“Alice! At a time like this, you should just say it straight!”
“Ehh!? That’s too bold…! Uu… P-Please kiss me!”
“That’s the spirit! Alice, you’re amazing……”
“Wasn’t it you who told me to be straightforward, Lady Leiche!?”
Alice, her nerves making her act strangely, stares at Mashiro in disbelief.
So Alice does want a kiss…
Well, I’ll gladly fulfill that request too.
“H-Hey, both of you, calm down! ……Are you really sure about this?”
“Of course! Getting a kiss from Ouga-kun is super rare!”
“Y-Yes… Alice is ready…!”
“Alright, Mashiro first.”
“P-Please take care of me…!”
“……You’re puckering up, but it’s just your cheek, you know…?”
You mustn’t create unfairness. Despite her trembling, soft-looking lips desperately puckering for attention, I ignore them and instead press my lips to Mashiro’s mochi-like cheeks.
“Ehehe…” Mashiro wriggles her waist, covering her face with both hands, acting all shy.
If it makes her this happy, then I’m glad too.
“O-Ouga sama!”
Alice’s voice booms louder than intended, her gaze sharp with tension—almost slipping into combat mode.
She stomps closer, gripping my shoulders tightly.
“I-I’ve never done this before either… b-but I promise it won’t hurt!”
“Alice, you sound like a virgin right now!”
That statement might carry way too much weight in this context!
“W-well, excuse me…!”
Her suspicious, swirling eyes close the distance, and a soft sensation blooms on my cheek.
The moment stretches… and stretches… and stretches…
“That’s too long, Alice!”
“A-ah! My apologies! I got lost in the moment…!”
Snapped back to reality by Mashiro’s callout, Alice waves her hands frantically. “N-no, this isn’t what it looks like…!” She quickly backs away from me.
A faint dampness lingers where her lips touched—like I’ve touched something forbidden—and I reflexively avert my eyes.
Only to find Yueri smirking at me.
“What’s wrong, boy~? Wanna kiss me too?”
“Yes!”
“Ehh~? I’d let you do it as much as you want~”
She’s like a mischievous older sister teasing her junior.
But with everyone’s heads already scrambled from kissing, this obvious taunt works—knock it off, Yueri!
“H-hey, Ouga-kun! It’s about time, isn’t it? Leave this place to me and be careful…!”
Reina, the first to kiss me, had barely regained her composure. With her pushing me forward, I step out of the estate.
“R-right. I don’t have plans today, so take it easy and rest up!”
“Ah—bring back some of the Dark Dragon’s scales! They’re even more magically potent than spiritstones!”
“You seriously bring that up now!?”
An absurd request out of nowhere… but maybe I can fulfill it?
Knowing her, she probably thinks it’ll strengthen my [True Dragon Slaying Fist Form]. Worth a shot, at least.
Shaking off the lingering afterimages of everyone’s kisses, I sprint toward the private beach.
Thanks to clearing it with Father beforehand, the private beach was, of course, completely empty.
Security at the entrance had also been tightened since last time—no more delinquents sneaking in.
“…I want to come here with everyone again.”
Once we reclaim this peaceful world, scenes like that will return.
Frankly, we’ve barely had a proper student life.
No summer memories? Flone will absolutely answer for that.
…I’ll defeat her. Me.
[Magic Burial], the natural enemy of all mages.
[Limit Break Gear – Change], enhancing physical abilities.
The newly acquired power of [True Dragon Slaying Fist Form].
And the bracelet imbued with everyone’s feelings.
“With all this, there’s no way we can lose.”
…Yet something still feels lacking.
Is it because of Flone’s unfathomable depth? The gap in experience?
That’s why I need more.
The strength to stand against Flone. That’s why I’m here today.
[You seem deep in thought.]
With a mighty flap of its wings, the jet-black dragon descends from the sky, fixing me with a piercing glare.
“…Yeah. I was thinking about how to defeat Flone. Isn’t that the most important thing right now?”
[Hmph. Then I’ll allow it.]
“Still as grandiose as ever, Dark Dragon. Not taking human form today?”
[If you seek a deathmatch, I’ve no objections?]
“…Tch. Relax. Neither of us came here to fight.”
[Facing me without flinching. You remain an amusing man.]
The oppressive aura resembling bloodlust dissipates.
The heavy air lightens, and the frozen creatures nearby scatter in panic.
The Dark Dragon—Encarton. Our life-or-death battle is still fresh in my mind.
But it turns out Flone had attacked its nest, forcing it to act under her command.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally.
