Chapter 39: Dragon Dad 9

In addition to feeding all kinds of living creatures, Qian recently developed a new hobby—braiding hair.

At first, it was only experimented on her old father, Lacia. Gradually, it extended to every hairy creature around her.

In his human form, Lacia was stunningly beautiful, with his long silver hair flowing like a waterfall. It was often braided into a long plait, draped down his back or over his shoulder, adorned with gemstones.

But on this particular day, when he went to teach his class, the students noticed that their teacher Lacia’s hairstyle—unchanged for centuries—had undergone a dramatic transformation.

His long hair was divided into two sections and loosely braided into one large and one small braid, decorated haphazardly with ribbons. One glance made it clear this was a child’s handiwork, exuding a sense of innocence.

Despite his hair being “ruined” this way, Teacher Lacia not only seem angry but looked incredibly pleased. From time to time, he would adjust his hair, and his smile carried a hint of pride.

The students: “…”

Next, Qian turned her attention to her little pet, the rainbow unicorn. Its rainbow-colored mane had been braided into more than a dozen uneven plaits, all hanging to one side.

Even Principal Ude wasn’t spared. During a ceremony where the principal had to give a speech, the entire school—teachers and students—saw his long beard tied into several small braids.

Principal Ude’s beard was fluffy, and braiding it made him look a little comical. But he didn’t seem to mind, smiling warmly throughout the event, despite the strange looks from the students.

Then, there was the beloved Fizke, the students’ favorite teacher. He, too, appeared with two small pigtails tied with colorful ribbons.

Even Elf Teacher Le Xuer, who always wrapped herself tightly in a cloak during class, revealed something slightly different this time—a single long braid peeked out from under her cloak.

Suddenly, having braids tied by the little dragon became the latest proof of how close someone was to her.

As a result, Qian couldn’t walk around campus without a new wave of people trying to curry favor with her.

Some students succeeded, strutting around with their messy braids. Those who didn’t managed to tie their own, and within days, the school was full of students sporting braids.

So, when students from Maikesiduo Magic Academy came for an exchange program, they were stunned by the sight of Central Magic Academy’s students.

Looking around, nearly everyone had braids. The Maikesiduo students were baffled.

“They weren’t like this in previous years.”

“What are they doing? Is this some kind of magical ritual?”

“Maybe it’s just a recent trend passed down from the royal court?”

“It’s probably a conspiracy. They want to use this to identify which students belong to our school and then quietly target us!”

Maikesiduo Magic Academy was the second-largest magic academy and had held this position for many years.

In most respects, they considered themselves equal to Central Magic Academy, except for one thing: they didn’t have a dragon.

Every year, their exchange program became an unspoken competition. They would try to show off their talents to surpass Central Magic Academy students and convince the dragon to teach at their school instead.

This year, Maikesiduo Academy’s delegation was led by their principal, Airigen. Though younger than Principal Ude, Airigen’s health was not as robust due to a magical mishap in his early years, leaving him with chronic pain. His primary reason for personally attending this time was the little dragon.

The news of the dragon’s birth was widely known, but Central Magic Academy had refused all unrelated visitors. Even Airigen could only wait for this exchange program to see the dragon openly.

He paid no attention to the braided students—until he met Principal Ude. His eyes were immediately drawn to Ude’s flamboyant, braided beard.

“Ude, is this how you present yourself to me, with such a careless appearance? Do you have some sort of problem with me?” Principal Airigen, ever meticulous, couldn’t stand Ude’s less-than-dignified look.

Principal Ude laughed, “This braid was done by the little dragon. Isn’t it delightful? Hahaha.”

This was boasting—taunting!

Principal Airigen nearly crushed his crystal glasses in his hand. He tapped his staff on the ground and said, “Speaking of the little dragon, that’s precisely why I’m here. No matter how much you try to hide her, I’ll find a way to meet her!”

Ding ding—ding—

The bell at Principal Ude’s office door rang. The crisp sound indicated a visitor.

Two principals in the middle of a meeting—who would be so impolite as to barge in?

Principal Airigen frowned deeply, glaring at the door, only to see a small figure walk in, dragging a dragon tail behind her.

Airigen: “…”

… The little dragon?!

Ever since Lacia had taken her to Ude’s office and discovered a trove of snacks, Qian had been making unannounced visits regularly.

She confidently pushed open the door, glanced briefly at the unfamiliar old man in the room, and headed straight for Principal Ude, handing him a gemstone.

“Oh, an elven gemstone, how beautiful.” Principal Ude accepted the precious gem and even used a magnifying glass to examine it carefully.

Seeing him take it, Qian felt reassured and pulled out a bag, rummaging through the office cabinets to stuff her bag with snacks.

These were all hers now.

It wasn’t news at school that the little dragon loved bartering. Whatever she wanted, she would exchange for it, though the value was often disproportionate.

She had once traded rare magical fruits and mana crystals for small snacks, and she had also exchanged pretty stones and feathers for potions or intriguing magical materials.

It seemed she had her own peculiar standard of value.

Principal Ude had intentionally stocked even more snacks in his office. Qian squatted on the ground, opened a cabinet, and pulled out a jar of glittering candies.

At that moment, she felt something touch her tail. Turning her head, she saw who it was.

