Hey guys, if you feel like this chapter is familiar, you might have read it before!
I accidentally posted chapter 19 and called it 18, but now itâs fixed! the Real Chapter 18 should be posted within moments!
Chapter 19: Gossip~New Family
â-Arakawa Koukiâs Perspectiveâ-
ăIâm home, Kaa-sană(Kouki)
In the evening, when I returned home from school as usual my mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Fumu, this smell means that today is going to be stew huh....
After going into my room and changing clothes, I went back to my mother.
ăKaa-san, Iâm hungryă(Kouki)
ăItâll be done soon, so go sit and wait okay?ă(Mom)
ăKon Konă (???)
When I asked for dinner, I was urged to wait and so I patiently sat in my seat.
After a while, Mom and I ate the food she carried to to the table.
After I was admitted into the academy, it became a rule that whenever we eat together I talk about what happened at school that day, what made the biggest impression on me that day, and that I listen to my mom about her research.
ăOh, Was that so?ă(Mom)
ăKonă(???)
ăYeah, Shingo was hugged by Aikawa-san today tooă(Kouki)
After I finished eating and I took a bath, I got a message from Alice.
How unusual to call at this timeâŚ..
While thinking that, I tried to call her back.
ăKouki-kun, Iâm sorry but itâs about tomorrowă(Alice)
ăWhatâs wrong?ă(Kouki)
ăKonă (???)
Apparently since she was going to be doing pharmaceutical research tomorrow in my research building, It seems she wanted me to contact her personal terminal before I enter the second floor.
Now that she mentions that, when Shingo went to pick up chemicals on the second floor without permission, The powder that Alice was working with while producing medicine got blown around and made a mess of a situation.
Remembering that, I advised her to tell the other members as well.
ăYeah, I know. By the wayâŚ. whatâs with that whole ăKonă thing that Iâve been hearing?ă(Alice)
ăAh, that? Somehow, when I got home there was a dragon hereă(Kouki)
I answered while looking over at the ăDragonăin front of me, and I saw Alice looking at me speechless from the other side of the terminal.
Itâs fine Alice, I also didnât know how to respond when came home and saw this guy.
While thinking such a thing, Alice cut of communication, saying ăSomehow, it looks like youâre tired, so please hurry up and rest.ă
Well, that sort of reaction is normal I guess.
Nevertheless, what is with this thing?
Is it some sort of magical creature that mom made?âŚ.
ăOiă(Kouki)
ăKon?ă(Dragon?)
Seeing how it reacted, it seems it has some understanding of words.
Tilting its head, as if to ask ăWhat is it?ă, I observed the dragon that was awaiting my words. For the time being, I poked itâs face with my finger.
ăKon! Kon Konă(Dragon?)
Apparently it didnât like it.
It frantically bit at my fingertips, but it didnât hurt at all.
After all, itâs only about 20 centimeters long.
Appearance wise, it looked just like youâd expect a dragon from a fantasy world  to look like, except smaller, Everything up to the wings.
Suddenly, I came up with an idea!
ăOi, are you able to fly?ă(Kouki)
ăKonâŚâŚă(Dragon?)
Seeming to be telling me that itâs impossible, It flaps its wings.
Arenât you adorable? Well then, next is,
ăCan you breath fire or ice?ă(Kouki)
ăKonâŚ..ă(Dragon?)
Apparently it cannot breath anything but air.
Is it not a dragon?âŚ..
When I ask it that, it puffed out its chest in response.
If you arenât able to fly, nor able to breath fire, then arenât you just a lizard!?
Wait a minuteâŚ..
A lizard that understands words?
ăI could sell you for quite a bit, couldnât I?ă(Kouki)
ăKo, Kon!?ă(Dragon?)
Even though I was joking about selling it, Iâm gonna need to figure out this guyâs identity.
Thereâs no doubt about it, the reason such a fantastical creature is in my house has to be because of my mother.
She ought to be studying in her room right about now.
Thinking that, I walk over to her room and knock, but there was no reply.
Is she in the underground reference room?
When I go back to the basement again, my mother was drawing some sort of magical formation on the floor.
Eh? what what what!? Could it be that mom summoned this guy?
When I called out, she turned around while closing a book that seemed to be about black magic of some sorts.
ăKou-chan!? Whatâs going on?ă(Mom)
Thatâs what I want to ask!
I had thought you were a genius scientist, but behind the scenes you were doing this sort of weird thing? Iâm shocked!
When expressed my feelings, she hurriedly denied it.
ăItâs different! Even I didnât expect a baby dragon to suddenly hatch out. While I was working in my laboratory, this child gradually emerged from the scales that I got before you know? Surely you can understand how upset I am and how I want to figure out if magic exists?ă(Mom)
I cannot understand at all,
What does she mean by it hatched out from the scales?
