Ava was waiting on the school rooftop for the others to arrive. It was lunchbreak and Allen was in charge of buying her lunch. After a while, Goro, Allen and Fyr finally showed up. Strangely, they all had serious expressions on their faces.

“… What?” [Ava]

Noticing the atmosphere, Ava faced them and leaned her back on the fence. They approached her and encircled her as if to prevent her from escaping. Her back was to the fence and her three acquaintances were at her front. Allen, having made up his mind, went straight for the point.

“Ava, I think you should leave the elves.” [Allen]

“… Seriously?” [Ava]

She tilted her head.

“That came out of nowhere.” [Ava]

“No, it’s not out of nowhere. We’ve been thinking about it for a while.” [Allen]

He looked at Fyr and, clenching her fists in front of her chest, she nodded.

“Me and Fyr, we’ve been working to save money, but it wasn’t for us. It was for you.” [Allen]

“You’ve been saving up money for me?” [Ava]

“It was in case you ever decided to leave. Not to brag, but my family has a lot of money. Still, I can’t really ask for their help for this. That’s also why I can’t shelter you back home either.” [Allen]

“Shelter me?” [Ava]

“A-Ava!” [Fyr]

Fyr spoke up. She was anxious, but her eyes were brightly shining.

“If you want, y-you can live with me! I’ll take you to where my village is. It might be a bit uncomfortable because of how different harpies’ lives are, b-but trust me, it’s nothing bad! You’ll get used to it soon a-a-and it’ll be really fun! M-me and Allen saved quite a bit of money! W-we’ll find a place to live and a job! I’ll help you! I’ll talk to my parents and move in with you! N-not just your hair, I-I’ll help you with everything else! ” [Fyr]

Her voice quivered because of her nervousness. Still, she managed to appeal to Ava to live in her village.

“… So, let me get this straight.” [Ava]

The half-elf put a hand to her forehead.

“You guys were saving up money for me and planning for when I was going to run away from home.” [Ava]

“Y-yes.” [Fyr]

“And your big plan was for me to hide at Fyr’s place?” [Ava]

“Y… Yes?” [Fyr]

“… You didn’t think this through at all.” [Ava]

“We can worry about the smaller details later.” [Allen]

“No, the details are damn important. That’s why you can’t shelter me.” [Ava]

Faced with what she said, Allen couldn’t help but fall silent.

“Remember yesterday? Forget how I was being treated for a second. If you read between the lines, what my Observer was basically saying is that I’m freaking important and they don’t want any other country to get their hands on me. If you shelter me, you’d be on bad terms with the elven kingdom.” [Ava]

“… And it might lead to war. But, Fyr i-.” [Allen]

“What? Because she’s a regular, ordinary harpy, they won’t send their army to some village and I might be able to hide? Spies and assassins exist for a reason. If I’m going to run away, I’ll do it when I’ve got no choice or when I have an actual plan.” [Ava]

Allen and Fyr both looked down, depressed.

“You guys worry too much. It’s been sixteen years since I was born in this world. During that entire time, life wasn’t so bad. If you do something rash though, it might be. Elves don’t like half-elves, but they don’t torture them either.” [Ava]

“Quit your talking and listen. It’s my turn to say my piece.” [Goro]

Goro, who was quiet all this time, stood right in front of Ava.

“You said you want to live. Then, if you run away, you want a surefire way to fend off assassins and kidnappers, right? Then, the answer’s simple. If the human can’t shelter you and the harpy is no good…” [Goro]

He pointed at himself with his thumb.

“Then come with me. My tribe will protect you.” [Goro]

“I see. People think twice before picking a fight with dragons.” [Ava]

“Yeah. I didn’t tell you, but I’m pretty important back home. If I ask my grandfather, he’s sure to keep you safe, even from a kingdom.” [Goro]

“What do you think, Ava?” [Allen]

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Allen asked, hoping that the she would accept the offer.

“Goro’s stronger than all of us too. He could protect you.” [Allen]

“I don’t want him to protect me out of pity. My current life’s fine.” [Ava]

“It’s not out of pity.” [Goro]

The dragon firmly rebuked her. He slammed his left hand on the fence, next to her head.

“I… I want to bring you back as my bride.” [Goro]

“… Huh?” [Ava]

“… Eh?” [Allen]

“… Ehhhhh?!” [Fyr]

Everyone was shocked by his way too abrupt declaration.

“… The hell are you suddenly saying?” [Ava]

Ava tried to escape by sliding to the left, but Goro cut off her path of retreat by slamming his right hand on the fence. Now she was stuck between his arms. His face was close to hers.

“I’m serious! I don’t know when it happened, but while I was watching you, I became fascinated with you. When you’re sleeping in class or when you’re training here, I found you beautiful.” [Goro]

He found it cute when she was napping in class with one hand supporting her head. He was mesmerized when he saw her train on the rooftop.

“You’re beautiful, but more than that, you’ve got guts, courage. Enough to fight us dragons, something not even the bravest can do. That’s what I like about you.” [Goro]

“Your breath stinks!” [Ava]

She tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. She decided to use violence and punched his chest, but he ignored it.

“To be honest, I fought that elf because of how he treated you. Some other man was ordering you around like you were his belonging. It pissed me off so much I wanted to kill him.” [Goro]

“Would you freaking back off already?!” [Ava]

She tried to slip under his arms, but he grabbed her shoulders.

“Listen! I…! I think I seriously fell for you!” [Goro]

Forcing her to face him, he clearly declared his feelings.