I believe the Dark Dragon joined me last time because it hasn’t given up its grudge against Flone.
“Did you find somewhere to hide this past week?”
[If you count wretched environments, then yes—enough to heal my wounds.]
“Good. I’d be in trouble if you dropped dead before we talked.”
[Enough prattle, child. Get to the point. This isn’t why you sought me out.]
It snorts roughly, leaning closer.
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Seems it dislikes roundabout talk.
Fine by me—
I only have one thing to say.
“Dark Dragon. Flone Milfonti, who drove you out, is my enemy. Remember that blue-haired girl from before?”
[Ah, the mage with abnormally high mana. I remember her pushing her limits to stop me.]
“She—Mashiro—is my wife. And Flone is targeting her. I want to stop her and protect Mashiro.”
[So, a firm reason and shared enemy. Is that it?]
“Yes. Just like you, Dark Dragon.”
[…You’re asking me to fight Flone alongside you?]
“With your Dragonoid form and my strength—the strength that defeated you—we can beat Flone. I need every ounce of power I can get… Please, fight with me.”
I bow my head to the Dark Dragon.
If it rejects me and attacks now, my body would be torn apart instantly.
Because I haven’t activated [Magic Burial] or [Limit Break Gear – Change].
Any magic-sensitive being would notice.
If I want its trust, I must show mine first.
Who comes armed to ask for a favor?
So I treat the Dark Dragon with respect. That’s all.
[…Raise your head, human.]
Tense seconds pass—long as minutes—with my life hanging in the balance.
Its voice carries none of its usual pressure.
Slowly lifting my gaze, I find the Dark Dragon’s snout inches from my face.
[…Flone attacked my home. Slaughtered my kin, who had shared centuries with me. Their bodies, pierced by her magic, falling to the earth—that sight is burned into my eyes.]
Its aura swells with remembered rage.
[I will avenge them. Though I was once defeated, this time, I will tear out her throat! I swore this to my fallen brethren!]
Bared fangs, a roar of hatred—this is the cry of a wounded soul.
Like Reina, it’s another victim of Flone. Human or dragon, it doesn’t matter.
Just another being wronged.
[…One correction. My name isn’t ‘Dark Dragon.’ It’s Gauss.]
“Gauss… Right. Even Dark Dragons have names… My apologies.”
[No matter. The same applies to me.]
The same applies. The meaning behind those words—
Understanding, I draw my engraved dagger and present it.
“Ouga Velett, of the Velett House—one of the Four Great Ducal Families of Rondism.”
Gauss exhales roughly, satisfied.
It—he—is excited too.
His heart still burns for vengeance against Flone, the destroyer of his home.
[Ouga. Comrade in arms against our shared foe. For this battle alone, I shall be the fangs that rend your obstacles.]
“…Gauss.”
I meet his sincerity with my own.
“Then I swear it too. With this right arm you’ve acknowledged, I’ll deliver judgment upon your enemy.”
[Hmph… To think the fist that felled me would be turned against her. There’s a poetic irony in that.]
“Thank you… I owe you one.”
[Save your gratitude until Flone is dead. After we fulfill our vengeance.]
“Heh… Kukuku! Fair enough!”
A handshake is impossible in his draconic form.
So instead, I reach for his jaw—but Gauss ducks his head beneath me, launching me upward.
“Whoa—!?”
Bracing for a sandy landing, I instead find myself atop Gauss’s back.
Before I knew it, I was riding on his back.
[Allowing a human on my back is a sign of trust. Though we cannot clasp hands, this is what you wanted, yes?]
“Yeah. Though I’d have preferred you in Dragonoid form.”
[That form drains energy quickly. Hence, only select dragons master it.]
“So it’s not invincible.”
[Need I remind you? You defeated me.]
Fair point.
If Dragonoids were truly invincible, dragons would’ve overrun humanity long ago. The fact they haven’t means few can even achieve the form.
[Precisely why I’ve chosen to ally with you, Ouga. You, who are stronger than I.]
“Hearing that from one of the strongest magical beasts… It fires me up.”
[Good. Confidence can be strength—but arrogance is fatal—!?]
Suddenly, Gauss tenses.
I sense her mana at the same instant.
“—Fly, Gauss!”
[GRAAAAAAH!!]
With a thunderous roar, Gauss takes to the skies.
I cling desperately to his back as wind resistance batters us, racing forward in a straight line.
Why now? How long has she been close? Where did she come from?
My thoughts spiral—but no, focus!
If she’s here, there’s only one target.
At the end of our line of sight—
“Mashiro…!”
A thunderclap drowns out my voice as I call her name.
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