Enter the Dragon Realm Pt. 1: Winter Break Means Traveling to A New Place

The group waited at the station for their train to arrive. Tatsuya glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was now 2:08. Since it was only for the break, Tatsuya only made sure to bring a suitcase of clothes and a backpack with his other necessities. The girls had also only brought the things that they truly needed, although this was far from what they initially planned. In the beginning, the princesses had all wanted to bring at least three full suitcases each. Tatsuya was surprised at how many things they expected to bring with them for the break, then again he was kind of expecting it from some of them, and he forced them to cut back and only bring the things they truly needed. They conceded with his order and followed his lead in bringing only one full suitcase and a bag.

In addition to their already large group of people, Aika also brought along Salazar, her pet Primordial Salamander. The docile creature was currently resting in Aika’s arms like a baby. The other people in the station didn’t pay the creature any mind, treating it as if it was just another pet like a dog or the like. Tatsuya couldn’t say that he wasn’t a little surprised to see how nonchalant people were treating this situation.

In front of the group, Mr. Urushihara waited happily for their train to come. He swayed forwards and backwards on his tiptoes like a little kid about to get on a ride at the amusement park. The people who passed by couldn’t help but make low comments about the teacher’s behavior.

“I’m surprised that a man like him is a teacher for high school students,” commented Tatsuya with a sigh.

“I guess that’s just how he shows his excitement,” said Sasuke with a smile.

“Well he’s showing it too much,” quipped Tatsuya with a raised eyebrow.

“Ah, Owatatsumi Tatsuya!” came a familiar voice to their right. Kurokumo Shizo, the Student Body Council President of Heiwa High School, approached the group with a smile.

“Ah, Council President,” said Sasuke with a wave.

“My, I see that you have your entire group here!” commented Shizo. “Is the Cultural Mythologies and Supernatural Research Club going on another trip together?” he asked.

“You could say that,” answered back Tatsuya.

“We’re all going to the dragon realm for the winter break,” Sasuke told the Council President.

“I see,” said Shizo with a nod. “I’m actually going there myself.”

“Are you going to visit family?” asked Sasuke.

“I am,” confirmed Shizo. He then flashed Tatsuya a very flirtatious look with his eyes and said, “Could this be destiny, Tatsuya-pyon? I hope we meet each other a lot on the other side.” He finished with a wink. Tatsuya’s face quickly became redder than a ripe cherry. Shizo smiled in response to the Dragonborn’s reaction and added in a whisper-like voice, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Um…um…um…um,” stuttered Tatsuya.

The train’s light could now be seen coming from the tunnel as it approached the station. “It’s here!” announced Mr. Urushihara, breaking Tatsuya free from his daze. The train stopped in front of the station and opened it’s doors. Upon glancing at the clock on the wall, Tatsuya could see that the time right now was exactly 2:13. “Let’s go!” Mr. Urushihara told them.

The group got on the train and the doors closed behind them. The train then exited the station and entered the tunnel. And like before, everything went dark. Magnificent lights then filled the tunnel. They shifted and morphed from one color to another and created a beautiful rainbow of lights that stretched all around the train. Tatsuya was mesmerized by the beauty before him. However, just as quickly as they came, the lights disappeared and the train entered darkness once again. A few seconds later, daylight poured into the train as it made its stop at the station.

The group got off and stepped over to a nearby wall. “Now then, shall we go check in at an inn?” suggested the teacher. “Now that we’re here, let’s spend a night or two in the city before we continue onwards to the Pyroignis Empire.”

“Is it far?” asked Tatsuya.

“The Pyroignis Empire is about a half-day trip from here,” Mr. Urushihara told him.

“On foot?”

“Nope, by carriage. If we were to travel by foot, it would take a day and a half.”

Tatsuya didn’t like the sound of that. “Can’t we just get a carriage and be on our way right now?” he suggested reasonably.

“Actually, we can’t,” said Daiki. He directed everyone’s attention to a poster on the wall. “It looks like all travel out of the city will be suspended for the next three days.”

“What?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in utter disbelief.

“Oh, it’s a festival!” announced Aika cheerfully.

Tatsuya took a look at the poster and saw that it depicted a very large coliseum with two superimposed images of big, muscular warriors in front of it. On the poster were strange letters in bold-face. It reminded him a bit of those professional wrestler posters that would be posted to announce upcoming big fights.

