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Chapter 3 : Homie.

It didn't happen often nowadays, which probably made it all the reason he needed to underline it in the privacy of his mind, but Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination of once, reduced to no more than the shiniest of bauble by the Biblical God, was feeling incredibly confused at the moment.

After spending the last 654 years stuck between its wards, it would have been pretty hard for what was left of a majestic beast such as him not to notice when those suddenly vanished and his diminished soul ended up trading one gaoler for another.

Except, not quite?

He didn't exactly get how she was doing it, but his new host was holding him in place by using only the raw power of her soul. Skies above, he had enough of a modicum of freedom of motion in there that he could twist and turn on himself for once! It was to the point that he had even come across another major surprise.

Vritra - or at least part of him - was in here too, just as free from the old codger's bindings as he was! Granted, the other dragon wasn't really able to share his own thoughts on the subject, what with him having been reduced to a gibbering, lobotomized mess, but Ddraig wouldn't be able to confuse his aura for anyone else's.

The sheer bizarreness of the situation ended up making his growing ire at being ripped off of his rightful partner - in becoming - vanish in one fell swoop and his struggle to momentarily halt.

There was something he was missing - possibly more than one something - and he knew what he needed to do to properly get a grasp on this new situation.

Since he was still rubbing souls with his gaoler at the moment and was now an old hand at skimming through his various hosts' minds across the ages, he tried doing just that.

A metaphorical paw leaning against the oddly malleable walls of his prison, the Welsh dragon sent his consciousness away from his body in but a moment. The soul, being the blueprint of the body and mind, allowed him free passage to his gaoler's memories-

At least at first.

It was pretty hard not to notice when his attempt at getting a grip on the situation suddenly halted, momentary confusion positively ringing through the oddly malleable soul surrounding him on all sides, before a smattering of other emotions flickered.

A feeling of surprise accompanied by a metaphorical rise of an eyebrow, the impression of a closer look sent his way, an instant of realization, then, against all of his expectations, calm acceptance underlined by genuine fondness.

The metaphorical grip on his consciousness softly receded, the impression of a gentle - if a little demeaning - headpat was given to him, as well as a few parting words conveyed through the soul-bridge.

"Still busy, talk to you later."

Next thing he knew, his attempt at accessing his gaoler's mind was successful, and his confusion had reached new heights.

Rather than randomly dive through his oddly sympathetic gaoler's memories, Ddraig decided to backtrack through those in an orderly fashion, now properly motivated to get some answers since the thief was showing themselves to be accommodating for some reason.

Alas, if the Red Dragon Emperor thought his situation was confusing before, it had nothing on how he started to feel once he witnessed his gaoler's life for the past two days or so.

An incomprehensible, Godlike - capital G fully intended - conceptual power; weaponized Willpower to reject the world's reality and impose your own; a physique worthy of the heroes of old…

The sheer, manic confusion of the previous day, so jarring in contrast to the annoyed acceptance of the current, as his gaoler tried her best to get a grip on her situation, apparently quite lost for some reason.

Then, the cherry on the cake, the evening before.

To say that Ddraig was left googly-eyed in the aftermath of his fact-checking journey would be downplaying it tremendously. Yet, he only had one singular question at the forefront of his mind once he tentatively accepted the notions of Multiversal travel, wandering immortal Greek witch fucking with people like they're won't to do and sudden transformation into amazonian woman as facts of life.

What was this Highschool DxD the witch and the poor sod she played like a fiddle had been talking about before all of this started?

Ddraig sent his consciousness further, intent on finding some answers, a hint of amusement ringing in his gaoler's mind when they apparently caught onto what he was doing.

Metaphorical hours later, once the Welsh Dragon's exploration came to a halt, his quest for knowledge successful, he almost wished it hadn't been.

"See you tomorrow!" I bid the girls from the 2-C goodbye with a little - if admittedly honest - smile, before making my way out of Kuoh Highschool's premises.

Humming a tune under my breath, I had to admit that, bar the two little incidents I had been part of in the morning, this whole 'going back to school'-thing had been…

Relatively fun, so far?

And I am not thinking that because of the sudden popularity, no, but because everyone had been quite welcoming of me so far, the entire laundry list of differences I clearly had with them none withstanding.

I only have a superficial knowledge about Japanese society and its heavily coded interactions, but since I am obviously a foreigner, people don't get mad at me for making a faux-pas as long as I apologize and look cute while doing so!

