The next morning dawned with the faint scent of burning wood and the smell of something cooking nearby.
Noir slowly opened his eyes, letting out a long yawn.
’To think that the first party of my life would be with goblins.’ He chuckled to himself, feeling extremely satisfied.
For a few seconds, the little black dragon lay motionless on the huge pile of furs the goblins had insisted on preparing for him the night before. It was absurdly comfortable.
Too comfortable.
In fact, he was pretty sure that bed was better than anything he’d ever had in his entire life.
The golden sphere lay on a sort of monster-skin pillow, completely still, fully enjoying its rest.
Outside the cabin, the village was already awake. He could hear conversations, hurried footsteps, and the sound of tools striking wood.
The little dragon stretched slowly before stepping outside. The cool morning air brushed against his scales.
Immediately, several goblins spotted him. And they panicked.
"The Great Dragon has awakened!"
"He’s awake!"
"Bring breakfast!"
"No, fruit first."
"No! Meat!"
"Both!"
"..."
Noir watched as half the goblin village began running back and forth; this kind of treatment was as if he had been reincarnated as royalty.
The golden orb perched on one of his horns and seemed pleased with the way they were treating the little black dragon.
’Looks like you’re enjoying the treatment, don’t you?’
The golden sphere spun playfully; he could almost swear it was puffing out its chest... but maybe that was just his imagination.
Less than five minutes later, he was faced with a mountain of food: fruits, roots, mushrooms, roasted meat, fish, and even something that looked like honey.
’A celebration, and all this food, just because I’m a dragon.’
Noir looked at that absurd amount of food, which would have lasted a human family a couple of months in his previous life.
Then he looked at the goblins. And then he looked back at the food.
’Well... it would be rude to turn it down.’
Wagging his tail happily, he began to devour the feast, leaving the vegetables behind; it seemed his body instinctively rejected them.
That morning turned into quite a spectacle. Every time Noir tasted something, several goblins jotted it down on a wooden tablet.
Apparently, they were trying to figure out which foods dragons preferred.
The result was completely useless because Noir liked practically everything—except vegetables. And not only that, but especially if it was free.
After breakfast, he decided to explore the village.
And the more he looked around, the more he realized that those goblins were just people.
There were hunters mending spears and gatherers sorting fruit.
Older women were preparing herbal medicines.
Children were running all over the place.
There were even family arguments.
On one occasion, he watched as a goblin chased after a little boy because he had broken a basket.
The scene was so ordinary that he almost forgot monsters surrounded him. The strangest thing was that the children seemed to have gotten used to him incredibly quickly.
At first, they hid behind the adults.
However, the goblin children now approached him and eventually began to follow him.
Now and then, he heard children’s voices coming from some of the huts. Noir didn’t pay them much attention; after all, a village was full of children.
Noir turned his head. Five little goblins were watching him. Then he turned the other way and saw three more. He looked back again... now there were seven.
"..."
They looked like ducklings following their mother.
’Why are they following me?’
The little black dragon decided to ignore the goblins for the time being. After all, they weren’t doing anything wrong.
Besides, he was an extremely calm dragon.
The golden orb appeared right in front of his face. Then it slowly turned, once... twice, as if he were listening to the biggest lie in history.
Noir stared at it for several seconds.
’What?’
The sphere kept spinning.
’What does that mean?’
The sphere glowed brightly.
’What do you mean by that attitude!?’
The small sphere spun all the way around him and began to project tiny flashes of light.
One showed Noir chasing it through the cave.
Another showed Noir trying to bite it.
Another showed Noir crashing into a wall.
And another showed Noir trying to open the giant door, only to end up on his back.
"..."
Noir felt as if his soul had temporarily left his body.
’That was tampering with evidence!’
The sphere spun merrily.
’Objection!’
The sphere spun again.
’I formally protest!’
The sphere spun even faster.
’That doesn’t count! Those were all isolated incidents! Besides! Since when have you been able to do that?!’
The sphere was practically shaking with laughter.
Noir decided that arguing with a possessed sphere was a waste of time. Summoning all the dignity he could muster, he lifted his head and looked away.
And that was when he noticed something.
The goblins.
All the goblins.
They were watching him.
One of them was pointing at his wings.
Another was pointing at his tail.
A third seemed torn between approaching him and running away.
Even some children were following him from a distance, whispering excitedly to one another.
Noir blinked, then blinked again... And finally understood.
’...Ah.’
It was a dragon.
A real dragon.
To him, it was starting to seem normal because he saw his reflection every day.
But to the goblins... it was probably as if a legend had suddenly decided to appear right in the middle of the village.
One of the little goblins timidly raised a hand.
Noir raised a claw in response.
The child froze, then ran off at full speed.
"HE GREETED ME!"
"THE DRAGON GREETED ME!"
"HE CHOSE ME!"
The other children immediately surrounded him.
Noir watched the scene, completely baffled.
’What did I choose?’
The golden sphere gently bumped against one of his horns. It was as if it were saying, "Congratulations. You’ve just become a celebrity."
And for some reason... Noir couldn’t help but feel a little proud.
Over the next few hours, he became a walking attraction.
The children wanted to touch his scales. They wanted to see his wings; they wanted to know if he could breathe fire; they wanted to know if he could eat a mountain.
That last question made him feel slightly offended.
’Why does everyone assume I eat strange things?’
The golden sphere made a full rotation.
He clearly knew the answer.
By noon, Noir had ended up lying under a huge tree near the center of the village.
The spot offered pleasant shade. Several breezes rustled through the leaves, producing a soft murmur.
A few small goblins continued to play nearby; the adults kept working.
Everything was peaceful.
Noir gazed at the sky through the branches.
The clouds drifted slowly by; the wind rustled the leaves.