Chapter 1: Picking Up a Villainous Dragon in a Convenience Store
A layer of spiderwebs hung on the rusty, mottled iron door, and small advertisements for unlocking services covered the entire old wall.
Xia Li stood there, feeling a little dazed for a moment.
He had transmigrated.
To be precise, he had transmigrated to another world and then transmigrated back to Earth.
Just a second ago, he was still engaged in an exhilarating, epic battle between a brave hero and a villainous dragon.
The next second, the fantastical and dazzling magical effects disappeared, replaced by this familiar tetanus-prone iron door in front of him.
“Just like that… I’m back……?”
The door in front of Xia Li was none other than the small house where he had lived alone for a year.
But if it really was a dream……
Then what about the sword in his hand?!
The ‘Demon Repelling Sword,’ a symbol of human heroes, was held high by him.
The intricate patterns carved on the hilt of the sword dug into Xia Li’s palm, as if constantly reminding him ━ Brother, I’ve transmigrated back with you too.
“…”
Xia Li pretended to be calm and sheathed his sword.
He didn’t have the key to his house in his pocket, so he squatted down again and fumbled with his fingers in the gap of the door frame.
Familiar position, familiar feel.
He successfully retrieved the spare key he had hidden at the door.
◈◈◈
“Ding dong~”
“Welcome.”
Inside the convenience store, the transparent glass door opened automatically, and the sensor bell rang with a crisp sound.
Shopkeeper Xu, who was in charge of turning over the grilled sausages, stopped what she was doing and couldn’t help but glance outside.
It had suddenly started raining heavily under the clear sky, and customers entering the store would inevitably bring in some rainwater. Shopkeeper Xu was about to ask the customer to hang their umbrella in the umbrella stand.
However, when she looked up, she saw a… little girl? who wasn’t holding an umbrella.
The little girl was of average height and wore clothes that Shopkeeper Xu couldn’t understand, somewhat resembling medieval-style clothing.
A grayish-white high-necked shirt, a tight brown vest, and soft leather ankle boots on her feet.
It was clearly an elegant and demure outfit, but worn on this little girl who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, there was an indescribable sense of asymmetry.
Shopkeeper Xu took a few more glances at the little girl before realizing where the asymmetry came from…
The clothes were too big.
The long sleeves of the shirt completely covered the back of her hands, and the front was so loose that it collapsed.
It gave the impression of a child stealing her mother’s clothes to wear.
“What would you like?” the kind Shopkeeper Xu asked tentatively.
This little girl who was still wandering the streets on a weekday must have encountered some difficulties.
“…”
The suddenly closing automatic door startled the little girl.
Her somewhat bewildered eyes looked back in astonishment, her beautiful amber eyes full of confusion.
That look in her eyes was like a small animal just released from a cage ━ confused, scared, and hostile towards the strange and unknown.
“Food…”
The little girl opened her mouth slightly and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
“What? Food?”
Shopkeeper Xu at the convenience store paused for a moment, then reacted and pointed to the shelves inside.
“There are snacks on those shelves. If you want instant noodles, we can provide hot water.”
The little girl’s long black hair was still dripping with water, and fine beads of water trickled down her neck.
Although she couldn’t quite understand what the female human was saying, she instinctively looked in the direction the woman was pointing.
It had been more than five hours since she had inexplicably arrived in this human town.
Lucia Sivana’s body had become weak because she couldn’t absorb magic power from the air.
She needed to eat.
So she followed the smell and came in.
◈◈◈
Now it seems… there’s no danger inside.
Lucia walked to the shelf the human woman had pointed to.
This should be the place where they sell bread. The items displayed on the shelves were all covered with a layer of transparent material.
Was it some kind of protective magic?
Lucia squatted down and poked the transparent film with a finger.
“Rustle, rustle…”
The protective magic on the surface of the bread rustled.
No danger, but it felt strange.
It was high-level magic!
“…”
At the cashier, the clerk craned her neck and saw the little girl squatting on the ground, fiddling with the bread packaging.
The little girl looked quite delicate, with an oval face that exuded a hint of cuteness, but her clear eyes always carried a hint of aloofness and hostility, giving people an indescribable sense of danger.
Seeing her like this… she doesn’t seem very smart?
“Ding dong~”
“Welcome.”
The clerk didn’t have time to think too much, as a new customer entered the convenience store.
A young man trotted in from the rain.
His short black hair was unkempt and looked like it hadn’t been taken care of for a while, but he was wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt in this autumn rain.
The young man stood at the door, shaking off the transparent water droplets from his umbrella before putting it in the bucket.
After doing this, he impatiently looked around.
When he saw the instant noodles, he walked over and held the instant noodle cups in his hands, his eyes burning with longing, almost to the point of tears.
Generally speaking, in this situation, it’s either someone returning from overseas or a released prisoner.
Or maybe, like the little girl who came in just now, he’s not very smart.
However, as a cashier with professional ethics, she naturally wouldn’t look at customers with strange eyes.
…Three years!!
Three whole years!!
Xia Li’s heart surged with excitement. He wanted to hold the instant noodles and indulge himself right now.
In the three years he had been away from Earth, the most unbearable thing wasn’t the daily sword practice, nor the dangerous dragon-slaying battles, but his lonely and craving stomach.
What kind of food did people eat in that other world!
Not only did those foods look distorted, but they were also explosive in the mouth.
In comparison, this modern life with takeout, instant noodles, and mom’s loving lunch was simply paradise!
“Boss, please give me a box…”
Xia Li couldn’t wait to spend a romantic night with Miss Instant Noodles.
He pointed at the Braised Beef Noodles on the shelf, his words trailing off.
There was a “bang!”
Someone had hit the wall.
To be precise, a little girl in strange clothes wanted to steal the bread from the convenience store, and because she didn’t see the closed glass door, she bumped her head against it.
These days, who still robs convenience stores?
And even if you rob a convenience store, why take the cheapest bread?
Xia Li looked back, frowning in confusion. The cashier beside him was equally puzzled.
Because the ‘robber’s’ performance was so foolish, the cashier didn’t even know if she should go and catch her.
“Such… such strong defensive magic!”
The little girl covered her bruised forehead and exclaimed in shock.
Her surprised tone didn’t sound fake at all.
Xia Li looked at the little girl who had bumped her head against the door, and felt that she looked familiar.
Although her size and color scheme were very different, her facial features looked a lot like a certain nemesis of Xia Li’s from the other world.
The wicked Silver Dragon Queen who committed all kinds of evil, plundered villages, seized land, melted all the gold coins in the town’s warehouse and carried them back to her lair to sleep on as a bed, whose roar could make the entire human city tremble…
The miniature version.
“Lucia Sivana?”