I imagine that I wouldn't be singing the same song if I had gotten an entire life lived in the country shoved in my brain and its appropriate background, though. It does look more than a bit stuffy from where I'm standing.

But it's alright, it's not like I have to put up with this for longer than a couple of years anyway. I'll see where the winds guide me once this entire shitshow of a plot has gone down and every BBEG has been dealt with!

And speaking of the plot…

It takes me a solid second of focus but I'm easily able to poke the oversized lizard in my soul to get his attention.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, did you manage to find the answers you sought?" I 'mentally' ask Ddraig.

Well, I say mentally, but it'd be more accurate to say that I'm actually vibrating and pinching my soul in the correct way to communicate with him. Don't ask me how I know how to do this because I have genuinely no idea.

Something something Soul-Soul Fruit, something something Conceptual power.

All the answers I get for my trouble is a powerful, resigned and quite pained groan.

I hum in the back of my throat, finding a no-small amount of schadenfreude in the dragon's reaction, the image of his soul slumped against the boundaries of mine extremely vivid in my mind.

"About what I expected when I caught you looking around, if I have to be honest." I comment while snickering a little.

"Just- This- How?!" His own voice is powerful, a deep rumble that rattles my 'bones'.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be a little bit more precise, Red Dragon of Domination." I answer while fishing out my 'new' phone to look for something in Kuoh, "I didn't really get your question."

"How could it come to this, how could I fall so low?!" He pleadingly asks.

"Oh, this is about the Titty-Dragon Emperor, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!"

I don't really begrudge him for yelling his despair out loud like that, but it does make me outwardly wince a little.

"I know it's a hard pill to swallow, but this perverted partner of your alternate self managed to save the day big time in spite of it." I answer distractedly, a little smile blossoming on my lips as I find what I'm looking for on the internet in spite of the edge-grade data speed, "Multiple times, as a matter of fact. Yes, he probably irremediably tarnished his legacy for millennia to come, but he also was his strongest - and sanest - host to ever be born."

"You say all of that, girl, but you didn't hesitate to rip me away from him. Just like you did with the piece of Vritra hovering nearby." His tone is more than a little accusatory.

Which, fair enough.

"I won't apologize for not wanting to see a child get thrown into this mess and having the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. And it's not like what I've done is going to be harmful to him in any way. He'll just have to content himself with a normal life, like billions of other humans. I'm sure he'll manage." I drawl languidly while making my way toward my objective, "I suppose you also saw what happened to me, correct?"

"If you're speaking about witnessing a powerless fool riling an ancient Greek witch up despite his quasi non-existent instincts telling him to bolt and never look back? Yes, it was both recent enough and hard to miss." The dragon sasses me back.

I pause, before chuckling a little.

"Alright, I know I fucked up. But in my defense, I was drunk off my ass at the time."

"Doesn't make you any less responsible for falling for her tricks and not listening to your guts. But I suppose that you were trying to make another point, yes?"

"I just wanted to be certain that you had a good enough understanding of the situation." I pause, squinting a little at an intersection before finding the correct path forward, "I want to make a deal with you."

"I fail to see how I could be in a position to say 'no' to my new gaoler, but I'll humor you nonetheless." He answers a bit waspishly.

I can't help the eye roll that escapes me.

"I'm not a 'gaoler', Ddraig." I calmly answer, "Quite the contrary, in fact. I may be the best shot you'll ever have at getting a body back."

The silence in my soul that follows my proclamation is almost deafening so intense it is.

I say nothing, letting the oversized lizard of Boosting take in that fact, watching as his curled posture against the walls of my soul slowly uncurls.

"You're not…" He pauses, green eyes squinted, "No, you're actually serious. You're really offering me this."

"Yes I do." I answer calmly.

"And how would you- Your power." He quickly realizes, eyeridges shooting up, "You can use your power to do that."

"Got it in one. And quite easily, as a matter of fact." I confirm, "All I really need is a proper vessel for you to inhabit."

He says nothing, but I can sense the curiosity mixed with longing wafting from him.

"It will not be the same, I'm warning you in advance, but you'll be free once more, that I can guarantee." I elaborate a bit.

"And what of the price you'll ask for this?" He slowly, cautiously asks.

"You'll find it more than fair. I just want your help facing the troubles ahead of us. Especially the two apocalypses I'm relatively confident will come our ways." I tilt my head to the side, smiling slightly, "After all, it's not like you to shy away from a fight, no?"

