Chapter 6:
A Fluffy Walking Disaster
“MAN, THOSE TREATS sure are popular,” Taichi marveled. “This café is doing great!”
Luke huffed at him. “Never mind your café—you promised to accompany me while I exercise!”
“Oh, right. I did.” Taichi had just closed the café, so since he was free, he decided to make good on his word.
That night, a series of screams echoed through the forest.
“Waaaaaah! Too fast! Too faaaaaaaast!”
Luke normally kept to his smaller size—which was still three feet tall—but for the purpose of exercising, he had returned to his natural size as he bounded through the forest. Taichi rode on his back.
“Surely you jest. You are far too frail if you complain at this leisurely pace! You promised to come with me, so hold your tongue!”
“Look, I didn’t think it would be this intense!” Luke was being his usual prideful self as Taichi tried to argue the point, the jostling below him resulting in an unintentional chomp to the tongue. Taichi groaned, trying to withstand the pain. It wasn’t worth talking when Luke was moving at this speed. It was way too dangerous.
I want him to let me down as quickly as possible, but...look at him! He’s so happy! It was obvious how much pleasure Luke took in this, so Taichi held off on begging for mercy. He had such a soft spot for Luke that he wanted to tell Luke to keep going as long as he liked and enjoy himself. But this was a little too uncomfortable for Taichi, so he’d hoped to convince Luke to slow down—an impossible request when Luke was so excited.
“Oh, there’s a delicious dragon over there,” Luke said. “Let’s kill it and use its meat for steak!”
“What?!” Taichi shrieked.
Luke had spotted a blue dragon drinking water from a river.
Eep, it’s huge! This dragon was over ten feet tall, meaning it towered over a full-sized Luke. Taichi had no idea which of the two were more powerful, but what he did know was this dragon didn’t look like a pushover.
“W-wait, hold it, Luke! You don’t mean to take that thing on, do you?”
“It looks delicious, does it not?!”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking!” Taichi understood that to a Fenrir such as Luke, a dragon probably did look delicious. They had first met when Luke swooped in to save Taichi from a dragon, after all. I get that, I really do, but it doesn’t make dragons any less terrifying!
“I will go defeat it. You shall simply wait here,” instructed Luke as he delivered Taichi to the thick, safe branch of a tree.
“Oh. Right, yeah.” Taichi nodded, frozen stock still.
I’m just glad I’m not riding his back while he fights. Still, Taichi worried whether Luke would be all right. No matter how strong Luke was, he was still up against a dragon. There were no guarantees.
Taichi fidgeted uneasily as he watched from afar. Luke took an enormous leap, flipping once in the middle of the air, and whipped his tail with such speed that it produced a wind blade.
“I’ll dice you with my secret blade! Moonlight Gale Slash!”
Whoa, what a ridiculously fancy skill name! Though he first thought it was a genuine skill, Taichi soon noticed the delay between when Luke produced it and spoke the skill name, indicating it was something Luke had come up with his own. Considering how he always touted himself as a proud Fenrir, making up fancy names for his moves rather suited him. Taichi found it endearing. He enjoyed Luke’s antics and didn’t want him to change.
Taichi shook his head. “I’m getting distracted. More importantly, is the move itself effective?”
Wait. What? Taichi was stunned by what he saw. That one move from Luke had lopped the dragon’s head off. It was already dead. Taichi hadn’t anticipated the battle to be so anticlimactic, like the last time Luke fought a dragon. He really was strong. Isn’t it inappropriate for a weakling like me to have tamed a monster as strong as Luke? Taichi couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to Luke after all the time they’d spent together, so he shook the thoughts from his mind.
“Taichi! Get down here and make me some steak!” Luke barked up at him, tail spinning. When he didn’t react fast enough, Luke shouted, “Hurry!”
He had looked so majestic leaping through the air and defeating that dragon, and now he was acting like an excited pup. It was too cute.
“Okay, okay!” said Taichi, carefully scaling his way down. Once he reached the dragon carcass, he used his Prep Meal skill. He already had Magic Herbs stowed in his Bottomless Bag, so it was easy to create a Dragon Steak, which had become Luke’s favorite.
“Here. I can always make more, so eat as much as you like.”
“Mm!” Luke dug in, cheeks swelling as he chomped down the meat. The steak smelled as divine as the last time Taichi made it.
The Bunny Cookies were fine to eat, so I wonder if I can eat Dragon Steak too.
“Hey, Luke,” he said, “can humans eat dragon meat?”
“Hm? It’s not poisonous, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Now that you mention it, I’ve heard humans consider dragon meat to be a top-quality ingredient.”
“Huh.”
Promising, if true. He could at least rest at ease knowing it wasn’t poisonous. It had to be delicious, based on the way Luke inhaled it. Taichi made a couple more plates of steak, placing one in front of Luke and another in front of himself.
“All right, time to give this a shot.” Taichi forked a slice for himself and popped it into his mouth. The surface was nicely charred with a juicy interior that flooded his mouth with flavor. It was so tender, requiring little effort on his part to chew. Who could possibly imagine a fierce, intimidating dragon would have such soft meat?
“Oh man, that’s tasty!” shouted Taichi.
Luke nodded. “You should praise me for getting us more meat for it!”
“You’re right, Luke. You’re so incredible. I knew you were strong, but wow. I’m so glad you’re my first partner—most of all because you’re willing to indulge my café.”
Luke jerked his head away as if embarrassed. “That’s only because I made the shop part of my territory thanks to how soft and comfortable that beanbag chair is!” He was trying to deflect Taichi’s sentimentality by claiming he wasn’t staying for Taichi, but the way his tail whipped through the air undermined his words.
Seeing how happy Luke was, Taichi decided he’d have to come with Luke again sometime for a run.