Chương 10: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 10 - Mr. Dragon, You Eat Some Too

SNICK. Su Nian extended his claws, then retracted them. SNICK. Out again. He repeated the motion a few more times until the mechanism felt natural. Actually kind of fun. He found himself wondering whether, once he'd accumulated enough system points, he could remove the barbs from that particular part, and then... No. Too depraved. Su Nian shook his head. He used his retracted-claw dragon hand to pry open Anna's mouth, while his other hand deftly picked up the Revival Potion and gave it a light tap against his horn.

POP. The cork flew free. The pale red liquid began to glow faintly, and Su Nian wasted no time carefully tipping it into Anna's mouth. The effect was instant. On Anna's status panel, her remaining lifespan ticked upward from seventeen hours, climbing steadily until it settled at three days and eight hours. The color in her face visibly improved. The purplish tint faded from her lips. A faint flush returned to her pale cheeks. She was still a candle in the wind, but Su Nian exhaled slowly. As expected.

Treating symptoms, not the cause. Still, buying time is enough. He wasn't too troubled by it. With a case of Heart Failure this severe, a potion that could cure it outright would be absurdly overpowered. He crawled to the side and began sorting through the herbs. Some of these might have conflicting properties. He'd have to go by the panel's prompts, watching Anna's condition and testing them one at a time.

"Next — Fogan branches." Su Nian tossed a handful into his mouth and chewed. Then he retracted his claws, lifted Anna's chin, gently pried open her mouth, and fed her the pulp bit by bit, mouth to mouth. His dragon head was large, yes, but the snout was the narrow end. And he did have a tongue. If it wouldn't go in, he stirred it along. Stirring got anything where it needed to go. Feeding medicine, as it turned out, wasn't especially difficult. Afterward, he watched her status panel and waited.

Sure enough, the coughing debuff visible through the Insight Technique began to flicker. The Fogan branches were taking effect. Her remaining lifespan didn't move, though. The cough probably wasn't what was killing her.

"Next — Linked Star Leaves and Zisang Fruit." He'd found the Zisang Fruit growing alongside some Linked Star Leaves, so he figured their properties were probably compatible. He mixed both together this time, chewed them into a paste, and fed her the combination. The lung inflammation debuff immediately began to flicker. Anna's remaining lifespan climbed by another full day. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Su Nian stroked his dragon chin and nodded.

Lung inflammation, serious complication. One dose wouldn't cure it. He'd have to keep this up daily just to hold the line.

"Bloodgrass Mushroom, Bloodgrass Mushroom... munch munch — ugh. Why is it this bitter!" His entire dragon face crumpled. The Bloodgrass Mushroom was absolutely vile. Dragon taste buds don't fully develop until adulthood, a feature hardwired into dragonblood genetics to stop young dragons from being picky eaters. So if Su Nian, with his underdeveloped palate, found this unbearable, then elves and humans, species who actually enjoyed cooking and eating, would find it at least ten times worse.

"Good medicine tastes bitter~" Telling himself this, he pried open Anna's mouth again and transferred the chewed-up Bloodgrass Mushroom into her in one go.

"Mmph mmph, pfft, no, mmm, " Anna's mouth was sealed shut. She couldn't get a word out. She blinked up at him, eyes huge and pitiful, the two of them staring at each other, big dragon eyes meeting wide human ones. Maybe the bitterness had jolted her out of unconsciousness. Maybe the Revival Potion had already eased enough of her pain. Either way, she had chosen this exact moment to wake up. An atmosphere of pure, exquisite awkwardness began to take shape.

Anna tried to move, but a dragon claw held her pinned to the ground. The bitterness flooded her tongue, hit every nerve, and her eyes immediately started watering. Su Nian didn't particularly care. If she didn't swallow the medicine, it was wasted. Simple. He worked his tongue, gave it a firm push forward, and the mouthful of Bloodgrass Mushroom slid straight into Anna's throat and went down. He released her.

Anna lay flat on her back, staring at the cave ceiling with the expression of someone who had lost the will to live. Tears clung to the corners of her eyes. Bloodgrass Mushroom juice smeared the corners of her mouth.

"Mr. Dragon... it's so bitter..." She knew he'd been feeding her medicine. She wasn't going to blame him for that. But a small, pitiful complaint, she allowed herself that much. [Anna Hathaway's favorability increased by 5. Current favorability: 15 (Friendly).] Bitter? Good. That's exactly right. Suffer the bitter now, and ordinary bitter will taste sweet later. Su Nian checked her panel. The anemia debuff had begun to flicker as well, slowly, though. Very slowly. Medicine alone wouldn't fix that. She needed food.

This fox-eared girl clearly hadn't had a real meal in days. He looked at her, that utterly pitiable little face, and after a moment's thought, he spent one system point and produced a piece of White Rabbit Creamy Candy. He held it out to Anna, who had pushed herself up to sit against the cave wall. She blinked at the strange item in the black dragon's claw, then took it carefully. She had absolutely no idea what it was.

"Mr. Dragon... is this for Anna?" Su Nian nodded. Seeing the confusion on her face, he simply took it back, peeled the wrapper off with practiced ease, and returned the soft white candy to her. Then, in case she still didn't understand, he picked up a berry from the ground, tossed it into his own mouth, and chewed, demonstrating.

"Oh. So it's food..." Anna brought the candy up to her nose first and breathed in. Faint. Milky. Sweet. Is this milk? She had tasted unicorn milk before. She had never seen milk in solid form. Curiosity winning out, she took a small bite. [Anna Hathaway's favorability increased by 5. Current favorability: 20 (Friendly).] The sweetness spread across her tongue. Even the lingering bitterness of the Bloodgrass Mushroom softened. Anna held the candy in both hands and let her eyes drift half-shut.

It was the sweetest thing she had ever eaten. [It's really so sweet... like being held by your mother...] [But Mr. Dragon only seems to have one. And even though it's delicious, Anna can't eat it all herself...] [Mr. Dragon has already been taking such good care of Anna.] Her inner thoughts, drifting loose, and his hit-or-miss mind-reading caught every word. Su Nian glanced at her sideways. One system point per piece. Killing a human his own tier should net him ten or more.

A magical beast the same tier, five or six. No cap on exchanges, either, he could get as many as he wanted.

"Um! Mr. Dragon!" He was still running the math when Anna looked up suddenly. She tilted her face toward him, fair, soft, a little flushed, and held the White Rabbit Creamy Candy out in both hands, just slightly, like an offering. Her voice came out shy and careful.

"That... A-Anna only took a small bite. It's very sweet and very good." A pause.

"Mr. Dragon should have some too." ➤ Next: The Ambition of the King of Anlius