The Black Dragon Miss Refuses to Be a Mount

Ailolin thought, what could this stupid wolf possibly understand? In Guoguo's world, there was nothing but eating and sleeping. How could she possibly think about so many things?

Generally speaking, only a kiss between people counted as giving away one's first kiss. Likaro was still a child and did not understand what a first kiss was, so Ailolin believed that both hers and Likaro's first kisses were still intact.

So this had merely been an ordinary kiss representing friendship. Yes, that had to be it.

Besides, she had already turned into a dragon now, so she should stop thinking about first kisses and such.

Likaro noticed that the Little Black Dragon had started spacing out again. She immediately realized this was a good opportunity, so she gave Guoguo a look. The latter cooperatively lay down beside Ailolin.

Taking advantage of Ailolin's rare moment of distraction, Likaro stepped onto Guoguo's back as quickly as possible, grabbed onto Ailolin's back with both hands, and lifted one leg up.

Ailolin snapped back to her senses, but it was too late. Likaro had already climbed onto her back.

"Yay! I won!"

Listening to Likaro's cheers, Ailolin's heart went cold. Could that have been Likaro's plan just now?

This was bad. A bet was a bet, and Ailolin might really become the first dragon ever ridden by a human little girl.

"So I can ride you once now, right?" Likaro asked excitedly and expectantly.

"You can get down now."

"Huh?"

"Haven't you already ridden me?"

Ailolin shamelessly tried to wriggle out of it with an eight-year-old girl.

"That doesn't count! It doesn't count!" Likaro tightly gripped Ailolin's back and refused to let go. "Bad dragon, you're cheating!"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Ailolin silently sighed to herself. She had not expected her first time to be given to Likaro today.

Don't get the wrong idea. It was her first time being ridden.

But considering Likaro's safety, Ailolin could not simply carry her into the sky. It would be troublesome if Likaro failed to hold on and fell, so she pushed it off until tomorrow. At the same time, she told Likaro to bring some sturdy rope when she came tomorrow. They had to deal with the safety issue first before Likaro could ride her.

Likaro said she could accept that. The Little Black Dragon would not leave until the night after tomorrow anyway, so riding her tomorrow was fine.

"Then, see you tomorrow~"

It was getting late, and Likaro had to go home. After saying goodbye to her, Ailolin also prepared to hunt in the forest.

Her existence truly made life hard for the animals in the forest. Fortunately, in a few days, this Black Dragon that had traumatized them would be leaving.

Guoguo did not need meat. There were plenty of fruits stored in the cave, and every time Ailolin went hunting, she picked some more fruit along the way. Guoguo only needed to open her mouth and eat.

Fortunately, Guoguo ate fruit. Otherwise, Ailolin felt that given enough time, this wolf would grow into a pig.

Ailolin easily caught some prey, but she chose to finish eating outside before returning to the cave, because Guoguo did not like the bloody smell of prey.

When Ailolin returned to the cave after eating her fill, she discovered a familiar person holding Guoguo in her arms, seemingly waiting for her.

It was Xiya.

"You're back?" (Dragon language)

Xiya was still using translation magic, so Ailolin directly spoke to her in the Dragon language she was more proficient in.

"Mm, I'm back." Xiya smiled at Ailolin, but she seemed somewhat tired.

"What are you here for?"

"To take Sulana away, and to say goodbye to you while I'm at it."

"Huh? Who is Sulana?"

Hearing Ailolin's question, Xiya gestured toward Guoguo in her arms. "Her."

"Guoguo has a name!?"

"Pfft! Is that a nickname you gave her? It sounds pretty interesting." Xiya stroked Guoguo's head. "Sorry, when I asked you to take care of her, I forgot to tell you. She really does have a name."

"This... Also, how did you know I was leaving?"

"Sulana told me."

"Huh? Her?" Ailolin looked in surprise at the wolf in Xiya's arms. "She can communicate?"

"Only with me." Xiya pressed her face against Guoguo's head and rubbed against her before saying, "She said thank you for feeding her delicious fruit these past few days."

"..."

Ailolin was shocked. After Xiya explained, she finally learned that Guoguo was actually an intelligent magical beast. Though she looked much like an ordinary wolf on the outside, that was only because she had not grown up yet.

And the reason Guoguo looked so stupid in Ailolin's eyes was simply because she was incredibly lazy. Other than eating, drinking, and sleeping, she could not even be bothered to think.

That was why Guoguo could play hide-and-seek and cooperate with Likaro to help her climb onto Ailolin's back.

So Guoguo was intelligent. Not only that, she even had her own name.

"Ailolin, where do you plan to go after leaving?" Xiya asked.

"Um, I have a lot of things I'm planning to do..."

Ailolin briefly introduced her future plans to Xiya. After she finished, Xiya praised her, "So you've already planned it all out. That's great."

"Mm."

"Will you miss Likaro after saying goodbye to her?"

"..."

Wasn't that an obvious question?

"Don't worry. If you want to come back and see her in the future, you can find me. I can help notify her."

Xiya was right. Although she called herself a witch, she looked much like a human after all. When the time came, she could go to where Likaro lived and find her.

"Then how do I find you?"

"You don't need to find me. I'll find you." Xiya explained, "As long as you enter the forest, I'll be able to sense your location."

"You're that amazing?"

Ailolin realized that the witch before her was truly unfathomable.

"So go boldly explore the outside world. I believe you'll have another chance to meet Likaro again in the future."

"Mm, definitely."

Likaro was Ailolin's first friend in this other world, and she was extraordinarily important to Ailolin. Ailolin herself also liked Likaro's personality very much. Being able to become friends with Likaro was an incredibly fortunate thing.

Ailolin treasured this friendship greatly. Therefore, no matter where she went in the future, she would never forget the memories of the time she spent with Likaro.

