Chapter One: The Dragon Mom

“If you don’t mind, could I ask you some questions to make sure you’re actually the Immortal Dragon?” I said to the white-haired beauty, looking her up and down.

Her hair was as white as freshly fallen snow, aside from the underside, which was a vibrant blue. Just like Suama, she had a blue gem known as a “dragon-core crystal” embedded in her forehead. Her dress was as white as her hair, and if she’d been wearing a veil, she could’ve easily passed for a bride on her wedding day. I looked down and noticed she wasn’t wearing any shoes, but her feet weren’t touching the ground, as she was hovering a little way above it. She basically looked human in every way, but there was an unmistakable hint of magic about her.

“Of course. What would you like to know, master?” the woman said.

“Are you really the Immortal Dragon?” I asked. “The one who let us ride on her back in the Gigheena Forest?”

“Yes, I am,” she replied simply. “I was brought back to life by your blood.”

I couldn’t help but whisper an impressed “Whoa” on hearing this, because it meant this bombshell in front of me really was the Immortal Dragon. It also meant she was Suama’s mother. And she was calling me “master,” and talking super politely to me!

“Master, if I may...” she said to grab my attention.

“Hm?”

The white-haired beauty’s gaze drifted a few centimeters sideways from my face and settled on the black-haired woman beside me.

“Would you like me to take care of the pesky little devil who is clinging to your side?” the Immortal Dragon asked, her voice ice-cold.

“Oh? That’s rather a bold statement for you to make, considering you don’t even know who I am,” the demon retorted.

“Oh, rest assured, I am well aware of who you are. Though it appears you have failed to recognize me,” the Immortal Dragon said. “No matter. But remember this: should you ever bring trouble to my master’s door, I shall not hesitate to end your life, demon.”

Sparks flew between the two women, though Aina and Suama were too busy celebrating their reunion to even notice. The white-haired woman—who was Suama’s mother—was clearly ready to fight the other woman, perhaps out of loyalty to me or maybe as a way to thank me for resurrecting her. Either way, it wasn’t looking good.

“End my life?” the black-haired woman chuckled. “What an amusing notion. I would advise you not to run your mouth in front of me.”

This woman was none other than the devil known as Celesdia. The devils were one of sixteen “demon” tribes that populated an island to the north of the continent. Moments before Suama’s mother had walked in, Celes had barged into my shop and claimed that she was now my slave, even though I hadn’t agreed to anything of the sort. Seriously, give me a break!

“My, my. I thought you devils at least had the ability to discern someone’s strength. How very disappointing.”

“What did you just say?”

Celes was staring daggers at Suama’s mother, but the serene smile on the Immortal Dragon’s face was unwavering. On one side, you had one of the strongest demons in existence, who had very nearly wiped out an entire squad of adventurers by herself, while on the other stood a legendary-with-a-capital-L dragon. And the two of them were currently engaged in a standoff in the middle of my shop.

What did I do to deserve this?

The atmosphere between the two was incredibly tense, to the point that I feared even the slightest provocation might escalate this into a full-on fight.

Why, oh why is this happening to me? Somebody, please help me!

I looked around the room, hoping that someone would leap to my rescue.

“Little Su!” Aina cried again.

“Ain-ya!” Suama yipped happily.

My eyes landed on Aina and Suama, who were still celebrating being reunited as Patty excitedly buzzed around them. The twins had also emerged from their room and were running up to the little dragon girl, gleefully yelling her name. None of them seemed to have even noticed that a fight was brewing between Celes and Dragon Mom. Actually, let’s call her Dramom for short from now on, shall we?

I let out a long sigh. “Guess I don’t have much choice,” I mumbled to myself.

I had to somehow find a way to prevent the two of them from coming to blows in my store. After all, Celes had already smashed up my shopfront once, and I’d only literally just gotten it fixed, for Pete’s sake! Not to mention, I was renting this building from Karen, meaning it didn’t even belong to me. How was I supposed to explain another wall getting obliterated to her? Though, thinking about it, I’d be very lucky if my store was the only thing that got destroyed in their impending battle. I mean, this was a clash between a demon and a dragon we were talking about here! The whole town could be reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds if things really got out of control.

I had to do something. It was my duty as the owner of this store. After all, there was no reason that the lives of the residents of this town should be placed in jeopardy because of something that concerned just me. You’ve got this, Shiro! This is your time to shine! I told myself. The fate of my poor little shop... Scratch that: the fate of the entire town was resting on my shoulders. I gave myself a quick mental pep talk, clenched my teeth in preparation for what was about to happen, then resolutely took a step forward.

“Come on, you two. You—” I started, but I didn’t make it to the end of my sentence.

“Maybe I should refresh your memory, demon?” Dramom scowled at Celes. I didn’t really understand what was happening, but it felt as if some sort of aura had started emanating from her body. It was oppressive, and dare I say, a tad murderous too. I knew I wasn’t the target of her displeasure, but the overwhelming pressure rooted me to the spot all the same.

“That mana...” Celes gasped. “D-Don’t tell me...” A look of realization flashed across her face. “You’re the Immortal Dragon?!”

“Took you long enough!” Dramom chuckled. Confident in her superior strength, she glared at the demon in contempt. But Celes wasn’t the type to back down so easily.

“Who cares who you are?” Celes sneered between gritted teeth. “You clearly think you are much stronger than me, but I will have you know that I was holding back during our fight!”

Refusing to admit defeat, Celes proceeded to give off a similar aura to Dramom’s, as if to challenge her. The fight she was referring to had taken place a little over a week before. Celes had been beaten to a pulp by grandma (who hadn’t even used her full strength against the demon) and was already in a really bad state before Dramom had even arrived on the scene. And that’s without mentioning the dozens of adventurers she’d had to battle in the run-up. So what Celes was basically saying was that, if she were to face off against Dramom again but in top shape this time, she felt she’d be able to hold her own against her. The overwhelming auras emanating from both of them seeped into every corner of the shop, leaving me feeling weak in the knees. But there was someone in the room who was even more affected by this than me.

“Wh-What? H-Hey, Shiro! Wh-Wh-What is she doing here?!” Patty cried out in a panic, pointing at Celes. The fairy was particularly sensitive to mana. “I thought she’d gone back to her tribe! Is she planning on causing us trouble again? And who’s the white-haired lady?! Her magic is insane!”

She perched herself on my shoulder as she fired off this barrage of questions, her eyes flitting between Celes and Dramom. It was clear she was no longer in the mood to celebrate Suama’s return. It must have been tough, having such a high sensitivity to mana. I felt bad that her reunion with Suama had been spoiled. Not that it was my fault, but still.

“I’m glad you’ve noticed the impending apocalypse that’s about to take place here, boss,” I told her.

“H-How could I not notice when they’re churning out such large quantities of mana? Now, are you gonna tell me what’s going on here, Shiro?”

“I genuinely have no idea. All I know is...” I started, then trailed off.

“All you know is?” Patty prompted, repeating my words back at me with some urgency before loudly swallowing her saliva.

“All I know is these two are probably going to start fighting in the next couple of minutes,” I sighed.

“What?!” Patty cried. “But that’d be disastrous!”

“Yup, won’t it just? We’re in a bit of a pickle here, aren’t we? What do you think we should do, boss?”

“W-We’ve gotta stop them! If they start fighting, your shop will be blown to bits in literally seconds!” Patty said.

“Yeah, we really don’t have any other choice, do we? Guess we’re gonna have to put our lives on the line.”

Celes and Dramom paid zero attention to us as they both assumed fighting stances.

“What a pitiful display of empty bravado, demon,” Dramom taunted Celes, her voice dripping with condescension.