Thursday Night: Encounter

"'Go to that party', they said. 'It will be fun', they said…" a young woman with long black hair complained to herself as she trudged through the nightly streets of Tokyo. The shops with their brightly illuminated billboards were still bustling with activity.
She held a half-empty beer and a brown paper-bag filled with korokkes in her left hand. The other hand was busy with bringing the mushy potato snacks right to her mouth.
Hmpf, I guess THEY had fun... she thought while nibbling on one of the korokkes she grabbed from the party's cold buffet before leaving.
"Well, at least I got to grab some food for free. Guess, the whole thing was worth it for that alone." she mumbled somewhat satisfied with the mushy potato snack still in her mouth.
Now I have something other than instant noodles for tomorrow to eat AND even saved the money for it. Unconsciously a smile formed on her face and she let out a small chuckle.

Despite being a Thursday night, the streets were quite lively. This must be due to the fact that the last two weeks have been extremely hot and humid. So most people took advantage of their climatized houses and only ever left them, when the sun had already set. It would have been the same for Rin, well if she had something like an air conditioner. In fact the last two weeks were hot enough for her to even keep her from turning on her PS5 because she was too afraid that it would die right away from overheating. This, and the fact that she needed the money to hold up her - as she prefers to call it - quite exclusive hobbies, were the reason for her to be working overtime the last two weeks.
The girl sighed after finishing the korokke and began to fish for another potato snack inside the brown paper bag.
"Honestly, I can't believe they tried to set me up with that guy from the IT-department…" she groaned somewhat tired.
Just because I don't have much … or rather, any love life doesn't mean my coworkers need to be that pushy… After all, it's my own decision to not get involved with other people's shit… All that 'Ohh, Rin! You can't just stay home forever, reading mangas and playing games! Don't tell me that you're satisfied with this, there's more to life!' I really can't take it anymore… I AM perfectly fine with this!… the girl elaborated in her thoughts, taking a sip from her beer.
As she walked through the brightly illuminated streets, she eventually reached the park that separated her apartment block from the bustling city. She stopped in front of its entrance, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness that laid ahead. She involuntarily had to think back to the conversation she overheard at the party, causing her to ponder for a short moment whether she should take a little detour instead of taking the most direct way through the park. She eventually shrugged her shoulders, being totally unfazed by the story their coworkers were talking about and entered the park.
I mean honestly, they seem to believe any rumor, no matter how stupid. That story was probably made up by some douchebag, who wanted to scare his girlfriend only so that she would cling onto him while strolling through the park… yep, I can totally see this… I mean honestly, 'a monster'...? You must be quite stupid to make up something like that … and even more stupid to believe it…
"..."
Hm, or maybe it was just some crackhead who mistook a cat for that so-called 'monster' and that's how the rumor took its course…? she ruminated. Trying to take another sip from her beer, she realized that it was already empty.
"Dammit, I should've not only looted the buffet but also the fridge..." she complained somewhat grumpily.
The moment she discarded the empty bottle into a nearby bin, she couldn't help but realize the discrepancy between the silence in the park and the bustling of the streets that were only meters away. It seemed like there were quite a lot of people who were shunning the park as best as they could.
Rin frowned over this realization. This either meant that 90% of the population around here were stupid enough to believe those rumors or… she was the dumb one for not doing so.
Trying not to expand upon that topic, she continued her way home.
While trudging along the graveled path and nibbling on her korokke, she couldn't help but start to feel somewhat observed. A shiver ran down her spine and it seemed like her brave words from seconds ago were only words after all.
"Um… haha, maybe it's better that I only grabbed one beer for my way home… I guess, the booze went to my head already… it's probably just my imagination running wild, right…? Haha..." she laughed somewhat stiffly while scouting around, trying to brush off the unpleasant feeling that was creeping up on her.
But the longer she wandered through the darkness, the more paranoid her thoughts became. When hearing a rustling coming from the bushes to her left, she sped up her tread.
The moment she reached the spot where her surroundings took on the form of rather a small forest than a park, she was already running.

