Ep 34. You''re A What? (4)


    Thanks to the dragonlord accompanying her, Light had made her way home in much lighter steps, and at a much earlier time than she’d expected. The sun was still shining bright above them when they’d arrived at their destination, and she began to feel silly about having worried so much about going home.


    Once the two arrived at a street that winded down in a spiral of bleached brick walls, Light pointed towards a small food cart located in a small space between two houses. Its sign simply read ‘Donut’, being tended by a blonde, average-built man who was busily packing a few pastries into a paper bag he was handing to the customer before him.


    “There it is! It’s nothing fancy, but I promise it’s really good.”


    Serenis nodded back to the excited half girl. She could care less about these supposed nuts, but seeing Light back to her usual cheerfulness was a relieving sight.


    ‘At least she’s not shaking anym…hm?’


    When the two came closer to the food cart, they could make out the details of the customer standing beside it. Her scaled red tail was wagging left and right as she delightfully munched down on her chocolate-covered pastry in hand. Her two folded wings poked out of the holes of her black jacket, and for once, her purplish hair was neatly tied into a single tail behind her.


    “…Il…?”


    “Ilias!”


    Light happened to finish the dragonlord’s word for her, running down the rest of the way as she tackled the red dragon into a tight hug. When Ilias took notice of the girl hugging her, she shoved the rest of her donut into her mouth and gulped it down.


    “Light! Gosh, look at you! You used to be half my height!”


    “You were gone for so long, of course I grew! When did you come back? Are you gonna stay longer this time?”


    “I just came here today. I’ll be staying a while, I was actually going to ask if you still had…”


    The red dragon noticed a rather familiar figure from the corner of her eyes. She slowly turned her head away from the half girl hugging her, facing the awkwardly standing dragonlord a few steps away while finishing her sentence.


    “…Room…”


    “…”


    “…?”


    Awkward silence filled the small block; even the man tending the food cart seemed confused by the sudden drop in volume. The two dragons were staring right at each other, unsure of what to say.


    Well, one of them was genuinely confused who she was looking at, what with the lack of horns and tail and all. And the shrunken height. And a unform that only institute students wore.


    “…Lord Serenis?”


    “…”


    Light finally began to catch onto the awkward silence, letting go of the red dragon as she glanced between Ilias and her friend a few steps back. The name was unfamiliar, but it was clear that the red dragon was referring to her white-haired peer.


    “…Eh? Do you know each other?”


    Ilias quizzically tilted her head, completely missing Light’s question. She instead approached the dragonlord, studying the figure from top to bottom; despite the similarity between the lord she remembered and the person before her, their figure had shrunk, and their draconic features had all but disappeared.


    “Wait…are you someone else? Or…”


    Serenis was too occupied to answer the youngling; her mind was busily trying to formulate an ideal response, but there simply didn’t seem to be any.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ‘…Should I say yes? No, then Light finds out who I am. If she were to tell the institute staff, then I likely won’t be able to attend Karas’ classes anymore…not to mention all the nagging Patrick is wont to do. But if I say no…’


    As it turned out, the dragonlord didn’t need to respond. Ilias leaned forward and sniffed the air around the familiar figure, affirming her suspicions with a bright grin.


    “It is you!”


    Serenis’ expression twisted into a frown at the source of her kin’s certainty.


    ‘…How are these younglings telling me apart by smell?’


    Not that Ilias cared.


    “What happened? You look so different! What happened to your hei-“


    “???.”


    “…Mngh? Mmf! Mmf!”


    Light’s eyes thinned further and further as she watched the odd, one-sided conversation continue. The girl could swear she heard her friend muttering something under their breath, but she couldn’t exactly make out what it was; and right after, the red dragon was frantically making muffled noises, as if her lips had been involuntarily sealed by something.


    Serenis met the half girl’s suspicious stare. The dragonlord’s expression was slightly strained in trying to fake her usual indifference while tapping the red dragon on her back.


    “She must be mistaking me for someone else. Off you go, Ms. Dragon.”


    “Mngh! Mm nm!”


