Chapter 29

(￣(エ)￣)＜Luke's side story, Kuma

(=ↀωↀ=)＜Rei? (In real life) is still sleeping.

□【Triple Horned Great Dragon】Granshvaltea Glorious Fortron

My name is Granshvaltea Glorious Fortron.

I am the 167th child of the great earth dragon king.

In my case, since the factor that became my father was not a pure dragon, I was born as a sub-dragon.

As is common with non-upper-class dragons, I have lived independently since birth.

Even as a newborn, lower organisms were not a threat to me, and I never lacked for food or survival.

However, being captured by humans was the ultimate humiliation.

Worse still, being locked inside a Jewel and treated as a commodity was the ultimate rage.

Thanks to this, I met my current master, which could be considered the ultimate fortune...

Ah, that's right.

I now have a name given to me by my master, rather than the one I was born with.

My true name is Granshvaltea Glorious Fortron.

I am now called Marilyn.

It is a name of ultimate beauty, given to me by my master.

However, if given by my master, even a name like "Three-Horned Taro" would shine.

Now, let me tell you about a certain day with my master.

◇

My day with my master begins a little before sunrise.

Since my master wakes up at that time, I, inside the Jewel, also wake up at that time.

By the way, the Jewel, which is both my home and my waiting place, has several functions besides storage.

First, the function to heal the creatures inside. While not as dramatic as healing magic, just being inside gradually heals wounds and eliminates hunger and thirst.

Second, the time stop function. The owner can set the internal time to stop.

You can choose whether to fix the state when you put it in the Jewel or not.

Both have their advantages; the former allows you to leave a creature with a fatal wound and keep it that way until you can heal it. The latter allows you to be aware of the surrounding situation while inside the Jewel, so you can respond immediately to emergencies.

My master's setting is mainly the latter, but when I was poisoned by a great demon, I was stored in the former state.

The quick judgment was the ultimate wisdom, and if it was to save me, it was the ultimate kindness.

So when my master wakes up, I, inside the Jewel, also sense it and wake up. This is always the case when my master spends the night in this world.

My master, being a <Master>, can go to other worlds.

When that happens, I, inside the Jewel, remain in a time stop state until my master returns.

From my perspective, the next moment after my master goes to another world, day and night are reversed.

"Good morning, Marilyn."

My master greets me like this when they wake up in the morning. How kind.

By the way, there is another creature in the Jewel in my master's right hand, and another in the left hand's crest.

However, my master does not greet them.

Why?

Because they are still sleeping.

Only I wake up with my master.

The one in the left hand's crest, Babylon, is an <Embryo>... in other words, a clone of my master, so it's not a problem.

But "that one" is still indulging in sleep despite being under my master's command. The ultimate slack.

That's why birds are...

"Wait a bit for breakfast, Marilyn."

However, because Babylon and "that one" are sleeping, this early morning time can be considered a time for just me and my master.

Thinking about it that way, it's also a joy.

My master prepares for the day with activities like washing their face, brushing their teeth, and combing their hair.

Even after finishing these, they don't immediately head for breakfast.

This is my master's daily routine.

My master takes out a hand mirror and reflects their face in it.

Then they move only their mouth.

Without making a sound, they move their mouth and silently say something.

They check it by looking at it in the mirror.

I don't know what my master's daily routine is.

I think it's some kind of training, but I have no idea what kind of training it is.

"Still, the shape of the mouth is the same for meaningful words in any language... it's automatically translated into <Infinite Dendrogram> language. I haven't fully memorized it yet, so it will take a bit more time to make lip reading useful here."

They muttered this, but while I understand the words, I don't understand the intention, which is the ultimate question.

Is there something wrong with the common language of human-like beings?

Even if I don't understand, my master, being wise, must have deep thoughts.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Marilyn. Shall we have breakfast?"

They smile at me in the Jewel like this.

If I weren't in the Jewel, I would be wagging my tail, but if I wagged my tail, the house might collapse.

"Good morning, Luke! It's time for breakfast!"

At this point, Babylon flies out from the left hand's crest.

It seems they woke up because it was time for breakfast.

