"Draconic Vow?" Verdra tilted her head in confusion, and her eyes finally finding the courage to meet mine. "What's that?"
"I'm the one who should be asking." I replied with a strained smile, still laying my head on her lap. "You're the only dragon around here. How did you know nothing?"
"Sorry… I really don't." She shook her head. "My mother never told me anything about it either."
"I see… wait—" I squinted. "Mother? You have parents?"
"Yes?" She frowned. "Did you think I just popped into existence out of thin air or something? Of course I have parents. They're just… long gone."
"S-sorry. That was insensitive of me."
"Don't worry about it." She said it lightly, though her expression briefly turned distant. "It's been a long time anyway…"
I hesitated, but decided to ask, "…Could you tell me about them?"
"Why?"
"W-well—" I scratched my cheek. "I'm kinda—no. I'm definitely making their daughter mine, so I figured, I should at least know who they were."
Hearing my reasoning, her cheeks tinted in a faint rosy color. "W-well… my parents were…"
And then, she told me their story.
Verdra was born to a human and a True Dragon in a country known as the Draconia Empire—the nation with the largest human population in the world, located in the northernmost reaches of the continent.
Thanks to its advance in military technology and its possession of the strongest biological weapon in existence—True Dragons—the Draconia Empire became the most feared nation on the continent— True Dragons weren't actually weapons, but people outside the Empire called them that anyway. Fear has its own way of simplifying stuff.
Because True Dragons could only form contracts with human males, and to solve their races' dwindling population problem over the Millenia, they left their hamlet deep within the Dread Woods' mountain ranges and pledged their loyalty to the Empire.
To honor the True Dragons fidelity, the Emperor at that time renamed the nation after them—Draconia—and took the leader of the True Dragons as his consort.
"…Around 100 years after the True Dragons settled in the Empire, the royal couple finally blessed with a long awaited, True Dragon baby." Verdra finished quietly, "That baby dragon… is now known as Verdra."
"Wait. A century?!" I jerked upright from her lap and spun to face her. "You're a royal princess?!"
"More or less, yeah." She shrugged. "Though the Draconia Empire no longer exists, so I can't really call myself a pri—why does your face look so pale?"
"T-that means—!" I leaned closer in panic as words spilling out in rapid succession,
"I'm a fugitive now, aren't I?! I defiled a royal princess of the strongest nation in the world! I'm not getting executed the moment we leave this dungeon, right?!"
"Please! don't use a filthy word such as defiled to describe it!" she snapped. "You're my master, I gave my consent, and I'm the one who tempt—" She froze, then buried her face in her hands and leaned back. "Aaaarrghhh!! I thought this conversation was supposed to help me forget about my awkwardness!? Why did you keep reminding me again and again?!"
"This is a problem with my very own life at the stake!" I shot back. "Of course, I won't gave you up even if I have to face the strongest military force in the world—I'm planning to overthrow a kingdom anyway! But scary things are scary!"
She uncovered her face and leaned in close, firing back without hesitation.
"Didn't I already tell you that the Draconia Empire was long gone now?!" she leaned in even closer. "I chose you! And even if my parents were still alive, I'll rebel against them if they dared oppose my decision! And lastly— there is absolutely nothing that can break a Draconic Contract—except for the death itself—If you die, so do I! So stop worrying!"
"..."
"..."
We stared at each other in silence, our faces way too close together, mutual exasperation written all over them.
"Pfft…"
"Pfft—"
After a long pause, we both broke into laughter.
""Hahaha…""
"Haaah…" She wiped the corner of her eye. "Now I felt really stupid for getting all self-conscious over a this weird guy over here."
"Did you just call your master weird?" I replied playfully. "What an utterly disrespectful servant I have here."
"You don't deserve any respect." She grinned teasingly—back to her usual self.
"That expression doesn't suit a princess at all," I teased. "Why don't you try to act like one?"
"You want me to act like a dignified princess?"
"Ahem." She straightened and cleared her throat. "Good afternoon, Mr. Yuu. I trust your day has been most agreeable. Be advised—resting one's head upon the lap of a royal princess is an act punishable by immediate execution." Her voice was soft, elegant, and terrifyingly proper.