After sustaining this jogging trot for some time, she drew closer to the exit where the top of her brightly illuminated apartment block was finally towering over the gloominess. Despite having still not reached her final destination, this all too familiar view was enough to eventually let the tension dissipate.
She stopped her jog and remained standing in the midst of the gravel path, leaning slightly forward. While her palms rested on her knees, she tried to catch her breath.
All she heard was her own breath, occasionally interrupted by sporadic calls from some nocturnal birds and …
Rustle.
The black-haired girl reflexively started to scout around, examining the trees at the waysides. Fear was creeping up her spine. It almost felt like the darkness was becoming more intense the more she tried to focus on it. She vigorously shook her head, slapping her flushed cheeks with her palms as the paper bag was still dangling between the fingers of her left hand.
"Ha-ha… probably just some stray cat… no need to be freaking out…" she mumbled.
It is then that two reddish-golden orbs appeared to her left, shooting frightening glares at her.
Her eyes became wide as she slowly turned her head around.
"N-no way, a-am I high?" she asked herself while observing the giant eyes creeping closer and closer to the forest edge.
"Can you hear me, puny human?" she heard a deep, sonorous voice. Well it wasn't really a voice, but rather something she could recognize more directly and instinctually in her mind.
"You can hear me, can you not? Respond to me!" Again, she heard that mesmerizing voice that was rocking her whole body. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She gulped, feeling how a strong urge to flee kicked in. However, her body seemed to be scared stiff.
"I assume, you came to make an offering, didn't you?" the voice asked completely without any context. However, Rin was way too scared to actually process the meaning of the words directed at her.
W-w-ait. There must be some sort of logical explanation for this. Y-yeah. I bet this is some sort of prank from my coworkers. T-that must be it! Maybe I shouldn't have been so full of myself as to even taunt them for believing the rumor…
This explanation was reasonable enough for her to regain control over her shivering legs.
She tried to hide her fear behind a smug grin as she put one hand on her hip. The other hand was pointing at the two orbs with an outstretched index finger. The bag full of snacks was still dangling between her fingers.
"Pah, you guys are really getting on my nerves now! Think you can scare me, huh? Well, too bad. I'm not scared at all by your little prank! Now stop that stupid act and come out!" she yelled in a bit too overly confident voice.
That was when the orbs flinched for a short moment.
"Wha-what?" the ground shaking voice responded somewhat dumbfounded.
"Yes, you heard me. I don't know exactly who you are, but I'm totally not in for that shit! Now quit it! I bet it's you Miho, or Tamura or even both of you!" she shouted, desperately trying to hide her fear behind an angered voice.
I bet you guys are just salty because I turned down your matchmaking-suggestions. Sorry but those double date dreams of yours are just not going to happen!
"Mmm? It is rare, indeed, that a puny human dares to raise his voice against me." The voice growled, but sounded more curious than angry.
"Gah-ha-ha-ha-ha! very well then! I shall tell you my name! I am Veldora Tempest! Some also refer to me as the Storm Dragon! You should consider yourself lucky. Lucky and honored to be in my lofty presence!"
Rin gave the golden orbs in front of her a deadpanned look.
"Oh wow, seriously? A 'Storm Dragon'? How innovative. And what's with that stupid name? 'Vel-do-ra'? That sounds really lame." she mocked, gesturing quotation marks with her hands while reciting the self-proclaimed dragon's name. "Couldn't you think of a cooler name? One that doesn't sound like it belonged to an old fart?"
"G-gah?!" escaped Veldora's mouth. "Y-y-you think my name is lame?" the voice whined, giving the impression that Rin's insult really took a toll on his ego.
"Well sure enough I am old, that is, at least in human terms… but… but being called an old fart… that almost reminds me back to when Rimuru called me a 'baldy'... Ah, but now's not the time to be nostalgic... " he mumbled, almost inaudibly for Rin's human ears before he got his shit together and continued with his pompous speech. After clearing his throat he proceeded:
"Oh-ho! You dare to call me old, do you…? Rather a lot of nerve packed into such a feeble body, no? I had hoped to give my first conversational partner in this world a little kindness, but it seems you are in rather a hurry to die!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I don't have time for your bullshit. You already wasted my time enough with your stupid matchmaking session at that party. Come on out or do I have to come to you first before you quit your stupid act?" she riposted, totally oblivious to the words of the self proclaimed dragon.