“I forgot that the Three Lords Festival is this week,” said Sunaji.

“Three Lords Festival?” asked Tatsuya.

“Also called the War Festival, it is a festival designed to honor the three Celestial Dragon gods of war, victory, and blessings,” explained Mr. Urushihara. “The first lord is Senshi, the mighty Celestial Dragon god of War. The second lord is Shori, the Celestial Dragon god of victory. The third lord is Yunqi, the Celestial Dragon god of blessings. There’s also dedication to Fafnir, Celestial Dragon god of protection, and Nidhogg, Celestial Dragon god of retribution.”

“I don’t understand the words coming out of your mouth,” said Tatsuya.

“Part of the celebration is to hold a tournament between warriors,” continued the teacher. “Ever since the tribes have made peace with each other and established the truce metropolis Jaculus City, each tribe would offer a warrior to compete for them for honor and glory. It’s pretty similar to the human Olympics.”

“Really? That actually sounds kinda cool,” admitted Tatsuya.

“Well, we’ll see you guys later,” announced Sasuke.

“You guys are leaving?” Tatsuya asked him.

“We already sent word to our family that we would be here for the winter break,” Daiki told him. “We’re meeting up with them in the city.”

“Oh, I see.”

Sasuke, Daiki, and Manami said farewell to the group and left in different directions. As Sasuke turned the corner, before disappearing from view, he exchanged nods with Vajra. Tatsuya noticed this exchange and was curious about what was going on considering how serious they looked. He was about to ask the butler when Aika interrupted him by glomping onto his arm.

“Say, Darling, why don’t we go take a look around the city?” she asked him.

“Um…,” replied Tatsuya, a little dazed from the sudden interruption.

“What a great idea!” agreed Mr. Urushihara. “But first, let’s all go check in at the inn.”

He led the group to a nearby inn, the Horned Serpent, and checked in. He returned with seven keys and the group was divided as so: Aika with Takara, Sunaji with Kanjomizu, Arashi with Shurai, Ingrid with Umi, Rocco with Vajra, Sylphie with Draupnir, and Tatsuya with Mr. Urushihara. The princesses weren’t very enthusiastic about this arrangement, since it separated them from their target. On the other hand, Tatsuya was happy that Mr. Urushihara split them up as so.

Each pair took their respective keys and proceeded to set their stuff down in their rooms. When they were done, they all met back up in the lobby. Aika happily glomped onto Tatsuya once again and asked, “Shall we go, Darling?”

Mr. Urushihara, who was standing behind Tatsuya, let out a very hearty laugh. “Sorry, your highness, but may I borrow Tatsuya for a bit?” he said.

“Um—,” responded Aika, but before she could give him a definite answer, the teacher grabbed Tatsuya by the collar of his shirt and dragged him along with him as he ran out of the inn. “That was quick!” commented Aika in surprise.

Once they were outside, Mr. Urushihara let go of Tatsuya. “What was that about?” Tatsuya asked him, rubbing his neck. Mr. Urushihara didn’t answer him and began to walk down the street. Tatsuya ran after him and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Don’t forget to take this,” said the teacher, handing Tatsuya a small packaged blue pill. Tatsuya took it and quickly put it in his mouth. “Don’t forget to take one each day until we reach the Pyroignis Empire. This is for your own safety,” Mr. Urushihara told him.

“Right,” said Tatsuya with a nod of his head. “So, where are we going?” he asked the teacher once again.

“Want to see where I work?” the teacher asked him mysteriously. He led Tatsuya through the city and they arrived in front of a large dome building made up of some kind of reddish-silver metal. The entrance to the building jutted out in the front like an igloo’s. Around the building were walls set up in a hexagonal pattern, connected by a big bar gate in front of the entrance. People dressed in black uniforms with the letters “UF” and a symbol of a dragon claw stood in front of the gate.

Mr. Urushihara approached the guards and brought his right arm to his left shoulder with his index finger and thumb forming a ring and the other three fingers out. The guards immediately nodded and opened the gates. The teacher then gestured for Tatsuya to follow.

They entered through the gate and approached the entrance. “What did you show them?” Tatsuya asked the teacher.

