Miss Black Dragon Refuses to Be a Mount

"Wait, you ate them all?!" (Dragon language)

Ailolin suddenly realized that the mountain of fruit had vanished, while the white wolf lay on its back on the ground, its belly already round and bloated.

"Awoo?"

The white wolf could not possibly understand Ailolin's words. It could only guess at her meaning. Who knew how it interpreted them, but it then walked over and rubbed against her.

"..."

In Ailolin's eyes, wolves and dogs were very similar. Both were fluffy, and both wagged their tails. Unfortunately, she could not pet the wolf in her current state.

Every morning, the white wolf would leave the cave. It seemed quite playful and would not return until evening, after which it would eat all the fruit Ailolin had gathered during the day.

The white wolf might have taken Ailolin for a meal ticket. It no longer went looking for food itself, because delicious ready-made fruit would always be waiting when it returned home.

Sometimes, when Likaro was teaching Ailolin Human language, the white wolf would suddenly pop out and leap into Likaro's arms to act cute.

Because of that, Ailolin was somewhat envious of Likaro for being human. She wanted to stroke that fluffy wolf fur too. It must have felt wonderful.

"Little Black Dragon, what is three plus two?" Teacher Likaro asked.

"Five."

"Yay! So smart!" Likaro applauded.

"..."

Ailolin was rather speechless. Likaro was teaching her some simple mathematics, but Ailolin did not actually need Likaro to teach her at all.

Because of her constitution in her previous life, Ailolin could only sit or lie down quietly. Reading books or using computers and phones had therefore become routine. By the age of twelve, bored Ailolin had already thoroughly studied subjects that pained countless college students, such as Advanced Mathematics and Linear Algebra.

There was no such thing as one plus one equaling three. That did not conform to reality, so mathematical knowledge remained universal even in another world.

This other world probably had not invented things like calculus, right? When it came to mathematics, Ailolin believed she could utterly crush Likaro.

"Mathematics, no. Me, very good."

Ailolin refused Likaro one word at a time.

Likaro refused to accept that. "What is ten plus nineteen?"

"Twenty-nine."

"What about ninety-eight plus twenty-seven?"

"..." Ailolin froze, then slowly said, "Me, not know, big, numbers."

So far, Ailolin had only learned how to express numbers under one hundred, so...

Wait, she had it!

Ailolin used a very clever method to express the answer. "One, two, five."

"Mm... Correct."

Likaro understood Little Black Dragon's way of expressing herself, and at the same time, she was astonished. Did dragons really have such a talent for mathematics?

In truth, she had no idea that Ailolin still possessed the memories of an Earthling.

During a break, Likaro asked, "Little Black Dragon, can you tell me your name?"

After knowing each other for so long, she still did not know Little Black Dragon's name.

Now that Little Black Dragon could understand such simple sentences, she could not wait to ask her name.

Names were meant for addressing someone, so all she needed to remember was the pronunciation. As for how to write it... Ailolin said she could not write her own name in Human language and could only tell Likaro how it sounded.

"Ailolin, Ailolin... I'll remember it."

Likaro remembered the pronunciation of Ailolin's name, transliterated it, and wrote it on paper with a pen.

Looking at the Human language on the paper, Ailolin understood that this was how her name was written in Human language.

She silently committed it to memory.

The writing of humans in this other world was neither phonetic writing like Earth's nor logographic writing. To Ailolin, who did not understand the language, it simply looked like a language made up of all sorts of mysterious symbols.

There had to be patterns within it, but unfortunately, Likaro was not a professional teacher. If Ailolin wanted to master Human language, she could not rely solely on Likaro's lessons.

Ailolin was very curious about how Dragonkind learned the languages of other races. It was impossible that Dragonkind did not know any other languages, right? Or did they use magic similar to the translation magic Xiya had used before?

Ailolin actually looked forward to living in humanoid form, because her body would grow larger and larger in the future. Not only would she be unable to do delicate tasks, moving around would also become very inconvenient.

She hoped this world really was one capable of infuriating Earth's scientists, where dragons could turn into humanoid forms without obeying the laws of physics.

If only the Dragonkind inheritance had clearly told Ailolin whether she could transform into a humanoid form. Then she would not have to agonize over guessing like this.

Still, that was fine. She could treat it as something to look forward to. If the final result was not what Ailolin wanted, she could only continue living in a dragon's body. After all, obtaining a new life after dying in a hospital bed was already more than enough for her.

PS: Huff, huff, huff~ Special circumstances today, so the update came early~~~

That Winter, Year 016: Each of Their Dreams

Nearly a month had passed since Ailolin's birth. During that time, her body had grown rapidly, and she was nearly five meters long. Her wings were stronger than before, and at this moment, she believed that with just a light flap, she could fly a great distance.

Over these days, Ailolin had also learned to understand much basic Human language. Her relationship with Likaro had grown closer as well. To Ailolin, Likaro was the first friend she had met after being reborn.

Likaro had naturally witnessed Ailolin's physical growth. She often stared at Ailolin's body and sometimes reached out to touch her dragon scales. Ailolin did not resist any of it.

There was one word Likaro said all day long, and Ailolin had already completely understood its meaning—cool.

By now, Likaro's eyes practically sparkled with stars. She seemed to really like Ailolin, who was becoming cooler and cooler.

However, Likaro was sometimes also very worried, because she felt that Ailolin was pitiful, with no father or mother by her side.

If she did not mind...

"Can I be your mother?"

"What?"

Although Ailolin could understand such simple sentences, she still thought she had heard wrong, so she confirmed it again.

Was this playing house?!

However, Likaro did not really like the playing-house games that she considered "childish." She was serious...

"Thank you, but, no."

Having eight-year-old Likaro be her "mother" was something Ailolin could not accept no matter what.