Before Veldora had the chance to even answer, he found himself blinded by a bright light. Rin had turned on her smartphone's flashlight and was already making her way through the small bushes that were separating her from the voice. She searched the environment in safe expectation that she would find her coworkers hiding between the trees.
But instead, she found something strange. In the small area that was illuminated by the light cone she saw a peculiar thing , covered in scales that radiated a dark purplish light. Those scales were tinted in a dark shade of black and seemed tougher than steel itself but supple and flexible.
"W-what's this?! A-a snake? N-no… a crocodile?!"
She searched the ground with her smartphone in hopes that she would find the reptile's head. However instead of finding her answer on the ground, she was forced to let the light cone move further and further upwards. While the beam of light ran over a seemingly never ending body covered in those ominous scales, she finally found what she was searching for: a big reptilian head harboring the two reddish-golden eyes. The head of that thing was towering far higher than she had anticipated, looking positively demonic with two horns protruding from each side of its head.
Rin's jaw dropped open. Again she felt like fear had assumed control over her body, making her unable to move.
The body from the big, evil-looking dragon shone like obsidian. There were six fingers on each "hand", equipped with claws that looked ready to tear through whatever they found.
Rin gulped at this sight.
The two pairs of wings on his back - one larger than the other - came to a point at their respective end, like swords honed to perfection and ready to dice.
Fear crept up her mind, however, there was something strangely beautiful about this vast shape, emanating the aura of majestic dignity.
The second she almost thought she was about to wet herself, she noticed the dragon's pouting posture. It was hunkering down in between the trees, pressing his 'index claws' onto another, fidgeting bashfully. On top of that, it almost looked like there was a slight flush on its reptilian face.
"Y-y-you really think my name is lame?" the dragon asked, sneaking furtive glances at the black-haired girl. Somehow, his character seemed to have undergone a complete u-turn.
"N-no way… t-this really is a d-dragon?" escaped her mouth without as much as answering its question. In these seconds of realization, her trembling legs were failing from holding her up. She fell onto the ground and painfully landed on her butt.
"A-am I … dreaming?" she wondered in astonishment.
When Rin still refused to answer the Dragon whether his name was 'lame', he eventually stopped fidgeting and crossed his arms before his giant chest.
"Mmm, very well. I am willing to acknowledge that my first name may be somewhat antiquated. But…" he said bumptiously only to assume that bashful pose again the second after. "B-but what about my last name 'Tempest'? It is absolutely cool, isn't it?"
Rin's head was spinning. She did not quite know how to process this thing in front of her. Only seconds ago she firmly believed that she was being pranked by her coworkers and now she found herself in conversation with that huge, menacing looking dragon.
D-did that dragon read Shakespeare or what?! was all that came to her mind when hearing the name 'Tempest'
"I-I…" she stammered.
H-honestly, I dunno what to say… I-I better not anger this thing any further.. yeah just give it the praise it's carving for...
"Y-yeah, totally… y-you're right. Y-your last name really... is … sophisticated…" she stutters with 'sophisticated' being the only word that comes to her mind.
"Gwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! It truly is, isn't it?" The dragon yells, letting out a hearty guffaw. This time it seemed like he abstained from using this strange telepathic voice, as his laughter was loud enough to startle all the birds within the perimeter of three kilometers.
"You astonish me, human. Every other human being would've fled upon seeing me… I had assumed you reacted as such, but it seems you're rather brave, eh? Furthermore, you seem to acknowledge the magnificence of Rimuru's sense in naming. It is rare, indeed, to find a human with such a distinct taste! I like to believe you are a human worth my appreciation. I'm in a good mood right now, I even consider forgiving you for calling me an 'old fart'! Oh how truly gracious of me! Heh-heh-heh… Eh-ha-ha. Ahh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The laugh came in three distinct levels, a masterpiece.
