Chapter 14: Just in Case You Can’t Tell

Lin Lin touched the slightly damp tip of the giant creature’s nose.

She was petting a dragon.

When Lin Lin dealt with the human-like Safir, she did not have such a clear understanding.

She was doing something that would not happen in a biography of heroes, just like in a fairy tale.

The calm and proud dragon race’s beautiful scales sparkled with colors as bright as jewels and gold in the dim cave.

As Lin Lin entered the dragon’s lair, her initial shock at the hill-like mountain of gold faded slightly, and the huge bracelet that did not fit her arm fell, making a tiny sound.

Lin Lin realized that in this lair, the most expensive and priceless treasure was the master himself.

The dragon’s eyes had almost no white; only shining, jewel-like pupils and a central slit like those of a beast could be seen.

Lin Lin looked up at the horns he used to scare enemies and show his maturity.

From his scaly skull, she could vaguely recognize a serious and deep male face that belonged to a human.

She is looking at me.

Safir certainly knew about this. The Dragon race could easily catch any tiny movement of a human, even if she herself was not aware of what she was doing.

Lin Lin had both hands resting on the scales of the Sapphire Dragon, intently watching his sharp and frightening horns.

Like a newly hatched baby dragon, Safir thought.

It was not that he believed Lin Lin had anything in common with the Dragon race; it was just that the last time Safir observed a weak creature so seriously was back then.

The Dragon race did not have a strong sense of family, and the Sapphire Dragon was an especially proud and territorial species. Safir only went to visit after hearing about his sister having offspring.

He found out too late; on the day he visited, the little dragon happened to hatch.

The mother dragon, who shared his beautiful scales but had a more graceful and petite body, nudged the baby dragon that had just broken the eggshell with her snout.

At that moment, the little dragon supported its front paws on the bridge of its mother’s nose, looking at her strong body.

The continuation of the species was touching, and even though Safir’s feelings were dull and dry, he was genuinely happy for his sister.

But his visit did not make his sister happy.

She said, "You should come back after they grow up."

This is a mockery of his indifference towards others.

The dragon’s mind can think about many things at once, and the tickle at his nose made him pay more attention to what was happening in front of him.

Humans are obviously weaker than young dragons, and Safir needed to hold his breath to keep her from being blown away by the dragon’s breath.

When Lin Lin supported her body with one arm and reached out with the other, Safir realized she wanted to touch his eyes or his thick eyelashes.

Her curiosity made her unafraid of the giant dragon; she tried to touch the creature in front of her like a curious deer or horse.

Safir felt a slight displeasure; no one was allowed to offend the Dragon race.

The strong tail lifted up, and the tip of the tail wrapped around Lin Lin, raising her high away from the dragon’s head.

Lin Lin’s hands struggled, and the remaining golden bracelets and jeweled beads fell cleanly like rain.

Even when lifted high, Lin Lin stubbornly reached her hands towards the Dragon race’s eyes, as if by holding on, she could reach them.

Lin Lin is a stubborn person.

Perhaps it is a habit from her world; sometimes she doesn’t speak. She insists on not saying anything, yet stubbornly hopes others will meet her demands.

The dragon’s eyes gazed deeply at her.

Lin Lin’s hands stopped shaking and reached straight forward, silently challenging him.

Safir found it hard to describe his feelings; he felt a bit helpless, like when his sister had coldly pushed him away.

Maybe females are just such complex beings. But it might not always be like that, because the only females Safir had interacted with, apart from his sister who moved away early, were the Lizardfolk who admired him as their master.

Safir lowered his tail, and Lin Lin eagerly approached the terrifyingly large head of the Dragon race. She reached out her hand and touched the Dragon race’s long and thick dark blue eyelashes.

Lin Lin gently touched it and felt a soft and stretchy sensation.

She began to feel happy.

She saw up close the huge, sparkling blue gem that belonged to the Dragon race.

–

"Miss, this is the coat that the young master asked me to bring you." Donna draped the thick coat over Lin Lin’s shoulders.

The underground was even colder and gloomier than above, even in the late summer, it felt very cold for humans.

"But you were the one who put it on me," Lin Lin called out the female Lizardfolk’s lie.

I have to admit, Lizardfolk are indeed a race suited for lying, because they naturally lack expressions, and even when caught in a lie, they don’t feel embarrassed at all.

Donna looked down and saw Lin Lin’s simple drawing on the table, "Are you drawing the young master? You are truly talented!"

Lin Lin felt a bit shy when Donna saw her drawing, but with such praise, she suddenly gained some confidence, "Right? My drawing is quite good! I want to create an illustrated book to showcase the friends I see."

The illustrated book that Donna held up was taken away by another hand. It was bedtime, and Safir wore a black silk robe, his deep blue hair cascading down. He bent down to look at the drawing, a strand of long hair brushing against his cool face as he lowered his head.

