The angry dragon loomed above me, its jaws open as a glowing beam of energy charged in its mouth. Frozen with fear, I could only stare, helpless.
But just as I braced for the worst, the dragon paused and sniffed the air.
“Why is there a sweet smell coming from you, human?” it asked, narrowing its enormous eyes.
“Sweet smell? What sweet sme—oh!” I remembered the candy in my pocket. Desperately, I fished it out and waved it in front of the dragon. “It’s this!”
The dragon’s eyes lit up. “That looks delicious.”
“It is really delicious,” I said, trying to sound persuasive while still swinging the candy side to side.
The dragon hesitated, then grumbled, “We will punish you! … But only after we taste that sweet thing in your hand.”
Before my eyes, the fearsome dragon shrank down, scales fading away, until the adorable little girl from earlier stood there again.
I handed her the candy. She sniffed it cautiously before popping it into her mouth.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then her face lit up. “woaah! This is so good! Where did you get this, human? Tell us! We want more!”
“Plan successful,” I thought with relief before replying. “I’d tell you, but…”
“But what?” she asked, her tone demanding.
“But only if you promise not to kill me or hurt me.”
She pouted, crossing her arms. “Tch… Fine.”
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I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “At least I’m safe for now.”
Then came her high-pitched squeak again. “Hey! Now answer me! Where did you get this?”
“I made it,” I replied casually.
Her jaw dropped. “You made it yourself?!”
“I used to work part-time at a candy shop,” I explained. “I know how to make a couple of sweets.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Can you make more?”
The innocent look on her face made me pause. Is this really the same dragon who tried to kill me earlier?
“Stop ignoring us!” she huffed. “Can you make sweets for us or not?”
“Ah, yeah, I can,” I said. “But I’ll need the ingredients.”
“What ingredients?”
I hesitated. “Hmm… I’m not sure if they’re available in your world.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait, you’re not from this world?! How did you get here?”
“About that…” I scratched my head. “I’m not sure. You’re a goddess, right? Do you know anything about a weird magical ball of light that talks like a robot and sends people to other worlds?”
She tilted her head, thinking. “In all our years of life, we’ve never heard of such a thing. Also, what’s a robot?”
“ I guess you don't know huh. ” I sighed, waving off her question about robots, I didn't have any patience to explain that to her right now.
“But…” she continued, “our mother once told us stories about humans summoning heroes from another world. That was a long time ago, though.”
“Summoned? No, I wasn’t summoned. I was transported—suddenly and without warning. And it dropped me into the sky! That’s why I crashed into your shrine.”
She frowned. “Speaking of which, the spirit inside you is quite formidable. It broke your fall from that height. What is its name?”
“Spirit? What spirit?” I asked, confused.
Her expression shifted to one of disbelief. “You possess a spirit and don’t even know what it is?”
“Of course not! I’m from a different world, remember?”
“Even so, spirits inhabit human bodies from birth,” she explained. “You even have a spirit mark on the back of your neck.”
“That’s just a birthmark,” I said dismissively. But then I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the lake.
The mark on my neck—one I had seen countless times before—was glowing red, the same color as the aura and claws from earlier.
“What?!” I exclaimed, touching the mark in disbelief.
“Why are you so surprised?” she asked. “Spirit marks are proof that humans born with them possess a spirit.”
Her words hit me like a thunderclap. I had always assumed the mark was a random birthmark. People even joked that it looked like a lion’s face. But it had never glowed before—not once in all my years on Earth.
Which led me to one devastating question.
Am I… really from Earth?
