I crossed our arms proudly and puffed out our chests a little.

The way the white dragon’s eyes looked at us, almost like she was looking at somewhat pitiful creatures, left quite an impression on me.