Ch 110 -- And the Number of Contracted Monsters Increases

Wh- what's this? It looks like a Dragon? But it's so small. Was it a baby Dragon? It was only about 50 cms from its nose (muzzle?) to the tip of its tail. It didn't look like it was going to attack... what should I do?

It hovered, wings fluttering almost invisibly, its eyes... were nailed to the gyoza I was holding in disposable chopsticks. I moved the chopsticks experimentally and sure enough the head of the mini-Dragon tracked the gyoza like a laser-guided missile. Did it want to eat the gyoza?

"Oh, a Pixie Dragon. They're very rare." Fer said, obviously recognising the type of Dragon hovering in front of me.

"A Pixie Dragon?" I asked, moving the chopsticks again and watched, fascinated as the small Dragon's gaze followed the gyoza's movements exactly.

"Yeah. They're a special breed of small Dragon. I last saw one about 500 years ago." That long ago?

"Kyuu, kyuu-" Did it want the gyoza?

I proffered the gyoza in my chopsticks to the Pixie Dragon. "Here you are!" I said, hoping it would take the hint. It swooped in and snatched the gyoza away in its jaws before gulping it down.

"Kyuu, kyuu, kyuu-" It seemed to be saying it wanted some more. I guess I had no choice. I was pretty much full up now, the rice was finished and the remaining gyoza were leftovers so... "Here, you can eat this," I said, pushing the dish towards the Pixie Dragon which settled down on the ground, folded its wings and started to eat the leftover gyoza.

"So, they must be rare if the last one you saw was 500 years ago?" I asked, watching the Pixie Dragon gobbling up the gyoza in a manner that reminded me of two other gluttons of my close acquaintance.

"Yeah. There aren't a lot of them around." Fer was also closely observing the Pixie Dragon's actions.

"A Dragon this size is kinda cute." I mused. The Earth Dragon in my Item Box was the opposite of cute but it was 5 metres long. And dead too whereas this Pixie Dragon's antics were entertaining, like a puppy or kitten.

Fer looked at me. "Are you crazy? Don't think it's harmless just because it's small. A Pixie Dragon is quite a strong monster."

Oh, really? Something that small can be strong, that didn't seem right. Fer went on to explain.

"To start with a Pixie Dragon is really nimble and quick, very agile. It's got a lot of magical power in that small body, it can use fire magic, water magic, wind magic and earth magic as well as ice magic, lightning magic and recovery magic. What's more they're strong too, getting in close and punching hard and fast repeatedly then escaping out of range before you can hit back." Fer squinted at the Pixie Dragon which was taking no notice of the level-1000 Fenris monster studying it closely as it finished off the remaining gyoza on the plate. "The Pixie Dragon I encountered 500 years ago, it was a closer fight than I expected but I won, of course."

So it can fire off powerful magic like cannonballs? That's an impressive attack for such a small creature. Even Fer seemed to think a Pixie Dragon was a worthy opponent.

"Kyuu, KYUU-" Splat. Something was stuck on my face. The Pixie Dragon? "What the hell is it doing!?" It was clinging to my head for some reason. "Hey, hey, let go already..." I shook my head to dislodge it but it wasn't budging.

"Hey you, that tasted great. I'm still hungry. Gimme more of that stuff." A voice came in my head.

"I can't give you any more, I'd have to cook another batch of gyoza... hold on, who said that?"

"Well...that Pixie Dragon said it." Fer explained. "He's wanting to make a contract with you."

"What?" A contract?

"If you cook more food like this I'll be your contracted monster." The Pixie Dragon's voice sounded again in my head.

"Good idea. The food made by this guy is delicious. For long-lived species like us there's no problems contracting with a human being for a few decades." Fer explained telepathically to the Pixie Dragon -- for some reason I overheard them.

"Well yeah, if eating food like that is part of a contract then sign me up like the big Fenris guy." Are you just deciding such a thing without asking me? Is every strong monster in this world a glutton? Will I ever get a chance to eat my own cooking ever again?

"You know, your voice sounds different to what I was expecting." I said.

"What did you imagine I'd sound like?"

"Well, a childish voice like Sui maybe?" The Pixie Dragon was so small it had to be young, like Sui.

"That Pixie Dragon is not that young. Okay, it's not that old either but it's definitely not a kid." Fer explained.

"The big guy's got that right. Pixie Dragons like me are all small but that's just how we are even when we're fully grown."

"Is- is that so?" So this Pixie Dragon is not a child then?

"Now that's out of the way I want to make a contract with you so gimme a name please." The Pixie Dragon was insistent, as insistent as Fer had been months ago. I gave in.