"... What if the timeline you know of doesn't come to pass? Will you let it hang over my head until you die of old age, like all of you mammals do?" He rumbles threateningly.

I snort, before shaking my head.

"Oh, I'd be very pleasantly surprised if nothing ever happened and I could just live a peaceful life, free of any kind of mess. But I've been put here by a witch known for her curses since antiquity, and I'm currently dealing with her variant of 'may you live in interesting times'." I jeer, "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that the Trihexa isn't unsealed before the end of the year, I'd bet my left buttock on it."

"... Point." He grumbles, before sighing, "What would our arrangement entail, then?"

"I just want us to be partners in this." I explain, "Sure, you're going to need my help to regain your prime, considering I can tell how Big G's tempering diminished you. But I'll also need both a sparring partner and a second pair of eyes to watch my back. You don't have to put all of your trust in me right this moment, let me prove that I'm not completely full of it first, alright?"

The big red dragon doesn't answer immediately, choosing to mull over my words instead.

"Let's say that I'm tentatively on board with this." He eventually starts, slowly uttering the words, "How do you intend to procure me a suitable vessel to inhabit?"

I take the last few steps needed to reach my goal, a smile blossoming on my face.

"I'm so glad you asked!" I answer peepily while pushing open the door of the arts and craft shop.

"And I said that I refuse!" Ddraig barks, indignation oozing out of his soul-form.

"Come on, don't be like that, I swear it's the best solution." I try to make him see reason.

"I'm going to look absolutely ridiculous! Find another way, I demand it!" He growls.

My left eyebrow twitches.

"Counterpoint: Titty-Dragon Emperor." My slowly uttered sentence induces a full-body twitch out of him, "Listen, I know how to sew, so that's what you get. It'll be a temporary state of affairs anyway. With enough souls to empower you, you'll eventually regain a more, let's say dignified, appearance."

"But I'm going to be minuscule!" The Dragon of Domination whines of all things!

I take a deep breath, before slowly exhaling in a bid to channel all of my nearly non-existent patience.

"Look at it this way." I answer as calmly as I can, "You'll be able to take naps everywhere without people getting fussy about it."

"Why would I care about people getting 'fussy' because I take naps wherever I please? I'm ME, skies' sake!" He barks back.

"Then why are you even bitching about this?" I snipe back, "If you're, well, you, as you so aptly put it, why something as inconsequential as your appearance should concern you? You still have all your achievements, your legend and your, quite frankly, busted as hell spell list to be proud of!"

The dragon hitching a ride in my body remains stubbornly silent for a moment.

"... Kind of hypocritical of you, Miss 'If I have to be a woman, I'd rather be a pretty one'." He slyly points out.

My eyebrow twitches.

The pen in my hand snaps in my grip.

"You know," I start, the beginning of a kind smile blossoming on my face, "I could always put you back where I found you, if you're so unhappy about this."

The metaphorical equivalent of a heated stare down begins between the two of us.

"Fine!" He caves first under my latest - and most potent - threat, "Have it your way!"

I sigh softly, happy that this argument has finally come to an end after the last two hours.

"But only on two conditions." He adds as an afterthought.

I look skyward, begging the heavens to grant me strength.

"Name them." I concede, my eyes closed.

"No matter how many times he asks, Albion doesn't get a similar offer until his current host bites it." Ddraig says, a very fox-like smirk etched on his muzzle.

"... You are aware that Vali Lucifer is a half-devil and will basically live until he bites off more than he can chew in battle, yes?" I bemusedly remarks.

"That's the whole point, girl. Get on with the program." His grin turns just a bit more pronounced, "If I have to endure this indignity, then I'll do it with the knowledge that I'll be able to taunt my rival for all its worth!"

"... Petty, but you do you, I guess." I can only shrug at his answer, "Your other condition?"

"I want at least thirty percent more wingspan, and forty percent more tail." He asks in a tone that absolutely brokers no argument.

Once again, I shrug.

"Fine by me." I accept, already starting a new draft, "Though, I do have to ask."

"... Yes?" He asks with an already fed-up tone.

"Compensating much?" A grin of my own curls up my lips.

A beat passes.

"I do not compensate, you ignorant mammal! I just won't accept anything less than a perfect homage to my majesty, and I-" The dragon explodes in my soul.

I quietly snicker to myself as the big oaf starts to rant, shaking my head all the way.

Three relatively quiet school days, a copious amount of swearing due to broken needles - tends to happen a lot when your skin is too tough to puncture, it turns out - and a lot of internal bickering later, my task is finally accomplished.

