Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

Aila and I stepped out and stood in front of the elevator.

“Alright, lead the way.”

“Lead where?”

“To the masked person.”

Since I didn’t know their face or name, I referred to them as the masked person.

“I can’t call.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know who they are.”

It didn’t seem like she was lying.

I returned to the room on the 13th floor with Aila.

Unlike before, I leaned back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

“Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

“I thought you might be shocked.”

“I’m not a child.”

“To me, you look quite young.”

Due to the transformation potion, her appearance, which already looked youthful, seemed even younger.

Aila hadn’t seen my original form, so she treated me like a child.

Brrrring!

The stillness was broken by a loud siren sound.

Startled, I ran to the window and looked down.

“It’s too far, I can’t see well.”

“Try focusing mana in your eyes.”

As Aila instructed, I concentrated mana in my eyes, and the distant scene became clear and close.

“But what’s happening?”

“It seems they’re doing inspections.”

About a dozen people in blue uniforms were milling around, rummaging through the shops.

The people they were capturing didn’t look like they were drunk.

The state of those being dragged out, unable to walk on their own, was very strange.

“They’re addicted to Pinlin.”

The word “addiction” made me realize what it was about.

As the world develops, it probably doesn’t only contain good things.

It seemed that illegal activities were widespread in this world as well.

“Don’t even be curious about Pinlin.”

“I have no interest.”

Seeing the state of the addicted people made me feel uneasy.

They didn’t resemble humans at all.

Even when the inspectors beat them severely, the dazed individuals just smiled blankly.

I suddenly became worried about what would happen if the inspection team stormed the building.

“It’s nothing to worry about, so don’t mind it.”

Aila tried to reassure me by patting my head.

“I’m not worried.”

Since the bed in the room on the 12th floor was occupied by Jema, I used Aila’s office sofa.

I lied down and closed my eyes, but sleep didn’t come easily, and I kept tossing and turning.

“Can’t you sleep?”

“Not really.”

Swoosh.

As I lay with my body turned toward the backrest, I felt a slight weight behind me.

Soon, something soft touched my back, and delicate white arms wrapped around my body.

“Rest easy and fall asleep.”

Maybe it was because of the warm sensation or the feeling of security, but I fell asleep before long.

With a sweet fragrance lingering at the tip of my nose, I felt slightly suffocated.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Uh.”

Aila was lying on her side with one arm propped up, looking at me.

Only then did I realize why I felt suffocated.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re still in the cute stage~”

I pushed Aila, who was grinning mischievously, away and got up from the sofa.

“This place gets a lot of sunlight.”

“Hmm. I thought I had a decent figure, but was it not?”

Aila persistently questioned me about it.

Trying to change the subject to diffuse the awkward atmosphere, I failed.

“It’s fine, just say what you feel.”

“Thanks to you, I slept well.”

“How boring~”

I was relieved that Jema didn’t see this.

“Well then, shall we go have breakfast?”

Thinking about it, I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since the meal at the rest stop the day before.

Following Aila, we went down to the 10th floor, where Solche was having a meal.

“How’s Jema doing?”

“Stable. Should be done by tonight at the earliest.”

Aila poured cereal and milk into a bowl and handed it to me.

Seeing that, Solche appeared quite surprised.

“So the captain has that side to her too.”

“You have to be kind to the kids.”

To anyone looking, Solche seemed to be much older than Aila.

But in terms of rank, Aila was much higher, so Solche politely spoke to her.

“Is Aila part of the Intelligence Agency?”

“Ririan. It would be rude to call me by name without permission.”

“What’s the big deal? She’s still a kid.”

Aila stirred the cereal and milk in her bowl as she spoke.

“I’m not part of the Intelligence Agency. My affiliation is with the Imperial Second Knight Order.”

The task Aila had set as a condition for enrolling in the academy.

Aila had confidently declared that, as a guardian, her credibility was more certain than anyone else’s.

As I was trying to find words, Aila smiled brightly and said,

“Just call me casually.”

“Ah, sure.”

I replied a bit stiffly, my voice tightening.

Seeing that, Aila grinned widely and took a mouthful of the soggy cereal.

After finishing the meal, we briefly stopped by to check on Jema.

Jema’s heart was particularly transparent and glowing a bright blue, beating with even more vigor than yesterday.

“Is that the heart?”

“It’s changing to an optimal state to accept mana.”

Aila decided to have Solche and me accompany her back to the 13th floor while entrusting Jema to an Alium.

We each took a seat on the sofa, and a discussion about what to do next began.

“I’ve thought about an escape route.”

“Still, we’ll have to confront them eventually, right?”

“There are reports that Latnia has heightened its security.”

Looking at the map spread out on the table, I realized that the empire’s territory was much larger than I thought.

“The territory of the Latnia Empire is this vast.”

“It is. To a large degree, even the lands of surrounding nations can be considered as Latnia’s territory.”

