* * *

‘A dragon I’ve never seen before…!’

The golden eyes glaring down at them shimmered with a murderous glint.

The crimson dragon was clearly hostile, enraged by the intrusion of outsiders trespassing its territory.

Enoch and Leonard immediately adjusted their stances, closely observing the dragon’s movements, ready to evade its next attack.

Just then, the dragon opened its jaws.

“How did you find this place?”

The voice was deep and resonant.

Like Silviet and Lemuel before, the dragon was speaking through telepathy, using the Imperial language. Realizing they could communicate, Chaeyi raised his voice.

“We received prior permission from Silviet and Lemuel! We’ve come to ask them for a favor and won’t be staying long.”

“Oh, so you want me to just turn a blind eye?”

The dragon’s response was tinged with mockery, making Chaeyi fall silent.

The crimson dragon narrowed its eyes, as if sneering. It was probably not just his imagination.

“Why should I? When there’s a feast that’s walked right up to my doorstep.”

The dragon’s brazen reply was followed by a clear display of its desire, even licking its lips.

Suddenly, the saying “dragons are omnivores” popped into Chaeyi’s mind. That included humans as prey.

“Damn it.”

Leonard cursed quietly, and Chaeyi also let out a short, exasperated breath.

How could they avoid this unnecessary conflict?

As Chaeyi pondered the situation, he felt a new, unfamiliar presence approaching from behind.

“You. Are you looking to die?”

A voice cut in sharply, drawing everyone’s attention to the source.

It was a young man, standing there with a smirk, glaring at the crimson dragon.

‘Who is that?’

He had beautiful silver hair and striking golden eyes with slit pupils. It was clear this wasn’t a human; it had to be a dragon in a polymorphed form.

Still, it was a face Chaeyi had never seen before.

He’d only known Lemuel to take on a human form.

Yet there was something oddly familiar about this young man, something reminiscent of Lemuel.

‘Could it be…?’

The silver hair and golden eyes were distinctive features of polymorphed white dragons, so Chaeyi couldn’t be certain.

But he tentatively called out the name that came to mind.

“Silviet?”

The young man, meeting Chaeyi’s gaze, broke into a cheerful grin and ran over, pulling Chaeyi into a hug.

“Chaeyi! I missed you!”

It was indeed Silviet, in his polymorphed form.

He seemed to have matured a lot since learning to polymorph, but Silviet was still the same as Chaeyi remembered.

“Hey! What are you looking at?! He’s just a guest, and I’m not here for a meal, so hurry up and get lost! Do you want to be remembered as a dragon who got skinned because he messed with the wrong person?!”

…His temper might have gotten a bit rougher.

As Silviet yelled angrily, the crimson dragon nearby screeched in protest.

“Fine, I won’t eat him! Geez, what a temper. Just like Lemuel’s kid, no doubt about it.”

“My dad’s right around the corner.”

“…”

The crimson dragon’s eyes darted around nervously, and realizing its blunder, it quickly retreated.

It seemed, for some reason, to be terrified of Silviet’s father.

Thanks to Silviet, they managed to avoid a major conflict.

When Chaeyi thanked him, Silviet held onto Chaeyi, unwilling to let go.

Leonard’s discomfort was obvious, but Silviet ignored it, too happy to care.

“Chaeyi! Why did it take you so long to get here? I missed you so much! How have you been? Did you miss me? Nothing bad happened, right?”

Silviet bombarded him with questions, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Chaeyi gently patted Silviet’s head to calm him down.

“I missed you too, everything’s been fine, and I’m doing well. You’ve learned to polymorph now, huh? I’m proud of you. Did you know we were coming?”

“Yup! Hardly any outsiders come here, so when I smelled something unfamiliar, I knew right away.”

“I see.”

“Hehe. I love it when you pet me, Chaeyi. Do it more.”

Silviet, purring like a content kitten, looked as if he hadn’t grown at all despite maturing physically.

To Chaeyi, he was still just a baby dragon at heart.

But Leonard, having reached his limit, forcibly pulled Silviet away from Chaeyi.

