Chapter 3

# 3

Chapter 2: Friends and Soju

After making Lulin cheer, I dressed her.

"Spread your arms."

"Got it!"

At my words, Lulin raised her arms and stopped without any hesitation. After I put on her top and bottom, she finally moved. It was so natural that I had nothing else to say.

After dressing her, I combed her hair with a brush. If I didn’t tidy up her hair that spread out in all directions, it would look like a lion’s mane.

As I carefully touched her black hair, she remained still.

At first, I wouldn’t even let her come near, calling her a great dragon.

Lulin, in her dragon form, is so beautiful that even other dragons would be surprised, and in her human form, she is a beauty. Of course, I’m now indifferent.

We’ve been together for quite a long time.

"You!"

"What now?"

"Can you be a bit gentler? My hair is delicate, you know."

"Alright, alright."

I resumed brushing her hair very carefully, very carefully, and even more carefully. Her black hair seemed to come alive with each stroke. It’s a magical hair, perhaps because it’s a dragon’s fur.

After finishing, I tied her hair with a hair tie. Once I neatly tied her hair, Lulin leaned against my back and spoke.

"So, what’s the matter? Do you want me to breathe fire on this city? Destruction is good, hehe."

Lulin, emphasizing the destructive nature of dragons. I naturally shook my head.

"Stop making ridiculous statements and come down."

"Neigh."

I led the dragon, who made a ridiculous sound, downstairs.

My feelings for Lulin?

Of course, I have affection for her. It’s because of this affection that I brought Lulin, who lives near the Black Dragon’s sanctuary in the center of the continent, out.

But I don’t know what kind of affection it is.

Anyway, as soon as we entered the kitchen, our dragon lady strode over to the stone refrigerator and took out a can of beer.

Then she drank it in one gulp.

"Ah! This is the taste. Indeed, beer is the best when you wake up!"

I wiped the foam from her mouth, grabbed her hand, and pulled her in front of me, then asked.

"Got it? Let’s get to work. I need your help."

"Then I’ll have one more can of beer first!"

"Enough."

"Beeruuu!"

I dragged Lulin to close the shop and went down the hill.

"You sometimes go too far. I demand improvement. But you still haven’t told me what’s going on. It must be something big if you need the power of this Lulin!"

The black-haired beauty with the flower-like face, her eyes shining, placed her hands on her hips.

I led her past the fruit farm at the bottom of the hill and headed to the market. The market was still bustling.

According to Mr. Krenol’s information, Ms. Rayne met someone at a restaurant called Delant last month. Delant is located near the central square where the commercial and residential areas meet.

Not only Delant, but almost all the city’s restaurants are concentrated in this area. It could be called the street of restaurants.

Lulin exclaimed as she saw the crowded customers inside Delant.

"Wow, you! This restaurant is incredibly busy! It’s like heaven and earth compared to our restaurant, isn’t it?"

"Indeed."

"Huh? Why are you suddenly so gloomy? Should we move to this restaurant?"

"I’m not asking you to do something as ridiculous as that, so be quiet."

I looked around. I still couldn’t see Mr. Krenol’s wife, Ms. Rayne.

"Then what are we doing?"

I shushed the noisy dragon and ordered her a beer. She finally quieted down. She’s a beer dragon, indeed.

After watching the entrance for a while, Ms. Rayne finally entered. As Mr. Krenol said, she was indeed with a man. A middle-aged man in his 40s, with a similar build to Mr. Krenol. To be honest, he looks much cleaner and neater than Mr. Krenol. Mr. Krenol, with his beard, can’t even compare.

"Hey, Lulin."

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

"Ah!"

I pulled the dragon’s ear, who was absorbed in the beer. She frowned and grumbled.

"Why are you doing this! You gave it to me to drink!"

She looked up with teary eyes, her face showing disappointment. Damn, she’s cute.

Even though she’s a dragon, she can choose her human form when polymorphing. From her dragon’s skin color to her appearance, everything is the same in her human form. So, Lulin’s current appearance is the one she has had since birth.

That’s why her laughter, tears, and everything else are natural. And that’s why her cuteness is natural.

"That’s not the issue. We finally have business to attend to."

"Oh? Is that so!"

Lulin finally put down her beer glass and her eyes sparkled again. She tried to stand up but sat back down and finished the beer in her glass. Then she jumped up and came to me.

"What do you want me to do! Should I destroy everything?"

"This destructive dragon! Who said you could be a black dragon? Don’t destroy anything! Rather, do you see the couple who just came in? The man and the woman."

