I Raised A Black Dragon

Only the faint noise of the tape recorders occupied the room. “Let’s sit.” Kyle pulled a chair from the table. Meanwhile, Noah felt slightly nauseous looking at the dozens of glass lenses directed at her.

Kyle glanced at her, seated firmly and flipping through a thick pile of documents. He gestured dryly without giving Noah any attention. “I asked you to sit down. You know that one of the things I hate is wasting time.”

Noah stared at the pen, ink, typewriter, and small tape recorder on the iron desk, biting her lips. She couldn’t adapt to Kyle’s sudden change of attitude yet. Finally, she took a deep breath and sat down on the seat across Kyle. Kyle, who was skimming through the documents, shifted his attention to her.

“We’re going to do an alibi investigation today. Everything you do, every word you say, every breath you breathe is being recorded, so please answer carefully.”

“…Yes.”

“First, what is your relationship with Lenia Valtalere?”

It was not an expected question. While Noah hesitated, having nothing to say, Kyle asked again. “What are your threats against Lenia Valtalere in the ship?”

“It was not a threat, it was…”

“In addition to Lenia Valtalere’s statement, we’ve completed the on-site verification. She claimed that you had trespassed into the room where she was staying and even tried to harm her.” Kyle thrust a couple of photos printed black and white to Noah. One was a picture of the room’s door knob completely torn, and the other was a picture of the room’s floor split into two. 

Noah clenched her fist, staring at Kyle. “I never did.”

It was difficult to tell whether he was asking from the bottom of his heart or was merely putting a show. But why do you have to be so cold?

“Why did you try to contact Yulem again?” Kyle resumed the interrogation without ceasing.

“What did I do?”

“The train incident to Central Edman and the explosion of the ship’s mana operating room. Yulem was present at both of those sites. You’ve already illegally distributed high-risk chips with built-in self-destruct devices in the same organization. What do you get by taking a dragon and interacting with them?”

“I didn’t! No, in the first place, I…”

…I didn’t steal Mu! When did these suspicions come into being, what the hell! 

Something simmered in Noah’s head again; however, her emotions didn’t go as extreme as when she confronted Lenia earlier. Still, she felt like she wanted to at least punch the stomach of the man in front of her.

The dragon’s mana remained responsive to her will once more. The iron desk, which was rooted to the floor, began to shake dangerously. 

The next moment, something kicked Noah’s foot under the desk, but there was no need to glimpse below. Noah blinked blankly, broken off from her trance.

“Oh, sorry.” Kyle fixed his posture with a dry apology. “So, the barrier of the Laurent Fortress was dismantled, then the central mana device was neutralized, and you were able to enter. You took the dragon’s egg, which was on the verge of hatching, came out again, and restored the central mana device to its original state, and lastly, you returned to Sorrent…”

“Wait, wait.”

In an instant, the alibi of a crime Noah didn’t even commit was completed. Kyle then proceeded to the next question, leaving no second for Noah to be dumbfounded. 

“Have you had an accomplice?”

Tuck. The intensity was weaker than before, but this time, Kyle kicked her leg under the desk again. At this point, Noah thought it was a mistake. She answered with her teeth clenched, trying to put her heart to rest.

“There is no accomplice.”

“It’s an exclusive offense. Why did you imprint with the dragon?”

“…Because he’s cute.”

“Pardon?”

“Because he’s cute. Because he’s pretty. I want to live with him. Why not?

“…I’ll write it down.”

Noah leaned against the back of the chair, folding her arms. Nonetheless, Kyle continued without faltering. “Did you contact Yulem again to secretly test the dragon’s mana? That’s why I caught you on your way to Central Edman?”

“…Yes.” She couldn’t read Kyle’s mind at all. Thinking her crimes were continually increasing in number, Noah began to chatter randomly in an attempt to make her image look not so bad.

“I did it just for fun… for fun. I wanted to play with a cute baby. I swear I didn’t know the train would break and the ship would stop. I just want to spend the rest of my life quietly.”