The Black Dragon Lady Refuses to Be a Mount

What on earth was this wolf thinking? Never mind. I should just eat.

Ailolin had long since become ravenous. Her appetite had grown larger and larger lately. The first stage of her growth period would soon end, and after a while, she would enter the second stage of gradual growth.

Although her body would grow more slowly then, once she entered the second growth stage, Ailolin would definitely be far stronger than she was now. Most importantly, she would be able to fly much farther in one go.

Just as Ailolin was about to finish eating, the white wolf from earlier returned, with a wild fruit in its mouth.

Wait, wasn't something wrong here???

The white wolf sat before Ailolin and began eating the fruit, seemingly trying to tell her that it was vegetarian.

It had meat but chose fruit instead? What a strange wolf.

"Awoo~" (wolf howl)

The wolf seemed to have treated Ailolin's cave as its own home. After finishing the fruit, it came over and lay down beside her, its tail constantly wagging.

Had she somehow gained a pet?

Could it have been subdued by her powerful presence and come to attach itself to her voluntarily?

Ailolin did not sense any threat from the white wolf. In fact, no matter how much it bit her, it would not be able to bite through any part of her body.

As a member of Dragonkind, even though she was still a young dragon, Ailolin's hide was exceptionally thick.

Wolves were nocturnal animals, so nighttime should have been when they were active. Yet this wolf had actually fallen asleep beside Ailolin, as if it did not care in the slightest that a Black Dragon was lying next to it.

After thinking it over, Ailolin decided to ignore the wolf. A wolf with such strange behavior was rather interesting. Besides, she was bored anyway and did not mind having another strange creature beside her.

Of course, if the wolf tried to harm Likaro when she came tomorrow, Ailolin would still act without hesitation.

She could not just stand by and watch such a small child get hurt.

When the sun rose and a new day arrived, Ailolin opened her eyes. The white wolf from before had already vanished without a trace.

It had not actually left, though. When Ailolin left the cave to drink from the stream, she discovered that it was there too, eating something—still fruit from the trees.

A wolf that was active during the day, slept at night, and ate only plants instead of meat was something Ailolin had never seen before. She was also curious about how the white wolf got fruit from the trees.

Wolves probably could not climb trees. Perhaps it picked up ripe fruit that had fallen beneath them.

Likaro arrived punctually as usual, her greeting carrying over from afar. Ailolin immediately became alert and watched the fruit-eating wolf. If it made any dangerous move toward Likaro, Ailolin would kill it at once.

"Awoo~" The wolf lifted its head and howled at Likaro before continuing to eat its fruit.

"Morning, Little Black Dragon!" Likaro walked over with her backpack on her back, then spotted the white wolf beside Ailolin. "Eh? Little Wolf, why are you here too?"

With that, Likaro set down her backpack, walked over to the white wolf, and stroked its head.

Seeing this, Ailolin realized that Likaro knew the wolf.

If that was the case, then Ailolin felt that her guess was even more believable.

Likaro really did seem to have some way of making the wild beasts in the forest not attack her, and she could befriend them as well.

When Ailolin first met Likaro, she had felt a slight fondness for her, though it had not been particularly strong. As Ailolin's body slowly grew, she discovered that the inexplicable fondness she had once felt for Likaro had mostly faded away.

Of course, that did not mean she no longer liked Likaro. It was simply that the fondness she felt now was built upon their interactions as friends, while that inexplicable affection had disappeared.

The white wolf glanced at Ailolin, rubbed against Likaro's hand, then ran off without looking back.

"Come on, come on, class starts today~" Likaro took the things out of her backpack. Unlike before, she had brought a book with her today.

Although the book looked rather large in Likaro's hands, it was far too small for Ailolin. If she wanted to read its contents, it would be very awkward, and she currently had absolutely no ability to read human books anyway.

This was a book Likaro used to assist her teaching. It was titled Human Language from Beginner to Mastery. She had used this very book when learning to write, and it was perfect for beginners.

Time passed quickly. Both Likaro and Ailolin were extremely patient. They could study continuously for several hours without needing rest, and neither felt bored or tired.

Perhaps it was because this was so interesting that they did not feel tired.

"Thank you. Goodbye." (not quite standard Human language)

Ailolin also tried using her expressions to communicate with Likaro, but she found that Likaro had trouble understanding Dragonkind expressions, so she could only give up.

