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The sound of the wind whirled around my ears, confusing my senses. The cliff was so high that even though I was aware I was falling, I felt like I was falling endlessly.

If I hit the ground like this, there was no way I could survive, no matter who I was.

An assassin must always remain calm. I steadied my flustered mind and retrieved the means I could use.

“Silph!”

As I called out the name of the low-level wind spirit, a vague shape appeared beside me.

Though initially, I had only contracted with Clarice, my sensitivity had increased thanks to the tears she sometimes shared, allowing me to easily form a contract with a low-level spirit.

Of course, it was just a low-level spirit, but in this situation, I was grateful for it.

The Silph that appeared at my call quickly assessed my situation and began doing what it could.

Even though it couldn’t lift my body due to its lack of power, the low-level spirit was more than capable of slowing my rate of descent.

“By the way, it’s way too deep… Where on earth is the bottom?”

I was falling slowly but certainly not at a speed that would allow for an injury-free landing. As I gained a bit of leeway, I looked around, but the fog below the cliff was so thick that I couldn’t see anything around me or even the ground.

I definitely hadn’t seen a cliff like this when I was climbing up; I was curious where this cliff had suddenly come from. However, considering that the owner of the mountain range was a dragon, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

The entire mountain range was like its home, so it might have done something pointless along the way.

Perhaps the phrase “straying from the path brings the wrath of the dragon” suggests that falling into such unknowable traps could cost one their life.

“Huh?”

As I mindlessly awaited the appearance of the ground while lost in thought, a strange sensation enveloped me.

– Sorry…!

The Silph, lacking a form that could speak properly, transmitted a simple message through the link connecting us, along with a feeling of fear.

Before I could even ask what it meant by its sudden apology, I felt the wind that had been surrounding me disappear.

Naturally, as the Silph’s power diminished, the speed of my fall increased again.

“Whoa! Aah!”

In the face of this completely unexpected situation, an undignified scream escaped my lips; yet, it was unusual for someone to seek decorum when their life was at stake.

“Whoooaaah…! Uggh!”

Splat!

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the ground was too far away, as my body soon collided with something and I experienced the end of my fall.

Though I hit pretty hard and it stung, I didn’t seem to have broken anything. Given the height from which I had fallen, it was essentially a miracle.

Even the ground I landed on didn’t seem to be stone; thankfully, the impact wasn’t as severe as it could have been.

“Ugh… How far did I fall?”

Typically, one falls headfirst from a great height, but it seemed I had fallen on my backside. Rubbing my sore rear, I looked up.

Even when I craned my neck, the thick fog blocked everything from my view.

“Haah… How am I supposed to get back up…?”

Even using the lingering power of the Silph, I found it challenging to hover in the air, so I needed to find another way.

The only hope I had was Frecia, with whom I had a contract that allowed us to sense each other’s locations, but it seemed the fog was disrupting even that signal, as I couldn’t sense Frecia’s presence at all.

Still, fog doesn’t last forever, so even if I couldn’t find another way, I could wait for the fog to clear for my eventual rescue.

As I contemplated whether I should be worried or relieved, the ground beneath me started to tremble. I quickly lowered my stance to maintain balance and prevent falling over.

– Ouch…! What a shock to wake up to…

A voice full of irritation echoed, and when I turned to see where it came from, I spotted something with a scrunched-up face.

I should have been happy to find I wasn’t alone, but instead, I felt tense.

Long slits for pupils, smooth yet firm scales, an instinctual pressure radiating from it—the combination of all these features pointed to a single existence in this world.

A dragon.

Kyaaaah!

But it seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised, as the dragon’s eyes widened in shock when they met mine, and it screamed as well.

The dragon’s shriek was clear, but I could tell it wasn’t a vocal sound. If anything, it felt like a form of telepathy, similar to how the Silph communicated with me earlier.

Simultaneously, the ground beneath me shook violently again.

Only then did I realize where I was standing. I thought I had landed on the ground, but it turned out I had landed right on the back of a sleeping dragon, curled up.

