Ep 21. I Hate It Here. (1)

  Patrick’s eyes were beginning to close again as he desperately tried to keep himself awake. The moon was once again shining above him in its celestial light, though even that seemed like mockery to him at this point. Only his own arm and a thin strand of sanity was supp his head upright.

  He was still in the same courtyard Zion had flown out of.

  ‘…Twelve be damned.’

  It’s been a whole day. He’d slept here st night, and would’ve been kicked out by security had one of them nnized him as an association enforcer.

  He sidered going home.

  He sidered assuming the boy would just e bae of his own accord.

  But he couldn’t, not when his now-mentally-unstable brother had flown off into the distahere was no telling if he even remembered their home address.

  “o…stay…awake…”

  Being in the Magistitute, most of the passerby reized him as a fellow mage. But they heless threw curious g the dozing enforcer, talking behind his back about how they also might end up having to sleep without a roof over their heads if they didn’t study hard.

  That is, until a new otion caught everyone’s attention.

  “It’s a dragon! A dragon appeared in the east building!”

  “A what?”

  “Did someone summon some winged lizard again?”

  “No, it’s an actual dragon! Like, actual actual dragon! She’s super pretty!”

  Patrick blinked his eyes. His eyes wandered off towards the mob of students rag to the institute’s east building in the middle of the night.

  ‘…Dragon? ‘She’?’

  Karas’ words began to repy in his mind.

  - ‘I’m willing to wager that you’ll be wrong by tonight.’

  That night was yesterday, and it’s already passed, but…

  ‘It ’t be, right?’

  ? ? ?

  Serenis had nded on a nearby ledge by a familiar-looking building. The pain iomach had deyed her more than she’d intended; oblivious to the cause of the stomachache, Serenis couldn’t even figure out how to go about healing herself. If it was even a heable pain.

  It wasn’t until she finally finished expining to Aether how she was the first dragonlord now in the body of a human boy, that the elder dragon excimed with a brightened expression.

  - ‘Oh, it must’ve been the meat! I do recall Ilias saying that humans always had their pork cooked. Now I see what the problem was.’

  “…Stupid pigs. Never going to eat them again.”

  Serenis was sing the area for the familiar blue-haired mage or the crow-headed half, but her were to be found. In fact, she couldn’t even remember where exactly she had left from.

  ‘Couldn’t have spared a minute, could I now…’

  Truth be told, when Karas told her of the dragonkin’s location, the news had blinded her from sidering anything else at the time. Resultantly, now she didn’t know where to find him. Or Patrick. ure out which courtyard they were in before.

  Resultantly, she’d simply the most familiar-looking architecture. Though it was difficult to tell at sundown.

  She gnced downwards.

  Dozens of little humans had gathered around the courtyard beh her to see the dragon themselves. Some even opehe building’s windoeeked from inside.

  ‘Hm…’

  Serenis loudly fpped her wings once, making the institute’s student back off suffitly. She then slowly floated down until her feet touched the ground.

  “Say, do any of you know of a crow-headed male around these parts?”

  “Crow-headed? Is she talking about…?”

  “Professor Karas?”

  “Has to be, right?”

  Serenis eyed the individual who’d spoken the feathered individual’s name.

  “Yes, I believe that was his name. Do you know where he is?”

  “Um, he’s…in his office still, I think?”

  “Where would that be?”

  “Th…that building over there, he’s on the sed floor…I don’t know the exa.”

  “That’s suffit. Thank you.”

  Instead of walking like a normal person and knog on the door, Serenis opened her wings and flew over to the sed level of windows, peeking into each of them. Luckily enough, she found the familiar crow-headed man before long, sipping on his drink while reading what seemed like a report of sorts.

  Cck. Cck.

  ‘Cck?’

  Karas first looked towards the door. That was an unusual knog sound.

  Cck. Cck.

  ‘Wait, the sound isn’t ing from the door, that’s…’

  The coffee he had in his mouth came bursting out of his beak when he saw that the knog noise wasn’t from a person, but from a dragon h outside his window. He would’ve liked to believe otherwise, but the horns, wings, and tail all poio one answer.

  “What in the hells…Serenis?”

  The dragonlord nodded her head outside. The professor quickly opened his window.

  “Goodness gracious. Could you not have used the door?”

  “I do not expect you to know draic s. Do you expect me to know human s?”

  “Hm. Fair point.”

  After letting Serenis climb into his office, Karas made a shooiure to the students below. No doubt the dragonlord’s appearance would cause a otion. But that was something to worry about tomorrow.

  “Return to your dorms. Or every single one of you are due for a very special css from me for the rest of the week.”

  The students began to scatter at the professor’s threat. Except one person.

