"Ugh…"
As Yuki tried to raise himself up, his head throbbed as though a thousand needles pierced his brain. With a loud sigh, he held his temple with his hand as he looked around.
"Where am I?" he blurted out.
The place that he found himself in was a luxurious room fitted with extravagant decorations. Gold and other seemingly precious metals were used as adornment as some were embedded in the walls to create beautiful architecture while others were shaped as sculptures for people to admire. The whole room screamed the word "gaudy" wherever one looked at.
"So, I'm still alive, huh? What the hell did that dragon do…"
Although he was able to withstand such torture for a long time, what he felt was clearly something that would not be leaving his mind for a long time. Such pain was so intense that he who did not fear an overwhelming dragon refused to experience anything like it ever again. Seriously, what had he done to deserve something like that?
Unexpectedly, a voice gave him an answer that he did not expect would come. "I granted you a bloodline."
Surprised, Yuki turned his head to the side. It was a moment that he would never forget for the rest of his life. On a costly looking chair sat a beautiful woman who looked like she was in her 20s, staring at him with amusement gleaming in her golden eyes. What was surprising about this person, though, was her ethereal beauty that overshadowed even the magnificence of the room. Her hair, as red as blood, streamed down from her head up to her waist. Pairing that with her golden, reptilian eyes made her look as if she were a deity.
Yuki was certain that this person was not ordinary. And what made him most certain about it was not only her heavenly appearance but also the black, shiny scales that covered her curvaceous body and the horns that sprouted from the sides of her head. He would have remained enchanted if not for the fact that the alarm bells inside his mind were blaring loudly without pause.
With vigilance in his tone, he asked, "Who are you?"
"What? Have you forgotten about this monarch? Why don't you guess?"
That kind of way of speaking, he was familiar with it! He did not want to believe it, but he did not know anyone who spoke in illeism other than the giant Dragon God that he regarded as his master. It was Mirelia!
"It's you! What the hell did you do to me earlier? I was hurt, you know!"
Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, he straightened his body subconsciously and pointed at the Dragon God who had somehow turned into her human form. And here he thought that she did not have a gender. No, that was not the case, actually. It was just that her identity as a dragon was too strong for him to remember something like that. And obviously, he also could not tell if she had one in the first place with her dragon form.
Before the Dragon God could chide in return, however, a voice sounded behind her figure. "Impudent! How dare you disrespect Her Majesty the Dragon God!"
A heavy suppression followed as an oppressive aura pressed down on Yuki, pinning him back to the bed he was laying on just a moment ago. The frame of the furniture creaked loudly due to the immense force that assaulted him before collapsing into broken pieces. He was about to struggle, but before he could do so, the Dragon God's melodious voice spread inside the room.
"That is enough, Ereben. I allowed it."
With his body free from pressure, Yuki turned his gaze from the woman to the person a step behind her. It was a man with long lavender hair and delicate face like that of a woman. Similarly, he also sported scales that covered his body and horns that decorated his head like a crown. It was apparent that he was a dragon similar to Mirelia. The wrath that was apparent in his expression quickly melted and turned into shock as he processed the Dragon God's words.
"Fuck! That hurts…"
Still in astonishment, the man called Ereben asked with slight hesitation, "Is… this alright, Your Majesty?"
"Well, I would have preferred for someone to worship this monarch for my magnificence," Mirelia paused, her expression turned weird, "but I think I'm fine not hearing it from this person…"
Puzzlement appeared on the subordinate dragon's face. He could not understand what his liege meant by that. A human was actually allowed to be casual with the Dragon God… with the Dragon Monarch…
"It is much better to show you. Servant, act respectful and reverent for this monarch."
"Are we really doing this again?" Yuki hesitated.
"Just do it. Otherwise, do you want him to flatten you to the ground again?"
"Fine."
Following his master's words, Yuki put on a respectful expression on his face. His brows were bent exaggeratedly as overflowing reverence shone out of his eyes. He straightened his body like a rod and moved his hands here and there fluidly like some theatre performer.
"Oh, sun of the world, light of all creatures! Here, your servant is present and willing to do Your Majesty's bidding! Whatever it may be, I am ready to do so with my life! For you, I will live. And for you, I will die. Just say the word, and this humble one shall depart! If Your Majesty points your finger to the east, then this servant shall not head to the west. And should Your majesty point your fingers to the west, this humble one shall not go to the east."
