“What... did you just say?”

    “Sister, what’s wrong?”

    The dragon leader in front of her wagged his tail, tucked under his belly, and asked, causing Irina’s expression to twist.

    “Why am I your sister?”

    “Pardon?”

    “How  am I your sister, you damn lizard?”

    “...???”

    Irina glared at the dragon leader incredulously, while he tilted his head in confusion.

    “Oh, my goodness.”

    Then he slapped his head with his tail, hurriedly spread his wings, and prepared to take off.

    “I-I’ll be right back, sister. Hehe...”

    “Wait! Where are you going...”

    “S-sorry!”

    As Irina quickly reached out, the leader waved his hands and wrapped his wings around himself.

    “I-I’m not trying to run away.”

    Peeking his head out between his wings, he whispered.

    “So please don’t hit me... or at least go easy...”

    Wagging his tail like a puppy and giving her a pitiful look, he appeared quite cute.

    If you ignored his massive body and the scars covering him, marking him as the charismatic leader of the dragons.

    Because of this stark contrast, all Irina could see was a lizard trying to act coy.

    “I-I’ll prepare what you like best, s-sister.”

    “Huh?”

    “W-Well then...!”

    As Irina’s expression turned menacing, the leader, sweating profusely, closed his eyes tightly and flew into the sky.

    “What on earth...”

    Irina, watching him shrink into a dot, slowly turned her gaze to the side.

    “...Lady Irina, this way.”

    “We’ve prepared it to be as similar as possible... Please be satisfied...”

    The fierce-looking dragons, now with innocent eyes, bowed their heads in front of her.

    “Follow us, please.”

    “...”

    Deciding to stop thinking for a moment, Irina nodded with a dazed look.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “”Enjoy your meal, sister.””

    The dragon leader and his two subordinates, known as his two wings, bowed their heads politely and spoke.

    “...What is this?”

    “It’s what you like best, sister.”

    Still staring at them with a dazed look, Irina slowly glanced around.

    “...Haah.”

    Now she found herself sitting in a cozy space made of branches, like a giant bird’s nest, hugging her knees.

    - Squirm, squirm...

    And writhing before her were various types of insects and chunks of meat dripping with blood.

    “You want me to eat this?”

    “Has your taste changed?”

    Irina, staring at it with a disgusted look, asked, to which the leader responded with confusion.

    “Don’t hesitate and try it. It’s very fresh.”

    “...What is this?”

    When the leader picked up a chunk of meat and brought it to her mouth with a grin, Irina, though horrified, involuntarily drooled and asked in a low voice.

    “It’s a jowl from an orc. A delicacy among delicacies–”

    “Get that away from me, dammit.”

    “Understood.”

    When she realized what the meat was, she emitted a killing intent, causing the leader to hastily throw the meat aside.

    “Well, I guess after a thousand years, your taste might change a bit...”

    “What are you talking about... Ugh.”

    Watching him with a puzzled expression, Irina suddenly clutched her chest in pain.

    Why... does my body feel like this.

    Her body, which had been burning hot, was now blazing painfully.

    Something’s definitely wrong.

    Realizing something was off, Irina jumped to her feet and raised her voice.

    “Hey, you guys.”

    “Y-yes?”

    “What did you do to me?”

    “Do to you...?”

    The dragons, sitting demurely and watching her warily, looked confused, causing Irina to snap.

    “What kind of trick are you pulling on me!? You damn lizards!!!”

    Her angry shout echoed through the makeshift nest, causing the dragons with innocent eyes to freeze.

    “Do you think I wouldn’t notice your tricks!? I’ve had enough...!!!”

    “L-Lady Irina...”

    “Ever since I saw you guys, my whole body has been itching and my chest has been pounding!! Tell me what you did!!!”

    “D-do you think she doesn’t like this anymore?”

    “Another trick...”

    Just as Irina was about to explode in fury, she trailed off upon seeing what the leader hastily brought out.

    “This is–”

    “I-It’s juice made from i-ice dragon berry... Please drink it to cool down and calm your anger...”

    “...Hmm.”

    Looking down at the juice emitting a chilling aura, Irina, who had been glaring at the dragons with burning eyes, grabbed it with her tail and drank it all at once.

