Reincarnated as the Strongest Dragon

When I entered our suite, Liz was already lying down on one of the two couches in the middle of the room. I walked up behind the couch and looked down at her. 

“Did the fatigue catch up to you?” I asked.

“Maybe just a little,” she answered. “It’s a peculiar feeling.”

“Oh?”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like my muscles are sore, but at the same time not?”

“Your muscles are both sore and not sore?” I asked, trying to stifle a giggle.

“As I said, it’s hard to explain,” she frowned.

“So you are saying ‘something’ is sore, but not your muscles?”

“Exactly. It’s a strange feeling.”

Something in your muscles but not your muscles? What is that supposed to mean?

I pondered for a moment. “Can you channel some mana into your necklace? Just a little bit.”

Liz grabbed her necklace, and as soon as she started channeling mana, her arm flinched.

“That’s enough,” I interrupted her. “How did that feel?”

She rubbed her arm. “Stinging? It was unpleasant.” 

“I see,” I eyed the necklace. “It’s only a guess, but your magic circuits might be overworked.”

“Can that happen?” Liz asked with a surprised expression.

“I don’t know, but it sounds logical. So, just to be safe, no using mana of any kind until I say otherwise.”

“It’s not like I plan on casting any spells here.”

“I said of any kind,” I squinted at her. “That includes everything from spells to the lamp next to the bed.”

Before Liz could answer, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and was greeted by one of the men working here and a trolley with food.

“I have brought your dinner, Lady Luna,” the man said.

I half expected some guards.

The man entered and set the table before wishing us a pleasant meal and excusing himself.

“I can never get used to this kind of service,” Liz said as she sat down at the table.

“You might not like what I have planned for later then,” I smirked. “And before you ask, it’s a surprise.”

Liz just sighed and shook her head. “Of course it is.”

 

After eating dinner, I pushed Liz into the bedroom and got her to lie down.

“Now be a good girl and rest for an hour or two. I will wake you up when it’s time.”

“Won’t you join me?” Liz asked in a disappointed tone.

“I have something to do.”

“Something?”

“In here,” I said, tapping my index finger against my temple.

Liz raised an eyebrow at my gesture. “You mean thinking?”

“Something like that,” I smirked.

“You can’t do that here?”

“Too many distractions here,” I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “And I was serious, don’t even touch the lamp.”

Liz just rolled her eyes. “Yes, mom.”

I left Liz alone and sat down on the couch.

Now, what should I do if Marquess Whatshisface decides to try something? I don’t know how high up the ranks a Marquess is, but he sure must think he is important considering how he acted. The old man seemed to be on my side, though? Eh, I’m sure it will be fine. I doubt anyone would come here. And even if they do, I doubt anyone would want to do anything if I showed them my card. It’s not like they could even if they wanted to. I’ll just forget about it, at least for now.

I made myself comfortable and activated [Scribe]. A window similar to my [Note] appeared in my field of view.

It feels like forever since I last did anything related to creating new spells. I don’t even know where to start. Would Liz even want this? I don’t want to ask since it might not be possible in the first place. Ugh, I’ll just try to make the spell first and worry about that later. It might become useful either way. 

But, how do I make a spell that stops someone from aging? I did play around with chrono magic back when I created [Inventory], but that was just for objects, which was a lot easier since I could just stop time altogether. Can I even stop parts of time? There’s no point if she can’t live like normal. Can I make it so her body won’t change? But wouldn’t that also mean she won’t level or gain new skills? Don’t think an adventurer would want that…

I don’t know how much time passed while I was immersed in my spell research, but after I stopped using [Scribe], I looked forward and locked eyes with Liz, who looked slightly worried. Her cheeks have regained some color.

“Uhm, hi? How long have you been sitting there?”

“For about five minutes,” she said, eyeing me suspiciously. “So, what were you just doing?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, studying her expression. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You sat completely still and didn’t answer when I said your name. And your eyes were… weird.”

Are my eyes weird when I use [Scribe]?

“What do you mean by weird?”

“They were moving around really fast and looking all over the place. I was afraid to disturb you when you didn’t answer me. It was a bit unsettling to see.”

Oh, that makes more sense.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I said sheepishly. “I never told you about [Thought Acceleration], did I?”

“It’s fine. I was just a bit surprised,” She said and moved over to sit next to me. “And no, I don’t think you have mentioned that before.”

“It lets me process things at ten times normal speed. My eyes were probably moving around faster than normal because of that. I guess I never thought about how it looks from the outside.” 

It didn’t even strike me that it might look weird when I use [Thought Acceleration]. My body can’t completely keep up with my mind even with my insanely high agility, but just my eyes are a different matter. Do other people notice? I use it for a second or two at a time, but I mostly focus my eyes on whoever I’m talking to. It should be fine, right?

