Chapter : 10
“Huuh…?!”
Lulu had only asked, hoping for a little praise.
But the situation had suddenly become far more serious than expected…! Cold sweat trickled down her back.
‘W-what is the gemstone trying to say?’
Lulu was curious, but instead of prying, she simply told him her name.
“My name is Lulu.”
The gemstone, which had been leaning sideways as if kneeling on one knee, nodded.
—Lulu the Hero, in truth, I am a gemstone that serves a dragon.
“What? Really?!”
—From this moment forth, as my master, you will be the one I live for… and the one I die for.
“M-master? Me?!”
Plop.
Startled, Lulu’s legs gave out and she plopped down on the spot.
But the gemstone continued speaking with an expression that said the real surprise hadn’t even started yet.
—I swear it upon my radiant ruby.
“T-this is the knight’s oath from a fairy tale! Lulu is—right now—getting the knight’s oath…”
—I shall serve Lulu the Hero until I find my true master!
“I’m… I’m receiving it, but…”
Lulu’s lips, about to burst with excitement, puckered like a fish.
“My true master?”
Tilting her head, Lulu thought over the gemstone’s words.
“…So Lulu is a fake master?”
—Hero.
“……”
—Lulu the Hero. Are you all right? If you don’t wish for me to become your servant, you can say so.
The gemstone seemed troubled enough to break into a sweat.
But Lulu only stared off into space with a sulky look on her face, not answering at all.
She even crossed her arms for good measure.
“Lulu isn’t the real master?”
—…Hm?
“You said it yourself, gemstone. That you’d serve me until you found your real master.”
—So that’s what bothered you.
The gemstone rattled lightly, as if wiping away cold sweat, and let out a sigh.
—I should have explained first. My apologies. Young hero, do you know how dragons converse with gemstones?
“Unni told me. She said I’m only four, so I don’t need to know yet.”
Whirr.
Lulu turned her body away in frustration, giving the gemstone her back completely.
—Young and harmless hero, forgive my ignorance. You see, gemstones that serve dragons begin as ordinary stones.
“……”
Perk.
Lulu tried to act as upset as possible, but she was secretly listening.
—Then, when a dragon cherishes a gemstone and shows it affection, life begins to dwell within it. You could say I was born thanks to the love of my previous master.
“……”
—That’s why I must serve my previous master for life. Do you understand? Just as you could never replace your ‘unni’ with someone else.
“…Hmm.”
That made sense.
‘Even if someone else spoils me, I still like unni the best.’
Besides, it seemed the gemstone’s true master was like a parent to it…
‘Forgivable!’
Lulu was quick to sulk, but she was also quick to forgive—she was a good child.
Whirr.
Turning back around, Lulu carefully picked the gemstone up.
“I’m sorry, gemstone. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know your real master was like your parent.”
—I’m glad your misunderstanding is cleared. By the way, to commemorate this monumental day of accepting me as your servant, I have a gift for you.
“A gift?! Lulu loves gifts!”
—Even though I’ve lost my memories, I do remember one thing. Go on, take the glowing fairy tale book from the bookshelf.
“A glowing fairy tale book…?”
Lulu’s head swiveled toward the bookshelf at the gemstone’s suggestion.
“Oh?”
It was real.
Just moments ago, it had been an ordinary book, but now a golden shimmer danced over it.
Drawn as if under a spell, Lulu approached and opened the book—
<Chapter 1: Baby Dragons Aren’t Scary!>
Long, long ago.
A baby dragon lived alone in the Shadow Forest.
It was because people were afraid of the baby dragon.
“Why don’t they like me?”
The baby dragon wanted to be friends with people.
Being alone was too lonely.
“Then I’ll just go to them first!”
So the baby dragon decided to prove it was a good dragon!
Making Friends with People (7/00)
With adorable illustrations, the baby dragon’s adventure began.
Lulu, not even realizing her mouth had fallen open, turned to the next page.
It had already made seven friends!
Reward: Necklace String
Shall we try making even more friends?
Pop—!
The illustrated necklace string suddenly popped out into reality.
