Flash!
“…What is it?”
Rubbing my eyes, I peered out the window to find the world plunged into an astonishing darkness.
I had expected someone to rouse me for a meal, but it seemed I had simply slept past it.
I turned my head to look at Mother and Noona.
Father was nowhere to be seen in the room, presumably still working late.
“…Mother…”
“Heh, hehe, my daughter…”
“…Are you truly asleep?”
Mother and Noona were embracing, giggling softly to themselves.
…Was this what they called familial affection?
-Rumble.
“…Traitors, I had truly expected you to wake me.”
Shaking off a touch of lingering disappointment, I hopped nimbly from the bed.
“It’s fine, I’m not upset.”
Truly.
…Truly.
Now, possessing two sturdy legs, I could fend for myself and find food without relying on anyone else.
Indeed, I was healthy now!
“Hehe.”
A quiet chuckle inadvertently escaped my lips, but I quickly pressed them shut, lest I disturb Noona and Mother.
‘I mustn’t wake them.’
Rising onto my tiptoes, I crept silently towards the door and pushed it open.
“Where’s the kitchen?”
Upon reflection, I realized I had never ventured to the kitchen by myself.
The last time, Noona had simply led me there, and I hadn’t thought to memorize the route.
“…No matter, I’m sure it will appear if I just keep going.”
Just as it had when I’d given Noona a tour of the house.
Surely, it would reveal itself if I merely walked onward.
With this reassuring thought, I began to run down the hallway.
-Pitter-patter-patter.
My bare feet struck the floor, creating a satisfying pitter-patter.
“Whoosh.”
A whooshing sound unexpectedly burst from my lips.
In an instant, I worried I might rouse the servants or the elderly grandmothers and grandfathers, so I quickly quieted myself.
“…Whoosh.”
It was undeniably difficult to suppress. This, I thought, was my very instinct crying out.
As I continued to stride confidently through the house, however…
“…Hiccup.”
From the left corridor, the faint sound of a hiccup reached my ears.
“…What was that?”
Someone was wandering about? At this late hour?
It seemed highly unlikely.
With my Charm cooldown already reset, I resolved to deal with any dangerous intruder and swiftly rounded the left corridor, dashing forward.
-Pitter-patter-patter.
The instant I rounded the corner, I spotted something cloaked in a robe, clumsily scrambling away before my eyes.
‘…A thief?’
What audacity! To attempt thievery within these very walls?
No, perhaps it was a spy instead.
One from that so-called Empire.
According to Noona, they were a nefarious organization known for conducting peculiar experiments.
“…I’ll have to teach them a lesson.”
How dare they touch my Noona?
You’re dead.
Fueled by such determination, I relentlessly pursued the fleeing, robed figure before me.
“…They’re really slow.”
It seemed unlikely that my opponent was a spy after all.
Even as I continued my pursuit, they were already panting heavily, barely able to maintain their pace.
“I should simply jump.”
I would leap, positioning myself directly in front of my opponent.
A perfect plan.
No sooner had the plan crystallized in my mind than I put it into immediate execution.
“Ta-da.”
I successfully executed a flawless, almost gymnastic maneuver, one that would have undoubtedly brought tears and applause from Mother or Father had they witnessed it.
Having finally positioned myself ahead, the fleeing figure in the robe turned, glancing around as if to ascertain my new location.
‘I wish I could see their face.’
The instant that thought crossed my mind.
“…U-uwaaaah!”
The robed figure, turning its head, met my gaze and recoiled in terror, stumbling backward.
‘Oh, an Elf?’
It was the very individual I had discovered and rescued that morning.
“Oh, stay back!”
She appeared utterly terrified.
Just as I was about to deem them rude, despite having saved them out of pity…
‘Mino Lascaris, try to put yourself in their shoes. If you’d cooked a meal, would you appreciate it if the recipient made such a foul expression?’
‘No, damn it, Noona, is this a pancake or a lump of coal!’
‘Eat it.’
