Under cover of night, the village lay silent.
With a full day of backbreaking farmwork ahead, the villagers had all turned in early.
Even the only inn in town had put out its lamps.
And yet, in the middle of all that darkness and stillness, one figure quietly climbed out of bed.
Moonlight spilled through the window, lighting up a pair of pure white wings—and hair bright as sunlight.
Bare feet, pale as jade, touched down soundlessly on the floorboards.
Gabriel glanced back at Kiriko and Raphtalia asleep in bed.
Good. Master and Raphtalia-oneechan were still out. They hadn't noticed a thing.
The Dogkin and Motoyasu were in the other room, so she didn't need to worry about them either.
On tiptoe, Gabriel crept to the table.
She reached out and lifted the cradle that had been set there.
Staring at the two eggs nestled inside, a small, satisfied smile tugged at her lips.
I did it… well, at least I'm halfway there.
Cradle in hand, she slipped out of the guest room as quietly as a thief.
Down the stairs she went. At this hour the innkeeper was long asleep; the first floor was pitch-black and empty.
Gabriel searched for several minutes before she finally found the kitchen.
Back when they'd camped outdoors, she'd seen Master build a fire a few times. Copying what she remembered, she got the flames going, set a pot on the stove—
Then placed the cradle into the pot.
She paused.
…That didn't seem right.
So she fished the cradle back out, left only the eggs in the pot, and added some water.
At last, she crouched on the floor to wait.
As the water began to boil and steam rose from the pot, Gabriel couldn't help swallowing. A little drool even slipped out.
She wasn't boiling these dragon eggs because she was hungry.
It was because…
Filolials and dragons were mortalenemies.
Because of dragons, the flying Filolials had gone extinct.
Still, "mortal enemies" here wasn't like witchers and monsters—some innate, bone-deep hostility where the moment you lock eyes it's straight to ripping each other apart.
Gabriel didn't feel that kind of blood feud.
She simply thought, very plainly: if she was a Filolial, and Master had brought back two dragon eggs…
Then she ought to do right by her species!
Crack… crack-crack…
A thin fissure suddenly appeared on one of the eggs.
Crack-crack…
A heartbeat later, a fissure appeared on the other one too.
Gabriel froze, completely at a loss.
She'd never cooked before. She'd never even boiled eggs in her life.
What was happening?
The cracks spread. Then the shell finally gave way—and a tiny green dragon head popped out.
The head was only about the size of a thumb; the whole dragon couldn't have been bigger than her palm.
The little green dragon blinked and looked around, golden slit pupils taking in the world with curiosity. At last, its gaze settled on Gabriel.
It let out a few whimpering cries. It didn't really sound like a dragon—more like a puppy.
Gabriel stood there, stunned, until it called again and she finally snapped back to herself.
…It's so cute.
In that moment, she completely forgot what she'd come down here to do.
She reached both hands toward the pot to scoop the little green dragon out—then jolted as the boiling water burned her fingers. Like waking from a dream, she yanked the pot off the heat.
As if it understood what she wanted, the green dragon wriggled free of its shell, gathered its strength, and flapped its pitifully small wings as hard as it could, wobbling toward Gabriel.
Gabriel hurriedly caught the little thing.
Perched on her hand, the tiny dragon took a few steps and turned in a circle, like it was inspecting its territory.
Gabriel reached out and gently patted its head.
The little one seemed endlessly curious. It kept staring at her finger, sniffed it—then hooked her finger with its forelimbs and began licking it over and over.
Gabriel giggled, tickled by the sensation.
"So itchy… so itchy…"
But the tiny dragon kept licking. After a while, as if it had confirmed something, it suddenly opened its mouth and chomped down hard.
"Eeeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!"
A long, piercing scream echoed through the entire inn.
...
"They were probably hungry and thought your finger was food."
Kiriko held Gabriel's small hand while she sniffled with watery eyes, gently blowing on the finger that still bore tiny tooth marks.
In the corner of the room, the green baby dragon that had bitten her—along with a white baby dragon that had hatched a bit later—lay on the floor tearing into snacks with enthusiasm.
Raphtalia and Lute crouched nearby, watching in fascination, while Motoyasu stared in open envy at Kiriko holding Gabriel's hand.
"Mother-in-law-sama, I, Motoyasu, believe that since dragons are the mortal enemies of Filolial-sama, we shouldn't leave these two dragons alive. Steamed or braised—say the word and I'll do it."
"Shut up. Nobody asked."
Kiriko ignored the angel-fetishist's outburst and blew gently on Gabriel's finger again.
"Does it still hurt?"
The bite marks had already faded to faint impressions.
"Mm. It pretty much doesn't hurt anymore."
After all, she'd already Class Up'd. She still looked like a little kid, but if she fought seriously, there probably weren't many people in this country who could beat her.
It was just that her level wasn't as absurd as Kiriko's—so getting bitten still hurt.
Speaking of her level…
Kiriko glanced at her own status.
Lv. 2333.
Every stat had broken past one hundred thousand.
As for skill proficiency—which increased every time she leveled up—the prefixes (and suffixes) had piled up so high Kiriko couldn't be bothered to count anymore.
"Good. As long as it doesn't hurt."
Kiriko let go of Gabriel's finger, and Gabriel looked almost reluctant to have it released.
Kiriko walked over to the two baby dragons, still stuffing their faces with snacks. Since Gabriel was always getting hungry, Kiriko usually kept a few sweets on hand just in case.
The two little dragons seemed to recognize the girl in front of them as their owner. They immediately stopped eating and began calling to Kiriko repeatedly.
"They're so cute…"
Raphtalia wore the exact expression any girl made when confronted with something unbearably adorable.
Even Lute—who almost never smiled—couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from lifting slightly.
"We need to name them. Hmm… what should I call them…"
Kiriko raised her right hand in an L-shape to her chin, striking the classic Conan-thinking pose.
"I've got it. Two names—perfect for dragons."
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T/N: awwww gabriel is so cuteeeeeeee