Chapter 28

“Kkrrrrraaaaang!”

The Duke froze, startled by the sight of Kazen pushing his head toward him in greeting.

It had only been a day. Barely a day had passed since he’d handed off Kazen — who’d been calling only for Trainer Litia — to her care.

So why was Kazen suddenly this glad to see him?

The Duke’s gaze turned toward the one person who could answer that question. Litia, her sandy hair pinned up as neatly as ever, met his eyes and answered.

“Didn’t I tell you? I won’t indulge his clinginess.”

At her reply, delivered with a small smile, the Duke fell silent.

That was true. He just hadn’t expected her to make good on it within a single day.

Emotion poured through him from Kazen, who kept crying out and rubbing his snout against the Duke’s body. It was the feeling of a partner, bound by an invisible thread ever since their eyes had first met the moment Kazen hatched.

So many feelings came flooding in at once that it was momentarily disorienting, but the Duke quickly read what his partner meant by it.

His partner was happy to see him.

“…Can behavior really be corrected this fast, in just one day?”

The Duke muttered it to himself, bewildered. Hadn’t this been the same Kazen who’d spent five straight days crying for Trainer Litia, barely listening to a word he said?

The Duke looked at the trainer. She — a rarity among mid-to-large dragon trainers for being a woman — smiled back at her employer’s gaze.

“Correcting a dragon’s behavior is one of a trainer’s duties, after all.”

That smile was confident, carrying real pride in her work.

I nodded, watching Kazen press his head against the Duke and beg for attention he’d never once gotten away with begging for from me.

Good. With this, there’d be that much less of the Duke’s pointless jealousy aimed at me.

Honestly, how hard had it been pushing away Kazen every time he tried to shove his head at me, doing his level best to be fawned over? Physically exhausting, no exaggeration.

Watching Kazen soak up the touch he’d never been allowed to indulge in with me now that he was getting it from the Duke, I checked how much time I had left.

“Your Grace. I need to head off now to oversee the apprentice trainers’ lessons.”

At that, both Kazen’s and the Duke’s eyes turned to me.

“Is there no more training to do with Kazen today?”

“Me stepping away is part of the training as well.”

As I raised the training whistle hanging around my neck to my lips, I saw Kazen flinch and his muscles go tense.

“Kazen, rest up. Understood?”

“Grrrrrr…”

Kazen’s throat rumbled low as he lowered his gaze. Satisfied that he wasn’t shaking his head or crying for me to stay, I bowed to the Duke.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

The Duke didn’t try to stop me. Of course he wouldn’t. I’d more or less talked my way into taking charge of the apprentice trainers’ training too.

I hoped he’d follow through on the incentive he’d promised, generously. Whatever else he might be stingy about, he did seem like the type to pay out rewards properly — I was curious just how much he’d be willing to give if I managed to bring the apprentices up to a satisfactory level.

Finding the apprentice trainers was easy. Wherever there were dragons, there were trainers.

“Ah, Trainer Litia!”

One of the apprentices spotted me and shot to his feet, bowing his head. The others immediately turned to look at me too.

“Hello. I hope I haven’t come at a busy time?”

“Not at all! We just sent them out to the field to exercise!”

Scratching my cheek, a little awkward at how sharply the apprentice had snapped to attention, I wondered — had I really come across that intimidating before?

“There’s no need to be this tense. It’s a day earlier than planned, but starting today I’ll be teaching you all whenever I have a spare moment.”

At that, the trainers who’d been listening in crowded closer.

“Starting today, you mean?”

“For anyone off duty today, I’ll see to them separately. I won’t be starting with anything too elaborate, so there’s no need to worry.”

I added an explanation to put their nerves at ease.

“It’s just simple advice between tasks. If you have time before your shift ends, feel free to ask me anything you’re unsure about or curious about while studying for your certification.”

The trainers murmured among themselves. Watching them shift restlessly, it was clear they had plenty of questions.

“Before that, would it be alright if I checked on the dragons’ condition first?”

“Ah, this way.”

Bruce, the eldest of the apprentice trainers, blew his training whistle. Before long, the dragon steeds that had been let loose in the field came galloping over in a herd.

“Prrrrrrr…!!”

At the front of the herd, the one blowing hard through its nose and scraping the ground with a forehoof had blue horns that caught the sunlight and gleamed.

“Still playing boss, are you?”

“Prrr.”