But the only reaction Rin was able to elicit was a look of confused disbelief.
W-what's a R-rimuru? A-and what is he even prattling about?! she vigorously rubbed her head, trying to get a clear thought.
I-I need to go home. Honestly, maybe some of my coworkers drugged me and now I'm hallucinating... Y-yeah that must be it… sounds perfectly reasonable to me… well at least more reasonable than conversing with a dragon...
Meanwhile, Veldora had stopped his hearty laugh and leaned his big reptilian head slightly over the confused girl.
"So, now back to topic." he continued in a demanding but somewhat bashful tone.
"T-t-topic?" Rin echoed cluelessly.
"This smell … this is some sort of snack, isn't it? Can I have one?" he asks bluntly.
Rin looks at the paperbag currently residing on the ground right next to her.
"T-those snacks?" she parroted. Totally in spite of herself, she grabbed it and offered it to the dragon.
Veldora's eyes were alight with glee when his reptilian head wandered closer to the small, human hand. Unconsciously, her body began to tremble as she somehow feared that the dragon could have been referring to her instead of the actual snacks.
But soon enough, the dragon carefully grabbed the bag with his jaw and her fear was proved to be baseless. With a quick jerk he threw the snacks into the air and caught them with his mouth. He gulped them down at once, even with the wrapping still around.
Rin stared at the dragon in disbelief. T-this is getting out of hand… first there is a dragon.. a speaking dragon on top of that … and now that dragon ate my korokkes?!
"Aahhhh, delicious! Truly delicious!" Veldora exclaimed. He then swiftly turned his head around to the girl. "You don't happen to have any more of those, do you?"
"W-well no. They were my last. B-but at home-" she stuttered. Oh, that's it! I just tell him that I'm getting some more food and just never come back to this park. Wait no. I should never come back to Tokyo. Maybe I should even leave the continent?
"I-if you want I can go home and grab some more food, and bring it-" this is as far as she got as the sight of his puppy eyes made her fall silent.
"Oh… so you want to leave already…?" Rin flinched as it almost felt like the dragon had seen right through her true intentions.
"You see… I've been here for only two weeks but everyone I tried to talk to got scared and ran off, so you're the first one I'm conversing with and… being alone brings back some unpleasant memories I would rather forget. To be honest, I'm this close to reducing this entire town to rubble, that's how frustrated I am." he said sheepishly with a hint of murderous intent in his voice.
"W-wa- P-please don't!" Rin screamed without thinking, holding her hands in front of her, trying to appease him.
"Umm… well… you see I was on my way home and I didn't plan to stay out for that long. Also, I have to go to work tomorrow so… I guess … h-how about we continue our conversation tomorrow, Tempest-s-sama…?"
That is when the dragon intensified his puppy eyes, rivaling even the cutest puppy in the world.
Wh-what's with that dragon?! her inner voice screamed as she tried to resist his pleading expression. But in the end, she just couldn't help but to sigh and cave in.
"Sigh... alright. Maybe I can stay here for another hour, or so..."
It's not like I have anything else to do but sleep… but... I really would prefer not to end up as one of this guy's snacks… if possible...
Veldora's eyes lit up.
"Bwahahaha! I know you were a human worth my respect!" He prattled on and crossed his arms before his chest, sitting down cross-legged.
Rin assumed the same pose, being still somewhat wary of the giant monster in front of her.
"Uhm… so… Tempest-sama… would you mind telling me, what you're doing here?" Rin tried to start the conversation with the most obvious question. She was not quite the best small talker but she roughly got the gist of it. That meant, she was not quite popular but at least she was able to escape a social death at her workplace, which must mean she had some sort of social skills.
"Yeah… well… you see…" he stammered. "To be honest, I don't really know either." He admitted meekly, scratching the back of his head.
Rin blinked.
"W-wait… what do you mean by 'You don't really know either'?!"
