Chapter : 28
By the way, if I’ve grown… what about Lulu?
Maybe she could fly farther than before…
“H-Huh? Maybe I’ve grown a whole meter taller?!”
Lost in daydreams, Lulu hurried over to the wall, lifted her hand, and rubbed the top of her head.
But instead…
Reward: Your body temperature rises! You can make people warm when you hug them!
“…This is the reward…?”
Lulu’s face fell as she read it.
Hugs? She always hugged her sister anyway, even before receiving a reward.
And besides, Lulu’s body was already warm and toasty by nature.
“…Useless reward. A dud.”
Pouting, she pushed out her lips like a duck’s bill.
‘Life as a dragon really isn’t easy…!’
“Hmph.”
Just in case, she checked to see if her wings had grown any bigger, but nothing had changed except her slightly warmer temperature.
And then—
Fshhh.
The fairytale book flipped its own page, glowing golden light.
The story that had remained stuck in Chapter 1 finally moved on to the next part.
<Chapter 2: Hug Your Friends!>
“I’m a good dragon!”
Once the tangled misunderstandings were cleared, many friends gathered around the baby dragon.
“I’m so happy! I’m not lonely anymore!”
The baby dragon danced with its friends and spent joyful days together.
But one day, the dragon found a shadow that didn’t dance.
“I’m too sad to move. I guess I’m someone who can’t dance.”
“Huh?”
The baby dragon wondered what kind of comfort it should offer the shadow.
How about a warm hug?
Hug the sad shadow friend! (0/1 times)
Reward: Dragon’s Nest
Lulu, nose buried in the book, tilted her head.
“Dragon’s… nest?”
It was a word she had never heard before.
Jewel kindly explained:
—Congratulations, young warrior who has finally made it this far! A Dragon’s Nest is the place where a dragon keeps its treasures, its own special space.
“…A space just for Lulu? But Lulu already has a room in the tower.”
Jewel gave a little shake of its head.
—That’s just a bedroom. When you place your treasures in a Dragon’s Nest, they gain power. Just like me—I can talk because of it!
“Power?”
—Exactly. For reference, I too was born from a Dragon’s Nest.
“Whaaat—!”
Lulu stumbled back in shock at this grand revelation.
Then, remembering something, she dashed off.
Her little hands pulled out the treasure box she had hidden under the bed.
Inside were her precious belongings:
Her fried-egg-shaped bag she carried whenever she went out.
The very first cookie Rian had given her (now covered in mold).
A sheet of paper with song lyrics her friends had written for her.
The ring her sister had thrown away, calling it useless.
And even the brown daisy hair ribbon given by Captain Del of the knights.
They were all Lulu’s treasures.
‘And these treasures… can gain power?’
“Lulu has to do this. Absolutely.”
Her tiny fist clenched tight.
Just as the greatest heroes had their greatest swords, Lulu would create her own Dragon’s Nest and forge the greatest treasure.
Meanwhile, for several days, Angela had locked herself away in the fourth-floor workshop, buried in research.
“We confirmed after some inquiries that the mercenary group Twin Blades has taken their families in. It’s the largest group of its kind.”
“How large can it really be?”
“They control the entire small city of Leighton. I had planned to go there, but His Majesty has been overloading me with work…”
Hearing Del’s report, Angela made up her mind.
No matter what it took, she would find and rescue their families.
The thought of saving people might sound naïve—something only someone like Lulu would do—but if these people were tied to the royal family, the situation changed.
She had no intention of denying her identity.
Like it or not, as a princess, she had a duty to protect her people.
After several sleepless nights of research, she finally succeeded.
“With this, I should at least get Wizard of the Year.”
She had crafted a tracking artifact, using a lock of the girl’s hair Del had given her.
“Princess. I had an old handkerchief of my daughter’s that I never unfolded… when I opened it, there was a strand of her hair inside.”
That handkerchief, which Del had carried as a lucky charm, had served its purpose at last.
Angela tied her messy hair back and stepped outside. Immediately, the knights of the Third Order swarmed around her like puppies.
“Princess—!”
“Princess, we were worried since you hadn’t come out in days.”
