In Another World As A Dragon - Am I Dreaming?

Chapter 7 - "The Orphanage"

Flying always felt nice. The feeling of fresh air, the clouds that you pass through, the coldness that the wind gives off. Yes... flying always felt nice... unless there's something weighing you down every time you flap your wings!

"Wow! This is my first time in the sky before! Rayla, Rayla! Look at those villages! They're so small!" Elze said in awe.

"You're right. It truly is remarkable. To think that the legendary dragon, which has the power to destroy the world, is giving us a free ride." Rayla said.

Oh, I'll give you a free ride alright. A free ride to fallville! Man, this is just not my day. I hope I get there soon. I want to hurry and sleep already.

"I still can't believe that you would just accept their wishes like that. What about my training?!" Draiz asked in frustration. Unlike the others who were at my back, Draiz is on my neck. Making him the most annoying part of all. He's like an itch I can't scratch.

"I'll train you when we get there." I replied to Draiz, hoping the flight would end soon.

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Somewhere in the edge of a forest, there lies a large house filled with a playground both inside and out...

"Grandpa, grandpa, you know what, I wanna become a princess someday!" a little girl said with an innocent smile.

"Yes, you will, my precious. Yes, you will."

"I wanna become a knight and fight off bad guys everywhere!" a young boy said playing with a wooden sword. The old man chuckled at their innocence.

"Say, grandpa, is that a shooting star falling straight at us?" another young boy asked looking at the sky.

"Hmm?" the old man looked up and was agasped by what he saw. From the sky, and out of nowhere, a dragon fell, alongside four other young teens and a smaller dragon on my front yard.

"Ow ow ow, what is wrong with you, Frick?! Don't do that while we're still flying!" Rayla said angrily.

"It's a miracle that we're still alive... what cushioned our fall?" Elze said.

"Hehehe... be grateful to your savior, humans. For 'I', the great Draiz, have saved you from your demise!" Strazz shut his snout with his hand.

"Don't get ahead of yourself there, little dragon. I was the one who told you that you can use your power to save us. In fact, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have known that you can use your powers that way." Strazz put his face in closer to Draiz.

"Guh..." Draiz mumbled to himself.

"I'm still a bit confused, how were we saved again?" Rayla asked.

"Storm dragons can conjure up catastrophic hurricanes by manipulating the wind and water in the air. I merely told Draiz that he can use his power to control the air in a different way, which was what cushioned us from the fall. But of course, this wouldn't have happened if Frick hadn't hit Arufaz in the head!"

"Ehehe... sorry about that..." Frick apologized.

"Seriously... just because Arufaz said that he was getting sleepy, doesn't mean that you had to hit him with your hammer to wake him up. Sometimes, I wonder just how stupid you can get."

"That's why I'm apologizing. Hmm? Hey guys, look over there." Frick said, pointing towards the house where the children are hiding.

"Umm... are you perhaps, travelers?" The old man said, walking towards the group.

"Uhh... yes... you could say that we are." Strazz spoke politely. "Elze, can you tell us where we are?"

Elze took something from her bag, some kind of crystal glass tablet. "Let's see... it seems we're already in Easia. But we're still nowhere near where our destination should be."

"That's nice. A journey that would've taken us days, probably weeks, yet we arrived in just a few hrs. with the help of Aru-... faz...? Arufaz!" the legendary dragon that can bring upon the last days of this world is being played at by children! "Arufaz!"

"Evil dragon, begone! Go away! Shoo!"

"Arufaz! Wake up! You can't allow yourself to be played at by children, it will surely crush your reputation!"

*snore* "..........................." *snore*

Rayla laughed. "Nothing you can do about it, Strazz. Let's just let Arufaz have his beauty sleep. It's been quite a day for all of us."

"Oh, Arufaz... I wil never forget the days when you were all-powerful." Strazz went on his knees, bowed his head, and wept.

"Well, this is a sight I don't want to keep in my memories."

"Children, it's not safe. Go back inside." The old man said.

"Aww....." the children said innocently.

"Young travelers, to what do we owe the pleasure of having you here? Surely, you didn't come here on purpose, since you mentioned that you just crashed here."

"Oh, yes... seeing as our ride is down and out, can we stay here? We promise we won't be a problem to anyone." Rayla said kindly.

"No, no. It's perfectly fine. If you didn't come here with malicious intentions, then it's perfectly fine by me."

"Also, pardon me from asking but, what is this place? The house is enshrouded by trees, and there's plant-life all over the windows and fences..."

"This place is an orphanage. A place to protect these children from the war."

"W-war?! There's a war going on here?"

"Hmm... from your reaction, it seems you're not involved in the war. Very well, you can stay in my place."

Rayla took her moment to let the fact that there's a war happening somewhere else sink in before she finally said "T-thank you for having us." as she bowed her head in gratitude.

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Later that night...

"I didn't think there'd be a war going on in Easia. To think that the land of fertility would become a battlefield." Rayla said, still trying to sink in that fact in her head.

"None of us expected this. We all came unprepared." Strazz said.

"What will we do now?" Elze asked, worried for the group.

"We stick to what we came for. And we surely didn't come here for war." Frick said.

"Let's just hope everything works out in the end." Strazz said, yearning for hope.

Meanwhile, outside the orphanage...

*sigh* "To think that you would sleep at a time like this. I don't get you, Arufaz. You came to me, looking for a place to sleep, yet you accepted my offer of training me. You met humans, let them go, and then you let them rode on your back to a faraway land. Yet, here you are looking for sleep again." Draiz said aloud whilst lying down beside me. "I really... don't get you... at all....." Draiz then falls asleep after muttering his last words. He must've been really tired from everything that happened. But I don't really blame him if he thinks of me like that.

A war, huh? I guess this world has its own share of conflicts too. I'm sorry, Draiz. I came here not telling you why. But, if this place really is as similar to the Asia in my world. Then, that place must exist too. And I plan to go there.

As our MC continues his life as a dragon, what is the secret that he is keeping from his pupil and the rest of the group?

Look forward for the next chapter! "Dispute"