Liz looked shocked. “Ten times? Did you do that all the time while I slept?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I slept for about two and a half hours. Does that mean you technically sat here for twenty-five hours?”

Oh? No wonder I felt like I could go for a break. Time really does fly by when you are having fun. Absolutely zero progress, though. Not that it surprises me. I spent over a year on [Inventory], and this is more advanced.

“I guess it does,” I smiled. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Don’t change the subject,” she frowned. “It doesn’t explain why your eyes were moving so much. Or why you didn’t respond to me. And what did you even do?”

“Curious one, aren’t you?” I sighed. “I was looking at [Scribe]. Before you ask, it’s like your [Status] window, but for creating spells. It was blocking my vision, so I didn’t see you. I didn’t reply because I was immersed in my thoughts.”

The mention of creating spells caught her attention. “Are you creating a new spell?”

“Not for a long time. So, back to you. Are you feeling better?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away before she would probe further.

“I’m feeling a lot better.”

“Good, because it should almost be time for the surprise I promised you,” I grinned.

“Are you going to tell me what it is now?”

“Of course not.”

“I figured as much,” Liz muttered.

 

A short while later, there was a knock on the door. It was the same man who brought our dinner.

“I was instructed to escort you to our spa facility. If you need time to get ready, I can wait for you in the hall.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said before looking back at Liz. “It’s time to go.”

We were escorted down to the first floor and past the reception to what I assume was a backdoor if you can call it that. It was the same size as the entrance and led to a secluded garden with pathways to all the surrounding houses.

Are all these owned by the inn? They did offer a lot of different services.

I looked back at Liz to make sure she was alright and noticed her uncomfortable facial expression. I grabbed her hand and smiled, hoping it would get her to relax.

We crossed the garden and were led to the entrance of a house adorned with the same marble decorations as the inn. The man opened the door and stepped to the side, motioning gracefully for us to enter while bowing.

“I hope you will enjoy your time at our spa.”

I was about to answer when a thought occurred.

Am I supposed to tip this guy? Do people tip here? He was the one who brought us to our room and brought some of our food, but it didn’t seem like he expected something. He also witnessed the exchange earlier. What if you are supposed to tip and they just see me as this uncivilized brute that even stays here for free? I tipped the woman at the Blue Stallion Inn, and she seemed to at least know what it meant. 

I swiftly pulled out a large gold coin and put it in his hand. “Thank you. I’m sure it will be lovely.”

The man stared at the coin in his hand with wide eyes for a brief moment before composing himself. “Your generosity is humbling. My deepest gratitude, Lady Luna.”

 

When we entered the building, the scenery changed drastically. While the outside was adorned in marble and stone, the inside was closer to a jungle. Sturdy wooden beams with vines around them stood upright next to the reception, and a pleasant fragrance of nature enveloped us. Three young women stood by the counter. They were all wearing matching uniforms: a light green and white dress with vine patterns.

“Welcome to the Crystal Lotus Spa,” the woman closest to us said. “We have been expecting you. Please follow me to the changing rooms.”

We both followed her without saying anything.

It’s understandable that Liz would be overwhelmed by this situation, but I didn’t expect that I would be as well. It’s not exactly how I envisioned a spa.

We were shown into a room, given towels, and told to go through the second door after undressing.

“Luna,” Liz said while looking around the room. “What’s a spa and why do we need to get naked?”

I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer that. It’s my first time too. The service list didn’t exactly specify what a spa is. It would be awkward if ‘spa’ meant something completely different here.

“You’ll see,” I smiled at her. “Now, take off your clothes, or I will do it for you.”

We undressed and wrapped ourselves in towels before leaving the room. The woman who escorted us waited outside and handed us two clipboards with a list of the different treatments that they offered.

“Welcome, my name is Mya. Before we start, would you please select what treatments you are interested in from this list?”

I could have sworn this was the same woman. Not often you see identical twins.

As we were reading through the list, Liz leaned over and whispered, “I don’t know what most of these are.”

Neither do I. Massage is a given, and I can guess what the magisalt sauna is, but everything else is foreign. This says something about stones. What is herb infusion? And this? Kelp… whipping? What kind of establishment is this?

I pondered for a moment before glancing at Mya, who waited patiently for us to decide. I took the clipboard from Liz, who seemed to struggle just as much as I did, and handed them to her.

“This is our first time here, so we'll leave it to your expertise,” I said.

Her response was immediate and almost overly enthusiastic. “Most certainly! If you would be so kind as to follow me.”

That was an odd reaction. Did I make a mistake leaving it to her?

Liz gave me a worried look as we followed Mya to the next room.