Chapter 15: Rest and Cocktails (1)
“Wake up, Dragon.”
Another typical day begins. It’s an ordinary afternoon. I wake the dragon who is still sprawled out. This too is part of the routine.
“Uuung?”
Rurin, the black-haired dragon, rubs her eyes and stumbles to her feet as usual. I meticulously tidy her unruly hair, a habit at this point. It’s the same daily routine.
Rurin used to claim that her hair was akin to the fur of her dragon form and that she couldn’t allow a mere human to touch it. She threw a fit about it.
Now, she doesn’t resist at all.
In fact, she even demands I make it smoother. Rurin’s hair feels like silk, making it a rewarding task to comb.
Once she’s washed and dressed, I drag her downstairs, where she finally looks at me with some awareness. Her first words are always the same.
“Feed me. Food! I’m hungry. Food!”
It’s reminiscent of how my father would greet my mother after work when I was a child. Though, my father never adorably bounced around like this dragon.
Rurin hops around me with her cheeks puffed out, demanding food. It’s a clear signal of her hunger.
“Alright, take a seat, Dragon.”
“Yes. Hurry and serve me!”
Rurin nods confidently and sits at the bar table. Her meal, as always, is a meat dish.
She isn’t fond of vegetables.
It’s amusing to think of a dragon that likes vegetables. Not that she doesn’t eat them at all, but she only does so when they’re served with meat.
It’s absurd to force a dragon to eat vegetables for their nutrients, so I don’t push it.
“Rurin, today we’re going to take a bath. Eat quickly and get ready.”
“A bath, you say?”
The dragon’s eyes sparkled as she stood up.
“It’s about time! My body feels stiff; this is perfect!”
“Why are you talking like an old man? The mighty dragon race feels stiff? And you, the smallest among dragons?”
Though she’s lived longer than most humans, among dragons…
It’s just arrogance.
I stretched Rurin’s lips with my hand, and she shook her head vigorously with her lips pulled tight.
“Uuuu.”
There are public baths in Greike City, akin to the communal baths of the Roman Empire. However, if I sent this dragon alone into a public bath, the building would be destroyed. Rurin can’t do anything by herself. As a human, she’s utterly useless.
Having joined me in this game of life for the first time, she knows nothing about the human world or its ways.
Rurin is a dragon who merely slept in the lair her mother left her.
Thus, I can’t send Rurin to a public bath alone, and it’s better to use the clean hot spring I made rather than a public bath used by many people.
Usually, we have quick showers. Once a month, we use the bath. That’s my rule. Living in a regular pattern, Rurin automatically falls into this routine.
Rurin doesn’t dislike bathing. On the contrary, she enjoys it, as her current reaction shows. She’s a dragon that loves hot water.
So, I hung a temporary closed sign and dragged Rurin up the hill.
“Let’s make it here today.”
“Here?”
“Yeah, based on my previous experience, this is where the underground spring is.”
The underground water of this era is pristine. It can’t be compared to modern groundwater.
There are no chemical pollutants in this world. Moreover, the underground water here is the source used by the people of Greike City, making it a proven drinking water source.
Last time, I nearly hit magma by digging in the wrong spot because the dragon used too much strength.
“Alright, get to work, Dragon.”
I pointed in the direction and urged Rurin.
“Here, right? Leave it to me.”
Rurin responded confidently and opened her mouth. A breath attack emerged. Though it’s not even a fraction as powerful as when she’s in her dragon form, it’s perfect for making hot springs.
If a large-scale spell were used incorrectly, instead of creating a hot spring, the entire hill would be destroyed.
Thus, the fine-tuned breath she can use now is ideal.
Rurin first carved out a circular section in the center of the hill. Then, she continued to use her breath on that spot.
The dragon’s breath pierced through the hill and reached below the surface. The displaced underground water surged up due to the pressure of the breath.
The hill, now hollowed out in the center, allowed the pressurized water to gush out and fill the hole. Once it reached a certain level, the key was to immediately seal the hole with a magical barrier.
“Ugh! My mouth hurts!”
Rurin closed her mouth, grimacing. She grumbled about how uncomfortable her human form was.
“Even if it’s tough, you can’t rest yet. Put up the protective spell on the hole to keep the water from draining.”
“I already did it. What do you take me for? Hehehe. You’re a novice!”
“Really? Well done.”
Thanks to the high temperature of the dragon’s breath, the water was scalding hot. Too hot, in fact. Entering it would mean a one-way trip to the afterlife.
I used an ice spell to cool one side of the water until it reached a suitable temperature.
The ideal temperature for bathing is around 30 to 40 degrees Celsius.
Circulating the water for a while brought it to the right temperature, creating a perfect hot spring.
Technically, it’s not a hot spring since it was artificially heated by a dragon’s breath rather than by natural magma. But for us, it’s a hot spring. Whether it’s lava or dragon breath, it’s the same principle.
“Can I go in now?”