"Y-you see… I was searching for Rimuru and asked his secretary Shion about his whereabouts. Of course I could've just used my Soul Corridor and ask him directly, but from time to time I like to experience the simple life of those who are not lucky enough to call themselves his sworn friend. That's why I took the more cumbersome route… Anyways, when Shion told me he had some business at the Hipokte Grass farm I went there. But all I found was the farm vacant and the door to Vesta's laboratory wide open. And when I decided to check if Rimuru was there I accidentally stepped on some sort of magical device that was laying around and… and the next thing I knew was that I woke up here…" he explained in far too much detail for Rin's poor, human brain.
"I-I... see …" she replied, a small pain making itself felt in her head.
"Oh-ho, so you do understand my predicament?"
"No. Not at all." she said without skipping a beat. "You lost me right away. What's this Rimuru you're constantly prattling about? And… way more important: W-where did you even come from?!"
"Ah, I am glad you asked! Rimuru is my sworn best-"
"N-no, no, no. Please, stop it! Enough with that Rimuru guy. Please, my head is already spinning. I regret that I even asked… Could you maybe just... tell me where you come from?"
"Ah, I see. You want to save the best part for the last, huh? Gwa-ha-ha-ha! Very well, then I shall tell you about my home country first. I, the mighty beast feared worldwide as Veldora the Storm Dragon, am the Guardian Deity of the Forest of Jura and currently residing at the side of my sworn friend Rimuru in the Jura Tempest Federation!"
The black haired girl peered at him in total confusion.
"J-jura? Where's that supposed to be?"
Veldora winced, he obviously did not expect the girl to NOT know what he was talking about.
"Um… well.. it's right next to the Human Kingdom of Blumund…, umm between the Beast Kingdom Eurazania and the Armed Nation of Dwargon… um, it's in the east from-"
Rins headache finally evolved from a small pain into a full-fledged migraine. She began massaging her temples.
"Ugh… I guess there is no use in this… let's try it the other way round: You ever heard of Tokyo or Japan?"
"Oh-ho? Of course! This is where Rimuru came from, before he got reincarnated as a slime!" The dragon said, assuming a thinking posture. "Hmpf. So I guess my presumptions really were true and I was summoned to another world, huh?" he mumbled more to himself than to the girl in front of him.
" S-slime? Your best friend is a slime? L-like those low-level monsters in video games…?" she asked somewhat lost only to find back to her senses rather quickly. "W-wait, b-but more important... what did you say…? YOU KNOW JAPAN?!"
That is when the dragon and the girl began to converse in detail. Veldora tried to tell her about all the things that were intrinsic to his world, whereas Rin tried to keep up with all this rather incredible information.

"Ah...ahah… aha… is that so?" Rin laughed somewhat stiffly when the dragon told her that this Rimuru guy reacted similarly when Veldora first told him the same things about 'Otherwordlers', 'Summons', 'Skills' and so on. Right when Veldora wanted to tell her everything he witnessed while residing in Rimuru's stomach, Rin's head felt like it was about to explode. After conversing for more than two hours, Rin couldn't process more information than she already had. She glanced at her watch.
"W-well, Tempest-sama. I'm afraid to tell you that I need to go home now… it was nice having a chat with you. Maybe we will see each other tomorrow … o-or the day after tomorrow…? Or never again? she finished her sentence in thought.
"W-w-wait! B-but I still haven't told you in detail what happened at Rimuru's and my first meeting! And about that time when he evolved into a demon lord and finally freed me from 'Unlimited Imprisonment' and-" it was quite obvious that the dragon was desperate to keep the company he just acquired. Meanwhile, Rin tried to massage her temples yet harder. But not even that helped to calm down her confused mind.
"Sigh... as I said, I need to go to work tomorrow so I don't have much more time for now…"
Again, the dragon stared at her puppy eyed. Rin flinched over his expression. Damn… he mastered those puppy eyes even better than an actual puppy… maybe this is one of these 'Skills' he talked about? she pondered, eyeing the dragon with a weary expression.
Guess he won't let me go until I make him believe that I'm coming back for sure...
"I-if I promise that I will visit you tomorrow, will you be satisfied then?" she finally suggested.
Upon hearing that, he lowered his gaze and started fidgeting with his claws again.
