The enormous dragon stretched to its full size beneath the pale moonlight, its black scales gleaming with power.
With one flick of its claw, Artoria was tossed into the air.
"Wahhh—!"
But before she could finish screaming, she landed safely on the dragon's back.
Though she'd seen Ian like this before, she wasn't too panicked. She just didn't understand what he was doing.
From what he'd said earlier, he couldn't stay in this form for long.
And come to think of it…
She touched her lips.
Why did he kiss me out of nowhere?
But there wasn't much time to think.
The dragon beneath her began to move again—doing something that felt oddly… mundane.
"…Are you hunting?"
Just as she said, despite his fearsome appearance, Ian was using his dragon form to hunt wild animals around the village—something the starving villagers couldn't possibly manage themselves.
It might've been overkill—but it was effective.
With every dive, frightened beasts scattered. One by one, they fell.
Then came the flames—roaring red fire roasting the prey. The smell of cooked meat quickly filled the air.
Artoria swallowed.
But she also realized something concerning.
"Um… Ian, I think you just set the mountain on fire…"
"Oh no!"
ROAR—
The dragon got back to work.
After who knows how long, the flames were finally put out.
Ian returned to his human form—now naked, standing in front of her.
Artoria didn't know where to look.
But Ian showed no hesitation.
He tore off a piece of the freshly roasted meat and held it out to her.
"You're hungry, right? Eat."
Artoria's eyes misted a bit.
But she nodded.
"Yeah. I'll eat now."
The food didn't taste amazing. After all, it had just been roasted by dragonfire.
But to her, it was a gourmet meal.
"This is delicious!"
"Ian, aren't you going to have some?"
Right after she said it, she realized—she'd probably said something really bad.
In Ian's eyes, food often meant her.
So if she was offering to share…
Ian stood up.
He came closer.
Closer still.
"Um, I…"
Artoria shut her eyes.
Truth be told, if Ian really wanted to do "that" right now, she wasn't sure she could refuse.
After all, he did just burn a whole mountain down because she said she was hungry.
But…
He didn't.
Ian, who approached, didn't push Artoria to the ground or do anything indecent. He simply took a symbolic bite of the food in her hand and gently asked:
"Are you feeling better now?"
"You're probably… not that hungry anymore, right?"
"...That's all you wanted to say?"
Artoria looked at him.
"Nothing else?"
"...There's something."
"I knew it…"
Artoria tensed up again. But once more, what followed was unexpected.
"Artoria, why did you look so upset earlier? Did something happen between you and Morgan?"
"Should I go punch her?"
"No!"
Artoria quickly stopped him. She knew if she didn't, he'd really go off and do it.
"It's not that I had a fight with her… It's just…"
She took another bite of her food.
"I don't know how to help everyone."
"I promised I wouldn't let them down. But now, I can't think of any solutions."
"I don't want to doubt myself, but…"
Artoria drew the golden sword—Caliburn. In the moonlight, its golden blade gave off a faint white glow. Looking at it, she softly voiced her feelings:
"I think… I might not be able to fulfill my original wish."
"So what?" Ian replied calmly.
"So what…?"
Artoria looked at him, surprised.
"Isn't that a big deal?"
"Why would it be?" Ian held her hand.
"Just because you were hungry earlier doesn't mean you'll always be hungry."
"Turn into a dragon, and the problem's solved, right?"
"Why do you think it's so serious?"
His logic was odd—but somehow, it made perfect sense to Artoria.
"You mean…"
"It's not that I can't do it—I just haven't found the right way yet?"
"Like with eating!"
"Exactly."
Ian nodded.
"If there's no food, go find some."
"If you want to help someone, find a way that actually helps them."
"You smell nice, Artoria."
"So you'll definitely be able to do it."
"That's… a weird way of reasoning," Artoria couldn't help but comment.
"But… it actually makes a lot of sense."
"My bread alone can't save them—"
"But…"
She looked at the meat Ian had hunted—or more accurately, grilled—and smiled, no longer conflicted.
"There must be a way to make sure they never go hungry again."
"That's the whole reason I'm here—to find that path."
"Ian, thank you!"
"Oh, right—"
The embers of the burned trees were still crackling, but Artoria's gaze remained fixed on him.
"Come over here."
"..."
"Don't look at me like that. Just come here!"
As Ian stepped closer, she rose on her tiptoes.
Muah—
A quick, clean kiss.
"Don't read too much into it!" Artoria clutched her chest.
"That was just… repayment for earlier, that's all!"
"That means we're even now. We didn't really kiss. Got it?!"
"Okay, that settles it!"
"I…"
Artoria wanted to say more—but then saw the dragon appear in front of her again.
"Huh? Why'd you turn back into a dragon?"
"Oh well."
"Just in time to carry the food back."
She climbed onto his back without hesitation this time.
Geez…
At this rate…
I really won't be able to stay away from this dumb dragon, will I?