Rurin checked the water temperature and then undressed. Having to wake, wash, and dress her every day, her naked body wasn’t a new sight.
“Take a towel, you exhibitionist dragon.”
“Humans are so bothersome. Hmph.”
The towel I threw landed on Rurin’s head. Without even touching the towel, she plunged into the hot spring and leaned against the edge with a satisfied, almost old-man-like expression.
“Ah, this feels good. I’d love to do this daily, but it’s such a hassle. Why aren’t you coming in?”
“I’m coming.”
I undressed too. Wrapping a large towel around my vital parts, I sank into the hot water. Oh, the perfect temperature. It felt like my fatigue was melting away. Ah, this heat.
I leaned against the opposite side of the hot spring, enjoying the warmth. Rurin, still with the towel on her head, stretched out her voice.
“Fuuunyaaa.”
She started to melt into a relaxed state. Steam rose into the sky, and the sun began to set over the Greike Mountains beyond Greike City, creating a stunning view.
“Alright, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll give you a gift.”
“Hmm? A gift? What is it?”
At the mention of a gift, the dragon’s curiosity was piqued. She finally removed the towel from her head and splashed over to my side.
I opened the bag I had placed on the edge of the hot spring.
“How about a cocktail?”
“A cocktail? What’s that?”
“It’s like alcohol.”
“Oh, alcohol in a place like this!”
As stars began to dot the sky, stars also appeared in Rurin’s eyes. I motioned for her to stay still and pulled out my secret weapon.
Chocolate liqueur. Specifically, chocolate cream liqueur. Mozart chocolate liqueur. It’s basically chocolate-flavored alcohol.
A flavor I thought Rurin would love.
I had accidentally summoned this instead of regular chocolate.
Back in culinary school, I had only heard of this, so I wasn’t familiar with the taste myself.
I poured the chocolate liqueur into a glass. It’s like a syrupy drink made of chocolate cream. Then, I mixed in milk. This Mozart chocolate liqueur is noted for its prominent chocolate flavor—
Or so the label says.
I stirred it thoroughly with a spoon, and the simple cocktail was ready.
“What’s this? The color looks weird.”
“Is the taste weird too? Try it.”
I handed her a glass. I took a sip myself.
Puhah!
It’s delicious.
The sweetness of the chocolate spread through my mouth. Meanwhile, the alcohol in the chocolate hit my brain, creating a slightly bitter yet pleasantly tipsy feeling.
It tasted like a high-end almond chocolate, with a bitter alcoholic undertone. The milk mellowed the overall flavor, making it smooth and sweet.
Sipping chocolate liquor in hot water—what a luxury. Even the hot spring was handmade, adding to the extravagance.
And the surroundings looked like a paradise on earth. The green mountains, the pristine sky, and the beautiful dragon before me.
“Oh, this is sweet!”
Not savoring the taste, the dragon downed the drink in one gulp and handed me the glass.
“Another!”
“Hey, you should savor it.”
“Hmph! You’re so stingy. How could you keep such a sweet and delicious drink from me until now? I love sweets! Hehehe!”
Indeed, it’s a drink popular among women. It’s chocolate, after all. Rurin took the glass I handed her and downed it again, her eyes starting to spin.
Huh?
“Hehehe! Delicious! You should have some too.”
She pounced on me. Literally. She draped herself over me, and her forehead smacked against mine.
“Hmmph!”
Then this dragon started pouring the chocolate liquor from her mouth into mine.
The sweet taste of chocolate filled my mouth.
Wait, this isn’t the point. Is this dragon crazy?
She probably doesn’t even realize what she’s doing. Honestly.
I managed to pry her lips off mine.
“Hehehe. Tasty, right? Why aren’t you drinking?”
Then she downed the remaining chocolate liquor. This reaction was identical to getting drunk on soju.
Wait.
Feeling uneasy, I turned around and examined the bottle of chocolate liqueur.
Alcohol content: 17%.
The daunting figure stared back at me.
“Wait, Rurin! Stop! Stop, Dragon!”
No wonder she was acting so out of character.
A dragon that clings to someone when drunk… Well, here’s one.
It was my mistake not to check the alcohol content of a drink I was having for the first time. The milk had masked the fact that it was 17% alcohol.
“No! It’s delicious!”
In the end, Rurin emptied the glass and clung to me again.
“Hehehe. Did you know? One of your old companions said that if I kissed you, you’d be helpless! Give me your lips!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you drunk dragon!”
“Kyah!”
I take back what I said. She knows what it means to touch lips.
Apparently, this dragon had a rough idea of what it meant. Thanks to that old companion.
But I have zero desire to be pounced on by a drunk dragon.
I stopped the bath and carried the limp, dizzy dragon back home.
Even after washing her up and laying her in bed, she clung to me fiercely, not wanting to let go.
I had no choice but to stay by her side until late into the night.
Of course, the next day, I promptly filled in the hot spring. I only dig it up when needed. That’s the rule.