"Mm-hm, goodbye, Little Black Dragon~" As Likaro packed her backpack, she reached out and gently stroked Ailolin's head as it moved closer.

It was the first time Ailolin had been patted on the head. She did not resist, because she did not think it was anything important. By then, she already regarded Likaro as a friend.

"Go home. Careful." (not quite standard Human language)

"Mm! See you tomorrow!"

Ailolin still escorted Likaro to the edge of the forest before returning to her little nest. The white wolf had not returned even now, and Ailolin did not know whether it would come back.

Come to think of it, it was strange. Since there were so many human settlements around the forest, there should have been hunters within it. But why had no humans appeared before Ailolin apart from Likaro?

Ailolin was not even that deep in the forest. Had her luck really been that good so far?

Likaro probably had not revealed her whereabouts to anyone. Otherwise, if people learned that a member of Dragonkind lived in the forest, Ailolin's life would definitely not have been so peaceful.

As for the possibility that Likaro approaching her had been part of some planned scheme, that seemed unlikely as well. Ailolin could tell that Likaro had been sincere when teaching her to speak, and her joy whenever Ailolin learned a word was genuine. The feelings they had developed over the past days could not be faked either.

Time slowly passed, and Ailolin grew bored again. If only she could use paper and pen now. At least she could scribble something to keep herself from being so bored, but for now, she could only sleep.

Previously, Ailolin had eaten when she woke up and slept when she was full. But now, her daily life included time spent with the human girl Likaro. Without question, that was the happiest and most interesting part of her day.

If this continued, then with Ailolin's learning speed, it would not take long for her to master basic conversational vocabulary. At present, her greatest difficulty was not memorization, but comprehension.

With an almost photographic memory, Ailolin could easily remember words. But before that, she had to understand what those words meant. Likaro did not understand Dragon language, so she could not write the corresponding Dragon language translation after every human word.

However, once Ailolin had gained a basic grasp of Human language, she would be able to draw inferences from what she had learned and study it more deeply at a much faster pace. In any case, the learning process would be long, and Ailolin understood that clearly.

The white wolf did not return until night fell. Ailolin guessed that it probably would not come back. Her brief time with that strange white wolf would likely become a small memory. Whenever she got bored in the future, she could recall it. It had been rather interesting.

But that was all.

The moon and stars hung in the sky, and the forest fell silent once more. Ailolin lay in her cave and closed her eyes.

She still needed time to grow up. As long as she waited a little longer, she would gain the ability to fly to farther places.

Ailolin would not remain in the forest forever. Once she left it, she could also look for her fellow Dragonkind.

The inheritance of Dragonkind contained methods for finding settlements. Members of many dragon clans liked to carve Dragon language characters across the world, and this language was obscure and difficult to understand. Aside from Dragonkind itself, almost no other race could read Dragon language.

As long as she searched carefully, she might find "signposts" recorded in Dragon language on plains, in forests, atop mountains, in deserts—anywhere.

Using those signposts, Ailolin would be able to find the locations of various dragon clans.

In this unfamiliar world, Ailolin still had family and kin, even if they had never met.

PS: Thank you all for your votes. I'm so touched~~~

A new day arrived. After eating breakfast, Likaro obediently stayed in her room until her father left the estate to handle the official duties required of a duke. Only then did she eagerly put on her backpack and prepare to head for the forest.

As one of the Empire's more prosperous cities, Edafalon City had an enormous floating population. The city gates were packed with crowds every day, and the City Defense Force soldiers did their best to maintain order.

But in Likaro's eyes, those soldiers were all idiots. As long as she took advantage of her small size and mingled with the crowd, they never noticed her.

There were many small paths leading to the outskirts of the forest outside Edafalon City. Likaro chose the most concealed one, so there were hardly any other travelers in sight.

However, unlike usual, Likaro now had someone following behind her. His name was Moke, and he came from the duke's personal guard. He had followed the duke for many years and was highly skilled at concealing his presence and tracking people. He had even infiltrated enemy camps many times to steal intelligence.

The duke had said that he had an important mission for Moke this morning, and Moke had been rather eager to hear it. He had not expected it to be following the young lady.

Still, that was fine. To him, this mission was practically a day off. How alert could a child possibly be?

Thus, Moke leisurely followed behind Likaro, completely confident that she would not notice him.

As one of the duke's personal guards, Moke naturally knew the young lady's personality. If Likaro had been his daughter, he would have worried too, so he understood the duke's thoughts.

