| Author: We Ain’t Fish | Original Source: SFACG | Word Count: 2004 characters |
| Translator: Silva | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1291 words |
It felt like time had stopped, the surroundings turned eerily quiet as all the dragons looked at me with eyes filled with pity.
Sensing the reaction around me, I looked all over the place in a state of panic. Filled with uncertainties, I asked with a slightly shaky voice, “D- don’t tell me… being unable to recognize the dragon language is an even bigger flaw than being unable to transform? Am I… no longer qualified to be the princess…?”
The atmosphere froze for a few seconds. Then, like a paused CD player that had just been suddenly resumed, the dragons roared like it was the end of the world.
“T- that’s… so pitiful… Not only is the princess unable to transform into a dragon, but she also cannot understand the dragon language at birth…”
“I know right!”
“Just what did our princess do to deserve this kind of treatment? Just look at her, she’s such a cute little thing…”
“Could it be that the Heavens are jealous of the princess’ cuteness and put her through this tribulation on purpose? Gods above Heaven! Why must the princess experience all these misfortunes?!”
Is being unable to understand dragon language really that bad compared to dragon transformation? There… should be a solution to this right? If there isn’t, then doesn’t that mean the great ancestor’s blood essence is wasted on me? Will my revenge plan come to a premature end before I can even start its execution?
When I thought of it like that, even I felt pity for myself.
“It’s so pitiful that the princess has to relearn the dragon language from scratch. Just imagine the difficulty in learning the language.”
Eh? Something feels a little off?
“That’s right… I needed two hundred years to learn how to roast meat. Doesn’t that mean the princess will need at least twenty thousand years to relearn dragon language? Oof… the princess’s youth would be wasted on this alone.”
Twenty thousand years, the dragons sure have a long adolescence period… Pooh! Now’s not the time to make a retort. After understanding what the dragons were saying, I came to realize that…
You guys felt that I am pitiful, not because my inability to understand dragon language is a fatal flaw, but that I have to relearn it from scratch?!
What’s with that pity then? It feels like, students using cheat sheets to pass the exam are pitying the one who couldn’t cheat and failed? Did you guys know your great ancestor was a top student who obtained a doctoral degree in just a few years? Did you guys not inherit a shred of those genes? Has the whole race gone through some kind of mutation?
At this time, my mother suddenly placed her hands on my shoulders and assured me with a soothing tone, “Don’t worry, I will definitely invite the greatest teacher for you. I guarantee to shorten your study period to less than ten thousand years. Then you won’t have to suffer for long.”
Why are you also like this, mother? Could it be that you have personally experienced the difficulties of studying and suffered greatly in this field?
Oi oi, stop looking so serious y’all! Don’t put on a face as though you are about to face your greatest enemy. Your obvious reaction would only announce to the whole world the uneducated nature of our entire race.
Besides, how can you guys be so sure that I am a stupid ⓑⓔⓔⓟ— like you all, who would need two hundred years to learn how to roast meat? Don’t joke with me! I am going to use my ability to prove that I am not as brainless as the lot of you. I will only use two to three years to learn all there is to know about dragon language and use my position as a top student to laugh at all of you.
“Who can teach my dear daughter?” Mother turned towards the other dragons and asked.
After a moment of silence, the dragons again started their noisy discussion.
“W- who indeed?”
“I don’t know, how are we supposed to teach?”
“I have no idea. Eh? Didn’t you study at a human nation before, why don’t you give it a try?”
“Idiot! Being a student and a teacher are two different things. Besides, I only became a student to woo the teacher, I never once took my lessons in earnest.”
“All of you be quiet!”
As the prime minister, Akarin, took a step forward; with his long years of authority, the noisy crowd quietened down in an instant. It was obvious as he had been in this seat for a really long time. If you ignored his loyal dog attitude, he looked quite reliable. After once glancing over all the dragons, he said:
“We must first find a teacher for the princess, is there anyone among you who has learned how to teach?”
“……” All the dragons turned silent.
“None? Then is there anyone with plenty of experience in children’s education?”
“……” They all remained as silent as before.
Akarin turned his head sideways and asked a black dragon, “Aoken, didn’t you always brag about how you managed to discipline your child? How about you…”
Upon closer inspection, I realized that Aoken was the same fella who directed the spotlight on me during the birth festival. Apparently, he was shocked at Akarin’s sudden mention of him. His big head shook quickly as he hastily tried to explain, “No way! I normally hit my child with a ten meters club when he’s disobedient, if I do that to the princess… I…”
“If you dare to hit my daughter, I will stick that ten meters club into your ⓑⓔⓔⓟ,” mother cut him off with a smile.
Aoken was so frightened, he promptly pulled back and said in a self-mocking tone, “Don’t worry my queen, I am not a teacher material, that club of mine will stay one kilometer away from the princess.”
“Is there no one among dragons who knows how to teach?” Akarin asked again with a frown. All he received as an answer was silence.
Mother gave off a chilly aura and asked impatiently, “You guys have lived for so long, and yet none of you have learned anything related to teaching? Did you spend your ten thousand years of lifespan living like a dog?”
“My queen, I learned how to cook tender meat with a crispy exterior.”
“What I learned is how to become a great poet.”
“My profession is a musician.”
“And I am…”
Numerous dragons began to reveal what they have learned over the past years, but none of them had any knowledge related to teaching.
At this time, the sculptor appeared out of nowhere to add fuel to the fire, “I remember Akarin used to teach some young dragons the human language before he becomes the prime minister. He should have some experience in that field.”
“You old fool!” Akarin pointed at the sculptor in a fit of rage, “You just wait.”
“Hm?” Mother narrowed her eyes as she stared at Akarin sharply. Her entire body was giving off a dangerous aura.
“Ah~ please let me explain, my queen. That was a really long time ago. I have already long forgotten how to teach.”
Mother’s glare became increasingly dangerous…
Akarin used his claws to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, but the more he tried to calm down, the more he sweated. Even from this distance, I could clearly see the washbowl-sized sweats on his scaly forehead.
“That’s right!” Akarin suddenly shouted, “I just remembered. I know where to find the best candidate for teaching!”
“Who is it?”
Akarin answered with a slight smile, “A professional teacher from human nation..”1
