Miss Black Dragon Doesn't Want to Be a Mount

"Your turn."

"..."

"Hey! Say something."

"..."

Ailolin could never have imagined that Likaro, the person she had been searching for, was right in front of her.

Although eight years had passed and Likaro had grown from a little girl into a young woman, Ailolin recognized her at first glance.

It was just that the expression and demeanor of the blonde girl before her were now completely different from before.

Ailolin felt both unfamiliarity and heartache.

What had Likaro gone through to become like this?

"What are you spacing out for?"

"..."

Feeling Likaro's somewhat cold gaze and hearing that completely unfamiliar voice, Ailolin felt upset.

She suddenly rushed forward and hugged Likaro, but the latter thought Ailolin was attacking her and immediately drew the dagger at her waist, stabbing toward Ailolin's heart.

There was no sound of the dagger piercing flesh. Instead, Likaro's hand was jolted painfully, as if she had just stabbed an iron plate.

Realizing that Likaro had attacked her only made Ailolin's heart ache more. Likaro really was being hunted, or she would not have become so sensitive.

So she hugged Likaro even tighter and comforted her. "Don't worry. I'm really not here to kill you."

"You..."

The dagger fell from Likaro's hand to the floor. She realized that the girl before her was someone she could not defeat at all.

Even though she still had magic at her disposal, she no longer wanted to use it.

Because the girl really did not seem to be attacking her.

Likaro was taller than the girl. Now that she was being held by her, she noticed what seemed to be slight protrusions on the girl's head.

She placed a hand on Ailolin's head and felt something hard.

"What is this...?"

There was no longer any need for Ailolin to hide herself. She released Likaro, removed her cloak, and revealed herself to Likaro.

What a beautiful girl... And, and on her body???

Likaro suddenly realized that the girl standing before her was not human at all.

She had horns on her head and wings on her back, but that alone was not enough to determine her race, so Likaro looked at her tail.

That type of tail... Was she a lizard?

"Are you from the lizardfolk?" Likaro asked uncertainly.

"Pfft..."

Ailolin was deeply hurt by that. What the hell was a lizard?!

"I'm actually Dragonkind."

Ailolin spread her wings wide, making herself look rather cool.

"Dragon, dragon..."

Likaro had special feelings toward that word.

Perhaps she was too shocked, because Likaro's mind temporarily lost the ability to think.

But Ailolin would remind her.

"Back to my earlier question. I'm looking for a girl whose dream was to become a knight. She's seventeen this year, blonde, and very pretty."

Before she could finish speaking, Likaro had already frozen.

Ailolin continued, "She lives in Aidefalong, and her name is Likaro."

As Ailolin finished speaking, Likaro's body began to tremble.

Ailolin walked over and hugged her, saying gently, "I'm the Little Black Dragon she used to love most."

Tears spilled from Likaro's eyes. Her emotions were so complicated that they could no longer be described with words.

The name Little Black Dragon had long become incredibly unfamiliar to her.

Yet now, the girl before her had spoken it again.

At the same time, the Dragonkind traits on the girl's body lent credibility to her claim.

As Ailolin held Likaro, she noticed a necklace around her neck, with a Recording Crystal hanging from it.

So she took a necklace from her own pocket. It was one Likaro had made back then so she could tie it onto Ailolin's dragon horn.

Then she placed the necklace in Likaro's palm.

"Is it really you, Little Black Dragon...?"

Likaro dispelled the magic that had disguised her voice, revealing her true voice.

That voice gave Ailolin a familiar feeling.

She hugged Likaro again and said, "It really is me."

"Ugh..."

Likaro began to cry. She thought she was dreaming. The Little Black Dragon she had not seen for eight years had actually appeared before her in this way.

In truth, she rarely cried. Yet now, for the first time in so long, she cried with such relief and peace of mind.

The Little Black Dragon's presence gave her a powerful sense of security.

Ailolin's heart ached for Likaro. This poor girl must have gone through something to become like this.

There was no trace left of the cheerful, innocent Likaro she had once known.

She must have been carrying something, because that heavy feeling was simply too obvious.

"I'm really sorry I never came back to see you all these years."

"..."

Likaro could no longer speak. She only hugged Ailolin tightly.

The Little Black Dragon had become humanoid, just like Guoguo had back then...

"Standing is tiring. Let's sit by the bed first. I have so much to tell you."

"Mm..."

Both Ailolin and Likaro wanted to tell each other about everything they had experienced over the past eight years. They had countless things they wanted to say.