  “Waaaaaaaaait!”

  Karas pretended not to hear as he closed the office window behind him. He usually ended perseveran his students, but this was not a good time for it.

  Meanwhile, the no-loudent was gasping for breath outside, staring at the window that had just closed above.

  “…Oh, damn it all.”

  Patrick shook his head, making his way towards the building’s entrance like a proper human person.

  …Meanwhile in the office, Karas offered a seat to the dragonlord as he prepared ara cup of coffee.

  “A pleasure to see you again. To be ho, I didn’t know you would return at such a peculiar time. I am assuming that you were successful in your…pns?”

  Karas sed Serenis from head to toe. Had it not been for their earlier versations about being a dragon, he never would’ve guessed that this white-haired woman was the same person as the human boy he’d met yesterday.

  “Something like that, yes.”

  “Hm. gratutions are in order then. Though I have little to offer.”

  He offered a cup of coffee to the dragon, pg it on the small table in front of her.

  “What is this?”

  “Coffee. It’s a type of beverage.”

  “I thought the only beverage humans drank were water, milk, and alcohol.”

  “…Is that what everyone drank during your era? Anyhow, I do reend you try a sip. It’s not too bad.”

  Serenis carefully lifted the cup, holding it against her lips. The drink was emitting a deep, delicate aroma that she’d never entered before. Even with her ck of i in most cuisihe st itself was alluring.

  “It certainly does seem promising.”

  “It won’t disappoint. And if you’ve time, I’d love to hear more about your…for a want of better words, awakening.”

  The dragonlord briefly nodded and was just about to take a sip.

  When…

  “Zionnnnnn!!!!!”

  …The office door was literally kicked open, smming onto the opposite side as Patrick stormed in, huffing for breath. However, his brain failed to properly dis the situation that was being sed with his eyes.

  Same old professor Karas with his usual papers and coffee. Typical.

  And sitting across him was…a beautiful white-haired woman, sitting with her tail ly curled to the side, also drinking coffee.

  ‘Sharing a cup of coffee with a woman this te into the night?’

  Patrick beamed a delightful grin.

  “Excuse me for the interruption.”

  He immediately closed the door in front of him, thinking he’d just interrupted a date.

  Karas frowned from ihe office.

  “…”

  “…”

  Serenis flicked her index finger as the office door opened by itself. She remotely grabbed Patrick by the hood on his robe, pulling him inside as the door immediately shut itself after him.

  The professor watched his former student tumble into the room, though his attention was more focused on how it happehan what was actually happening. When the door closed, he slowly cpped his hands.

  “That’s quite amazing. Very precise mana trol.”

  Patrick remained dazed as he rose back to his feet. He exged fused gnces between the professor and the strange woman.

  “Professor, is…she…?”

  “Serenis. Or ‘Zion’, as you keep referring to.”

  “I thought you had good memory, child. Perhaps I was mistaken.”

  Patrikly stared at the dragonlord. A minute passed. Then another. And another. Patrick was still struggling to formute a sentence, while Serenis finally found the time to try the coffee she was offered.

  “Mm. The aroma’s very unique. I hought a drink could be so rich.”

  “It truly is, is it not? If you’d like more, I have plenty.”

  “That’d be wonderful. I appreciate the generosity.”

  Patrick’s lips finally began to speak coherently.

  “Seriously? A little kid came back as a fully grown dragon woman in a day, and you’re…drinking coffee together?”

  The professor and the dragonlord both gave Patrick a pathetic stare. Karas shook his head and shrugged at the fused mage, while Serenis tio enjoy the drink she was given.

  “Alright, what do you suggest we do then? Should we report her to the association and have her arrested by the enfort sector for review?”

  “I don’t know what any of that means, but I know it ’t be better than indulging in this drink.”

  Patrick bliwice, unsure of how to respond to the professor. He WAS an enforcer, and he wasn’t pnning to arrest his little brother for a review…even though a part of him was screaming that he should. And then his eyes shifted over to the dragonlord, who seemed indifferent as ever about the euation.

  “Zi…Serenis, I think you’re missing the point here.”

  “The point?”

  “My little brother just went up and DISAPPEARED.”

  “…”

  Serenis kept her eyes fixed on Patrick, though this time out of pure empathy. She could tell he wasn’t kidding around this time. The worry in his eyes were genuine.

  “…I’m sorry. I hadn’t sidered how you’d feel. Would this make it better?”

  Serenis put her cup down and snapped her fingers. In an instantaneous burst of light, the dragonlord had disappeared; in her pce was now the little human boy that Patriew so well.

  And thearted drinking his coffee again.

  Patrick beamed a bright grin at the sight.

  ‘I hate it here.’