“I just showed them the United Front’s symbol of allegiance to show that I’m a member,” he told him. “The ring formed by the index finger and thumb represents unity, and the three fingers out represents the three virtues: Justice, Peace, and Equality.”

“Right, I forgot that you were also a member of the United Front,” said Tatsuya with a sheepish laugh. “But to think that the United Front had a set of values like that. They must be determined in their goals.”

“Of course we are!” agreed Mr. Urushihara with a smug smile.

They entered the building and Tatsuya was immediately amazed by what he was saw. Inside, the walls were made of fine purple velvet and decorated with beautiful golden images of dragons of various types. Golden framed pictures hung on the walls, each of a different head of the United Front through it’s long history, complete with the years of their service below. The floor itself was a beautiful red carpet that felt soft to the sole like fine silk. The ceilings were a dazzling collage of different colors and elemental symbols repeated in a random sequence that made the images pop out more in the most dazzling way possible.

Mr. Urushihara and Tatsuya approached the front desk. A woman with short light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes greeted them apathetically. “Ah, Xera! How are you today?” asked Mr. Urushihara cheerfully.

“Long time no see, Jima,” said Xera with a tired nod.

“Jima?” questioned Tatsuya.

“My name is Jima Ursha,” Mr. Urushihara told him. “But in the human realm, I go by Urushihara Jin.”

“Oh, right,” said Tatsuya with a nod.

“And who is this?” asked Xera, turning to look at Tatsuya.

“This is my student!” answered Mr. Urushihara happily. “I’m showing him where I work.”

“Uh-huh,” drawled Xera disinterestedly.

“So, can we go in?” asked Mr. Urushihara.

“Do you have your ID?” asked Xera.

“Oh, you know what? I forgot it in my suitcase, tee-hee” said Mr. Urushihara sheepishly. “But you know who I am. So how about it?”

Xera simply tilted her head as if to say, ‘Are you kidding me?’

“How about I treat you tonight? Anything you want!” offered Mr. Urushihara.

“Mr. Urushihara, I don’t think that—,” began Tatsuya, who didn’t really think that a bribe would work.

“Deal!” quickly accepted Xera with sparkling eyes.

“She took it?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in utter surprise.

Mr. Urushihara leaned in close to Tatsuya’s ear and said, “She’s a Druk, so it’s pretty easy to figure out what she wants.” The teacher then led Tatsuya through a door on the left.

Tatsuya was even more impressed by what he saw on the other side. The ceiling stretched higher as they entered the main part of the building. The random sequence of colors and elemental symbols made the ceiling look like a beautiful sky full of stars and clouds. In the center of it all was a giant crystal chandelier made up of diamond-shaped fragments.

The building had three floors, which wasn’t at all what Tatsuya expected upon seeing it from the outside. Each floor was circular in shape with evenly spaced hallways, and the second and third floors had metal railings. There were four metal staircases, each situated in a specific cardinal direction, that led from one floor to the next. The first floor also had many desks set up along the walls. Everywhere, people buzzed around, busy with work. If Tatsuya didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that he had entered a normal busy government building.

He glanced around the room and realized a few discrepancies with his expectations. He saw people working on computers on top of their desks and initially thought that the dragon realm was pretty advanced. It wasn’t until he realized that they were old nineties era desktops that he concluded that the dragon realm wasn’t as advanced as he had previously assumed. When he looked around at everyone rushing here and there, he noticed other ancient human technology being used: pagers, CD-ROMS, PDAs (personal digital assistants), and floppy disks.

“Follow me, Tatsuya,” said Mr. Urushihara. He led Tatsuya up to the third floor. They entered one of the hallways and walked down. Tatsuya noticed doors on either side of him with signs in a strange language. He didn’t dare to dawdle about and stayed close to the teacher for fear of getting lost in a strange and unfamiliar place.

As they got closer to the end of the hallway, voices could be heard. Tatsuya saw Prince Nobi talking to someone in front of a door at the end of the hallway. The prince was focused on his conversation with the man that he didn’t at all realize Tatsuya’s presence when he and Mr. Urushihara stopped just a few feet away from him.

