“I thought I was going to die.”

“My bad, my bad. I forgot that humans were as vulnerable as spotted mice… I’m a dragon in human form but I’m stronger than I look, so I could’ve killed you by accident.”

Gard cackled and patted me when I had crouched down in a groggy state.

I looked at him resentfully, but it didn’t matter. Thanks to that, I had to resist so much while being swayed around.

Incidentally, when I asked about spotted rats, I was told that they had white and brown spots that lived in the desert territory of the demon realm. People call them hamsters.

The feeling of discomfort had disappeared shortly after, when I belatedly noticed the hard-skinned hand stroking my head was particularly gentle.

He was certainly careful not to pierce my head with his nails and his hands were tender and gentle, as if cherishing a small animal.

When I lifted my head, I saw Gard’s wild, demonic artistic face unexpectedly close to me.

“Hm?”

Gard slightly tilted his head. He looked just as carefree as before and it didn’t match his good looks.

Mm. It’s fine with me even if he did something wrong, but even so, he feels bad about it, so just in case.

I made excuses to no one in particular inside my head, and reached out to him to do the same, stroking his smooth, silver hair beside me.

“Hm? …What’s going on?”

“I almost got torn into two, but well, I’ve trained so much that I won’t die from something like that. I also don’t mind it, so I won’t hate you for it.”

“Ah–”

“You don’t have to look so guilty like a child.”

Blank.1Pokan (ポカン) – have one’s mouth wide-open; flabbergasted.

I continued to pat Gard, with his mouth wide-open and hands stopped. He had smooth hair.

It was the kind of silky hair that women would especially envy, but unfortunately, the owner was a big, human dragon.

For some reason however, he looked so apologetic and nervous.

He was a strong man, so he might’ve inadvertently done this kind of thing a lot.

“…Heheh. Shal is good at pats. More.”

“Oh, uh, mm.”

Maybe it was because I had been patting him as he likes, but Gard had started to move and hugged me as he sat down cheerfully, in contrast to how he was before, making me fall on my back.

“Hey, you’re heavy.”

“You’re strong, right? Hero.”

“Mm-hmm… of course. The Hero is strong.”

I immediately raised the white flag to the dragon clinging around my waist and continued to pat his head.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down. Maybe it was because I said something strange, but we had somehow become close. Psychologically, not physically.

I held the base of his horn and stroked it lightly. He growled deeply and closed his eyes comfortably.

He may be a little cute.

“Aa… Touching a deadly, poisonous dragon, a Hydrod, of your own accord, you’re a strange human…”

“Huh? Will I die if I touched you?”

“There’s a high probability that you’ll get a poison status condition, but it’s okay if I’m not consciously using it. But… I might suddenly use my abilities, you know. It’s not very often you find someone fearless in the demon realm who’d continuously touch me like this.”

“That’s also intense… You’re right, dying is scary…”

I muttered, while repeatedly petting Gard. My face turned slightly pale.

Even though I had been living in a different world for a long time, I was still a modern era Japanese inside. I wasn’t familiar with dying due to poison.

But that Mr. Poisonous Dragon was weak at the base of his horns. I didn’t know if it was just the weak point of Hydrods, or of dragons in general, or Gard’s. But it was interesting to see how he growls whenever I touched it with my fingers.

“You’re a really strange guy, for not stopping with those hands. Yeah… It’s really a good thing I came to drop by in here… I don’t really understand it, but I’ve taken a liking to Shal.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I also feel comfortable relaxing like this with Gard.”

After all, there wasn’t much to do in this room and prison. I was allowed to live a good life with my hands and feet free, so my peaceful mind sought entertainment.

I managed to keep my mind occupied by interacting with the bat-like monsters that brings my meals without interfering with their work or having little chats with Azel.

If I could also have someone like Gard to talk to, I’d be very happy.

And if it were possible, I’d also like to find a job I could do in the demon realm. I wonder if there’s a workplace that’s available for prisoners.

“I’ll come see you again. Well, it might be a bit more difficult next time, but just make sure you unlock your window.”

“No, come in through the door.”

Though my suggestion was only natural, he furrowed his brows and frowned.

Gard sat up restlessly and looked dejected. He relaxed his tail and stared at me, who was still sitting on the carpet and looking up at him.

“In here, the Demon Lord put up his personal barrier, right? The next time I go in, I’ll get caught. I kinda saw the demon lord running out earlier, so I snuck in. I was just supposed to check on you for a bit, but now I want to play with you again…”

So, that’s the reason for his troubled expression. He was here now because the demon lord was out when he happened to come to check on me, but it seemed that he originally would’ve been discovered as soon as he entered.

He had no plans of visiting again in the future, but now he felt like coming back to see me again.

It seemed that Gard wouldn’t be able to win against Azel. It did seem like a dragon would win against a wolf, but…

When I said that, he replied with, “I can only transform myself into a dragon, but the Demon Lord has four more stages of forms, you know.” Oh, I see. But of course, I also understand what he means.

“Shal, when the Demon Lord removes his barrier, you can come visit me. If it’s you, I can let you ride on my back.”

As he said that, Gard wagged his tail, reluctant to leave, but just like the time he came here, he went out the window and over the balcony, then jumped down the cliff.

I was startled and reflexively ran towards the window. But soon, a huge silhouette passed through.

In the sky where monsters and demons were flying, one remarkably huge silver dragon split the clouds and fluttered beautifully as if it were dancing.

The body with the long neck was a slender four-legged dragon. When he flew around, flapping his huge wings, the monsters cleared the way immediately.

“…If I ride that, it would make me feel more nauseated than before.”

I was seriously troubled as I watched Gard spinning and fluttering around like a roller coaster.

I might not just split into two but explode instead.

…It’s fine, the Hero is strong. I partly told myself and resumed my workout training more enthusiastically than usual.