Since there was only one bed of straw in the cave, there was no doubt that Gladys and Erika had slept together, with Gladys holding her.

Erika had thought that on her first night in this strange new world, she’d have nightmares—terrible ones, too.

But she was wrong.

In Gladys’s arms, she slept soundly. The warmth at her back let her lower her guard completely.

And even on a bed of straw that did nothing to keep out the cold, she hadn’t felt chilly at all. That was all because Gladys had been protecting her.

……

……

The next day.

The morning sun broke through the darkness and reached the earth, bringing life to Ivory Mountain.

In the cave at the summit.

Erika was still curled up in Gladys’s arms. Even after sunlight spilled into the cave, she didn’t wake from her dreams.

Her eyes were gently closed, her thin lips slightly parted, and drool dribbled from the corner of her mouth. Every so often, a soft snore escaped her dainty nose.

“Erika?”

Gladys, who’d been awake for some time, called to her softly.

But there was no response.

With no other choice, Gladys gently shook Erika by the shoulder.

But after just a moment, Erika started waving her arms. The little tail peeking out from beneath her clothes swished along with them, and a sleepy murmur came from her lips.

“Lemme… sleep a little longer.”

She hadn’t even opened her eyes as she spoke.

Gladys raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who suggested we move?”

“Later… let me… sleep a little…”

“There aren’t many people out in the morning. I can fly you there, so we won’t have to take the mountain road. You can get up now.”

As she spoke, Gladys shook Erika’s shoulder again, this time a little more firmly.

“You’re so annoying—!”

But Erika wasn’t having it in her sleep. Without even thinking, she quickly reached out, yanked her loose dress up, and pulled it over her entire head.

“Get up.”

“I’m not getting up!”

Gladys could only shake her head helplessly. She didn’t want to force Erika, so there was no way to wake the little sleepyhead. In the end, she simply stayed by her side and waited.

The sunlight pouring into the cave grew brighter and brighter. By then, it was already noon…

Blinking, Erika could just make out Gladys staring right at her.

“Ah…”

With a little yelp, she finally woke up. Then she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly sat up, lightly wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Her red eyes met Gladys’s, looking a little embarrassed.

“Oh… hehe…”

She gave an awkward laugh.

Erika still looked a little dazed, and her gray-white hair was already a mess, like a bird’s nest.

“Did you… call me just now?”

“I did. Do you need to sleep a little longer?”

“N-no… I’m fine.”

Looking at the shy little girl before her, Gladys smiled faintly and reached out to smooth her hair. “Now that you’re awake, get yourself ready. Since you like human towns, we’ll move there now.”

“It’s… really no big deal.”

A blush crept over Erika’s face again. She felt a little embarrassed by how much Gladys seemed to indulge her.

“Come on. I can tell you like it out there more than you do here. Besides, there aren’t any clothes here that fit you, and we need to go into town to buy a few things.”

After tidying up, Gladys took only a few inconspicuous items of clothing with her, then piled everything else in the cave together.

At some point, a torch had appeared in her hand. From the look of it, she was about to burn the whole pile to the ground.

“Gladys, are you planning to burn all of it?” Erika asked in surprise.

“Of course.”

Gladys nodded. “We’re moving, so anything we don’t need gets burned. We can’t take everything with us.”

Could you even call this moving…?

“It feels like such a waste…” Erika blinked.

“Take whatever you like.”

At that, Erika hurried over to the bookshelf on her little feet.

She glanced over the books and quickly noticed a few thick ones.

At least she could read.

She pulled out a book about history and hugged it to her chest as she returned to Gladys. “Okay, burn it.”

Gladys nodded, then casually tossed the torch into the pile of junk. Its fiery glow lit up much of the cave, and the temperature rose.

“Let’s go.”

As she spoke, Gladys picked Erika up and carried her out of the cave.

Caught off guard, Erika squirmed a little in her arms.

Why did she always like carrying her?

“I can walk on my own.”

“Hold still. Keep your tail and the rest hidden. Don’t let the humans see any dragon features.”

Erika kept squirming.

But Gladys still showed no sign of putting her down. Instead, she held her even tighter and said gently, “It’s already noon. We can’t fly now, so we’ll have to take the mountain road. You aren’t wearing shoes, and it’d be hard for you to walk.”

Well, that was a very reasonable excuse.

Since Gladys clearly wasn’t going to put her down anyway, Erika stopped struggling. She settled into Gladys’s arms and opened the history book she’d just taken.

She had to admit, lying in Gladys’s arms was pretty comfortable.

She began scanning the table of contents, hoping to learn a little about this world.

“Do you like reading human history?”

“I’m just curious.”

Erika replied casually. She’d only just arrived in this world, after all, and felt she ought to learn a little about it.

After reading for a while, she’d only gotten a rough idea of things.

It really was a fantasy world of swords and magic. The book spoke of the mysteries of magic and the bravery of knights, and praised all kinds of great figures from history.

Most of the world had already been unified. The nation that ruled the continent was called the Yarlan Empire. Its coat of arms was a four-leaf clover, a symbol of hope and faith.

The Empire had existed for a hundred years. Its unification had reduced wars and lowered taxes, and everything the emperor did seemed to benefit the people.

Of course, people here also believed in the gods. The continent’s Temple Church, a symbol of holiness, stood at its very center in a place known as the Holy Land.

According to the Temple, a hundred years ago, humanity had been caught in the midst of all kinds of disasters, living in misery.

When the gods appeared, they brought purity and kindness into the human world like a ray of light. Their holiness drove out the darkness and descended upon the earth, and the gods became the salvation of all humanity.

Most people in the world believed in the gods. The book even mentioned that the emperor of the Empire went to the Temple every year to pray and spread holiness throughout the world.

As she read, Erika realized that Gladys had already carried her out of Ivory Mountain. The town was less than a few hundred meters ahead.

Erika was a little surprised. She’d thought this desolate, uninhabited mountain would be full of wild beasts, but the whole way there, they hadn’t encountered a single one.

Still, Erika knew it wouldn’t matter even if there were wild beasts. Gladys was here, and she was strong.

After giving the book a quick skim, Erika decided it wasn’t useful anymore and tossed it aside. Her big eyes fixed on the town ahead as curiosity began to stir in her heart. What was this world really like?

Beside her, Gladys saw the curiosity sparkling in Erika’s eyes and seemed to understand how she felt. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she carried Erika into the human town.