    - Swoosh...

    Half of the numerous spears were aimed at Frey and Ruby, but the other half were aimed at the academy.

    “It’s a risky move that consumes a lot of power and has high risks, so I usually wouldn’t use it... but for you, who are already exhausted, it’s a death sentence.”

    Even as she sweated slightly, she didn’t lose her confident smile and lowered her hand.

    “Wait–”

    - BOOOOM!!!

    Just as the ice spears in the sky began to plummet,

    - Fwoooosh!!!!!

    A massive pillar of fire swept across the academy’s sky.

    - Sizzle...

    Aishi’s ice spears evaporated in the air, leaving no trace of it behind.

    “””...”””

    The people, momentarily stopping their battle, looked up at the sky, now red and filled with flames and heat, with awe-struck expressions.

    “Hey, kid.”

    From the sky, someone with a fierce appearance slowly descended.

    “Playing with icicles is dangerous.”

    Landing impressively in front of the stunned Ruby and Frey, she confidently looked at Aishi.

    “Guys, I’m here...”

    “You, did you just awaken?”

    “...What?”

    Smiling brightly and turning slightly, she tilted her head at Aishi’s cold words.

    “W-What are you talking about? I haven’t awakened yet...”

    Muttering this, she looked down at herself, then froze with her gaze fixed on the ground.

    - Swish, swish...

    A thick, scale-covered tail was swaying at her feet.

    “...Huh.”

    Poking the tail with a dazed look, Irina then reached up to her head.

    “This...”

    She touched the thick, hard horn, as tough as Ruby’s.

    - Flap, flap...

    “Come to think of it, how did I get her just now? I didn’t use magic...”

    As she fiddled with the horn, she glanced at the wings flapping on either side of her and started recalling how she drank the juice and flew earlier.

    “...ROARRR.”

    - Fwoosh...!

    When she opened her mouth and made a sound, a terrifying breath of heat and fire erupted from her mouth.

    “Oh.”

    Seeing Aishi sweating and retreating due to the opposing aura, Irina mumbled with a blank expression.

    “Why... now of all times...”

    “O foolish demon, have you seen the true power of our lord?”

    “Ugh.”

    Aishi, who had been warily watching Irina, was startled by the deep voice behind her and turned around quickly.

    “...All brothers, listen!!”

    The dragon leader, who had landed on the academy’s wall, raised his head and let out a thunderous voice that shook the earth.

    “A new Dragon Lord has been born after a thousand years!!!”

    As he spread his dragon fear, the dragons on the hill also released their energy and took to the sky.

    “Fulfill your duty to our new lord!!!”

    The leader, who had lost all his earlier awkwardness and was now exuding a menacing aura, finished speaking and glared at Aishi as if he would kill her.

    “Ugh...”

    As the dragons from the hill filled the sky and flew toward the academy, Aishi began to retreat with a twisted expression.

    “Me? A Dragon... Lord?”

    Irina, looking back and forth between the dragons filling the sky, the smiling Ruby and Frey, and the confused Aishi, muttered in a daze.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Some time later.

    “Are you sure...?”

    The court wizard, trembling in the frozen Cloud Kingdom’s basement, asked fearfully upon receiving an urgent call from Aishi.

    “Is it really... now?”

    - If I say do it!! Do it!!!

    “But... this scale... and...”

    - Grrr!!!

    - Crunch, crunch...!!!

    “Is something wrong?”

    Despite Aishi’s angry shout, he hesitated and looked around nervously, his head tilted at the sounds of tearing and crashing.

    “It sounds like something’s being ripped apart and a loud noise...”

    - I’ll kill you first...

    “I-I understand!! I’ll do it!!!”

    As sharp ice spears sprang up around him, he screamed and pulled out a scroll.

    “This is insane. Absolutely insane...”

    - Shhh...

    “...Damn it.”

    Trembling, he ripped the scroll as the ice spear pointed at his side.

    - Rip...!!

    “I don’t care anymore.”

    At that moment,

    “””...”””

    The eyes of the First Heroes, who had been densely packed in the ruins, opened simultaneously.