Noona’s words of wisdom, imparted to me during my middle school days, suddenly resurfaced.
I resolved to consider the situation from their perspective.
Imagine: one loses consciousness, collapses, then awakens in an unfamiliar room, only to see a dragon lumbering expressionlessly towards them.
‘…….’
‘That would indeed be terrifying.’
But then, why had they emerged from the room at all?
Couldn’t they have simply remained within its confines?
-Rumble.
‘Ah, could they be hungry as well?’
Upon reflection, it seemed entirely plausible.
They hadn’t, after all, consumed anything since that morning.
They had every reason to be ravenous.
Having roughly pieced together my thoughts, I approached the elf girl who stood shivering before me.
“Oh, I said, stay back!”
The Elf cried out shrilly.
She must be quite terrified. I simply acknowledged this and dismissed it.
Hunger, no doubt, would make anyone particularly sensitive.
Especially given her apparent age, a time of rapid growth.
I extended my hand towards the slender girl, who was still attempting to push me away.
“Get up, you silly thing.”
“……? A baby?”
Well, technically, I *was* a baby, wasn’t I?
Everyone around me certainly seemed to think so.
Having reincarnated, I was, by definition, a baby.
After a brief three-second pause to collect my thoughts, I replied.
“Yes. Why, have you never seen a baby before?”
-Whirr-whirr-whirr.
I felt my tail wagging vigorously.
Though I couldn’t explain why, I decided to simply allow it.
I surmised it was likely just another one of a baby’s innate instincts.
“I rescued you, yet here you are, still cowering. Are you, too, hungry?”
The Elf, who had been staring vacantly into the air without uttering a word, suddenly flinched and responded.
“N-no…!”
-GRRRRUUUMBLE!!!!
“Oh, is that thunder?”
“Ugh…”
The Elf had indeed attempted to speak, but her stomach’s thunderous grumble had drowned out her words.
A knowing grin spread across my face as I looked at the Elf.
“P-please, could you just turn your head? I’m quite embarrassed.”
“No.”
“That’s… that’s so mean…”
With her ears flushed crimson, the Elf, covering her face with both hands, looked rather charming.
“I was just about to find something to eat; would you care to join me?”
“C-can I really?”
“Yes.”
“Th-then let’s go together!”
The Elf lowered her hood, then bravely rose to her feet and took my hand.
When I cast a questioning glance her way, the Elf flinched, then offered a quick apology.
“S-sorry.”
“No, it’s quite alright to hold my hand. I was merely surprised.”
“R-really?”
The Elf’s ears twitched with evident joy, and she then firmly grasped my hand.
“What’s your name?”
“Mino Lascaris.”
“Mino Lascaris?”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?”
Should I count my previous life, or not?
After a brief moment of deliberation, I ultimately decided against including it.
After all, a good third of those thirty years had been utterly wasted.
“One year old.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I was only recently born.”
“Oh, wow, then I’m the older one, aren’t I?”
“How old are you?”
“I, the older one, am thirty!”
Good heavens, to declare one’s age of thirty with such an open chest and such evident pride!
She spoke with a freshness akin to a twenty-year-old boasting of their youth.
Thirty years old, yet her appearance suggested she was, at most, a second-year middle schooler.
Long-lived species certainly seemed to possess distinct characteristics.
“What is your name, older sister?”
“I’m Ramir Silvadir.”
“I see.”
Ramir Silvadir, that’s a nice name.
“It’s a pretty name.”
“…Yes, it is a precious name, bestowed upon me by my mother.”
“I see.”
It certainly sounded like a cherished name, yet why did her expression turn so somber?
Sensing a deeply burdensome story, I decided it best to leave the matter untouched.
After all, I was not so heartless as to pry into someone’s somber past.
Following this, we continued to converse about various topics as we made our way towards the kitchen.
Being hungry, the aroma was far more potent than usual, so locating the kitchen proved to be no great challenge; however…
“…Princess Y-you? (TL Note: The character is speaking with food in their mouth, making the words unclear, but they are trying to say ‘Princess Your Highness?’)”
