The next morning.
I was a heavy sleeper, but I woke up a little earlier than usual.
The moment I opened my eyes, I remembered what had happened yesterday.
A dragon had moved in next door.
I wondered if it had all been a dream, but it hadn't.
"...Hah."
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The horns and tail I'd seen yesterday had been way too vivid.
And more than anything, that dragon was probably sleeping peacefully next door right now.
For the moment, I got out of bed and started getting ready for work.
Whether a dragon lived next door or not, I still had to go to work.
I washed my face, brushed my hair, and put on my work shirt.
I took a drink from the fridge, then headed for the entryway.
I opened the door and glanced toward the apartment next door.
It was quiet.
"...She should be fine."
There was no need to check.
From my conversation with her yesterday, I knew that the dragon named Hator could speak human language, and that her apartment building contract was perfectly legitimate. At least she didn't seem like a monster who was about to eat someone. She was pretty rational, so I figured I could trust her.
Meanwhile... Hator stood motionless in the apartment where she had been left alone for quite some time.
She went over, one by one, the things she'd learned from the human next door yesterday.
In human society, she must not reveal her identity carelessly.
Outside the house, she had to hide her horns and tail.
She must never spread her wings, either.
And when using human objects, she had to check how they worked first.
The moving boxes were called cars, and she had to cross the street when something called a traffic light turned green...
And above all, her way of speaking.
She had been told to stop talking like someone out of a historical drama.
Her appearance already stood out enough. It would be troublesome if the way she spoke stood out, too.
"...This is difficult."
Hator looked down at the electronic device on the table.
It was a remote control.
"What manner of object is this?"
She pressed one of the red buttons.
The television turned on.
Hator's eyes widened.
"...A magical tool?"
A morning show was playing on the screen.
Hator sat in front of it for quite a while.
She watched intently as the humans laughed and chatted.
Was this what the woman next door—Lee Hae-na—had called human life?
She fiddled with the remote, tilting her head in confusion.
Not long after, her stomach growled.
She needed food.
The problem was that she had no idea what she was supposed to eat.
Hator opened the refrigerator.
Inside were water, milk, and a few eggs.
"...Will this suffice?"
She took out an egg, stared at it for a long while, then put it back.
She had gotten a rough look at how to use fire yesterday, but she was a little too scared to use it confidently.
In the end, Hator sat back down on the couch.
"It would be better to ask Lee Hae-na when she returns."
As soon as Lee Hae-na stepped into the apartment building hallway after getting off work, she stopped in her tracks.
Someone was squatting in front of her entryway.
Long, blue-tinted hair.
Red eyes.
And horns atop her head.
"...Hator?"
Hator looked up.
"You have returned."
"Why... are you out here?"
"I was waiting."
"Why?"
"Because I was hungry."
I let out a small sigh and opened the door.
"For now... don't just sit there. Come inside."
Hator followed her in as if she'd been waiting for that invitation.
The moment they entered, Lee Hae-na noticed something strange.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"Why are you going straight for the refrigerator the moment you come into my apartment?"
She stopped in front of the refrigerator.
Apparently, she could smell food.
"There is food in here, is there not?"
"There is, but..."
Lee Hae-na opened the refrigerator.
Then she stopped short as she checked inside.
"Oh."
There was a slice of cake she'd bought to eat after getting off work.
Just one.
She'd made it through the entire day thinking about it.
When she turned around, Hator was looking this way, too.
More precisely, she was staring at the cake with an intensely desperate look in her eyes.
"...Do you want some?"
"Yes."
The answer came so quickly that I hesitated for a moment.
"Do you want just a little?"
"Truly?"
"Yeah. I'll give you a fork."
I took out the cake and put it on a plate.
But while I took a moment to put my bag away and came back...
The cake had vanished without a trace.
I stared at the empty plate.
Hator was sitting on the couch as if nothing had happened.
*...I didn't know she had this kind of shameless side to her.*
"Hator."
"Hmm?"
"Where did the cake go?"
"I ate it."
"All of it?"
"Is that not obvious?"
"...I bought that for me to eat."
She thought about something for a moment.
"I suppose I owe you an apology."
