Miss Black Dragon Refuses to Be a Mount

"Sorry, I made you remember something painful."

"It's fine." Likaro shook her head, showing that she did not mind.

Night fell, and they could only camp out in the wilderness tonight. But Likaro could not sleep at all.

"Little Black Dragon?"

"I'm here."

"Can you... tell me a story?"

Likaro said it shyly. When she was little, she had loved listening to Little Black Dragon tell stories.

Now, she also wanted to return to the personality Little Black Dragon had hoped she would have.

Remembering her childhood was the best way.

"Of course. What kind of story do you want to hear?"

Likaro wanted to hear a story, and Ailolin immediately perked up. Taking the initiative to ask her for something like this was a huge improvement.

At least, Ailolin could no longer sense that cold, distant feeling from Likaro. Although Likaro still rarely smiled, she was becoming more and more like the Likaro Ailolin remembered.

The destruction of the knight order had changed Likaro's personality, but it had also made her thoughts more mature. Or rather, it had taught her that the outside world was not as beautiful as home.

What had happened had already happened. Nothing could change the established facts.

"I want to hear stories about Little Black Dragon, about the interesting things you've experienced over the years."

"Mm, I can talk for a very long time."

Ailolin was more than happy to share her past experiences with her good friend. Just as she was about to begin, Likaro sat beside her with a blush and looped her arm through Ailolin's.

"Um, what are you suddenly doing?" Their bodies were pressed so close together that Ailolin felt her heart beating a little too fast.

"It's part of the experiment. We'll interact as a couple until this time tomorrow night, and then we'll summarize everything..."

"Mm..."

Since it was an experiment, Ailolin would cooperate fully.

They were going to act like a couple from now on?

It was really strange, considering they were not actually a couple.

The warmth of the campfire was comforting. Likaro said, "Let's just lie down."

"Mmh..."

So Ailolin and Likaro both lay down on the ground. Then Likaro wrapped her arms around Ailolin's neck and held her tightly, explaining, "It's part of the experiment. Even if it feels strange, we'll wait until tomorrow night to talk about it."

"Mm."

Actually, Ailolin already had an answer in her heart. Her heartbeat would not lie. She seemed to truly feel something for the girl before her that went beyond friendship.

What should I do...

"Then I'll start telling the story."

"Mm."

Likaro closed her eyes and nestled in Ailolin's arms, listening as she told her about the things she had experienced.

She wanted to keep holding Ailolin like this forever, because she had realized that she might truly be unable to leave her.

Likaro did not dare imagine the day Ailolin said goodbye to her again. She truly did not want to be separated from Little Black Dragon once more.

This might really be the... love she had once read about in romance novels.

PS: She went straight on the offensive!

Calamity Descends: The Thoughts of Two

Sorry, Father... I seem to like girls...

The feelings in her heart would not deceive her. If all those intimate interactions with Ailolin before had been accidents, then the feelings stirred by deliberately being intimate with Ailolin now were already quite obvious.

Holding Ailolin tightly, she did not want to let go. She wanted to remain like this forever.

Breathing in the girl's fragrance, Likaro could not help feeling intoxicated. She could not even focus on the story Ailolin was telling anymore.

In truth, Ailolin was not doing much better. Her storytelling voice was clearly trembling, and she was at a loss over this sudden intimacy.

Likaro's so-called experiment was both strange and embarrassing. Pretending to be a couple and all that...

Ailolin had never been in love in either her past or present life. She had absolutely no idea how to handle something like feelings.

"Thank you for the story, Little Black Dragon. Let's sleep... Good night."

Likaro was already feeling sleepy, but she did not let go. Instead, she chose to sleep while holding Ailolin.

After all, couples liked sleeping this way, didn't they?

After Likaro fell asleep, Ailolin looked at her face and could not help wanting to do something.

A-after all, they were supposed to do what couples did for one day.

Then kissing was perfectly normal too. Besides, her first kiss had already been taken by that previous accident...

Ailolin felt incredibly hot all over. Unable to resist, she lightly pecked Likaro's lips.

Then she immediately closed her eyes and pretended that she had fallen asleep too.

After a while, Ailolin secretly opened her eyes and found that Likaro was still sleeping soundly, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

What if I want to kiss her again...

Ailolin felt that the previous kiss had not been enough.

Her heart was struggling fiercely. The person before her was her friend. Although they had temporarily become a couple because of the experiment, secretly kissing her was definitely inappropriate.

But what was with that thrilling feeling of doing something forbidden...

If Likaro had been awake, Ailolin would never have dared kiss her.

In the end, she could not resist kissing Likaro's lips again. This time, she lingered a little longer.

After confirming that Likaro still had not awakened, Ailolin finally relaxed.

The guilty feeling of secretly kissing her friend made Ailolin's emotions complicated, but mixed within it was also a trace of excitement and exhilaration.

