The Countess Lady’s Pet Dragon

Chapter 11: Central Academy

Central Academy’s central hall.
“Ugh…”
Amidst the hustle and bustle of many people, Schwarz let out a low groan while looking around.
The tangled stairs and corridors were so complicated that they looked like a maze.
“Where am I supposed to go?”

Muttering to himself, Schwarz took out a neatly folded note from his pocket.
It was a map that Milia had placed in her letter in case he got lost.
“…”
However, what was drawn on the note was an intricate pattern of lines and dots, looking like some sort of hieroglyphic or indecipherable sketch.
Could this really be called a map?
With that thought in mind, Schwarz folded the note and put it back into his pocket.
“I guess I have no choice…”
Muttering to himself, Schwarz began to look around.
If he couldn’t understand the map, he would ask for directions.
As he scanned the surroundings to find someone to ask, a boy caught his eye.
The boy had dark gray hair with no shine to it and eyes that resembled malachite, a green stone.
He had dark circles under his large round glasses, giving him a very tired appearance.
“Excuse me…is it alright if I ask something for a moment?”
“Huh…? What is it?”
As Schwarz approached and spoke, the boy stopped walking and looked at him, asking in a dull voice.
There was something in his tone that made the listener feel drained.
“Do you know where the General Affairs Office is?”
“General Affairs…? What do you need it for?”
The boy tilted his head in response to the question.
For a moment, the boy’s previously dull eyes sparkled, but Schwarz didn’t notice it.
“I need to meet someone there.”
“Mm…”
The boy looked at him suspiciously, and Schwarz, sensing his gaze, nervously observed the boy’s reaction.
‘Do I look that suspicious?’
Having never experienced such a reaction before, Schwarz let out a low groan.
In fact, if he were to be precise, it wasn’t his impression that was the problem, but rather his hair color.
The people walking around him had striking, colorful hair.
Red, blue, yellow, light green…
But among all these colors, there was no black hair like his.
It was like a black dot on a white sheet of paper.
The reason people were glancing at him was precisely because of that.
At that moment,
“Follow me. I’ll take you there.”
“Oh, thank you!”
The boy, exhaling a short sigh as if to say “whatever,” turned around and started walking.
Thanking the boy, Schwarz followed him at a quick pace.
“I should’ve introduced myself earlier. My name is Dain. What about you?”
“Please call me Schwarz.”
“Schwarz… It’s a fitting name. Is it because of your hair color?”
“Yes.”

[Your name is Schwarz because your hair is black! From now on, you’re my pet dragon! I’ll take care of you!]
Schwarz nodded while recalling what Milia had said the first time they met.
“The naming sense is a bit simple, but…it’s definitely easy to recognize, so I guess it’s fine.”
“Hahaha…”
Dain muttered a short comment, and Schwarz responded with an awkward laugh.
Simply comparing it, it was no different from naming a black puppy “Blackie,” so there was really no point in arguing.
After passing through the crowd of people and taking corridors and stairs, the two of them stopped in front of a door.

“This is the General Affairs Office. Haaah…”
“Thank you, Dain. I was able to get here so quickly thanks to you.”
“No need to thank me. I think you’ll owe me quite a bit in the future.”
Dain said, not seeming to care as Schwarz bowed his head.
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“Well, see you later.”
Feeling something odd in his reply, Schwarz tilted his head, but Dain turned his back and quickly disappeared down the corridor.
An eerie silence filled the empty hall.
“Quite a bit in the future…?”
And “See you later?”
“What the…?”
Muttering with a confused expression, Schwarz shook his head vigorously.
That wasn’t important right now.
Behind this door was Milia, the person he had wanted to see for so long.
His heart was beating faster than ever at the thought.
“Ha…”
The nerves from the long-awaited reunion were making his lips dry, and his breath was coming out raggedly.
Calm down. I can’t show myself like this.
Constantly reminding himself, Schwarz managed to calm his excited heart. When it finally settled, he exhaled a short sigh and opened his eyes.
Slowly raising his hand, he knocked on the door, and the sound of a light knock echoed through the hallway.
[Pl-please come in.]
A voice came from inside.
It wasn’t Milia’s voice.
Carefully grasping the door handle, Schwarz opened the door and stepped inside…
“Excuse me.”
“W-what is it you need?”
The person who greeted him was a small girl.
She looked like she might burst into tears any second, with a delicate appearance.
Her hair was a fresh light green, reminiscent of spring grass, and her eyes had a subtle color between green and yellow.
“Is Lady Milia Valentine here?”
“Mi-Milia? Milia is temporarily away, called by the student council president…Is there something you need?”
Worried that Milia might be surprised, the girl asked, maintaining some distance.
“Well…”
Just as Schwarz was about to speak,
“Schwarz?”
With a click, the door opened, and a familiar voice came from behind him.
It was a voice he hadn’t heard since a year ago.
A chill ran down his spine as Schwarz slowly turned his head.
And…
“Schwarz, right?”
What he saw was a girl with pure white silver hair and shining golden eyes.

The reception room of the General Affairs Office.
Milia, Neris, and Schwarz were seated around a table.
“Good to see you. Are you tired from coming all this way?”
“No, this much is nothing.”
As Milia asked while sipping from a steaming cup of tea, Schwarz shook his head and responded.
Having met Milia, would it really matter if he was tired?
“By the way…you’ve grown quite a bit, huh? Did you drink a lot of milk or something in the meantime?”
Milia seemed to try not to show it, but there was a subtle look of surprise in her eyes.
It was no wonder, as there were many changes in Schwarz’s body, unlike Milia, who looked almost the same as she did a year ago.
First of all, the horns and tail that had once been visible were now completely gone.
Unless one closely observed his eyes, his appearance was that of a typical mid-teen boy.
“It started growing all of a sudden.”
Another change, besides that, was his height.
A year ago, on the day Milia left for the academy, Schwarz was about half a head shorter than her.
But at some point, when he took on a human form, his height began to increase, and now he was at least two heads taller than Milia.
“You were shorter than me just last year.”
“People my age grow really quickly, don’t they?”
With a puffed cheek, looking somewhat dissatisfied, Milia responded, and Schwarz smiled lightly as he answered.
“U-um, Milia… Who is this person…?”
“Ah, right. I forgot to introduce him. This is Schwarz. He’s a child I took in from the Count’s family a while ago, and starting today, he’ll be serving as my attendant.”
“Ah…So this person is…?”
The girl gasped in response to Milia’s answer.
“Schwarz, this is Neris Beltine, the young lady of the Beltine family. She’s my friend and also a member of the General Affairs Office.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“My name is Schwarz. I look forward to working with you.”
Schwarz gave a light bow to Neris, who waved her hand lightly.
“The last person isn’t here right now, but I’ll introduce them later.”
“Alright, Miss.”
“Now…let’s get going. I have a mountain of things I want to talk about, but there are also a lot of documents we need to submit and things to learn if we’re going to be staying here.”
“Understood.”
With that, Milia placed her empty teacup down and stood up from her seat.
Schwarz also stood up to follow her…
“Neris, the documents I asked for earlier, please organize them and put them on my desk. I’ll check them as soon as I get back.”
“Y-yeah…! Got it!”
Neris nodded to Milia’s instructions and returned to her desk to start organizing the papers.
Leaving Neris behind, the two of them began to walk toward the busy hallway where people were coming and going.