Chapter 6: The Little Girl’s Spell Was Even More Useful

Chapter 6 : Little Girl Spells Are More Useful

Richard gazed at the scene briefly before averting his eyes.

Aurina lowered her delicate feet, clad in white silk stockings, and declared with a mischievous grin, “Little bug, this is what a true dragon looks like!”

Richard replied, “But you still need to wear slippers.”

“Why?” she asked, her golden eyes narrowing.

“Because you’re young,” Richard said, studying Aurina’s cherubic face.

Her eyes sparkled with naive clarity, utterly unaware of her own charm.

“It’s better to wear slippers, trust me.”

“Gah?!”

Aurina huffed, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you doubting this king’s majesty?”

“No, little girl, it’s best to cover your feet,” Richard said, casting a pleading glance toward the freckled-faced matron nearby.

“What do you think?”

“Absolutely,” the matron chimed in, her tone earnest.

“A young girl’s bare feet attract the wrong kind of attention from creepy uncles. Those perverts have poisonous eyes—they’ll curse your soles with needle pricks!”

Aurina shot the matron a withering look, as if she were the village idiot.

“Do you take this king for a fool?”

As the reigning champion of the Crimson Dragon title for ten consecutive tournaments, how could she not see through such a blatant lie?

Aurina tilted her chin upward defiantly.

“Needle pricks? This king’s feet are far too mighty to fall ill like some frail little bug.”

Richard sighed inwardly, lamenting the limitations of his Oath of Devotion.

As a paladin, weaving white lies for the greater good was maddeningly inconvenient.

“The truth is… bare feet like yours can stir unwholesome thoughts in some men. You’re just a little girl, and those urges might lead them to harm you. Even if you’re a dragon, I’ll protect you, but such behavior is vile and unhealthy for your growth.”

Aurina heard none of it.

In her human form, she’d always gone barefoot before, and she considered it a mark of her bold, masculine spirit.

Besides…

She glanced down, lifting one foot.

Her toes wiggled playfully within the misty white silk, faintly visible.

Such a dry, slender, delicate limb—hardly seductive.

Hmph, this little bug was clearly scheming, trying to tame his dragon master with tricks.

She countered sharply, “What, are you going to get all flustered over these feet?”

Richard fell silent, pondering how to respond.

“I’m not wearing slippers,” Aurina declared, dropping her foot and crossing her arms, determined to cling to her last shred of dignity.

“Now fetch me some footless stockings—don’t pretend you don’t have them, I saw them!”

Despite her relentless fussing, the freckled matron, still muttering about needle pricks, handed Aurina a pair of white and black footless stockings.

Aurina plopped onto a chair, hoisting her long, slender leg into the air.

In front of Richard, she tugged her skirt hem downward, revealing a flash of pale thigh.

Her thumb hooked into the silk stocking, peeling it off slowly.

Like stripping the husk from a bamboo shoot, she unveiled the tender flesh beneath.

After discarding the stocking, she slipped on the footless pair, exposing her toes and the sculpted curve of her heel.

Richard snapped back to attention.

“You should’ve changed in the dressing room.”

“Too much hassle,” Aurina said dismissively, tossing the discarded wad of white silk at him.

“Hold this.”

Richard caught it reflexively.

The fabric was soft, warm with the lingering heat of her draconic body.

Before he could process it, Aurina grabbed the pile of women’s clothing the matron had brought out and dumped it all into his arms.

Richard hurriedly caught the neatly folded garments and set them on the table.

“This isn’t proper, especially for a young girl like you.”

Aurina smirked.

“Exactly because I’m a young girl, you’d better carry it all properly for me.”

Richard’s head throbbed.

Educating Aurina was shaping up to be a Herculean task.

He found himself missing his fiancée dearly.

Aurina strutted toward the door with an air of triumph.

The matron smiled at Richard.

“With a ten percent discount, that’ll be two gold coins and three silvers.”

Steep.

Enough to buy a donkey loaded with fifteen days’ worth of provisions.

Richard winced but didn’t haggle.

Aurina had already worn the items, and the matron had braved mortal peril to dress her.

He nodded.

“Fine.” Then, turning, he called out, “Aurina.”

She spun around.

“Gah?”

“Pay her for the transaction,” Richard said.

“I’ll show you how to make a proper purchase.”

“What?! This king has to pay?”

“Yes, because the coin purse I gave you is for buying clothes.”

“Buy?”

Aurina’s crimson dragon tail flicked angrily from beneath her white skirt.

“This king doesn’t buy! Forcing me into feminine attire and making me hand over shiny gold coins? I’d rather die!”

Richard approached her.

“Be good.”

“I’m a little girl!”

Aurina shot back, beginning to mutter an incantation.

“Exactly, and while you’re still young, we need to curb that wicked red dragon nature of yours. Come here.”

Seeing her “little girl” charm fail, Aurina bolted, her bare soles flashing as she lifted her feet high.

But Richard was faster.

His hand shot out, seizing her pale red dragon horn.

Aurina thrashed, yanking her head. “GAAAH!”

But she was no match for Richard’s strength. Gripping both her horns, he dragged her to the counter.

“Take out your coin purse. I’ll teach you how to trade.”

The matron eyed the twin skid marks Aurina’s feet left on the floor and sighed.

“Raising a kid isn’t easy, is it?”

“Let go of my horns!”

Richard released her.

Aurina glared at him, muttering, “You’re only slightly stronger for now.”

But in wits, this king crushes you!

Opening her mouth wide, she reached inside and pulled out a patched coin purse, perfectly dry.

“Remarkable,” Richard said. “You can store things in your stomach?”