"Even if the princess herself was the one who offered it?" I asked.
"Unless explicit permission has been granted by the Emperor," she replied coolly, "there exists no justification capable of sparing you from said sentence."
"Alright, alright—that's enough." I waved my hand. "The princess act and the execution talk are both creepy. I like you better in your usual tone..." I paused. "Wait—you were taught royal manners? I thought you couldn't even speak properly before attaining your human form."
"I can speak telepathically with other True Dragons. So they were the one who taught me." She sighed. "It was really exhausting to be honest."
Her expression turns annoyed. "They told me it was mandatory, so that after I found my own master, I didn't bring shame to the Empire's name—" she glanced at me. "I'm really grateful my master isn't a royalty. I don't have to keep speaking in that stiff, ridiculous way."
"You're welcome," I said solemnly.
She gave me a faint, radiant smile.
Seeing her back to normal warmed my chest, and naturally, I returned her smile with my sincerest one.
"Back on topic," I said, steering our conversation back to the main point after a few minutes of completely useless bantering.
Right now, my head was once again resting on Verdra's lap. "Why did our Draconic Contract turned into Draconic Vow? And why did I get a new skill from of it?"
"I'm just as much in the dark as you," Verdra replied, placing a hand under her chin. "This was the first time I've ever heard of it, too. Maybe there's some kind of trigger that changes the contract's status…" she muttered cluelessly toward the end.
"Well… there's only one possible answer to that." I finished with a knowing grin.
"You meant, it's because our relationship is getting more intimate now?" she asked, her expression completely serious.
"Haaah…" I rolled my eyes. "Your reactions are kinda lame now that you've calmed down."
"I personally enjoy seeing you flustered, too." she said calmly. "So it's not that I don't understand how you feel. But since we're planning to go down to the 10th floor today, wouldn't it be better if I am calm?"
"…Yeah. I guess you're right." I sighed. "Oh—could you check your status page? I saw a new skill there when I checked mine earlier."
"Really?"
————————————————
Name: Verdra (True Dragon)
Lv: 6469/6469
Vitality: 64,780
Strength: 64,780
Intelligence: 19,504
Mana: 64,780
Agility: 58,312
Dexterity: 58,312
———
Skill: True Dragon Supremacy | Draconic Transformation | Draconic Ecdysis | Draconic Vow (Yuu) | Fire Magic (Lv10) | Lightning Magic (Lv10)
Draconic Vow's associated skills: Ice Magic (Lv9) | Human Transformation | Lv Up Recovery | 3rd Person View | Draconic Vow's Telepathy
———
3rd Person View: Ability to see the surrounding area from a 3rd-person perspective.
—————————
"3rd Person View?" she tilted her head. "Isn't that the skill you're always using to look around with some kind of extra eyes or something?"
"Yeah. Try it."
"Okay—" She froze. "Woah!"
"I can see us… from a distance," she said in awe. "So this is why I can never surprise you from behind, no matter how hard I tried."
"Tehe." I stuck my tongue out slightly, trying to be funny.
"…What do you mean by tehe?"
"Nothing." I lifted my head from her lap.
"Has your headache subsided?"
"Yeah. Thanks to the best pillow of my life."
"You're welcome."
"E-emm…" I stretched my arms to work out the stiffness and let out a sigh. "Haah… let's go."
"Right behind you."
With that, we continued our journey toward the 10th floor of the Hellhole Dungeon.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
On the way to the massive double doors—normally guarded by Chimerberus, which I had taken care of earlier—I asked Verdra about my new Draconic Ecdysis skill; Why could I only create a pair of dragon wings? I had tried to construct the same dragon-scale boots and gauntlets like she did, but no matter what I tried, it just wouldn't work.
She explained that her scales were constructed using mana— It wasn't that she consumed mana every time she constructed them—mana was only used to repair broken scales. Existing ones didn't require any upkeep.
Unfortunately, I couldn't use my mana anymore—it'd taken away by that damned elven ritual—so I could only dream about having my own cool dragon-scale equipment.
I also couldn't summon my wings without ripping through my clothes like she did. Apparently, she could do that thanks to her transformation skill, which I didn't have.
What a bummer…
Still, I could fly now—so who cares!
