In what world do a salary man, elf girl, white rabbit, and black dragon sit together in a circle drinking soup from wooden bowls like it was all Kumbaya?

  This one.

  All four of them, while very different species—though Lucifer and the black dragon were the same except one of them was currently a white rabbit—were all sitting together by the hearth in the middle of the campsite where Heron had moved the pot of soup to be warmed over the fire. For their comfort, Heron had summoned three more stools besides his own. And while the elf girl had taken a seat, Heron had placed a large wooden bowl of soup on another stool for the black dragon to eat off of; during which Lucifer had run itself out of breath before flopping on a wooden stool.

  With all of them sitting together in a circle around the hearth, Heron glanced from the black dragon—who was now snarfing down the large wooden bowl of soup—to the elf girl then finally Lucifer who was basically vibrating on the wooden stool, its small bowl of soup completely untouched. Heron’s eyes fell on the elf who was eating slowly, one spoonful at a time.

  Her gaze was cast down, staring at the flames that crackled and danced in the hearth. She appeared to be lost in thought or perhaps was just enjoying the bowl of soup. Not with eagerness or fervor but as if she was recollecting an old memory or experiencing an old friend. Nevertheless, her spunk had seemed to temporarily disappear as she ate quietly. What an odd girl.

  This is pure excitement, I assure you.

  Heron flicked his eyes to where Lucifer sat, its white fur puffed and foot tapping vigorously on the wooden stool. With each thump, it jostled the small wooden bowl in front of it. He raised a brow at the rabbit because that was some mad copium, but he wasn’t going to call his friend out for that.

  What is copium—

  Youthful slang. Heron downed his soup before clearing his throat, glancing between the black dragon and elf. As he opened his mouth—

  Excuse me, I would appreciate another bowl of soup.

  Heron almost choked on his spit. That wasn’t Lucifer in his head. The voice that had just spoken in his mind was… feminine. Rather polite and soft. Definitely not Lucifer’s voice of its varying range—from the masculine, deep voice when it was in dragon form to the higher-pitched energetic voice in its rabbit form. This feminine voice belonged to someone else.

  That someone else would be me.

  The black dragon booped its snoot on the empty wooden bowl in front of it. Heron blinked at it and dropped his spoon. Another mind-reading dragon?!

  What do you mean another one!? Lucifer’s voice cracked in Heron’s head.

  Oh. So this was news to it too—

  It seems your companion is… lacking.

  His companion was lacking? Lacking in what? Size, form, shape, attitude—

  Lacking?! Is that other dragon talking to you—

  And now Heron had two voices in his head. While one was feminine and calm, Lucifer’s voice was shrill and panicked like it always was when it was in rabbit form. Standing up, Heron reached for the pot over the hearth and served the black dragon another bowl of soup by pouring the rest of it into its large wooden bowl. The black dragon made a rumbling noise in its chest as it dug into it.

  Taking his seat once more, Heron picked up his dropped spoon from the bowl and decided it was best to continue eating like nothing had happened and that there weren’t two dragons in his head bickering to him and ignoring one another.

  Ah, we are not ignoring one another. He simply cannot hear me in your head.

  What’s she telling you? Stop eating that soup! Hello, Heron—

  “Knock it off, Sera. You’re frightening both of them.” The elf spoke quietly as she set her spoon down in her soup bowl.

  Heron almost choked on his soup. Can the elf hear his thoughts too?!

  All I wanted was another bowl of soup. The black dragon said easily as it slurped away. And no, Alice cannot hear your thoughts.

  “Serafina.” The elf frowned as she swept her gaze over her companion. “You must stop doing this every time we meet a criminal.”

  Serafina? Alice? Heron stared at the black dragon then at the elf girl. Clearing his throat, he set his spoon down before gesturing to Lucifer.

  “This is Lucifer,” then pointed at himself. “And I’m Heron.”

  I prefer Lord Greatest of All Time but I have allowed the peasant to call me Lucifer.

  The white rabbit puffed its chest out proudly, soup dripping down the front of its fur. The elf—Alice—crossed her arms and stared at the two of them, her gaze flipping between Lucifer and Heron. Serafina stood a little straighter, unfurling its wings as it snorted once.

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  I do sincerely apologize, Lord… Lucifer. Please excuse my boldness, but are you aware that all of us can hear you?

  At that note, Heron glanced over to Lucifer who met his gaze. Lucifer blinked, then looked back to Serafina.

  What do you mean?

  “Private DMs.” Alice spoke as she calmly finished her soup, setting the empty bowl down next to the stool she was sitting on.

  Heron was very lost at the connotation of ‘private DMs’. He was familiar with direct messaging, especially on messaging applications designed for communication between team members for his office job in his first life.

  Private Dragon Monologuing. The black dragon mused as it raised its head from the large soup bowl, licking its lips.

  “Yes, because dragons are so chatty after all.” Alice said dryly, crossing her legs.

  Without saying another word, she gave Serafina a look, like she was saying something to her companion. But without uttering a single word.

  The black dragon made a rumbling noise, almost like laughter. You’re always welcome, Alice.

  What the hell was even happening?

  That’s what I would like to know. Lucifer hopped once, knocking its empty bowl over. I demand an explanation.

  Alice pursed her lips but remained quiet. Serafina folded its paws over one another in front of it, as it made itself comfortable on the clearing ground.

