Likaro was strong and optimistic. She patted her cheeks and quickly pulled herself together.
Rather than feel sad, she might as well spend the last few days having as much fun as she could with the Little Black Dragon.
A smile bloomed on Likaro's face again. The Little Black Dragon was just like the fledgling she had once raised: one day, she would fly off into the vast sky that belonged to her. And as her friend, Likaro had to give her her heartfelt blessing.
The unfinished adventure novel lay on the desk. It was still a little early for bed, so Likaro decided to finish the book to pass the time.
It was an adventure novel starring a hero, a great knight—and a woman at that. Likaro looked up to her as a role model for her own future.
Compared with the mage her father wanted her to become, a knight was much cooler.
Likaro knew she was suited to learning magic, but she couldn't muster the slightest interest in it. If her father still wouldn't let her learn swordsmanship, she'd decided to teach herself. She had plenty of swordsmanship manuals hidden under her bed, all brought in at her request by her two older brothers.
Although they had different mothers, Likaro got along very well with her brothers, and they doted on their adorable little sister.
Likaro dreamed of becoming a knight: getting herself a horse and equipment, carrying a longsword on her back and a lance in her hand, traveling across the world to uphold justice and help the weak, and ultimately becoming a great knight known to all.
In truth, such a dream didn't suit Likaro at all. As the daughter of a mighty duke of the Empire, she was born with considerable prestige. Knights might sound righteous and glorious, but most of them were really just elite soldiers—the armed forces maintained by their lords.
Of course, Likaro wasn't after prestige. What she really wanted was to become a free knight, bound by no one. But apart from a very few exceptions, most free knights went unnoticed.
In fact, Likaro's dream was much like Ailolin's. Neither of them wanted to stay in one place forever. They both wanted to travel far away, to every corner of the world, witness its sights, and make their lives more meaningful.
Likaro read intently. The adventure novel was nearing its end, and just then, the story took a turn she never would have expected.
Before the final battle against the Evil God, the protagonist actually tamed a dragon and convinced it to willingly become his mount.
A new term entered Likaro's vocabulary: Dragon Knight.
The adventure novel was filled with exquisite illustrations. The dashing protagonist rode on the back of a dragon, lance in hand, battling the final enemy in the sky. The image struck Likaro right in the heart and filled her with longing.
So Dragonkind could be ridden, as long as they accepted you?
In the novel, the protagonist had also found a way to ride on the dragon's back. That earned him the proud dragon's recognition, and he became a dashing Dragon Knight.
Likaro remembered the bet she'd made with the Little Black Dragon. If she could find a way to climb onto the Little Black Dragon's back, then the Little Black Dragon would let her ride her once.
Could it be...
Likaro made a bold guess. Could this be the Little Black Dragon's test for her? If she succeeded, she would earn her recognition, and in the end, the Little Black Dragon would willingly become her mount!?
Compared with being a knight, becoming a Dragon Knight suddenly seemed far more exciting to Likaro.
But the Little Black Dragon would be leaving in a few days, and Likaro felt a pang of regret.
But then!
Likaro's eyes suddenly lit up. There were still three days left. She could use that time to figure out how to get onto the Little Black Dragon's back. Maybe then she'd earn her recognition!
The Little Black Dragon would still leave, but once Likaro grew up, she could go find her and ride her through the skies!
Likaro could already picture the scene. Her heart raced with excitement. That way, she wouldn't have to part with her good friend, the Little Black Dragon, and she could make her dream come true at the same time.
After finishing the novel, Likaro still wanted more. It wasn't too late yet, so she lay on her bed and began thinking of a plan.
How could she climb onto the Little Black Dragon's back?
Over the days they'd spent together, Likaro had learned that the Little Black Dragon's reflexes were far beyond what a human like her could match. No matter how unexpected her move, the Little Black Dragon would notice it.
The only opening might be when the Little Black Dragon was daydreaming, but she almost never did that. The last time had truly been a special case.
Maybe Guoguo could help? No, that wolf was a little dim. Their plans never worked.
Likaro thought it over and over, but couldn't come up with anything useful.
If she'd made the bet when she'd first met the Little Black Dragon, she would have had a good chance of winning. The Little Black Dragon had just been born then, and her body hadn't developed yet. Likaro could have used the chance to touch her scales and climbed right onto her back.
But now, even if the Little Black Dragon lay on the ground, it would be quite difficult for Likaro to climb onto her back.
"What should I do...?"
Likaro could only rely on her wits. She had to find the Little Black Dragon's weakness, or she would never succeed.
To earn the Little Black Dragon's recognition and win their bet, Likaro resolved to find the right method before the Little Black Dragon left.
As she kept thinking, time slowly passed. The night grew deeper, and the moon climbed high in the sky. The late hours were quiet.
By then, Likaro had fallen asleep on her bed without even realizing it.
Chapter 0: That Winter 020: A Kiss of Friendship
Likaro didn't think there was any need to keep teaching the Little Black Dragon to speak. All she wanted to do during the few days they had left was have fun with her.
Without the heavy backpack weighing her down, Likaro walked much more lightly. She went to see the Little Black Dragon as usual, and the Little Black Dragon had already been waiting for her.
"Where's Guoguo?"
Likaro looked around, but didn't see Guoguo.
"Over there."
Ailolin raised a claw and pointed. Following the direction she indicated, Likaro saw that Guoguo had climbed up a tree and fallen asleep with its front paws wrapped around a branch.
Huh? Since when had Guoguo learned to climb trees?
The tree Guoguo had climbed was covered in fruit. Once it woke up, it could simply reach out and enjoy a tasty snack. What a carefree life.
