Chapter 06
Startled, Asil froze on the spot.
One of the voices belonged to the human who was Ednber’s aide, whom Asil had seen yesterday, but who was the other one?
I need to practice becoming a ferocious dragon beast more, but I’m not mentally prepared to show myself to humans yet!
In a panic, Asil decided to hug a cushion rolling on the floor and pretend to be asleep.
The voices continued to be heard.
“I heard there was an attack.”
“Thankfully, no one was harmed.”
“Whether that’s fortunate or not, we’ll see. Don’t follow me. I’ll go in alone.”
“What? …It could be dangerous, Lord Elcai.”
“For me?”
The other person let out a hearty laugh, as if the idea was absurd.
After what seemed like a brief argument, a moment of silence followed, and the owner of the voice entered the beast’s room.
Asil peeked through half-closed eyes to check who it was.
He was an old human with silvery golden hair and purple eyes, resembling Asil’s husband but with sharper features. He looked like a swordsman, with a very sturdy build.
…An old human who looks like my husband?
“Bbyasbbi?” (Father?)
He seemed a bit too old to be called Father, but Mom had said, “Your husband’s grandfather is ill.”
The human in front of Asil didn’t look sick at all, so he must be Father.
Just then, Asil’s eyes met Elcai’s, and it quickly shut her eyes tight.
Elcai, who had been closely observing Asil, muttered,
“It was squeaking just now, wasn’t it?”
“…Bbyhuuu, bbyhuuuu.”
“Was that just breathing?”
Even as he said that, his gaze didn’t waver.
Why is he looking at me so scarily? Asil broke out in a cold sweat.
Only after his gaze finally shifted and the sound of the door closing was heard did Asil let out a “Bbyhu,” a sigh of relief, and get up.
‘Now I need to practice becoming a ferocious dragon beast again.’
But then.
“As I thought, you weren’t asleep.”
“Bbi!!!!!”
Startled, Asil fell on its bottom.
Elcai, lightly clicking his tongue, touched the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“You’re quite a cunning little thing. I should nip this in the bud.”
“Bbyasbbi bbi!!!” (Asil tastes bad, Father!!!)
“What?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Elcai froze mid-motion as he was about to draw his sword. His purple eyes wavered.
“What did you just say…?”
“Bbiiya bbi! Bbiiya!!!” (Asil is so tiny, like a booger, and tastes bad! Even if you eat me, you won’t feel full, Father!!!)
In its panic, Asil completely forgot about being a ferocious dragon beast or anything else.
Asil touched her neck area. She was trying to wave its scarf, as taught by the kindergarten teacher, to show it had no intention of fighting.
But oh no, there was no scarf.
The scarf, torn during yesterday’s attack, had already been reduced to a rag.
With no other choice, Asil waved the white cushion it was holding.
“Bbi! Bbyaaa-!” (Asil surrenders! Surrendeeer-!)
Elcai, watching with clouded eyes, stammered,
“…What did you just say?”
“Bbi?”
“What did you call me?”
“Bbyasbbi…?” (Father…?)
“Why am I your father? I’ve never had a daughter-in-law like you.”
Asil, who had been waving the cushion, paused. If he’s not Father, then what should I call him?
He smells similar to my husband. Mom said a man who looks like my husband is the Father.
Wait, could it be that Husband and Father got mixed up?
Asil mumbled uncertainly,
“Bbiiya…?” (Then Husband…?)
“What kind of outrageous thing are you saying!”
“Bbi!”
I got scolded by a human I just met! Asil shrank back.
Then, realizing a ferocious dragon beast shouldn’t act like this, she puffed out her chest and boldly retorted,
“Bbiiyat bbi bbiat!” (You’d better accept Asil as your daughter-in-law!)
“What’s that, you little thing? All my sons are already married!”
“Bbit!?”
“What’s so surprising? Since they’re married, they’ve had children too.”
“Bbit?!”
Husband is already married and has kids?! Shocked, Asil covered its mouth with the cushion.
Just then, with a light knock, Ednver entered.
“You’re here. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you at the gate. If you had informed me in advance, I would have come out…”
“No need. More importantly, I’ve heard all sorts of things in my life, but this tiny thing says it wants to be your stepmother. What do you think of that?”
“What?”
“…Bbya?”
Something’s weird? Confused, Asil blinked.
* * *
Just before coming here, Mom had earnestly warned about a few things.
“There’s a human you need to be most wary of when you get there.”
“Bbi?”
“Elcai Munlepe. The protagonist’s grandfather and the former Duke Munlepe.”
With an unusually serious expression, Mom explained in detail about this human named Elcai.
How he led the Munlepe dukedom to its golden age by achieving feats like annihilating a swarm of wyverns that had threatened the empire for years.
How he retired after passing the dukedom to his son, but since Edenber became duke, he occasionally shows up for major events.
“According to the original story, Elcai doesn’t like Asil because it resembles a wyvern. On top of that, he’s afflicted with a mysterious illness, which makes his already bad temper even more volatile.”
“Bbi…”
“Then the heroine appears dramatically and cures Elcai’s illness. That’s how the protagonist starts taking an interest in her.”
Mom explained a lot more after that, but it was so complicated that only a few things stuck in Asil’s head.
‘Grandfather doesn’t like Asil and is in poor health.’
‘The pink-haired human called the heroine heals Grandfather.’
Just those two things remained.
And so, now that Asil realized Elcai was not Father but Grandfather,
it was sneaking glances at Elcai, who sat at the head of the table, with a puzzled expression.
‘Mom said Grandfather was sick.’
Aside from his slightly graying hair, he looked very healthy.
It didn’t seem like he was on the verge of death, as Mom had described.
‘Mom wouldn’t have told me wrong.’
Why is it different?
Sitting in a high chair prepared by the maids in the dining room, waiting for food, Asil tilted its head.
Elcai, who had been observing Asil with narrowed eyes, spoke up.
“What can you do?”
“Bbi?”
“I’m asking what abilities you have. Do you possess tremendous strength? Or can you skillfully wield magic?”
“Bbyatbbi bbya. Bbiiya.” (Asil is good at climbing trees. I swim well and sing well too.)
To avoid being underestimated, she should act like a ferocious dragon beast, but lying is wrong.
Besides, these were basic skills for a dragon beast.
So, Asil only mentioned the things it was better at than other dragon beasts.
Elcai’s face turned incredulous.
“You’re going to make this thing a divine beast?”
“she was the only one unharmed during last night’s attack.”
Ednver quickly added an explanation.
“The attackers were Baron Benedict and his men.”
At the mention of an unexpected name, Elcai fell silent.
Baron Benedict. A hot-tempered man who lacked respect for authority, but whose skills were undeniable.
Ednver continued calmly.
“It’s taking time to discern what parts of the baron’s statement are true and which are false, delaying the investigation.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that thing breathed fire.”
As he said this, Ednber glanced at Asil with disbelief, but Asil just stared back blankly, puzzled.
‘Is there a dragon that can’t breathe fire?’
Of course, it was Asil who breathed it.
Just as humans don’t consider waving their limbs an ability, Asil didn’t think of something it could naturally do as an ability.
Not knowing what kind of creature Ednber thought it was, Asil simply thought that way.
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By Anna 💓
