A Dragon Is More Generous Than You'd Think

“What in the world is going on?”

I hurriedly got to my feet to clear up Karnarof's misunderstanding, but

Adrian spoke in a much more intense voice than usual.

“Quiet for a moment.”

“Ugh.”

I could make my voice come out if I tried.

But my will tilted toward not making a sound in an instant.

She stole my timing.

So that was one way to use it.

“Dragon King, what brings you here?”

Karnarof said solemnly.

“Do I have an obligation to answer you?”

Adrian's hand resting against the force field lost its shape and crumbled.

More precisely, Adrian's hand itself turned into a bloody liquid.

The hand flowed like water, slipping out of the distortion field before returning to normal.

“You won't even let me pull my hand out unless I use a trick like this.”

Adrian reached out.

“How rude of you to a lady.”

A dark-blue beam shot from her fingertips toward the distortion field.

It was similar to the attack I activated using dragon mana.

But despite being dragon mana,

—Kiiiiiing!!

the distortion field fully demonstrated its capabilities.

The moment it touched the field, the beam vanished as though it had been torn apart.

“You know it's useless, Dragon King.”

“I know. This is what technology is: the power humans have built up over thousands of years while our kind settled for reality and failed to advance.”

“Are you refusing to uphold the covenant?”

“The covenant means nothing to me. Anyone above royalty can bypass it.”

If either of them slipped up even a little, this looked like it could turn into the largest battle I'd ever been involved in.

Neither Adrian's nor Karnarof's expression looked normal...

[Shall I show you, sis? How to use mana.]

Then a voice rang inside my head.

I looked around, but no one reacted.

It seemed only I could hear it.

Huh.

This guy didn't recognize this as a serious situation at all.

But why show Karnarof?

[It might be a little early, but this is the perfect timing. If I don't have a worthy opponent, I can't guarantee what will happen to the surroundings.]

“Eek.”

What gathered at her fingertips was a single droplet, as if all the blue in the world had been collected into it.

It was a bead several times smaller than my pinky fingernail, but

I knew instinctively.

If that burst, not only the surrounding area but...!

“Hey, you lunatic...!”

“A dragon's mana upends the laws of nature.”

It touched the distortion field.

It was definitely being disassembled, but it was slowly progressing.

“But paradoxically, no force follows the laws as closely as dragon mana does.”

The droplet shook the distortion field.

The distortion field tried to create a path elsewhere and guide the beaded mana through it, but

it failed every time.

“No one among the dragon clan ever tried to overlay information onto dragon mana, but”

there was a will to advance even within dragon mana.

Because there was magic.

“This true dragon succeeded.”

—KWA-CHANG!!

The distortion field shattered.

At the same time, four distortion fields activated and seized Adrian's arms and legs.

“So you can use them consecutively? I overlooked that. I gave you too much time.”

“Did you think I would finish things with a single spell?”

It was astonishing that all of this was merely a probing match.

Karnarof hadn't even properly drawn up his mana, and Adrian had only lightly used dragon mana.

“Leave. This is not where you belong.”

Adrian looked around.

Professors were gathering, some of them preparing magic like Isabel.

“It seems fighting here would put me at a disadvantage.”

You weren't planning to fight in the first place.

“I shall withdraw for today. Of course, I shall give a present to this child I've taken a liking to.”

“Huh?”

[Since you said you don't like attracting attention, shall I play a little prank on my sister who won't even show her face?]

Adrian gently cupped my cheek with her hand.

In that instant, an enormous density of mana filled the space around Adrian and me.

The distortion field lost its strength and shattered as well.

[This will keep even the strongest spell from breaking through for a few dozen seconds. You should try it too once you have more mana, sis.]

“Urph.”

My cheek was being squished, making a sound.

[Ah, pardon me.]

This bastard had deliberately put force into it.

I felt cold mana.

Adrian spoke in a coquettish voice.

Her voice was clearly soft and calm, yet it reverberated loudly enough for everyone here to hear.

“Child.”

The term of address she normally used, “sis,” had strangely changed.

What was she trying to do?

Someone muttered.

“…Granting…a destiny? A dragon, to an ordinary human?”

“Come and undergo the dragon's trial—the dragon's ascetic ordeal. An arduous and horrifying trial from the depths.”

Professors and students had gathered before I knew it.

Resonating with Adrian's sing-song voice, a pattern was being engraved on my shoulder.

A pattern resembling a roughly sketched flower.