    As her lord began to push her off, Ilias also turned to Light, frantically shaking her head in denial.


    “…Why’s she muffling like that? You just used a spell, didn’t you?”


    “You’re imagining things.”


    “What’re you doing?! Undo it!”


    “…”


    “Now!”


    ?   ?   ?


    A few minutes later, the three awkwardly sat on a nearby park bench, each with their own pastry in hand – although one was as good as new. But even in the midst of their eating, two of them were eager to pout at the dragonlord.


    “Lord, that was mean!”


    “Yeah, it was mean!”


    “…I’m sorry.”


    Serenis couldn’t do much other than look away in guilt. If anything, she should’ve escaped the moment Ilias came into sight.


    Too late for regrets.


    Light glanced left and right, studying the dragons sitting to each of her sides. It did seem like they knew each other, although her peer seemed extremely reluctant to admit to it for some reason.


    Nothing but to ask the talkative one.


    “So, what’s up with you two, Ilias? You called Zion something else earlier, right?”


    “Zion? Who’s Zion?”


    Light pointed at the dragonlord with her thumb, who was emptily staring at her uneaten donut. It was quite the small reward for all the trouble she’d invited herself into.


    “Oh, Lord Serenis! Yeah, so she’s-“


    “Wait. Before she says anything…”


    The dragonlord reluctantly intervened as she finally faced Ilias eye to eye again. If Light was going to know about her identity anyways, she at least had to make sure something was said about it.


    “Light. You absolutely cannot tell this to anyone else.”


    “Eh?...Not even Professor Karas?”


    “…Except Karas, he knows. But no one else.”


    While Serenis had meant little besides the professor knowing her true identity, unfortunately, that wasn’t how Light took it. She was creative, imaginative, and a tad off the hook after reading too many novels she probably shouldn’t have been reading at her age.


    ‘The professor knows already…? Wait, is Zion their secret love child?!’


    Ilias thankfully interrupted before the half girl’s imaginations could run too wild, a nervous laughter accompanying her sentence.


    “You see Light, Lord Serenis is our ruler. She’s the…uh, the dragonlord!”


    “…Eh?”


    Light’s gaze was flung off to her left towards Serenis. Her friend seemed to have no intention of denying it.


    Then Light threw her gaze back at Ilias, who clearly didn’t seem like she was lying.


    …And again towards Serenis to press for a confirmation.


    “Wait, what’s she saying? You’re a what?”


    “My real name is Serenis. Although I’m in a human body right now, I was a dragon a long time ago. I ruled the kin as a dragonlord.”


    “You’re…a lord? Like, a king? That kind of lord?”


    Two nods, no denial.


    No matter which dragon Light looked at, neither seemed willing to deny or correct what was being said. The half girl had always found her peer puzzling, but this was throwing her confusion across the ocean and back.


    “…You’re joking, right? I mean, you’re attending school. Why would a dragon attend school?”


    “That’s a rather complicated tale. But I do have a reason for doing so.”


    “Complicated? But you’re just-“


    Light was about to say ‘a student,’ but her own doubts began creeping in, stopping her from finishing the sentence as it was.


    Her peer was surprisingly knowledgeable about magic, and at the same time, shockingly stupid about most common knowledge. Their magical aptitude was apparently greater than even the headmaster’s, and as far as she’d heard and seen, the dragonlord practically used every single elemental magic she knew. They could also sleep for hours through class just fine. And, most importantly…


    Ilias had just referred to her friend as ‘she.’


    “Wait, so you WERE a girl after all! I knew it!”


    “…Interesting that you find that part the most surprising.”


    “Aww, I remember when I first met her. Did you know, Light? Lord Serenis was actually super small, I think she was even shorter than you. She was this tiny human boy, and…”


    Light and Ilias began to share all their odd memories of being with the dragonlord. Serenis quietly took a bite out of her own donut, trying to pay as little attention as possible to all the rather shameful memories that were being discussed. Like earlier when the dragonlord had asked Light what sort of nut a ‘donut’ was.


    ‘…I haven’t eaten many foods, but even I know this tastes nothing like a nut. Strange how they named it so.’