– Ahem…! How dare you place your filthy feet upon my back, girl? You must have some guts!

The dragon, who had been screaming, quickly realized its own embarrassment and cleared its throat before exclaiming in a dignified voice.

However, after witnessing such a silly display from the dragon, I felt little fear. If anything, it felt oddly endearing.

In any case, it was clear that I was standing on the dragon’s back. I didn’t want to provoke it, so I stepped down straight away.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking about how to land safely after falling from the cliff and accidentally caused you trouble. I sincerely apologize.”

– Hmph! As if that would matter… Hyaaaak!

However, as I tried to step down, I slipped and happened to land on a sensitive spot, causing the dragon to yelp again.

“Oh… so it was the side. My bad.”

I hadn’t even realized I was stepping on the dragon’s back because it was so large, so how would I know where its side was?

I had unintentionally tickled it.

Still, the scales were quite solid, so wasn’t it a bit silly to be ticklish about this much?

Of course, I kept my thoughts to myself, but suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the dragon’s body.

It wasn’t destructive; it was just a simple flash of light.

I closed my eyes for a moment due to the brightness, and when I opened them again, the large dragon had vanished.

In its place stood a girl, pointing her finger directly at me.

“Yikes…! You, you…!”

She was so excited that she could hardly speak, just flapping her mouth.

“Whoa…”

But her pointing at me wasn’t the most important thing.

Even though an enraged dragon might swoop down to eat me, my entire focus was captivated by her appearance.

She looked to be about my age?

Just a moment ago, the dragon had golden scales covering its entire body, and now her long, shimmering blonde hair fell all the way to her backside, sparkling with each flash of light.

Even her eyes glittered golden, and I felt like I could get sucked in if I stared at them for too long, and I wasn’t kidding.

Her small face was adorned with charming features, with long yet delicate limbs, and even her figure, visible beyond her dress, emphasized her womanhood.

But the aspects that drew the eye most were the horns atop her head, the wings on her back, and the tail peeking out from under her dress—proof that she was, indeed, a dragon.

Though horns, wings, and tails aren’t common, it’s not like they’re particularly surprising. After all, our party’s Lilith has them too.

However, the horns on this girl appeared rougher yet emanated a strong magical aura, and her enormous wings seemed much more imposing than Lilith’s little ones, and the tail sticking out was crude and quite threatening compared to Lilith’s cute heart-shaped one.

Despite the contrasting characteristics potentially detracting from each other’s charm, they instead highlighted one another due to the girl’s mysterious presence.

To be blunt, she was among the most strikingly beautiful individuals I had ever encountered.

“How dare you insult me… A mere mortal should be so bold!”

Insult? That was a bit much, wasn’t it?

What could there possibly be to insult about the first dragon I’d seen?

Of course, I had technically stepped on her back and tickled her side when I tried to get down, but that was merely an accident.

Meanwhile, her tail swayed around behind her. Was she trying to intimidate me? It thudded heavily against the ground multiple times, and swayed slowly side to side, distracting my gaze.

Whether she was moving it instinctively or on purpose, if the motivation was to scare me, that intention had clearly failed.

And how could it be intimidating when its owner appeared as a delicate girl?

To put it more plainly, it felt like looking at a small dog barking threateningly.

Of course, I knew I had much to fear when the dragon had been in its original form.

But if her intent was to distract me, it was highly successful.

No doubt about it, I was focused intently on her swaying tail.

It looked tough and sturdy due to its glistening scales yet somehow appeared soft, enticing enough that I wanted to touch it.

Her tail held a certain charm that sparked unending curiosity. I was certainly not a pervert.

“If you kneel down and bow your head right now, perhaps…”

As her tail moved around, it eventually inched closer to me. With it coming within reach, how could I possibly resist?

I grabbed her tail.

“… You dare touch my body? That’s it. Forgiveness is off the table…”

The girl seemed to gab about something, but my focus was solely on one thing.

The singular desire to pet this rough yet adorably cute tail.

“Right now, I’ll…!”

Slowly, I relished the sensation of her tail, stroking it.

“Hmmmm…”