"Staaaare—" After entering the room and sitting down, Nia had been staring at me nonstop, even making that drawn-out "Jiiii—" sound Japanese anime characters sometimes use when fixated on someone. Mo Mo had dashed out after Mira, while Lilith’s gaze kept flickering between Nia and me.

"..." I had a feeling Nia wanted to roast me, so I pretended not to notice.

"Uh, Luo Sa…" Nia finally broke the silence after staring long enough.

"Hm? What is it?" I looked at her with feigned innocence.

"I’m starting to find you… irritating," Nia said in an oddly flat tone.

"Do slimes even get periods? Aefina, let’s get far away from her." I grabbed Aefina’s hand and made a show of heading for the door.

"Pfft—" Lilith suddenly covered her mouth, giggling at our usual bickering. That playful gesture clashed adorably with her dignified appearance—total moe contrast!

"You two are so entertaining. Are people from that world called [Earth] all this fun?" Lilith asked, still smiling.

"Nah, most are boring. Like—holy crap, Luo Sa, you’re actually leaving?!" Nia started explaining but cut herself off when she saw me already at the door with Aefina. She jabbed a pseudopod at me. Honestly, her shock was understandable… It was like when someone jokingly says, "I’ll smash your head in!" then actually goes to fetch a hammer. The other person’s "Whoa, you’re serious?!" isn’t overreacting—it’s the first one breaking the script. Though my reason for leaving wasn’t really that…

"What are you talking about? I’m just taking Aefina out to sunbathe." Earlier, Aefina had said she felt unwell and gone out to soak up sunlight. Lilith arrived soon after, and Aefina followed her back inside. I’d rather take Aefina out than stay here chatting with Nia.

"...Oh. Go ahead then," Nia relented.

"But why did you say you found me irritating? I’m still curious." I leaned back into the doorway after stepping outside.

"Huh?" Nia blinked, thrown off by my sudden topic shift. "Oh, that… Luo Sa, don’t you feel out of place here?"

"Why would I?" I was genuinely confused. What was so awkward about just sitting here?

"Look around. Everyone here is a girl except you. Doesn’t that feel… off?" Nia pointed out. She was right—Aefina, Nia, Mo Mo, Mira, Lilith. Every single person in the room was female. In fact, the whole house had barely any men. But…

"Aefina, Mo Mo, Mira, Lilith—yep, four girls besides me. So… are you implying they’re all my harem?" I nodded deliberately, pointedly leaving Nia out.

"You did that on purpose!" Nia caught my omission instantly. "I’m a girl too!"

"What gender do slimes even have? Were you just fishing for insults?"

"I mean—have you considered becoming a girl? I can get gender-changing potions. Look, it’s all girls here. You’d fit right in as one. Plus, gender-bender novels are so trendy lately. Who knows? If you turned into a girl, this story might—"

"Stop. Don’t say weird stuff." I cut her off before she could spiral further.

"Really not considering it? Being a girl is great! Pretty dresses, cute skirts… Wait, boys can wear those too now…"

"..." If I kept engaging, she might actually pull out some shady sci-fi pill. I turned to leave without another word.

"Lilith, about that thing I asked you to look into—any progress?" Nia’s tone shifted completely the moment I left, all traces of goofiness gone.

"Oranda’s stirring. They’ve apparently recovered the item and are now fighting over ownership."

"Eh? How’d *they* manage that? Pirates are supposed to be tough."

"It wasn’t Oranda’s forces. An informant went on patrol with the pirates and returned to find their base completely destroyed."

"Holy crap? Wiped out?" Nia’s shock was palpable.

"Yes. The entire pirate den was razed. Treasure looted clean." Lilith nodded.

"Huh? Then how was the item recovered?"

"Only coins and jewels were taken… The magical gear and materials were left behind. The informant grabbed them when he saw they were still there."

"This sounds so familiar… Lilith, what was that pirate crew called again?" Nia’s eyes narrowed as a thought struck her.

"Syvella." Lilith answered without hesitation.

"..." Nia fell silent, glancing toward the courtyard. She already knew what had happened…

"The ownership dispute isn’t even heating up," Lilith continued. "Something else stole their attention. Rumors are spreading about a Great Dragon appearing in Oranda. A new faction’s emerged, obsessed with harnessing its power. Humans are so foolish—chasing baseless whispers."

