<Chapter 7>

At the deepest part of the forest, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to touch the sky, stood the World Tree.

High above it, at an unimaginable altitude, was the city of the elves.

That was where Ardishu lived.

“Young lady, you have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who?”

Ardishu tilted her head, putting down the book she was reading.

It was rare for an elf to visit without prior notice. Their culture placed a high value on etiquette, and there weren’t many people who would bother visiting her in the first place.

“It’s a dragon. Would you like to see him?”

“Umm…”

Ardishu hesitated. There was only one dragon who might come to see her.

That one always lost their temper and got annoyed at the drop of a hat. Honestly… she was scared.

‘But he’s already here. If I say no, he’ll just get mad again.’

She wasn’t confident she could handle another shouting match with that dragon.

“I’ll be right there. Please prepare some tea and snacks.”

“Yes, young lady.”

And then—

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind burst through the window, turning the entire room upside down. It was like a storm had swept through.

“Kyaa!”

“Y-Young lady! Let me take you to the—”

“What took you so long?”

As the wind calmed, a figure appeared at the window.

A child who looked no older than six or seven had stepped into Ardishu’s room.

It was an extremely rude way to enter, but almost no one dared to call him out on it.

‘He’s the first dragon born in a thousand years, after all.’

With only nine dragons left in the world, his existence was undeniably special.

“Wh-what brings you here?”

“I heard you’ve been up to something strange lately.”

“Me? I don’t think so…”

Ardishu replied, clearly confused. She didn’t seem to understand what he meant.

“Young lady, should I bring the tea in here?”

“It’s fine. I won’t be long.”

The dragon responded curtly and plopped himself down on the bed without even taking off his shoes.

With hair like dark amethyst and eyes of gold, small wings on his back, and a tail swishing behind him, he was unmistakably a baby dragon.

“I, I didn’t really do anything…”

“I’ve heard the rumors. You’ve been taking classes from a human, haven’t you?”

“Oh, um, yeah.”

Ardishu nodded. It was true. Over the past few days, she’d been attending lessons at the temple with Teacher Sora.

Her time there had been peaceful and fun.

‘Just a few days ago, we decorated my name.’

Teacher Sora had given her a bold printout of her name, ‘Ardishu,’ and laid out colored pencils, crayons, paints, and all kinds of stickers, encouraging her to decorate it however she wanted.

[“It’s… too many things to choose from.”]

[“Then let’s try one at a time.”]

At first, all the options felt overwhelming. But with Teacher Sora’s help, she got used to both the familiar and the new coloring tools.

Through that, Ardishu discovered what colors she liked, what textures she enjoyed.

‘Looking at my rainbow-colored name made me feel happy.’

For the first time, she thought her name was pretty.

She hung the name she decorated on the classroom wall and checked on it every day.

“Hah! Taking lessons from some lowly human and giggling about it? How pathetic. They barely live a hundred years! What could they possibly teach us?”

Normally, Ardishu would have clammed up right there.

Talking back wasn’t in her nature, not to adults, not even to kids her own age.

That’s how she used to be. But this time—

“Teacher Sora is a good person.”

She said it clearly, with a steady voice, no hesitation or wavering.

Teacher Sora was someone Ardishu liked. She didn’t want to hear someone badmouth her when they didn’t even know her.

And… maybe just a little bit, she was angry.

Crackle.

The lights powered by mana flickered and went out completely, reacting to her rising emotions.

“Oh? Look at this.”

“She even made me a cute bunny!”

Ardishu opened a pocket of space and pulled out the sand bunny.

She hadn’t even shown this to Eldic yet. It was a precious treasure.

“Seriously? It’s just sand!”

The dragon scoffed and smashed the bunny with his fist before Ardishu could stop him.

“Gasp!”

“A pathetic human trying to teach us? I’ll show them what’s what.”

Without sparing Ardishu a glance, he smirked cruelly and leapt out the window.

Whoosh.

The wind scattered the sand bunny until not a single grain remained.

“T-Teacher might hate me now…”

Ardishu’s face went pale.

* * *

It was Friday. Time to prepare the weekly take-home letter.

‘Let’s see… this week with Ardishu…’

I dipped the quill into ink and began writing.

Scratch scratch.

The feathered tip danced across the paper, filling the page with soft, rounded handwriting.

