215 The Usual Trope

“So, Weiss, was it? Tell me, what is it you desire?”

The Earth Dragon’s overflowing, jiggling curves and the sheer absurdity of a dragon transforming into a beautiful girl left the Noblesse students and the Mercenary Knight—who were supposed to be unshakable—in a state of total confusion.

“W-What is going on? Why a human form? And why a... a woman? Am I dreaming?”

“To think they could take the same shape as us. And to choose the form of a woman, no less...”

“This is certainly... a surprise.”

“Yeah... This is so unexpected I can hardly believe my eyes.”

Unfortunately, this was the most classic cliché imaginable. In fact, it was a high-speed fastball of a trope—a direct hit.

From my perspective, this development was perfectly natural, but my calmness seemed to weird them out even more. Even Lilith was trembling.

“Lord Weiss, h-how can you be so composed? Aren't you surprised? A Dragon just turned into a human woman!”

“...I’ve had training for this sort of thing.”

“T-That’s incredible!”

No, it’s really not. It’s not incredible at all. If anything, it’s so mind-numbingly straightforward that I’m actually ashamed I didn't see it coming until now.

But if I let myself get bogged down by meta-commentary, we’d never get anywhere. Despite their new looks, their power hadn't changed one bit. Depending on how I handled this, we’d just end up right back where we started, trying to kill each other. First, I needed to prove we weren't a threat.

“Lilith, bring out the Allen.”

“Wait, the Allen!? You mean that Allen?! We still have the souvenirs meant for the village, but... are you sure about this?!”

“Yeah. Bring it all out.”

Lilith looked at me with pure astonishment.

“A-Are you certain? All of it?!”

“I don’t mind. This is an emergency.”

“U-Understood!”

Desperate times call for desperate measures. To gain something of value, you have to be willing to pay an equivalent price.

The Four Dragons watched us, their gazes sharp and suspicious.

“What are you two whispering about? Are you plotting something?”

“Earth Dragon, I’m telling you, these guys are shady.”

“Fire Dragon, please, compose yourself. The negotiations haven’t even begun yet.”

“Wait... is that a sweet smell?”

◇

“I shee... if you’re going this far, then I supposh it can’t be helped... I’ll do as Weiss says...”

“Hey, Earth Dragon! That’s my share!”

“Fire Dragon, you’re eating way too much.”

“Delicious... so delicious...”

For the second time today, the Noblesse students and the Mercenary Knight stood there, utterly confounded.

The cause was the dragons. They were currently stuffing their faces with the assortment of Melo-Melon, cakes, and snacks I’d brought along as refreshments. They looked absolutely blissful. The Earth Dragon had even started using formal honorifics the second that food hit her tongue.

“I never knew dragons ate cake...”

“I’m just as shocked. Lord Weiss truly knows everything, doesn’t he?”

“As expected of him. To think he’d even mastered their specific tastes.”

“The Nobless Valedictorian is... truly something else.”

No, you’ve got it all wrong. This is also a trope. A terrifyingly powerful dragon transforms into a human girl and then gets all warm and fuzzy because of sweets and snacks—it’s, like, the most predictable thing in the world.