Moreover,

‘Kiee (… I’m hungry)’

It seems "that one" also woke up because of the food.

"That one" -- Audrey, the Crimson Rockbird.

◇

My master, with me and Audrey still in the Jewel, left the city with Babylon through the north gate.

The <Nex Plain> where my master and their companions went yesterday.

My master spread a sheet taken out of the item box in a place close to the city in the <Plain>.

"《Summon》, Marilyn, Audrey"

Then my master called me and Audrey out of the Jewel.

It seems we will all eat together today.

The reason for leaving the city is that it was difficult to eat with me and Audrey inside the city.

My body is larger than a carriage, and Audrey is about the same size in volume, if not in weight.

"It's like a picnic."

My master said this, sat on the sheet, and took out the bento received at the inn and our share of the food.

Babylon sat next to my master on the right, and Audrey and I sat in front of them. Because of our large bodies, it's a bit awkward, but we form a circle of four.

"It's a nice day. The air is good here, and I feel a bit sleepy. ... Mmm."

My master said this while eating a sandwich. The way they eat is so picturesque that it might be captivating.

They seem a bit drowsy because they were tired from yesterday and woke up early this morning.

"The inn's bento is delicious."

Babylon said this while generously sprinkling red seasoning on the sandwich in front of them.

... Does that have anything to do with the inn's seasoning?

‘KIIE, KIIE, KIIE, KUUU’

Audrey is chirping and eating.

By the way, if you translate the chirping into human language, it would be like this.

‘Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Seriously Fuck’

It was a vulgar word.

‘I don’t like it, I seriously don’t like it’

Then, they deliberately glance at me and mutter something.

‘What don’t you like?’

Since it was annoying to be grumbled at, I asked, and Audrey replied like this.

‘The food is good, the view is beautiful, and my master is a real eye candy, but there’s one thing I don’t like’

‘... What is it?’

‘The turtle next to me stinks’

... Hm?

‘There’s no turtle around. There’s a chicken with a light head, though’

‘Is there a chicken with such great feathers, you fool?’

‘I have a great horn too. Do birds mistake such things?’

Audrey and I, both non-human creatures... in other words, monsters, exchange words in the language of monsters while glaring at each other.

This kind of verbal sparring has been repeated many times in the Jewel since Audrey was tamed by my master and I recovered.

The content is mostly insults about each other's physical characteristics and racial traits.

Why do we argue like this? Because we deeply hate each other.

My master probably didn't know, but this is inevitable.

Because... among the earth dragon species, which includes me, and the strange bird species, which includes Audrey, we are racial enemies.

Historically, we have engaged in survival struggles between our species many times.

You could say we are like cats and dogs.

The enmity between our species is dozens of times worse than the bad relationship between elves and dwarves.

The ultimate physiological aversion.

‘Fuck. My master is the best, but why does he have a colleague like this turtle? I really wish it would disappear’

‘Unfortunately, I became my master’s servant first. If anyone has to leave, it’s you’

‘I was knocked out with one punch by the leader before you. I don’t take orders from a weakling’

‘That’s right. You were a dirty great demon with a toxic ass on your back’

‘A useless white turtle’

‘A chicken with a light head and a light ass’

‘...’

-- I want to kill it.

I feel the urge to kill the chicken in front of me.

From the aura, I can tell the red chicken feels the same.

I stretch out my legs, which were previously lowered, and stamp the ground.

The trees around us are intimidated by our killing aura and birds fly away.

Small animals are also fleeing.

What is about to begin is a battle to the death between a sub-dragon and a strange bird.

If it flies away, it will be at a disadvantage, so I will crush its wings with one blow before it can.

My claws dig into the ground, and it spreads its wings, and the duel begins...

‘Let’s stop, okay?’

Just before, a voice of restraint came in.

It was Babylon’s voice, and she was speaking in the language of non-human creatures.

She put up a finger in front of her mouth in a “be quiet” gesture and said in a low voice.

‘Luke will wake up’

Looking at it, my master had fallen asleep on Babylon’s lap at some point.

It seems they were tired from yesterday