The man whom the prince was talking to was an old man with frazzled curly white hair and a long white mustache reaching down to his stomach. He had twinkling amber eyes and long white eyebrows that flowed down his cheeks. His nose was a little squished like the nose of a pig, but less boarish. His skin was a light gold and, despite the apparent wrinkles around his neck, glowed brilliantly like a jewel. He was impeccably dressed in a yellow and orange suit with a red tie and a Chinese dragon pin on his left breast. On the bridge of his nose was a golden framed pince-nez. All in all, he looked like some weird mash-up of a European gentleman, a Chinese sage, and Einstein’s hair. He didn’t at all feel dangerous, nor did he project a very intimidating aura.

“You can count on us, Mayor,” Nobi reassured the man.

“Yes, yes, yes,” said the mayor excitedly. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been a little on edge. Who knows what will happen during the event? But of course, I shall remain positive! Thank you, Prince Nobi.” The man bowed before the prince, who quickly helped the man back up. “Well, I shall take my leave,” said the mayor. He turned around and promptly left through the hallway.

Once the mayor was gone, Nobi finally realized Tatsuya’s presence and immediately glomped him. “Tatsuya-kyun! You’re here! You’re here! You’re here!” he yapped excitedly. After much struggling on Tatsuya’s part, the prince promptly released him and regained his composure. “I’m glad that you’re here,” he said with a smile.

“Prince Nobi,” greeted Mr. Urushihara with a bow. “Prince Nobara of the Drago Tribe, I am forever humbled to be graced by your presence. May the Draco Tribe forever be prosperous and glorious till the end of all time!”

“Thank you,” said Nobi with a nod of his head. “Say, Tatsuya-kyun, how would you like to meet the brains behind the United Front?” he asked the Dragonborn.

“Brains?” inquired Tatsuya.

“Follow me,” Nobi told him. He led Tatsuya and Mr. Urushihara through the door behind him and they all entered a large meeting room. In the middle of the room was a long elaborately designed metal table with column-like legs. Throne-like chairs sat behind the table. There were a few people in the room. “Everyone!” Nobi called out to them. They all turned their attention to their leader. “I would like you all to meet someone special!” He then grabbed Tatsuya by the shoulders and brought him to the front. “This here is Owatatsumi Tatsuya, my future brother-in-law!” Nobi told them with a beaming smile.

“Owatatsumi Tatsuya?” came an intrigued voice. It belonged to a very handsome man with sharp facial features like that of a beautifully sculpted statue. He had silky green hair and shiny emerald eyes, a greenish tint to his skin tone, and full lips that would make any woman want to kiss him. He was thin like a model and was dressed in a chic green and silver pleated suit and shiny silver loafers. Hanging from his his right ear was an earring with a dragon-claw pendant, and around his left wrist was a silver watch.

“Isn’t he the one that you would always talk about all the time?” came another voice. This one belonged to a big man with broad shoulders and a bald head. He had a bluish-silver beard like a Viking and was clad only in blue trousers. His entire body was filled with black tattoos of magical symbols and the like, stopping just below the tip of his shoulders. He had an imposing presence with stern stormy grey eyes and a large silver hoop earing dangling from his right ear.

“My, he’s the Dragonborn, isn’t he?” said yet another voice. This time it was a woman. She had long light blonde hair like a field of wheat that stretched to her waist, and bright yellow eyes that sparkled like stars. She had a slight golden tan and was dressed in a yellow Disney-style dress with a pleated skirt, elbow-length white gloves, and high heels. On her right ring finger was a beautiful golden ring.

“Tatsuya, I would like you to meet the leaders of the United Front, the United Council,” introduced Nobi. “Each of these people are representatives of their respective tribes. But they are also the people behind the legislation and enforcement of laws throughout the entire dragon realm and Jaculus City.”

“These people are that powerful?” exclaimed Tatsuya in surprise.

“Kings are only responsible for the legislation and enforcement of laws within their own kingdom,” explained Nobi. “The council, however, influences the entire realm. Think of it like this: the individual kingdoms are states that have the power to make their own state laws, and the council acts as the unifying central government with power over each of those states. Therefore, any laws passed by the United Front cannot be undermined by the laws of a kingdom.”

“That’s why the council is made up of different representatives,” added Mr. Urushihara. “This way, each of the tribes have an equal say in what laws should and shouldn’t be passed for the sake of their own kingdom and those of the dragon realm as a whole.”

“This is a pretty well thought-out system,” said Tatsuya in awe.