"Yes! I see them."

"I want you to eavesdrop on their conversation."

"And?"

"What’s the problem?"

"You! Are you asking this Lulin to do such a ridiculous thing?"

"Please, just do it. I’ll make you a hamburger steak for dinner."

"Really! Oh! Where, where are those two humans?"

Lulin, who sold her dragon pride for a hamburger steak, started looking for the targets. The dragon, who has been tamed by my cooking, loves to eat.

With eyes full of anticipation for her favorite dish, she pointed to the man who came in with Ms. Rayne and spoke.

"Eavesdropping is nothing."

Dragons have an incredible ability to hear, adjusting the range to hear what they want.

It’s not magic.

It’s an innate dragon ability.

Dragons with lairs use this ability to sense their surroundings, covering the entire mountain.

So, in a restaurant like this, it’s easy to adjust the hearing to eavesdrop. The structure of a dragon’s hearing is different from that of a human.

With Lulin in the lead, I cautiously watched the two.

They were sitting across from each other. Ms. Rayne rummaged through her bag and handed a money pouch to the man.

Handing over money?

This is an unexpected situation. As expected, in the noisy restaurant, I couldn’t hear their conversation at all.

So, I looked at the dragon.

Lulin opened her mouth and started reciting the conversation verbatim.

"Finally, it’s all paid off today. The debt over 10 years. I’m really grateful. Without Mr. Ment, my husband and I would never have been able to recover."

"You’re too kind. I owe my life to that guy. It was a natural action."

"Still, you made it impossible for us to even thank you. My husband still curses Mr. Ment, thinking he betrayed us."

"I had no choice. You know that guy wasn’t the kind of person who would take my money, right?"

Thanks to Lulin repeating the conversation, I understood the situation. From what I heard, it didn’t look like they were having an affair.

But the conversation soon ended. They started eating.

It’s a job I was asked to do. Since there was no hint of infidelity or any criminal activity, I stood up to get a clearer understanding of the situation.

"Where are you going?"

Of course, Lulin jumped up and followed me.

"Hello, Ms. Rayne?"

"Oh, Mr. L?"

"Yes."

My name here is El. Elrison, to be precise. I introduced myself as El, and that’s what people call me.

"Excuse me, but may I speak with you for a moment? I have something to say."

"Yes, yes?"

Ms. Rayne looked at the man in front of her. The man called Ment looked a bit bewildered but soon nodded. So, I pulled a chair and sat in front of them, despite being rude.

"Actually, Mr. Krenol thinks you two are having an affair."

"Wh-what?"

"Wh-what?"

The two reacted intensely, their eyes wide open. Lulin stood next to me, looking down at them with a haughty expression. She doesn’t even want to talk to humans other than me. It’s like she’s looking at bugs.

Lulin is not human. To her, as a dragon, ordinary humans are indeed insignificant, like bugs.

"What do you mean...?"

"Last month, he saw you two meet and has been misunderstanding it... What exactly is going on? It seems to be related to debt."

At my words, Ms. Rayne looked troubled and shook her head.

"It’s a family matter..."

"I’m here as Mr. Krenol’s representative. Building misunderstandings won’t do anyone any good. You know, misunderstandings can lead to serious situations, like stabbings, that can’t be undone. Especially in relationships, such incidents are common."

They say that if you can endure three times, you can avoid murder. But many people can’t endure and end up committing murder and regretting it.

I heard that the origin of this saying in my hometown was a man who saw his wife with someone and was about to attack with a knife, but after enduring three times, he realized the person in bed was his sister-in-law and was relieved. Anyway, to avoid such a catastrophic misunderstanding, we need to clarify the situation now.

"Also, Ms. Rayne, this is a secret, but..."

I paused for a moment before continuing.

"Mr. Krenol, even though he thinks you’re having an affair, says he can’t bear to part with you and doesn’t know what to do. He was on the verge of tears when he left."

"Oh, really?"

Ms. Rayne’s eyes widened in surprise. Mr. Krenol seemed to be someone who couldn’t express his love well in front of her.

Then Mr. Ment chimed in.

"Of course. Ms. Rayne, when we worked together, Krenol only talked about you."

"R-really..."

Ms. Rayne blushed and bowed her head. Then, as if making a decision, she spoke.

"Actually, there’s a reason."

"Yes?"

So, if it’s not an affair, there must be a reason. It’s hard to understand why they would exchange money if there’s no reason. It’s not like he’s a pillar husband.

Oh.