The town gate loomed taller than Akira had expected.
Stone walls reinforced with iron bands stretched out on either side of the dirt road, old and solid. Beyond them came noise—real noise. Voices overlapping. Laughter. Shouting. Life.
After days of forests, monsters, and empty roads, it almost felt unreal.
Akira stepped forward.
“Hold it.”
He stopped mid-step.
One of the gate guards—a broad man in worn leather armor, spear resting against his shoulder—was staring openly at the small creature by Akira’s feet.
It chirped, wings fluttering once.
“…That,” the guard said slowly, “is a monster.”
Akira sighed. “She’s not hostile.”
The guard’s brow twitched. “That’s a dragon.”
Akira stiffened. “A… dragon?”
The word didn’t fit. It was too small. Knee-high at most.
“That’s what I said,” the guard replied flatly. “You can’t walk into a town with one of those.”
The second guard stepped closer, arms crossed. “Unless it’s tamed.”
Akira nodded quickly. “It is.”
Both guards paused.
“…You tamed a dragon?” the first guard said.
Akira hesitated. “…I tamed a lizard with wings.”
The second guard snorted. “Right. Prove it.”
“How?”
“If it’s tamed, it has a name,” the guard said. “What’s its name?”
Akira froze.
‘A name?’
His mind went blank.
He looked down. The small dragon stared back up at him, tail swaying lazily, completely unconcerned.
‘I didn’t even know it was a dragon…’
‘I can’t just make something up…’
‘Wait—’
A memory surfaced uninvited.
Soft fur. A lazy tail flick. A cat sprawled across his keyboard back home, utterly ignoring him.
‘…No. No, no—’
“Well?” the guard pressed.
Akira panicked.
“Kristyne.”
The sound hung in the air.
The guards looked down.
The baby dragon chirped happily and flapped her wings once, bumping lightly against Akira’s leg.
Silence.
The first guard stared a moment longer, then clicked his tongue. “Tch. Figures.”
The second guard shrugged. “Responded to the name. Looks legit.”
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Akira blinked. “…Huh?”
The guard stepped aside and waved him through. “Keep her close. And if she breathes fire in town, you’re paying for the damages.”
Akira nodded far too quickly. “Understood.”
He passed through the gates on unsteady legs, heart pounding.
Only once they were inside did he look down again.
“…Kristyne,” he murmured.
She chirped and curled closer to him.
Akira swallowed.
‘Sorry,’ he thought. ‘Guess you’re named after my cat now.’
The town opened up around him—stone paths, wooden buildings, people everywhere.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Akira Nanase had entered civilization.
He walked deeper into town, slowing as the noise washed over him.
Merchants shouting prices. Children darting past. The smell of food—real food—made his stomach twist painfully.
His gaze drifted to the signs hanging from buildings.
…None of the writing made sense.
Or at least, it shouldn’t have.
The letters were wrong. Too curved. Too sharp. Nothing like Japanese or English—or anything he recognized.
Yet the moment he focused—
He understood it.
Not by sounding it out. Not by translating.
The meaning simply settled into his mind.
He stopped walking.
“…I can read this,” he murmured.
He stepped closer to one sign, staring harder. If he tried to describe the letters, he couldn’t. But if he just looked—
Adventurers’ Guild.
Akira exhaled slowly. “That’s… not normal.”
Language Comprehension.
He’d understood spoken words before, but this was different. Written language. A system he had never learned.
And yet he knew what it meant. Not just the words—but the idea behind them.
A place for people who fought monsters.
Took jobs.
Got paid.
Lived dangerous lives.
At his feet, Kristyne chirped.
Akira glanced down at her, then back at the sign.
“…Guess this world really does run on systems,” he muttered.
He didn’t go inside.
Not yet.
Instead, he stood there a moment longer, committing it to memory. Because whether he liked it or not, this sign marked something important.
Not a goal.
But a direction.
Akira turned away and continued down the street, Kristyne padding beside him.
At first, no one paid them much attention. A few curious glances—nothing unusual for a traveler with an odd companion.
Then—
“Hey.”
Akira stopped.
The voice was sharp. Suspicious.
He turned to see a broad-shouldered man in worn leather armor, a short sword at his hip. The man wasn’t looking at Akira.
His eyes were locked on Kristyne.
“What is that?” he asked.
Akira hesitated. “A… lizard with wings?”
The man didn’t smile.
“…That’s not a lizard.”
Kristyne chirped softly, wings shifting.
The man stiffened.
“Wings. Horns. Tail,” he said. “That’s a monster.”
Nearby footsteps slowed. An adventurer leaning against a wall straightened slightly.
“She’s not hostile,” Akira said quickly. “She hasn’t attacked anyone.”
“That doesn’t mean she won’t,” the man replied, hand drifting closer to his sword. “You bring something like that into town, people get hurt.”
Kristyne moved closer, tail brushing Akira’s ankle.
Akira felt it—the subtle tightening in the air.
Sense Presence.
No killing intent. But several people were ready to act.
“…I tamed her,” Akira said.
That made the man finally look at him.
“You tamed it?”
Akira nodded. “Yes.”
The man studied him, then said, “If it’s really tamed—prove it.”
Akira swallowed and looked down.
“Kristyne.”
She reacted instantly.
Kristyne chirped brightly and pressed against his leg, wings folding tight. Her tail curled once, relaxed.
Murmurs rippled through the small crowd.
“…It responded.”
“Looks bonded.”
The man exhaled and straightened.
“…Alright,” he said. “If it’s tamed, it’s your responsibility. If it causes trouble—”
“I’ll handle it,” Akira said without hesitation.
The man stepped aside. “Don’t let it wander.”
As the tension faded and people moved on, Akira finally let out a breath.
He looked down at Kristyne.
“…You’re really noticeable, you know that?”
She chirped, entirely unapologetic.
Akira shook his head and continued down the street—unaware that more than a few eyes were still following them.