When I received them I was told they were the scales of an ancient and legendary dragonâŚ.. Did mom make a clone from it?
When I tried asking her that,
ăAfter I received the scales, I left them at my workplace on my desk, and in the middle of my work that child suddenly came out from inside themă(Mom)
As she said that, she tried picking up the dragon that had coiled itself around my leg.
No, isnât it strange for it to have come out of the scales!?
Once again, I ask her and she answered me.
ăKou-chan, when you were talking about the world you were in before you mentioned those demon things before, didnât you? At that time, you said that you had heard that it is difficult for human beings to kill dragons, then how did the locals come to understand those things as ăscalesă?ă(Mom)
No, wasnât that a legend?
I mean, in the first place, itâs not shaped like an egg at all, it looks like scales.
Thinking that, Momâs explanation continued.
ăPerhaps, Rather than scales, it was an egg or something similar. I think that it was in a dormant, near-death state. There are creatures in this world that sleep for periods of years or even decades as well after all. If magic is really as amazing as it sounds, I think that it would also be possible for something to be dormant for centuries as well.ă(Mom)
Though momâs persuasive power was tinged with anger, if her explanation was correct, then why did it hatch now?
ăWhen Kou-chan returned to this world, dozens of people used something called magical power, right? Maybe that triggered its escape from dormancy?ă(Mom)
In that case, Iâm the cause of it huhâŚ..
While looking at the dragon being held by my mother, I thought.
Somehow, I feel sorry, This isnât the world that you were meant to be in.
ăSince thereâs no harm in it now, Letâs just take care of it at home as it isă If dragons are able to live for hundreds of years, it will take time for it to grow. Iâll find a way to return it to its former world by thenă(Mom)
ăAnd we can pass it off as an unusual looking lizardă she added, laughing.
For the time being, Iâll consult Alice and everyone at school tomorrowâŚ.
I concluded to myself, and returned to my room.
ăHow cute!!ă(Alice)
ăAre you able to breathe fire or anything?ă(Aikawa)
The next day, I brought the dragon to my research building, and it seems Alice and Aikawa came to like it at first sight.
Shingo and I were watching the situation together, but I could only laugh bitterly at their amazing ability to adapt.
Be a bit more surprised darnit!
ăKouki, have you named it yet?」(Shingo)
Even though he asks me that, I havenât given it anything like a name yet.
A name huhâŚ.
As I looked over to the dragon, It noticed my gaze and came towards me, calling out. While rubbing its face against my hand, I was surprised by how cute it was when it acted this spoiled.
ăKouki-kun, letâs all name it togetheră(Alice)
ăSounds good, Letâs all decide togetheră(Aikawa)
I canât be referring to it as ăOiăorăDragonăforever,
Thinking that, I gave permission, though it was just then I realized how terrible everyoneâs naming sense was.
ăFuhi! I think ăPhantom Dragon Nocturnalăsounds good!ă(Shingo)
Shingo, how old are you?
ăThatâs no good, Shin-kun, we should call ităRose Weldiă ă(Aikawa)
Aikawa, the hell is a Weldi?
Meanwhile Alice was seriously staring at the dragon, then turned towards me and said her name
ăKouki-kun, I think ăSilver Knight Cladeăsounds goodă(Alice)
You too!?
Itâs not even a knight, is it!?
Itâs just a friggin pseudo-lizard!
The dragon called out ăKonâŚ.ăin disagreement, seemingly getting smaller.
ăHey, are you alright with the name ăKonă?ă(Kouki)
ăKon! KonKon!!ă(Kon)
When I said that, he snuggled up to me happily.
Alright, Itâs decidedâŚâŚ
From this day forth this little guy will be known as Kon.
Big booing came from the other members, but I didnât mind.
In the first place, Thereâs no way we could call ităNocturnală in public!
Aikawa shouted that out in a big voice.
ăI mean, even though itâs a dragon, itâs making cute sounds like ăKonă all the time, thatâs just no good! It would make her even more dragon-like if we named her rose! ă(Aikawa)
Hearing that, I ask Kon ăCan you make any other sounds?ă.
In response, Kon descended from the desk, walked to the edge of the room, and looked back towards us taking a deep breath. And,
GURAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
And, rather than the call that he had been using up until now, he let forth something I would call a ăRoară.
While he looked at me with a ăHow was that?ă look, Aikawa looked at it in astonishment.
ăI think Kon-chan sounds fineă(Alice)
Alice petitioned for us to continue calling ităKonă.
While witnessing the situation, I decided to have Aikawa-san who was the cause of all this to tidy up all the cups that had been scattered by the Roar just now.