“H-h-h-he said it!!” [Fyr]

Fyr was incredibly excited and even forgot that they wanted to convince Ava to run away. She had a hand to her mouth while the other was repeatedly poking Allen’s arm.

“Finally, someone confessed to Ava!!” [Allen]

The red-haired human was just like her, overcome with emotions. The two of them looked like parents that were shocked yet happy when someone actually proposed to their good-for-nothing daughter.

“But, Goro, really? I didn’t notice at all.” [Allen]

“Um, he does stare a lot at Ava when we’re all together. But, she’s pretty, so I thought it was normal for boys.” [Fyr]

While they were whispering to each other, Ava, seeing the sincerity in Goro’s eyes, stopped struggling.

“… Are you serious?” [Ava]

“You think I’d say this sort of thing as a joke… And to anyone?” [Goro]

The dragon was glaring at her as if to tell her to not make fun of him, but his cheeks were red and he ended up averting his eyes.

“Then…” [Ava]

The half-elf, having accepted his confession, stretched her hand out and patted his head.

“Thank you.” [Ava]

He was honest with her and conveyed how he felt. Gathering his courage, he told her that he loved her. As such, she needed to properly face him. She needed to take his feelings seriously and give him a proper answer.

“I-i-i-i-is she???!” [Fyr]

“I, I think so!” [Allen]

Allen and Fyr watched from the side and were about to cheer for the unexpected birth of the new couple.

“But, I’m into girls. Sorry, kid.” [Ava]

“… Wha?” [Goro]

“… Huh?” [Allen]

“… EHHHHH?!!!” [Fyr]

However, the sudden confession ended in a splendid rejection.

----------------------------------------

“She, she’s into girls…” [Goro]

Goro powerlessly muttered to himself.

“I got turned down… For something like that…” [Goro]

His face was hidden by his arms that were crossed over his desk. While limply lying at his seat, he peeked at his classmates in his classroom from time to time. It was the break during their lessons and everyone was walking about and talking with their friends. Their energetic voices sounded more annoying than usual.

“Elyon’s so cool!” [Student]

“I know! The way he’s cold to everyone just makes him more attractive!” [Student]

Hearing about that elf he fought with greatly irritated him.

“Maybe I should ask him out?” [Student]

“Better not. He’s an elf and you’re human. You’ll be rejected for sure.” [Student]

“You’re right… Let’s continue to admire him from a distance!” [Student]

Hearing about confessing and getting rejected also greatly pained him. He didn’t know if he was blushing, so he hid his face and pretended to sleep.

“Tsk! Look at the girls drooling all over him.” [Student]

“Yeah. Just because he’s an elf and he’s the most handsome guy in school and he looks like he’s sparkling… I feel like dying.” [Student]

However, his ears couldn’t help but pick up the conversation between the two young men near him.

“If it’s about elves, don’t we have another one in class? A girl at that?” [Student]

“Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about her. She doesn’t stand out like he does… But, she’s pretty cute.“ [Student]

“Yeah, like one of the prettiest girls in school… Wanna ask her out?” [Student]

He clenched his fists by reflex and he slightly lifted his head to stare at them with one eye.

“What’s the point? I can’t have kids with her. I want to start my own family one day.” [Student]

“I never said marry her. Just go out with her, hug, kiss and maybe…” [Student]

“Oooh, I see, I see~. She does have aaaa~…” [Student]

“Yeeaah, she does have aaaa~…” [Student]

Grinning lewdly, just as one of the high schoolers was about to approach the half-elf dozing off at her desk, the two’s faces went pale and they hurriedly turned around. They saw Goro’s glare and lost all of their courage. Trembling, they started speaking about the weather in a slightly high-pitched and awkward voice.

“Weaklings who can’t handle that much shouldn’t even try. She’s too much for you.” [Goro]

The dragon clicked his tongue and muttered lowly before shifting his sight to the girl that rejected him earlier during lunch. As always, she was napping. Whenever there was a short break, she could be seen sleeping instead of mingling with her classmates. She didn’t even approach Goro and mostly ignored him. If he didn’t call out to her, she would even head for the roof during lunch by herself.

Ava was napping with one hand supporting her chin. Her head kept lolling and eventually her forehead hit her desk. The impact sounded like it hurt. She stayed in that strange position with her hand still up. Then, it slowly fell down and she resumed her nap with her face planted on her desk and her arms around it.

“… What the hell are ya doing?” [Goro]

He sighed and stared at her with half-closed eyes. It was a goofy scene. The students that saw it chuckled. Goro roughly ruffled up his hair. He wondered why he fell for her. The way she acted when she fought him and the way she was acting now were worlds apart. It was no wonder that Allen and Fyr were happy when he confessed and sad when she rejected him.

They surely knew that, despite her looks, her personality wasn’t the most attractive for a girl and thought that she might never find someone. However, not many would go for half-elves. If they did fancy them, then, just like his classmates, they would only be searching for some quick fun.

Still, a dragon fell for one.

Goro kept his eyes on her and his frown that was always on his face relaxed naturally. He felt calm when he was near her and a warm feeling filled his chest. That unknown and new sensation grew during the days that he spied on her. Even now, he couldn’t stop his bad habit and kept staring at her.

He didn’t know why, but he fell in love with Ava. Even after she rejected him, this fact didn’t change.

“… Can’t be helped.” [Goro]

That was why he didn’t give up yet.

“I’ll hang around for a bit longer.” [Goro]

Muttering so to himself, Goro faintly smiled. A few girls who saw such a gentle expression on his face blushed before looking away. Later on, they secretly discussed what they just witnessed and wondered if he found himself a girlfriend.