“Gah!”
With a heart full of grief and indignation, Aurina dove straight for the curry-stewed swordfish, opening her mouth and devouring it frantically.
Sophia, hearing that dinner was ready, came down leisurely.
She saw Aurina with her mouth wide open, hands frantically stuffing roasted meat, fish slices, and more from various plates into her belly.
Aurina’s face was filled with sorrow, like a lone soldier guarding a fortress against a sea of enemies, fighting desperately to protect her homeland, her loved ones, and those dear to her.
“Richard,” Sophia whispered, startled, “what’s wrong with her?”
“She paid for it,” Richard said. “On her own initiative.”
“Paid?” Sophia said.
“You mean, the daughter of the Dread Dragon paid?”
Though she wasn’t the Dread Dragon itself, the thought of that terrifying, sky-darkening, legendary greedy dragon—who, even in its dying moments, would rather burn itself than leave a single copper coin to its slayer—having a daughter who willingly paid was astonishing.
Truly unbelievable.
“Exactly.”
“I thought this whole cart was full of gifts you bought for her.”
For some reason, Sophia felt a wave of relief, a smile creeping onto her face.
“Of course not,” Richard said.
“I told her upfront this was a transaction, but as usual, she didn’t listen to a word I said.”
Aurina’s small figure looked so tiny from behind, yet she kept gobbling food at the table, making Sophia worry.
“Is this… maybe a bit too much?”
Sophia said softly.
“You know, your oath to always keep your promises.”
“As long as the outcome is good, it’s fine.”
“Gah! Hic.”
Aurina turned her head, her cute face showing rare, deep-seated resentment, as if she were glaring at a debtor who refused to pay, squandering gold in a den of debauchery.
Her cheeks were puffed out like a hamster’s, still chewing food relentlessly.
Sophia’s hands itched, wanting to pinch those cheeks.
“Quick! Quick!”
Aurina swallowed a mouthful of food and shouted, “Beast of burden! Hurry up and cook for this king!”
Richard explained, “I told her she could eat as much as she wanted, and the rest is mine. Oh, your portion’s over there.”
“Don’t dawdle,” Aurina said, swallowing another huge bite, finally clearing her mouth.
“Don’t think this king doesn’t know what sneaky things you’re plotting. I’ll definitely finish this little fish!”
Sophia glanced at the cart, thinking the swordfish might actually have a chance of outlasting Aurina.
Richard, amused, said, “I’ve got plenty of ideas for innovating dishes.”
“She’s eating heartily, so I’ll get back to work.”
Sophia walked over to Aurina, who was still focused on devouring the fish.
Sophia watched, wide-eyed, as Aurina held a piece of fish meat as long as half her body and stuffed it into her mouth.
It was unbelievable—her mouth stretched to the size of half her body in an instant.
How was that possible?
Sophia blinked, and in that moment, Aurina pulled out a fishbone long enough to serve as a short spear.
Sophia asked, “How… how did you eat that?”
Hearing someone speak, Aurina instinctively shielded the plate behind her with her body.
Seeing it was Sophia, the female she’d “conquered,” the one destined to bear her dragon offspring and the key reason for securing child-rearing gold from Richard, she relaxed and said,
“Hic, hic, take whatever you want… I’m the most voracious dragon. This king thinks it’s fine. Come, want some?”
Aurina grabbed a handful of braised fish chunks with one hand and offered them to Sophia.
Sophia saw the sauce dripping between Aurina’s delicate fingers and quickly waved her hands.
“No, thank you.”
Aurina casually tossed the fish into her mouth.
Sophia noticed something odd: when Aurina pulled her hand back, the braised sauce that had stained her fingers was completely gone.
Dragons are truly magical.
Sophia didn’t have a big appetite, but watching Aurina eat so ferociously—voraciously, relentlessly—her own appetite surprisingly grew.
After tasting some herb-roasted fish, she tried Richard’s newly developed spicy-sour swordfish.
After eating, she washed her hands, brushed her teeth, and cleaned her face like a proper lady.
She then pulled up a chair and sat nearby, watching Aurina eat.
Aurina’s eating speed finally surpassed some threshold, leaving the table empty, while Richard cooked furiously.
“Hic! Hurry up, hurry up!”
Aurina stood on the dirty tablecloth, belly protruding, pointing at Richard.
“This king is going to finish this fish today!”
It was a grueling battle, a tug-of-war between human and dragon.
It would’ve been easier to just cut the fish into pieces and roast it all, but Richard, with his dedication to cooking, refused to be so sloppy.
He made one dish, Aurina ate one dish, and the swordfish slowly dwindled.
Sophia yawned, noticing it was getting late with no clear winner yet.
Following the philosophy of “lying down is better than sitting,” she returned to her room and lay on the bed.
She meant to just rest for a bit and read some scriptures later.
But the sounds of cooking outside, combined with Aurina’s gah-gah cries, were like hypnotic white noise.
Closing my eyes will help me rest better, and it’s not a waste of time.
With that thought, Sophia drifted into sleep.
In her half-awake state, she heard the creak of the door opening and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
Before she could fully wake, a pair of small hands shook her back and forth.
“Sophia, Sophia, wake up!”
Sophia buried her head under the blanket, but Aurina persistently pushed and pushed.
Sophia sat up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Aurina’s belly was round, like a child pregnant out of wedlock.
Sophia gasped, “How much did you eat?”
“Hic, a lot, a lot, only a tiny bit left.”
Aurina raised her hand, her thumb and index finger nearly touching as she tried to minimize the gap between them.
“You can’t have eaten half the fish.”
“You dare question the greatest red hic… king?!”
Sophia got out of bed, realizing she hadn’t removed her chainmail, no wonder sleep was uncomfortable.
She went to the window overlooking the courtyard, pushed it open, and saw Richard packing away the remaining swordfish meat, pulling it from the ice and stuffing it into an emptied interdimensional storage bag.
Only a portion of swordfish meat the size of an adult’s body remained.
Sophia, incredulous, said, “You actually ate that much.”
“Didn’t finish it.”
Aurina lowered her head, mimicking Richard’s sigh.
Because she’d just appraised her belongings and found thirteen gold coins missing.
Do you know what kind of psychological shadow that casts on a red dragon?
And she didn’t even finish the meat she bought.
In that moment, Aurina wanted to end it all, no longer trapped in this small, female, low-capacity body.
Such feelings of self-loathing and inferiority were rare in her entire dragon life.
Sophia picked Aurina up, skeptically testing her weight.
Astonishingly, Aurina, who had eaten nearly six hundred kilograms of swordfish, felt barely heavier in her arms.
Aurina reached out, rubbing Sophia’s warm, full, soft chest, her little face nuzzling against it.
In this cold, hateful world for a dragon, only this offered a sliver of warmth.
Her small face was full of sorrow, her mood utterly depressed.
Because she realized again that she lacked the thing she was so proud of to make Sophia, her warm sanctuary, bear dragon offspring.
If she doesn’t bear dragon offspring, the gold coins for raising the child stay with Richard, and I can’t take them back.
If I can’t take them back, I can’t beat Richard.
It’s as if, for the foreseeable future, I’ve basically been robbed by Richard.
Aurina’s tail drooped lifelessly as she said, “It’s too hard to be a dragon. Sophia, big sister, can I sleep here tonight?
I don’t want to see Richard’s smug face!”
“Sure.”