Chapter 2 : My Workplace collapsed 10 minutes after I got a job (2)

Dragons. Beings of immense power, perched atop the food chain, living lives bordering on immortality. Once a hatchling reaches adulthood, it leaves its parents, establishes its own lair, and lives a long, leisurely, and often tedious existence. The monotony of their days can become excruciating.

So, when something piques a dragon’s interest, something they deem enjoyable, it becomes incredibly precious. Dragons will go to any lengths to keep that amusement, even if it happens to be a living creature. In short, dragons are creatures of intense obsession.

Olivia, the Black Dragon whose arrival had plunged the Leprechaun Empire into chaos, was intently observing something with her massive, crimson eyes.

“Come down here!!!!!! Come down here, dammit!!!!! You lousy lizard!!! I’m unemployed because of you, you bastard!!!!!!”

A single, raving human, screaming at the top of his lungs, voice hoarse.

“[………]”

For the first time in her life, Olivia experienced confusion. Surely, she wasn’t hallucinating.

‘…Right?’

“[……Am I seeing things?]”

Rub rub.

She rubbed her scaled arms over her eyes and looked down again.

“Give it back! Give me back my job, you son of a b*tch!!!!!!!!! Uwaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!!!”

‘Good, I’m not crazy.’

The human was still there, pointing and yelling. In Olivia’s experience, humans were terrified of dragons. The mere rumor of an adult dragon’s presence was enough to send them packing. They were fragile creatures, both mentally and physically. A normal human would have fainted or cowered in fear by now. But this one was not only standing his ground, he was cursing at a dragon?

‘Who is this… unique specimen?’

Intrigued, she observed him further.

“It was my first day!!! Huh? My first day of work!!! And what do I see? My workplace is on fire! Screw you, you mutt!!!”

Thud!!!

With a bewildered expression, Olivia complied with the human’s demand and leaped from the tower. The impact shook the ground, creating fissures in the earth. Yet, the human remained standing, not even flinching, staring defiantly at Olivia.

Coiling her massive body, Olivia pondered for a moment, then rested her chin on her claws and spoke.

“[What do you think I am?]”

“A big, black, lizardy bastard.”

‘Okay, so his vision is fine.’

“[Did you, perhaps, suffer a head injury as a child?]”

“Never had a day’s illness in my life!”

‘Limbs intact, mentally sound…’

Olivia scratched her head with a claw, her expression growing more perplexed.

‘Seriously, what is with this human?’

Not only was he not afraid, he was holding a conversation with a dragon. And she was actually responding!

“You will pay for this!!!”

“[What…? ]”

Ignoring her, Dante hurled the mop at her.

Snap!

Unsurprisingly, the mop was no match for dragon scales and snapped in two.

“You will pay for thisssss!!!!”

“[W-what are you talking about?]”

“My!!! Job!!!!!! Give it back!!!!”

Stomping his feet, he yelled, eyes wide.

‘Come to think of it, he mentioned something about it being his first day.’

‘So, this was his workplace. And he just started today…’

‘…Wait a minute.’

“[Are you seriously throwing a tantrum at a dragon over a job…?!]”

“Over a joooob?!?!?!”

Thud! Thud, thud!

Frothing at the mouth, Dante started throwing everything within reach at Olivia.

‘Madness. This human is pure, unadulterated madness.’ She groaned softly.

“I!!! Waited!!! Hoped!!! Dreamed!!! Of this job, and you call it just a joooob!?!?!”

“[Alright, alright! I’m sorry! I misspoke! Please, just put your tongue back in your mouth! I can’t bear to watch!]”

“Then pay the price.”

“[Huh…?]”

The conversation was going nowhere. He clenched his fists until they bled, roaring, “Pay the price, you b*tch!!!!!!!”

‘Pay the price? What kind of price?’ Olivia racked her brain, a cold sweat forming.

‘And why am I letting this human boss me around?! I’m getting swept up in his crazy pace!’

“Uwaaaaaak!!!!!!! It’s all your fault, you lizard!!!!!!!”

“[F-Fine! I’ll give you as much treasure as you want! Enough wealth to last generations, so you never have to work agai──]”

“Don’t need it!!!”

“[W-What!? Keeeooo…! Then how about a beautiful woman? Surely, a man like you desires a woma──]”

“Don’t need it!!!!”

‘Is this guy even human?’

Dante held out his hands.

“Give me a job.”

“[……Huh?]”

“I want a job.”

“[W-what kind of preposterous…?!]”

“Joooooooooooob!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He threw himself on the ground, flailing his limbs like a baby.

“Wah! I’m a jobless kid again! Give me a job, you lizard!!!!!!!”

“[Are you insane?! Did the ghost of someone who died unemployed possess you or something?! Fine, alright! ….Then you… be my s*ave! Serve me for the rest of your life!]”

“!”

All this over a job? Exasperated, Olivia blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Surely, a comfort-loving, selfish human wouldn’t accept such an offer…

…would he?

Only one word echoed in Dante’s ears:

‘Lifelong.’

A lifelong job. Not a temporary one.

A lifelong job!

“Hee hee hee hee hee!!!”

“[……….Oh, dear.]”

The raving lunatic was gone, replaced by a man wearing a blissfully happy smile. Olivia buried her face in her claws.

‘…What have I enslaved?’

Despite her mixed feelings, she didn’t feel entirely displeased. In all her long life, Olivia had never encountered a human like this. He was impudent and infuriating, yet she couldn’t deny the intrigue and amusement he sparked within her—feelings she’d never experienced before.

And so began the inevitable first encounter between Dante, the most fearless human in the world, and Olivia, the world’s strongest Black Dragon.