I looked over the lead dragon steed as it snorted and nodded its head. Thanks to the adjusted feed portions, its scales and mane had a healthy sheen, and its hooves looked better too.

When it came closer and pushed its head toward me, I patted its neck, and the lead steed lowered its head and stood still to accept the touch. Its thick, lion-like tail swayed slowly, a sign it was in a good mood.

“Do the other dragons go for their walk after the dragon steeds finish theirs?”

“That’s right. Ah, one of them belongs to Lord Baskal, and he takes it out himself.”

“Lord Baskal?”

Who was that, I wondered, searching my memory for a moment before it clicked. The intelligent-looking man who’d been at the Duke’s side.

“…Ah. You mean him. The empty pen — that’s the one assigned to his Pantera Stalker, isn’t it?”

“We haven’t used it so far, though.”

“Right, since he keeps it with him.”

That explained why I hadn’t seen it anywhere near Baskal. Pantera Stalkers specialized in concealment, after all.

“Still, a Pantera Stalker. That’s a rare breed to come across…”

“His Grace Duke Albarant specially obtained it for him.”

I nodded at that. A Pantera Stalker wasn’t something you came across unless you deliberately went looking for one.

For something to be called a dragon, it needed an organ inside its body called the dragon heart — something separate from the blood-pumping heart, an organ that circulated and accumulated magic within the body.

To borrow an expression from my past life, it was something like the dantian from martial arts novels. In other words, as long as a dragon heart existed inside the body, it counted as a dragon no matter what form it took.

Pantera Stalkers were scaleless dragons, closer in build to a leopard. Flexible, powerful muscle packed densely through a slender, elegant frame covered in fur instead of scales. Wings made of feathers, large enough to cover the whole body, and a single horn jutting from the forehead — the combination was striking.

Even so, Pantera Stalkers ranked among the predators of the dragon world. Their fur, as tough as scales, bent light by holding magic within it — assassins that erased their own presence.

In the jungle regions where they lived, they reigned as one of the apex predators. I’d read in a book that most prey never even caught sight of their shadow before their throats were already caught between its fangs.

“His Grace must think highly of Lord Baskal, giving him a Pantera Stalker as a gift.”

If someone needed to be protected discreetly, if a dragon were kept for that very purpose, there was no better choice than a Pantera Stalker. Its size was comparable to a leopard’s too, small enough to bring inside a residence.

“I’ve heard they grew up together as friends since childhood.”

“I see.”

So the remaining nine dragons must be kept somewhere else… I should probably look after the dragon steeds first, since the ducal house’s knights would be the ones riding them.

“Have any of the dragons had any issues?”

“A few got some scratches when the Agrix dragon was crying, but they’ve healed up by now.”

“Good to hear. Anything unusual otherwise?”

“No.”

I nodded briefly, then turned to Bruce.

“How long ago were the dragon steeds let out into the field?”

“About an hour ago.”

“How long do you usually leave them out?”

“About three hours.”

I mulled that over for a moment, then asked another question.

“How do the other dragons and the dragon steeds get along?”

“They’re not exactly friendly, but they don’t act hostile toward each other either.”

“Then let’s bring out the dragons that can fly as well.”

“…What?”

“If they don’t attack each other, there’s no need to keep exercising them separately. Since they’ll eventually need training to move together anyway, it’ll be easier in the long run if we get them used to it like this, as a matter of routine.”

Dragons — or more precisely, dragons belonging to noble houses — were also trained to prepare for war. It was best if war never came, of course, but training to be ready for it was essential regardless.

And even setting war aside, if they could be walked together, managing them separately was simply a waste of time.

“How many trainers here can fly?”

“Not many. A lot of us weren’t really taught much by the previous trainers, either…”

“So you mean they’re not skilled at it.”

“That’s right.”

At that, I changed my mind.

“Then let’s bring out just one. Flying alongside people who aren’t experienced is dangerous.”

“Understood, Trainer.”

“I’ll give flight training to anyone who wants it, so if there’s a trainer interested, let me know.”

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

“It’s a necessary thing to do.”

Properly training the apprentices now would mean less work for me down the line. Looked at that way, as an investment in the future, it wasn’t something I minded doing at all.

“I should check which dragons we have. I’d like it if only the trainers in charge of dragons other than the steeds came along.”

“Understood.”

Watching Bruce and a few other trainers approach, I turned and started walking toward them.

Now then, which one should go up first. I’d need to pick the calmest one I could find. Wouldn’t want it attacking the dragon steeds mid-flight, after all.