Even when Silviet was small enough to fit into Chaeyi’s arms, Leonard hadn’t liked it.

Now that Silviet could polymorph, he was even more displeased.

As Silviet glared at Leonard, two dragons in their human forms approached, calling out Silviet’s name.

“Silviet.”

One of them was Lemuel, a familiar face, while the other appeared to be Silviet’s biological father—a man with black hair and golden eyes.

Though not a white dragon, the reason for the difference was unclear.

“It’s been a while.”

Lemuel smiled at Chaeyi, who nodded back in greeting.

Silviet’s father then offered a warm smile.

“You must be Chaeyi. I’ve heard so much about you from my son. My name is Ramud. Thank you so much for saving our Silviet last time.”

He bowed his head politely.

Despite being a dragon, he was incredibly courteous, even towards a human.

It made no sense why the crimson dragon from earlier seemed terrified of such a gentle creature.

While Chaeyi was puzzling over this, Ramud exchanged glances with his family before stepping back from Chaeyi and the others.

“Let’s head to our home for now.”

Silviet and Lemuel also stepped back, and the reason soon became clear.

“To enter our lair, we need to fly. We’ll transform back now, so don’t be afraid when we carry you.”

With that, Ramud, followed by Silviet and Lemuel, returned to their dragon forms.

Flap.

Wings burst forth, ripping through their clothes, which then adjusted and reshaped to fit their massive bodies.

The sheer pressure from the flap of their wings made Chaeyi crouch low with Leonard’s help.

If Leonard hadn’t held onto Chaeyi and Enoch, they would have been sent tumbling.

It seemed the dragons had taken on human forms initially as a courtesy to the weaker humans.

‘Wow…’

Chaeyi marveled quietly at the awe-inspiring sight of the dragons up close.

Especially Ramud.

Lemuel was as pure white as snow, but Ramud had a pitch-black body, darker than night, and was far larger than Lemuel—truly massive by comparison.

While the size difference could be attributed to male and female characteristics, Ramud was far bigger than even the male red dragon who had attacked Chaeyi and the group earlier.

Sensing Chaeyi’s thoughts, Silviet glanced back at her father, Ramud, and spoke, not with her voice but through telepathic communication.

“My mom and I are from the White Dragon lineage, and my dad is from the Black Dragon line. He’s huge, right? Black Dragons are naturally the largest among all dragon species, and also the strongest. That’s why they’re known as the mightiest dragons.”

“I see… So that’s why…”

Chaeyi realized why the red dragon had fled in fear earlier.

Just as he was making sense of it all, Silviet suddenly lowered her head to look at him, eyes curving into crescent smiles, and couldn’t resist nuzzling closer.

“Chaeyi, you’re so tiny! So cute.”

“You’ve just grown too big.”

“Do you think I’ve grown a lot?”

“Yes, you’ve grown so much. You look very impressive now.”

Chaeyi chuckled, tickled by Silviet’s breath, and gently stroked her long snout.

In response, Silviet pulled Chaeyi and the others into her embrace, holding them securely.

“Hold on tight, everyone. Don’t fall off.”

Ramud and Lemuel, who had been watching from a distance, took off into the sky first.

Each powerful flap of their wings sent gusts of wind rippling across the ground.

Following her parents, Silviet soared into the sky with all her might.

It felt like the sensation of an airplane taking off, with their stomachs momentarily feeling weightless before they stabilized.

“I can’t even see the cliffs below anymore.”

“Falling from this height would be certain death.”

“Even for someone as tough as you?”

“Yes. After all, I’m still human.”

“P-Please don’t say such scary things! Tell me that won’t happen!”

While Chaeyi and Leonard seemed unconcerned, Enoch clung tightly to Silviet’s arm, visibly scared by the grim conversation.

Finding it both cute and slightly regretful for having frightened him, Chaeyi gave a lighthearted smile.

“Sorry. Don’t worry. Silviet’s got a firm hold on us. There’s no chance of falling.”

And so, Chaeyi and his companions experienced the thrilling sensation of ‘flying in the embrace of a dragon’ as they made their way safely to the entrance of the lair.

* * *