It was Airigen. Since the little dragon entered the office, he had been speechless, subconsciously following her around. Watching her raid the snacks, he had completely forgotten his usual dignified demeanor.

The dragon aura emanating from her was unmistakable. Her tail was also unlike any typical dragon species.

Unable to resist, Airigen gently touched one of her scales.

In that instant, the vibrant magical energy he felt through the contact overwhelmed him with emotion.

A dragon—a newborn dragon, without a doubt!

The birth of a dragon signified that magic would not fade along with their race’s decline!

Her existence defied the prophecy from a few years ago!

The hunched old man burst into tears.

Qian was momentarily stunned. She glanced at Principal Ude, who sat at the table holding a gem and smiling at her. She pulled a pack of snacks from her bag and handed it to Airegon.

Dragging her large bag of snacks, Qian walked away, while Airegon’s gaze lingered on the door for a long time.

“You’ve seen her. Once the exchange and study program is over, you should hurry back,” Principal Ude said.

Principal Airegon snapped out of it. He wiped his tears with a handkerchief and straightened his back.

“I’ve seen her. This time, I’ll figure out a way to invite the dragon to move to Maikesiduo. Young dragons thrive in places full of vitality. There’s the Dusklight Forest behind our school; she’ll surely love it.”

“Besides, she gave me something the first time we met. I think that means the young dragon likes me.”

It’s not that Qian likes you—she’s even fed stray dogs at the school twice.

Principal Ude didn’t want to comment on Airegon’s confidence and instead chuckled. “Let’s talk again when your students can surpass ours.”

The annual interschool exchange had another name at the Central Magic Academy: the Dragon Defense Battle.

Even though they suffered greatly in Lacia’s dragon language classes, allowing other schools to snatch their dragon was absolutely unacceptable—especially since this year, there was an adorable young dragon.

“We must never let the young dragon be taken by another school!”

“Agreed!”

“I propose that from now on, we rename the Dragon Defense Battle to the Young Dragon Defense Battle!”

“Yes!!”

Exactly! Dragons don’t need their protection; with a single breath, a dragon could freeze them all into blocks of ice. But a cute young dragon? That’s a different story—she needed their protection!

What was a major event for the students was, for the young dragon, just a slightly livelier day than usual.

Instead of staying in classrooms, the students were gathered at a circular plaza. The steps around the plaza were packed with spectators, while students from the two schools warmed up in designated zones below for the upcoming competition.

Summoning, spells, magic circles, potions—everything was subject to competition.

Qian sat in the stands, watching the spirited young students below. They wore uniform magic robes as they darted across the field.

Unconsciously, the hand that was digging for snacks paused.

“Qian, what’s wrong?” Lacia, sitting beside her and holding her, reached over to pat her head.

Qian shook her head and continued eating snacks.

In past years, Lacia had little interest in watching these little kids fight. To him, it was no different from watching small animals scratch at each other—it was far less appealing than going back to his tower to sleep.

But this year, with the addition of a young dragon, he had a bit more enthusiasm for the bustle.

The young dragon enjoyed playing with people, but today, she seemed less energetic. Instead of roaming around with her rainbow unicorn, she obediently stayed by his side.

Lacia looked up and noticed magical white birds flitting across the sky. He waved at them, and two of the magical white birds descended, landing beside them.

Magical white birds were crafted from enchanted paper folded into bird shapes, with small bottles of water attached to them for the students to use. A simple wave would bring them down.

One of the water-carrying paper birds approached the young dragon, immediately capturing her attention.

Initially, the magical white birds were only used for delivering water. However, seeing the young dragon playing curiously with the birds, the subsequent white birds arriving no longer carried water but brought small snacks and amusing little trinkets instead.

These items were quickly made by the students to interact with the young dragon.

Playing with the young dragon in front of Lacia? Thrilling!

Some white birds landed next to the young dragon and unexpectedly released a flower. Others scattered colorful, glittering confetti. The variety of playful tricks seemed endless.

Later, a paper dragon folded to resemble a frost dragon joined in.

This small paper dragon, about the size of the white birds, flew up to the father-daughter dragon duo and opened its mouth to “roar,” releasing a puff of cold air.

Lacia: “…”

Qian grabbed the paper dragon, laughing uncontrollably.

The weather was indeed very hot today. The scorching sun blazed overhead, and even though the group of mages had cast some minor cooling spells, many were still drenched in sweat.

Lacia, holding the young dragon in one arm and resting his chin on his other hand, contemplated for a moment before transforming into a dragon on the spot. Tilting his head back, he breathed out a frosty mist.

The sight of the dragon left many students in awe. The next moment, when snow began to fall from the sky, thunderous cheers erupted, loud enough to shake the heavens. Even the students competing on the field stopped to gaze at the sky.

Although the weather was hot, the magic-infused snowflakes didn’t melt quickly upon landing. The air grew refreshingly cool.

With a single breath, the dragon conjured snow, and the sky filled with falling snowflakes.

Students opened their arms to catch the snow, using magic to gather it and either toss it onto their heads or hurl it at their friends.

Before long, the entire plaza was filled with laughter and shouts.

The once tense and serious atmosphere of the competition vanished. In an instant, everyone was gleefully playing in the snow.

Qian leaned against the dragon’s claw, stretching out her hand to catch the falling snowflakes. A pure and joyful smile spread across her face.