The time I spent with the man was not that long. Well, it's hard to say, since a dragon's sense of time and a human's life span are quite different, but I'm sure it was still a very short time.



　But that time became our greatest treasure and our worst memory.

　And then it came to an abrupt end.



　His people came to live with us.

　We were no longer wary of humans and we were ready to accept the newcomers.



　They served us strong drinks and it was going to be a fun night. All those monsters had smiles on their faces. Little did they know it would be their last night.



　I fell asleep early because I was still a young dragon and not a strong drinker. That sobered me up fast and I woke up to the sound of him screaming at me to run.



　You see. A trusted friend suddenly turns into an enemy and attacks you.

　I thought humans were easy to kill. But the time we spent with this man was so much fun that it clouded our judgment.



　We were so happy with him.



　The time we had a real fight with a dragon.

　The times we went fishing and didn't catch a single fish.

　The time we flew over the forest together watching the sunset.

　The times we went to get flowers to make my love come true.

　The time we shared a drink with another tribe.

　The time we knew our dreams.

　Time when we ate poisonous mushrooms together and suffered from stomachaches.

　The time we ran around madly.



　The time we cried together.

　Time when we laughed together.

　Times when we were surprised together.

　Times when we were angry together.

　We suffered together.



　The endless hours we spent together were a treasure.



　We were supposed to have formed a friendship that transcended race.



　That's why I couldn't believe that his people would attack us. I wanted to believe it was a mistake.



　But the guys he brought with him, after getting us drunk, kept grabbing us and killing us and skinning us. Apparently he didn't know about it, but it was enough to make him and us despair because we couldn't trust people.



　Looking back, I can't believe how strong they were.

　I was not ready for this, but my attacks didn't work at all.



　The people I was close with were being captured or killed one by one.

　I heard the humans talking.



"That's Knum! I didn't think it would be so easy to hunt a dragon that gets in the way.

　This was the first time I knew his name was Khnum.



"That's not what you promised. You said we'd come here on friendly terms."

"Yeah, that was the plan. But there's been a change of plans. The balance of power is what makes this world more interesting. It's not interesting that most of the world's forces are concentrated in a place like this. Who wants a peaceful story? It's precisely because of the chaos that heroes are born and people are moved by the story of the overthrow of the Demon King.



No one wants that. I'd rather feel a little happiness every day than chaos. Why do you do such a terrible thing when you've made such good friends with everyone?



　Kunum and the other humans were quarreling.

　With my head still sober, I knew that he was trying to help us.

　But I had to fight while my people were being hunted.

　I manage to rouse myself and raise my voice.



--Gnuah!　What the hell! ----

　Kunum saw that I had my claws out and was about to attack, and slowly shook his head. I would soon find out what he meant.



　While I was distracted by his action, a dragon, stronger than me, attacked Kunum, but was decapitated by the man beside him and turned into a corpse in an instant.



　I did not want to believe in such a scene if I could have.

　The man I thought was one of us was not one of us.



　It was the first time I felt the fear of death.

　When I came to my senses, I ran away, running high into the sky without knowing what to do.



　Other demons, some of them recklessly took up the challenge, others fled the continent when they realized they could not win.



　The world then turned chaotic. Many demons scattered all over the world to make a new home for themselves from the place where one of the world's greatest forces had gathered. There were still many lands unexplored by humans, but ecosystems were changing all over the world.



　Being curious by nature, I traveled around the world asking other demons how they were doing.



　I guess I was looking for my place somewhere.