"W-well if you insist on visiting me tomorrow, I guess I can't decline your wish…" he said while blushing.
"Wa-?! A-are you some kind of tsundere?!" she yelled at the dragon who had just twisted her words.
"Well, whatever. I'm too tired to deal with this attitude of yours right now. Then it's settled: I'm going home now and visit you tomorrow again, ok?" She stood up and began to dust her pants off. When she was about to turn back to the gravel path she came from, she felt a small tap on her back. Rin winced in shock as it came to her mind again, that she just conversed with a dragon. A DRAGON, who had CLAWS. FUCKING SHARP CLAWS THAT COULD TEAR HER APART WITHIN SECONDS. She warily turned around.
"U-um.. B-before you go… W-what about the snacks you told me earlier?" he mumbled while looking to the ground sheepishly.
"S-so you haven't forgotten, huh…" As if to emphasize the dragon's request for food, his stomach began to rumble and shook the entire ground. After a short moment of shock, her tension began to dissipate. She couldn't help but chuckle at this way too human bearing even though the grumbling nearly felt like a small earthquake.
Oh my... that poor boy must be quite hungry, huh? Well, I would be the same if I supposedly hadn't eaten for two weeks...
She sighs. "Ok… given the fact that you seem quite hungry, this is the last favor for today, okay? Just wait here, I'll be back in 30 minutes." She said, readying herself to leave when Veldora grasps her with his giant claw.
"W-what's wrong with you?! The more you stop me from leaving, the longer it will take me to get you something to eat!" she yelled, trying to hide her terror while flailing around helplessly in that oversized, reptilian hand.
"I changed my mind, let me come with you." he suggested without batting an eye.
Rin shot him an exasperated glance.
"W-what are you talking about? I-It's only 30 minutes! I will be right back. A-and besides, you can't come with me! Everyone in the streets will die from a heart attack when seeing a dragon casually strolling around! A-and furthermore, you wouldn't even fit in my apartment! Y-yeah this alone makes it totally impossible for you to come with me!" she concluded.
"Oh-ho? So you say, if I would be smaller, there would be no problem in coming with you?" he asked.
Rin nods somewhat warily, not really sure whether she had just brought forth a killer argument or if the dragon had some sort of trick up his sleeve.
"Y-yeah. But given your huge body it is truly and absolutely impossible for you to come with-" that is when suddenly clouds of black mist began surrounding the girl and the dragon.
"H-huh?! W-what's going on?" she squeaked, flabbergasted.
Much to her dismay, she felt how the claw that was holding her at an altitude of approximately 20 meters began to slowly dissipate. And soon after, she found herself in free fall.
BAM. Was what she expected to hear the moment she was going to hit the forest floor. But much to her surprise, the noise did not come. She cluelessly peered around, still being surrounded by that dark mist. As soon as the mist fully cleared up, she looked straight into the golden eyes from a handsome but somewhat intimidating looking young man.
Rin blinked, puzzled. The stranger with the blond, disheveled hair grinned at her triumphantly. There wouldn't be anything especially strange about him apart from his blond hair which is quite an unusual sight for Japan. Well, and if not for the zig zag marks under his eyes. Or the fact that his grin was revealing two rather sharp canines.
"W-who a-are you?!" Rin squeaked cluelessly. Only then, she realized that the stranger must have catched her after she fell from the dragon's grasp. Rin blushed and began flailing around.
"Wowowowow-whoa-! L-let go off me!" she screamed totally in spite of herself.
Without losing his bright smile, he did as he was told and said: "So, now there shouldn't be any problem in accompanying you, I trust?" the man stated in an overly confident voice.
After she felt the ground under her feet again, her next priority was to check where the dragon had gone. But it seemed as if not a single trace was left behind from the huge being. Slowly she turned around to face the blond again and eyed him critically.
He was a handsome young man, tall, well-built, supple and quite muscular. His skin was a dark shade of brown, his hair blond and his looks rugged and masculine. He wore some sort of dark-brownish pants held by a strange looking belt as well as white boots with a dark brown tip. On his hands were matching gloves. And… that's about all he wore. His toned upper body was totally naked despite a dark brownish cap.
