Chapter 4: Look, That Dragon

Where dawn and dusk meet, the tide of night recedes reluctantly.
Golden threads rise, scattering gold across the land.
In a dreamlike forest, the morning light reflects an orange staircase on the surface of a lake, like a holy path leading straight to heaven.

And the one invited by this staircase is a young woman leaning against a large tree.
She is voluptuous and graceful, charming and alluring, and she knows exactly how to display her perfect self.
A form-fitting black dress outlines her enchanting figure, revealing an absolute territory¹ on her thighs that sparks the imagination.

Her long, slender legs are clad in black garter stockings, with two ribbons playfully resting on her rounded thighs.
Further up is a long, slender, and seductive curve of her waist, forming a blood-pumping contrast with her full curves.

The young woman’s snow-white hair is draped over her shoulders.
On her exquisitely featured face, her eyelashes, like the wings of a swan, are quietly lowered.
After a moment, those wings tremble slightly.

“Mmm… ugh, I’m going to be late for work… No, I have to hurry…”
Muttering something very close to sleep-talking, I groggily opened my eyes.
Like wearing a pair of highly myopic glasses, everything I saw was blurry.

I wanted to rub my eyes, but by some strange impulse, I moved the hand that was supporting my body, and then my head suddenly hit the tree trunk.

“Ouch! Hiss—that hurts.”

Thanks to this good morning kiss from nature, my consciousness quickly cleared, and the scene before me came into full view.

The rippling lake, its water so clear you could see the bottom, shimmered with sparkling light that danced on the leaves and branches.
The lake was surrounded by tall, verdant trees, like a jewel set in the forest.

After a moment of daze, I shook my head like a rattle-drum, the soft flesh of my cheeks and my hair trembling along with it.
After a short while, I came to my senses.

Where the hell am I?
Am I still in the city?
Wasn’t I being chased by someone throwing spears at me?
How did I get here??

I remember… I fainted in the grassy field outside the city.
If nothing unexpected happened, I should have fallen into the hands of that bunch of damn inquisitors.
But the current situation clearly indicates that something “unexpected” did happen.

Suddenly, a pleasant voice sounded.

“You’re awake?”

“Who?!”

I quickly turned my head.
The black-haired girl was leaning against a large tree a short distance away.
Her eyes were calm as she watched me quietly, but her body was covered in bruises, and her dress was tattered.
Her right arm hung limply on the ground.

She’s badly hurt!

I tried to stand up, but my joints were like old, rusty machine bearings, making a “creak, creak” sound with the slightest movement.
It took all my strength to just barely get to my feet.

‘I’m so young, why am I like an old geezer?’

‘I’m not even as good as an old geezer. At least he can do a five-hit combo with ease.’³

I complained to myself as I quickly squatted down beside the girl.
I asked worriedly.

“Your arm… is it broken?”

“It’s nothing, it’ll recover in a few days.”

“…You were the one who saved me in the end?”

“Not exactly.”

‘Oh? I didn’t expect her to be a bit of a tsundere.’
‘Not exactly… so she was the one who carried me back here?’

‘She’s actually quite nice. No, wait, she’s not human.’

“No matter what, I still have to thank you,” I said solemnly.
“You may just be looking for an answer to some question from me, and you’re not asking for my gratitude at all.
But likewise, my thanks come from my own will, so please accept it graciously~ Miss Thunder Lizard.”

I thought she would be more receptive to this.
From the moment we met, she had been intentionally keeping her distance from me.
If I hadn’t strongly insisted up in the sky, she probably wouldn’t have held me in her arms.

But it seems I misjudged.
The other person looked at me with displeasure, her tone low.

“What did you call me?”

“Eh?” I didn’t get it.

“Thunder… Liza—”

“Elvira! Elvira Serenil.”

“What?” I still didn’t get it.

“My name. Don’t call me a lizard. I am a dragon.”

‘You’re a dragon… alright then…’
That was the first thought in my mind.

Then, I had a sudden realization—

She said she’s a dragon?!

I quickly glanced at the tail behind her, then recalled the pair of pitch-black wings.
An image of a four-legged, two-winged Western dragon quickly formed in my mind.

“Can you breathe fire?”

The words slipped out before I could think, earning me a disdainful look from her.

“Er… pretend I didn’t ask.”
I scratched my head and chuckled awkwardly.
Looking at Elvira, all covered in dust, I thought for a moment and added:
“You’re injured, so don’t move. I’ll get some water for you from over there.”

Without waiting for a reply, I got up, picked a leaf from a nearby bush that was about the size of my head, and walked to the lake’s edge and squatted down.
A few fish in the water were startled and swam away quickly.

The lake water was crystal clear, shimmering with ripples.
I suddenly felt my mouth go dry.
I immediately took off my gloves, cupped my hands, and greedily drank the water.

“Hah~ I’m alive again,” I let out a long sigh.
A sweet, refreshing comfort flowed through my body.
This made me unable to resist taking a few more sips, stopping only when my stomach felt slightly bloated.

Lifting my head, I saw my current appearance reflected on the water’s surface.

Needless to say, my snow-white hair and fair skin were exquisite.
My facial features were delicate and three-dimensional, like a work of art from a top master.
A pair of peach-blossom eyes⁴ were lively and alluring, and below a small, delicate nose were thin, rosy cherry lips.

