Yuuta drove.
Silently. Carefully. Both hands on the wheel like his life depended on it—which, considering the ice queen in his passenger seat, it probably did.
The zoo was nineteen kilometers away from Luna City.
Nineteen kilometers of highway. Nineteen kilometers of buildings. Nineteen kilometers of Elena squeaking at absolutely everything.
"PAPA! LOOK! BIG BUILDING!"
"That's an office complex, sweetie."
"PAPA! LOOK! TALL BUILDING!"
"Same one, Elena."
"PAPA! LOOK! DIFFERENT TALL BUILDING!"
"That's... actually the same building from a different angle."
Elena gasped like he'd revealed magic. "THE BUILDING MOVED?!"
"No, we moved."
"THE BUILDING STAYED?!"
"...Yes."
"AMAZING!"
Yuuta glanced in the rearview mirror.
Erza was not having a good time.
She sat rigidly in the passenger seat, her violet dress pooling around her, her silver hair somehow still perfect despite the car's questionable air conditioning. Her face was pale. Her jaw was tight. Her eyes darted around like a trapped animal.
"How," she said through clenched teeth, "do humans build such infrastructure without any trees?"
Yuuta blinked. **"What?"
"There are no trees!" She gestured at the passing cityscape. "No forests! No greenery! Just... boxes everywhere! It makes it so hard to breathe in this tiny planet!"
Yuuta sighed.
Can't argue with a queen, he reminded himself. Especially not about urban planning.
"It's called a city," he said carefully. "Lots of humans live close together. Trees are in parks and stuff."
"Parks?"
"Places with trees. Inside the city."
Erza's expression suggested she found this concept deeply suspicious.
"Primitive," she muttered.
"You're wearing our primitive clothes," Yuuta pointed out.
"Tch."
Elena, oblivious to the tension, suddenly screeched.
"MAMA! PAPA! LOOK!"
She pressed her face against the window, squishing her cheeks into adorable pancakes. One tiny claw pointed desperately at the sky.
"DRAGON! MAMA, THAT'S A DRAGON LIKE YOU!"
Erza looked up.
Her eyes narrowed.
"What," she said slowly, "is that creature?"
Yuuta followed her gaze.
A plane.
Just a plane. Soaring through the clouds, leaving a white trail behind it.
"It has wings," Erza observed, "but it doesn't flap them. And it's using fire to fly." She sounded almost impressed. "A wingless dragon that breathes fire backward. Fascinating."
Yuuta choked.
"That's—that's not a dragon. That's a plane. "
Erza turned to him.
Slowly.
"Plane?"
"Yeah. Human technology. It runs on fuel—a rare liquid that gives energy to fly." He patted his dashboard. "Just like how this car runs."
Elena's eyes sparkled.
"PAPA! Humans are so GREAT!"
Yuuta puffed up slightly.
"I know, right?"
"They build flying metal beasts!"
"We call them planes."
"FLYING METAL BEASTS CALLED PLANES!"
Yuuta grinned.
Then—
"Great?"
Erza's voice cut through like ice.
She laughed.
Not a warm laugh. Not a kind laugh. A sharp, incredulous, dismissive laugh.
"Delusion," she said. "Pure delusion."
Yuuta's grin faded. "Excuse me?"
"If a dragon wanted to learn—" She stopped. Corrected herself. "No. If I wanted to learn, I could master your so-called 'technology' within an hour. And then I could rule this entire planet by sunset."
Yuuta stared at her.
"You could learn centuries of human innovation in one hour? "
"Correct."
"How?!"
Erza tossed her hair.
"Dragons have a knowledge-stealing ability. We can understand any knowledge instantly and apply it in reality. It's called..." She searched for the human word. "Comprehension absorption. Yes."
Yuuta's mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue. "Unfair world. You dragons live forever, have insane powers, and now you're telling me you can just... absorb knowledge? Like a sponge?"
"Essentially."
"And I bet you never forget anything either."
Erza went still.
"What?"
"Long memory." Yuuta shook his head bitterly. "You probably remember everything perfectly. Never forget a single moment. That's even more blessed than the knowledge thing. Humans spend their whole lives trying not to forget the important stuff, and you just... do. "
Silence.
Erza's expression shifted.
Her voice dropped.
"It's not a blessing," she said quietly. "It's a curse."
Yuuta frowned. "What?"
"Nothing."
"No, you said—"
"I said nothing."
"You said it's a curse. What did you mean by that?"
Erza's eyes snapped to him.
Cold. Hard. Dangerous.
"You focus on the damn path, mortal."
Yuuta opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Looked at the road.
He drove.
But in the corner of his eye, he watched her. The way her hands had tightened in her lap. The way her jaw had clenched. The way she stared out the window—not at the buildings, not at the city—
At nothing.
Curse, she'd said.
What could be cursed about never forgetting?
He didn't ask.
Something told him he didn't want to know.
