“Say, how long have I been sleeping?”

“You left nine days ago.”

“I see,” I mumbled. “So, what should we do now?”

“I guess we should go back to Baruda,” Liz replied. “Mira will probably worry if I don’t return soon.”

“Did you tell her you were coming here?”

“No, but Mira has been checking up on me now and then ever since you left.”

Mira is such a good friend. Meanwhile, I ran away… I foresee a scolding from a tiny blonde in my future.

“We should probably go back then,” I said, tapping my chin. “But… What about after that?”

“I don’t know,” Liz pondered. “You wanted to travel, right?”

“Yeah, but… What about you?”

“I don’t mind…” Liz replied before stopping for a moment. “I don’t have a reason to stay.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to keep apologising,” Liz said. “Besides, my uncle always said I should go out and see the world while I’m young.”

How can I not apologise when I might have been able to prevent this? I don’t think Liz knows… And I can’t tell her.

“We will have to think of a destination first. Somewhere that overlaps with some of the things on my list would be great.”

“What things are on your list?” Liz wondered.

“Let's see…” I mumbled, opening my [Note].

Hmm, there’s a lot of clutter on this list. I can probably remove some older ones. My rank is done, and so is Liz’s. I have enough money and more monsters if I need more. I don’t think I will find any better maps than the one I saw in Chloe’s office, so I can remove that, too. Same with the relations between countries. I know what happened to the Byzan Empire, so there is no point having that there anymore.

I will put gathering information about taming skills at the top of the list. I think that is the most important thing at the moment. I also want to get my hands on a dungeon core. I wonder if I can get one from the guild? Chloe didn’t tell me much about the Beast Nation, so I’ll leave that on the list. I’ll put Baruda as a telenode location so I don’t forget to put one down. I might have to come back in a hurry… Better write down that potion, as well. Not that I know who could tell me anything about it unless I go to Kaydossa myself. Also… spell research.

[Note] To-Do List:

• Find out more about taming skills
  • Level dragon taming
• Information about status inspect spells
  • Acquire a dungeon core
• Information about the Beast Nation
• Mindflayer Extract
• Spell research
• Telenode locations
  • Capital
  • Baruda?

I closed [Note] and turned to Liz. “You done?” She asked.

“Done?”

“With that thinky thing,” she smirked. “You sat quietly staring for over ten seconds.”

“Thinky thing?” I laughed. “Yes, I’m done.”

“So? What did you come up with?”

“I want to find out more about taming. I think that should be first on the list,” I replied. “Then, there is that dungeon core I want.”

“The guild is probably our best bet for taming,” Liz pondered.

“Shall we head back then?”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Liz said, straightening her clothes as she stood up. “Could you be a nice dragon and give me a ride to the entrance of the cave? I left my horse there, and I would rather not spend twenty minutes going through that narrow cave again.”

“Right away, master,” I grinned, bowing slightly.

“You’re going to keep doing that, aren't you?” Liz sighed.

“Maybe?” I giggled.

I scooped up Liz and spread my wings before leaving the cave through the hole in the ceiling.

 

I dropped down outside the cave entrance and closed the hole Liz had made while she fetched her horse.

“Get on,” she said after she came back.

“Huh?”

“Get on,” she repeated, patting the horse’s back. “We are going back to town.”

“I can just fly,” I said with a frown.

“So you can disappear again? Get on.”

“I told you I won’t do that.”

“Don’t you want to ride with me?” Liz asked, pouting her lips.

“No, it’s just… I have never ridden a horse before.”

“Really?”

“Why would I? I’m so much faster. Besides, if I wanted to ride something, I had my foxlings.”

“There is a first time for everything.”

I looked at the horse and sighed. “Fine.”

I got on the horse, and we began making our way back to Baruda.

 

“Say, can I fly the rest of the way?” I asked after we dismounted to let the horse rest.

“Why do you want to do that?” Liz wondered, eyeing me suspiciously.

“I don’t want anyone to see that you brought me back.”

“Why not?”

“What do you think Mira will do when she sees me?”

“Probably scold you,” Liz chuckled. “Hanna probably got some words for you, as well.”

“And what do you think they would do if they knew you had to come and drag me back? I would never hear the end of it,” I groaned. “I don’t want to deal with that.”

“Don’t you think you deserve that?”

“I guess I do,” I sighed. “But I can’t tell them why I left. You’re the only one insane enough to accept what I have done or might do.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course,” I smirked, sticking my tongue out.

“Fine, you can go,” Liz said, getting back on the horse.

“Thank you. I will wait for you at the inn.”

 

After getting back to Baruda, I landed in the alley close to the inn and made my way to the entrance.

It will probably take more than an hour before Liz arrives, so it should be fine. Now, I just need to get my key back and hope I don’t run into Mira or Hanna on the way.

I entered the inn, and luckily, neither of them was in the dining area. I got my key back from Muscles and went back up to our room. After about an hour and a half, Liz came back.

“Welcome back,” I said as she opened the door.

Liz rushed over to the bed and jumped on top of me. “I know you said you wouldn’t leave again, but I’m still relieved to see you here.”

Sometimes, Liz acts like a cute puppy.

“I would never,” I said, stroking her hair. “You’re stuck with me now.”

“Did you meet Mira or Hanna yet?”

“No. Luckily, neither of them was here when I arrived, so I got my key from Muscles and came here to wait for you.”

“Muscles?”

“The innkeeper,” I smirked. “I don’t know his name.”

“What kind of a nickname is that?” Liz laughed.

