ol li The Dragon’s Values/li /ol

    * * *

    That day, the guardian dragon Oka was having a nostalgic dream.

    She was recalling the day she first met her now-deceased master.

    Born to a red dragon mother and white dragon father, Oka’s scales were a pale pinkish color – neither red nor white.

    Unable to breathe 【Fire Breath】 or 【Cold Breath】, the defective Oka was scorned and bullied among the red dragon brood she spent her childhood in.

    Eventually, the fledgling dragons tried to kill her through “y,” pushing the defective young Oka into a deep, deep ravine.

    Though deeply wounded, dragons are dragons even if defective.

    Her tremendous life force prevented her from dying despite losing consciousness as she was carried downstream by the ravine’s river flow.

    It was there that she encountered her destiny.

    Her lifelong master.

    * * *

    “Ffshuu——”

    Exhaling a pale pinkish mist, Oka stretched her wings and neck wide, shuddering with arge yawn.

    Nostalgically dreaming of old memories made for an extraordinarily pleasant awakening.

    Oka had once been the contracted beast of a certain human woman.

    That master who saved her from being swept away by the river while on the verge of death was a wonderful girl with a strange charm.

    Oka dearly loved her master.

    When her body was still small, she would always ride on her master’s shoulders or head, constantly together.

    Traveling to all sorts of ces, having adventures, gainingpanions……beautiful, unforgettable memories.

    While her master possessed strange powers, she was still human.

    Unable to defy her mortal lifespan, it had now been several hundred years since she passed away.

    Only able to meet her most beloved master in dreams now.

    How could she not feel wonderful?

    Blinking her drowsy eyes and looking around, it was still early morning.

    Quite an early awakening for Oka, who often slept in until noon.

    Shanshanshanshan……

    Stretching her neck high and straining her ears, she could hear the distant ringing of bells approaching the mountain summit.

    An unusual sound serving as her morning rm today.

    (Ah……those bells are from the humans……)

    Long ago, Oka had given those bells to the vige chief at the time so the vigers could signal their arrival if they needed toe see her.

    Back then, Oka would often fail to notice the vigersing all the way to the rock, forcing them to wait for up to three days in the cold.

    Feeling bad about that, she gifted them the bells she had picked up.

    Oka liked humans.

    Not only because her most beloved master was human, but watching humans contemte things and disy various expressions and behaviors never failed to captivate her.

    When her body was small, she used to apany her master into human towns to observe all sorts of people, but now that she had grown sorge, that was difficult.

    With her massive frame, approaching unfamiliar humans would only make them cower, potentially leading to conflict.

    That was not her desire.

    So she had the Yamaok Vige established.

    Bringing impoverished people to the remote mountains, providing them a ce to live, always allowing her to observe humans.

    (Hmm……? But why are the humansing all the way here? Did something happen?)

    Tilting her head in a very human-like manner, Oka pondered.

    A chilly gust of wind blew, rustling her mane.

    After a few minutes of contemtion, finally fully awake, Oka realized why the vigers wereing.

    (Ah! That’s right! They must be bringing the girl I requested!)

    ……Oka liked humans.

    That was why she had Yamaok Vige established.

    To prevent the vige from perishing, she eliminated powerful monsters in the vicinity and brought in creatures for food sources.

    She also imparted various knowledge cultivated over her long draconic life to the vigers, and additionally……

    Performed “culling” to control the human poption from growing toorge.

    If the vige’s human poption increased excessively, they would run out of sustenance from huntable beasts.

    Oka could continually bring more creatures from outside, but that would only be a temporary stopgap.

    Such measures could not be sustained indefinitely.

    Therefore, culling was necessary.

    For the sake of the vigers themselves.

    It was unavoidable.

    An essential measure to ensure her vige’s continued survival.

    This time as well, as part of poption control, Oka had demanded the vigers offer up a girl.

    This would prevent excessive future poption growth.

    Additionally, to avoid wasting the offered girl’s life, Oka would properly consume her.

    …………Oka liked humans.

    However, her values were a dragon’s values.

    Though she hadpromised considerably, there were still fatal discrepancies from human values.

    (Right! I should go greet the humans with a good morning!)

    Oka spread her massive wings and leisurely took flight from her resting ce toward the rock.