Besides, Ailolin did not think she lacked love at all, okay?!

"What a shame..." Likaro could only give up on the idea.

Then Likaro went back to "playing" with Ailolin. In truth, rather than playing, it was more like Likaro communicating with Ailolin through simple conversations.

"Little Black Dragon, can you fly?"

"Fly?"

Ailolin leaped into the sky, circled once amid Likaro's surprised scream, then landed before her.

As Ailolin landed, Likaro felt the ground beneath her feet tremble.

This was the first time she had seen Little Black Dragon fly. After her initial surprise, she excitedly rushed over.

"Can you take me flying too? Can I ride on your back?"

"Mm?"

Excited Likaro spoke very quickly, and Ailolin could not understand what she said.

After Likaro slowly explained it clearly, Ailolin's immediate reaction was—absolutely impossible.

How could Dragonkind possibly let another creature ride on their back? To Dragonkind, that was absolutely humiliating!

What influenced Ailolin was the racial nature of being Dragonkind, so she instinctively resisted being ridden.

No matter how Likaro begged, Ailolin would not agree. With no other choice, Likaro had to give up.

What a pity. Likaro really wanted to see the scenery of the land from the sky, but since Ailolin did not agree, she could not force her.

"Then what do I have to do for you to let me ride you?" Likaro earnestly expressed what she meant.

"Impossible."

"Wah, okay."

Likaro touched Ailolin's dragon wing. The disappointed expression on her face made Ailolin feel a little bad, but she would never agree, because this was a matter of principle.

They continued chatting afterward. Likaro explained her dream in the simplest way she could. She drew a handsome knight riding a horse on a drawing board, then proudly raised her head and pointed at herself.

Ailolin was a little surprised. She had not expected Likaro's dream to be becoming a soldier.

Likaro was outgoing and lively, but when Ailolin thought of a girl going onto the battlefield to fight and kill in the future... it felt very strange to her.

Still, if that truly was Likaro's dream, all Ailolin could do was support her.

Ailolin also had a dream of her own. Her greatest regret in her previous life had been being unable to travel far from home. Now that she had been reborn, she had the chance. She had to see how vast the world was, even if this was not Earth.

Ailolin considered her friendship with Likaro precious, but in the near future, she would still have to leave this forest. She could not remain in the forest forever.

Ailolin had to go. She had to leave this forest filled with a human little girl's laughter, leave this comfortable, quiet, peaceful place, and experience the meaning of a dragon's life.

Of course, if she had the chance, she would come back to visit Likaro.

But those were thoughts for the future. For now, she still lived in the forest, and Likaro still came to see her every day. She should cherish their time together.

"Mm... Since I can't be your mother, how about you call me big sister from now on~~~"

Likaro came up with another idea. Little Black Dragon was younger than her, so it was fine for her to call Likaro big sister.

"..."

After Ailolin understood the sentence, she still wanted to refuse. In her eyes, eight-year-old Likaro was the real child. Although Ailolin had been born less than a month ago, she had over ten years of memories when Earth was included.

Ailolin had just opened her mouth to refuse when she saw Likaro looking at her with tear-filled eyes, looking as pitiful as could be.

She truly could not bear to crush the child's expectations. Tsk, she could only wrong herself a little. She would just treat it as playing house with a child.

So, with the attitude of humoring a child, Ailolin agreed.

"Hehe, I'm a big sister now. I have a Black Dragon little brother~"

Likaro taught Ailolin what the word little brother meant. Ailolin did not know whether to laugh or cry. So even now, Likaro did not know that she was female?

In truth, Likaro had never considered Ailolin's gender. Besides, Ailolin's current voice was androgynous, making it impossible to tell male from female, so Likaro had simply assumed she was male.

Ailolin did not correct Likaro's misunderstanding, because gender did not affect how she communicated with Likaro.

As for calling herself Ailolin's big sister, Ailolin saw it as nothing more than a child's playing-house game.

Watching Likaro smile so happily, Ailolin was very curious about how beautiful this cute blonde little girl would become when she grew up.

By Ailolin's standards, Likaro's looks far surpassed what she considered perfect. She wondered whether Likaro was an exceptional individual, or if humans in this other world were all so attractive.

If they could meet again then, she would find out.

Laughter from a little girl often echoed through this part of the forest, along with the strange pronunciation of Human language spoken by a Black Dragon. Nearby wild beasts did not dare approach due to the deterrence of dragon aura, while the barrier set up by Witch Shia prevented humans from entering.

This was the most quiet, peaceful environment there could be.

PS: Hehehe, um, I asked for votes too often before, so I don't want your votes anymore. Mm, don't want them, really don't want them. (Expectant)

That Winter, Year 017: A Little Bet

Ever since Ailolin agreed, Likaro had demanded that she call her "Big Sister Likaro." However, when calling Ailolin, she still used "Little Black Dragon."

What was it like to call an eight-year-old girl big sister?

Ailolin said: Thanks for asking. Dragon in forest. It felt a little strange at first, but she gradually got used to it while humoring a child. It was just a form of address anyway. Children liked playing like this. Related interests. Anon.

"Guoguo, come here~"

Likaro called toward the bushes. Rustling sounds came from the grass, followed by a snow-white wolf leaping out. It ran swiftly to Likaro's side and wagged its tail.

The white wolf had originally been entrusted to Ailolin's care by Xiya, but Xiya had never mentioned the white wolf's name. It might not even have had one...

So, for convenience, Likaro gave the white wolf the name "Guoguo," because it ate nothing but fruit.

Whatever the white wolf thought of it, it could not speak and perhaps could not even understand speech, so the name was decided just like that.

At first, Guoguo did not know that the name was used to call it, but over time, the clever wolf seemed to gradually understand and accepted the form of address.