"You want me to just think up a name for you? I'm no good at this... okay, since you're a Dragon I'll call you Dora-chan."

"Hey, come up with something cooler than that dorky name will ya?" The Pixie Dragon demanded.

"Well, I think Dora-chan's a perfect name for you." I retorted. You want to make a contract with me, I get to choose the name, that's the rules. Dora-chan. Do-ra-chan. Do-ra-chaaaaan.

"You're kidding me! I'm not a Dora-chan!" Dora-chan said furiously. I ignored the angry Dora-chan for a moment to use my Appraisal skill on the Pixie Dragon.

[ Name] Dora-chan

[ Age ] 116

[ Type ] Pixie Dragon

[ Level ] 126

[ Stamina ] 895

[ Magic Power ] 2879

[ Attack Power ] 2652

[ Defence Power ] 865

[ Agility ] 3269

[ Skill ] Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, Ice Magic, Lightning Magic, Recovery Magic, Bombardment

Oh, it's now officially "Dora-chan". It looks like a Dragon so Dora-chan it is. Do-ra-chan. That's settled. Heh. Looking at its level it's a lot higher than Sui but then again it is a real Dragon even if it's kinda small. Its magical power and agility are high as Fer said and it's got plenty of magical skills.

"Dora-chan is 116 years old." I noted. "It doesn't look that old."

"My name's not Dora-chan, you idiot." Dora-chan didn't seem to like its name for some reason. Do-ra-chan.

"Give it up, kid." said Fer. "Dora-chan is already listed as your name in your Status. As long as you're contracted to this guy you're going to be Dora-chan."

"What?!" Dora-chan looked downcast. "I wanted a cooler name than that..."

"You're a Dragon so Dora is cool, what's wrong with that as a name?" I asked, puzzled. Was there a problem?

"This guy's naming sense is terrible." Fer commiserated. "I'm a Fenrir so I got called Fer. You're a Dragon so Dora for the same reason." Fer grinned. "Think yourself lucky, kid, he actually tried to name me Pochi and Koro before I agreed to accept Fer."

"Pochi, Koro... it sounds like he's an idiot." Hey, I'm right here you know, Dora-chan.

"You're not wrong. Dora is a lot better than anything else he would have come up with." Hey, I'm right here you know, Fer.

"You might be right there." The Pixie Dragon shuddered. "At least I'm not Pochi or Koro now."

"By the way he's also got another contracted monster. It's a Slime so he called it Sui."

"I never should have asked this idiot to give me a name in the first place, should I?" Dora-chan asked. Fer shook his head.

...calling me an idiot wasn't making me feel any better, guys. Ah well. I decided to check my own status, thinking that Dora-chan should be included in my contracted monsters now.

[ Name ] Mukouda (Tsuyoshi Mukouda)

[ Age ] 27

[ Job ] A person from a different world who got caught

[ Level ] 13

[ Stamina ] 229

[ Magic Power ] 223

[ Attack Power ] 206

[ Defence Power ] 205

[ Agility ] 200

[ Skill ] Appraisal Item Box Fire Magic Earth Magic Familiar

[ Contracted Monsters ] Fenrir Big Slime Pixie Dragon

[ Unique Skill ] Net Super

[ Protection ] Wind Goddess Ninril's blessing (small) Fire Goddess Agni's blessing (small)

Earth Goddess Kishar's blessing (small)

Oh, my level has gone up a bit, yay! but... I'm still the weakest of all four of us. Well, everyone else is strong so it can't be helped, I suppose. And yes, I've got a Pixie Dragon listed as a contracted monster. Fer, Sui, Dora-chan, they're a strong bunch of monsters.

"Hey boss, I'm hungry." Dora-chan announced.

"Ah, right right." Dora-chan was saying it wanted to eat more gyoza. I had made a contract so I cooked more gyoza. Fortunately Dora-chan did not eat as much as Fer or Sui so I only needed to cook one hanetsuki serving of gyoza before it was satisfied.

"Right then shall we go back to the city?" I asked. It wasn't dark yet and if we hurried we'd be there before nightfall.

"I suppose so." said Fer.

"Can you fly all the way there by yourself, Dora-chan?" It was a very small Dragon after all and I still thought of it as a young child.

"Who do you think I am?" Dora-chan said derisively. "I'm a Pixie Dragon, the fastest-flying Dragon there is. I can fly anywhere in a single day. Hah!"

"Really? Anyway we're headed back to the city. Sui, my contracted monster Slime is sleeping in this bag right now. I'll introduce you later."

"Okay, I gotcha." Dora-chan said.

"Right then, let's get going." Fer said, slinging me onto his back and starting to run toward the city.

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