VBNWDW - Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Without the dragon's deliberate mischief, and with Metis searching diligently, they finally managed to collect nine third-tier fire magic cores by dusk.
They encountered a few higher-tier magic cores along the way, but the dragon stated that the third tier was the limit her body could withstand, so Metis had no choice but to give them up.
The bustling streets were still packed shoulder to shoulder. The orange light of dusk painted the land, falling upon the iron-clad guards standing watch at the gates. A white skirt swept past them, but it never registered in their eyes.
When Metis returned to the palace, the illusion disguised as her resting in bed instantly dissipated. There was still warmth left in the bedding, as if she had truly never left.
The little black dragon perched on her shoulder flapped its bony wings, glided down to the desk, and then lazily flopped down again. It rested its thumb-sized head on its small claws, its eyelids half-closed, looking utterly exhausted.
Metis, having changed her clothes, came over and saw this, finding it adorable. She was, after all, a young girl, and the bond of the Partner Contract assured her that the dragon would not harm her, allowing her to relax her usual vigilance.
She couldn't resist reaching out and poking the dragon's cheek with the same force it had used on her in the past.
The dragon merely lifted an eyelid languidly, its gilded beast eyes turning toward her. Then, it raised one of its bony wings and patted her finger.
Not only did it not hurt, but the breeze it stirred up was actually quite cooling.
However, the perceptive Metis did not continue her antics. As soon as she lowered her hand, the dragon once again grew drowsy. Who knew who had been the one walking around, who had been the one yawning on her shoulder all along? If anyone else had seen this, they would have thought the dragon had worked incredibly hard.
The setting sun outside the window strained to squeeze into the room, its light falling like a soft veil of gauze upon the palm-sized dragon. Its black jade scales were almost translucent, and the horns on its head seemed to curve a little more with sleepiness. Its wings, framed by bone and connected by a thin membrane, were folded behind its back.
Metis had to admit that the Dragon Clan were truly God's favored children, sculpted with the utmost care. Even a being of a completely different species would sincerely praise the perfection of a dragon's form.
Its lines were exquisitely fluid, every muscle perfectly defined—not overly exaggerated, yet conveying a sense of immense power. In its smaller form, it appeared even more delicate and dainty.
Perhaps Metis had been staring for too long, because an impatient dragon tail swung over and slapped the back of her hand.
Her Majesty the Queen could only look away with regret. She opened a notebook that had been pushed to the side of her desk. It contained the homework assigned by her teachers, which she had to finish tonight and submit for their inspection tomorrow.
It wasn't difficult, however. The Council had no intention of letting her master any important knowledge, so the assignment was simply to write a few sentences flattering the gods.
Metis gave it a casual glance, then picked up a dark feather quill, dipped it into a glass bottle of water, and began to write black characters on the page. Even after filling an entire page, she didn't need to dip it again, as if it held an endless supply of ink.
The dragon beside her, listening to the rustle of the paper, fell into an even deeper sleep. It unconsciously shifted its body, snuggling up against Metis's left forearm before resting its small head on top of it, falling completely silent.
Metis glanced at it, a strand of her golden hair lifted by the breeze before settling back on her neck. Her writing movements became even lighter and slower.
The matter of her awakening seemed to have been temporarily set aside. If the dragon didn't bring it up, she wouldn't ask. She hadn't learned much here, but the one thing she had in abundance was patience. Since the dragon would definitely help her awaken, it meant the time was not yet right.
She thought back to what the dragon had said to her in the hot spring. Did she still need to grow up a little more…?
She composed herself, hiding her suddenly racing heart and burying the doubts she had about the awakening ceremony deep within her mind.
When you lack power, you shouldn't try to investigate certain things. Otherwise, you will only bring harm upon yourself.
Metis understood this principle well.
The red sun outside the window was dragged below the horizon, leaving only a sliver of white light. The clouds in the sky turned brilliant, and the lights of Anthelia began to flicker on. The banners on the city walls stood firm, unwavering.
In a short while, a maid would knock on the door to deliver tonight's meal.
Metis paused, wondering if the sleeping dragon could still conceal itself with its spatial abilities. To be safe, she lifted it onto her lap and covered it with a pure white blanket, making sure it was hidden before calling out, "Come in."
The maid who entered was a stranger. She held a bowl with both hands and first scanned the room cautiously before stepping forward, bowing slightly, and saying, "Your Majesty."
Metis nodded slightly, pretending not to see the maid's subtle actions, and told her to place the food on the desk.
The maid did as she was told, then glanced around the room one more time before leaving.
The hand clenched into a fist beneath the desk slowly relaxed. Metis's gaze was heavy as she looked at the closed door.
Did they suddenly decide to rest early today?
So they sent a maid to check if I was in my room the whole time, instead of sneaking off to find the dragon?
After considering this, she turned her head to look at the tray. On it was a plate of roasted meat, a plate of vegetables, and a bowl of oatmeal porridge. By royal standards, this dinner was pitifully simple.
Back when she was still needed to practice Draconic to summon the dragon and quell the rumors at home and abroad, her treatment had been much better than this. At the very least, she was given magic beast meat for nourishment. But now…
It was just simple livestock.