She was apologizing, but her expression was far too confident.
"Hator."
"Hmm?"
"Even if a human wants something to eat... they can't eat someone else's food without permission."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"I understand, I understand."
Hator nodded.
"Next time, I shall ask before eating."
"Next time, just buy your own."
"I have no currency of this place."
I was so flustered that I lost my words for a moment.
"Wait... you don't have any money?"
"I used it as soon as I came to the human world. Surely I needed a house."
"Then what about living expenses...?"
"I have none."
"...And a job?"
"A dragon has no need of one!"
*No, you need one now.*
I pressed my fingers hard against my temples, barely holding back the urge to scream.
Until yesterday, I'd thought she was simply a dragon whose identity had been discovered.
But the situation was more serious than I'd expected.
She had found a place to live, but had no money, lacked basic knowledge of human society, and had no job.
On top of that, she'd eaten all my cake without permission today.
"Hator."
"Hmm?"
"Do you really intend to live in the human world?"
"Of course."
"For how long?"
"Until I understand humans completely."
*That sounds like it'll never end. Humans don't even completely understand other humans.*
"Then you'll need to make money, too."
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
"I suppose I will."
"I'll help you out a little starting tomorrow."
"Truly?"
"But I have a condition."
"Speak it."
"Ask before eating someone else's food."
"I said I understand."
"And act in a way that doesn't let people find out about you."
"I understand that as well."
"And before doing anything, ask me first."
"Also... I recommend keeping your way of speaking consistent. If it's difficult, you could watch something like a drama and try copying the way they talk..."
Hator nodded with an annoyed expression.
"Lee Hae-na."
"Yes?"
"You are a good human."
"...Don't judge me that highly over one slice of cake."
The next day was the golden weekend—Saturday.
I woke up later than usual.
While I ate a simple breakfast and got ready to go out, Hator waited quietly in front of my door.
"Where are we going today?"
"The shopping district."
"The shopping district?"
"It's a place where lots of people go. There are plenty of stores, too."
"Will I find a job there?"
"Yeah. First, we need to figure out what you can do."
The two of us left the apartment building.
Unlike yesterday, Hator had properly hidden her tail and horns.
More precisely, it seemed she'd learned how to change her appearance into that of a human.
I was impressed when I saw it.
"When you look like this, you just seem like an ordinary person."
"Do I appear ordinary?"
"Yeah."
"Then that is fortunate."
As we walked, I explained the things she needed to watch out for, and before long we entered the shopping district. Lots of people were coming and going even though it was still early on a weekend afternoon.
A bakery, a café, a bookstore, a general goods store, restaurants...
Hator studied every shop intently.
"What is done in that place?"
"That's a bakery. The cake Hator ate yesterday came from there."
"And that one?"
"A flower shop. It's a store that sells flowers."
"And that one?"
"A stationery store. They mainly sell things that young children might use."
Her questions never stopped.
I explained everything one by one while watching Hator's expression.
"Which kind of work interests you the most?"
"...I do not know yet."
"Then look around and think about it."
Hator nodded.
While walking through the shopping district, we stopped in front of a small café.
Through the window, people were leisurely drinking coffee.
"And that place?"
"A café. I don't know if they have places like this in your world, but it's somewhere people can relax while drinking coffee and things like that."
"Could I work in a place like that?"
"Who knows?"
I looked Hator up and down without making it obvious.
"First... you should probably learn how to handle money."
Hator gazed at the café for a long while.
Then she said seriously,
"I would like to try it."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then that's one candidate."
I tapped away at the notes app on my phone.
Café.
Then we started walking again.
There were still plenty of places to go.
I had no idea what kind of work would suit her.
But at least for now, things were okay.
Until yesterday, she'd been the mysterious person living next door.
Today, she was walking around the shopping district with me, thinking about what kind of work she could do.
If you could call that progress, it was progress. Maybe Hator was lucky to have met such a meddlesome neighbor.
"Next, we're going over there."
"And if you want to eat something, make sure you tell me first."
"...I said I understand. You need not repeat that anymore."
Hator answered obediently.
I snickered.
Then the two of us continued walking deeper into the shopping district.