Frankly speaking, his dialogue was well crafted after taking a lot of notes from the medieval movies that he had watched back on Earth. However, the dramatic flare in his voice and the ostentatious movements he did with his hands made the display quite jarring. It looked exactly like a commoner imitating how noblemen spoke. It was really unsightly that the Dragon God shivered a little.
Turning her head back to her subordinate, Mirelia asked, "Now, do you get why this monarch allowed it?"
Ereben's lips twitched a little as he heard his liege's question. Indeed, it was quite a shocking view that he could not help but cringe. He suddenly felt bad for releasing his suppression on the human who infuriated him just a moment ago.
"Servant, you can stop now."
This time, the subordinate dragon did not argue. The Dragon God sighed, seemingly tired all of a sudden. She could still remember the first time it happened when she took Yuki as her servant. Back then, it was much worse than this. With long strings of words and theatrical movements that bordered creepy, Yuki somehow made Mirelia, a powerhouse, tremble in fright.
"The miracle of the continent, guide of all mankind, are you absolutely sure that this servant should stop?"
"Damn it, stop it already!"
"Jeez… I know you've beaten me up harder than you should have during training because I didn't talk to you respectfully. But the moment I did so, you did me dirty like this. Make up, your mind, alright?"
Yuki felt as though he was insulted. He just did what he saw on TV. He thought that he did quite well considering that he did not study anything related to etiquette and just used the things he used to watch as reference. But he did not expect that the Dragon God would treat him like a plague whenever he did so. He was actually not against using formal speech even if he was a little unwilling in his heart because he was, after all, the dragon's servant. However, Mirelia seemed against it for reasons unknown to him.
Seeing veins popping out of the Dragon God's temple, he changed the topic to avoid calamity. "However, to think that you're actually the 'Supreme Monarch' and the 'Dragon God' you claimed to be. Master, I'm surprised."
"What? Did you think this monarch was deceiving you?"
Yuki averted his eyes. "Well, I thought that you were just showing off. I did not think that it was actually true…"
"Hmph! You should be thankful that this monarch is magnanimous. If it were others in your shoes, they would have perished already if not earlier."
Such dynamic gave Ereben the shock of his life. A human with ant strength disrespected the Dragon God and actually got away with it! If this news ever spread to the whole continent, a lot of people would definitely think it was fake. Another surprise was that his liege seemed to actually be more animated when talking with the human. What actually was going on? Was the identity of the human as a drifter actually that important?
"By the way," Yuki voiced as he looked at the subordinate dragon, "Who is that?"
"That, over there, is Ereben. This monarch's subordinate and a powerful dragon according to the world's standards."
Hearing his liege, Ereben snapped out of his thoughts and introduced himself gracefully. "This humble one is given the name Ereben by Her Majesty. My apologies for treating you roughly on our first meeting."
His movements were graceful and beautiful, just like a bonafide noble who exuded elegance naturally. It was so contrast to Yuki's performance that the Dragon God actually teared up inwardly.
"Yes, yes! That is how you do etiquette!"
Somehow, Yuki felt defeated. "Are you really that disgusted with my manners that you actually shouted in happiness?"
"Hmph! Yours was so unsightly that you made this Dragon God tremble. You're the first one to do so among the humans. It looks like I will have to order Ereben to beat up some manners into you with your horrendous performance."
"…"
Yuki shivered momentarily remembering the beating that he had to suffer. In addition, it also brought him to recall the pain that he had suffered prior to waking up, making him flinch in the process. Was his master actually a sadistic pervert who enjoyed hurting others? He felt ominous with such topic coming out of her mouth. In order to avoid calamity once more, he used his special technique "change topic" to proceed as he sweated bullets.
"By the way, what do you mean when you said you bestowed me a bloodline?"
Watching Yuki's stare turn weirder by the second made the Dragon God feel insulted for some reason. But hearing his question, she quickly snapped back and answered with words that brought shock to his core.
"Basically, you are one of us now."
"What do you mean?"
Mirelia paused. A smirk that foretold dread appeared on her delicate looking lips.
"You are now a dragon."