「Well then, I'm off to hunt! See you tomorrow, Your Highness!」 After reaching the forest on the outskirts of town, Alvar walked into the thicket with his spear in hand. 「Uhm, see you again tomorrow…」 I watched anxiously at his back. ――I had underestimated him. I assumed that since Alvar was also a demon, he would coldly dismiss it with, 「It doesn’t matter how many humans die.」 If he was that kind of person, I thought I could just kill him without hesitation when the time came―― However… He showed some sympathy toward the humans fighting on the front lines. Yet, he didn’t care much about the humans on the ranch. What does that mean? It doesn't sit right with me… However, I, myself, had no sympathy at all for the so-called 『underprivileged demons』. Considering that, his reaction starts to seem reasonable. In the end, it looks like mercy and sympathy only apply to those within one's own circle… Ante spoke nonchalantly inside of me. 『Demons are even worse, you know? Just because both parties are demons, it doesn’t mean there’s any sense of solidarity. If a demon gets attached to someone, it’s probably an old acquaintance or the devil they made a pact with at best.』 Well… I mean… You guys weren’t technically living beings, so it was not really a fair comparison. 『Well, that’s just how it is. No need to fret over it. You’re normal, and so is he. It’s just that your definitions of "family" don’t align, and your interests don’t match, to a downright fatal degree.』 Well, the difference between us was truly fatal indeed. If he had been born as a human―― He might have become a great hero. 「… Speaking of hunting, I wonder what’s actually in this forest? My bad, Alvar. Your sympathy wouldn't stop me from what I'm trying to do. While I feel bad about this, nothing could stop me. 「… I heard a fairly interesting story.」 I relaxed my shoulders and said that to Lyla. In contrast to my cheerful smile, she showed a slightly worried expression. 「Interesting, is it?」 「Yeah… I finally thought so.」 She must have realized that I wasn’t forcing myself to say this; this was how I truly felt. Lyla replied with a relieved smile on her face. 「…Oh, that's right. Speaking of which, Lyla, you mentioned flying, didn’t you? Sorry… I completely forgot about that for a moment.」 After the unexpected encounter with Alvar while doing some window shopping, that matter had completely slipped my mind. 「Oh, I don’t mind… Just being able to be with you is enough.」 Lyla replied, smiling as her fingers entangled with each other. 「Well… I feel the same way.」 Surrounded by enemies as I am, the only real moments of peace I got were when I could relax with Lyla or Liliana. I truly felt grateful from the bottom of my heart that Lyla had accepted me. ――I saw Vigne look up at the sky with an undisguised reluctant look on her face from the corner of my eyes, but I pretended not to see that for now. Ah, she also received another nudge from her coworker, another night elf. 「But Lyla, you haven't flown for a while either, right? That must be stressful for you――」 I, too, looked up at the sky. A clear, starry night unfolded above, with a silver moon floating in its full majesty. ――There was a proverb in the alliance that said, "The sun shines on all." It meant that sunlight, regardless of one's birth or upbringing, equally shines upon everyone. However, the same could be said for the moon. 「――The moon is so bright tonight, almost dazzling. That's why I thought that your scales would shine brightly under the moonlight.」 Lyla's golden eyes opened wide as she covered her mouth with both hands. Her face was flushed red like a tomato, and I hadn’t seen her this red in a long time. 「If you say something like that… I won’t be able to hold back anymore…!」 Lyla quickly undid the ribbon of her maid uniform. I hurriedly averted my gaze as Lyla started to undress herself with an embarrassed look on her face. As I averted my gaze, the night elf maids came into view. Even Vigne’s colleagues, who always wore a stern expression, huddled together with an "Oh my!" look on their faces. Stop it! Don't act like you've stumbled upon something inappropriate!! She’s just undressing to revert to her dragon form! VIGNE NOOO! PLEASE DON'T RAISE YOUR PINKY FINGER! ――Then, the figure of Lyla who had already taken off her clothes started to blur. Her magical power and presence swelled up. There, standing before me, was a beautiful dragon with silver scales. 「Well then… I'll go flying for a while.」 