This face was quite unfamiliar, but also extremely beautiful, a world apart from the run-of-the-mill beauties I had seen in my past life.

But what surprised me even more were my heterochromatic eyes.

One red and one purple pupil, one on the left and one on the right, exuded an enchanting charm.
At the same time, they added a touch of strange beauty to my appearance, a mix of sanctity and coquetry.

Perhaps to others, I am like a precious treasure in the world, unique and one-of-a-kind.
This devastating beauty is enough to inspire a possessive desire in anyone.

‘Great, great. Just in case people don’t have ill intentions, right?’

This great, universally attractive face… is on me?

‘A permanent charm buff or something, I don’t want that!’

‘And my hair is so long, it goes past my waist. I’m not used to it…’

Complaining is one thing, but I have an injured person here.
I should hurry and get the water to her.

I rinsed the leaf in the water a few times until it was completely clean, then used it to scoop up some fresh water.
Then I slowly stood up, walking step by step, afraid of spilling the water.

I knelt down beside Elvira, brought the leaf to her lips, and said with a smile:
“Here, drink.”

But she didn’t make a move, which I found strange.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t worry, the water is clean. I tried it.”

“You’d better stay away from me,” Elvira turned her head away after a moment and said faintly.
“I have a curse on me. I’m an outcast among the dragons. Legend has it that black dragons are a sign of misfortune. If you don’t want to get involved, then—mmph.”

Before Elvira could finish, I directly poured the water into her mouth.
While feeding her, I said earnestly:
“What do the affairs of your dragon clan have to do with me? Besides, I don’t believe in those myths and legends. What kind of person you are can only be decided by you, not some ethereal curse.”

Hearing me say this, Elvira’s beautiful eyes widened slightly.
She blinked a couple of times, looking at me as if in confusion.
I could read doubt and surprise in her eyes, and maybe even happiness?

The wagging of her tail also became noticeably more pronounced.
That’s how I judged that she was happy.
A dragon is not a dog, but the tails of most creatures are separate from their main body.

Perhaps people in this world strongly believe in ghost stories and the like.
But I’m different.
Although this is most likely a magical world, we still have to be scientific.

After that, Elvira’s lukewarm attitude changed.
She let me feed her water and was very cooperative, no longer saying things like “stay away from me.”

After fetching water several times, I tore a piece of cloth from my clothes, kneaded and washed it carefully in the water, preparing to use it to wipe Elvira’s body.

But!

After everything was ready, I didn’t know where to start.

Elvira’s figure and appearance were simply too alluring.
Even compared to my current body, she was on par.

I stood there in a daze, the cloth in my hand raised and lowered several times, hesitating to begin.

“What are you doing now?” she asked.

“Nothing… I just think you’re very beautiful.”

“You’re not bad yourself.”

Wow~ She’s not stingy with her compliments.
Let’s talk to distract myself.

“Didn’t you say before that you had something to figure out? Since we have nothing to do now, let’s talk about it.”

I picked up the cloth and gently touched Elvira’s fair shoulder, starting to slowly wipe her body.

“I’m looking for something, an ancient artifact called the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’,” Elvira said slowly as I attended to her.
“There was news that the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’ is in Norn City, the city we escaped from.”

“Mm, and then,” my attention was fully on wiping her body, so my reply to Elvira was rather casual.

‘Tsk, tsk, this girl’s skin is so smooth.’

“Then, I traveled from another continent to here, to Norn City.
But when I arrived, Norn City was already in ruins.
Broodmothers born from the curse roamed the city, and the houses were all torn down by black and red thorns.”

Broodmothers… that should be those three fleshy tumors with arms and legs.
But what is the curse?
It sounds different from the one on Elvira…
As for the black and red thorns… that seems to be something I control.

“I found the most conspicuous building—that church.
I had a strange feeling that the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’ was there.
As I searched deeper, I came across you, who had just awakened in the flower bud…
You know what happened after that.”

“So, you still haven’t told me what you want with me.”

Her shoulders, arms, and legs were almost done.
I’ll just rinse the cloth and help her wipe her face, and that’ll be it.

I walked to the lake’s edge and dipped the cloth in the water.
Just as I squatted down to wash it, Elvira suddenly spoke.

“I think you are the ‘Seed of Genesis and Extinction’.”

Foootnotes:

¹ 絶対領域 (Zettai Ryōiki – Absolute Territory): A Japanese term popular in anime/manga culture that refers to the area of exposed thigh between the top of thigh-high socks and the hem of a skirt.

³ 五连鞭 (wǔ lián biān – Five-hit combo): A reference to a viral video of a self-proclaimed “Tai Chi master” named Ma Baoguo, who demonstrated a flashy but ineffective “five-hit combo.” The phrase became a meme in China, often used humorously to describe something that looks impressive but is actually useless, or to mock someone’s lack of real skill. Here, the character is sarcastically comparing her stiff body to this well-known, albeit comical, martial arts move.

⁴ 桃花眼 (táohuā yǎn – Peach-blossom eyes): A term used in East Asian cultures to describe eyes that are large, almond-shaped, slightly upturned at the corners, and have long lashes. They are considered very attractive and are said to bring good luck in love and relationships.