Lulu yawned and lazed around on her back. “Where’s Tafel?” she mumbled to herself as she stared up at the ceiling. Her limbs were splayed to the side, adopting a lazy pose that she’d never be able to rest in at home because her mother thought it wasn’t polite. In the corner of her room, there were a pile of materials, but most of them were burnt or corroded; it didn’t seem like they had any value left. As for the toads Tafel had caught for her, well, a pile of broken bones was all that remained of them.

A thumping sound caught Lulu’s attention, and she turned her head to the left. A human wearing black armor had fallen down right outside her door. Judging from her posture, she must’ve been spying on the holy dragon. The two’s gazes met, and they both froze.

“Uh, hi,” Lulu said, the top of her head firmly planted against the ground.

“H-hello,” Mary said in her half-crouched, half-fallen position. She climbed to her feet, her cheeks slightly pink. After greeting each other, the dragon and the human didn’t know what else to say. Mary scratched her head and took a step backwards, making her way out of the room while making sure she didn’t turn her back on the apex predator.

Lulu stared as Mary disappeared into the corridor. Then, her eyes shifted back to look up at the ceiling. Another sigh escaped from her mouth, and her stomach visibly sank inwards. “Wait a minute,” Lulu said and sat up, turning her head towards the door. “I thought humans couldn’t leave the farm.” She lumbered towards the entrance to her room and stuck her head out. There was a thumping sound, and something hard struck her lower jaw.

Mary clutched her forehead as she stumbled backwards, and Lulu reared her head back while grabbing at her chin. The dragon and the human stared at each other again. “You bumped into me,” Lulu said.

“Sorry,” Mary mumbled. She glanced around before staring up at the dragon with a helpless expression. “Do you know which way is the exit? I got lost.”

“Yeah,” Lulu said and pointed to the right, in the direction behind Mary. “It’s that way. Don’t leave the farm for too long. I don’t know why your soul is still there, but it shouldn’t be too healthy for you to wander around like this.”

Mary nodded and backpedaled out of Lulu’s view. The holy dragon scratched her head. For some reason, the human smelled a little familiar, but Lulu was certain they had never met before. The holy dragon furrowed her brow and scratched her head. After confirming Mary had disappeared, she turned her gaze to the left. There was another thumping sound, and Lulu once again felt a pain in her lower jaw—on the other side this time.

Mary pushed at the ground, climbing to her feet. She turned around to look at the object she had bumped into, and a confused expression appeared on her face. “Are you the dragon I met just now, or are you a different one?”

“That depends,” Lulu said. “Do you have a twin? If not, then yes; you bumped into me twice now.”

Mary furrowed her brow. “Didn’t you say the exit was that way?”

“It is that way,” Lulu said and glanced at the direction she had pointed in. She shifted her gaze back onto Mary. “It’s literally a one-way road. How did you appear on this side?”

“I don’t know,” Mary said and shook her head. “I just walked backwards, and then I bumped into you.”

The two stared at each other. “Alright,” Lulu said after a moment of silence. She picked Mary up and walked down the corridor. After a bit, they came to a forested cavern with glowing rocks embedded in the ceiling. Lulu placed Mary down and nudged her, urging the human to go forward. “I’m grounded, so I’m not allowed to take a step beyond this threshold.”

“Thanks,” Mary said and pursed her lips. “I’ll be going then.”

“Don’t get lost again, alright?” Lulu asked. “If you wander into the palace and meet my relatives, most of them won’t be so nice to you.” She turned around and lumbered back towards her room. Mary watched the holy dragon leave. For some reason, the armored woman felt like she was a spider that a human had trapped and let out of the house.

***

Vur placed his hands on his hips, looking up at the towering building in front of him. Diamant had constructed it, and with the mountain elemental’s experience in gilding large structures with a thin film of gold, the company house looked like it was constructed completely out of the rare metal; when in reality, it was largely made up of common rocks with mud placed in between to smooth out the edges.

“It’s so … gaudy,” Stella said, staring up at the building. She had to squint at it and shield her eyes with her hands. The sunlight reflected off of it, causing piercing rays of light to fly in every direction. The structure was as large as—if not larger than—the royal palace in Konigreich. “Deedee, I think we need to make you apprentice under an architect.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Vur said and nodded. He looked down at the brown runes on his arm. “We can capture one for you. There’s lots of space in this building; he or she can stay here until you’re done learning everything.”

“I, uh, don’t think capture is the right word,” Helden said from off to the side.

“Abduct?” Stella asked.

“No,” Zilphy said. “It should be kidnap, right?”

Helden scratched his head and turned his attention onto the building. Luckily, he became Vur’s chef voluntarily—mostly. If not, who knew how poorly he’d be treated? At least for now, he was a member of Vur’s company. The company might’ve been newly formed, but with Vur’s background, it was destined to rise to the top. Helden couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. He thought he’d be able to climb on his own with his absurd ability of stealing the skills of the things he slew. Who knew he’d be clinging onto someone else’s thigh to survive in this world?