In another world, my unique summoning magic, which calls forth Japanese goods through online shopping, greatly captivated the golden dragon, a divine beast.
Until then, it had been devouring freshly slaughtered monster meat raw, but now it had discovered the deliciousness of cooked meat.
A variety of seasonings and sauces imported from Japan even captivated the dragon.
“Here it is, grilled orc steak with garlic soy sauce,” I said.
“Oh, it smells wonderful,” the dragon replied.
I carefully grilled the thick-cut orc meat. There were many different steak sauces, so I let the dragon choose, and it seemed to like garlic soy sauce.
I had once met foreign tourists who couldn’t tolerate the smell of soy sauce or miso, but Rey seemed fine with it.
“It’s delicious! Is this orc meat? I thought meat would get tough when grilled, but it’s so tender! And the flavor of this sauce—what a wonderful aroma and taste that really stimulates the appetite.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste. Japanese-style sauces are great, aren’t they? Try the grated radish sauce too—it’s pretty good,” I suggested.
Trying various flavors, including butter soy sauce and onion and garlic-flavored sauces, the dragon ended up finishing five thick steaks in no time.
◆◇◆
Since then, the golden dragon, Rey, had been invited into the container house. I invited him in from the entrance and offered him tea.
He looked curiously at the Earth-made furniture and was surprised by the feel of the beanbag cushions.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen something made by humans up close. It’s fascinating,” he said.
“Rey, you can transform into a human, right? So, blending in with humans should be easy for you,” I replied.
I led him to the kitchen table, made tea, and handed it to him.
For his sweet tooth, I subtly placed a sugar pot in front of him.
Rey, thanking me politely, immediately added sugar cubes to his tea. He put five in his coffee but only three in his tea, savoring the aroma as he tilted the cup.
“Delicious… Ah, I see. The reason I haven’t descended to human towns… I went to a town once before, but for some reason, I was met with suspicion. I didn’t want to scare the smaller folk, so since then, I’ve only watched from afar.”
“Ah, I get it. It’s probably because of your aura—your overwhelming magical presence, right? That must have scared them.”
I was lucky to be a high elf, so I could handle it, but for ordinary people, it must have been an immense pressure.
Also, his humanoid form, modeled after a creator god, was probably too perfect to be comforting for humans.
“It seems they mistook me for a demon,” Rey murmured, sounding somewhat displeased. But it was understandable. Demons are said to have magic equal to that of high elves and are renowned for their beauty. The human town must have been in panic.
“I couldn’t help it, so I dispelled my transformation and flew back. Even though I proved I wasn’t a demon, they caused such a ruckus. It was troublesome.”
“Well, it’s fortunate you weren’t a demon, but a giant dragon is just as scary, right?”
Rey didn’t seem to mean any harm, but even his casual actions could cause catastrophic damage. A creature like him, close to a monster, needed to learn restraint.
Meanwhile, the little cat fairy, Kote, who had finally realized that Rey was not a threat, cautiously emerged and was now sitting on my lap, happily eating a cookie.
“Rey, is there something urgent you need to do?”
“No, nothing in particular.”
“In that case, would you like to stay here for a while?” I asked.
“Here?” Rey tilted his head, looking puzzled.
I smiled as naturally as possible.
“Yes. Since I was reincarnated, I’ve been living in the great forest for safety, but there’s only Kote here, and I was getting bored. Now that we’ve met, I thought you could tell me more about yourself and this world.”
“…Hmm. Tohma is a hero, so it’s not ideal to get too involved with one side,” Rey said, his elegant brow furrowing as he thought for a moment.
Then, he looked up.
“Tohma said he was lonely, didn’t he?”
“Ah, forget about that…”
Rey’s serious question made me uncomfortable, but he smiled and nodded in understanding.
“Very well. I, too, would like to hear about worlds other than this one. Let’s stay here for a while and exchange information.”
“Thank you, Rey!” I said enthusiastically.
We shook hands again.
