Aidan sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the red-eyed girl in the pink, fuzzy, one-piece pajamas standing at the door.
"No, that's not it." Aidan scratched his head, his gaze sweeping over Evernight's fluffy pajamas. He really couldn't suppress a smile. "You come over in the middle of the night, wearing this, and saying things like that—it really breaks the immersion."
"The clothes are hers too. I am not responsible for picking out the style." Evernight's red eyes fixed on Aidan. "Don't change the subject. Did you understand what I just said? About March 7th."
Aidan sighed and placed both hands on the bed.
"I understood, but even if she really does have feelings for me, it's only because I complimented her on being pretty today. Girls always feel happy for a few days after someone praises them."
"So you're saying she's just temporarily infatuated?"
"I never said that." Aidan spread his hands. "I just feel there's no need to make things too absolute. What if I turn into an idiot tomorrow? Wouldn't her good impression today be wasted?"
"... You certainly think about her well-being, but March 7th isn't the kind of fool who gets dizzy over a few nice words."
After a moment, he scratched his head.
"Um... did you come all this way in the middle of the night just to tell me this?"
"Not entirely." Evernight walked back in front of him, looking down at him sitting on the edge of the bed. "I mainly came to see if you are worthy of her affection."
Aidan looked up at her.
Those red eyes were close, right before him. It was the same person, yet completely different from March 7th's clear, transparent gaze.
"I've seen enough now." Evernight straightened up. "Although you're a bit glib, occasionally perverse, and a bit weak, you're still reasonably reliable."
The letter mentioned someone in almost every sentence.
How could Evernight not understand March 7th's feelings?
She left.
The second hand passed the final mark.
Midnight.
The feeling of being torn apart and then reassembled struck him again. The sensation brought by the Path of Remembrance vanished instantly, replaced by a strange feeling. It was as if he had been forced into a long, narrow mold; his limbs disappeared, replaced by powerful claws, his spine stretched long and flexible, and every inch of his skin was covered in hard, cold scales.
He opened his eyes, and his vision became exceptionally wide, as if he could see front, back, left, and right simultaneously.
"Hoo—"
Aidan's long body stretched out in space. The friction of his scales made a faint sound. The Astral Express floated beneath him, warm light emanating from the windows, making it look so fragile and peaceful.
He coiled around the body of the Astral Express.
...
Dan Heng had a nightmare.
In the dream, he was being hunted by that sword-wielding man, but he was unarmed and could only be caught again and again.
"Hoo—"
The long dragon's roar seemed to soothe Dan Heng's nightmare, and the frown deeply etched on his face in the dream gradually relaxed.
Dan Heng opened his eyes, cold sweat soaking his hairline. The oppressive feeling from the sword-wielding man in the dream still lingered in his consciousness, but the terror of being killed had inexplicably dissipated.
That dragon's roar.
Although faint, he had heard it clearly.
It wasn't an illusion.
Dan Heng threw off the covers, stepped onto the floor barefoot, and quickly walked to the window. He yanked open the curtain, and his pupils instantly contracted.
As a Vidyadhara, he possessed an innate, deep familiarity with this type of creature. That imposing aura, that presence, even through the thick window glass, could make his blood resonate.
"... Aidan?"
He subconsciously called out that name, even though the behemoth before him bore no resemblance to the usually cheerful young man. But considering the guy's glorious track record of turning into an insect a few days ago and even Nanook, turning into a dragon today didn't seem entirely unacceptable.
The giant body outside the window moved.
With a low grinding sound, the patch of azure-green scales slowly shifted, revealing a massive golden eye.
That eye was terrifyingly large, with a vertical pupil, looking like a golden fissure. It moved closer to the window, almost pressing against the glass, and blinked twice.
How can there be cute contrast moments?
"Aidan, is that you?"
The giant dragon head retracted slightly, then nodded up and down.
The movement wasn't large, but the resulting motion was significant. The entire carriage shook slightly with his movement.
It really was him.
Dan Heng's tense nerves relaxed, and he even felt like laughing.
"You... you've gotten so big." He shook his head helplessly. "Don't press so close, you'll shatter the glass."
Aidan was quite frustrated at the moment.
The feeling of being a dragon was indeed exhilarating. The power surging through his entire body, the sense of strength that felt like a single claw could tear open space, made him a little giddy.
But this size was too inconvenient!
He originally wanted to shrink a bit, like the Cyan, or at least be human-sized so he could conveniently sleep inside the Astral Express. But after trying hard for a long time, besides wrapping around the Astral Express tighter, his size hadn't budged an inch.
Moreover, the instincts of this body were too strong.
Just now, when Dan Heng was having his nightmare, he had almost subconsciously let out that dragon's roar.
Dan Heng looked at the huge golden eye through the glass.
"... Can you get smaller?"
He shook his head.
"... Alright, there's one more thing. Can you keep this a secret for me? About my identity."
Dan Heng looked at his own uncontrolled true form and retracted his Tail and horns.
"Hoo..."
— — —
"Waaaaahhhhhh!!!"
March 7th's scream echoed throughout the entire Astral Express.
She clutched her blanket and huddled in the corner of the bed, staring fearfully at the azure-green "wall" outside the window. That wall was still slowly undulating, like the breath of some giant creature.
"What's going on! What happened!"
The azure-green "wall"—Aidan's scales shifted slightly.
Immediately after, a massive dragon head peered down from above the window.
"You... Aidan?"
March 7th asked tentatively, her voice trembling.
The giant dragon head nodded.
Thump.
The Astral Express shook violently.
"Waaah!" March 7th nearly rolled off the bed and quickly grabbed the sheet. "Be gentle! Stop nodding! I know it's you!... Sigh, even though I was mentally prepared, this... this is really beyond imagination."
March 7th's fear subsided a little, replaced by a complex emotion.
"You look quite handsome like this."
Aidan's eyes narrowed, as if he were smiling.
"Then can you shrink now? Talking like this is tiring."
The dragon head shook.
"Is it easier to get bigger than to get smaller?" March 7th looked bewildered. "What kind of weird setting is that? Weren't you able to control your size when you turned into an insect?"
Aidan let out a long, low moan, which sounded like he was trying to explain something. But March 7th couldn't understand a single word.
"Can you speak in human language?"
The dragon head tilted slightly, seemingly deep in thought.
And then—
"Hoo..."
"Never mind, never mind, don't strain yourself." March 7th waved her hand, half crying and half laughing. "Listening to you moan like that makes me tired just for you."