Ailolin had been surprised when she first noticed it, too. She'd wondered when Guoguo had learned to climb trees. And as it happened, many trees in the forest bore fruit even in winter.
That meant Guoguo could survive the winter without eating meat.
Looking up at Guoguo in the tree, Likaro suddenly had an idea.
"I'm going to climb a tree, too!"
With that, Likaro went to the tree and prepared to climb.
"Wait, that's dangerous."
Ailolin tried to stop her. Likaro looked like she knew how to climb trees, but it was still too dangerous. She was only an eight-year-old girl. If she fell, she could get hurt.
"It's fine, don't worry~"
Likaro climbed with practiced ease. She was clearly experienced. In fact, she'd learned to climb a long time ago. At home, she used to climb onto the roof whenever she had nothing to do. Climbing a tree was even easier.
The tree stood nearly ten meters tall. Ailolin watched anxiously, afraid Likaro might get hurt. She kept her eyes fixed on Likaro, ready to catch her if she fell.
She didn't realize that this was exactly what Likaro had planned. Their bet was for Likaro to find a way onto the Little Black Dragon's back, and the Little Black Dragon was in the perfect position. Likaro only had to jump lightly to land on her back.
So, halfway up the tree, Likaro let out a cry and "accidentally" slipped. She fell in a direction that just happened to line her up with the Little Black Dragon's back.
Ailolin had no time to think. She'd completely forgotten about the bet, and really was going to use her back to catch Likaro.
Though Ailolin's back wasn't flat, it had enough space for someone as small as Likaro to land without getting hurt.
Likaro's lips were already curling into a smile. Just as she thought her plan was about to succeed—
"Awooo!"
Guoguo, who had been sleeping, quickly caught Likaro by the collar and pulled her onto a branch.
Guoguo rubbed its face against Likaro's, apparently trying to comfort her after her "fright."
Watching this from below, Ailolin gave Guoguo a mental thumbs-up. It was usually lazy and dumb, but at the crucial moment, it could be counted on.
But as for Likaro...
"Guoguo, you idiot! I was so close to succeeding, sob!"
Guoguo couldn't understand what Likaro was saying, but it could tell she was angry. Its face filled with hurt.
"Succeeding? Succeed at what?"
Ailolin had heard every word from below. Thinking back over Likaro's actions and putting them together with what she'd just said... Could it be?
"You were trying to get on my back?"
"No, I wasn't planning anything like that." Likaro tried to make excuses.
At her reaction, Ailolin knew her guess was almost certainly right. Likaro's mishap just now might have been on purpose. She felt a little angry, too, so she told Likaro to climb down and began scolding her.
"Don't try that again. It's too dangerous."
If Likaro was willing to put herself in danger just to win the bet, Ailolin would rather call it off.
Likaro had never seen the Little Black Dragon angry before. She hurried to apologize. "I won't do it again. Next time, I won't use that method, sob."
Likaro didn't think falling from a tree was a big deal. There was a layer of snow below, after all. Even if she did fall from that height, the worst that could happen was a sore spot for a few days. No big deal.
She hadn't expected Guoguo to save her. Once Guoguo climbed down, Likaro patted its head and said, "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you just now. Sorry~"
Then Likaro hugged Guoguo and kissed it several times. When she turned around, she noticed the Little Black Dragon watching her.
"Does the Little Black Dragon want kisses, too?"
"Me? I think I'll pass..."
Ailolin thought to herself that she was a dragon now, and she wasn't cute, either. Besides...
Besides, Ailolin had never been kissed by a girl before, especially not someone as young as Likaro.
"Come on, be good and lean your head over here~"
"Umm..."
Ailolin knew perfectly well that Likaro's kiss was just a friendly one, but she still felt terribly shy.
She'd never even been kissed on the cheek by a girl. Back on Earth, Ailolin hadn't even held hands with one.
"Come on, hurry up. Is the Little Black Dragon shy?"
Likaro deliberately made her voice sound a little teasing. Her provocation worked on Ailolin.
She was just an eight-year-old kid. What was there to be shy about?
When Ailolin obediently leaned her head over, Likaro kissed her without hesitation.
"!!!!!!!!!!"
Ailolin's heart lurched violently, because Likaro had kissed her on the mouth!
A human's mouth and a dragon's mouth were nowhere near the same size, but Ailolin still felt the touch of Likaro's lips.
It gave Ailolin, who usually relied on her memories of her past life to think of herself as an "adult," a sense that she was doing something wrong.
For Likaro, the kiss was nothing special. She kissed the little cat her family kept in the same way.
But to Ailolin, it felt as if a bomb had gone off in her heart.
If dragons could blush, Ailolin's face would have been bright red.
Likaro seemed confused by Ailolin's reaction, so she asked, "Was that kiss not enough? Want another?"
"No!"
Ailolin backed away. She was a dragon now, but Likaro's kiss had still sent her emotions into a frenzy.
Seeing Ailolin's strange reaction, Likaro grinned mischievously. "So my kisses make the Little Black Dragon shy, huh? Hehe."
"Enough!"
To Ailolin, Likaro looked just like a little devil now. Seriously, what was going on? She'd been teased by an eight-year-old girl.
Chapter 0: That Winter 021: I Won the Bet
Likaro definitely hadn't meant to tease Ailolin. If anyone was to blame, it was Ailolin for having impure thoughts.
But it couldn't be helped. Children's thoughts were innocent, and although Ailolin's theoretical age was less than a year, adding in the memories from her past life meant she had the mind of an adult.
Of course she'd feel shy when Likaro kissed her, especially since, although her body had become female, Ailolin still instinctively thought of herself as male.
"Look, Guoguo isn't as shy as you." Likaro patted Guoguo's head.
Before you continue