“You worried yourselves for nothing. And also…”
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
She pulled out the artifact from her pocket and shouted:
“Your princess has done it! Take off your pants and scream!”
“!”
The knights froze for a moment, wondering if they should actually take off their pants. Instead, they just followed the order to scream.
“Woooooaaah!”
“The princess commands it—shout with all you’ve got!!”
Their thunderous roar shook the ground like an earthquake.
Just then, the cabin door slammed open.
It was Velix, shielding Rian behind him with sword in hand.
“I thought a horde of ogres had descended.”
He scanned the rowdy knights with grim eyes, then sighed.
“…Turns out the ogres were just our knights. But, Princess—did you succeed?”
“Yes. I made something incredible.”
With this, they wouldn’t lose their way in Leighton.
But then—
“It’s been so long since I came outside, and yet… why hasn’t my little salamander come to greet me?”
Angela looked around curiously. She had assumed Lulu would be the first to welcome her.
One knight quickly answered:
“Lulu is by the lake with the knights who went to do laundry.”
“Laundry? Helping out?”
“No, giving them hugs.”
“…Hugs?”
Angela blinked.
And then, after a pause—
“…Without hugging me first?”
Realizing the situation, she stormed toward the Black Lake, fuming.
“Where are you, you little salamander with no manners.”
For the past two weeks, Lulu had come to Angela’s workshop every single day.
Back then, even when Angela begged her to leave, Lulu wouldn’t budge. But now that Angela wanted to see her, Lulu had vanished like a squirrel.
Her side felt strangely empty without the fluff of Lulu’s white down against it.
Until she turned seven and found a best friend, Lulu was supposed to stay snuggled in her arms.
“…And what kind of nonsense did the knights spout to make her go to the lake for hugs?”
Angela narrowed her eyes and finally spotted her target.
“There she is.”
At that very moment, the baby dragon had just finished hugging a knight.
“The moment she looks at me, I’m going to squeeze those chubby cheeks—”
Angela was plotting her “revenge” when her eyes locked with Lulu’s.
“You little…”
“Uuunnie…”
And just like that, a walnut-shaped dimple appeared in Lulu’s trembling chin.
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
She burst into tears with a loud wail.
Lulu, the little warrior.
Lulu, captain of the Black Lake Unit.
Despite being only four years old, she had earned no small number of titles. And she now realized this mission would not be easy.
At first, things had gone smoothly.
“Sir Knight, please hug me.”
“And a kiss on the cheek too?”
“Yes!”
She began with Sir Velix.
“Out of nowhere? Well then, the friendship of the Black Lake Unit is—forever!”
“Forever!”
“Heh, you remind me of my daughter. Sniff… No, Lulu, I’m just happy.”
Even Rian and Captain Del joined in.
Since they were practically family already, hugging them hadn’t been difficult.
But the problem was…
—Another failure. This person isn’t sad.
“Whaaat—”
She had done the mission, but the number in the storybook never changed.
“Are all the adults in the tower really happy? But Captain Del sometimes looks so sad…”
Determined, Lulu went around hugging even the knights she wasn’t close with.
“Eh? Me? A hug? All of a sudden?”
Startled knights held the warm child in their arms, and they did look happy… but still—
—Another failure.
“Eeehh!”
Once again, it hadn’t worked.
‘Lulu got sad while looking for a sad friend…’
Her steps grew heavy, like a withered leaf.
And then—
“You little rascal!”
At the sound of that voice, her ears perked up.
She looked up, and there was her sister, staring at her with blazing eyes.
‘…Unnie?’
Lulu’s pleading gaze clung to Angela.
Her golden hair fluttered in the wind.
Her cool, ice-blue eyes shone.
And her arms—when you nuzzled into them, soft and comforting.
‘…Lulu was having such a hard time…’
Her little hands trembled.
‘Unnie came looking for me. She must have been worried.’
Relief welled up, and with it came the memory of her recent struggles. Lulu’s chin dimpled again.
She tried to hold it in, but she was already back to being a spoiled child.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
She cried her heart out as she dove into her sister’s arms.