“Now, introducing the council members,” announced Nobi grandly, “First, we have First Seat Councilman Zarc of the Quetzalcoatl tribe.”

The handsome man from before bowed and said, “A pleasure to meet you, mon amour.”

“S-Same to you,” stuttered Tatsuya, taken aback by the man’s unexpected use of French.

“Next, this is Second Councilman Foros of the Naga tribe,” introduced Nobi, pointing to a man in one of the chairs.

The man had aqua stringy seaweed like hair that fell to his shoulders and sad blue eyes with noticeable bags under them. He had a small soul patch under his constantly quivering bottom lip and a slightly upturned nose. He was clad in a large blue cloak. The man kept his distance, all the while letting out audible whimpers like a submissive dog.

“He’s extremely shy of new people,” said Nobi with an awkward smile.

“I-I see,” responded Tatsuya with the same smile. He tried waving at the man as friendly as possible, but it only elicited a yelp from him and made him hide under his cloak.

“Anyway, next we have Third Councilwoman Edam of the Long tribe,” continued Nobi nonchalantly.

The woman with blonde hair from before rushed up to Tatsuya and pulled him into a big hug. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to meet you ever since Nobi mentioned your name for the first time!” she announced loudly. “You’re so cute! Say, do you want me to show you around? Why don’t I treat you to lunch? Oh, we could have our own little date, ha ha ha! How about you call me Big Sis, huh? I can be your big sister!”

“Enough!” shouted Nobi in the most authoritative voice Tatsuya had ever heard from him. He pulled Edam off of Tatsuya and dragged her to the door. Without further ado, he opened the door and threw her out. He closed the door and brushed his hands off before coming back with a smile on his face. “Longs, am I right? They’re so optimistic and energetic and chatty that it’s too much to handle sometimes, you know?” said the prince. “Besides,” said Nobi, turning his attention onto Tatsuya. He immediately pulled Tatsuya into a big hug and said, “You don’t need her as a big sister, right? You have me, don’t you? I’m your big brother, aren’t I? You can call me Big Bro! How about it, huh? Tatsuya-kyun?”

It didn’t take long before the broad-shouldered gentleman from before grabbed Nobi by the shoulder and dragged him to the door. And, doing what Nobi had did to Edam before, he threw the prince out and closed the door. He then turned to Tatsuya and bowed. “I am extremely sorry for our leader,” he apologized.

“I-It’s fine,” reassured Tatsuya nervously.

“This here is Fifth Seat Councilman Regalos of the Bakunawa tribe,” introduced Mr. Urushihara.

“A pleasure to meet you,” said Regalos courteously.

“You too,” replied Tatsuya.

“May I ask to why you are here?” asked Regalos.

“Ah, yes,” said Mr. Urushihara. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He gave it to Regalos, who opened it and read it. “Ah, I see,” said the councilman, folding back the paper. “Well,” he said, turning to Tatsuya, “I hope you enjoy the dragon realm, Dragonborn.”

“Thanks,” said Tatsuya with a nod. “And, um, my name is Tatsuya by the way.”

“Tatsuya, what a beautiful name,” commented Zarc.

“Now then, we shall take our leave,” said Mr. Urushihara. He and Tatsuya left the room and made their way back to the main lobby. “What did you think?” asked the teacher.

“They look like pretty interesting characters,” admitted Tatsuya with a small laugh.

“There’s actually three more people that you didn’t get a chance to meet,” pointed out Mr. Urushihara. “In addition to those whom you’ve met, there’s also Fourth Seat Councilwoman Dezra of the Lindworm tribe, Sixth Seat Councilman Gheru of the Wyvern tribe, Seventh Seat Councilman Krom of the Amaru tribe, and the United Front’s Vice President, Jeroji.”

“Is there not a seat for every tribe?” asked Tatsuya.

“We’ve had representatives from the Okami and Druk tribes before,” explained Mr. Urushihara. “There was only ever one representative from the Ur tribe in our history. And the Abzu tribe, they tend to like to keep to themselves.”

“Are the council members elected in any way?”

“They’re first elected from their own respective tribe and then campaign to get elected into the council,” explained the teacher. “The number of seats can change, though it’s only ever set at seven. Basically, the dragon realm, for the past three millennia, is run on a democratic republic model.”