"..." Nia’s mind raced. "Lilith… do you even know what a Great Dragon looks like?"

Just as Nia expected, Lilith shook her head. "Of course not. Great Dragons haven’t been seen for centuries… Why ask?"

Nia sighed (a ripple through her gelatinous body), then dragged Lilith to the doorway and flung it open.

"What’s going on?" Lilith stared at Nia, utterly bewildered.

"What’s wrong? Why’d you come out?" Aefina and I asked simultaneously, equally confused.

Nia extended a pseudopod toward Aefina’s true, silver-scaled form. "Do you know who she is?"

"Aefina? What about her?" We’d already introduced everyone. Lilith recognized the silver creature before her as Aefina—which only deepened her confusion.

"Aefina is the Great Dragon." Nia announced it as casually as if declaring today’s dessert.

"*The Great Dragon?!*" Lilith, a top-tier undead, was sharp enough to grasp the implication instantly.

"???" Aefina and I exchanged utterly lost glances.

"Luo Sa, you told me that story once—about when you first crossed over, right?" Nia suddenly turned to me.

"Yeah." I nodded. It was from a casual chat days ago.

"Up to your first meeting with Aefina. Tell it again to Lilith. She wants to hear."

"...Can’t you tell her yourself?" I sighed but retold the story anyway. It wasn’t complicated, and Lilith—a sun-averse undead spirit—had braved the daylight to listen. Refusing would’ve been rude.

"..." Lilith’s expression after hearing it was priceless, like spotting a polar bear strolling down a city street…

Nia and Lilith then repeated their earlier conversation for us. As one of the people who’d been "recovered" alongside that item, I understood immediately.

"Those coins *are* with me…" Aefina’s focus was predictably off-track. "I saw them stealing from others, so I took them back." For a dragon, gold always trumped drama.

"So… will they attack us?" I blinked at Nia.

"...Probably not?"

"Will it affect us?"

"Doesn’t seem like it."

"Could their fight drag Monstrous Beasts or undead into it?"

"Unlikely."

"Then why should we care?" I shrugged. "Seriously, why did you have Lilith investigate this?"

"Well… I live in Oranda. I like keeping tabs on things."

"So you were just bored and wanted gossip?" I pressed.

"...Yeah." Nia nodded slowly. I had a point.

"If you’re bored, we could play cards instead…"

"Good idea…"

Though Aefina and I had apparently stumbled into some messy situation, it wouldn’t touch us. I didn’t worry. Aefina cared even less.

After Nia and Lilith went back inside, I settled beside Aefina again. Her presence was so soothing I drifted off to sleep. Aefina spread one wing like a canopy over me, gazing at the sky, lost in thought.

I woke at dusk, startled to find the sky darkening. I’d fallen asleep that morning—I’d slept the entire day.

"Luo Sa? Awake?" Aefina noticed me the moment my eyes opened.

Above me, her silver wing blocked the fading light. Her posture made it clear: she’d held this position all day, shielding me from the sun. She hadn’t moved an inch while I leaned against her. Anyone would be moved by such devotion.

"Aefina." I whispered her name softly. What did it matter if she looked like a fearsome dragon?

"I’m here." Her reply was immediate. Lately, I’d felt like we spoke less, like a distance had grown between us. But that was just my imagination, right?

"Come closer."

"Like this?"

"A little more."

"Mm…"

When Aefina’s head was almost pressed against me, I wrapped my arms around the base of the horn on her snout.

She fluttered her wings nervously but didn’t pull away.

"Let’s go inside?" After a moment, I released her—it was tiring to hold that pose.

"Mm." Aefina shifted back to human form and walked beside me as usual.

We didn’t notice three pairs of eyes watching us from a window inside the house.

"...Sigh." Nia exhaled.

"Should we just tell them?" Mo Mo asked.

"It won’t help. They won’t solve this unless they understand the core issue themselves," Lilith replied.

"Why can’t they just talk it out?" Mo Mo sounded frustrated.

"...Humans…" Nia’s voice dipped low, as if recalling something distant. "Most are just like this."