  I was speaking privately with Sir Heron. I could hear his mind responding to you. Most dragons would understand the common etiquette of not eavesdropping when private DMs are occurring. I’d also like to ask something quite curious from you.

  Serafina lowered its head across the hearth, right before the flames could tickle its throat. Now, snoot to snoot, Lucifer stared at Serafina as she stared back, less than a meter away. Heron had the intrusive thought that Serafina could totally eat Lucifer right now but that was beside the point—

  Lord Lucifer, why are you a rabbit?

  Silence hung in the air.

  Nobody spoke, and Heron flicked his gaze between Alice, Serafina, and then Lucifer. Normally, Lucifer was not one to be quiet. Always full of ideas, yapping, and unfiltered monologues. But this time, it was as quiet as a rabbit should be. After a longer moment of silence, Heron cleared his throat.

  “So um, why are we criminals again?”

  Serafina withdrew from staring down Lucifer, making itself comfortable once more. Alice met Heron’s gaze before furrowing her brow as she scowled.

  “Even if you’re a citizen of the kingdom of Morningstar, you still need to have the proper licensing to be living on one of the micro-planets that belong to the kingdom. Not to mention with warring times, these territories are under dispute.”

  Oh lords of heavens, had Heron been a squatter this whole time?!

  “Either way, you’re trespassing. I chose this planet for us to fall to when,” Alice glanced over to Serafina then back to Heron, her expression sullen. “We were attacked in the plane of time and space.”

  The plane of time and space?

  Alice. Serafina’s voice came as a warning, as stern of a look that a dragon could give.

  “Anyway,” Alice continued but was clearly back on track. “We’ll need to take you in for some questioning, you’ll need to bring your paperwork and registration, and most likely you’ll be fined—“

  And if we don’t want to?

  Heron blinked as he turned his attention to Lucifer. The white rabbit was still small, cute, and fluffy, but its fur was puffed even though it was quaking. From bravery or fear, Heron wasn’t sure which it was.

  That question is invalid. Serafina replied simply. It does not matter if you want to or do not want to. We will be bringing you in per protocol.

  The two of them stared at one another, red eyes meeting golden ones. Heron did not like the tension he saw, considering one was the size of an extra large meatloaf, and the other was a goddamn dragon.

  “Alright, we’ll come with you.” Heron interjected quickly before one of them became Serafina’s post-soup dessert.

  “Of course you are.” Alice stood up, brushing down the leather that covered her garments. “Now, show me where you put my armor.”

  After a full armor fitting and several awkward small talks later, Alice and Serafina were waiting as patiently as they could for Heron to finish up his business before he was kidnapped away once again. He had asked them for some time to ensure that his tiny planet was in good hands with Mother Nature before running off with them to get his mugshot taken. Besides, he also needed to say goodbye to his friends.

  First, Heron checked on Melvin.

  Even though the potato fields had exploded and there were scattered spuds everywhere, thank goodness no starches were harmed in the catastrophe of a dragon leaving a crater in its wake—Heron had no idea how the potatoes had survived unscathed during the crash but was delighted. For a moment, he thought about bringing some potatoes for the road but he didn’t want to get in trouble for trafficking goods and plants in case that was not cool.

  And while the field had essentially exploded, it had not harmed Melvin’s shelter or pasture since they had been just far enough away, though there were a few stray potatoes that had flown and hit the roof and lay in the pasture like Easter eggs or cow manure.

  “Good girl, Melvin.” Heron patted the cow one final time before opening the shabby gate he had procured from Steve the tree just a while back. “Take care of yourself while I get in trouble.”

  Melvin nuzzled Heron once, then mooed, and grinned as it sprinted away.

  Heron hoped it would not be the last time he saw Melvin. She was a good cow. And he was going to miss her—even if he was being a little dramatic and was only going to be gone for a day or two.

  After searching the camp from high to low, Heron finally found Charcoco in the wheat field, digesting a potato that must have flown there from the crash. He didn’t pat the blue slime—the one time he did, his hand had gotten slimy and made his skin itch. Guess Heron was allergic to gluttonous slimes.

  “Goodbye Charcoco.” He whispered as he feigned a pat on the slime. It sludged as it continued to eat the potato. “Be a good little slime and please don’t eat my house while I’m gone. I’ll make more charcoal for you when I’m back.”

  After his heartfelt goodbyes, Heron returned to the center of the campsite where Alice, Serafina, and Lucifer waited for him.

  “Did you bring everything?” Alice asked, her gaze dragging up and down Heron.

  Uh, everything? Heron checked his dress shirt, slacks, and his shoes. He considered putting on his tie but maybe that was overkill. Although Alice hadn’t commented on his outfit, he figured he wasn’t dressed too strangely–maybe suits and office clothes were normal in this world. Besides, this was everything he needed to bring, right? Just him and his clothes.

  “Yeah, I’ve got everything.” He nodded.

  Glancing back one final time, Heron’s eyes ran over his cabin, his fields, the hearth, and the place he had called home the past half year. Once again, the call of adventure and life of a criminal were stripping him away from his cozy, farming life.

  “Alright, let’s go.” Heron shoved a potato into his pocket before picking up Lucifer in his arms.

  Time to see what the kingdom of Morningstar had waiting for him.