Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Crab
The alarm began ringing, a shrill chirping that ricocheted inside Lucius’s skull like a bullet.

He groaned and forced his eyes open, only to be greeted with the unpleasant realization that Minerva’s legs were still sprawled across his face as if he were a pillow designed for dragons specifically.

“Keep your dirty feet to yourself, damn dragon,” he muttered while pushing her legs aside.

She grumbled incoherently, rolled over, and promptly slid back into the deepest sleep known to any creature on the third floor.

Lucius rubbed his eyes and leaned toward the small wooden desk where he vaguely remembered placing his phone the night before. “It should be around dinner right now…”

He picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, and froze. His eyes widened more the longer he stared. “What do you mean it’s 8am?”

He sat up so fast that Minerva jolted awake from the sudden movement.

She clutched at the blanket and blinked several times.

“W-what’s the matter?” Her mind felt strangely warm and hazy. ‘I haven’t slept that good in a while.’

Whether it was Lucius’s scent lingering in the fabric or the simple comfort of watching horror movies beside him, she didn’t know.

But she knew one thing for certain. ‘He smells nice even though I smell bad… Should I kidnap him and force him to be my roll-on forever?’

Her draconic brain supplied the thought with zero hesitation.

Then her human-learned logic protested loudly.

That wasn’t good in human culture. That was something lunatics did. But then again, she was a dragon. Did cultural morality even apply?

She contemplated it for approximately three seconds before thinking…

‘S-ranks… S-ranks will stop me,’ and promptly abandoning the idea.

Dragons or not, humans were terrifying when angry.

Lucius exhaled hard.

“I overslept and I missed good dinner.” He slid out of bed without caring that he was shirtless, then opened the tent flap.

Vanessa was just finishing up breakfast with her back to him, ladling portions into plates.

“Oh hey Bo— your shirt,” Erika started before reddening visibly. Lucius didn’t pay her any attention; the last thing on his mind right now was modesty.

His mind was more occupied with the quiet absence of Rita barging in to nag him awake.

‘I’m honestly surprised that Rita didn’t come to nag me in my sleep.’ Maybe she had matured, or maybe the embarrassment of what she had done yesterday… He really couldn’t put much thought to it.

He approached Vanessa.

“Hey cutie.”

No response.

“Are you angry that I missed dinner?”

Still nothing.

Lucius blinked, a little stunned.

This was legitimately the first time in this world he had received the silent treatment. From Vanessa, of all people. And it hurt…

A surprising amount.

“Can I at least have breakfast?” He wasn’t particularly hungry, but Vanessa’s cooking was the best food he ever had that didn’t come from a restaurant menu.

Even if she didn’t cook often at home, when she did, it was heavenly.

Vanessa continued plating food without acknowledging him.

Her eyes were slightly glossy but not enough for tears.

She finally exhaled sharply and whispered, “Day before yesterday… you were with Rita.” Her fingers trembled as she gripped a spoon. “And now you’re with that no-name dragon girl… Why didn’t you tell me, or better yet, why can’t you stay with me for once?”

Lucius opened his mouth, ready to explain. “I had a deal with Rita, and for Minerva, both of us fell asleep after watch—”

Vanessa raised a hand sharply, signaling him to be silent. “You’re not eating my food. If you want some, then you better cook it yourself.”

Lucius stared at her.

She stared right back.

Her eyes glowed red from the blood magic always swirling beneath the surface, but her expression was soft and she looked… wounded.

She thought quietly to herself.

‘I saw on a forum that if you give your man attitude, they will focus on you more. This is just a minor argument. He’ll stop me, hug me, maybe say something sweet.’

She was guilty for the whole dinner situation yesterday, but she wanted to feel important to him again.

To her surprise, Lucius didn’t argue.

He floated upward and, with a small burst of mana, shot into the sky and toward the blood sea.

Vanessa’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”

Before she could fully process it, Minerva exited the tent and glanced at his general direction.

Her eyes widened; then she immediately leapt into the sky, trailing red light as she shot after him.

…

Lucius floated several meters above the blood-red water, his expression a mixture of irritation and self-reflection.

‘I’ll apologize later,’ he thought with a sigh. She was right.

It was inconsiderate of him, especially considering she had been wearing a buttplug solely because of him.

The guilt pricked his conscience, but the lingering soreness of oversleeping and missing a perfectly good dinner still nagged at him.

But for now, he felt adventurous. He wanted to cook his own dish.

Minerva arrived moments later, drifting beside him with a disgruntled pout. “I’m… hungry…”

“Go get your own,” he said without sparing her a glance. “As a dragon, you eat raw stuff, right?”

“Yes, but after learning your human customs, I realize that raw stuff isn’t the way to go.” She crossed her arms as if deeply offended by her own race’s habits. “We must first clean and then season our food, otherwise it tastes… raw.”

She pronounced the last word with such disgust Lucius couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Alright, I’ll cook for both of us.” He pointed down at the shimmering red expanse below. “I want you to do something for me. Get a big edible fish… big enough for the both of us.”

Minerva blinked at him in offense.

“A dragon’s appetite is unmatched.” Then she stared down at her slim waist with sudden horror. “A big fish won’t simply be enough.”

“If you eat too much, you’ll grow very fat,” Lucius said casually.

Minerva turned pale instantly.

She looked down at her stomach in horror.

In her brief time reviewing the human customs, she had noticed something terrifying: totally overweight women faced far more judgment than even the ugliest men.

She had nothing against larger women… On the contrary, she found the confidence as admirable as a Dragon’s but she didn’t want to experience that terror herself.

“Alright,” she said rapidly. “Fish.”

She dove into the blood sea with a splash, creating a vortex that spiraled outward in massive ripples.

Lucius watched as she disappeared beneath the surface.

He wondered how dragons saw underwater. Did they have sonar? Heat vision? Pure arrogance?

‘Now that I think about it… after sleeping on the same bed as her, my mana feels completely refreshed,’ he realized as his brows furrowed.

His energy was fully restored.

Was it because she was a dragon and they slept on the same bed? Did dragons generate mana fields? He needed more tests to confirm it.

The ocean then erupted violently, sending a wall of crimson liquid into the air.

Minerva burst from the depths triumphantly, her arms wrapped around something massive and wriggling.

She landed on the surface of the water with the confidence of someone stepping onto hardwood flooring.

“I didn’t see any fish!” she shouted indignantly.

Balanced across her palm was an oversized crab monster the size of a small car.

The creature’s eight legs trembled rapidly, as if begging for mercy. “Then I saw this thing! It looks like a delicacy in the human world so I took it. You know… crab?!”

Lucius squinted at the massive creature, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

It was enormous, bright red with terrifying claws, and looked like it could kill someone with one snap.

‘What can I make with crab?’ Lucius wondered as he stroked his beardless chin.