Lucille the white-cat-turned-human was insensitive.
Even as Lilybell, she’d been fickle and freewheeling. I wanted to keep her with me forever, but I could never catch her. It was so annoying. And now that she’d become a human, she paid even less attention to me! Just what was the meaning of this?
Unsatisfied, I repeatedly sent Lucille telepathic messages. She wasn’t replying, so I’d just have to keep sending them until she gave in!
“Lucille, when are you gonna visit me next?”
“Hey, don’t ignore me.”
“You know, if I wanted to, I could break this seal anytime!”
“Ugh, fine! If you come right now, I’ll let you touch my shiniest scale.”
“I’m only inviting you over ’cause I figure you’re probably lonely!”
“Um...do you feel like visiting yet?”
I kept doing that, day after day, but she never responded. What was up with that? How could she be that heartless?
I mean, she should have been better at dark magic now than she had been as Lilybell, right? Master Alys’s spells were obviously going to be easier to use with a human body than a cat one.
In contrast, I was an almighty dragon. In other words, since I held too much power, it took a high level of precision to use human magic. Think about it: A human wouldn’t be able to wash an ant’s face, right? Not when it’s smaller than their finger. What I was doing was just as impossible as that. To make things even harder, dark magic had always been my weakest attribute. I was an absolute genius, and I wished more people would realize that.
Anyway, this super amazing dragon learned how to send telepathic messages just to call Lilybell over. After all, I’d told her that I’d forgive her if she visited at least every other day, but I knew that if I let her be, she’d easily ignore me for a year or more. She really was coldhearted.
That said, when she finally showed up, I didn’t voice my complaints. I wanted us to have fun together, so I welcomed her arrival. However...
“So I’m wondering if I can use this trip to the capital to find a way to meet the great sage,” Lucille said.
“I see.”
“Hey, are you listening to me? I’m talking about the great sage! He’s a big shot, you know. I can’t wait to see what he’s like! Well, I don’t know if I’ll actually get to meet him, though.”
“I see.”
“Oh, come on. What’s with those apathetic responses?”
What do you expect? I don’t care.
Since Lucille’s here at last, I figured I’d be nice and play with her. So why should I have to listen to her ramble about some random guy I don’t know? Surely there’s something else we can talk about. You know, like me, Lucille, or me and Lucille! We could also play a game, like seeing who can find the most little bugs. Or we could eat poisonous mushrooms and compete to see who gives in and cleanses the poison first!
I wish she’d be more considerate of my feelings, I thought, silently curling up into a ball.
The unsympathetic witch continued on, not caring at all. Since our mana was linked, I couldn’t hide the fact that all of my normal threats were mere bluffs. It was even harder now that Lucille had consumed a bit of my mana.
I casually sniffed at her.
Good, I can still smell my scent in her mana.
My mana wouldn’t fade from her easily—it’d probably last around two thousand years—but I had to check every time I saw her, just in case.
“Oh, but if I do get to meet the great sage, how should I introduce myself to him?” Lucille continued.
Seriously, what was so exciting about that guy? Lilybell’s owners had all had fancy titles too, like great witch, saint, hero... Besides, I could say with confidence that I was way more amazing, more strong, more important, more noble, and more cool than that great sage!
“I want to leave an impression, you know? How about... ‘I don’t ever get sick!’ I guess that lacks a bit of oomph... What if I show off my best spells?! Well...they probably aren’t as good as the great sage’s. Oh, I know! I’ll tell him I’m best friends with a dragon! What do you think of that?”
“Huh?”
“Then again, that doesn’t say anything about my own talents...”
W-Wait. She’s already moving on, but didn’t she say something crazy just now? “Best friends”? Did she say “best friends”? With me? The almighty dragon Maouldoth? Huh?
I knew that in human terms, best friends were something special. I wasn’t an expert on friendship since we dragons didn’t really hang out with our own kind, but if I was special to her, that basically meant she wanted to be with me forever, right?!
“Well, if you insist, I’ll let you brag about being best friends with me,” I said.
“‘My hobby is sunbathing!’ Okay, I guess that isn’t impressive at all. Wait, Maouldoth, did you say something?”
“Why are you like this...?”
I’m so tired of this. If she’s this insensitive, she must not have any other friends. I’d feel bad abandoning her.
Ahhh, if only my seal had different effects. I don’t care about being shrunken or having my power reduced to less than half, but at least let me move around. Then I could be with Lucille more often. Actually, if I became a human, would I be able to stay with her for even longer?
While Lucille was bigger than Lilybell had been, her body was still small and frail. She could easily be obliterated. As Hinako used to say, I had to protect her!
“All of this talking is making me hungry! I don’t want to go home just yet, though. Maouldoth, give me a bit of your tail!”
“For the last time, I’m not food!”
I heard that! She doesn’t want to go home yet! That means she wants to stay here with me!
Heh heh heh, she should be more honest. Not everyone is as attentive as I am, after all. I guess I have no choice but to keep being her friend! Heh heh, heh heh heh!