“Gasp. I-it’s a gift.”
Lulu, her mouth still wide open, grabbed the string.
“Gemstone! The fairy tale book gave me a present—because I made friends!”
—W-what will you do with the necklace string?!
“Hmm.”
For some reason, Lulu felt shy at the gemstone’s question and stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“If I twist the string like this… I can make a worm.”
—N-no! You’re supposed to put a gemstone on a necklace!
“Ohhh.”
You should have said so earlier!
Realizing the string’s true purpose too late, Lulu hung the gemstone on it.
And when she placed the sparkling necklace around her neck—
—Huhu, at last I have a home. Young hero, from this moment on, our fates are bound in an unbreakable tale!
“W-wow… Gemstone, what is this fairy tale book?”
Huhu, the gemstone chuckled and explained.
—Actually, I don’t know either. When the knight picked me up, the only thing I remembered was this fairy tale book in the study.
“Ohh…”
—You wouldn’t know this, but the Shadow Forest was once a place dragons frequented.
“What? Really?! And yet you don’t know who your old master was. Did they live here?”
—It’s highly possible.
An old master. Another dragon besides Lulu.
‘What kind of dragon would they be? Probably a huge, grown-up dragon, much bigger than me.’
When she imagined an eight-meter-long dragon, her hips wiggled with excitement.
‘I’ll grow big too!’
That night—
Lulu dreamed of herself as a magnificent white dragon, eight meters long, soaring across the sky.
In Shadowm Village, starting with a security team and an orphanage, even a clinic and herbalist shop had appeared.
All thanks to Velix’s benevolent abuse of power.
The problem was… the village’s prosperity had begun to affect the Shadow Forest as well.
“…Lulu. Something’s not right. We shouldn’t go to the village for a while.”
Amid thick greenery and weeds, Angela muttered while peering toward the village through a telescope.
Lulu, who had been lying in a prone position nearby playing with a horned rabbit, turned her head.
“Why? Did a fire break out in the village?”
“No. They’ve put up a fence at the forest entrance. And there are knights standing guard.”
Knights? A fence?
Lulu still didn’t grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“I wanna see too!”
“You hold it like this.”
When her sister handed her the big telescope, Lulu adjusted it, and suddenly her dark view became a bright circle.
‘Ooh! Amazing!’
Her eyes widened into round circles just like the telescope’s view.
Then she saw it—and her mouth fell open.
“…Gasp.”
At the Shadow Forest entrance stood sharp barbed wire, an iron gate, and—two knights.
“T-two knights? Not just one…?”
Her small body trembled.
Lulu was no longer afraid of Knight Velix, but after reading the Book of Truth, she knew that people hated dragons.
Then… why would knights be guarding the forest?
‘Could it be… because I’m a dragon?’
Her pale little fingers loosened from the telescope.
Thud.
In the end, both the telescope and Lulu’s twin pigtails drooped in gloom.
“…Unni, why is the world so harsh to Lulu?”
“…Mm.”
Angela’s lips stayed closed.
It was far too realistic a question for a four-year-old.
And in truth, the world was harsh toward dragons.
Angela frowned, trying to think of which fairy tale to use to comfort her—when suddenly—
“Lulu, that’s…”
“…That’s probably because you’re a hero.”
“Eh?”
A small voice suddenly whispered in her ear.
“Heroes are strong people. To become strong, you need trials. So the world keeps sending you trials—so you can become a hero.”
The little girl suddenly opened her eyes wide and clenched her tiny fist with determination.
Angela thought, maybe that was for the best.
“You must have read a fairy tale where the hero is the main character. That’s a good attitude…”
“Bring it on, world!”
Whoosh—!
Of course, thanks to Lulu suddenly springing to her feet, Angela got a face full of falling leaves.
Still, the important thing was—Lulu had found her courage, even kicking up toward the sky.
Though her trembling little movements were far from impressive, it was a great leap toward an even greater future.
Spark.
And as proof, the heel of her shoe, lifted toward the dry sky, caught the sunlight and shone brightly.