My gaze fell upon Hazel, the head maid, who was currently stuffing food into her mouth.
“…Pig?”
“N-not a pig, Your Highness!!”
The word ‘pig’ had, in an instant, inadvertently burst from my lips.
I gasped, clapping a hand over my mouth, but the word had evidently already entered Hazel’s—no, not her mouth, but her ears.
“P-Princess Your Highness, that’s not what happened! I received permission from His Highness…! I am absolutely, unequivocally not secretly pilfering food!”
“…Father gave you permission?”
“Yes! I was caught eating it last time! No, that’s not quite right. It’s because we’ve known each other for a long time, so…”
She had mentioned being the Captain of the Royal Guard’s younger sister, hadn’t she?
Given that Captain Uncle was Father’s genuine bosom friend (TL Note: ‘찐 부랄친구’ (jjin buralchingu) is a Korean slang term for a very close male friend, literally ‘real testicle friend’, implying a bond like brothers), it stood to reason he would be close with Hazel as well.
“In that case, Hazel, would you be so kind as to prepare something for us to eat?”
“Us…? Oh, the person beside you, from earlier today…?”
“Yes, she’s my friend.”
“I see.”
Hazel’s adorable, flustered expression vanished, swiftly replaced by her usual impassive demeanor and monotone voice, indicative of her professional mode.
I wished she wouldn’t be so strictly business-like; a touch more friendliness would have been pleasant.
However, I hesitated to voice this thought, so I simply took Ramir Silvadir’s hand, led her to a chair, and settled her beside me.
“Where are you from, Ramir Silvadir?”
“Th-the Empire…”
“The Empire?!”
My eyebrow twitched involuntarily in that instant.
“…Th-the Empire…”
Observing my reaction, Ramir Silvadir’s face visibly clouded over.
“…I, too, despise being from the Empire.”
Ramir Silvadir then bit down hard on her lower lip.
“You’ll make yourself bleed.”
“…Yes. Sorry.”
Immediately after, she looked at me and offered a faint smile.
“…I came to the Dragon Kingdom to study abroad, you see.”
“Study abroad?”
“Yes, at Flare Academy.”
“So you are to be a junior there, then.”
Upon hearing the name of the Academy, Hazel’s tail began to wag gently from side to side.
“Are you also an alumnus of the Academy, Hazel?”
“Certainly. Though I enrolled after my older brother and His Highness had already graduated. There’s a two-hundred-year age gap, meaning a one hundred and ninety-five-year difference between our enrollments, you see.”
“?”
“Why do you look at me so?”
She spoke of a two-hundred-year age difference as casually as if it were merely two years.
Was that what a dragon was like? Truly, it was admirable.
“Is such an age difference considered negligible?”
“?…Naturally, it is a significant difference.”
“Yet why do you speak with such nonchalance…?”
“What, pray tell, is so significant about an age difference?”
Ah, I had forgotten again.
That for dragons, age was truly nothing more than a mere number.
“What is the approximate lifespan of an Elf?”
“Uh, huh?!”
Ramir Silvadir, who had been quietly attempting to stash cabbage into her subspace, flinched as she was discovered, her body recoiling.
Both Hazel’s eyes and mine narrowed simultaneously.
“Remove it.”
“Indeed, remove it.”
“…I’m sorry…”
Such blatant thievery, what an outrage!
“I-I was just so terribly hungry, ah, ahaha.”
“If you find yourself hungry, please do not hesitate to inform us at any time, for you are an honored guest.”
“H-honored guest? Me?”
“Indeed. Are you not Princess Your Highness’s friend?”
Ramir Silvadir stared, wide-eyed, directly into my own.
I offered her a simple smile, without uttering another word.
“F-friend! That’s right! I am her friend!”
If one were to combine my previous life with my current age, I would indeed be her peer.
It was not an inaccurate statement.
Ramir Silvadir beamed, her face alight with a wide smile, as she patiently awaited the completion of the meal.