Bluish crackling light shrouded everything as the crimson red bloomed with radiance before her sight. What followed was unending pain and suffocation. She couldn't breathe properly for some reason, and then… She blacked out.
In the medical quarters of the UNS Guardian of the High Seas, a white-haired lady awoke her slumber from fright. Her heart rapidly beat as dread enraptured itself in her chest.
Upon her awakening, the piercing light coming from the ceiling blinded her. The white walls of the medical quarters didn't help, but the soft and comfortable bed did calm her for a bit.
"Laplace, are you okay?" She heard the familiar voice of her friend, which echoed inside her ears and mind. Everything seemed disoriented and unsteady for the dragoness.
"A-Abraham… Is that you?" Laplace weakly and softly muttered from her supple lips. What had happened to her was the second worst thing she had experienced in her life.
"It's me, Laplace. You are safe now. We defeated the so-called Elder Leviathan." Abraham tenderly revealed their victory against the gargantuan sea monster.
"Defeated the Elder Leviathan, huh. I don't feel good despite this victory of ours." Laplace weakly remarked, making Abraham wryly smile.
"I-… It was my fault, Laplace. I ordered my subordinates to unleash everything we had against the Elder Leviathan. I won't excuse myself for what I have done."
"I deeply apologize." Abraham bowed towards the laying white-haired dragoness who smiled meekly at the middle-aged man.
"If not for the fact that I consider you as my friend, I would have thrown you to the wall for blowing your bombs on my face." She remarked while holding Abraham's arm tightly.
Hearing the words of the gorgeous white-haired lady, the middle-aged man nervously smiled while trying to de-escalate the situation.
"Yeah, yeah… I'll consider this as a favor. I owe you one for making sure that the Elder Leviathan stayed put." Abraham anxiously chuckled.
The Fleet Admiral's nervous chuckle steered the ample feeling of domination creeping into the lady's heart. She opened her eyelids, revealing her golden-colored irises glowing with a neon hue.
"You owe me a favor, Abraham. I hope you won't forget that."
While she wanted to aid her savior against the gargantuan sea monster, Elder Leviathan, the situation of getting blown up was beyond that.
"I won't forget the debt, Laplace. Without you, the armada would have probably been picked off one by one by the sea monster." Abraham straightened his back and looked back at the dragoness with his jet-black eyes.
He wasn't ignorant of the situation. He knew that Laplace was one of the primary equations that was needed for their victory.
Without her bringing up the Elder Leviathan to the surface and pinning it into one location, it would have been extremely problematic for the United Navy.
Laplace smiled at the serious response of Abraham and slowly stood up from her comfortable and soft bed. She stretched her arms upward while yawning.
Abraham looked at her with an astonished gaze. He was undoubtedly confused as he previously thought that the dragoness was severely injured.
Laplace stepped out of the medical bed and stood beside the confused Abraham with a smirk. She patted the middle-aged man's shoulders and calmly explained.
"I am a dragon."
Such simple yet baffling words made the Fleet Admiral perplexed. But he shook his head and decided to throw common sense away. After all, he was dealing with a cool dragon.
"So, were you pretending to be weak during our conversation?" Abraham raised an eyebrow while Laplace merely kept her teasing grin.
"Maybe… Or maybe not." Laplace smugly taunted and was about to step outside through the metallic wall. But before she could walk a few feet away, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You're not thinking of going through that wall, right?" Abraham sternly questioned while Laplace glanced at him and the wall she was about to break through.
"Hmm, perhaps I was planni-" Before the dragoness could continue, Abraham drilled his knuckles into her pale temples, making the gorgeous white-haired lady grunt in pain.
"Argh! Stop it, Abraham! I was joking." The dragoness tried to resist, but Abraham merely dodged her incoming arms and continued grinding her temples.
"You smug dragoness. You think you can just keep teasing me." Abraham was grinning as though enjoying the suffering the white-haired dragoness went through.
"I promise I will…" Laplace apologized prompting Abraham to release her from the grinding session between his knuckles.
"Do it again." But the arrogant dragoness wasn't someone that would back down from suffering. Abraham furrowed his eyebrows and was about to start the grinding session once again.
However, the gorgeous white-haired lady already left the confines of the medical quarters in an instant.
"She's fast at escaping." He muttered under his breath before a smirk emerged on his face. It was the first time he had fun for quite some time.
And it was the best feeling that he had, especially after the recent troublesome situation they found themselves in.
Abraham shook his head and decided to wipe that smirk off his face. It was intriguing, but somewhat strange for a middle-aged man like him to act like a child of some sort.
*Ding!*
| For a former loser and gamer, are you sure you weren't already experienced in acting like a child? |
Out of nowhere, the familiar mechanical bell rang inside his mind and the sarcastic yet monotone remarks of his precious partner echoed inside his mind.
'Why did you have to interrupt my internal monologue, Systema? Besides, acting like an idiot in public and playing a game in private is completely different from one another.'
Abraham thought while getting out of the medical quarters. He walked through the familiar metallic hallway and soon arrived on the flight deck where several dozens of naval personnel surrounded a white-haired figure in the middle.
They appeared to be asking tons of questions about Laplace and her eastern dragon form. Not only that, but they also inquired about her relationship with the Fleet Admiral.
While Laplace answered the first questions to the best of her ability, the relationship query was responded to with a mere smile from the dragoness.
When Abraham arrived at the flight deck, the naval personnel immediately dispersed themselves. The middle-aged man walked through the flight deck and met with the dazed dragoness.
"Must be hard trying to answer their questions." Abraham calmly commented to the tranced Laplace. She seemed to be watching the clean-up process that the United Navy was operating.
"It wasn't that bad, though I feel that some of my image has been tarnished," Laplace stated while placing her pale arms on her hips.
"I feel the same." Abraham's reply was short and clear. His reputation wasn't good after being considered as someone who was trying to woo a dragon.
"Oh, the Fleet Admiral cares for his reputation?" Laplace smirked while Abraham gazed at her and chuckled. "Well, it's the last thing I care about on my list."
"The safety of those important around me is the first. Their happiness follows, though I consider the importance of these two as equals." Abraham's priorities weren't primarily about himself.
It was always all about those around him. Those who cared for him. For they were the ones to make the world warmer for someone like him, naturally, he would treasure them the most.
"I see… You're a lot better than me, Abraham." Laplace expressed with a tinge of desolation.