I watch as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Domination slowly stirs awake and free once again in his lovingly handcrafted vessel by yours truly, and I almost want to shed a tear of pride.

A soft, velvety scarlet red outside, cut in wave-like pattern and sewed in superimposed rows to mimic the appearance of his original scales. Vivid, bottle-green buttons for his eyes and the gems adorning his old, majestic form. Black ink inlays to give the whole a bit more depth and give him proper claws. Two two-toned wings made of black and scarlet red fabric, and a long tail tipped in a soft pointy end. An inner-lining of cotton, not visible from the outside obviously, to keep the whole together, and a flax seed stuffing to give him more mass and make sunbathing a more enjoyable pastime.

The home crafted plushie recently turned 'homie' flaps his wings once, twice, reptilian head turning this way and that as he takes a good look at himself, tail waving a little to the left, then to the right.

I look at my work in respectful silence.

It's a struggle not to squee in delight, admittedly.

Plushie-Ddraig looks derpy as fuck and I really want to hug him silly, in all his one meter long, thirty centimers wide glory!

"How is it?" I ask while affecting the most straight faced outward contenance I can manage.

"Adequate, I suppose." He answers, his voice squeaky and very high-pitched.

My lower lip wobbles almost painfully and I bite the inside of my cheeks.

He rises on his hind legs, hopping a little, turning this way and that, this way and that...

Unbidden, a very fitting image comes to my mind.

A sound akin to a boiling kettle escapes me.

He looks back at me, button-eyes locked straight into my own.

"What?" He asks in his squeaky voice.

I pounce on him.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! YOU'RE JUST TOO CUTE!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

"Wha- Buh-" He struggles, "UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT, YOU CRAZY WOMAN, OR I SWEAR-"

Despite multiple [Boost], Ddraig didn't quite manage to escape his fate as a pillow that night.

Nor the next, or the one after, or the one after that one, or…

Chapter 4 : Belly rubs.​

"Absolutely not!" Plushie-Ddraig squeaks, little arms crossed in front of his chest, a defiant frown firmly set on his muzzle as he squints his button-eyes in my general direction.

My own frown marginally deepens.

"And I told you that I need someone to watch my back." I reiterate, extra-slowly, for the third time, "Hell, I don't even care if you mostly zone out of it and spend your time napping during the day. You don't ever split the party, Ddraig, that's, like, basic shit!"

"Maybe, but this is demeaning in the extreme." He points an accusing claw my way, his free paw against his hip, "And why would you even need me there while attending this insipid institution of learning? All you ever do there is learn about some long-dead mammals and spend the rest of the day tuning out what you apparently already know, occasionally giggling along with the other females about cat pictures of all things!"

The accusation hits deep. Right in the kokoro, as a matter of fact.

"... Don't diss the cat pictures, I'm warning you." I squint back at the offender.

"Because that's what you chose to take umbrage from, obviously." He drawls while theatrically throwing his arms skyward, "Let's just all conveniently forget about the two Devil heiresses in the room who'll be able to ferret me from a mile away!"

"That doesn't matter." I huff, crossing my arms under my chest, "I still have a quarter of Vritra's soul inside of me and you're living in my flat. I'd wager I reek of oversized lizard-"

"Hey!"

"-and one member of the aforementioned heiresses' peerage is a full-blown Nekoshou." I gesture aimlessly to convey my annoyance, "Whether you hitch a ride or not doesn't matter, I've already been made as long as the local kuudere isn't completely nose-blind!"

"And how is me going along with your latest whim going to help us exactly?" He challenges back.

I grin.

"Three words: refuge in audacity."

A pause.

"... There's no way it'll work." He slowly shakes his head.

"Well, we won't know until we try, now do we?" I flatly answer, plopping the object of our argument on the living room's low table, "Now, get in the goddamn backpack, Ddraig!"

The stare down reignites once more, amber eyes locked unerringly into bottle-green button-eyes.

"I want you to know that in all my very long life, I've never been humiliated as much as right now." He grinds out, all squeaky-like.

My eyebrows shoot to the roof.

"Counterpoint, you spent the last, what? Seven centuries or something-"

"Six hundred and fifty four years."

"-Six hundred and fifty four years as a weaponized glorification of Big G's dickyness. So I'm fairly confident that, no matter what I do, I'll never quite match that kind of humiliation." I point out, eyes wide open and mouth pressed in a thin line.

