After charging up their attacks for a long time, just as the two of them were about to run out of magic, the sturdy wall of light finally broke, and they flew out of that space.

If you had to describe it, it was like they’d been spat out.

Alina nearly landed face-first and was left completely dazed. But now she knew: that Doragon had tricked her!

All that talk about how she’d been attacking for ages, and how she could’ve gotten out within a year even if Alina hadn’t come—total bullshit!

As soon as Alina attacked the wall of light, she realized it could repair itself. Its repair limit was just a little higher than that stupid dragon’s maximum attack power. She wasn’t breaking it faster than it could heal, so how could she possibly get through? Even if she attacked nonstop every day, she still wouldn’t be able to break that wall of light.

But everything changed once Alina showed up. The moment she and Lamia teamed up, they exceeded the wall’s limit, which let them slowly break open a small hole. Still, that hole would soon repair itself completely.

“You lied to me!”

Alina spun around, ready to confront Lamia, but when she saw what Lamia looked like, she almost burst out laughing.

The enormous dragon that had once been as big as a mountain was now only about the size of a palm.

Those tiny horns, tail, and wings had stripped Doragon of all her intimidating presence. All that remained was the cuteness of a delicate little work of art.

“Hahahaha! So that’s why you look like this!”

In the end, Alina couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Looking at the tiny, adorable Doragon, she couldn’t resist poking her with a finger, either.

“Hey, hey! Don’t poke me! It tickles!”

Lamia was furious. She’d never imagined that after being trapped in that awful place for so long, all the magic she’d cultivated there day after day would become part of that little world. The instant she came out, it had all been forcibly taken back—even some of her innate magic.

And now look at her: she’d been reduced to this tiny form. Stored magic was easy to replenish, but innate magic wasn’t. It would probably take a long time before she could recover her full strength.

“Hehe, you’re just too cute like this. It’s hard to keep my hands to myself.”

Alina ignored Lamia’s protests and kept teasing her. After dodging her again and again to no avail, Lamia finally snapped. Alina could practically see a tiny vein popping on her forehead—then Lamia bit her hard.

“Crack!”

Alina could even hear the sound of bone breaking.

“Aaaah! That hurts!”

Her cry of pain shot straight into the sky.

……

“So, uh, in your current state, it might not be a good idea to go out.”

Alina walked along, holding up her bandaged finger, and said in a low, gloomy voice.

“Who can blame me? If people find out I’m Doragon, a whole bunch of powerful fighters will come after me. The title of Dragon Slayer is just too tempting.”

Little Lamia sighed. Right now, her strength was practically zero. All the magic in her body had been drained, and that had a huge impact.

“True. In your current state, if those guys found out about you, you’d be more tempting than a treasure chest just walking around.”

Hearing Lamia’s words, Alina nodded in full understanding.

Because Doragon was so terrifying, the title of Dragon Slayer was incredibly rare. As far as Alina knew, fewer than ten people in all of history had ever truly earned it.

Every Dragon Slayer received the highest honors in the world. Even kings and popes, lofty as they were, had to show them absolute respect, because the title was a true symbol of overwhelming strength.

Alina could imagine the frenzy that would break out if outsiders learned about Lamia’s current condition.

“Come to think of it, aren’t you tempted by the title of Dragon Slayer?”

At that, Lamia’s gaze suddenly turned wary. The girl in front of her was young, but powerful—and human, too. It was understandable if she wanted to pursue that title.

“Tch. I’m not tempted by a title like that. I’ve always believed that only your own strength is real.”

Alina rolled her eyes at Lamia. Actually, she liked the idea of being a dragon tamer more than a Dragon Slayer. Hehe.

“You’re in a pretty dangerous position right now. Why don’t you stick with me for a while? I’m about to set off on my own adventure, and you know how strong I am. Even if something happens, I can protect you.”

At last, Alina revealed what she was after. Even her gaze toward Lamia had changed.

She’d been too busy fighting earlier to notice, but Lamia was stunning both as a dragon and in her human form—and absurdly powerful, too. Having a dragon girl like that along would make her future travels a lot more interesting. So this time, she had to win her over!

“Um… I feel like there’s something off about the way you’re looking at me.”

Facing Alina’s starry-eyed gaze, little Lamia hovered in the air with her wings beating and instinctively backed away a little, looking troubled.

Because just now, this cute little girl had somehow made her feel physically uncomfortable.

“What do you mean, ‘off’? After spending all this time together, I just think you’re a pretty good dragon. I can’t bear to let you get into danger.”

Alina wore an expression of righteous sincerity. She looked nothing like the girl who’d almost started drooling a moment ago.

“Really? You’re that kind?”

Lamia eyed Alina suspiciously, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t find a reason Alina would lie to her. Given Lamia’s current state and Alina’s strength, if Alina really wanted to do something, Lamia wouldn’t be able to stop her anyway.

Besides, Lamia had been sealed away not long after she was born. So even though she was physically grown, mentally she was probably no different from a human in their teens. Naturally, she couldn’t see through someone like Alina, who’d been reincarnated many times.

“All right, I’ll trust you and stay by your side for now. But I have one condition.”

After wrestling with the decision for a while, Lamia finally chose to trust Alina.

“What’s the condition? Just say the word. If it’s something I can do, no problem.” Alina sounded generous.

“It’s simple. Help me find things like gemstones and gold coins. I need to eat them to regain my strength.”

“No problem.”

Alina agreed without hesitation. Seriously, getting a dragon to come along in exchange for a few gold coins and gemstones was the best deal ever.

“All right, then. It’s settled.”

Seeing how readily Alina agreed, Lamia actually felt a little embarrassed.

“Then it’s settled.” Alina grinned.

“If I ever run out of money, I can have Lamia show herself and get those guys to put out a bounty. Then I can stage a whole performance and make a fortune, can’t I?”

Looking at the tiny Doragon hovering in front of her like a work of art, Alina was already planning out Lamia’s future.

But when Lamia noticed Alina’s mischievous grin, she suddenly wondered if she’d made the wrong choice.