Chapter 9

In the morning, I set out with Colette.

"What's with her, still snoring away even in the morning?"

"Hehe, that's just Louise for you."

"Is that okay?"

Colette asked.

If she were human, her lips would be pouting, and her tone would clearly show her annoyance, but unfortunately, dragons—Mushifushi species—can't pout their lips.

There are some species that can do something similar, but Mushifushi can't.

"Yeah, it's a promise with Louise."

"A promise to sleep twelve hours a day?"

"Yep."

"Wow, you really agreed to that?"

"Um, maybe it's a fated encounter, in a way."

"F-fated encounter!?"

Colette exclaimed.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at me with wide, surprised eyes.

"Yeah, she can't use her powers unless she sleeps for twelve hours—something you wouldn't know unless you could understand her, right?"

"That's true."

"Meaning, I'm the only one who can make her do that. In that sense, it's a fated encounter."

"H-hmm..."

Colette turned her face away and started walking again.

Was it just my imagination, or did her profile look a bit sad?

"Meeting Colette was also a fated encounter."

"H-huh!?"

"Isn't it?"

"N-no way! I can just cause trouble if you give me a name!"

"But the name 'Colette' can't be conveyed to them."

"That's..."

Colette thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"So, meeting Colette was also a fated encounter."

"Hmph. A cheap fate."

"Hehe, maybe so."

But fate is fate, I thought.

When I noticed, the hint of sadness in Colette's profile was gone.

Was it just my imagination?

But just now, it was definitely there—I thought, and I stared at Colette's profile.

Then—I noticed a change in her expression.

Colette didn't just turn her face away; her eyes were fixed on something in the direction she turned.

"Looking away" had turned into "staring."

"What are you looking at?"

"N-nothing! Nothing at all!"

"No, you were looking at something—"

"I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't!"

Colette exclaimed.

"I'm going to the mountain, see you later."

As if trying to cover something up, Colette started walking with big, determined steps.

I stared in the direction Colette had last looked.

Could it be—?

☆

In the evening, I returned home.

Without going inside, I headed straight to the dragon stable.

"I'm back."

Inside the dragon stable, Louise and Colette were already back.

Louise was still sprawled out on the slime bed, only lifting her head.

Colette, on the other hand, had jumped up from where she was lying down.

"You're late, where were you?"

"Sorry, sorry, I went shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Here it is."

I said, placing the items I had bought in front of Colette.

I took out various bags and wrapping paper and lined them up.

They were all sweet desserts—cakes, donuts, and the like.

I had bought them in such large quantities that you could call it a "mountain."

And they weren't just ordinary sizes.

Each one was a size larger—no, two sizes larger than normal.

The cake was as big as a wedding cake, and the donuts were the size of frisbees.

Colette was surprised when she saw them—

But I didn't miss the way her eyes lit up.

Incidentally, Louise showed no interest and lay back down on the slime bed, closing her eyes.

"W-what's all this?"

"Didn't you see this this morning?"

"W-well, they're not—aren't they a bit big?"

"Yeah, I had them made specially. Normal sizes are fine for humans, but dragons would find them unsatisfying."

"Had them made...?"

"Most of them were made after closing time, which is why it took so long."

"..."

Colette stared at me.

"You can eat anything you want."

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