“An Ancient Dragon's Trial!?”

“That child!?”

“Why her? She doesn't even look old enough to be twenty!?”

Some cheered, while others looked disappointed.

“Wasn't that something that only appeared in stories?”

“She's receiving that?”

“What rotten luck…”

“They say once it's bestowed, it can't even be revoked?”

[Since you said you don't like attracting attention, I played a little prank on you! Still, it shouldn't be so bad!]

[Destiny, [Ancient Dragon's Invitation], has been activated!]

[The authority granted by your species has been activated! Activated destinies can be erased at any time!]

Well, it doesn't seem so bad.

Adrian would never do anything bad to me in the first place.

‘The problem is that she did it in a public place with everyone watching!’

Adrian unfurled her wings.

Unlike usual, they were wings that could easily cover several dozen meters around us.

They rose from her shoulder blades and even formed a shadow.

It was grandiose to the point of being unnecessary.

Then I realized.

Her true objective.

[Sis, take care! You have to come visit me later!]

“You bastard!”

How dare she stir up this much trouble?

“I will never forgive youuuuu!!”

Then a voice came from beside me.

“Explain. As quickly as possible.”

“Are you all right? You aren't hurt?”

“A destiny? You've been given an incredible trial.”

“Why don't you drop by our laboratory sometime!”

“Urgh...”

Please, just leave me alone.

* * *

And so, after the uproar ended, we were in the dormitory lounge.

“So, are you really all right?”

Aris worried about me and repeatedly cast her unique magic to try to undo the pattern on my shoulder.

It didn't seem to be anything like a curse, at least.

“Huh? She said she'd follow me around calling me ‘sis,’ so don't worry.”

I gave them a rough explanation.

Of course, they didn't believe me.

“Don't just say such incomprehensible things!”

“You must have hit your head.”

“I told you I didn't!”

Sigh. What would you know?

“So, what happened?”

“Karnarof called me in and gave me an earful about holding back at the exchange event.”

He seemed to have come mainly to tell me that.

“But is that really necessary?”

“It is.”

“Are you trying to crush the spirit of every student at the knight school?”

…Do I have no one on my side?

“So, what do we do now?”

I gently moved Aris's hand away from my arm, where she had been casting magic.

Adrian had left it there.

It would probably be hard to dispel even with unique magic.

In fact, it wasn't doing anything, so it didn't really matter.

“We don't have anything scheduled today.”

I'd run into Adrian on my way out after class.

Just then, Robert walked over to us and said.

“The official notice is out.”

“What?”

“I said the official notice for the exchange event is out.”

Robert placed the exchange event notice on the table.

[Exchange Event of Swords and Magic]

“As the season of high skies and well-fed horses approaches, though knights and mages exist beneath the same sky, their essence was originally one, and so…”

“Ugh, it's boring and pretentious.”

I have a condition that makes me convulse if I read more than three lines.

I had no choice but to turn the page.

“Aris, summarize it for me.”

“Read at least that much yourself… Let me see. The first-years will have one match each, and after that, it's a tournament.”

“A tournament!?”

I instantly came to my senses.

Did you just say tournament?

Something like that was obviously bound to be fun.

However, my enthusiasm immediately died down at the next words.

“It says first-years aren't allowed to participate.”

“What?”

My strength drained away like air from a balloon.

“Our role is to win the first-year matches and cheer on the seniors who go on to the tournament.”

Why should I cheer them on?

I should be the one going.

“Isn't there any way I can get in?”

“The seniors have to go through the proper selection process to participate in the first place. Unless you challenge one to a duel and take their spot or something…”

“Oh.”

“Why would you tell her that! Yumia really will do it!”

She's right.

If they didn't hand me a spot, I could just take it.

Why hadn't I thought of that?

Well, it's not like I really planned to steal one.

Let's take it easy this time.

“But are things really that bad between us and the knight school?”

“I suppose so. Not all of them, but knights tend to think mages are bookish nerds who are only good at thinking.”

Hmm.

Come to think of it, I did get picked a fight with someone at the sword shop last time.

“Besides, Yumia is a commoner…sort of, so they might pick a fight with her even more.”

Linia added.

“That's why School Market is heating up so much right now. Not only are people buying supplies for the duels, it's also the only place where students from the two schools can meet.”

“Hmm.”

Sounds fun.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“School Market.”

First, reconnaissance.

Since students from the knight school came there too, maybe something interesting would happen.

If not, I could always make something happen.