This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain felt like he was on top of the world. Literally.

Sitting atop a dragon—a red dragon, no less—had been a childhood dream of his, and now that dream had come true.

He couldn’t resist running his hand along Vauleth’s scales, admiring the way they gleamed like polished rubies in the sunlight.

‘The kids at the orphanage would probably be shocked if they saw me right now. I must look so handsome,’ Kain thought, a self-satisfied grin spreading across his face. If only there were a mirror—or better yet, an audience. Surely, anyone who saw him would think, Wow, now that’s a dragon knight!

The wind whipped past him as they soared at a moderate pace through the air, the rescued Elorians and some Order members without flying mounts were travelling below on foot or with their own mounts. It was a slow march for most of the group, but for Kain, it was glorious.

Well, mostly.

“Stop squirming,” Vauleth growled, his tone laced with disdain.

Kain shifted in his seat, wincing as another sudden jolt rattled through him. Throughout the entire trip, a certain sensitive body part had been made to suffer. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

Vauleth simply huffed smugly but didn’t answer out loud.

‘You wanted to ride me like some lowly beast. Consider this your lesson in humility, human.’

Kain muttered something under his breath, gripping tighter to the reins he’d borrowed form another member of the order.

Despite the bumpy (and painful) ride, he was determined not to let Vauleth ruin his mood. This was a dragon he was riding—a dragon!

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as he glanced ahead at Cassian.

The crown prince sat on top of his own young red dragon, looking far more comfortable. The two of them seemed to be getting along far better than Kain and Vauleth.

“You really can give me all that treasure, right?” Cassian’s dragon was asking, its voice filled with excitement. “I mean, you are a prince, so you must have vaults full of jewels, right? Riiiight?”

“Of course,” Cassian said smoothly, his tone confident. “I wouldn’t have made those promises if I couldn’t keep them.”

Kain groaned internally. Cassian’s dragon practically radiated excitement, its tone almost giddy as it pressed him for more details on the dragon cave he’d build just for him in the capital that would be filled with as much treasure as the Dragon King’s—that’s the Dragon King!

He never imagined he’d be able to match the Dragon King in wealth, and definitely not before even reaching adulthood!

Meanwhile, Kain’s mount was doing everything in his power to make the ride as uncomfortable as possible.

‘Why couldn’t I have gotten a dragon that actually liked me?’ he lamented. Forgetting that he lacked the necessary affinity, and it was a pleasant surprise that a creature like Vauleth even existed for him to fulfill his dragon knight fantasies.

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Kain’s grumbling thoughts were interrupted by a sharp, high-pitched roar.

Kain straightened in his seat, his hand instinctively moving to Vauleth’s neck for stability as the sound echoed across the landscape. It wasn’t like the deep, powerful roars of the older dragons. This one was… lighter, more childlike.

After living with the dragons for a while he could easily distinguish the roars of the dragons of different ages and even colour.

Vauleth’s head swiveled toward the source of the sound, his golden eyes narrowing. “It’s Galadriel,” he muttered, his tone filled with a mixture of sadness, anxiety, and…longing?

Before Kain could respond, a red blur appeared on the horizon, rapidly closing the distance.

And soon enough, Galadriel’s familiar form came completely into view.

“Vauleth!” Galadriel’s voice carried through the air, clear and bright.

Vauleth stiffened beneath Kain, his usual aloof demeanor faltering. Kain caught the subtle way his gaze lingered on Galadriel, a fleeting look filled with something… softer.

Kain tilted his head, curious. Now that he had a contract with Vauleth, he was far more in tune with his emotions and subtle actions that he wouldn’t have noticed before.

Galadriel hovered beside them and said in sad tone, “I wanted to catch up before you left,”

Vauleth turned his head toward Galdriel, his expression hard to read. “You didn’t have to come all this way.”

“Yes, I did,” Galadriel said firmly, golden eyes meeting Vauleth’s. “You’re my best friend. Do you think I’d let you leave without saying goodbye?”

Kain sat silently, sensing the tension between the two dragons. It wasn’t the usual kind of tension he’d come to expect from Vauleth. This was… different.

Vauleth’s eyes moved frantically around the surroundings, looking anywhere but at the red dragon opposite, and mumble “Thanks, Galadriel. That means a lot.”

For a moment, there was a comfortable silence between them, broken only by the wind and the distant sounds of the marching group below. Kain, however, couldn’t stop glancing between the two dragons. There was something in the way Vauleth looked at Galadriel…

‘Wait a second… Does Vauleth… like Galadriel?’

The thought hit Kain like a lightning bolt. He’d never seen this side of Vauleth before—almost bashful and shy.

Through the faint connection of their contract, he could sense a swirl of emotions emanating from the red dragon.

Finally, their goodbyes finished and Galadriel turned to leave. Vauleth watched as the red figure got smaller and smaller, his gaze lingering far longer than necessary.

Kain cleared his throat awkwardly, breaking the silence. “Uh… Vauleth?”

“What?” Vauleth snapped, his usual edge returning.

“Um…uh…do you like…”

Vauleth’s golden eyes narrowed. “Spit it out you bumbling human?”

Kain’s face flushed slightly as he stumbled over his words. “I mean, it’s fine! Really! If you like… um, you know, boys—”

Vauleth blinked, his expression shifting from confusion to incredulity. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying I don’t judge!” Kain blurted, his hands raised defensively. “If you like Galadriel, that’s cool! I mean, I can see why you would. He’s strong, confident, has great scales—”

“Galadriel is a girl, you idiot,” Vauleth interrupted, his tone dripping with exasperation.

Kain froze, his brain grinding to a halt. “…Wait, what?”