"Sigh."
Ide sighed, and he and Ur took a short rest at a small inn on the border of the Kingdom of Fiore.
The next morning.
Ide and Ur, carrying Ultear, set off toward the nearby town of Rosemary.
Three days later.
Ide, Ur, and Ultear finally arrived at Rosemary Village.
Due to the incident at the Bureau of Magical Development and the travel time, it was now January, X765.
Rosemary Village.
The village was peaceful and quiet. There wasn't the slightest hint that a majestic creature like a Dragon lived anywhere near here.
In fact, seeing how overly peaceful the village was, Ide and Ur had internally dismissed the intel about a Dragon sighting as false.
But even so, Ide wasn't willing to give up without checking. What if it's true? What if we actually find that Dragon?!
"Ur, you stay in town with the baby. I'll go search the mountain behind the village alone."
"Whether I find the Dragon or not, I'll be back in exactly one day to meet you here."
"Then we'll head to Magnolia to visit Senior Makarov together."
Ide was afraid that bringing Ur and the baby to hunt for a Dragon might lead to unexpected accidents, so he settled them in the village inn.
"Okay."
"Leave our daughter to me, Ide."
Ur smiled at him, cradling Ultear. "Ultear, say bye-bye to Daddy."
"Wait for me."
Ide kissed Ur gently on the forehead. With that, he turned and vanished into the forest.
"Ide, come back safe."
Ur whispered a blessing as she watched his retreating figure disappear.
"A Dragon!"
"What does it look like?"
"Probably pretty similar to Kaido, right?"
Ide sped through the forest, his mind filled with fantasies about what a "Dragon" would look like.
First and foremost on his mind was Kaido in his Azure Dragon form from the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon.
At this point, Ide didn't really fear Dragons. In his opinion, no matter how strong a Dragon was, it couldn't possibly surpass Imu, whose stats and mechanics were utterly broken and downright "underworld-level."
That was, until he spotted that streak of crimson.
"Is that... the Dragon?"
When Ide broke through the tree line and saw the terrifying creature crouching deep in the forest—its body entirely crimson, radiating an unfathomable depth of magic power far beyond his imagination—he finally understood what a "difference in life force" truly meant.
"Human?"
The moment Ide spotted the Dragon, the Dragon slowly turned its head and spotted him.
"Uhh."
Under the Dragon's deep, penetrating gaze, Ide felt his soul tremble slightly.
Can I win?!
I'll win!!
BOOM!
Ide attacked first. He spun, leaped, and poured all his Haki and magic power into his rapier, slashing viciously at the crimson Dragon before him.
DING!
However, Ide's all-out killer move merely struck a dazzling spark against the Dragon's scales.
Smack.
Before Ide could process this, the crimson Dragon counterattacked. With a single slap of its paw, it pinned Ide to the ground, rendering him unable to move.
"Ugh."
This was the first time since transmigrating to this world that Ide felt so powerless. Even when he fought Imu, he hadn't been this pathetic, beaten without any chance to fight back.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"This Dragon is stronger than Imu?"
Lying pinned to the earth, Ide looked up at the crimson Dragon pressing down on him, his face filled with disbelief.
"..."
While Ide was sizing up the Dragon, the Dragon was also seriously examining Ide. Man and Dragon stared at each other in silence for a long time. Eventually, the Dragon tilted its head slightly. Ideally, it might have been his imagination, but he felt like the Dragon looked a little... shy?
"Cough."
Just as Ide was racking his brain for a way to escape, the Dragon coughed twice. In a dignified, majestic voice, it asked, "Human, why have you trespassed into my territory? And why did you attack me?"
"I didn't intend to trespass, nor did I want to attack. Everything happened too suddenly, and I reacted instinctively."
Ide took a deep breath. Realizing the Dragon could communicate, he was less panicked than before.
"Human, it seems you are not being honest."
The Dragon narrowed its eyes, seemingly unconvinced.
"My, my."
Just as the Dragon and Ide were in a standoff, a sharp rustling sound came from the forest, drawing both their attention.
When they turned to look, a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing black-and-white robes with a strong ethnic style, walked slowly out of the trees. He smiled faintly at Ide and the Dragon. "I didn't expect to see a living Dragon on this continent after four hundred years."
"No!"
"Wait..."
"You're not a Dragon. You're a human, aren't you?"
The young man greeted them, then locked his gaze on the Dragon. After scrutinizing it deeply, he shook his head and laughed.
"You know I'm human?"
The crimson Dragon's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected anyone in this world to see through her true identity.
"Yes."
The black-haired youth smiled confidently.
"Then can you help me turn back?"
The crimson Dragon asked urgently.
"While I cannot completely turn you back into a human, I can alter your physical form slightly. Living in a Dragon's body must be inconvenient, right?"
The young man closed his eyes as he spoke, then smiled. "Three, two, one!"
BOOM!
The moment the black-haired youth's voice fell, the massive, oppressive form of the crimson Dragon twisted and warped.
"Ah!"
With a cry of pain that echoed the Dragon's roar, the beast transformed. In its place appeared a young woman around twenty years old, with long crimson hair, dignified features, fair skin, and a curvaceous figure.
And because the Dragon had been pinning Ide down, when she transformed into a girl, she ended up straddling Ide's waist.
The moment she transformed, Ide suddenly understood why the mysterious black-haired youth had closed his eyes while casting the spell.
Because the girl who had transformed from the Dragon wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing.