Yuriko knew there were princes, nobles, and aristocrats from various countries at the Academy. But when a princess from a certain country stood before her, she still felt a hint of surprise.
Except this princess didn’t look like one at all. She seemed foolish, lacking any trace of elegant poise.
“Do you remember your home phone number? I’ll call your house and have someone pick you up.”
Longyu blinked. After taking two seconds to understand Yuriko’s meaning, she shook her head.
“I don’t remember stuff like that. But I do know where I live.”
‘You little brat. How can you not even remember your home phone number? At this rate, even if someone kidnapped you, they wouldn’t be able to demand a ransom.’
“What kind of world do you live in that you don’t even know these things…”
Yuriko was exasperated. Since she couldn’t reach Longyu’s family or servants, the only option left was to take her home herself.
“Then I’ll take you home. You can at least remember your home address, right?”
When Longyu heard that Yuriko was going to take her home, she shook her head in refusal and stepped back a couple of paces.
“No way! I haven’t had my fill of fun yet. I’m not going back!”
Longyu’s uncooperative attitude gave Yuriko a headache. Here was a classmate who shared the same classroom, yet she acted like she didn’t know anything. If she let this Little Dragon Girl wander the streets any longer, she was afraid someone might trick her into leaving.
As a fellow student, Yuriko felt she had a duty to warn her. Besides, Longyu was a princess. If something happened, it would definitely land Yuriko in huge trouble.
“Tiamat, under normal circumstances, I shouldn’t interfere with a classmate’s actions. But given how you’re acting today, I don’t think you should be left alone outside.”
“Hmph! I’m a princess. I don’t have to listen to you. Even if you helped me, I still won’t!”
Longyu stuck her tongue out at Yuriko, then took off running.
‘What—’
Yuriko watched the fleeing Longyu throw a tantrum. If she didn’t know they were classmates, she would have thought some little kid had escaped from home.
Should she chase after her? She didn’t seem to have the right to do that. Giving a warning was already fulfilling her duty as a classmate. But letting Longyu run wild outside still made her worry about the girl’s safety.
It was fine in the North District. The Mafia there had been wiped out by Yuriko. If Longyu ran off to another district and ran into the Mafia, it would be dangerous.
‘Hmm… would a Dragon be in danger from humans?’
But what if someone sweet-talked her into something? Wouldn’t that be a huge mess!
Forget it, she’d chase her!
Half a minute after running, Longyu looked back and didn’t see Yuriko following. So she stopped by the roadside.
“She probably won’t catch up, right?”
Longyu muttered to herself, then turned her gaze forward. The moment she spun around, she collided with a pair of giant balloons and was sent bouncing back.
“Ouch!”
Longyu slammed right into Yuriko, who nearly fell over. This Little Dragon Girl was incredibly strong. If she had pushed any harder, Yuriko might have been knocked flat.
Patting the fabric over her chest, Yuriko addressed Longyu, who was shaking her head.
“Tiamat, done running?”
Longyu looked up at Yuriko as if she’d seen a ghost, then glanced back.
“That’s weird. You definitely weren’t chasing me just now. How did you suddenly get in front of me?”
“Because I live near here, so I just took a shortcut.”
After living in the North District for so many years, Yuriko had long since memorized the terrain. Besides, with Longyu’s stubby little legs, she couldn’t run fast. Yuriko could catch up in just a few steps.
“This time, I’ll run in a straight line! I don’t believe you can take a shortcut!”
As Longyu was about to run off again, Yuriko spoke up before she could move.
“Please wait, Tiamat. I’m not going to force you to go back. So please stop running.”
Hearing that, Longyu actually stopped and asked, “Really?”
“I’m not your servant. Why would I do that?”
“Should have said so sooner~”
Longyu let out a sigh of relief. She thought Yuriko was going to drag her home.
“But I still need to warn you. The city at night can be very dangerous, especially for girls like you. You’re the easiest target for an attack.”
“Hmph! I’m not scared!” Longyu clenched her little fist and swung it through the air a few times. “If anyone dares to attack me, I’ll beat them up good!”
“I know you’re tough, Tiamat. Those bad guys wouldn’t stand a chance against you. But if you hurt someone, the Security Officers will arrest you afterward. And those Security Officers are really mean. Do you know what they’ll do to you?”
Completely unaware that Yuriko was fooling her, Longyu reflexively asked back:
“Huh? What will they do to me?”
“Oh, they have plenty of methods.” Yuriko recalled the two days she had been arrested. Then she remembered that Longyu was a foodie. Every time she saw her, she was eating, so food must be what she cared about most. So she deliberately scared Longyu.
“They’ll lock you up and chain your hands and feet. If you resist, they’ll beat you with sticks. For the next several days, you’ll only get to eat plain White Rice. You won’t be allowed to sleep either. The moment you doze off, they’ll splash you awake with cold water!”
It was all made up by Yuriko. Anyone with common sense would know she was lying. But obviously, Longyu was a little fool who severely lacked common sense. Yuriko’s words had her terrified.
“Eek! That’s horrible! They’d only feed me plain White Rice and not let me sleep! That’s torture!” Longyu hugged herself in fear.
‘The most important things in a dragon’s life are eating and sleeping. And they want to take both away from me at the same time! This is worse than the death penalty!’
“See? I’m telling you all this for your own safety. If you don’t want to eat plain White Rice every meal, go home quickly!”
“Ugh… fine then…”
Longyu agreed reluctantly. But when she looked at the street, she suddenly had a problem.
“Where is this place anyway?”
‘As expected, it was the right call not to leave this girl to her own devices. If I weren’t here, I wonder if this Little Dragon Girl would even make it home today.’
After struggling to recall for a while, Longyu simply couldn’t remember the way home. So she had no choice but to turn her pleading eyes to Yuriko.
“Tiamat, are you lost? That’s a problem.” Yuriko put on a troubled expression. “As much as I’d like to help, my Cat at home is waiting to be fed. I can’t bear to let her go hungry. What should I do?”
In truth, Yuriko was just teasing Longyu. She had never planned to abandon her. No matter what Longyu said, Yuriko would still take her home.
“Ugh…” Longyu clasped her hands together, finding it hard to swallow her pride.
Yuriko stole a glance at her and added one more line, “If you get caught, you might not even get plain White Rice, you know.”
“!”
At the mention of possibly not even having plain White Rice, Longyu panicked, tossed her pride aside, and grabbed Yuriko’s arm to plead:
“Please help me! I don’t want to go hungry! When I get home, I’ll give you money! I’ll give you lots of money!”
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