After climbing out of the water, Erika sat naked in front of the pile of grass. Gladys had changed into a white dress and was holding a towel, gently drying Erika’s wet white hair.

Every now and then, droplets fell from above and landed in her eyes, making her squint one of them shut.

“Gladys.”

“What is it?”

“That Dragon Crystal… is it important to me?”

Erika couldn’t help asking. It didn’t sit right with her, knowing that something that belonged to her had been taken away.

“That’s something you have to ask yourself.”

Gladys replied, then gently began drying her body with the towel. “The Dragon Crystal represents power. But even if you had no power at all, I’d still protect you as long as you stayed by my side.”

“So… is that power strong?”

“Very.”

“Dragons that can take human form are known as calamity dragons,” Gladys said softly.

“It’s simple why humans fear us: our power is beyond anything they can imagine.”

“Just how strong are you?” Erika was like a curious little kid now.

“Once the Dragon Crystal is fused with us, I’d say…”

Gladys thought it over for a moment. “The two of us would be a match for ten thousand human soldiers.”

“T-Ten thousand!?”

At those words, shock flashed across Erika’s little face. Taking on ten thousand people alone was no joke.

Good grief, what on earth had Jocelyn done!?

So I’d gotten it all wrong. I really did have a cheat ability! Someone had just forced it to shut down before I could even activate it!

That awful woman!

At the thought, Erika’s little hand curled into a fist, and her face darkened with anger.

Beside her, Gladys tilted her head. “Looks like you really care about the Dragon Crystal.”

“Of course I do!”

Erika answered without hesitation. She was kicking herself now. If she’d been a little more careful back then, maybe she wouldn’t have let Jocelyn take something so important.

That was the power to take on ten thousand people! She’d transmigrated to another world—no matter how you looked at it, power was what mattered most!

“Why did Jocelyn take my Dragon Crystal?” Erika asked again. “Is she a dragon too?”

“I just told you. We’re the only two calamity dragons in this world.”

“Then why did she take it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where did she go?”

“I don’t know that either.”

Gladys shook her head. “I only know that Jocelyn isn’t human, either. Humans call her a member of another race. Some humans hate other races—and some hate us, too.”

Would people hate me too…?

At that, Erika fell silent.

Now she understood why Gladys lived in a cave like this.

But Gladys had just promised to move to a human town with her. Was that asking too much?

As Erika wondered about it, Gladys seemed to read her thoughts. “It’s all right. Once we hide our dragon features, we look no different from humans.”

“Ah!”

Just then, Erika suddenly yelped.

Her face went bright red again. She’d just felt Gladys’s towel-wrapped hand brush against her most private place by accident.

Just imagine how embarrassing it was to be naked and have another woman touch you there.

“Why are you still so tense?”

“I’m not tense!”

Erika turned her flushed face away and clutched her shoulders, looking very much like she was saying, “Don’t come any closer.”

“Let me dry myself.”

“You’re almost dry.”

“I’ll do it myself!”

But as soon as Erika said that, Gladys bent down. Her cool nose brushed against Erika’s ear with each breath, then her red lips closed around the edge of it.

“Hss…”

A tingling sensation swept through Erika again. Her eyes flew wide, her little body stiffened, and she trembled slightly. The tiny tail that had disappeared suddenly sprang out again, standing straight like an antenna.

That’s cheating…

It was as if her ears were her weak spot. The moment Gladys held one between her lips, Erika felt like she’d been struck by lightning.

After a while, Erika came back to her senses. Her excitement faded, her body went limp, and she ended up lying in Gladys’s arms.

Was this really how dragons greeted each other?

Erika began to wonder.

Her voice softened. “What are you doing…?”

“Helping you calm down.”

Gladys smiled gently, then turned and brought over one of her own long dresses. With tender care, she helped Erika put it on, almost like a mother dressing her daughter.

Gladys managed to get the oversized dress onto Erika. It was like she’d been wrapped in a sheet of white cloth, with even her arms and legs swallowed by the fabric. She looked ridiculous.

“I haven’t got any clothes for you here yet. You’ll have to make do for now. We can buy some in town tomorrow.”

Gladys turned back to the cupboard and took out several pieces of dried meat.

She held one up to Erika’s mouth. “Go on. It’s delicious.”

The savory smell drifted into Erika’s little nose. She couldn’t help sniffing, and a little drool had already begun to gather at the corners of her mouth, by her tiny canines.

It smells so good… I want some…

But I have to resist!

What is this?

She’d just picked on me, and now she was trying to coax me with food?

Come on, does she really think I’m a newborn baby?

“I’m not eating!”

Erika turned her head away, determined to challenge herself and overcome her cravings. She absolutely wouldn’t let herself be tempted by food.

Seeing that, Gladys raised an eyebrow and brought the meat even closer. “You must be hungry. Be good and eat.”

“I’m not hungry. I don’t want any!”

“Go on. You can’t lie to me.”

Gladys sighed and pointed behind Erika.

The tiny tail that had just popped out was swishing from side to side, just like a little cat desperate for food.

“Th-That doesn’t mean anything.”

“You tell me.”

“…”

All right, she probably wasn’t fooling Gladys…

“Slurp…”

Erika sucked the drool from the corner of her mouth. With her little tail still swishing, she finally couldn’t hold back and snatched up the dried meat, eating it on the spot.

It was beef, but the drying process had taken away most of its gamey smell. The meat was wonderfully chewy, and its rich flavor filled her mouth at once.

Delicious!

A glint flashed in her red eyes. Erika hadn’t expected the meat, which didn’t look like much, to taste so good.

Or was she just really hungry…?

Never mind that. Erika began stuffing one piece of meat after another into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up, and her two little canines kept working away.

Afraid she might choke, Gladys gently patted her back. “Slow down. There’s plenty more.”

“Oh, uh, mo’ pease!”

With her mouth full of dried meat, Erika’s words came out muffled. She looked like a little glutton, which only made her seem cuter.

Gladys saw how much Erika was enjoying it and didn’t hold back. She turned and brought out all the remaining dried meat.

When it came to food, Erika’s stomach seemed like a bottomless pit. One after another, she shamelessly ate every last piece of dried meat.

Even after eating so much, she still didn’t seem satisfied. She sucked the lingering taste of dried meat from her fingers and asked Gladys, “Is there any more?”

“That was all of it…”