Every detail: what lessons we did, how Ardishu responded to each one, what she ate.

<Ardishu seems to dislike carrots. Does she have an allergy? If it’s just a matter of preference, I’d like to gradually encourage her to eat small amounts. I’m curious to hear what you think, Guardian Eldic.>

Everyone has foods they like and dislike.

Kids with sensitive palates often refused vegetables, and Ardishu seemed particularly sensitive to smells. That’s probably why she hated carrots.

‘Maybe we could have her grow carrots herself, to make them more approachable? Or mask the smell in a dish?’

But that wasn’t something I could decide alone. Some guardians preferred that we respect their child’s preferences.

Even as the teacher in charge, I’d only be with them a year or two. At the end of the day, the guardian’s approach took priority.

‘No matter how much effort I put in, if the guardian isn’t on board, it’s all for nothing.’

Just as I finished the last line—

“Ardishu?”

Peeking through the teacher’s office door was Ardishu herself.

So early? Youngja-unnie hadn’t even taken the bus out yet.

“H-hello…”

She stepped all the way in and gave a polite bow at the waist. The white dress adorned with purple flowers and her cherry blossom-pink backpack made her look absolutely adorable.

“Good morning! Ardishu, you’re really early today!”

“Um, teacher…”

It looked like she had something to say. I knelt down to meet her eye level.

“This is for you!”

She dug through her bag and pulled something out in a hurry.

“A ring?”

“My mom gave it to me. Pretty, right?”

It was a ring set with a dazzling multicolored diamond. It looked expensive. Very expensive.

“Wow. It’s beautiful! So sparkly. But it’s a gift from your mom, right? I think you should keep it.”

“N-no! You can’t!”

Can’t?

I blinked in confusion as she pulled out even more things from her bag.

“This is the very first leaf that sprouted on the World Tree this year. I-it’s pretty.”

“Mmm.”

“This one’s an elixir. They say it can cure almost anything!”

At this point, it didn’t feel like a gift. It almost felt like a bribe.

“Did something happen?”

“I just… I just really like you, that’s all…”

She trailed off, eyes darting to the side.

‘Something’s up.’

Of course, I couldn’t accept gifts like this. But if I rejected them all, Ardishu might feel even more anxious.

She was clearly giving them with a specific intention.

“I really like this leaf.”

“B-but I want you to have everything.”

“I appreciate the thought, really. But I think this ring suits you better. And the elixir… well, I’m super healthy, so I won’t need it.”

I explained gently, and Ardishu nodded.

“Alright, then. Snack time!”

I took her hand and stood, ready to head to the dining room.

And then—

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew through, and someone leapt in through the window.

I recognized them right away by the wings and the tail.

“A dragon!”

My second student had finally arrived!

While I was brimming with emotion, the dragon child looked… less than thrilled.

“Hi there! I’m Yoon Sora. You can call me Teacher Sora—”

“A lowly human dares to address me?!”

I expected to be treated like this at some point.

But I thought it would be from a kid of a species that didn’t like me… not this.

Staring calmly into the eyes of the shouting child, I put on a stern face.

“You can’t disrespect your teacher. I think someone needs to spend five minutes in the thinking chair to reflect on what they did wrong.”

“What makes you think you can order me around? Do you have a death wish?”

His golden eyes gleamed with violent light. The predatory pressure was intense…

‘But also kinda cute.’

If this had been my first time meeting a dragon, I probably would’ve panicked. Those slit-pupil eyes were intimidating, no doubt.

But I’d already faced the black dragon.

Compared to that overwhelming presence, this was nothing.

‘Even if he’s a dragon, a kid is still a kid.’

He might be a bit prickly, but all I saw was a feisty kitten that hadn’t been tamed yet.

“What makes me think so? Because the Dragon Lord entrusted your education to me. I’m raising you with his blessing.”

I spoke confidently. My plan was to get a firm grip on him, then spoil him rotten.

“So what?”

“Huh?”

“So what? If I attacked you right now, not even the Dragon Lord could save you.”

His golden eyes sparkled with a cruel light.

I straightened my posture without thinking.

“…Well, maybe I’d get scolded, but that’d be the end of it.”

So much for backup… it was useless!

Forget what I said—

Even if he was just a kid, a dragon was still a dragon.
 

<To be continued>

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