“Dragon—ancient and powerful magical creatures, each with a size that blots out the sun and sky.”
“Its mouth spews white flames, incinerating kingdoms! Its lightning rends the heavens, shaking the entire continent!”
“They possess endless treasures and an incredibly strong possessiveness, refusing even their own kind easy access to their hoards.”
“But under the combined efforts of adventurers across the continent, dragons gradually faded from sight until they vanished entirely.”
Lu Xin sat at the wooden table, holding a children’s book and savoring every word.
Such books were common here, covering topics like finding legendary treasures, but most were tales modeled after famous adventurers.
Although he used learning about the land and its people as an excuse, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Putting down the book, Lu Xin couldn’t help but wonder—did dragons really exist in this world?
A dragon was proof of kingship.
He still dreamed of riding one and becoming a dragon rider.
Lu Xin turned to Ailya, who was staring at the cake, then back at him, her craving written all over her face.
Suddenly, Lu Xin realized that Ailya’s gluttony and possessiveness were quite dragon-like.
But when it came to strength and treasure, that was a whole other extreme—though he wasn’t much better himself.
“Ailya.”
“Huh?”
“Are you a dragon?”
Ailya stared blankly at him. Just as she was about to speak, Lu Xin walked over, cut the cake, and started talking to himself.
“Just kidding. You’re too talented at eating for that.”
He sliced off a piece and handed it to her. She squinted unhappily at him, clearly protesting his words.
Helplessly, Lu Xin brought the cake to her lips. She opened her mouth, took a bite, and then pouted.
His mouth twitched as he repeated the action.
After feeding her several pieces, Ailya finally exhaled contentedly and flopped onto the table.
“So good—soft and fluffy, sweet but not greasy.”
Lu Xin sighed in relief and cut himself a piece to try.
As expected of him, it was well-made.
The two of them sat in the yard, eating cake piece by piece until it was completely gone.
The sunlight warmed them as a few birds occasionally landed on the fence, hopping around.
“Lu Xin,” Ailya suddenly spoke.
“Hm?”
“Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?”
She tilted her head, her tone unusually serious.
“Are you just going to live your days fixing people’s hair and baking bread?”
“Or do you want… to go out on adventures, be an adventurer, or travel around?”
Her voice carried clear anticipation as she mentioned the latter.
Without hesitation, Lu Xin said bluntly, “You know what?”
“Know what?”
“A cow that wants grass can’t solve the problem just by shoving its head down.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I want to travel, but I’m still too weak. Right now, not building up my strength is just wishful thinking.”
“Once I’m strong enough, I’ll do whatever I want.”
Hearing this, Ailya’s eyes widened. She raised her fair, slender hand and patted him on the back.
“Heh, that’s some ambition. I like it.”
They both laughed, not noticing the figure standing outside the fence for quite some time.
“Um… is this Mr. Lu Xin’s house?”
A timid voice came from beyond the fence.
Lu Xin and Ailya turned at the same time to see a girl of about sixteen or seventeen standing at the gate, wearing a simple dress with her brown hair tied in two braids.
She held an orange cat in her arms.
Her face was flushed, as if she had mustered up all her courage to speak.
“Yes, I’m Lu Xin. Can I help you?”
The girl’s eyes lit up as she hurried into the yard, speaking urgently:
“Mr. Lu Xin, my name is Lina.”
“I heard you can use magic—is that true?”
“Uh… yeah, I guess.”
“Then could you please help me find Xiaomi…”
As she spoke, tears started falling. The orange cat in her arms licked them away.
Lu Xin glanced at Ailya, who shrugged, signaling, “Your call.”
“Don’t cry. Take it slow.” Lu Xin pulled over a chair and poured her a glass of water. “When did the cat run off?”
Lina sniffled. “Yesterday. It suddenly ran into the forest. It usually comes back on its own, but this time it never returned.”
“I looked around the edge of the forest, but I was too scared to go deep…”
Lu Xin raised an eyebrow.
The forest was now sealed off by the Knight Order. He had just been warned today—going in again would be a blatant disregard for their authority.
Plus, the forest itself was dangerous. This girl probably couldn’t afford proper compensation.
But seeing her cry like this…
“What does your cat look like?”
Hearing this, Lina quickly lifted the orange cat in her arms.
“Same as Big Orange here—orange, very chubby, with a little red bell on its neck.”
Lu Xin recalled his experience in the forest today, his expression turning odd.
Orange, chubby, with a bell.
When he stabbed a slime with his wooden spear, he might have locked eyes with that cat.
But he couldn’t leave now. The sun would set soon, and going into the forest at night would multiply the danger many times over.
“How about this: I’ll go into the forest to look for it tomorrow.” Lu Xin wiped the girl’s tears and comforted her. “But I can’t guarantee I’ll find it.”
“Wow, thank you, Mr. Lu Xin!”
Lina hugged the orange cat excitedly. “I’ll pay you! It won’t be much, but I can help wash your clothes, clean the house…”
“Ahem, we’ll talk about payment later. Go on home and wait.”
After sending Lina off, Ailya crossed her arms and smirked at him.
“You got soft.”
“No, I didn’t. I just like cats.”
“Oh, and what about the dog that ran into the woods?”
“I like dogs too.”
“Oh~ And what about dragons?” Ailya looked at him seriously.
“I like them too… wait, who keeps a dragon as a pet?”
“Just say if you like them or not!”
“Of course I do. Who wouldn’t be excited to ride a dragon and fly?”
Ailya: “~~~”
“What about those three knights? Aren’t you afraid of running into them again?” Ailya dropped the smile, curious.
“I’ll just go around them. The forest is huge—no way we’ll bump into them easily.”
Ailya stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed. “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to…”
“You said this afternoon you’d let me protect you.”
“…”
Lu Xin froze. When did the little dancer get so clever?
But he opened his mouth and eventually agreed—after all, Ailya was definitely more skilled than him.
Besides finding the cat, he also wanted to hunt some monsters to expand his skill set. Having a helper would make things a lot easier.
“Alright, we’ll set off together tomorrow morning.”