Hastily distancing herself from me, Lyla unfurled her wings. She did so to ensure that the wind pressure wouldn't harm me. Then, with a light push of her feet against the ground, she leaped into the air, soaring gracefully. The wind swept through, and the trees in the forest rustled. Thus, the silver dragon soared into the sky with a single flap of her wings. 『――She changed so much.』 Ante muttered in admiration. Yeah. When she first came, she could only glide, even after building up momentum. Now, without feeling any weight at all―― She could freely take flight through the sky. Haha, I guess she was truly feeling good to fly again after such a long time. She was soaring through the skies, circling above, even doing acrobatic stunts in the air. It was as if she was swimming in the sea of stars―― To my demon eyes, which could capture even the slightest light in the darkness, Lyla’s figure appeared to shine brightly. Just as I had lost track of time, mesmerized by the sight, Lyla might be flying with the same fervor and lost in the moment. After thoroughly enjoying the sky until the moon, which had been directly overhead, tilted slightly, Lyla returned to the ground. 「Haah! That was fun.」 Her voice, a little more rustic than usual but with the same tone as usual, sounded just a bit embarrassed. It must have been a habit from her human form; despite being a dragon, she shyly placed her front leg near her cheek, which was so very much like Lyla and utterly cute. 「You are really beautiful. You've truly become a magnificent dragon, Lyla.」 I told her what I really felt as I stroked Lyla's lower jaw. "Grrr…" Lyla let out a low growl, and her golden, glistening eyes were fixed on me. It must feel refreshing to be able to soar into the sky. 『As expected, the scenery from the sky is the best. It feels like I'm free.』 Suddenly, Platy's words resurfaced in my mind. I would never forget them; they were spoken while riding a dragon on our way to the Dark Portal. … Somehow, everything feels so trivial. 「Hey Lyla, can you still fly?」 「Then, I have a request.」 It didn't really matter, right? 「――Can you take me on your back?」 Lyla's golden eyes widened in shock. The night elves, who had been watching with faint, amused smiles, stiffened as if doused with cold water. 「… Jilbagias-sama! That's…!」 「Your mother has told you to stop, hasn't she?」 I’ve been told not to fly on Lyla's back until I’ve built solid trust with her and am certain of it. No matter how powerful a magic user was, if they were knocked off from a great height, they would only have death awaiting them. Even the Demon King, afraid of a counterattack, would never ride a dragon.―― But you know, it was already too late for me and Lyla, even as a formality. 「To be honest, the trust between Lyla and me is more than enough now. If she wanted to kill me, she wouldn't need to drop me from the sky. Even now, when I'm completely off guard, she could easily crush me.」 「That's… Makes sense.」 「Moreover, even when I’m completely unarmed and fully relaxed, Lyla could have turned into a dragon and killed me if she had wanted to. It’s too late to worry about it now, isn’t it?」 Lyla let out a groan behind me. I'm sorry. Even when it was only the two of us, and we were being affectionate with each other, we were not actually doing those things, but to others, it seemed like that was what was happening… 「So, well, it's . You all properly advised me, but I didn’t listen. Let’s just say that’s what happened.」 It seemed like they wanted to argue, but they too seemed to feel it was too late, and it looked like their words were stuck in their throats. I turned away from Vigne and co to face Lyla. 「… Is that okay with you?」 「… Yes. Please do so.」 Lyla looked up at me with a gentle gaze, slowly lowering her body. 「Nevertheless… Are you sure about this? I mean, there's no saddle…」 「Haha, it might be a little scary. I'd be glad if you could fly gently for me.」 And then, I rode on Lyla's back―― That day marked the first day I flew with Lyla. In the boundless, starry sky, freed from anything that could constrain me. My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1 Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations ===TN: Those Who Can't Wait For more Jil-kun's, I've Uploaded Advance chapters in Fox<–HERE and in (cheaper 10/$10) with a paywall of course=== More and Cheaper(10/$10) Advance Chapter : (~’.’)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(‘.’~)