‘So maybe the dragon realm is advanced after all…,’ thought Tatsuya to himself. Suddenly, the images of those nineties tech that was being used by the workers flashed in his mind. ‘…For the most part,’ he concluded.

Mr. Urushihara and Tatsuya left the United Front building and walked through the streets of the city. They stopped in front of a shop and Mr. Urushihara told Tatsuya to wait for him as he went in. Tatsuya did as he was told and stood in front of the shop.

As he watched the people fo dragon realm go about their daily business, he still couldn’t believe that everything he was currently experiencing and seeing was real. It all feels like one big dream! ‘Does this even count as Isekai?’ he wondered to himself. In addition to the dragon citizens, he saw centaurs, satyrs, goblins, dwarves, elves, lizard-people, lamia, oni; there were griffins and Pegasi pulling along carriages, families walking Primordial Salamanders and giant green weasels (ramidreju), and chalkydri flying through the skies—he was in a literal fantasy land! Wondering if he was just having a fever dream and not really experiencing all of this in real life, he pinched himself. The pain that followed told him that he was indeed experiencing all of this in real life.

A few feet away from him, three delinquents were devising a plan to rob him out of his money. They approached Tatsuya and surrounded him. “Hey, how much do you have on you?” asked the delinquent on his right straightforwardly.

“Um, excuse me?” asked Tatsuya.

“He’s asking if you’re worth to rob,” clarified the delinquent on his left with a snarling smile.

“He looks like he got some,” said the delinquent behind him with a laugh.

The right delinquent took a sniff at Tatsuya and then made a sour face. “Shit, he smells dirt poor!” he exclaimed disgustedly. “Oh man, my nose hurts just from sniffing his bumpkin scent!”

“What’s a country boy like you doing in the city?” asked the left delinquent.

“U-U-U-Um,” stuttered Tatsuya.

“If he ain’t got no money, then how about we teach him how we do it in the city?” suggested the one from behind. “Let’s steal his clothes and let him crawl back to his country home naked!”

“Ha ha! I like the sound of that!” agreed the right delinquent.

The three guys began to close in on Tatsuya. “L-L-Look, can’t we talk this out?” he asked them. The delinquents didn’t respond and wore scary looks on their faces.

“Excuse me, but can I help you?” came Mr. Urushihara’s voice.

The three delinquents turned towards the teacher. “What do you want, old man?” asked the right delinquent rudely.

Mr. Urushihara’s right eye began to twitch in response to that comment. “Old man?” he asked with a scary smile. Without another word, the teacher raised his right index finger and pointed it slightly downwards at the delinquents. A thin stream of fire shot out of his finger and branched out into three different paths. The fire struck the delinquents’ pants and burnt them to ashes, leaving them in only their underwear. Once they realized what had happened, the delinquents immediately ran off while the other citizens caught sight of their situation and laughed at their misfortune.

“What were they after?” asked Mr. Urushihara once the delinquents were gone from sight.

“Money,” simply answered Tatsuya.

“Ah! Speaking of money, we should also head to the bank to exchange our currency before it closes!” said Mr. Urushihara, returning back to his usual self. “But first, follow me.”

Mr. Urushihara led Tatsuya into the shop and to a counter at the back. There, they met with the shop’s clerk—a young woman with short metallic silver hair and matching eyes. Mr. Urushihara asked Tatsuya for his phone and, after receiving it from him, handed it over to the clerk. The clerk took the phone and stepped into the back. “What is she going to do with my phone?” asked Tatsuya.

“She’s going to convert it into a dragon phone for you,” answered Mr. Urushihara.

“Dragon phone?”

“It's an idea derived from the human smartphone,” explained the teacher. “All of the dragon realm’s modern technology, like computers and phones, are all based on technologies from the human realm.”

“Which decade?” quipped Tatsuya in a low voice.

“However, when we build our technologies, we outfit them with magical capabilities, therefore making them compatible with our realm,” continued the teacher. “The dragon realm does not have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or anything of the sort. With that in mind, all of our technology has been outfitted to use mana.”

“Really?” said Tatsuya, sincerely intrigued.

“Because of this principle, it is easy for us to tweak human technology brought from the human realm and outfit it with the same magical properties as those made in the dragon realm,” concluded Mr. Urushihara.

“Then how does dragon realm technology work in the human realm?” asked Tatsuya.

