This Time, I Am A Mob's Potions Teacher Who Has Become Engaged To The Mastermind Of The Otome Game - 6

What if something happened to Noel? The thought sent a wave of anxiety rushing through me.

“Jill, Noel… he’s safe, right?”

“Of course he is! My master is the strongest in the whole world!”

Seeing Jill puff up indignantly actually reassured me.
Jill’s not one to lie—if something had happened, it would’ve shown on his face.

“First, we have to treat this little one’s wounds.”

“Please don’t. We should contact the Magic Ministry immediately. It’s a dragon—violent and unpredictable. Who knows what it could do?”

Frederic tried to stop me, his overprotectiveness on full display.
But even so, I couldn’t just ignore a dragonling lying there so battered and broken.

It was still so small, enduring pain with everything it had.
It had to be scared, suffering, and completely alone.

At the very least, I wanted to ease one of those burdens.

“I can’t just leave it like this, not with wounds this deep. Besides, there’s a saying: Misfortune follows where a dragon dies. We really should try to treat it.”

“But it’s really wary of us,” Sarah murmured, tugging nervously at my sleeve.

She was worried too—but for me, not the dragon.
She didn’t want me to get close and possibly get hurt.

The dragon growling at us might indeed attack if we got too close, but I couldn’t bear to leave it alone—especially when it resembled Noel so much. So I decided to cautiously approach.

“Grrrrrr…”

“Don’t be scared. I just want to take a look at your wounds.”

Even as I spoke, the dragon’s growling didn’t stop.

Of course, it wasn’t going to let me touch it that easily. I’d known that much.

If only I weren’t just a plain mob character—if I had powers like a certain princess from that one anime, maybe I could tend to it without frightening it.

…Wait a minute. Maybe the reason the dragon’s so on edge is because I’m creeping up so hesitantly. My fear might be making it even more anxious.

Maybe what I needed was to close the distance in one go—to act boldly instead of timidly. Otherwise, the dragon would only feel more threatened.

That’s it—I’ve got a plan!

I’ll call it: Operation Bold Blitz: Maximum Hold ☆!

Victory to the bold, and to break the deadlock, you’ve got to move first—no hesitation!

“Take this!”

““Teacher?!””
“Megane?!”
“You reckless girl!”
“Lady Leticia!”

As everyone shouted behind me, I dove straight toward the dragon. The rough texture of its scales grazed my cheek.

“Kyuuu…”

“Ow, ow, ow…”

Though I slammed hard against the ground and hit myself pretty badly, I still had the dragon in my arms.

The little dragon thrashed around, trying to escape, but then suddenly stopped moving.

“Oh? It’s calming down!”

“It’s sniffing Megane…”

Frederick stared at me in disbelief. I looked down into my arms, and the dragon was pressing its nose against my arm, sniffing around intently.

“Maybe it’s because Professor Bellecour smells like medicinal herbs,” Alois suggested as he approached. “Magical beasts draw healing power from herbs, so their scent is said to soothe them.”

As he neared, the dragon growled again and glared at him.

“Fufuu! Guess the mighty Prince Alois is too stuck-up for its taste!” Sarah teased, pointing at him and laughing.

Alois glanced at her, clearly unamused. “Try not to confuse your delusions with reality. It’s clearly wary of you as well.”

“Seems like it’s only comfortable with Megane,” Frederick remarked.

That was true. It continued growling at the others, but it stayed quiet and still in my arms.

I guess I had no choice but to carry it to the prep room and tend to its wounds myself.

I tried to lift it gently, but it wouldn’t budge. With some effort and momentum, I finally managed to get it up.

“So heavy!”

“We can’t get close enough to help, so good luck,” Frederick said, throwing his cloak over the dragon to hide it from view.

He could probably lift it with ease, but even just approaching made the dragon growl—so switching out wasn’t an option.

Bracing myself for tomorrow’s inevitable muscle pain, I carried the heavy creature back to the academy.

◇

The dragon must have been really exhausted, because it stayed quiet the whole time I was carrying it.

When we returned to the prep room and I started making medicine for its wounds, it curiously peeked over at what I was doing. Sarah, watching it, smiled to herself and said, “It looks just like a cat—so cute.”

“This might sting a little, but try to be brave, okay?”

“Kyuu—”

Maybe it understood me, because although it made a pained face when I applied the medicine, it simply shut its eyes tight and stayed still.

“It’s completely attached to you now, Professor Bellecour,” Alois commented, leaning in to examine it more closely.

As I wrapped the bandages, the dragon began rubbing its cheek against me. It was adorable, but made it hard to wrap the bandage neatly.

While I struggled with that, Sarah clapped her hands and beamed.

“With how attached it is, I bet if you called its name, it’d come running!”

“Its name, huh…”

The truth is, I’d already decided on one.

Its sleek, black scales reminded me of Noel’s silky black hair, and the way it stared at me with those amethyst-like eyes was somehow just like him.

As I held the dragon in my arms, one name naturally came to mind.

“From today, your name is Natalis.”

“Don’t name it. Creatures like this are not like fairies—they must not become too deeply involved with humans,”

Jill immediately scolded me without missing a beat.

What he said was the same thing Professor Ledoux from the biology department had told me.

I know he’s right, but… when the dragon is this close, I can’t help wanting to call it by a name instead of just “dragon.”

Natalis seems to understand human speech, too—tilting its head and listening intently—which only makes it harder to resist.

“Natalis, that’s your name. How do you like it?”

“Kwaaaa!”

Natalis let out a cry, then placed its chin on my lap.

I could feel its weight pressing down and a faint warmth radiating from its body.

Dragons are supposed to be strong and ferocious, but when one is this affectionate, it just looks so… cute.

It’s almost like a big, friendly dog.

When I stroked its head, it closed its eyes contentedly and leaned into my hand.

Its scales were hard and rough, but maybe it could still feel my touch. Creatures in this world really are mysterious.

“Hey, brat! Get rid of that thing already!”

“No way. I’m not going to leave it alone while it’s still injured.”

“Stop making excuses and throw it out already! —Fugya!”

As Jill continued to grumble, Natalis flicked him away with its tail.

“Lady Leticia, please, we must send the dragon back outside soon. If your fiancé finds out you’re keeping a dragon close, he’ll be terribly worried.”

“But…”

Mika had a point, but there was no way I could chase out a wounded baby dragon while it was still in such bad shape.