The Red Plushie Emperor grumbles, threatens, stomps around a little on the low table, but still ends up slithering inside the backpack once the argument comes to a close.

… Someone saves me from over dramatic giant lizards' antics.

***​

"So, how is it?" I whisper quietly through the corner of my mouth while making my way to school.

"Can you be any more vague? I'm afraid I can still almost manage to understand the hidden meaning of these words of yours." A certain plushie sasses back.

I look over my shoulder to better glower at the head hanging off my backpack, only to see his muzzle curled up in a content smile and his button-eyes closed.

I pause, my trait softening before looking back ahead.

"... The sun on your scales." I explain, my voice more than a little wistful, "I was asking about that."

For a beat, Ddraig doesn't answer.

"... Alright, it's quite nice after so long, I admit." He eventually sigh-squeaks aloud.

My lips curl up, and I decide on throwing him a bone.

"I promise that you won't have to be next to me every hour of the day once I get a little stronger and the Devils are aware of us." I tell him honestly, "You'll get all the sunbathing you want on the school's roof after they stop freaking out, deal?"

He 'rumbles' a little, which sounds suspiciously like those plastic yellow chicken toys but I'm smart enough not to comment on it.

"I'll hold you onto that." He eventually answers.

"I swear to you that you won't regret it." I smile happily.

***​

To be perfectly honest about his current circumstances, being stuffed into a backpack to play overwatch for his sort-of partner isn't that bad.

Ddraig supposed that it is mostly due to his new, very unconventional body.

He has no idea how his partner did it exactly, but his soul has been anchored to his golem - he simply refused to acknowledge its more commonly used designation - in a manner that allows him both to leverage the 'solidity' of his soul-form and the more flexible aspects of his physical form.

The Welsh Dragon is pretty sure he would have ended with an absolutely intolerable crick in the tail if he had napped curled up on himself as he is doing right now back in the day!

So, all in all, his situation isn't as terrible as he thought it'd be.

Of course, he'd rather get stuffed back into his previous host than to admit it aloud to the girl. He has a reputation to maintain, after all.

With half a mind on his senses, the reincarnated Red Dragon of Domination lightly dozes off, letting the various sounds the humans around him make wash over him. It isn't like he has to be on alert at all times, after all, he is good enough to spot a threat by their killing intent and he had yet to let one walk on him while he slept.

One doesn't rise from a simple wyrm to the pinnacle of their species without being very good at listening to their guts, after all. He supposed he will have to teach the girl a couple of things about this, considering how her encounter with the Greek witch turned out.

The dozing drake barely registers when the backpack - and himself too by consequences - gets lifted in the air as his partner follows around two other females to get some manner of sustenance for herself, the light, rhythmic bouncings of the backpack pulling him ever deeper into his sleep if anything.

Probably because it reminded him of a time long past, when he was even tinier than his current form, one of many among an entire clutch, hanging on his mother's back.

"Ano, Linlin-san? I was wondering…"

"Oui, Shikari-san?"

"... Why did you bring a stuffed animal with you today?"

Ddraig not-quite freezes as his barely awake mind registers the words of one of the females, the situation one which had been debated aloud earlier in the morning between his partner and him.

If confronted about his presence, the girl would prevaricate as much as she can while he 'played dead'.

… Ddraig had a few choice words to say about that at the time, but now that he was confronted with the exact situation as described, he had to concede that the girl had demonstrated some modicum of talent for planning around the limitations of their situations.

The Welsh Dragon inwardly sighs, before letting himself go fully 'boneless' inside the backpack, mentally readying himself for the humiliation which would soon follow.

"Oh! Well, that's a little embarrassing..." The girl 'sheepishly' brushes one of her pink locks behind her ear, turning her head slightly away.

Ddraig has to admit it. She is a very convincing actor when she puts her head to it. Could honestly give a devil a run for their money.

"I just feel more comfortable when he's around, I guess? He reminds me of home." His partner explains, scratching her cheek 'self-consciously'.

The Welsh Dragon has to hold back a snicker at her words. Everything said had been technically true, yet she still managed to feed the two other females a steaming pile of ox dung if he ever saw one.

"Where did you buy it?" The other-other female suddenly asks, which kinda baffles the hidden dragon.

The girl has yet to lift her eyes from her cellphone, yet has apparently managed to gaze upon his - only slightly marred - majestic form!

"I made him myself, actually!" His partner beams.

