54

"…..No matter how much I think about it, it's strange."

Sephir muttered, her cheeks puffed up with frustration.

"Huh?"

"Huh…? What is it?"

Both the hatchling and I tilted our heads, looking at her with puzzled expressions.

Annoyed by our reactions, Sephir shut her eyes tightly and yelled.

"How could I fail, but you succeeded? Does that make any sense?!"

"Um…"

"This is something that should never happen!! There must be some trick at play here."

"Hmm…."

"Maybe the charm I cast triggered belatedly? Yes… That would explain it… There's no way I could fail… hehe…"

With a vacant look in her eyes, she mumbled to herself, exuding an unsettling aura.

Beside her, Athena was lost in thought, seemingly contemplating something.

Leaving the now-dazed Sephir, I turned my gaze to Athena.

"Athena, what are you thinking…?"

"Nothing."

Athena, who had been staring intently at the hatchling for a while, let out a deep sigh and patted my head.

"Anyway, congratulations, Hera. You've become the first being among all races to tame a dragon."

"R-Really?"

Honestly, even I hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.

Me?

Tame a dragon?

The thought of me, someone who couldn't even properly use magic, taming a dragon felt unbelievable.

And it didn't make sense that a dragon would be charmed by something as ridiculous as a blown kiss.

'Or could it be that I just made it laugh and now it's showing me favor out of amusement…?'

Maybe it wasn't tamed at all.

Perhaps it saw my blown kiss and thought, "What's with this one…? Interesting!" and latched onto me out of sheer curiosity.

…But if that's the case, it's a bit hurtful.

…Well, having a dragon take a liking to me isn't necessarily a bad thing… even if it's the same kind of liking as one might have for a clown.

"Kyu…"

Noticing that I had been lost in thought for a while, the hatchling nudged its head against me, as if seeking attention.

"Hmm… Are you bored?"

"Ehh!!"

The hatchling responded adorably, as if answering my question.

'Oh my… It's too cute…'

For some reason, Athena's gaze toward the hatchling grew even sharper.

"Should we head back soon?"

When I cautiously asked Athena, who was giving off a chilly expression, she sighed and looked away from the hatchling.

"…Yeah."

So, we dragged along a still-mumbling Sephir and returned to the inn with our new pet.

***

The pink-haired succubus suggested.

"How about Poppy?"

"Grr…"

"…Aww."

The hatchling growled softly, displeased.

We were gathered around the inn bed, trying to come up with a name for the hatchling.

Since we couldn't keep calling it "hatchling," we decided it was best to give it a name.

With a look that said she'd thought of something brilliant, Sephir's eyes sparkled as she made another suggestion.

"How about Bluey! It matches the color of its blue scales perfectly!"

"Grrrrr…"

"Fine, forget it…"

Once again, the hatchling rejected Sephir's suggestion.

It seemed Sephir didn't have much talent for naming things.

Uninterested, Athena patted my head and said.

"Hera, why don't you name it?"

"Huh? Me…?"

"You're its owner now. You should at least name it."

The hatchling's blue eyes shone brightly as it gazed up at me, as if expectant.

Seeing that hopeful look on the hatchling's face made my heart ache.

'So cute….'

How could it be this adorable?

If it were up to me, I would have wanted to keep and raise it forever.

As I extended my hand, the hatchling quickly climbed up my arm and onto my shoulder.

I gently patted its head.

"Kyuu…"

The hatchling closed its eyes slightly, leaning into me as if feeling content.

Now, as for a name.

I'm not particularly good at naming things…

In fact, I've rarely ever named anything before.

The only other time was when I named the hamster I had as a kid, calling it Pochi.

But as Athena suggested, I've tamed it, and I plan to take good care of it from now on, so giving it a name should be fine.

I'd like to give it a name that has something to do with the color blue…

The hatchling's beautiful blue scales. I wanted to name it in a way that highlighted this feature.

'Now that I think about it, its scale color… It's the exact shade of aquamarine.'

A gemstone in the blue spectrum that shines with a bright glow. The resemblance was uncanny.

"How about… Mari?"

Athena raised an eyebrow at my suggestion.

"Mari?"

"Yeah. Since its scale color is the same as aquamarine… I thought of taking it from there."

"Not bad. It rolls off the tongue nicely, too."

Athena's positive response.

" Kyuu…♡!"

The hatchling seemed to like the name as well, bouncing around and licking my face.

"Ahh! S-stop!! That tickles!!"

And so, I gave it a name that everyone was satisfied with.

Everyone, that is, except one.

Sephir was off to the side, sporting a sulky expression.

"Isn't Pochi cuter than Mari?"

"Grr…"

"I… I was just kidding!"

"Grrooo…"

"Ahem… Actually, I had something to say."

Sephir, with a slightly pouty look, captured our attention.

"I think I need to return to the Demon Realm."

"Huh?"

To the Demon Realm?

"I've been getting messages from my subordinates since earlier. I've been ignoring them, but any longer, and they'll start to get suspicious."

I suppose that's expected of a legion commander.

Despite Sephir's slightly dense demeanor, she's still a commander. Her absence would certainly cause a big stir in the Demon Realm.

I cautiously looked at Sephir and asked.

"Sephir… You're on our side, right…?"

Somehow, I'd grown fond of her.