As far as she knew, the talented children of the ducal houses ate the meat of third-tier or higher magic beasts for every meal. When they were about to have a breakthrough, powerful elders would even specifically hunt fifth-tier magic beasts to help them condition their bodies.
Metis looked on with a placid expression, her left hand still on her thigh, steadying the dragon's head. With her other hand, she casually moved her finished writing aside and lowered her head to scoop up some porridge.
It wasn't bad. It was, after all, prepared by the palace chefs.
The round grains of rice were crushed between her teeth and then swallowed.
The little black dragon, which hadn't been woken by the movement, rolled over at that moment. It suddenly opened its eyes and took a moment to sluggishly register where it was.
It wagged its tail and slowly began to climb back onto the table, flopping down on the surface once more.
Metis didn't stop it, simply raising a hand beneath the little dragon to catch it in case it fell in its sleepy daze.
But a dragon was still a dragon. Its small claws gripped the surface firmly, having no need for her help at all.
"Would you like to try some, Lord Yueqing?" Metis asked when she saw it staring at the bowl.
The dragon's reply was a bit slow, nodding its head a beat later.
Metis used her spoon to scoop up a little for it, carefully holding it to its mouth.
The dragon raised its eyes and gave her a strange look, as if to say that it had only shrunk, not lost its power. But on second thought, it lazily lay back down and allowed Her Majesty the Queen to serve it.
With a dip of its small head, it could taste the lukewarm porridge.
The black dragon took a small taste, then looked at the roasted meat on the other plate.
Her Majesty the Queen then cut a small piece for it, spearing it with a fork and holding it before it.
This felt a bit like raising a small magical beast, much like how the great families would find a magical beast cub with an attribute similar to their heir's, have them form a contract, and then let the heir raise the beast personally.
However, the magical beast Metis was raising was clearly rather picky. After taking a small bite of the meat, it showed a look of disgust, as if to say, "How can this be so awful?"
A dragon claw pushed Metis's hand away, and it flopped back onto the desk with a listless expression.
Metis was a little confused, not thinking the palace chefs' cooking was that unpalatable. She picked up the fork and took a bite of the meat the dragon had left behind. After chewing a few times, her expression grew even more puzzled.
It wasn't that bad…
The black dragon offered no explanation. The gray-white flames that had disappeared earlier reappeared around it. It casually swiped a claw through the air, pulling off a piece of flame and swallowing it in one gulp, as if eating cotton candy.
Metis raised an eyebrow. This was an unrecorded behavior. Was it something all dragons did, or was it unique to space-attribute dragons?
She felt a bit like an observer at the moment, carefully studying the young dragon's every move and pondering its meaning.
In this entire world, besides that first queen who had been pursued by a dragon, she was probably the only one who had the chance to observe a dragon so closely and meticulously.
Metis didn't know the reason for it, but she knew how rare this situation was.
Perhaps she had been staring too long, because the dragon raised its head to look at her and uttered, "You can't eat this."
Metis was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said softly, "I know."
The dragon gave her a suspicious look, then took another bite of the gray-white flame. It was unclear if it believed her. It waved a small claw and said, "Eat your food properly."
Metis didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She looked at it, thought for a moment, and then produced several round gold coins from her hand, tucking them under the little black dragon for it to rest on.
She had felt something was off, and now she knew. It was missing gold coins.
The dragon, having suddenly received something shiny, was very satisfied. It squinted its eyes, claiming the items as its own. It took another bite of flame and generously declared, "When you become a Magister in the future, I might share a piece with you."
If Metis remembered correctly, the youngest Magister to ever appear on this continent was forty-three years old.
She fell silent for a moment, then patted the little dragon's head with her finger.
The little black dragon's cheeks were puffed out, full of flame. It only glanced at her before ignoring her, looking extremely hungry.
Metis tilted her head in thought. So as not to make the dragon suspect she wanted to steal its food again, she turned back to the things it had disdained—the food that was originally hers.
Night descended, and a crescent moon quietly appeared in the sky. The leftover bowls and spoons were placed to the side, to be collected by someone the next day.
After finishing her meal, Metis picked up her unfinished homework and continued to write.
The little black dragon kept eating beside her. After an unknown amount of time, it let out a small burp and then lay on its gold coins, watching her write.
It was all very boring stuff.
Its gilded eyes darted around before finally pressing down on her hand. It uttered, "Metis, do you want to learn something useful?"
The tip of the quill paused, leaving a bean-sized inkblot on the page.
The dragon lifted its claw, and an inexplicable force emerged. The quill broke free from her hand and began to write the monotonous, rigid content on its own.
The little black dragon spoke again, emphasizing, "This is in exchange for the gold coins you just gave me. Six gold coins for one lesson. I will teach you how to master fire magic."
Although she didn't know why it insisted on it being an exchange—and the dragon who had spent the day with her knew she wasn't short on money—Metis didn't really care about the cost, let alone a mere six gold coins, if it meant she could acquire useful magical knowledge.
Metis frowned slightly but still nodded.
The deal was struck.
The dragon smiled and said, "Now I am your teacher, Your Majesty."
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