---
Elena, oblivious to the tension, bounced in her seat.
"Papa! Are we almost there?!"
"Soon, little one."
"Will the one-headed kitties be there?!"
"Lions? Yeah, they should be."
"Will they be sad about having only one head?!"
Yuuta glanced at Erza.
She was still staring out the window.
Still silent.
Still... something.
"I don't think they know any different, Elena."
"Oh." She considered this. "That's good. They can't miss what they never had."
Yuuta smiled.
But the words echoed in his head.
They can't miss what they never had.
He wondered if Erza felt the same.
Or if she missed everything.
After a long, exhausting journey—nineteen kilometers of Path, demonic car noises, and Elena asking "Are we there yet?" approximately every forty-five seconds—the Yuuta family finally reached their destination.
Manlee Zoo.
The famous City Zoo. The kind of place where celebrities showed up unannounced and influencers took photos for their feeds. Giant banners hung at the entrance, advertising exotic animals, conservation efforts, and overpriced snacks.
Also, unfortunately—
Crowds.
Lots and lots of crowds.
Yuuta circled the parking lot three times before finding a spot. Tourists swarmed everywhere. Families with screaming children. Couples taking selfies. Groups of students on field trips.
The noise was immense.
"Finally," Yuuta muttered, killing the engine. Sweetheart shuddered gratefully. "We're here."
He looked at his passengers.
Elena was pressing her tiny hands against her ears. Her face was scrunched up. Her wings were pulled tight against her back.
"So loud," she whimpered. "Papa, so loud."
Beside her, Erza looked ready to commit murder.
Her jaw was clenched. Her eyes were narrow. Frost was literally forming on the window next to her.
"Why," she said through gritted teeth, "won't these humans shut their mouths? It's insufferable. "
Yuuta blinked.
Then it hit him.
Oh no.
Dragons. Enhanced senses. Super hearing.
Of course the crowd noise was torture for them.
"I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't realize—your hearing—I can find another zoo! A quieter one! There's a smaller place outside the city, it's farther but—"
"No need."
Erza raised her hand.
Between her thumb and finger, she made a sharp gesture—
Click.
The sound was tiny. Barely audible.
But the effect was immediate.
The noise around them... faded.
Not completely. Yuuta could still hear birds. The wind. The distant rustle of leaves. But the crowd noise—the shouting, the chatter, the endless human sounds—vanished like it had never existed.
It was like wearing noise-canceling headphones.
But better.
Magical.
Yuuta's jaw dropped.
"That's... that's awesome. " He looked around wildly. "How did you do that?! Is there some law of magic I don't know about? I didn't hear any chant! In anime, they always say something dramatic before using spells!"
Erza stared at him.
"Anime?"
"Never mind. But seriously—HOW?!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Don't waste my time, mortal. Just show us the beasts."
Yuuta puffed his cheeks out.
"Yeah, yeah. I know, my queen. You don't have to be so cold all the time."
Erza opened her mouth to deliver a scathing response—
And stopped.
Something flickered in her eyes.
"...I will tell you after the zoo."
The words came out before she could stop them.
What.
What did I just say.
WHY did I just say that.
She clamped her hand over her mouth.
Stupid! Stupid! What was that?! Why would I promise him anything?! Why would I—
Her thoughts spiraled.
Her face stayed cold.
But inside, the Dragon Queen was panicking.
Yuuta blinked at her.
"Wait, really? You'll explain?"
Erza didn't answer.
Couldn't answer.
She yanked the car door open and fled.
Strode toward the zoo entrance like she was marching into battle. Back straight. Chin high. Absolutely not running away from a conversation.
Yuuta watched her go.
"...What was that about?"
Elena tugged his sleeve.
"Papa, Mama is weird."
"Yeah," Yuuta agreed. "Mama is definitely weird."
He got out of the car.
Stretched.
Looked at the zoo entrance—at the crowds, the noise (still silenced), the adventure waiting inside.
"Sometimes she's almost normal," he muttered to himself. "Sometimes she's ruthless. I officially don't understand girls at all."
He paused.
"Even if they're dragons."
Elena grabbed his hand.
"Papa! Come on! BEASTS!"
Yuuta smiled.
"Coming, little princess."
---
They walked toward the entrance.
Toward the animals.
Toward whatever chaos awaited.
Behind them, in the parking lot—
A luxury van pulled into a spot nearby.
Black. Tinted windows. Expensive.
The door opened.
Aaron Muru stepped out.
Perfect hair. Perfect jawline. Perfect smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Behind him, his assistant followed—black suit, golden pupils, smile too wide.
"The zoo," Aaron said lazily. "How quaint."
"A wonderful place for... entertainment, " his assistant murmured.
They walked toward the entrance.
Toward the same entrance where a silver-haired queen had just disappeared with her family.
Toward collision.
---
To be continued...
---
Chapter Fifteen: Beasts and Monsters
(Coming soon)