Miss Black Dragon Refuses to Be a Mount

After yawning, the woman was about to return to the house when she casually glanced at the startled Ailolin in the sky. This time, she finally saw clearly what that Flying Magical Beast was, and her eyes immediately lit up.

It was actually a Black Dragon!

The Black Dragon seemed to have been frightened by the arrow just now and was preparing to flee. Naturally, the woman would not simply let her leave, so she used Sound Transmission Magic to call out to the Black Dragon from afar. "Don't run! I'm not trying to kill you. Come down and let's talk, all right?" (Dragon language)

Ailolin, who had been planning to flee, was suddenly startled. What she had heard seemed to be Dragon language!

But that person had just seemed to be trying to kill her. If that arrow had been any more accurate, she might have died on the spot...

Still, since that person could speak Dragon language, she must surely have some connection to Dragonkind. After considering it for a while, Ailolin decided to take a risk and gamble that the person would not hurt her again.

Besides, if that person really wanted to attack her, Ailolin did not think she could escape. After that arrow, the person had not fired another shot.

Thus, Ailolin decided to take the risk. She flew toward the house and, seeing that the woman had already lowered her bow, landed in front of it.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Vidian. And you?"

"Ailolin." She did not readily reveal her surname.

"A Black Dragon, huh." Vidian briefly examined Ailolin's appearance before asking, "Which clan are you from? Who is your clan chief?"

"I don't know..."

Ailolin was currently searching for a Dragonkind clan herself.

"Interesting. But it doesn't matter. We have plenty of time to talk."

Vidian asked Ailolin to tell her where she had come from, but before that, Ailolin had questions of her own. "Are you human? Why can you speak Dragon language? What is your relationship with Dragonkind?"

Faced with so many questions, Vidian said Ailolin should answer her questions first, and then she would tell her.

"I was born in the forest. Then, after about two months, I passed through my infancy and came here."

Ailolin said nothing about Likaro or Xiya. Once she left those details out, everything else could be explained in just a few sentences.

"Oh, I see. No wonder you're still so small."

"Can you answer my questions now?"

"Of course, but wait a moment first."

Vidian returned to the house and carried out a chair and a small table, placing them before Ailolin. She then set a tea service on the table, poured brewed black tea into a cup, and leisurely took a sip.

Ailolin silently watched it all. As she was now, she could not sit in a chair and drink tea like Vidian.

"So why can you speak Dragon language?"

"Because..." Vidian suddenly smiled. "I have many Dragonkind friends."

"Where are they?"

"They left this place more than fifty years ago. There are no Dragonkind clans in the Southern Wilderness anymore."

"..."

Ailolin could not help feeling disappointed, as the hope in her heart had been dashed.

Wait, more than fifty years ago...

Yet Vidian looked very young. It seemed she might not be human, or perhaps she had some way of preserving her youth.

Judging solely by her appearance, Vidian was no different from a human. Living at the foot of the mountains, she had the air of a hermit.

Vidian had her own thoughts as well. She saw Ailolin's disappointment and said, "Even though the Dragonkind clans have left, I'm still here."

"Hm?"

"I know Dragonkind very well too, so I can help you."

"You'll help me?"

"Why not?" Vidian replied. "However, I prefer fair transactions."

Vidian's words actually put Ailolin more at ease. Help offered for no reason at all was even more suspicious.

"Then what do you want?" Ailolin asked.

"Let me think."

At that moment, Vidian was considering what use Ailolin might have. Though she ought to help Ailolin for the sake of her being Dragonkind, Vidian could not be bothered with so much meddling, so there had to be a benefit that satisfied her.

"How about this? I'll teach you some useful knowledge, but you must sign a Mutual Aid Contract with me."

"What is a Mutual Aid Contract?"

"It means that when I need your help in the future, you must come help me once. Of course, if it threatens your life or if I make an unreasonable demand, the contract will automatically become void."

After Vidian explained it, Ailolin more or less understood what a Mutual Aid Contract was.

Simply put, after helping Ailolin, Vidian would be owed a favor by her, then use the power of the contract to prevent Ailolin from going back on her word in the future.

If they trusted each other, there would be no need for a Mutual Aid Contract. But Ailolin and Vidian had only just met, so naturally there was no trust between them.

Come to think of it, such a magical contract actually existed?

"Here, take a look at this contract. If there's no problem, sign it." Vidian presented the contract paper to Ailolin and added, "Don't worry that I'll deceive you. The contract is witnessed by a Deity."

The contract paper was tiny to Ailolin, but once Vidian held it steady, she could clearly see the words on it. The contract was written in Dragon language, so Ailolin could read it with ease.

Ailolin was not foolish enough to sign a contract with someone casually, but when she focused on the contract, she vaguely sensed a mysterious power.

That mysterious power felt reliable and familiar to Ailolin, as though the power of a Deity truly was bearing witness. It completely dispelled her doubts.

Vidian then placed the contract paper on the ground. At her instruction, Ailolin placed the tip of her claw on it, nearly covering the entire sheet with her claw tip.

Golden light flashed from the contract paper. Vidian pressed her finger onto it as well, followed by another burst of light.

Then the contract paper directly burned into ashes, but Ailolin could sense in her mind that the contract had been formed.

There truly was nothing wrong with it. It was an ordinary Mutual Aid Contract, and with that familiar mysterious power present, Ailolin did not doubt the contract in the slightest.

Vidian had made an "investment" in Ailolin, helping the currently weak Ailolin in exchange for Ailolin's help after she grew stronger in the future.

This deal was worthwhile for both sides.

