I remained seated among several books while watching the entrance of the cave, wondering when it would be a good time to leave this place.

On one side, I had the biggest beast of them all, the Kingdom Destroyer Dragon, incessantly talking about the many manga volumes he had read. I hardly recognized any, but that wasn't the point.

Without weapons or a gladiator spirit, I decided to just lie down, feeling disillusioned by the true image of the terrifying villain of my story.

"... And then they started fighting in a tunnel while..."

The dragon abruptly fell silent as soon as I lay down on the floor, but I decided to ignore him anyway.

"Oh... um... Are you even listening to me?"

I remained silent.

Seeing such a colossal figure behave like a fifteen-year-old... it's embarrassing.

However, I felt a tug from his claws as I was lifted into the air, held up by my armor, which the dragon effortlessly removed, causing me to fall onto his tail.

The dragon stared at me intently, and I just sighed.

"I still want to kill you," I remarked.

The dragon raised his paw, showing me his sharp claws, without displaying any expression.

"And what's stopping you?"

"I'm not afraid of your claws, idiot. It's just that... I don't know... it feels weird to kill an otaku."

The dragon opened his eyes wide, dilating his pupils for a moment. He remained like that for a few minutes, until he shook his head.

"I'm not an otaku."

The dragon attempted to push his thousands of manga volumes behind him, looking more pathetic to me.

"... I just like to read like anyone else."

"I don't care how you see it. I'm the hero, you're the villain, and this is my moment of revenge. Do you know about the dozens of races that fear you, for which you haven't lifted a single finger in ten years, and for which they believe they have to avoid fighting each other to not wake you up?"

I tried to find my armor, but the dragon still had it in the palm of his paw, pressed against the ground.

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"You're a dragon. A beast, the most powerful being on this planet. And you... for god's sake, have you just been sitting here reading for years?"

"... It's only been ten years," the dragon remarked, letting out an uncertain sigh.

"You mean since you killed my village!"

The dragon rose, causing me to fall from his tail onto the spines of the books. His rise shook the cave, and I could see even more books underneath him that I hadn't known existed.

Before me, the imposing beast showed his anger in his gaze, making me swallow nervously.

"... You are not welcome here, human. I've abandoned my rebellious ways of killing people on whims and now live with my own luxuries."

Sensing that I might be in trouble, I grabbed one of the manga volumes lying on the ground and quickly stood up, looking for any weapon to defend myself from a possible attack. I would use the book as a hostage, as it seemed he held them dear.

As I hurried through the cave, I noticed the dragon never took his eyes off me, yet he also didn't initiate any attack.

I tried to reach my armor, which was near his paw, but the dragon made no objections and stepped back, allowing me to retrieve it.

I hastily put it on and went to fetch my crossbow, but I felt myself leave the ground instantly.

In a swift movement, under a silent spell from the dragon, a green bubble sprouted from my feet to my head, enclosing me in a completely greenish transparent sphere.

His cheerful and playful tone turned into a menacing and terrifying one as he began to use the strange spell, making me nervous.

"Human..."

"... I'm Edwin."

"... Edwin. By my decree and power, you shall not set foot in this cave."

I felt a light flicker on my forehead, displaying a demonic symbol that then vanished.

"If you dare to cross the entrance of my cave, you'll suffer a tear that will make all your organs bleed. You have spoken ill of me and my books. Therefore, consider yourself warned."

The dragon slammed his tail against the ground and pushed two manga volumes into the bubble, then growled.

"... I apologize for destroying your village. You're entitled to seek revenge. However, you can't demand it unless you come from outside and tell me what you thought of these mangas."

My fear and desperation suddenly vanished upon hearing the last part, leaving me bewildered.

"Wait, what? ... Hold on, is this just because I didn't want to listen to your stories about these stupid mangas?"

"Shut up! The only stupid thing here is your ignorance."

Growing somewhat nervous, his terrifying voice continued.

"These are stories so well-written that only an honorable reader could fully enjoy them. Not like ignorants like you."

Suddenly, the same symbols he put on my forehead appeared on the manga volumes at my feet inside the bubble.

"If these disappear from your possession, you'll die shitting your organs. If you want to kill me, you want to read these mangas!"

I sat on the surface of the floating bubble and tilted my head.

"... So you're giving me these mangas in exchange for not bothering you again?"

The dragon fell silent, then shook his head again.

"You'll die shitting your organs if you don't come within 24 hours..."

I knew it, this was just a childish whim.

"Now leave me alone and go! Don't come back until then!"

The bubble flew away from the cave, getting farther and farther from the dragon... until it reached the barn where I had fallen earlier, causing me to fall through the same hole I had caused before, luckily landing once again on a mound of hay next to the dragon's mangas.

I was stunned and slowly regained patience to understand everything that had happened.

I had been cursed by a dragon.