Ugh! I'm Bored!
Scarlet's training always ends ahead of schedule.
Physically speaking, she's already near-perfect.
Sure, there are some small mistakes I try to correct...
But the real problem lies elsewhere.
Ugh, I'm bored.
I'm sooo bored!
Unbearably bored!
BORED, I TELL YOU, HUMAN CAPTAIN! ENTERTAIN ME!!
She just can't sit still, not even for a second.
Why can't you ever just chill...?
Hah! You clearly don't know how young Dragons roll.
Ever heard the saying, a Dragon in youth chases curiosity, and in age, pursues their ideals?
No... ideals? What's that?
It is the ultimate goal that every dragon must achieve. That's what an ideal is.
Most dragon clans all share the same ideal.
Like the Borginos clan, who are obsessed with forging the legendary gem. Or the Gonzaga clan, who chase after the ultimate magic or whatever is their ideal.
As for me? You already know. The Bellarmini clan is the bloodline of tailors. We're chasing the ideal to become Grand Couturiers!
And as a proud Bellarmini, that includes me too! Hahaha!
Still, no Dragon is born with their ideal.
As hatchlings, we just chase whatever is fun, shiny, or loud.
But the curiosity and ideal are all connected, human Captain.
Both are ways to fight off the Dragon curse—the erosion, the fate of all long-lived beings.
The erosion...
Even the mighty Dragon isn't safe from time itself.
A Dragon's body is less susceptible to wear and tear—it's the mind that suffers sooner from the passage of time!
When a Dragon loses their sense of self from the erosion, they devolve into a fallen Dragon.
Fallen Dragons are a nightmare that even other fellow Dragons have trouble restraining.
So! The great Dragons of old were faced with a conundrum.
Their question was, how do we stop the erosion?
And the answer was curiosity and ideals.
Scarlet nodded in approval.
Memories full of strong curiosity are sturdy pillars that hold you up.
Ideal is the guiding flame that shows you where to go.
...Or at least, that's what my dad would always say! Aha-ha-ha!
So? Feel like you understand the Dragon a bit more now?
What? Why do I chase both ideals and curiosity?
Please, because I'm mature for my age, obviously!
So basically you're still a kid? In a Dragon's age?
Wrong!
How could a mere hatchling exude so much majesty!
Once a dragon can breathe fire, they're full-grown, I say! Hahaha!
One taste of my Kelberon Beam, and even the gods would tremble!
Who is Kelberon?
Mmm! It's the name of the romantic black Dragon the human kid told me about last time!
I kind of like that Dragon. So I named my breath after it.
So? Is it majestic enough? Don't you want to see the flames?
Hahaha! Then watch and feel the fire!
*Inhale*
Kelberon Beam!
Scarlet inflated her chest dramatically, then exhaled with all her strength.
Yet, rather than a spectacular blaze, only a faint wisp of smoke slipped from Scarlet's lips.
Psshh...
Was that... Kelberon Beam?
N-no!
It's just that I ate too much ice cream last night!
I'm serious!
...Okay, I believe you.
You totally don't believe me!
I-I'm telling the truth!
Look! Just check out these majestically grown horns!
Even without the breath, you can see how impressive of a Dragon I am just from these amazing horns alone...
Wait, these aren't fake too, are they?
Ugh...! Hey! Don't just touch them like that!
Do you want to taste the wrath of a Dragon?!
Scarlet was still steaming mad, huffing and puffing dramatically, but pancakes did the trick.
Heh. Pancakes taste way better than a Dragon wrath, that's for sure.
Scarlet proudly declared them the "second-best pancakes in existence."
Not going to lie, hurts a little that they weren't first.