If she ends up back with the Demon King's forces, and we end up meeting as enemies later on… I'd have a lot of complicated feelings about it.

But Sephir, as if to reassure me, gave me a bright smile.

"Of course! If you die, I die, too. And honestly, I only joined the Demon King's army for mutual benefit, not because of some deep loyalty or anything."

"…That's a relief."

"Hehe… What's this? Are you happy I'm on your side?"

She looked at me with a playful smile.

I shared my honest feelings with her.

"Yeah. I'd always like Sephir to be on my side."

"Ugh?!"

Sephir looked visibly flustered at my words, her face even turning a bit red.

"I-is that so? W-well then, if that's what you want… I-I suppose this great me will stay on your side…!"

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

I smiled warmly at her and expressed my gratitude.

"Thank you, Sephir!"

"Ugh…!"

Sephir's face turned beet red, as if it were ripening right before my eyes.

Hmm… Could she be coming down with a cold…?

But do demons catch colds, too?

Athena quietly muttered beside the flustered Sephir.

"The heavens have descended…"

"…Kyuuu…"

Huh?

What was that, Mari?

…..

While I spent time playing with Mari, night crept upon us.

Sephir left again for the Demon Realm, saying she'd return once she sorted out her position as legion commander.

But listening to her, it didn't seem like she'd be back anytime soon.

Well, given her rank, it's not something she can just step away from easily.

'But if Sephir steps down as a legion commander… who would take her place?'

The four legion commanders, second only to the Demon King in strength within the Demon Realm.

The First Legion Commander, the Dark Knight, Tyros.

The Second Legion Commander, the Battle Maniac, Lycan.

The Third Legion Commander, the Immortal King, Melum.

The Fourth Legion Commander, the Goddess of Lust, Sephir.

In this world, where power equals authority, these figures never stepped down from their thrones as legion commanders, constantly spreading fear throughout the empire.

But now, one of them is on our side.

This will be a severe blow to the Demon King's forces.

Perhaps we might achieve a happy ending even faster than the original story.

'Hey, protagonist… I'm working so hard here…'

Though honestly, I didn't intend any of this.

Anyway, I just hope time passes quickly so Robin can defeat the Demon King.

Then I'd finally be able to live without worries.

No need to fret over this and that…

"Are you sleepy, Hera?"

Athena called out to me, noticing my absent-mindedness.

I finally pulled myself out of my thoughts.

"Uh… I guess I'm a bit drowsy."

Maybe it was from searching around for Mari all day. My body felt a bit worn out.

"Go to bed first. We'll head back to the mansion tomorrow."

"…Alright."

I felt my mood sink a little.

During my time with Athena in Karman, I felt a freedom I hadn't known back at the mansion.

Probably because no one here disliked me.

Thinking of returning to the mansion and facing the maids' pitying glances again made me feel a bit suffocated.

'It's okay… Athena is here with me…'

Plus, I now had the adorable Mari, who showed me such warm affection.

I wouldn't feel as lonely as before.

And isn't it said that people are creatures of adaptation?

Though it's hard and painful now, I believe that someday I'll be able to smile and live peacefully, even at the mansion.

"Kyuuu…?"

Mari, perhaps sensing my feelings, nestled into my arms, rubbing her little body against me.

"…Are you comforting me?"

"Kyu."

Her gentle comfort almost brought tears to my eyes.

Yes. If even this young hatchling can comfort me, I shouldn't let myself feel so down.

I held Mari in both arms, lifting her up.

"Kyuuu?!"

"Hehe. How about taking a bath with your big sister, Mari?"

"Kyuu?"

"…What?"

Both Mari and Athena voiced their surprise at the same time.

"With her? In the bath?"

Athena frowned slightly, seemingly displeased.

"Yes… I was planning on washing her anyway. Mari seems a bit dirty."

Although not obvious, I noticed a bit of debris caught between Mari's scales.

She must not have had a way to wash properly, living in a cave until now.

It looked like it was my turn to give her a good cleaning.

"Kyu! Kyu!"

Mari, excited by my suggestion, began bouncing up and down with joy.

"No."

"Huh…?"

"I can't allow you two to go into the bathroom together."

"Huh..? Why?"

"…Just know that no means no."

For some reason, Athena was firmly blocking us.

"Grrrr…"

At Athena's words, Mari growled lowly.

"Oh, really?"

As Athena furrowed her brow, a strange tension started to form between the two of them.

…Why was she stopping us?

I couldn't understand why she was so adamant about separating Mari and me.

'Could it be… jealousy?'

Maybe she didn't like the idea of Mari and me getting closer.

Just like Lily had felt before.

Whenever Dania and I had a bath together, Lily would always insist on joining us too.

"…I'll make sure no one else gets close to my sister…"

Perhaps it made her feel like we were leaving her out, becoming close without her.

Athena could be feeling the same way. Of course, Mari wasn't a person but a dragon…

'Hmm… I think it'll be fine.'

It might be a bit cramped, but I didn't mind.

The space here was quite spacious, after all.

I gently took hold of Athena's hand, which was giving Mari a curious look.

Athena sighed and shook her head.

"This really won't do, Hera."

"Huh? No… that's not what I meant."

If she was jealous of Mari and me getting close, couldn't we all just get closer together?

Carefully, I suggested to her, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"Would you… like to join us?"

"What?"

Athena's eyes began to tremble as if an earthquake had hit them.