The teacher and student thing was just Priscilla's own way of calling it. During that period, Lister actually treated her more like a friend.
It should have been the 22nd year since Lister was transported to this world. At that time, he, Aurola, and Saint Rinah were students at the National University of Saint Viliana. Meanwhile, like most struggling fresh graduates in his previous life, he was also busy with his graduation thesis.
The research field he chose at that time was the ecology of magical creatures.
This was undoubtedly a niche topic, but Lister chose it purely out of his own interest. After all, by that time, he was already bound to Aurola and didn't really need the university's recognition.
Therefore, that research could be considered the last time Lister conducted research entirely based on his personal interests.
He chose the border between Saint Viliana and the Demon Realm as his research site. It had a rich ecological environment and also an abundance of... monster girls.
Initially, Lister just wanted to investigate the social structure, customs, and living ecology of monster girls, a social science type of research. However, after seeing the illnesses that those monsters contracted for various reasons... This social science survey gradually turned into a large-scale free clinic.
Priscilla, who was still called "Crimson Claw" at that time, met Lister during this period.
She was Lister's first patient. When Lister found her, she was wrapped in a tattered cloth from head to toe, with injuries of various sizes on her body, as well as varying degrees of infection and fever, lying on the roadside at death's door.
According to Lister's investigation, if the majestic dragon horns represented a half-dragon's status in their clan, then their signature dragon claws, evolved from hands, were the best weapon to consolidate their status.
So, when Priscilla was brought back to Lister's base by him, went through a series of wound cleaning, fever reduction, and anti-infection treatments, and woke up to see Lister holding a knife and wearing a mask and gloves, her first reaction was—
She gave Lister a big claw swipe.
Although Priscilla later expressed her regret for that claw swipe many times, Lister still remembered how she, half-naked at the time, stared at him with a fierce gaze mixed with fear, and fear mixed with despair.
As Lister said before—he was just an ordinary person willing to help others within his capacity.
So, at that time, Lister chose to give himself a simple bandage and brought her a pot of steaming stew.
...
As for everything that followed, it developed naturally.
Lister needed someone to help him learn demonic script, while Priscilla needed someone who could help her.
Also during that period, Lister learned that this girl named "Crimson Claw" was the daughter of a half-dragon clan leader. Her clan was destroyed in a territorial dispute with other tribes, which led to the predicament Lister saw before.
Just like that, she spent a not-too-short but not-too-long time with Lister as his translator and assistant. They parted ways when the remnants of her clan came back to take her home, and Lister also needed to return to university.
That pure white gown was the coming-of-age gift Lister prepared for Priscilla, and also a farewell gift.
...
At Lister's strong insistence, Priscilla finally let him go.
"Actually, I didn't really want to tell you so soon, but I had no choice. In front of you, I always feel like I can't hide anything."
Priscilla smiled at Lister, while placing her tail on his leg and swaying it back and forth.
"In fact, when I saw this dress, I already had a guess. I just didn't expect such a pure 'atavism' phenomenon to occur, so I didn't dare to make a judgment... If you didn't say it, I might have had to find a way to look for where 'Crimson Claw' was taken by you."
"Isn't she right in front of you, Mr. Lister?"
Priscilla made a move to hug Lister into her arms again, but Lister dodged it imperceptibly.
He couldn't help it. He was really not used to such frequent physical contact.
Seeing Lister's action, Priscilla frowned slightly in dissatisfaction. She gently hooked Lister's chin with the tip of her tail, cupped his face, and made Lister look straight into her eyes.
"What are you dodging for?"
"Well, I don't think we're that close."
"...What if I had fur instead of scales on my body?"
"Then I might struggle a bit... Ouch..."
Priscilla's tail tip mercilessly poked him.
She stood up, spread her dragon wings from behind, and enveloped Lister within them.
"I am the Demon Lord here, and you are my possession, so you have no right to refuse me."
"..."
Seeing the cold look Priscilla put on, Lister pursed the corners of his mouth, then couldn't hold it in.
"Pfft..."
"Are you laughing at me?"
"No... I just remembered how you used to timidly tuck in your claws and ruin one piece of clothing after another when putting them on. Looking at you now, I feel a bit, um..."
Seeing Lister's rare relaxed appearance, Priscilla's originally furrowed brows and eyes gradually loosened. She retracted her dragon wings and sat beside Lister.
"I've changed a lot too."
"Mm, I can see that. Your coming-of-age ceremony must have been quite spectacular, right?"
"Yeah."
The coming-of-age ceremony of the dragon people did not have a fixed age, but started when the dragon person began to have the urge to find a suitable mate, which varied from individual to individual.
Priscilla's coming-of-age ceremony was much later than other dragon people's because she had no desire to find a mate at that time.
During the coming-of-age ceremony, the dragon person's horns and scales on their body would shed once, while their claws and teeth would become sharper and more pointed. Their overall level of dragonization would take a step closer to the form of the flying dragon that people were familiar with.
It is worth mentioning that although dragon people and the dragon race differ by only one word, they are actually vastly different. Although they have some blood relationship, they are actually two distinct species, and the dragon race will not degenerate into dragon people through bloodline.
But the reverse is not necessarily true. Dragon people may activate their bloodline during the coming-of-age ceremony and undergo a second growth, transforming into a true dragon.
Just like Priscilla, she... ascended to a dragon at her coming-of-age ceremony.
Priscilla responded to Lister while turning her head to look at him.
The process of second growth was not easy. After all, it was a double evolution in terms of bloodline and victory. It definitely could not be a relaxing process.
But... as long as she silently chanted his name in her heart, she could endure no matter how painful it was.
"Do you know what made me the happiest after transforming into a dragon?"
Priscilla asked Lister with a smile,
"What?"
"It's that... I will never tear the clothes you gave me again."
"...Is that so?"
Lister smiled and shook his head.
"It may be very late, but I still want to say... Congratulations, Priscilla, Demon Lord."
"Your arrival is the greatest celebration for me."
...