He usually has some trouble understanding humanoid's facial expressions, but the girl somehow makes it very easy for some reason. It is kind of endearing, if he has to admit.

"Really?" The first female squeals excitedly.

"Vraiment." His partner readily admits, either unconsciously choosing to speak in her mother tongue or deliberately affecting her 'ditzy foreign girl persona' as she calls it.

Ddraig isn't entirely sure the act is fully deliberate, though. He has an inkling that the girl may be a little ashamed of her regular slips up.

"Can I…?" The first female hesitates, trailing off a little.

His partner giggles, and the Welsh Dragon realizes that it probably heralds something that he personally will not enjoy.

"Let's get something to eat and somewhere to sit first, alright?" Ddraig hears the girl answer.

He then proceeds to let his attention wanders a little as the trio makes their ways through the various corridor of the place called Kuoh High, briefly making a trip outside during which he quietly luxuriates in the twin sensations of the sun on his scales and the wind on his face, until the trip eventually ends as his partner sets the backpack next to her on a bench, the two females seating in front of her.

A circular glance at the vicinity shows him that his partner and him should still be in the clear-

Two yellow eyes, diminutive stature, white haired, black cat hairpin in her hair, her golden orbs bouncing between the girl and him as the crowd parts around her like the sea around a particularly sturdy rock.

-Nevermind, then.

Once again, Ddraig begrudgingly admits that his partner may have been right. The Nekoshou - because it can only be her, he can smell the feline on her from here - had been very quick to catch onto them, and definitely knew that something wasn't quite right with the girl.

The short, white haired female gives him a last look, before turning away.

The Welsh Dragon makes a note to tell his partner about that encounter when they have some semblance of privacy, before closing - metaphorically - his eyes and settling for another nap.

Only for the backpack to get unceremoniously opened, two hands taking hold of his new body in an already too familiar grip, before pulling him upward.

It's only because he is a dragon of his word and remembers the role that he's supposed to play that he doesn't curse out his partner for all she's worth!

"-this is Ddraig-chu!" The girl proudly 'introduces him', and the Red Dragon Emperor feels himself die a little inside as he is shown like a prized pet to the two females, "And I made everything myself!"

"Ano, he looks a little…" The first girl starts, a little hesitantly, a finger on her lower lips.

"Derpy." An arrow pierce Ddraig's heart at the second female's words, who still has her nose buried in her phone, "But cute. Very moe. You're skilled."

"Merci beaucoup, Hibachi-san!" The girl beams once again, before jostling the Welsh Dragon in the direction of the first female, "Do you want to hold him?"

Oh, he is so getting back at her for that particular humiliation if the girl goes along with it!

Two soft, dainty hands delicately take hold of him, the dragon internally fuming all along, a quiet, awed sound leaving the first female's lips.

"It's so soft!" She whisper-squeals, and the Red Dragon of Domination has to hold himself back from flinching, "What did you use as material to make it?"

"Him." The girl corrects, her tone not brokering any retort, one of her fingers trailing along his eyeridge to remind him to stay in character, "And I used velvet for the exterior."

"Looks kind of heavy." The second female points out, looking at him through the corner of her eyes.

"You noticed? It's because I used flax seeds to fill his insides!" The girl explains, finally letting go of him.

The first female brings him closer to her chest and starts nuzzling his head against her cheek, her thumbs rubbing little circles on his abdomen.

Ddraig has to clamp his jaw shut hard not to start rumbling in satisfaction.

He cannot help it, he swears!

"... Tummy aches?" The second female asks, her eyes half-lidded.

His partner winces a little, before nodding sharply, a sentiment apparently echoed by the two other females..

… Ddraig doesn't get exactly why they all did that in sync, and mentally shrugs while stoically enduring the first female's attention.

"Ano… Linlin-san?" The first female asks, hesitantly handling him back to his partner to his immense relief.

"Oui?" The girl answers while delicately placing him back into the backpack.

"... If I gave you some money for the materials, could you craft me one?" The first female's voice is hopeful, her hands clasped in front of her.

"... Ditto." The second echoes a second later, eyes, for once, intently looking at the girl.

His partner looks at the both of them bemusedly, before shrugging.

"You know what? Sure. I'll be happy too." She gives them a smile.

Ddraig wisely chooses to go back to his nap since he is now out of the two females' minds.

He'll let this particular humiliation slide today, but only this once.

And no matter who asks, it has nothing to do with the fact that the first female gave him decent belly rubs!

[AN: *Inhales*