Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!-Chapter 51 : Fairy Tale Book

Patunasankus couldn't understand why anyone would transform goblins, such weaklings, into undead creatures.
You should know that even the most mediocre evil dragons would clearly specify race requirements when recruiting new monster servants: anything but goblins.
After all, except when dealing with princesses, evil dragons were mostly racial supremacists.
Was this some academic mage conducting research projects?
Patunasankus thought.
To be able to transform goblins into undead creatures while also managing basic magical essence camouflage would require at least an eighth-circle necromancer or lich.
But what was the point of messing around with goblins?
Patunasankus couldn't figure it out, so she simply gave up thinking about it.
After all, for an evil dragon, this wasn't anything important. If she had spare time, she might as well worry about what to eat later.
She couldn't really eat Elaphia's cooking.
Better to make do with Loranhir's.
She slowly approached Loranhir nearby. At this moment, the three were still exchanging information they knew, and Patunasankus listened briefly.
"Do you know Allen Wahl?" Loranhir asked.
"That chief official's second..."
Hedica coughed forcefully twice, covering her embarrassment.
"That Chief Adjudicator's son? Of course I know him. We've had several missions together, and we still have internal contact methods, though since I broke my oath, he's too disdainful to contact me anymore. Are you looking for him for something?" Hedica asked.
After a while, Loranhir held up two fingers, measuring slightly with her index finger and thumb.
"We have a tiny little misunderstanding and minor grudge."
"Misunderstanding and grudge? Don't worry, Allen is rigid about principles and swears never to bully the weak," Hedica patted her chest. "As long as you're not identified by him as an undead creature, there absolutely won't be any problems. But except for those identified by Allen as undead creatures.
Once identified, it never changes. Even if they're at the ends of the earth, Allen will pursue them and purify them at any cost. There's never been a case of an undead creature escaping purification."
Loranhir's heart sank.
She had originally hoped to explain through Hedica's connection that she wasn't some undead creature.
But after hearing Hedica's explanation, her heart went cold.
Loranhir had an intuition that if she really tried to contact Allen through Hedica, it wouldn't be long before he'd come flying to the scene with his Judgment Knight Order and unhesitatingly use Holy Strike to finish her off.
It would be like one-click summoning the Judgment Knight Order.
What use was this function to her?!
"...Ahahahaha, that's really wonderful."
Loranhir could only nod, pretending to laugh, feeling indescribably frustrated.
"Speaking of which, you two wouldn't happen to be heading to Bluefin Bay as well, would you?" Hedica inquired.
Loranhir nodded.
"That's really wonderful. How about we travel together? We can look after each other during the journey." Hedica was delighted.
"Of course, when we reach Bluefin Bay, I'll try my best to squeeze out some compensation for you both. But our side is composed of the old, weak, sick, and disabled refugees, so please understand."
"What are your opinions?"
Her words made Elaphia instinctively look toward Loranhir, while Loranhir immediately looked toward the Princess.
It was clear who was in charge here.
"Hmm..."
Patunasankus tilted her head, blinked, then frowned and began thinking, hand on her chin.
"What's wrong? Is there some inconvenience?"
Seeing Patunasankus frowning deeply as if encountering something very troubling, Hedica spoke to her.
After a while, the Princess clapped her hands and seriously asked her.
"How's your food?"
○
"Heh~ mm."
"So~ hap~ py~"
Patunasankus sat at the dining table contentedly munching on a sandwich.
Incidentally, this meal was a simple sandwich with tomatoes, cheese, ham, and a half-cooked fried egg.
As breakfast goes, there shouldn't be much to complain about.
The fleeing refugees certainly couldn't provide such fresh ingredients—these were all brought by Patunasankus herself, with the old granny just doing a bit of simple preparation.
The cooking wasn't too skillful, but for an evil dragon suffering under the dual torment of Loranhir and Elaphia, this was already enough.
While enjoying her meal, Patunasankus noticed someone staring at her.
"Grrrr..."
The food-guarding evil dragon instinctively assumed a wild dog-like fighting stance, making cute puppy-like whimpering sounds from her throat.
But she quickly realized this was undignified and pulled back.
This was a girl about three years old, wearing worn but still innocent clothes, with traces of dust on her face and slightly messy black hair. Her brown eyes were clear and bright, sparkling with innocence and curiosity.
"Can you read?" the three-year-old girl asked warmly to the most beautiful sister she had ever seen.
Patunasankus looked at her puzzledly, was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
Thus making the motion she would most regret today.
"Book!"
The girl immediately shrieked and ran excitedly toward the tent where various items were stored.
After a while, this three-year-old girl appeared before her again, weaving around Patunasankus's skirt hem with a face full of smiles.
"?" The evil dragon looked at this mischievous little creature in confusion.
"Read!" The three-year-old girl excitedly handed over a book, stretching her arms so far she nearly lost balance and fell.
Patunasankus looked at the book and blinked, as if the book had just spoken, claiming it was actually a prince cursed by a witch to become this way, and now only needed Patunasankus to kiss it once to restore its original form and marry her.
How bizarre.
"Read it," the three-year-old girl said, climbing onto the bench.
"..." Patunasankus moved several meters away, completely unsure how to react to this creature.
The little girl sighed impatiently and looked away.
A few seconds later, she squeezed under Patunasankus's arm, her head nestled against the evil dragon's abdomen, hands supporting her knees, nose pressed against the colorful illustrations in the book.
With her in this position, Patunasankus sighed and helplessly took the book.
"Once upon a time there was a princess..." she read mechanically, then was about to turn the page.
The girl stopped her and flipped back to the previous page.
"You need to tell me what happened on this page, and with emotion," she said.
Patunasankus looked at her.
"What emotion?"
"The emotion in the story."
"Hmm..." Patunasankus looked at the book disdainfully. "What is all this nonsense? Princesses, princes—aren't there any stories about evil dragons wreaking havoc?"
"Fairy tale books probably don't have such scary creatures," the girl's voice was tender and sweet, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Read it, keep reading."
Patunasankus didn't know what nerve of hers had misfired, but she actually went along with the girl's wishes and continued reading.
This was a very ordinary love fairy tale, basically the old story of a princess in danger being saved by a prince.
The evil dragon read while the girl listened, continuing all the way to the ending.
"Finally, he said to the princess, I..." Patunasankus saw three words and obviously paused. "I, I..."
"What did he say to the princess?"
The girl stared straight at her face.
Patunasankus said nothing.
She closed the book.
And walked away.