Rey didn’t know what a handshake was, so I explained it verbally and demonstrated with Kote sitting on my lap. Rey eagerly returned the handshake, amused, as if he were a small child.
“You don’t have to overthink it. Just think of it as visiting a friend’s house,” I said.
“Friend, huh… I see. In that case, I’ll stay for a while. Thank you for having me,” Rey replied.
Negotiation successful.
Then, the next thing to do was decided.
“Alright, first let’s take a bath. I don’t want to say it, but Rey, you smell a bit… like a beast?”
“What…⁉︎”
Rey was shocked by the sudden comment.
I felt sorry, but this was non-negotiable.
“I’ll teach you how to use the bath! Baths are great, you know? Right, Kote?”
“Meow!”
Kote, who loves baths, happily followed us.
I grabbed Rey’s arm, who was still dazed, and headed for the bath.
“The bathroom has been expanded, so there’s plenty of space for five people.”
Since it was too much trouble to boil water, I quickly filled the bathtub with water using water magic.
“Heating heat… Yep, good water.”
I quickly undressed in the changing room, wrapped a towel around my waist, and headed into the bathroom.
Rey’s clothes seemed to be made with magic or something, and they transformed into something resembling the towel I had around my waist.
(Actually, I could use purification magic to clean off the smell or dirt, but I really want him to enjoy the bath’s comfort!)
I seated the dragon’s incarnation, who was still confused, on a bath chair and began to clean him, starting from the top of his head.
◆◇◆
“……I see, so this is a bath… it really does feel good.”
Rey, with his long golden hair carefully tied up, was relaxing and narrowing his eyes, enjoying the bath.
The hair arrangement I learned from my younger cousins came in handy here.
“Right? Baths feel great, don’t they? And after a bath, cold coffee milk is the best thing ever…”
“Fumyan…”
The bathroom itself, as well as the bathtub, was expanded, so it was about the size of a small hot spring. The three of us—two people and one cat—were submerged up to our shoulders, leisurely enjoying the hot water.
Rey had shampoo, conditioner, and even treatment applied, and a floral fragrance drifted from him.
He seemed to enjoy the body soap I foamed up with a net, playfully frolicking in it. His behavior reminded me of Kote when he was a kitten.
Now, we were enjoying the bath, with a bath bomb releasing a pleasant fragrance.
(A dragon indulging in a bath—this is interesting. Well, right now he’s just a handsome guy, though.)
Just before becoming light-headed from the heat, we got out of the bath and enjoyed cold coffee milk together. Rey seemed to really like the sweetness of the coffee milk, and he was in a good mood.
Afterward, he wore a copy of my T-shirt and shorts, and, along with Kote, lay down on a couch cushion that made you lazy.
“Wow, this is a strange feeling. But it’s not bad. It’s funny how it sinks in like this, Kote.”
“Meow!”
“Oh, sorry. Was it Kote?”
“Meow.”
“Talking naturally like that, you’re truly a divine beast.”
As the god of beasts, it seemed that Rey could understand animal speech.
By the way, magical beasts are creatures that have been corrupted by magical energy, so dragons eat magical beasts but don’t harm regular animals.
Kote, though a fairy and not an animal, seemed to be getting along with Rey, slowly becoming friends. The distance between them had shrunk.
It seemed Rey was particularly interested in my long hair, which I had tied up with a scrunchie I bought at a dollar store. Every time Rey’s golden hair swayed, Kote playfully pounced on it with his little front paws, looking adorable.
Even when a freshly born fairy like Kote played around with him, Rey only smiled softly.
Perhaps the bigger and stronger the animal, the more gentle they are by nature.
Rey, leaning back on the beanbag cushion, picked up a magazine that caught his eye and began flipping through it, looking intrigued.
“Can you read this? It’s Japanese.”
“No problem. I have the [All Language Comprehension] skill.”
So even dragons have skills, huh?
Since Rey could read Japanese and had a curious personality, it might not be a bad idea to immerse him in Japanese culture.
I smiled and, while laughing softly, gestured for the dragon, who was relaxing like it was his own home, to come over.