It could be called an alliance in a good sense, or a vassal state in a different light.

I quickly scanned my eyes for the Kingdom of Tholis.

A squiggly circular nation the size of a finger joint.

While inside, I thought it was quite a large country, but seeing it like this made it look rather small.

I felt that the expression “frog in a well” fit perfectly.

“We can escape like this.”

“We’re fine, but what about the captain?”

“If we are careful, we might be able to pass without confrontation.”

The place Aila pointed to was Serreb.

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s a country that enslaves Werebeasts.”

“Can’t you just use the transformation potion?”

Aila smiled ruefully at my words, and Solche spoke up.

“There’s no transformation potion specifically for Werebeasts.”

“We can use one meant for Demons.”

“That’s one way, but if I drink that, I won’t be able to fight.”

Solche briefly explained the transformation potion to me.

Potions originally made specifically for Demons are formulated to have no side effects when a Demon drinks them.

If a Werebeast drinks it, they become human but nothing more than an ordinary human.

“In the end, if I drink the potion for Demons, I’ll just turn into a regular girl.”

“You should be careful not to drink it.”

“I’ve heard that if a Werebeast is captured as a prisoner in enemy territory, they force them to drink it.”

During the ensuing meeting, two or three more escape routes were discussed.

“How’s Jema’s combat ability?”

“Should be useful. She trained quite well even in such an environment.”

“Hmm. Really?”

Indeed, Jema had the ability to critique my swordsmanship.

It seemed Aila was considering involving Jema in combat if necessary.

“I can fight too.”

“Ririan. You’re still too young.”

“Right. Children should sit still.”

“Solche. Can you tell her that I’m not a child?”

In frustration, I asked Solche for clarification.

Solche stood me up from the sofa and briefly described what I looked like before drinking the transformation potion.

“There’s not much difference now.”

“Still, I’m not as young as Aila thinks.”

I had some combat experience. I recounted my duel with Juan to Aila like it was a heroic tale.

“Against a candidate for the Swordmaster?”

“Yes.”

“Ririan. Do you really want to fight that much?”

“I’m just letting you know that I can fight if needed.”

Showing Aila my determination, she slowly nodded as if she understood.

“Well then, come down to the basement floor later. I’ll train you for a bit.”

I nodded in acknowledgment and followed Solche back to the room on the 12th floor.

In the room, I showed Alium the ring dagger that Aila had given me.

“She gave you this?”

“Yes, but it makes quite a noise.”

“It’s a magical weapon with a consciousness. It’s much more expensive and harder to obtain than regular weapons.”

Alium explained a little enviously that various tasks could be accomplished with this dagger.

When it was time, we headed to the basement floor.

The people who had blocked the entrance automatically moved aside and opened the door when I approached.

I began to wonder if these people were also agents of the Ronan Empire.

Upon entering the room, Aila stood there in comfortable clothing holding a wooden sword.

As the door closed behind me, I asked about my earlier doubts.

“They’re JS Group employees.”

“Do they know our identities?”

“No. They think I’m a businessman.”

Unlike us who had drunk the transformation potion, Aila appeared as a Werebeast.

They didn’t seem to mind that Aila was a Werebeast.

“Looks like Werebeasts get treated fairly well by humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“Demons are discriminated against everywhere.”

“Ririan. Both demons and Werebeasts are discriminated against by humans. Humans see demons as enemies, and Werebeasts as slave commodities. Of course, some humans don’t discriminate.”

If Aila’s words were true, which side were those standing outside the door on?

“The Tholis you came from is extremely exclusionary of other races. Conversely, various races live within the Latnia Empire.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“That’s why I’m saying you’re still young.”

For once, I couldn’t find a counterargument.

Aila’s world must be much broader than the one I had seen.

Aila raised her wooden sword and assumed a stance.

“Try attacking me ten times first.”

“Uh, I don’t have a weapon.”

“I gave it to you yesterday.”

Aila pointed at the ring on my hand.

“This is a real sword, isn’t it? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It doesn’t matter. Draw it out.”

When I infused a bit of mana into the ring, it instantly transformed into a dagger.

“Thank you for calling me, brother. Are you going to fight with this lady? Looks like there’s a large difference in skill, so I’m not sure if you can win, but I’ll try to help as much as possible.”

“Can you be quiet? Just say things that will help in battle.”

“Try attacking ten times like this.”

Following the dagger’s recommendation, I began to attempt ten attacks.

Aila effortlessly dodged my movements, which were unfolding at a notably close range.

“Hey. You haven’t hit me even once.”

“That’s up to you. If there’s a huge skill gap with the opponent, my advice won’t be much help.”

“Well then, since the ten are up. I’ll counterattack!”

Thud thud!

In an instant, I received blows all over my body.

A speed that I couldn’t even track with my eyes.

This was the current difference in skill between Aila and me.

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