Evil Dragon, Without a Princess, I Had to Transform Myself!-Chapter 88 : Liking an Idiot

Patunasankus moved with a lightness and rhythm, dancing barefoot atop the grape pile, where the fragrance of grapes intertwined with the maiden's scent.
Her long hair swayed gently with her movements, strands occasionally brushing against her face, which was flushed a faint pink from exertion.
After a long while, she exhaled deeply.
"Done." Patunasankus wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead and turned her head, only to see Shatina staring intently at her through an ugly black-framed pair of glasses, muttering incessantly.
"What are you doing?" Patunasankus asked from atop the grape pile. "That's one ugly pair of glasses."
"Ugly, ugly, ugly!" Shatina repeated three times before pausing to mutter, "...Huh? That's weird. The fairies were all very pleased, so why isn't there any reaction?"
"Fairies? What fairies?"
Patunasankus tilted her head, following Shatina's gaze, but saw nothing.
"The fairies of the Lost Paradise—they really like you. When fairies are delighted, all wishes are granted. Making grapes taste delicious and fragrant, elevating them to heavenly quality, is child's play for them."
Shatina pulled out a glass from who-knows-where, filled it with grape juice, and watched as tiny bubbles gradually rose from the bottom.
Dust motes floated in the sunlight, warming everything with a cozy glow.
Closing her eyes, she seemed to be communicating with something, nodding slowly. "They like you... a little too much, even."
"Too much?"
"It's like... they're familiar with you." Shatina mused to herself, looking thoughtful. "For fairies from the planar rifts to favor you this much..."
Patunasankus didn't understand a word of it.
Even for an evil dragon who had lived so long—not that her draconic life had been particularly rich in experience—she had seen all sorts of strange things, yet she had never heard of anything like the fairies of the Lost Paradise.
"What's really strange is why the arcane lens isn't picking up any data... Is this thing broken?"
Shatina scrutinized Patunasankus, growing more and more bewildered.
Today, Patunasankus wore a simple white dress, yet the unadorned style didn't make her seem plain. Instead, it gave her a fresh, youthful radiance.
The sapphire necklace around her neck, however, had an indescribable quality—its blue as clear as sky-reflecting waters, like the hue of the heavens after being washed by wind and rain.
The sensation of being so freely scrutinized made the evil dragon extremely uncomfortable.
Patunasankus frowned slightly, and a mischievous idea popped into her head.
Her left hand, hidden behind her back, casually pinched her thumb and forefinger together—as effortlessly as crushing a grape—followed by the faint sound of something shattering.
"What was that?"
Shatina blinked, removing her glasses to inspect them closely. The sound had definitely come from them.
She watched as an ominous crack silently appeared on the arcane lens, spreading like a spiderweb.
Until—pop—it completely disintegrated.
"..."Shatina's fingers lightly brushed against what was once a flawless lens, now reduced to scattered shards on the ground, reflecting fragmented light.
Then, she screamed, "My glasses—!"
Patunasankus's gem-like eyes narrowed in amusement.
The evil dragon took great pleasure in witnessing the suffering of others.
This was something she never grew tired of.
○
In the temporarily rented wine cellar, rows of oak barrels stood quietly in the dim light, the air thick with the aroma of wine and the richness of oak.
Spiderwebs clung to the stone walls, and the occasional drip of water echoed through the space.
"Alright, now we just need to leave it to the fairies and wait for the fermentation and bottling to complete," Shatina said as she sealed the oak barrel, clapping her hands in satisfaction.
"It'll be done by tomorrow, and then we'll enter the competition. After that, we'll split the profits 70-30!"
"Hmm... So, does it absolutely have to have this origin label paired with this image?" Patunasankus asked Loranhir, holding up an empty wine bottle.
[The Village's Finest Wine]
[Even Dragons Approve]
[Origin: The Dandelion Girl]
The label bore these words along with a photo of a girl stomping grapes. Merged with the sunlight, she seemed to transform into a radiant halo, her face indistinct but her beautiful golden hair striking enough to evoke a sense of déjà vu.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Loranhir said. "I think it suits just fine."
"I just feel like... it might bring some trouble," Patunasankus glanced at her and hesitated.
"Like what?"
"Can't put my finger on it."
"Then let's just change it," Loranhir said, ready to make adjustments.
"No, it's not that serious. Just a vague sense of foreboding," Patunasankus shook her head, stopping Loranhir. "Just treat it as my imagination. It's not a big deal."
Patunasankus nodded after another glance at the slightly blurry photo. "Probably... probably nothing major."
"Alright, that's it for today. I'll go find a comfortable spot under a bridge—maybe even pitch a tent. See you two here tomorrow."
