Chapter 5

After confirming that the princess was genuine, the reward was promptly paid by the office.

The amount was 1000 Reils.

It was nearly double the price I paid for Louise and about what an adult man could earn in a month.

The reward is certainly sweet, I thought as I put the money in my pocket.

After receiving it,

and then outside the building, Louise spoke to me.

"Let's buy some straw."

"No."

"Hey, wasn't that the deal?"

"That's not what I meant. With this amount, we can buy something better than straw."

"Better than straw?"

Hearing my words, Louise's eyes sparkled.

"What kind of thing?"

"Something proper. Let's go to the store first."

"Okay!"

I jumped onto Louise's back.

She followed my directions and we arrived at a dragon equipment store near the dragon market.

A dragon equipment store, as the name suggests, is a store that sells dragon equipment.

From daily necessities to work tools, and even toys that dragons usually don't care about, it's a store that sells everything.

"Wow, there's a place like this."

While some children get very excited when they come to a dragon equipment store, Louise didn't seem to be that type.

She seemed more impressed than excited, perhaps because she could tell from the various tools visible through the glass.

"Let's go into the store with the black door."

"Got it."

Louise followed my instructions and came to the store with the black door.

Dragon equipment stores often make their doors large enough for small dragons to pass through.

This is different from the dragon market.

The dragon market deals with the buying and selling of dragons, but dragons rarely use the front door.

They usually stay in the back garden, and when a deal is made, they can exit through a back entrance.

In contrast, dragon equipment stores treat dragons as "customers."

Since they are customers, it's common to make the doors large and the entrance wide for them to enter and exit easily.

This store, "Shadowroll," is that kind of store.

I jumped off Louise's back and was about to step over the threshold of the store—when.

"Hey, isn't that Cyril?"

Hearing my name called, I turned around.

A man was there.

The man looked at me with a sly, malicious grin.

"Is that you, Lou?"

He was a dragon knight from the guild "Lindworm" where I used to be.

"Surprised? When I came back, you were gone."

"…Yeah."

"My condolences. How about it, want me to put in a good word for you? To get you back into Lindworm?"

"Would you do that?"

I had no intention of going back, but I was still surprised by Lou's offer.

"Yeah, of course. But you'll have to give up your stubbornness, you know."

"Stubbornness?"

"You have the skills, but if you give up your 'Dragon First' stubbornness, you might be able to start over here."

"…Huh, I see."

I shrugged and laughed.

"If that's the case, I'll have to decline. I have no intention of giving up that stubbornness."

"Come on, don't be so stubborn. These days, you can't do anything alone."

"I'll do what I can."

"You, really."

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

Louise interrupted our conversation.

"Huh? Oh, I'm telling you to stop sleeping 12 hours a day."

Strictly speaking, it's not about Louise personally, but that's the gist of it.

"What! Grrrr…"

She had been excited about the dragon equipment store, but now she bared her teeth and started to threaten Lou.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Your dragon, make her stop."

"Nothing."

I repeated the same words.

"Did you give any signal?"

"Uh…"

Lou was at a loss for words.

A signal is a gesture that dragon knights usually use to command their dragons.

Through training, they teach dragons to do certain things when they see certain signals.

Of course, I haven't done that to Louise, and I'm not doing it now.

Lou, despite his bad personality, is from the top-notch dragon knight guild Lindworm.

He wouldn't miss if I gave a signal.

"Damn."

When Lou realized I hadn't done anything, he spat out in disgust.

"You're always like this. What kind of magic are you using?"

"I just take good care of her."

"Huh."

Lou snorted again, then with a look of disdain, he turned and left.

"What's with him?"

"Who knows."

I shrugged.

He's just a guy who doesn't share my values. No point in worrying about it.

"Shall we go in?"

"Okay!"

I regained my composure and stepped over the threshold of the store with Louise.

"Welcome."

As soon as we entered the store, we were greeted.

A young man in his early twenties, who seemed to be an employee.

"Balaur species, what are you looking for today?"

"We're looking for bedding."

"Please follow me this way."

We were led to the back of the store by the employee.

The store, "Shadowroll," like other dragon equipment stores, has a warehouse-like layout.

The ceiling is as high as a three-story building, and the inside is open.

The products are categorized by genre using shelves and simple partitions.

It's designed so that small dragons can walk around inside.

We were led to the bedding corner at the back by the employee.

There were various types of bedding there.

The sizes and shapes were completely different from human bedding, all made for dragons.

"Wow!"

Louise got excited.

She jumped onto the bedding and lay down on it.

"Oh, sorry, right away."

"Don't worry, the items here are meant to be tried out."

"Is that so?"

I was a bit relieved to hear that.

"Ah, this is good."

Hearing Louise's words, I looked at her.

I saw the "bed" she was lying on.

"That's… a slime bed, isn't it?"

"Exactly."

A slime bed, named after the monster slime.

It's a big, light blue, squishy mass, like a slime.

It's one piece, but it has elasticity, and when you sit on it, it sinks just enough to fit your body perfectly, providing the best sleeping experience.

It's also known as the "bed that ruins people" or "water bed."

Incidentally, it's not made of real slimes, just something that looks and feels like them.

"This is really good."

"Hmm."

"This is really good."

Louise repeated the same words and rolled around on the slime bed.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes! It's much more comfortable than straw."

"Hmm… how much does this cost?"

I turned and asked the employee.

Even though he saw our interaction, he didn't say anything because he could tell from Louise's happy rolling that she liked it.

"It costs 1200 Reils."

"1200?"

I looked at Louise.

"Is that okay?"

"I want it! …But, isn't it too expensive?"

"Don't worry, it's a bit more than the 1000 Reils reward, but I have some savings from working with you these past few days."

"I see—thank you!"

It's true that the 1000 Reils reward wasn't enough, but I had some savings from working with Louise.

I decided to spend it all at once since Louise liked it.

"Then I'll take this one."

"Thank you… Still, it's quite surprising."

"Surprising?"

I tilted my head and looked back at the employee.

"Well, there are quite a few dragon knights who talk to their dragons, but I've never seen one where the conversation actually seems to work."

"Oh, I see."

I can understand that feeling.

If you replace dragons with "dogs and cats," I think the same thing about other people.

Many people talk to their pets, but I rarely see a conversation that actually works.

"You naturally understand when you treat them like family."

That's what I always say.

I treat them like family, and I can talk to dragons.

I always say this, but it's rarely taken seriously.

Well, that's fine.

I went to the counter with the employee and paid 1200 Reils, almost all my savings, to buy Louise's bed.

"How would you like it delivered?"

The employee glanced at Louise.

He was wondering if she, being a Balaur, would carry it herself.

"What do you think, Louise? Do you want it delivered, or will you carry it yourself?"

"I'll carry it."

"I'll carry it myself."

"Understood."

So, we loaded the slime bed onto Louise's back and went outside the store.

When we stepped outside, Louise, who had been excited, suddenly became serious.

"…Hey?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Is it really okay? This?"

"Why not?"

"I just realized, I'm being really selfish."

"Ha ha."

I laughed.

While laughing, I patted Louise's face.

Dragons are large and their bodies are harder than humans, so you have to hit them pretty hard to feel like you're petting them.

If you pet them normally, it feels like a feather touch to dragons.

"Don't worry, that's the deal."

"Okay—thank you, Master."

Louise smiled happily.