Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Erina was actually more surprised by Meian’s sudden words.

“By the ‘Dragon,’ you mean… you’re talking about Dylan, right?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right! Erina, aren’t you scared of the Dragon?”

Erina completely agreed that Dylan possessed magical abilities that could be frightening and that he was intimidatingly handsome.

However, she didn’t find him scary or off-putting because of his power or appearance.

“I think you’re scared because Mitzu was rude to you before… but honestly, once you get to know them, they’re good people—well, dragons. Really!”

“Ah… I-I see…”

It’s true though…

Despite Erina’s insistence that dragons weren’t frightening beings, Meian’s eyes held no trust.

With their opinions clearly differing, the two exchanged awkward glances before turning to help out with the camp preparations.

Several large tents were lined up, and inside them were folding beds and various camping items and furniture.

Though they called it ‘camping,’ it felt more like they’d moved an entire mansion outdoors.

“Erina! Come here! Is this good enough?!”

Mitzu called to Erina from a distance.

Trailing dragons behind her like ducklings following their mother, Erina hurried toward him. Her duckling-like entourage drew soft laughter from those around them.

Mitzu proudly showed Erina the space he had worked his hardest on.

“Well? Don’t you feel like whipping something up already?!”

He had set up a dazzling outdoor kitchen, complete with two stoves.

It was obvious what he wanted Erina to do here.

“I-I mean, it looks great… but I was planning to just organize things today and go foraging right after…”

“What?! What are you saying?! The best part of camping is eating dessert! Hurry up and make something!”

“How can I make dessert right now? No one’s even had a proper dinner yet!”

Erina looked completely baffled.

Mitzu’s obsession with dessert, regardless of time or place, was incredibly annoying.

Realizing Erina wasn’t going to whip up something sweet right away, Mitzu abruptly turned around without another word.

Erina, already used to Mitzu’s mood swings and bratty behavior, just sighed and went back to her organizing.

Behind her, the dragons grumbled among themselves

—“Bwek!”, “Grrak!”, “Muum!”—

But quickly toddled after her on their short legs.

***

He thought that once he built the kitchen, a special outdoor dessert would magically appear.

Mitzu, who had been eagerly anticipating Erina’s treats since the moment they arrived at the campsite, was now sulking.

Dark misty waves of gloom began to drift around him, reflecting his foul mood.

Everyone nearby had no choice but to endure the depressing atmosphere.

Just then, completely unbothered by the mood, Dylan casually beckoned Mitzu with a single finger—like one would call a dog.

Neither Dylan, who was calling, nor Mitzu, who was called, found the gesture odd. Only the servants nearby thought, Even mad dogs have masters, huh.

“You called?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

Still surrounded by heat-hazy gloom, Mitzu stood slouched in front of Dylan.

“Thought we might start getting bites. Anything new?”

“Ah! One moment, sir!”

Mitzu, suddenly reminded of something by Dylan’s words, closed his eyes and focused on one of his many spiritual threads.

When he had visited Princess Anna’s palace last time, he’d secretly planted some items in the walls under the pretense of using the restroom.

Now, with the day winding down, it was the perfect time for people to start chatting in secret.

The moment an unrecognizable incantation came out of Mitzu’s mouth, static filled his mind, followed by a faint unfamiliar voice.

–Princess… next week… do… royal…

–…castle… Darien… visit… soon…

It was too faint to catch the full meaning, but Mitzu could at least tell something was likely to happen next week.

“Seems like Princess Anna and Darien will run into each other soon, huh?”

Next to Mitzu, Dylan nodded as he also checked the princess’s vision thread. The only thing left to decide was what excuse to use to get into the palace next week.

“See? You should’ve worked on your social skills while you had the chance… Geez!”

“Should’ve worked on them…!”

Hael had appeared beside Mitzu, mimicking his expression exactly.

Dylan replied with a deadpan expression.

“If I wasn’t going to do it, one of you should’ve. Don’t you think your loyalty to your superior is a bit lacking these days? Want me to drill it into you until loyalty is the only thing left in your bones?”

“Why does it always end like this?!”

“Seriously?!”

Mitzu and Hael protested, but Dylan ignored them.

At this rate, they were going to be literally ‘drilled’ into the ground.

Mitzu’s face grew even darker than before, and Hael’s wasn’t far behind.

“I’ve been going too easy on you lately. This works out—there’s plenty of space here, so I won’t have to worry about breaking anything while you roll around.”

Dylan’s blue eyes glinted ominously. He clearly intended to blow off steam today.

Mitzu and Hael, now desperate to survive, frantically looked around for the one person who could stop their boss’s madness: Erina.

But unfortunately, just as she’d said earlier, she had finished tidying up and gone off to forage.

Without hesitation, Dylan grabbed the scruffs of his subordinates’ necks and dragged them into the heart of the forest.

For the rest of the night, the sound of beasts howling echoed from the distant woods across the entire campsite.

Meanwhile, Erina headed into the nearby forest to forage, accompanied by Meian and the dragons.

In her hands were a basket for gathering herbs and a lantern that Meian had made herself.

The children in their dragon forms tore through the forest far more freely than when in human form.

Their tough, leather-like scales protected them from insects and poisonous plants, and their sharp claws effortlessly cleared away obstructing branches.

As the children roamed around like fishes in water, Erina and Meian followed behind, gasping for breath.

“The kids are really—huff—running around so—gasp—energetically!”

“R-Right?! Huff huff, to be honest, this is the first time—haah!—I’ve gone foraging with the kids in dragon form!”

“I see—Ah, wait!!”

Meian, who was on the verge of collapsing, mustered the last of her strength and shouted.

Her yell made even the dragons up ahead stop in their tracks.

Meian braced herself with both hands on her knees, took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then pointed under a rock to her right.

“L-Look at this!”

“Huh? Oh, that mushroom is…?!”

At the tip of Meian’s finger was a bright blue mushroom.

It was so vivid it looked as if someone had painted it with dye.

It resembled the Skycap Mushroom that Resen was named after, but its color was much more intense.

“Hold on, let me check if it’s poisonous!”

The group quickly gathered in a circle around the mushroom, enchanted by its striking hue.

Meian barely stopped Lia from grabbing it and instead cupped the mushroom gently in her hands.

A green light—matching Meian’s hair—glowed around the mushroom, then turned into a bright white flash before fading back into green.

“Oh, thankfully it’s not poisonous! It should be safe to touch!”

“Wow, Meian, you can detect poison?”

“Not with perfect precision, but I can at least tell if it’s harmful to the human body or not.”

Looking a bit bashful, Meian picked the mushroom. The dragons and Erina peered curiously at it beside her.

Erina handed a small mushroom to Resen and clapped her hands.

“Resen! It’s such a pretty blue, just like you!”

“Kyah!”

Resen clutched the mushroom tightly and wiggled her hips. His tail swayed along with the movement.

He seemed delighted to receive praise from Erina over the mushroom.

Watching this, Lia and Poi—burning with jealousy—suddenly became obsessed with finding mushrooms that matched their own colors.