Aurina’s golden eyes flicked toward him.

“True dragons have nine stomachs. Using one as a spatial pocket is beyond the comprehension of puny little bugs. How pitiful.”

Richard considered correcting her racial bias but decided against it.

She’d endured enough indignity today, and teaching her to trade was already taxing enough.

Aurina clambered onto the counter, sitting like a duck.

Her feet dangled from beneath her skirt, the footless stockings accentuating the soft curve of her arches.

This way, she could loom over the matron.

A true dragon could never allow a roadside bug to look down on her.

“How much?”

The matron smiled.

“You’re as cute as my daughter. These are Nuremberg’s finest fashion, fit for a princess. With a ten percent discount, two gold coins and three silver.”

Aurina snorted.

“Hmph. Silk fabric, shoddy craftsmanship, not a single gem. Your cost price is one gold, six silver.”

The matron’s smile froze.

Her actual cost was one gold, six silvers, and one copper.

“You’re just a little girl—what do you know? It’s not that cheap.”

“I’m a true dragon,” Aurina said, lifting her chin.

“As the noblest, fieriest, greediest red dragon, I can appraise value with a single glance.”

Richard recalled something then.

A warlock in his party had mentioned red dragons’ uncanny knack for valuation, though he still wondered how they managed it amidst fluctuating gold prices.

“Seems like… our team’s warlock did mention that.”

“I’ve got rent to pay, and these clothes have been gathering dust,” the matron said. “It all costs money.”

“How much is your rent?”

“Two gold coins.”

Aurina scanned her.

“Rent’s not that high, and this shop is yours, isn’t it? Valued at… roughly forty-one gold coins.”

The matron’s face stiffened.

Richard couldn’t resist.

“And this clothing—was it really for your daughter? Or do you even have one?”

The matron laughed awkwardly.

“I… have a son. Haha, we all need to make a living. How about one gold, nine silvers?”

“Deal,” Aurina said, pinching out the coins from her purse.

The matron tugged at the coins in Aurina’s grip, but they didn’t budge.

“Could you loosen your hand?”

Aurina’s tail swished irritably.

She glanced at Richard, huffed, and let go.

“Thank you kindly,” the matron said, sliding open a drawer filled with copper coins, sprinkled with silver and glinting gold like gems in a crown.

Aurina’s hands darted forward, each snatching a fistful of coins.

The matron gaped.

Richard seized both of Aurina’s arms with one hand and sighed.

“Put the coins back. No stealing.”

“I didn’t steal,” Aurina protested. “I was just taking.”

“That’s very wrong. Let go.”

“No!”

Richard inhaled deeply, prying her fingers open one by one.

The coins clinked back into the drawer.

Aurina’s nose twitched, her eyes stinging.

Though she’d fooled this dim-witted Richard thoroughly, her fall from grace was undeniable.

Stripped of most of her power, she could only watch helplessly as even a single copper slipped from her grasp.

Back in her prime, no one dared pry a coin from her claws.

No, it must be this frail female dragonling form. Why were tears welling up?

She couldn’t cry in front of her mortal enemy.

Aurina fought back her tears.

Richard noticed.

“Are you about to cry? Did it hurt?”

“No! This king isn’t crying—not at all!”

Aurina jerked her head up, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

The matron, hastily shutting the drawer, scolded, “You big oaf, you’re terrible with kids. Yanking a sweet little girl’s fingers like that—look, you made her cry.”

“I’m considering the merits of corporal punishment.”

“Oh, come now,” the matron said.

“You, sir, in that plate armor, striding so confidently—you’re clearly a fine warrior. But raising a child isn’t like swinging a sword. Be patient, lead by example.”

“Exactly,” Aurina piped up.

“Little girls get what they want, and you should obey like a good goblin.”

Richard turned to the matron.

“Do you ever discipline your child?”

She hesitated, sensing an odd compulsion to answer truthfully under Richard’s gaze.

“Yes, but not often.”

“How many times a month?”

“About ten,” she admitted.

“When my son’s too naughty, a quick swat on the bottom does the trick.”

Aurina’s hands flew to shield her noble rear, glaring up at Richard in warning.

“Alright, we’re done here,” Richard said.

“Oh, your cloak’s still in the dressing room,” the matron said, retrieving a sky-blue cloak and holding it out to Richard.

Aurina intercepted it, yanking it into her arms and clutching it tightly.

“This is mine now.”

“Aurina.”

“You gave it to me, so it’s mine,” she declared, unfurling the travel-worn cloak.

Its edges were frayed, once lined with gold thread. She appraised it: one gold coin.

“Being chosen by this king is your honor as a little bug. Gah!”

Richard flicked her forehead.

“Mind your manners, and you can keep the cloak since you like it.”

With that, he turned and left.

“Hmph!”

Aurina trailed after him.

Stepping outside, she saw the bustling street, filled with people who should be gazing up at her in awe.

“Richard.”

She kicked his shin lightly.

“What?”

“I’m a little girl,” Aurina said, decked out in her girlish outfit, thrusting her chin at him boldly.

“Carry me. This king demands to sit on your shoulders and survey her subjects!”

Richard studied her.

Her cascade of red hair spilled to her slim waist, stark against her snow-white dress.

Her hands reached out like tender shoots, and her restless toes wiggled in the footless stockings.

“Did you learn how to trade?”

Aurina nodded vigorously.

“Then consider this your reward.”

Richard crouched, facing away.

A sly grin spread across Aurina’s face.

With a gleeful hop, she leaped onto his back, her right foot briefly pressing against his skull.

Pointing forward, she shouted, “Onward! Forward, my trusty steed!”

“Aurina!”