When I woke up this morning, I groggily reached for the clock and squinted at it. 7:54 a.m., January 15. It had already been half a month since Karen left. I wonder how he's doing.
Karen is smart. He's definitely doing fine. I'm not that worried about his safety. What I am worried about is whether his companions are men or women. That part seriously bothers me. When Karen comes back, I'm absolutely going to lecture him.
Then I turned my head and looked at the red-haired baby girl sleeping beside me. She was fast asleep, breathing softly.
Please don't misunderstand. She's not my child. I'm not even married yet, and I would never betray Karen. She's our little sister. I gently stroked her head and tried to wake her.
"Little Lani, it's morning. The sun's already up."
That red-haired baby girl is Little Lani. Her true form is a dragon. But why can she turn into a human?
It happened the morning Karen left.
I had finished the housework and had nothing to do, so I was lying in the tatami room with Little Lani. Out of nowhere, I got curious about her magic element, so I went to the study and grabbed books about the four elemental.
"Little Lani, do you want to know your magic element?"
"Yes."
"Then repeat after me."
That's how I learned Little Lani's attribute was fire—different from both Karen and me. After that, I went back to the study and got a fire-attribute magic book for her.
But when I returned to the tatami room, I saw a naked red-haired baby girl with short hair lying there.
She was adorable. But what was going on? Who was she? Where was Little Lani?
I searched the entire tatami room, every corner, every shadow. Little Lani was nowhere to be found. Panicking, I rushed past the baby girl and looked outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
Nothing.
I had no choice but to face the baby girl again. Why was she here? How did she get in? She had to know where Little Lani went. I sat down and spoke to her.
"Little girl, what's your name? Where did you come from?"
"Big sis, why are you asking that?"
She tilted her head in confusion—and her voice was familiar.
I was certain. That was Little Lani's voice.
Could she actually be Little Lani? The thought crept into my mind, but it was too ridiculous to accept immediately. I decided to ask directly.
"...Are you Little Lani?"
"Yeah."
The baby nodded innocently, but I still couldn't believe it. This was absurd. Dragons could turn into humans?
"Why did you turn into a human?"
"I turned into a human? I'm the same as big brother and big sister now?! That's great!"
At first she looked confused by my question, staring down at her own body. Then she burst into excitement, bouncing in place. She wasn't wearing anything, but she was unbelievably cute.
No. I couldn't relax yet. I still needed proof.
"Little Lani, turn back into a dragon."
"Okay."
Her entire body glowed red. I instinctively covered my eyes, peeking through my fingers as the transformation happened.
Her head shrank and horns grew out. Her face extended into a snout. Wings sprouted from her back. Her limbs shortened, and a tail unfurled behind her.
The red light faded, and my familiar Little Lani stood there.
I was stunned. Slowly, I picked her up and carefully checked every part of her body. There was no doubt—this was Little Lani. I needed to confirm I wasn't dreaming.
"Little Lani, turn human again."
"Okay."
She transformed back into the baby girl. Still completely naked.
I wasn't dreaming. Little Lani really could turn into a human.
Once I accepted that, the tension drained out of me. I hugged her tightly and rubbed my cheek against her smooth, springy face.
"Big sis, that tickles."
Then a scent drifted into my nose. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't exactly sweet either—but I wanted to keep smelling it forever. What kind of addictive scent was this?
I couldn't let myself sink into it. I set Little Lani down and forced myself to think about something important.
We didn't have any baby clothes at home. And since it was January 1, we weren't supposed to go outside. What was I supposed to do?
Then another question surfaced: did Little Lani even need to stay human?
Everyone already adored her dragon form. She'd practically become our mascot. Maybe it was better for her to stay that way.
But when she was a dragon, people treated her like a pet. That was all that idiot crown prince's fault. And Little Lani seemed genuinely happy about becoming human. She wanted to be like us.
In that case… human it is.
The problem was still clothes. According to the village tradition, if we stayed home on January 1, we'd have good luck all year. So we couldn't go out.
After thinking for a while, I found a solution. Tomorrow after work, we'd go to the dungeon. We could eat dinner at the food street, and with Little Lani being this cute, how could I pass up the chance to dress her up like a doll?
Decision made. I should have her turn back into a dragon for now—but first, I wanted her opinion. I looked at Little Lani, who was lying on her stomach just like always, even in human form.
"Little Lani, do you want to go outside as a human?"
"Yes! Can I?!"
Her face lit up. Her eyes sparkled, and she wiggled with excitement. I felt my heart melt. What was I supposed to do? My little sister was too cute. I'd grant any wish she made.
"Of course. But turn back into a dragon for now. We don't have clothes for you at home. After work tomorrow, we'll go to the dungeon and pick some out."
"Clothes? I have to wear clothes?"
"Of course. Humans wear clothes. Have you ever seen big brother or big sister without them?"
"No. But why do humans wear clothes?"
Her question stopped me cold. I had no idea how to answer. Since ancient times, humans had been dressed from birth, before we even had self-awareness. The idea that we must wear clothes was planted in us before we could think.
I'd never questioned it. I just knew going without clothes wasn't allowed. Karen would probably know the answer. I told her honestly.
"Um… I don't know. I've never asked your big bro that. But if you want to be human, you have to wear clothes."
"I understand."
As she answered, she turned back into a dragon. That's when I remembered the most important question.
"Little Lani, why could you suddenly turn into a human?"
"I don't know. The magic just appeared in my head, so I used it."
"Is it dragon magic?"
A magic that lets dragons become human was something we'd never heard of. If it appeared in her mind and was related to dragons, it was probably dragon magic passed down from the bad dragon Samidoride.
"...Probably."
She hesitated before answering. No dragon had ever taught her, so she wasn't sure.
Dragon magic, huh? I was curious what other magics existed. Karen would definitely be curious too. If I recorded everything and showed him later, he'd be thrilled.
"Are there more?"
"Yes."
"Let's try them in the yard and see what they do."
"Okay."
After that, Little Lani practiced her dragon magic in the yard, and I recorded every single magic she mastered.