“By drawing on the mana in the human realm,” answered the teacher. “But the amount it needs in order to function is decreased due to the scarcity of mana in the human realm compared to the dragon realm. Think of it like your phone’s battery saver mode. Technology developed here in the dragon realm can still function normally in the human realm, and their similar appearance to human technology allows for them to blend in within human society pretty well.”

Now that Mr. Urushihara mentioned it, Tatsuya had always wondered about the phones that the princesses and servants used, although he never had the chance to bring it up in conversation. They looked and functioned just like your typical smartphone. He had always wondered exactly where they got them and it led him to ponder a lot about the technology of the dragon realm. Now, all of his questions have been answered.

The clerk returned with Tatsuya’s phone and handed it back to him. He took it and gave it a look over. There wasn’t any noticeable change about it at all. He opened the home screen and examined to see if there were any changes. He noticed that there were a few new apps downloaded to his phone. “What are these?” he asked his teacher.

“Ah, those apps are a staple for all dragon phones!” Mr. Urushihara told him. “The first one is the ‘Liber Draconum’, a comprehensive encyclopedia of the dragon realm detailing its history, cultures, the different tribes, and famous people. The second app is called ‘Songs’, which is a collection of the Songs of Wisdom. The final app is our bible of sorts, the Celestial Codex. It has information on all of the Celestial Dragons, in addition to all of our myths, legends, festivals, and rites.”

“This is actually pretty handy,” praised Tatsuya with a nod of his head.

“Also, my most favorite part,” said Mr. Urushihara with a suggestive smile. “Open your music app.”

Tatsuya did as the teacher instructed him and what he saw when the app opened up made him freeze up in disbelief and unbridled joy. “T-T-This can’t be happening,” he said in a quiet, breathy voice. There, downloaded on his phone as part of the tweak, was Ginger Sakura’s brand new album!

“Each new phone model that is produced here in the dragon realm comes with the latest Ginger Sakura album downloaded onto it free of charge!” said Mr. Urushihara with a well-deserved smug smile.

“This isn’t pirated or anything like that, is it?” Tatsuya asked him seriously.

“Of course not!” answered back Mr. Urushihara brightly. “In fact, Ginger Sakura is a spokesperson for many of the technologies produced here in the dragon realm.”

“Seriously?!” exclaimed Tatsuya.

“Also, here in the dragon realm, all of her albums are reduced by 20% of their price in the human realm,” Mr. Urushihara told him.

“Let’s go to the bank right now and exchange our currency!” immediately declared Tatsuya.

The two of them exited the store and walked down the street in the direction of the bank. Along the way, Tatsuya scrolled and re-scrolled through the album on his phone many times with an intense look on his face. Mr. Urushihara stepped into a café and told him that he was going to buy them something to eat; though Tatsuya’s obsession with his phone made the teacher’s words enter through one ear and out the other. Since he wasn’t looking where he was going, he didn’t see a little boy running towards him, chased by a duo of grown men, and crashed into the boy.

Tatsuya fell to the ground on top of the boy. He blinked his eyes to clear away the daze and, upon realizing what had happened, he quickly rose up onto his feet and tucked his phone away. He looked down and saw the boy whom he had crashed onto lying on his stomach. Tatsuya bent down and helped him up. “Are you okay? I’m sorry for crashing into you. That was my fault,” Tatsuya told him.

“I-I’m fine,” the boy told him. He was a young boy, about the age of a sixth-grader, with messy dirty brown hair and dull citrine eyes. His skin was of a caramel color, dirtied by bruises and stains, and he was dressed in tattered clothing. In spite of his appearance, a closer inspection of the boy showed that he was quite a good looking lad. His fingernails protruded out like small talons, blackened by dirt. Two brown horns protruded from his forehead. Behind him, a long brown brush-like tail protruded out of his backside. And crowning his elbows were bone-like spikes.

“Hey, you little brat!” shouted the angry voice of a man. Two men quickly approached Tatsuya and the boy, their faces scowling dangerously.

The boy quickly hid behind Tatsuya in fear. “Do you know these guys?” Tatsuya asked him kindly. The boy simply answered with a shake of his head.

“Hand over the little brat,” said one of the men.

“What did he do to you?” Tatsuya asked him.

“This isn’t something that an outsider can just meddle with,” said the other man.

