An Order from a Senior

“Oh, I’m glad the rain seems to have stopped. I’m not very good with water, you know. A little dip in a lake is fine, but that other stuff—the salty water in the sea—I just can’t handle it. We red dragons would never float if we fell into the sea, and we wouldn’t survive. But I’ve heard humans float better in the sea. I wonder why. Isn’t that curious?”

The golden-eyed tanuki spoke fluently as she patted one forepaw against her cheek and tilted her head.

Cyrus and Robson were utterly speechless.

They’d just been talking about how dragons were disasters and all that, and now a red dragon had appeared—and she was like this. The two men were understandably confused and shaken.

Monica timidly opened her mouth.

“Well, you see, when something is submerged, forces that make it float or sink act upon it. Seawater is denser than freshwater because of its salt, which increases its buoyancy, so things float more easily in seawater. But when a red dragon’s scales get wet with seawater, the balance of the mana in its body is disrupted, and its bodily functions are severely impaired...”

“Boss, Boss...”

Cyrus called to her from behind, and Monica abruptly stopped talking.

The tanuki flapped her little forepaws and spoke in an impressed tone.

“My, you know a lot! You’re so young, too. You sound like a scholar!”...