Shatina moved swiftly, pulling out a white cloth, slinging it over her shoulder, and preparing to leave.
Even Loranhir, no stranger to hardship, couldn't help but be impressed by her level of destitution.
"Um... If you don't mind, you could stay with us. We were just about to..." Loranhir hesitated for a moment.
"Get a room?" Shatina stopped in her tracks and spun around.
"...Is there a problem?" Even Loranhir was taken aback by her fierce reaction.
"Big spender!!!" Shatina's eyes sparkled. "I'm starving. Please take care of me."
Loranhir stood in silence, occasionally wondering what kind of people she kept ending up with—a vampire with terrible cooking skills, a wyvern who adored her in dreams...
Her gaze drifted to Patunasankus, who was idly tapping on the oak barrels to pass the time.Only Her Highness the Princess is somewhat normal.
"But you'll have to pay for your own meals," Loranhir said seriously to Shatina.
"Fine, I'll go find some grass to chew. No big deal," Shatina replied nonchalantly, as if this were completely normal. "Come on, let's hurry and get a room. I'm starving."
"..."
Both Patunasankus and Loranhir stared at her speechlessly, utterly unable to comprehend what kind of inner world this person had.
This kind of pure idiocy made it truly difficult to feel any wariness toward her.
○
"So you're saying you ran away from the academy by yourself?"
Patunasankus sat on the bed, propping her chin with her hands as she gazed boredly at the ceiling. Only she and Shatina were in this tavern room now.
Loranhir had gone downstairs to the bar to start another holy sword tournament. If not for the soundproofing spells in the room, the tsunami-like commotion she'd observed downstairs earlier would have made a good night's sleep impossible.
"Just made a little mistake, had to leave."
"How little of a mistake?"
"Hmm, pretty small. Just something that could be called a heretical act, that's all." Shatina pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, snuggling comfortably into the bedding.
"Pretty small indeed," Patunasankus agreed solemnly.
"Outrageous, isn't it? Getting kicked out for something that minor!" Shatina sighed, glancing down at her chest before falling silent for a moment. "What's even worse is they all said my academic abilities were equally underdeveloped."
Shatina declared loudly, raising her eyes:
"I hate big-chested people like them. They all bully others with their advantages!"
"...My condolences, my condolences."
Patunasankus walked to her bedside and handed the dejected mage an orange, taking her hand and shaking it solemnly—like a funeral attendee comforting a bereaved young girl.
Only her cheeks were puffed up.
After completing these superficial gestures, Patunasankus suddenly threw herself onto the bed, burying her face in a pillow while pounding the mattress violently.
Laughter bubbled up inside her like boiling water, accidentally steaming through her expression and erupting into delightful peals that spread like the chime of silver bells.
"Obviously... right? Haha..."
Patunasankus simply couldn't hold it in anymore. If she kept suppressing her laughter like this, she might give herself internal injuries.
She suddenly felt that getting involved in this matter was absolutely wonderful, and her extended stay in Taurant was bound to become even more amazing.
One reason was undoubtedly meeting Shatina—this beautiful, mischievous, eccentric oddball who radiated pure idiocy from every pore.
Latifa would probably like her. Definitely.
She liked fools.
"What's so funny?"
Shatina glared at Patunasankus and pouted.
"What right do you have to laugh at me?" Her gaze lingered on Patunasankus's chest.
"Of course I'm different," Patunasankus declared righteously, proudly puffing out her chest.
"How are you different?"
"In every possible way."
"What ways?"
"...Just different, okay!""Don't pretend to be something you're not when you're at my level. I'm going to take a nap first."
Chattering to herself, Shatina soon fell asleep.
Patunasankus turned her head to see Shatina already asleep. The curtains weren't drawn, and the moonlight caressed her soft bangs. The bedding covered the back of her head, revealing only a pair of delicate, furry ears that twitched occasionally.
Bored, Patunasankus sat by the windowsill, picked up the Evil Dragon Yearbook, and flipped to her most familiar page, staring blankly at the person depicted there.
This was how the evil dragon always passed the time.
Cloud wisps drifted, making the moonlight sway.
There must have been wind, but its sound didn't reach her ears.
Patunasankus gradually grew drowsy. She glanced back at the clock on the wall—it was already very late.
Pushing the yearbook aside, she lay down on the windowsill and fell asleep.
As for what might come next...
She wasn't interested now, nor did she care.
The crisp autumn night breeze occasionally brushed Patunasankus's cheeks with unfurled pages.
And whenever this happened, the evil dragon would shift into a more comfortable sleeping position.
At dusk, the sky was dim.
A massive dark shadow swept across the horizon, its wings beating forcefully as dust and wind arrived abruptly, howling with one chilling roar after another.
A dragon had quietly entered the human world.