“Yeah!” agreed the first man.

“Just tell me if he did anything wrong and I’ll take responsibility for him,” Tatsuya told them with a determined frown.

“Seriously?! Are you crazy?! We already told you that this doesn’t—,” said the first man.

“Alright then,” interrupted the other man.

“Big bro!” protested the first man.

“This kid tried to steal from us,” said the second man. “If you can pay us back the price of what he stole, we’ll let him off the hook.”

“How much?” Tatsuya asked them.

“Fifty gilds!” answered the second man.

That number jolted the boy behind Tatsuya and he immediately jumped out and shouted accusingly, “Hey, that’s highway robbery! There’s no way that it costs that much! It’s twenty gilds at most!”

“So you do know them,” concluded Tatsuya. The boy realized what he had done and retreated back behind Tatsuya, returning to his meek and fearful self. “What did you steal?” Tatsuya asked him.

“F-Food,” answered the boy with a grimace.

“The price just gone up to sixty gilds!” announced the second man.

“Mister, you can’t pay that price! They’re trying to cheat you!” warned the boy.

“Hey! You shut up!” shouted the first man angrily. “He’s trying to save your ass, so you better keep your mouth shut and let him do what he needs to do!”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money on me right now,” Tatsuya told them. “But I will have your money soon. Is it alright if we can put this on hold for—.”

“Are you kidding me?!” shouted the first man hysterically. “Big bro, why don’t we show them that we mean business?” he suggested to the second man.

“You just read my mind,” said the second man. He rushed up to Tatsuya with his fist ready to pound the lights out of the Dragonborn. However, Tatsuya took quick notice of his movement and easily incapacitated him with a focused punch to the stomach, forcing the man to fall to his knees.

“Big bro!” shouted the first man. He rolled up his sleeves and was ready to engage Tatsuya himself when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Excuse me, but can I help you?” came Mr. Urushihara’s voice from behind him. The man turned to the teacher and was about to verbally abuse him when Mr. Urushihara flashed him the United Front’s hand signal. Understanding just what that sign meant, the man quickly backed down and left to tend to his brother, eventually dragging him along as he made his escape. Once they were gone, Mr. Urushihara walked up to Tatsuya while shaking his head. “Geez, even with the pill, you still draw quite a lot of attention, don’t you?” said the teacher in a disappointed tone.

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose!” responded Tatsuya.

“Anyway, here you go,” said the teacher, handing Tatsuya a plate of meatballs.

“What is this?” asked Tatsuya curiously.

“It’s yakitori!” answered Mr. Urushihara brightly. “Specifically, it’s basan yakitori!” (Basan = Japanese fire-breathing chicken yokai).

Tatsuya’s face immediately turned sour after hearing what it was. He glanced at the yakitori in his hands and suddenly remembered something. He turned around to the boy, who had been standing behind him the entire time, and handed him the yakitori. “Here you go,” Tatsuya told him kindly.

The boy looked at the yakitori with hungry eyes and drool was starting to form in the corner of his lips. His eyes then quickly looked up to Tatsuya and he politely asked, “Are you sure, Mister?”

“Go ahead,” Tatsuya said reassuringly. “You’re hungry, right?”

“Thank you very much!” accepted the boy happily.

“You’re a Python, aren’t you?” Mr. Urushihara asked the kid. The boy turned to Mr. Urushihara and nodded his head in reply. The boy then graciously accepted the yakitori from Tatsuya, and as he did, Mr. Urushihara caught a glimpse of a familiar tattoo on the boy’s left pectoral through the bagginess of his rags.

“Thank you very much, Mister!” repeated the boy again with a bow. He then ran off with the yakitori as happy as a lark.

Once he was gone, Mr. Urushihara turned to Tatsuya with a serious expression and said, “Tatsuya, from now on, you must stay away from that boy.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tatsuya, confused by the teacher’s order.

“Just promise me that you’ll stay away from him,” the teacher told him.

Tatsuya didn’t know the reason for the teacher’s sudden serious warning, but he decided to go along with it. Mr. Urushihara’s instincts had never been wrong before, a precedent which became the basis for his acceptance of the teacher’s words. But still, Tatsuya couldn’t help but wonder why. Just what was the reason behind Mr. Urushihara’s warning against the boy?