Chapter 25 : Promise (1)

Before I could even yell, “What the f*ck is going on here?” after finally grasping the situation…

Bacalion’s pathetic kidnapping attempt was swiftly shut down by Olivia—the violence-loving dragon who firmly believes violence is the best form of communication.

And she ended it in just one single blow.

Now that I think back on it, even someone like me, who’s clueless about combat, could tell how simple and clean that strike was.

Lady Olivia lightly leapt in place and landed a crushing kick to Bacalion’s ugly, jutting jaw.

BOOM!!!

With a deafening crack, the air itself ruptured, and dozens of sharp fangs went flying from Bacalion’s open mouth.

Holy sh*t, how much could you sell all that for?

“Guh—!”

With an undignified groan, Bacalion collapsed like a sack of bricks.

THUD!

That massive body hit the ground and went limp like overcooked noodles.

F*ck, I never thought I’d live to see a dragon get all his teeth knocked out. What a f*cking sight.

Olivia had kicked him so hard that Bacalion’s jaw looked like clay pressed in with a thumb.

F*ck, he got even uglier!

Even after Bacalion passed out cold, Olivia still wasn’t satisfied. She reverted to her true form and tried to bite off the neck of that blue-scaled lizard.

It took everything I had to stop her—clinging to her desperately and begging her not to.

Seriously, what the f*ck is with these lizards and their total lack of foresight? With heads that big, you’d think their brains would be bigger too.

From what I know, dragons are ruthless to every other race—including their own—except when it comes to members of their own color.

Blue dragons with blue dragons. Red dragons with red dragons. It’s like some kind of chromatic sorting game.

When it comes to their own kind, dragons get all warm and fuzzy, full of compassion and loyalty.

Which basically means:

If you f*ck with one dragon, the entire clan comes after you.

No matter how powerful someone is, getting ganged up on is a losing game.

Of course, Lady Olivia (self-proclaimed) would probably beat up an entire clan without batting an eye…

But me? I’m a pacifist, okay?

I had no intention of getting dragged into more nonsense with these oversized geckos.

If Bacalion’s clan decided to storm the Leprechaun Empire for revenge, who the hell would take responsibility for the civilian casualties?

A single unconscious dragon already caused a dent in the earth. What happens if a whole gang of them fall out of the sky?

Buildings would be crushed. Clueless civilians would freak the f*ck out.

It’d be raining f*cking lizards from the sky.

That kind of chaos, destruction, and total meltdown wasn’t something I could allow to happen in the Leprechaun Empire.

If it can be prevented, then it should be.

This much is enough, isn’t it? Let’s not kill the guy. Please, for once, let’s show some mercy. He’ll figure it out. Surely.

With that mindset, I threw myself between them and somehow convinced Olivia to let it go.

And so, Dante successfully returned to the Demon King’s Castle with Olivia by his side.

Naturally, he didn’t return empty-handed.

Turns out, Dante wasn’t the type to turn down a reward.

***

FWOOOOOOSH—!!

Sitting cross-legged atop the flying black dragon, Dante gently stroked the treasure placed before him.

A hard, pale object that looked eerily like a chunk of ivory from some ancient elephant.

“Hehe…”

“[Wow, Dante, do you really like that thing that much?]”

Seeing him giggling to himself, Olivia let out an exasperated sigh.

Dante nodded and replied playfully.

“Of course. This is a glow-in-the-dark antler. It glows! Heh, bet your horns don’t have that kind of feature, huh, Lady Olivia?”

A full-on AoE taunt, like saying ‘Your family doesn’t have cool stuff like this, right?’

Olivia snapped back, clearly annoyed.

“[Excuse me!? My horns have features too, you little sh*t!!]”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“[They’re handles, you b*stard!!]”

“What the hell kind of bulls*t is that!?”

Sometimes, Dante just couldn’t understand what the f*ck she was talking about.

***

And so, they returned to their normal, everyday life──yeah, right. Like hell they did.

Not that they ever had a “normal” life to begin with.

The moment they arrived at the castle, Olivia launched herself at Dante with an intensity that resembled long-lost lovers reuniting after decades apart, trying to make up for all the affection they hadn’t shared.

Even if it’s a male dragon, he clearly didn’t like having another dragon’s hands on him. Olivia, displeased by this, growled softly as she pulled him into a tight embrace.

‘I’m gonna touch him too…! F*ck it! No one can stop me!!’
‘Where do you think you’re touching, huh?! Where exactly are you touching?! F*ck!!’

If not for their clothes, they’d probably be skin-on-skin by now.

In a chaotic mess of limbs, Dante flailed desperately to escape her grasp, while Olivia pinned him down with brute force, kissing his face all over.

That’s when he let out a shriek so high-pitched that it could smack down an opera singer—twice.

Who knows how much time passed like that? Eventually, the black dragon lost her patience.

“Tch. You cheeky little brat! Why can’t you just shut up and accept my love like a good boy?!”

“I don’t wanna!! Never!! My mom told me never to accept things from strangers!! You’re just gonna come back later and rip it all away with interest!! You scammy lizard!!”

“B*tch, I’m not a stranger!! I’m your master! And this is your first loan—no interest! Just take it!! It’s free, damn it!!”

“What kind of one-sided pickpocketing is this──Oww!!”

Bonk! Olivia headbutted him, pressing her forehead against his. Her crimson eyes narrowed into slits.

And silence.

A brief, strange calm settled between them.

Only their breathing echoed softly in the air.

Then, slowly, she lowered her gaze.

“You know, Dante…”

His wrists had long since been restrained by Olivia’s tail.

She leaned in close, lips brushing against his ear, and whispered sweetly.

“──I don’t need anything else.”

She slowly bent her body forward.

Her sleek black hair tumbled over her shoulder, and as her warm breath grazed his neck, Dante involuntarily shuddered.

Resting her chin atop his head, she smiled faintly and murmured,

“As long as I have you.”

And she meant it.

Olivia gently stroked his back, her fingers slow and soothing.

“So let’s make a promise, Dante.”

She spoke with surprising gentleness.

“Don’t fall for anyone else. It’s okay if you don’t love me. Just promise you won’t give your heart to anyone—including me. That’s all I ask.”

If I can’t have you, no one else can either.

She claimed she wanted nothing.

If he could just keep that one promise…

“──Then I won’t cross that final line.”

Looking into his eyes, Olivia said plainly,

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

If he didn’t want their master-servant dynamic to turn into predator and prey…

If he didn’t want this delicate balance between them to collapse…

Then he shouldn’t go against her wishes.

“Got it?”

“…Ha.”

What an absurdly arrogant dragon.

Pft.

The moment Olivia let her aura fade, Dante’s body slumped, and he gave a hollow laugh, barely moving his lips.

And from the depths of his heart, he spoke one honest truth.

“…You’re insane.”

“Yeah. And I f*cking love you too.”

Truly a crazy woman.

Still tangled together, they rubbed cheeks and bumped noses, staring into each other’s faces for a long while. Then Olivia curved her eyes playfully and smiled mischievously.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“No.”

“What? Who said you get to say no? What right do you even have?”

“Seriously, you goddamn railroaded dragon. Why the hell did you even ask if—”

“Shut it.”

And just like that, Olivia silenced Dante by sealing his lips.