Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sunlight streamed down like a flowing river.

Branches and leaves encircled the tower as though protecting it.

Two knights who had made their way through this storybook-like scenery drew their swords.

Their mission was none other than to rescue the princess who had been kidnapped by a dragon!

Driven by that sole determination, the knights had spent several sleepless nights infiltrating the dragon’s tower, and the moment they roughly flung open the door—

BANG-!

“You scaly bastard! How dare you kidnap the princess and—”

CLANG!

“Argh!”

Clang?

Was it because it was a dragon, after all?

The knight who had shouted so boldly was promptly struck and knocked unconscious.

And then.

“Another damn knight… Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“G-Gah…! W-What?!”

Another knight was slammed against the wall, while an unforgiving yet…

…gentle hand wrapped around his throat?

Flustered, the knight did his best to turn his head, even as the hand continued squeezing his neck.

Amid the darkness inside the tower, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a woman’s silhouette with long hair.

‘C-Could it be… the dragon?!’

But what flashed in her eyes was the icy gaze characteristic of royalty.

“P-Princess?”

Indeed.

The one who had pounced on him the moment he opened the door was none other than the kidnapped princess.

“You too?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you come here to slay the dragon, too?”

According to the rumors, the princess was supposed to be a delicate yet beautiful woman…

But the atmosphere surrounding her was nothing like what he had imagined, and a sense of terror gripped the knight from head to toe.

Still, the princess was undoubtedly on his side. Forcing himself to ignore the fear creeping over him, the knight managed a strained smile.

“Y-Yes! I-I came here to slay the dragon. S-So, if you could please stop strangling me now…”

“…Ha. What an idiot.”

“Pardon?”

“Listen carefully.”

The gentle hand suddenly seized the knight by the collar.

“If you want to kill that ‘dragon’ you’re all so fond of talking about, you’ll have to step over this princess’s dead body first, you damn knights.”

“H-How could I ever dare to…”

That was when a childish voice piped up.

“Big Sissy. Don’t be so mean to the uncles. Big Sissy isn’t a bad person, you know.”

Something utterly innocent had interrupted the terrifying atmosphere, which was enough to make even the knights’ knees tremble.

Come to think of it…

Something small and sturdy was wriggling behind the princess.

Whoosh-

Just then, a breeze blew through, pushing the half-open door all the way open.

“These uncles are nice, too. They even give us jewels. You’re being mean. Sir Bellix was angry at Lulu at first, too, but he smiled at me later.”

A little girl who looked about four years old was picking up a jewel lying right beside the unconscious knight.

It was a cheap jewel they had brought along to lure the dragon out.

She bent her little body into a neat curve, like a woman gathering ears of grain, and picked it up with practiced precision.

It was clearly not her first time doing this…

No, wait! Get a hold of yourself.

In other words, this child picking up the jewel was…

“W-Who…?”

Was there someone else who had been kidnapped besides the princess?

Overwhelmed by the sheer unreality of the situation, the knight’s mind had frozen solid.

“Uncle, are you okay? Big Sissy is really scary, isn’t she?”

Heave-ho!

The little girl slipped the jewel into her pocket, stood up, and smiled brightly.

At the sight of her, the knight found himself smiling foolishly without even realizing it.

“No, no. The princess simply doesn’t know us very well, so…”

“But, Uncle.”

Poof.

That was when wings suddenly sprouted from the little girl’s back.

“Our Big Sissy isn’t stupid enough not to know who the guests visiting our home are.”

To make matters worse, a tail covered in thick, crocodile-like scales suddenly appeared beneath the back of the little girl, who was smiling so innocently.

The demonic creature rumored to have kidnapped the princess…

It was a dragon.

“Did you uncles do something wrong?”

“A-Aaaaaah! It’s a dragon-!”

The knights were so startled that their eyes rolled back, and they promptly fainted.

* * *

Once upon a time, long, long ago.

A princess who was taking a walk through the forest came across a dragon who was crying bitterly.

The baby dragon had lost its parents after being chased by some wicked villains.

Upon learning of the dragon’s unfortunate circumstances, the princess asked,

“How about having a big sister instead of your parents?”

“…Big Sissy?”

And so, the baby dragon lived happily ever after with the princess.

* * *

“Come on, Lulu. It’s time to wake up. We have to do our stretching exercises!”

Swish!

The curtains swept open, and brilliant sunlight beat against her eyelids.

Wriggle, wriggle.