Watching Likaro slip out of the city past the guards, Moke showed an expression of certainty. The duke had long suspected that the young lady had been sneaking outside, and now Moke had confirmed it.

Moke followed Likaro out of the city. As he passed through the gates, he memorized the appearances of the City Defense Force soldiers there. Those soldiers had failed in their duties by letting such a small child slip away right under their noses. Their negligence had to be punished.

Once she reached the path leading toward the forest, Likaro began running because she wanted to see her Black Dragon friend as soon as possible.

Moke could not help feeling embarrassed by comparison. The young lady was carrying such a large backpack, and it should have been filled with plenty of things. Yet she could still run. Other children truly could not do that.

As Likaro entered the forest, Moke followed her in.

The instant he stepped beneath the trees, Moke suddenly sensed a trace of ominous energy. His hairs stood on end. As a personal guard who had followed Wilfen for many years and experienced countless battles, he instinctively sensed danger.

Yet the young lady continued running deeper into the forest. Moke could not simply fail to follow her. Even though he felt deeply uneasy, he had to warn her.

Moke decided to call out to the young lady and make her stop. But just as he was about to speak—

"Cough, urgh..."

A sudden force made Moke drop to his knees. He felt as though something had seized his throat, leaving him completely unable to make a sound.

At the same time, Moke felt an immense pressure that made his heart pound violently.

"What's going on..."

Unable to breathe, Moke's vision began to darken. Through his fading consciousness, he seemed to see a figure in a black robe appear before him.

A slender hand extended from beneath the black robe and made a gesture toward Moke.

He understood the meaning of that gesture—a warning.

Fear rose within Moke, something he had not felt in many years. He used all his strength to draw the dagger at his waist, but his consciousness quickly sank into darkness...

"Goodbye, Likaro." (fairly standard Human language)

"Mm-hm, goodbye, Little Black Dragon~"

Likaro reached out and stroked Ailolin's scales again. This was an essential part of every day. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Likaro had noticed that Ailolin's scales had felt better and better lately.

Likaro had personally witnessed Ailolin's birth, and now that Ailolin's body was growing, Likaro felt happy as well.

It really felt a little like watching her child grow up as a mother would.

Likaro had played house with the children in the city and experienced what it felt like to be a "mother." Now, she truly wanted to be Ailolin's "mother." After all, Little Black Dragon's parents had not been by her side since she was born. It made her seem so pitiful...

After saying goodbye to Ailolin, Likaro headed back early today, so she spent some time playing with her animal friends in the forest along the way.

Only after Likaro arrived at her doorstep did Moke, who had been following behind her all along, go report the situation to the duke.

Today had been an extremely relaxing day for Moke. The duke had assigned him such an easy task that his comrades would be green with envy.

"That is everything I saw, my lord."

"Is that so? Perhaps I really was overthinking it."

Moke had followed Duke Wilfen for a long time, and the duke trusted him greatly.

After hearing Moke's report, Wilfen felt that his worries might have been unnecessary. His daughter had not left the city at all. She had merely played childish games in the city with those children, then returned home when dinner was nearly ready.

After reporting to the duke, Moke left the estate. He had originally planned to go have a good drink, but his head hurt a little now, so he abandoned the idea and prepared to go home and rest first.

On his way home, Moke happened to see the daytime City Defense Force complete their shift change. Some of the soldiers coming off duty headed for a tavern in groups of three or five, preparing to drink heartily. Moke spotted several familiar faces among them.

Oh, right. He had forgotten something.

"You lot, stop."

Moke displayed his Edafalon Lineage Medallion to prove that he was one of the duke's personal guards.

"Yes, sir! What are your orders?"

The City Defense Force soldiers hurriedly stood at attention. Although they did not belong to the same command structure, under the laws of Edafalon Province, the duke's personal guards had the authority to issue orders to ordinary soldiers.

"You were the ones standing guard at the city gates during the day, weren't you?" Moke demanded.

"Y-yes..."

"You failed to carry out your duties and let such a small child pass right in front of you... Huh? What am I saying?"

Moke suddenly froze, then felt his headache worsen.

The City Defense Force soldiers did not dare ask anything as they watched the angry Moke. They were all utterly confused.

"Why, why did I stop you?" Moke rubbed his head.

"..."

(How would we know why you stopped us?! It doesn't even look like you're drunk.)