LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 66
Chapter 66. Human Transformation Magic
“Uh… you want to turn human…?”
Leila stared at me wide-eyed, as if to ask, “Why would you go out of your way…?” Her smile had completely slipped away, replaced by a look of distress and fear.
Perhaps she thought I’d get angry for talking back.
“I’m just curious.”
I answered, pretending I didn’t notice her stare.
“My belief is that having as many spells as possible is always a good thing.”
“I can tell you how, but…”
Leila hesitated.
“You’ll need to drink my blood for the magic to be passed on…”
“Uhh—”
I was about to say I already knew, but I suddenly shut my mouth.
If I acted too eager to learn, wouldn’t it come off as me being a perverted creep wanting to drink the precious life force of an innocent dragon girl?
“…Oh, so that’s how it is. I didn’t know that.”
I put on my best acting, pretending it was my first time hearing this.
“I feel bad for asking you to drink my… filthy light-element blood…”
Leila spoke hesitantly, sounding genuinely apologetic rather than making excuses.
This girl… seems to have really low self-esteem…
‘Of course. It wouldn’t be surprising if she was raised surrounded by darkness, especially if she’s been oppressed and eventually offered as a sacrifice to avenge her father…’
…
‘She probably underestimates her worth, accepting everything as a matter of course, believing this treatment and her situation are just results of her existence, and that protects her heart.’
Otherwise, she couldn’t endure such unreasonable treatment, Antedeixis added.
—I want to tell her right now that she doesn’t need to keep punishing herself for her father’s death, that I’ll protect her from now on, but—
I can’t.
Unfortunately, at this point, I can’t fully trust Leila.
She could be hiding her resentment towards me, vowing to seek revenge someday, or, even worse, she might be manipulated by the Dark Dragon King and tasked with spying on me.
Earlier, when she said, “I don’t care what happens to me; I just want mercy for my dragon kin,” it stuck with me. Perhaps she’s brainwashed into thinking she’s sinful and must sacrifice herself for her kind.
Even if she doesn’t want to, there may be some curse or magic that has imprinted on her subconscious.
As long as Liliana is around, I’m not worried about curses; however, the resentment she may harbor towards me is truly concerning…
I need to take my time, build some level of trust, and then have a heart-to-heart conversation…
‘Are you really planning to reveal your true identity to her?’
Antedeixis asked, sounding surprised.
In the end, I think that could be an option.
Because Leila’s dragon form’s mobility could literally broaden my choices significantly.
Who knows… I might even be able to get Liliana to escape to the allied territory.
But even so, I can’t simply use Leila as just a “means of transportation.” I’m completely defenseless up in the sky. If she wanted to, she could easily kill me by just throwing me to the ground from a great height.
I need to establish a true cooperative relationship.
If she understands that my goal is revenge against the Dark Dragon King Orphen and the Demon Lord, she might cooperate with me.
Ultimately, if she wishes for my death—the death of the one who killed her father—then I’ll gladly accept that after everything is over.
She has every right to wish for it, and I have an obligation to accept it…!
‘Seems you’re serious about this.’
Lies won’t work on you, Antedeixis.
‘However, you could draw out her true feelings without taking too long. Just make lying a taboo, and you could have an open conversation.’
That’s true.
But, if someone forcibly drags the inner thoughts out of me through magic, and barges into my heart…
Can I really claim to have built a trusting relationship?
‘…You wouldn’t be able to, would you?’
I don’t want to turn Leila into just an extension of myself…
It’s nothing more than my own selfish desire.
It’s exceedingly arrogant of me to think about such things when I stole her father away from her.
But I sincerely want Leila to find happiness. From this point on, I’ll take on all the hardships and sorrows in her stead…
‘That’s very heroic arrogance of you.’
Antedeixis chuckled.
‘But, that’s good. That’s fine, my Contractor.’
…Someday, she might push me away for meddling too much.
But if Leila starts showing a bit of that spirit… just that alone would make me happy.
I couldn’t help but feel a little sick of my own selfishness…
“Um…”
Seeing me silent, Leila turned pale with worry.
“Ah, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
What kind of idiot scares her just because I’m thinking?
During moments like this, it’s tough not being able to reassure her with a smile. I bet my smile won’t bring joy to her, anyway.
“You don’t need to worry about the blood thing. I don’t think it’s dirty at all. I’m a demon, so a bit of light element doesn’t bother me.”
So I reiterated my desire to learn the human transformation magic, this time more seriously.
“And this—will also enhance your standing under my guidance.”
I quietly spoke to the bewildered Leila.
“The Dark Dragon kin might expect me to abuse you for my amusement. But like I said earlier, I have no hobby of tormenting my own people for fun.”
If it’s true that they think that way, then that’s truly offensive.
Well… it might be better for them to think like that for various reasons!!
“Now that you’re with me, I want you to be useful, and if you contribute, I’ll repay you in kind. Teaching me this new magic is a clear contribution, and others won’t oppose me treating you decently.”
…That’s the only way to put it.
Even if I show Leila kindness repeatedly, it’s just creepy from her perspective.
Just think about it—I’m the enemy who killed her father and an arrogant prince of demons.
If I was overly kind, she’d likely assume I had some hidden agenda. Maybe I’m actually in cahoots with the Dark Dragon, and when she lets her guard down, I could pull some next-level evil move like, “Did you really trust me? Fool!”