Lulu tried to escape beneath the blankets, but the nimble hand that had been waiting for just such an opportunity caught her chubby ankle.

“Shouldn’t we start with our stretching exercises as soon as we wake up?”

“Mmm. Lulu wants to sleep a little longer.”

“The sun is already high in the sky! What are you talking about? Get up and have breakfast!”

“Today’s weather is cloudy because even the sun is sleepy.”

Regardless, a firm command followed.

“Lulu, begin your exercises.”

“I wanna sleep a little mo… Streeetch, streeetch, streeetch.”

No matter what Big Sissy said, Lulu had been determined to go right back to sleep.

But the moment the order to begin her stretching exercises came, Lulu’s bottom started wiggling instinctively.

That was because Big Sissy had told her she absolutely had to do these exercises three times a day.

That was how Lulu would grow into an eight-meter-tall dragon someday!

“Mmmph. Stretch, stretch, stretch!”

She surrendered to the perfectly established routine.

But since she was already doing this, she might as well do her best to grow taller!

Her chubby cheeks drooped in displeasure, but Lulu furrowed her brows and stretched her legs with all her might.

“Oh, my goodness, Lulu… You’re sleepy, but you can’t bear to miss your stretching exercises, can you? Are you doing them while yawning?”

“Mmm. So I can grow big and protect Big Sissy later…”

Once a dragon transformed into a human during childhood, it was difficult to return to its original dragon form.

That was because they lacked the magical power needed to transform back.

And so, little dragon Lulu had one great dream.

To grow into a gigantic dragon and travel across the Toon Continent together with Big Sissy!

Lulu had lost her parents and her memories, and had been abandoned in the forest.

Big Sissy had brought Lulu to an isolated tower and hidden her away inside it, insisting that the outside world was dangerous.

But what if she grew big enough to fly through the sky?

Then she would be able to visit the Toon Continent, the homeland of dragons!

‘Once Lulu grows to eight meters tall by doing her stretching exercises, she’ll be able to roam the world with her head held high.’

Every day spent with Big Sissy was a happy one for Lulu.

No, in truth, before meeting Big Sissy, Lulu hadn’t even known what kind of life she had lived.

The last thing she remembered was flapping her tiny wings and crying her heart out.

And the only person who had ever reached out a hand to her was Big Sissy.

Why would someone as beautiful and skilled in magic as Big Sissy live in such a shabby tower?

Lulu sometimes found herself wondering about it, but every day was still a happy one.

There was just one thing that had been bothering her lately.

The storybook Big Sissy kept reading to her as though trying to brainwash her!

And so, after another day had passed, just before Lulu was about to fall asleep—

“I should read Lulu a storybook before she goes to sleep again. Today’s book is called .”

Not again!

Today, as always, she had to listen to that endlessly tedious story, !

It was the same storybook Big Sissy had been reading ever since Lulu followed her into this isolated tower.

“Lulu knows that already.”

At first, Lulu had liked the story because its main character, the baby dragon, reminded her of herself.

But after listening to it every single day for an entire year, she had grown so sick of it that even looking at the cover made her yawn.

“Oh? Lulu knows this story, too?”

Big Sissy asked shamelessly, her pretty face as innocent as ever.

Without even realizing that she was puffing out her cheeks, Lulu began counting on her chubby little fingers.

“You’ve read it ten times, a hundred times, a th-thousand hundred times…”

“After a hundred comes a thousand.”

Oh! New information acquired!

“A-A thousand times…! You’ve read it that many times! Now read me a different storybook!”

Lulu puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms primly.

This time, she absolutely refused to give in.

“Hmm… But I don’t have any other storybooks. So, shall we read this one again and go to sleep?”

“No!”

“What do you mean, no? It’s Lulu’s faaaavorite storybook! Now then… After learning of the baby dragon’s unfortunate circumstances, the princess…”

Huh?! She was ignoring Lulu and reading the story anyway!

Lulu wanted to rebel, but unfortunately, she was nothing more than a helpless baby dragon.

Forced into Big Sissy’s embrace, Lulu had no choice but to listen to the same tale she had heard a hundred times—or rather, a thousand times.

‘Ugh. I’m so sick of this…!’

Her little hands, short and shaped like starfish, clamped over her ears.

‘Why won’t Big Sissy let me read any other books besides this one?’

Wasn’t there any way to get her hands on a different storybook?

After pondering the matter for quite some time, Lulu’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Big Sissy’s secret storeroom in the tower’s basement.

If she went there, she would surely be able to find another book.