Only after seeing Likaro as she was now did Ailolin realize just how important Likaro was to her.

Or rather, Likaro was the person she cared about most in this world. Their friendship might have been the most precious thing she had.

Compared to that, she regretted even more that she had not come back sooner.

Otherwise, Likaro would never have become like this.

Likaro had stopped crying by now, and joy rose in her heart. The girl before her really was the Little Black Dragon.

"Actually, I... Mmph!"

Ailolin had just been about to say something when her cheeks suddenly flushed. Oh no, she thought, and her breathing immediately became rapid.

Why? She had gone into heat just last night. Why was the next time coming so soon?!

Seeing something was wrong with Ailolin, Likaro asked anxiously, "Little Black Dragon, what's wrong?"

"Huff... I'm fine, don't worry... Huff..."

Ailolin panted heavily. She felt that she needed to calm down, so she said, "You, you should go outside first. Come back in half an hour..."

"What's wrong with you?"

How could Likaro possibly just leave? She was extremely worried.

Looking at the blonde girl before her, Ailolin felt her mind becoming even more dazed. Suddenly, she uncontrollably cupped Likaro's face and kissed her on the lips.

"Mmmwah~"

That instantly snapped Ailolin awake. She realized that if this continued, things would become very bad!

Her reason overcame the desire in her heart, and her state of heat was miraculously suppressed.

However, Likaro, who had just been kissed by her, had already fallen into a daze.

When Ailolin came back to her senses, she had the same reaction as Likaro.

What had she just done?!

PS: I really didn't mean to leave off there just now... Cough, cough. So I'll release another chapter early.

Just Good Friends

Likaro, who was already seventeen this year, could not possibly not know what a kiss meant. Although she had kissed Ailolin many times before, those had all been when they were children.

And back then, Ailolin had not been humanoid at all. Even though Likaro knew that the girl standing before her was still Ailolin, it still felt different to her.

Suddenly being kissed by Ailolin, their lips touching, was more than Likaro could bear.

Her heart pounded violently, her cheeks grew burning hot, and her mind completely lost the ability to think.

An incredibly complicated, indescribable feeling rose in her heart.

Ailolin's reaction was exactly the same as Likaro's. She never could have imagined that she would suddenly go into heat in front of Likaro. Although reason had now gained the upper hand and her heat had stopped, the soft sensation of Likaro's lips seemed to still linger on her own.

Oh heavens, what had she just done?!

She had just given her first kiss after becoming humanoid to Likaro...

Still, amid her embarrassment, Ailolin was also curious whether that had been Likaro's first kiss.

Shaking her muddled head, Ailolin tried to calm herself down.

She and Likaro were just good friends. What had happened just now was completely an accident!

Likaro had somewhat recovered by now. Her face red, she looked at Ailolin and hesitated for a long time without managing to say anything.

The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward, though it also seemed somewhat ambiguous.

Although Likaro did not know what was going on, she understood how awkward things were, so she tried to find a way to resolve it.

"Um... Mmph, well..." Likaro seemed to have made up her mind. "We're good friends, right?"

"Mm..."

"Then that kiss just now was perfectly normal, because we kissed when we were little too!"

This was the best explanation Likaro could think of. Her heart was filled with embarrassment, and her demeanor and expression were like those of a shy young girl, completely unlike her previous deep and cold appearance.

Meeting the Little Black Dragon was Likaro's greatest surprise in all these years. She had been walking alone down a lonely road, never expecting the Little Black Dragon to suddenly appear before her.

Before her stood her childhood companion and best friend, yet a faint unease rose in Likaro's heart. Could this Little Black Dragon be nothing more than a hallucination of her own...?

Perhaps she had gone through so many painful things that the pressure on her mind had finally become too much, causing her to imagine a girl transformed from the Little Black Dragon...

Likaro had already lost too much. So even when she saw something with her own eyes, she feared that it might be an illusion.

Meanwhile, Ailolin awkwardly searched for an explanation as well. "Right. You used to kiss me all the time when we were little, so after not seeing each other for so many years, one kiss is perfectly normal. We can just think of it as reminiscing about our childhood..."

"Mm..." Likaro answered in a very soft voice.

In truth, even Ailolin did not think that explanation was reasonable. Childhood was childhood, after all. Now, both she and Likaro had grown up.

In other words, they both understood what a kiss represented.

But this time really had only been an accident.

Once the atmosphere became less awkward, Ailolin began explaining why she had done that just now.

To avoid making Likaro misunderstand anything, she explained it in great detail.

"So that's why..."