“I think it fits him.”

“His name is Stephan. His wife’s name is Lucy, if you didn’t know.”

“I’ll try to remember.”

I never was any good at asking for names of people that I didn’t interact with that much.

“Speaking of, how about we go down for some dinner?” Liz asked.

“I guess we should,” I muttered. “Might as well get it over with.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Getting scolded.”

“Is that something the proud dragon queen should be afraid of?” Liz grinned.

“I’m feeling less and less like a dragon when I’m with you.”

“I don’t think it will be that bad. I can tell them that it’s okay,” Liz assured me.

“How sweet of you,” I said, giving her a kiss. “Let’s go then.”

 

We made our way downstairs, ordered some food, and sat down on a bench at one of the tables against the wall.

“If you are going to sit any closer, you might as well sit in my lap,” I chuckled as Liz bumped her shoulder against mine.

“Do you want me to?”

“Depends. Do you expect me to feed you like a baby?” I grinned.

“I think I will pass on that,” she smirked.

After Muscles, or rather Stephan, brought us our food, I noticed Mira entering the inn, instantly locking eyes with me.

“Luna?!” Mira yelled as she rushed over to our table.

“You don’t have to yell. There are other people here.”

“How could you just disappear like that?! Liz was beyond worried!”

“I’m sorry, I had a bit of an emergency I had to take care of.”

“It’s fine, Mira,” Liz interjected. “Luna explained why she had to leave.”

“But…”

“It’s fine,” Liz repeated. “Now go order your dinner so we can eat together.”

Mira sighed and left our table, walking over to the counter.

“Thank you,” I said, kissing Liz on the cheek. “I’m happy to be back.”

Liz leaned her head against my shoulder as Mira came back and sat down opposite us.

“Aren’t you two flirting a bit too much?” Mira asked, looking at Liz with a grin on her lips.

“Are you jealous?” I grinned.

“No way. Like I would even have time for romance,” she frowned.

“Why not?”

“I’m too busy training. Relearning how to cast spells properly is exhausting.”

“Oh right, that was a thing. Made any progress?”

“A little, but it’s slow. I don’t have the luxury of your help like Liz did,” Mira pouted.

“Oh? Do you want to get the same training as Liz?” I asked with a sinister smile.

“No!” Liz blurted.

“Why not?” Mira asked, confused.

“Trust me, you don’t.”

I smirked at Liz. “Oh well, I guess it’s better that way.”

“No fair keeping Luna all to yourself,” Mira muttered before looking at me with a grin. “By the way, I heard you went and got yourself tamed.”

I squinted at Liz. “I guess I did.”

“So unfair,” Mira groaned. “I also want a dragon.”

“Good luck finding one,” I chuckled. “I haven’t met one since I was young.”

“Do you think there are any other dragons around?” Mira asked.

“Maybe?” I pondered. “I doubt you can go up to one and ask to pet them, though.”

“Worked for Liz,” Mira laughed.

“I think that was a special case,” I smirked. “So, how have things been while I was away?”

“Horrible. Normal quests were finally put up again yesterday, but only requests that are south of Baruda,” Mira said as Stephan brought her food over. “And I had to deal with a moping Liz.”

“I wasn’t moping,” Liz muttered.

“If that wasn’t moping, I don’t know what is,” Mira replied. “You were holed up in your room whenever I didn’t force you to come down and eat.”

“Don’t bully her, Mira. It was my fault.”

“That’s true,” she said, increasing the intensity of her gaze. “So, where were you?”

“It’s personal.”

“So you won’t tell me?” Mira pouted.

“It’s not something I can talk about.”

Mira studied my expression for a while and sighed. “At least you’re back now.”

“Any new development about the whole Kaydossa business?”

“Some soldiers and adventurers came from the capital and Millholt, but there haven’t been any reports of anything happening to the north,” she replied. “Thanks to a certain someone, everyone is uneasy since they don’t know what happened.”

“I’m sure a bit of uneasiness beats going to war.”

“They might send more troops.”

“Pray they aren’t that stupid. They already stepped on the dragon’s tail.”

We spent some time with Mira before deciding to go back to our room for the evening.

 

“Luna, do you want to take a bath?”

“Yes, please. I feel like I could go for a long soak.”

“Can you make some of those balls of light?”

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

We showered while the bath filled up with steaming hot water. Afterward, Liz sat down in the bath, and I sat down in front of her, leaning on her chest.

“I missed this,” Liz said, embracing me from behind.

“Me too,” I replied, putting my hands on hers.

We sat in complete silence and enjoyed the hot bath for a good while until Liz decided to speak.

“Shall we get out of the bath? I bet you look forward to sleeping in a bed instead of a cave floor.”

“Don’t badmouth my cave floor until you try it,” I chuckled as I stood up. “Let’s get out then.”

 

After we got out of the bath, we dried our hair and went to bed. Liz’s hand moved around under the cover like she was searching for something. I sighed and wrapped my tail around her waist.

“You have no idea how hard it was to sleep without this,” she said as she stroked my tail.

“Some people would probably call you weird.”

“It’s comforting,” she pouted.

“Well, as long as you are happy,” I said and embraced her.

A few minutes went by, and just as I was about to fall asleep, Liz spoke. “Hey, Luna?”

“Mhmm, what?”

“Thank you for burying my family.”

“It was the least I could do.”

“It means a lot.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here,” I said and tightened my embrace.

“You’re here now. That is enough.”

I wonder how I would have reacted if the roles were reversed? I hope she isn’t putting on a tough act.