An enemy’s goodwill is never trustworthy.
But if I have a mutual interest, there’s a chance it could build some credibility.
After that… I can only take my time and approach her with a sincere attitude.
“So, this being said… teaching you the human transformation magic is beneficial for both me and you.”
“…If you say so…”
Leila hesitantly extended her hand.
“Uh, can I… get something like a knife for the blood?”
“Ah, good point.”
I reached for the obsidian knife on my belt—only to remember it had shattered, leaving me with a sleep-inducing holy sword instead.
“Uhh… that won’t do…”
There aren’t any good sharp tools around, and I can’t just go borrow one from the folks waiting outside…
“…How about this? I’ll heal the cut afterwards.”
“Understood.”
I removed the sheath from my belt and unsheathed the slightly dulled blade.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Leila pressed her wrist against it. She furrowed her brow for a moment but quickly put on a face that said she was used to the pain.
As blood poured out, she used her other hand like a cup to catch it.
“Go ahead…”
With a nervous smile, Leila offered me the blood she collected in her palm.
Honestly, I hesitated. Seeing Leila throw herself into this was a bit much.
But if I hesitated here, she might think I found her blood dirty, and it could hurt her feelings…
So I immediately pressed my lips to the blood and drank. It didn’t taste fishy; instead, the light magic sparkled on my tongue, with a slight sweet-tangy flavor.
—I glimpsed the life of a dragon.
This dragon adored shiny objects. It would attack other races, dominate them, and demand gold and silver treasures as tribute to fill its den.
Yet… over time, merely looking at and enjoying these things turned unsatisfying.
It wanted to dress up and enjoy itself like a human!
Until then, it had never felt envy towards the weak, frail lower races.
But with the dragon’s size, claws, and fangs, it couldn’t adorn itself with delicate treasures.
The more unattainable something is, the more one desires it—that’s the arrogance of dragons.
Desiring and longing for it drove it mad for hundreds of years—
Finally, that will and immense power distorted reality.
—An image of a human adorned with crowns, rings, and necklaces, delighted in front of a mirror, came—
and it perfectly resonated within me.
“…So that’s how it was…”
I pulled my mouth away from Leila’s hand, murmuring with a complex feeling.
I never imagined the desire to look stylish was at the root of it all…
“Um, yes…”
Leila nodded, looking as if she had just been exposed to some family shame.
Just then, I noticed blood still dripping from her wound and used a teleportation spell to take it away.
“Whoa…”
Leila gasped, surprised when her injury suddenly vanished.
“Kuuhn.”
Liliana licked my wrist, instantly healing it.
“Thanks, good girl.”
“Woof.”
Liliana had a face that looked like she was saying, “Geez, you.”
“That’s incredible…”
While rubbing where her wound used to be, Leila seemed genuinely impressed.
“So, can I use magic now?”
“Yes, if you concentrate… I believe you can. But you need to truly want to become human! Otherwise, it won’t activate…”
I could see the clear worry on her face of possibly causing the magic to fail.
“Well, that should be fine.”
I’m not about to lose to the guy who created this magic; I want to be human too.
—Virosa had mentioned that you could adjust your appearance to some extent.
It seems dragons can transform while keeping their horns, showing that, while it’s impossible to completely change things like body type, age, hairstyle, and color drastically, there’s some flexibility.
Simply put, it has high versatility for disguise purposes.
This kind of magic would render any bounty poster useless…
But I can’t contain my excitement at the fact that I could use it. Even if there’s a waste in the Demon Lord Castle, if I can nonetheless sneak into the alliance territory—
“Alright, let’s give it a try.”
Taking a deep breath, I settled my thoughts.
…I’ll base my appearance on my current features. It’d be a disaster if I accidentally ended up looking like Alexander; I’ve fought the Demon Lord face to face, and there’s a chance I could be recognized. He probably doesn’t remember me, but still.
I’ll aim for a look that matches my age now. Having silver hair should be fine. I’ll go with dark eyes. As for skin tone, I’ll go for a slightly tanned look like my past life—
Here I go.
Feeling my entire body lax, it was a strange sensation as if my existence became momentarily vague.
Suddenly, the world felt dimmer.
…No, that’s not it. I simply lost the ability to perceive my magic.
I instinctively felt my head, but I only found hair.
“I don’t have horns!”
Mirror! Mirror!!
I glanced at the wall-mounted mirror, and a youthful, handsome boy with tanned silver hair and dark eyes stared back at me.
“Whoa! Incredible!”
I was unmistakably human!!
“Wow!? Wow wow!!”
Liliana was in shock at my drastic change.
She dashed towards me, sniffing frantically, but being a dog in mind didn’t make her sense anything—she just tilted her head, confused.
I did it!!
As long as I can figure out a way to move around, I now have the ability to infiltrate the alliance territory!
Most importantly—this! I can finally do it!!!
“I can sleep on my side now!!!”
I thought I’d never be able to do that again—!!
—I was so overjoyed that I completely forgot about Leila’s presence.
“……”
The dragon girl stared at me with a blank expression.
“Ah… Ahem. Thanks to you, I seem to have learned it. I appreciate it.”
I cleared my throat and put on a serious face.
“Ah no, um… so, uh, yes…”
Leila looked down, shaking her shoulders.
It might just be my imagination, but—
Just maybe… for a brief moment…
It seemed like the corners of her mouth twitched up.