Fortunately, Likaro was a very deep sleeper. Otherwise, if she had been discovered, Ailolin felt like she would have wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Looking at Likaro's face, Ailolin found her increasingly cute and beautiful. It would be wonderful if she could truly become her partner...

Then she was startled by her own thought, but after that surprise passed, she finally faced her feelings honestly.

She really had fallen for Likaro. However, she was certain that when Likaro had been little, her feelings for her had been nothing but friendship. It was only after she had taken human form and met Likaro again that love had emerged.

I wonder if Likaro really likes me too...

Ailolin closed her eyes. Being held in Likaro's arms was incredibly comfortable, and it would be nice to sleep like this until dawn.

Once everything grew quiet, Likaro's eyebrows twitched slightly before she opened her eyes.

In fact, she had not fallen asleep from the very beginning.

She had felt every one of Little Black Dragon's actions just now.

Likaro wondered whether she should talk to Little Black Dragon tomorrow. If they liked each other, there was nothing wrong with starting their first relationship.

But she quickly dismissed that thought, because it was far too embarrassing!

Better to wait for Little Black Dragon to confess to me...

If she truly liked her, she would take the initiative to confess sooner or later.

Even though she knew the other person seemed to like her too, Likaro simply could not say the words, "I like you."

It's fine. With Little Black Dragon's personality, she should be able to say it.

And so, she would wait for that moment to come, then happily agree.

Tomorrow... Tomorrow, they would happily spend the day as an "experimental" couple.

Likaro felt very happy.

But she had not forgotten her fallen companions either. She had to make those people from back then pay the price.

However, she would not let hatred drag innocent people into it... though that had originally been what she intended.

Fortunately, Little Black Dragon's appearance had changed Likaro's mind. She did not dare imagine how long she would have continued down that path of obsession if Little Black Dragon had not been by her side.

Little Black Dragon before her seemed to be asleep. Likaro moved a little closer, then secretly kissed her lips.

The soft touch made her not want to pull away at all.

But she could not be too greedy.

"Good night..."

If someone asked Likaro where the safest place in the world was, her answer would not be home, but Little Black Dragon's arms.

She slept peacefully through the entire night.

When she woke in the morning, the campfire had long since gone out. Likaro stretched and discovered that Little Black Dragon had already disappeared.

Her backpack and staff were beside her, which meant she had only left temporarily.

That was good.

Likaro walked to the riverbank and crouched down to wash her face. The cool river water refreshed her spirits.

After standing up, Likaro let out a long breath.

Last night, she had dreamed that her former companions thanked her. Although she had countless things she wanted to say to her departed companions, she had been unable to do anything in the dream.

Yet Likaro knew that her companions' deaths had much to do with her. If her leadership and scheming had not been so inadequate, the knight order would never have been destroyed.

Now, the only thing she could do was take revenge on her former enemies, using it to console her companions' spirits.

After that, she had decided to return home. There was no one she knew left in this unfamiliar country, and she had long since abandoned her dream.

As a girl, she should not have been wandering the outside world to begin with. How wonderful it would be to return to Aidefalong and live with her father and mother.

And it would be even better if Little Black Dragon could return with her...

Likaro remembered that Little Black Dragon had come to see her as a friend this time. Though she had been dragged into the revenge plan because of Likaro's affairs, once the revenge was complete, Little Black Dragon would leave, wouldn't she...

After all, their relationship was still only friendship.

Likaro wanted to keep Little Black Dragon by her side, so she had to find a suitable way.

If Little Black Dragon really liked her, then they had to establish their relationship as soon as possible.

Because only then could she keep Little Black Dragon from leaving.

Likaro understood that if she and Little Black Dragon truly loved each other, it would be considered a forbidden love in this world, and they would face plenty of gossip behind their backs.

But Likaro did not care what others thought. She only wanted to follow her heart.

PS: Thank you, everyone. There are still two days left for the bounty, and I may owe a lot, but thankfully I set a fifty-chapter limit. Someone crashes every time, haha.

Calamity Descends: Professional Swindler

Ailolin concealed her presence and hid within the dense bushes.

Several soldiers in the distance were searching for something. Judging from the insignias on their armor, they were soldiers of the bearded lord.

She had not expected them to track her all the way here. This place was already very far from the previous city.

Ailolin did not alert them. Instead, she secretly listened to the soldiers' conversation.

"Damn it. We have to search for the murderer who killed the lord, and we also have to find the young lady's whereabouts. I really don't want to do this anymore."

One soldier looked extremely irritated, while the soldier beside him tried to comfort him.

"Get used to it. We eat their food, so helping them do their work is only natural."

"I really don't want to do it anymore, but the lord does pay quite well."

"Let's just muddle through. I'm telling you now, even if we see the murderers, make sure to pretend we don't recognize them. After all, they aren't people we can fight."