PS: I did consider whether the contract was reasonable. In this world, as long as a contract is made willingly, it will be witnessed by divine power, so this isn't a scam~

Childhood Friend 003: Teacher Vidian

"Very good, Ailolin. As your teacher, from now on I will begin teaching you..."

"Huh? What teacher?"

Ailolin remembered that Vidian had originally agreed to share information about Dragonkind with her. How had she suddenly started calling herself Ailolin's teacher?

"You're not allowed to interrupt when your teacher is speaking!"

Vidian knocked Ailolin on the head with her fist. Though it looked like an ordinary punch, when it landed on Ailolin's head, she actually felt pain.

"..."

Seeing Ailolin obediently shut up, Vidian put her hands on her hips and said very seriously, "I may like to weigh everything in terms of benefits, but that doesn't mean I like taking advantage of others."

In Vidian's view, the help she gave Ailolin now had to be equal in value to the reward Ailolin would give her in the future.

An adult dragon's combat strength was formidable, and she might prove extremely useful when needed. Trading only some simple information for Ailolin's future assistance made Vidian feel deeply ashamed.

Therefore, Vidian decided to become Ailolin's teacher. Living in the Southern Wilderness was rather boring, and she had plenty of time to train Ailolin and help her grow into a powerful Black Dragon.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Vidian. Naturally, I won't tell you my surname. From now on, I'll teach you all the knowledge you need."

Ailolin was somewhat stunned. She had not expected things to develop this way. After thinking it over carefully, she felt this would be very beneficial to her as well, so she tried addressing her. "Teacher Vidian?"

This reminded Ailolin of Likaro. That adorable blond little girl also counted as her teacher, though she had never used the word teacher to address Likaro.

"Very good." Vidian nodded in satisfaction, then yawned. "I'm going to sleep first. Go do whatever you like."

"..."

Ailolin suspected she had heard wrong. Vidian had only just become her teacher, and she was already going to sleep? Shouldn't she start teaching her immediately?

Just as Ailolin wanted to ask, Vidian spoke first. "Sleep is the most important thing. We'll talk after I wake up."

"All right..."

Watching Vidian return to the house, Ailolin did not know what she should do. Her body was too large to fit inside, so she could only wait outside.

Yet Ailolin waited until the afternoon, and Vidian still had not come out of the house. She did not dare call for Vidian either. Her instincts told her that disturbing Vidian's sleep would end badly.

Gradually, Ailolin's patience ran out. Just as she could no longer bear it and wanted to call into the house, she suddenly realized—could this be a test Vidian had given her?

She had read so many novels and watched so many television dramas in her previous life. Many had plots like this: being deliberately left aside was actually a test of patience. If she did not even have this much patience, she would not be able to learn anything.

"I see. I understand now."

Ailolin stopped worrying and patiently waited outside the house until the sun set and the sky became completely dark...

Vidian opened her eyes and groggily looked out the window. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead. "Oh no, I overslept!"

She hurried outside and saw Ailolin still waiting. "Have you been waiting for me this whole time?"

"Mm."

"I'm so sorry. I slept a little too long."

"...It's fine."

Actually, Ailolin had been unable to resist taking a nap herself earlier, but Vidian did not seem to have noticed.

"Then let me explain the arrangements for this period." Vidian looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky, then sat on the chair beside the door. "As a dragon, you must learn to fight. Note that I mean fighting powerful magical beasts, not bullying those weak, docile magical beasts."

Ailolin understood. Combat was indeed a good way to grow stronger. To survive better, she also had to improve her fighting ability.

"Second, I'll teach you the widely used languages of this world, such as Human Common Tongue, Elven Common Tongue, Beastfolk Common Tongue, and so on..."

Hearing Vidian say this, Ailolin raised her own question. "Can you tell me about these races first?"

Of the races she had mentioned, Ailolin had only encountered humans. She had never even seen the latter two.

"Don't rush. I'll tell you everything gradually. There are very many races in this world."

"I understand."

"Good. Then let's begin now. Do you need to sleep?"

"I'm not sleepy yet."

Vidian nodded. "Wait a moment."

She then entered the house and carried out a thin but long and wide stone slab, propping it up by the door.

The stone slab had been polished extremely smooth, so smooth that it even reflected light. Vidian held a Short Wand in her hand and lightly tapped the slab with it. The slab immediately began to glow.

Then words actually appeared on the slab.

"A display screen?" Ailolin blurted out.

"What did you say?"

"N-Nothing..."

"Do you recognize the words on the slab?"

"I do."

Ailolin noticed that the words on the slab were Human language for "hello."

"Oh? How do you know Human language?" Vidian suddenly showed interest.

"I only know a little. A human taught me."

"It seems you experienced some things in the forest." Vidian smiled, but did not continue asking. "For now, I won't concern myself with your past experiences. From now on, you must listen carefully."

"Mm."

During the lessons that followed, Vidian used the stone slab to write words. It was actually similar to how Likaro had written on a drawing board before, except the stone slab was more convenient. Whenever she wanted to erase something, Vidian only had to lightly tap it with the Short Wand in her hand.

This could not help making Ailolin curious about who Vidian really was. Since arriving in this world, she felt that aside from Likaro, everyone else she had encountered was extremely mysterious.

"I didn't expect you to learn so quickly. It seems I should teach you some more difficult vocabulary."

Vidian was rather surprised by Ailolin's learning speed. At first, she thought it was because Ailolin had studied before, but even words that would obviously be unfamiliar to Ailolin were quickly memorized. This sort of memory was not something every dragon possessed.

But in Ailolin's eyes, this was simply her normal learning speed.

In fact, Likaro had previously taught Ailolin words using Human language, so naturally her efficiency could not compare to Vidian teaching in Dragon language. That was why Ailolin learned so quickly.