Chapter 4: A Fabulous Debutante Ball
I assumed that riding on the back of a dragon was more thrilling and terrifying than a roller coaster ride, but I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. I didn’t feel the wind violently blowing in my face; it was a smooth, non-turbulent flight. I was told a barrier constantly surrounded the dragon for our comfort, and I almost felt like a first-class passenger enjoying an elegant journey among the clouds. I’d never ridden first-class before, so I could only imagine the similarities.
After Sacred descended upon the square near the fountain so that we could get off, Mr. Vil petted its cheek lovingly. I decided to thank the familiar too.
“Sacred, thank you for flying us here,” I said. “You’re great at flying, aren’t you? It was a very comfortable ride.”
I wasn’t sure if it understood me, but the dragon turned its round eyes toward me and let out a small squeak.
“Mwee!”
That’s an adorable cry. I didn’t expect a big dragon to make a sound like that.
“Is something wrong?” Mr. Vil asked.
“I just thought that your familiar has a very cute cry.”
As I chatted with Mr. Vil, I heard an adorable meow behind me, almost like a kitten begging for my attention. I turned around and spotted Gem.
“I thought I just heard a kitten,” I said.
“Meow! Meow!” Gem cried, trying to get my attention.
“Are you making that sound?!”
“Meow!”
Gem’s been pretty quiet until now. Why’s it making adorable cries?
“W-Wait, is it because I mentioned how cute Sacred sounded?” I asked. “Are you trying to compete?”
“Meow!”
The cry was similar to Alice’s familiar, Kitty. Perhaps Gem used that as a reference; it was too proud to copy Sacred’s cry and tried something else instead.
“Don’t worry,” I reassured my familiar. “I know that you’re the cutest in the world. You don’t have to meow if you don’t want to.”
I petted my beloved slime, and it jiggled happily as it flickered faintly in front of me.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Mr. Vil, surely we should’ve notified Marquess Leviathan before we visited,” I said, hesitant about showing up out of the blue.
“No need,” he assured me. “He and I are really good friends.”
“If you say so…”
I felt like even close friends would’ve appreciated a heads-up, but I wondered if this Japanese tendency just didn’t carry over to this world or culture.