"Say, Verdra," I called after we'd descended the stairs down the 10th floor in silence for a few minutes.
"What is it?" she replied flatly.
"You…" I hesitated… then steeled my resolve. This had been bothering me since this morning. "You're not feeling weird or anything, right?"
"…Why'd you ask?"
"Y-you know… since I… I-I—"
"Come on, just say it already," she cut in.
"S-since I let it all go i-inside, you're not… y-you're not pregna—I-I mean, become expectant or anything, right?"
She stopped walking and glanced at me. Her cheeks flushed red before she looked away down.
"I-if it were that easy for me to conceive an egg," she said softly, "then… that would actually be a good thing."
"W-why would that be a good thing?" I blurted out, completely dumbfounded. "I'm not yet ready to become a fath—huh?" I tilted my head. "Egg?"
"The purpose of a Draconic Contract is to preserve our race," she said shyly. "So… of course it would be a good thing."
"Wait— It's not just about skill sharing?"
"Didn't I already tell you that; True Dragons can only make contracts with human males?" She looked at me with exasperation. "Why do you think it has to be specifically a human male?"
"…N-nepotism?" I offered after a brief pause, forcing a strained smile.
"It's not nepotism—! Haaah…" She sighed, taking a moment to calm herself. "True Dragons consist only of females. To conceive a child, we must pair with a male from a humanoid race. To do that, we need to transform our bodies to be compatible, hence, the contract was mandatory—to get the necessary skill—and as it turns out, humans are the only race capable of forming a contract with us."
"I-I see…" I said, a little taken aback. "Then, why an egg?"
"Oh. Right." She resumed walking. "Since your original world only consist humans, it's not surprising you don't have knowledge about this. So let me explain…"
She face forward and started walking down the stairs again, launching into a lengthy biological explanation. I followed behind her, blushing the entire time.
In this world, interracial couples had a very difficult time conceiving. On top of that, any child born from such union would fall into one of 3 categories: inheriting the father's race, the mother's, or becoming a hybrid of the two.
Verdra told me that over more than 100 years of her parents' marriage, she only had 2 siblings—a human and a dragonout (a human-True Dragon hybrid). She herself was the youngest one and the only True Dragon.
Normally, the mother in a human-True Dragon couple would give birth the same way a human would—unless the child was a True Dragon. In that case, she would lay an egg instead.
"…It's extremely rare for a True Dragon to be born," Verdra finished. "That's why I said it would be a good thing if I could conceive an egg so easily. Did you understand now?"
I nodded in silence.
S-so, True Dragons are mammals… b-but they can also lay eggs…
Are they monotremes? Like platypuses… or echidnas?
In the first place, why did I even compare them to platypus?!
"Why are you blushing?" she asked.
"We-well… I was a total virgin until yesterday," I replied with a strained smile. "All this talk about interracial reproduction is giving my brain a minor short circuit."
—From my wild, teenage imagination, that is.
"You're the one who asked!" she snapped back, now blushing too.
"I had no rebuttal for that—" I stopped in front of a massive door. "Hey, look. We're here."
Just like the 4th and 7th floors, a huge double door stood before us. I looked at Verdra, and she nodded once, silently.
After her confirmation, I slowly pushed the doors open.
The moment we stepped inside, they closed behind us, sealing shut and cutting off our escape route.
Crystals embedded in the ceiling lit up one by one, illuminating the circular chamber from the entrance to the far end. Unlike the previous boss floors, this room was much smaller—about 25 meters in diameter, dome-shaped, with a height of roughly 20 meters at the center.
After the room fully illuminated, all of a sudden—
"You finally arrived. I've been waiting for you."
someone spoke to us.
At the far end, sat a slender man with black hair and pointed ears.
He looked… unsettlingly familiar. Like me—if I were taller and older.
He lounged on a throne made of bound human skeletons, wearing a black magician's robe—identical to the one I often used to wear during my time as a Hero.
Verdra froze.
Her entire body stiffened as her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened as if she'd seen a ghost gnawed its way out of the past.
"Who are you?" I demanded coldly.
Before the man could respond, Verdra spoke—her voice trembling, barely coherent, and wavered with full disbelief.
"V-Ve… Verd?"