When her eyes wandered back to his golden eyes, she couldn't help but feel reminded of that menacing and terror seeking glint the dragon had.
"W-wait… what did you just say?" she stammered.
"I said now that I'm in my human form there shouldn't be any problem in accompanying you, right? Bwahahahaha, you may call me a genius!" he boasted only to let out a hearty guffaw the second after.
That is when Rin became absolutely certain that this man must be the dragon she spoke to for the last two hours.
"O-oi… are you really telling me, that… you're… Tempest-sama?!" she stuttered while her headache came back with an unprecedented force.
What the fuck is even happening here. Hell, I hope this is all just a bad dream and when I wake up tomorrow I can laugh about this clusterfuck my mind made up… haha… ha… ha...
"Oh-ho? As to be expected from my fellow subordinate, you're rather quick on the uptake, huh?" He complimented on her deduction skills, putting his hands on his hips. "And now, lead me to the food you were talking about!" he said, pointing into the direction Rin was about to leave earlier.
"S-SINCE WHEN DID I BECOME YOUR SUBORDINATE?!" Rin yelled, not even paying attention to the fact that this man seemed to be the frightening dragon from only seconds ago. Meanwhile, Veldora didn't even bother to respond to her question and left the small forest at a smart pace.
Rin's cheek began to twitch erratically over the blond's antics and soon enough she found herself chasing after him only to grab the hem of his cape.
"Wa-wa-wa-wait! A-are you telling me that you could've shape shifted all the time?"
"Mmm? Of course. That's an easy one for me, Veldora Tempest, one of the four true dragons-"
"Yes-yes-yes, enough of that true dragon shit. The question here is: Why didn't you transform into a human earlier, instead of scaring the shit out of every pedestrian who passed by?!"
Veldora flinched and took a step back.
"Ugh… well… that is…" he stammered, averting his eyes.
Rin raised an eyebrow.
"That is?"
"That is because… because… because I needed to find a human who wouldn't wet itself when it saw me in my magnificent dragon body! Y-yes that's it! Call yourself lucky as I deem you worthy enough for becoming my subordinate!" he yelled, putting his hands on his hip but avoiding to meet the girl's gaze.
Rin only facepalmed and shook her head.
"Good grief… and you're sure it wasn't because you just forgot that you could do something like that and-mbbggrhh" that was when Veldora shut her mouth with his gloved hands.
"Enough of your nonsense, servant!" he bellowed back. "You promised me snacks. Now don't make me wait any longer!" he prattled, still shutting her mouth as he dragged the black-haired girl along.
W-wow. And I thought I had some tsundere vibes from time to time, but this guy really beats the hell out of that tsundere-thing… she mused to herself while surrendering to her fate. Soon after Veldora released her from his grip she trailed behind the humanoid dragon. He was running towards the park's exit like an excited child.
"O-oi! Wait for me at the exit! You don't even know where to go!" she chided him like a worried mother, while becoming more and more convinced that this was - no (for the sake of her sanity) it HAD to be - just a strange dream.

Author's Note

Hey guys!

So, while I was sick I had a bit of free time and decided to hone my writing skills. After binge-watching Tensura I felt like a Reverse Isekai with Veldora would be really something I would like to read. I couldn't find any fics in this style (if there are any out there in the world wide webz, pls let me know, I would love to read them :D) so I decided to write one myself.

Originally, this was supposed to be a one shot, but after writing down the first notes I suddenly found myself in front of a draft that easily exceeded the 40 page mark… so I decided to go with the flow and just make it an actual project, alongside my still ongoing Danmachi fic (I'm still working on that one but I felt like I needed to take a break from bringing together two hyper-tsundere-characters and Veldora had just the right balance between tsundereness and cuteness to take my mind off… and also my beta-reader for the Danmachi-fic is still busy with her life, so I'm kinda stuck there right now).

This fic will be updated sporadically.

P.S. I'm terrible at naming the chapters. If I'm blessed by the muse anytime soon, I'm probably going to give the chapternames a makeover.