Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 248 : Seeking and Hiding 2

"...Elsa?"

A familiar call sounded in her ear.

"Ah, yes!"

"We agreed I'd teach you how to ride a dragon today... Hold on to me tightly, don't get distracted."

Riding on the dragon's back, Yvonne said with resignation.

Wearing a dashing rider's uniform, her radiant golden hair tied in a ponytail, her fair neck tantalizingly close, was particularly alluring.

"Then I won't hold back~"

Rare to be alone together, Elsa naturally didn't want to miss this good opportunity. So she took advantage of Yvonne's unpreparedness and embraced her most coveted part from behind.

Of course, such recklessness comes at a price, and soon her head received a swift chop.

"Elsa, you pervert!! When I say hold on, I don't mean that place!!"

"Owie... I was just joking."

But seeing this shy appearance was worth the price of admission.

"I wish you could be serious when you need to be—Give me your hand."

After obediently extending her hand, Yvonne grabbed it and placed it on her waist.

This action inevitably reminded Elsa of the first time Yvonne took her dragon riding.

"Alright, Sphinx—let's go!"

The golden-haired girl issued the command, tapping the scales on either side of the silver-white swift wind dragon's torso with her foot.

"Hwoah—"

Sphinx swished its tail, raised its hind legs, its claws tearing up the grass as it began to accelerate.

"...!!"

Elsa noticed that the air currents around them had subtly changed.

Amazing.

When they leapt high, there was a sensation of flying, effortlessly clearing the set obstacles.

After riding Sphinx for a full lap, Yvonne stopped steadily, turned around, tucked her windswept hair behind her ear, and looked at Elsa with a gentle smile in her eyes.

"It's simple, right?... Actually, you don't need to worry too much about being blown off when running too fast. Swift wind dragons naturally provide protection for themselves and their riders. The rider just needs to focus on maintaining their own balance... Did you remember all the key points?"

"Mm-hmm~~"

Enchanted by her cool and gentle lover, Elsa nodded with an infatuated expression.

The feeling of galloping together like this was truly wonderful. If possible, she'd love to do it a few more times...

"But you can't learn just by watching. This time, let Elsa give it a try."

"...Eh??"

Before she could say anything, Yvonne had already nimbly dismounted using the stirrup, patting her thigh.

"Come on, give it a try."

"Sphinx... shall we go?"

There was no helping it. They weren't here for sightseeing today. Since she'd promised Yvonne she'd learn, she had to take it seriously.

Elsa tried to imitate Yvonne's earlier movements, waving the reins.

However, to her surprise, after Yvonne left its back, Sphinx's attitude suddenly underwent a 180-degree change.

"Hwoah—!!"

"Sphinx?? Slow down! Stop!!"

After starting, Sphinx began to ignore the terrain and gallop at high speed, seemingly about to crash headlong into a tree.

"Stop! I said stop stop! We're going to crash aaaaah—!!"

As if teasing her, it suddenly changed direction just before impact. If she hadn't followed Yvonne's advice to lower her body and center of gravity at high speeds, she would have surely been thrown off by the extreme inertia.

"Stop! Right! Now!!"

The reins in her hands were almost rubbing blisters, but Sphinx showed no sign of slowing down, and was even continuing to accelerate.

"——!"

In the end, it was only when Yvonne blew her whistle that Sphinx finally stopped causing trouble, obediently slowing down and returning to its master.

"Elsa, are you alright?"

"...I think I've figured it out."

After being helped down from the dragon's back by Yvonne, seeing Sphinx's smug expression directed at her, Elsa felt veins popping on her forehead.

"—This guy is definitely giving me a hard time on purpose, isn't he??"

Previously, when Yvonne rode with her, Sphinx had been quite docile. When help was needed at the church to carry things, it was also very gentle, never hurting children. But for some reason, it became disobedient when Elsa rode alone.

As if understanding their conversation, Sphinx impatiently hissed "Sss—sss—", only calming down after Yvonne stroked along its scale patterns a few times with a wry smile.

"Hmm... Maybe it's because it has already acknowledged me as its master, but hasn't accepted you yet. So when you ride on its back giving orders, it feels a bit annoyed?"

"...This stinky dragon has quite a stubborn temper."

"Hwoah?"

Hearing Elsa's disgruntled mutter, Sphinx defiantly struck the ground with its tail, standing in front of Yvonne as if declaring its loyalty and ownership of its master.

"You...!!"

Elsa never thought she'd have to compete with a dragon one day.

What a joke! Yvonne belongs only to her!

"It's alright, you'll get used to it after a few more runs—Even if you do get thrown off, I'll use magic to cushion your fall, okay?"

"That's so mean!! Don't you worry I might be left with psychological trauma??"

Although they could use magic as an emergency braking measure, the terror of that moment when you're about to fall is very real.

"I actually think experiencing it isn't such a bad thing."

Seeing Yvonne's smiling expression, Elsa was certain that her dear Yvonne was developing more and more of an S tendency.

"If you're afraid it will throw you off, it will deliberately run very bumpily and then throw you off... When I first tamed Sphinx, I also had a hard time. I wore protective gear, but my bones still felt like they were falling apart."

Leading Sphinx in front of her, Yvonne gestured that Elsa could pet it.

Somewhat reluctantly, Elsa placed her hand on the scales of Sphinx's forehead, but it quickly shook its head in rejection, shaking her off.

"But you saw it, Sphinx doesn't listen to me at all. I think I'd better give up... When we need to ride a dragon, you can take me—"

Not wanting to suffer anymore, she clung to Yvonne's arm and began to act coy.

But this time, contrary to usual, her coquettishness had no effect.

"No, we agreed that I must teach you today."

Yvonne refused decisively, leaving no room for Elsa's wheedling.

"Stop being coy, why are you always like this... Can't you be a little more serious? It's the same with etiquette lessons, why can't you put your heart into it? You're so smart—If you just focused a bit more, you'd grasp the essentials!"

Because she was a bit anxious, her tone wasn't very good.

The blisters on her palms from the reins were still faintly painful.

She would call for me to learn riding and etiquette... Is it still because she's concerned about my lowly commoner birth?

Recalling the annoying nobles' cold mockery she had encountered in the palace before, hearing such words, her heart was filled with nothing but grievance and burning anger.

So, even though she knew Yvonne meant well, she still said such harsh words:

"Even if I have to learn, I could ride other dragons, right?—Also, changing to a more reasonable instructor would be fair!"

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

"Magic user, my lady?"

"Mama, what's wrong? You seemed lost in thought for a long time..."

"...I apologize."

Holding her head, Elsa struggled to break free from her memories.

She looked up, surveying the unfamiliar villagers in the room, then rose from her seat:

"I now understand the cause and course of events... I'll take care of driving away the dragon pack from here on."