PS: I saw a comment saying that the protagonist's name, "Ailolin," sounded like "loves lolis." Cough, cough, cough... coughing blood And someone even said it sounded like "short loli."

That Winter Day: 022 Soaring Through the Sky

"Huh? Where did Guoguo go?"

After Likaro arrived, she did not see Guoguo. Usually, Guoguo would be lying beside Ailolin waiting for her.

"She left."

"Huh? She left?"

Likaro was very surprised. Though she knew Guoguo had originally been a wild wolf, Guoguo had been playing with them during this time, so she felt somewhat reluctant to see her go.

She had not expected Guoguo, like the Little Black Dragon, to leave. Thinking of how Guoguo's body had grown quite a lot recently, Likaro felt that this was perhaps what growing up meant.

Just like how she herself planned to leave home after growing up and explore the outside world.

Only Ailolin knew that Guoguo had merely returned to her master's side. She could only try to comfort Likaro by saying that Guoguo was still active in the forest, so Likaro would still be able to see her in the future.

Perhaps Guoguo would suddenly appear one day.

"Awoo!"

Just as Ailolin was thinking about this, Guoguo poked her head out of the grass.

"Guoguo~!"

Likaro ran over and affectionately hugged her, rubbing against her. Then she said to Ailolin, "Little Black Dragon lied to me. Guoguo didn't leave at all."

"Uh..."

Ailolin had actually thought of this before. Since Witch Xiya lived in the forest, Guoguo would naturally remain by her side as well. And now it was clear that Xiya did not restrict Guoguo's freedom, so Guoguo could still come play with Ailolin and Likaro.

She just did not know where in the forest that mysterious witch lived.

After playing with Guoguo for a while, Likaro took out the item they had agreed on yesterday—sturdy rope—from the backpack she had brought.

Actually, Likaro had brought more than just rope. She had also taken a saddle from her family's storage room, so her butt would not feel uncomfortable while sitting on the Little Black Dragon's back.

Seeing how thoroughly prepared Likaro was, Ailolin had nothing to say. Who told her to let Likaro take advantage of her while she was spacing out yesterday?

So she lay down on the ground and waited for Likaro to tie several safety measures around her.

Likaro first placed the saddle on Ailolin's back, then began wrapping rope around her body. But she did not know how it should be tied. After countless failed attempts, Likaro lost patience.

She decided to tie herself and the Little Black Dragon together, but she needed Guoguo's help!

And so Ailolin watched as Likaro and Guoguo went back and forth tying things up. Likaro sat on the saddle first, then handled the places she could reach with her hands, while Guoguo held the rope in her mouth for the places she could not reach. In any case, it took a very long time, but they finally got everything tied up.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Safe! Absolutely safe!"

At that moment, Likaro's legs were tied to Ailolin's body with rope. The rope was thick and sturdy, but it was not tight enough to hurt her. Although she was firmly tied to Ailolin's body, there was also some room left, so it would not interfere with blood circulation.

Only when Likaro could not sit steadily would the rope come into play. Under other circumstances, Likaro could barely even feel that she was tied up.

"Alright, we can take off now!" Likaro impatiently urged Ailolin.

Ailolin first tried tilting her body to one side on the spot. Then she saw that Likaro was firmly sitting—or rather, tied—on the saddle, so she was not as worried anymore.

She would not fly at full speed later, nor would she perform any overly dangerous maneuvers, so it would still be safe.

Since the bet was only between Ailolin and Likaro, Guoguo could only watch from below. But she did not seem interested in it either, actually lying on the ground and dozing off.

Never mind her. After confirming that there were no problems once more, Ailolin flapped her wings amid Likaro's cheers and flew into the sky.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! So high!!!"

Likaro screamed. In truth, they were not flying very high yet, so Ailolin raised their altitude a little more.

"Are you scared?"

"No, no, not at all!" Likaro was extremely excited. "Is this what the view from the sky looks like? It's so beautiful!"

From the dragon's back, Likaro saw beautiful scenery she had never seen in her life. Clouds that had once seemed impossibly distant were right before her eyes, while the trees on the ground had become tiny. Looking down from high above, she could no longer make out many things below.

Some people were naturally afraid of heights, but Likaro was not afraid at all. She craned her head down to look, and her face showed not the slightest trace of fear, only excitement.

Ailolin could not fly any higher, because the air was thin up there and Likaro would not be able to endure it. Even at their current altitude, they could not stay for too long. The higher they flew, the lower the temperature became.

So after taking Likaro high into the sky for a while, Ailolin lowered their altitude. But even so, they were still at a height humans could never reach by relying on themselves.

Thinking that tomorrow was Likaro's birthday, and that she would also say goodbye to her tomorrow, Ailolin decided to indulge Likaro today. She could ride for as long as she wanted.

"Hehe, does the Little Black Dragon acknowledge me now?" Likaro suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Let me ride you in the future too?"

"Don't even think about it."

Ailolin said she had only let Likaro ride her because she had lost the bet. Normally, even if Likaro wanted to ride her, she would be strongly opposed to it.

She and Likaro were good friends, but that did not mean Dragonkind would accept being ridden by friends.

"I see." Likaro sounded a little disappointed. She muttered softly, "Then how am I supposed to become a Dragon Knight when I grow up..."

"What did you just say?"

The wind was too loud, and Ailolin had not heard clearly.

"Nothing. Thank you for today's gift~"

Although today's ride was the result of Ailolin losing their bet, Likaro was still deeply grateful to her.

Flying while riding on a dragon's back felt like a dream to Likaro. A scene that could only be found in adventure novels had become reality for her.

A few tears slipped from the corners of Likaro's eyes, but the wind immediately blew them away.