The collar of his pajamas was slightly loose, revealing small patches of icy blue scales around his neck, like tiny decorations, while most of his skin was smooth and similar to humans.

Dragons have excellent vision, yet Safir stared at Lin Lin’s drawing for half a minute before he was sure he could see it clearly.

The Sapphire Dragon slowly opened its mouth, gathering dragon breath, and a deep blue swirl appeared inside.

Donna clasped her hands together, "That’s great! The young master thinks your drawing is beautiful too!"

He was clearly ruining this drawing!

It’s just a piece of paper, so there’s no need to use dragon breath, okay?

Lin Lin quickly snatched her sketchbook back and held it close, "This is my precious work that took me two hours to create!"

Safir grumbled, "You wasted two hours to make this thing. You should have read a couple more books instead."

Oh my! What a devilish statement!

"Monster! Tyrant!" Lin Lin expressed her displeasure towards Safir.

The gem dragon, who completely matched those two accusations, was not angry at all. He said, "You should go to sleep."

A dragon’s life has many long hours for sleeping, which fits the rule that the higher you are in the food chain, the longer you sleep.

Lions on the grassland spend twenty hours a day sleeping.

Furthermore, in Safir’s eyes, Lin Lin was still an immature individual.

She was certainly not a juvenile, but being in her twenties was still too young. This might be a prejudice of long-lived beings towards humans.

Although a bit tired, Lin Lin did not like Safir’s entitled attitude.

"You can’t order me around," Lin Lin said.

"I can give orders to anyone," Dragon Race replied calmly.

Lin Lin was just instinctively resisting; she never thought it would really do anything, and she was indeed tired.

Lin Lin continued to tuck the sketchbook under her arm, "Alright, I’ll let you off easy."

Donna, "Miss, you have admitted defeat."

Lin Lin, "I have not."

Safir was pleased with Lin Lin’s compromise; this was the attitude he was used to, where others listened.

"Tomorrow we will go to the land with hot springs; that will take a lot of energy, so you need to rest."

"Wait!" Lin Lin quickly caught the key words, "What do you mean by ‘the land with hot springs’? Shouldn’t there be hot springs available?"

"Before this, I really did not think carefully," said the Sapphire Dragon, looking at Lin Lin’s human face, which appeared pure and fragile. "I didn’t realize humans couldn’t handle a hot spring at 1200 degrees."

You should have thought of that! Use your knowledgeable brain to understand some basic facts about humans!

Lin Lin’s mind raced with various snarky comments, but making witty remarks wouldn’t solve the problem.

"So, what should we do?"

Safir lifted his chin, "Fortunately, there are some hot springs with suitable temperatures that haven’t been fully tapped. Tonight, the Lizardfolk will start the work, and they need you to give some advice from a human’s perspective."

"My advice is to give the Lizardfolk some time to rest." Lin Lin couldn’t help but make a comment.

"It’s alright, Miss," Donna said, resting her claws on her chin. "It is an honor for us to work for the young master."

You need to change that kind of mindset! That’s why that heartless guy has taken complete advantage of you!

Why do you love working so much?

Realizing that she could change nothing, Lin Lin sighed.

"Okay," Lin Lin said, "where will I sleep?"

Donna instinctively looked towards the owner of the underground lair.

For some reason, Lin Lin immediately guessed that this castle had not welcomed guests for a long time.

Safir said, "The Lizardfolk don’t have any spare lairs to give you."

Lin Lin hummed softly, waiting for more words.

Safir said, "You can sleep in my bedroom."

No! No! Seeing gold makes people feel happy, but sleeping on hard and sharp treasures is another matter!

Lin Lin remembered that several crowns had sharp edges, and even that mountain of gold had sharp swords.

"I am human!" Lin Lin emphasized, "I can’t sleep on something too hard; it makes me very uncomfortable!"

"That’s just great, the Dragon race certainly doesn’t have the common knowledge that humans need mattresses," Safir said in a cold, calm tone.

Lin Lin sensed that Safir was being sarcastic.

Lin Lin started to wonder if she had ever realized his sarcasm at other times before.

Lin Lin couldn’t remember.

She began to accept the Dragon race’s disdain for human intelligence.

Then, for the first time in her twenty-something years of life, Lin Lin received a huge cat bed that was round, made of flexible vines on the outside, and filled with soft feathers inside.

The dragon lay curled up at the top of the golden mountain.

Lin Lin was positioned at the base of the golden mountain.

Lin Lin climbed into the cat nest, where there was enough space for her to roll around and go wild, while Lin Lin lay inside like a puddle of mud.

Noticing that the tiny human did not look at him, the dragon-shaped Safir spoke, "Good night."

Lin Lin was silent for two seconds.

Lin Lin said, "Meow."

The Sapphire Dragon slightly tilted its head; confusion rarely appeared on the faces of dragons.

"In case you can’t tell," Lin Lin said, "I’m being sarcastic."