The sudden convergence of golden particles of light illuminated the room in a blinding golden light, forcing me to look away while I shielded my eyes behind my arms.
When the light dissipated, I noticed a change on Mr. Blonde's arm.
His bare, unsleeved arm has a tattoo now. Part of it had a side profile silhouette of himself.
Puuur!
I looked to my right and saw a small dragon sitting on the desk. Its scales were golden like the orbs the man conjured.
Huh?
The dragon mewled, golden orbs exactly like the ones the man conjured appeared above its snout.
It's like a baby.
The small dragon crawled on its fours in front of the man before standing upright. Mr. Blonde spoke more syllables to the dragon, to which the golden reptile nodded before tucking its head and closing its eyes to concentrate.
The dragon's already golden body seemed to shine brighter. I shielded my eyes with my arm again.
At this rate, I should just make a pair of mirror shades.
When the dragon's light dimmed, a black pattern was drawn on its back. It had similar designs to the tattoo on the man's arm. The other part was a side profile silhouette of a dragon breathing fire. The depicted dragon looked more leviathan and menacing, a stark contrast to the tiny creature waddling on the man's desk.
Mr. Blonde moved to pet the dragon on its head. The dragon purred louder, tip-toeing on its feet to further embrace the man's affectionate touch.
I looked at the man's face. He smiled again, but this time it seemed genuine. If I had to describe it, it was as if the man had been through a long day at work. After he finished working, he went home mentally drained. Petting the dragon as he was now was one of the ways he could recharge the energy he spent working.
It was a nice scene, although…
Did he forget that I'm here?
He chuckled before glancing back at me. He quickly retracted his hand from the dragon, as if indulging any further would turn him into an affectionate fool. Mr. Blonde put a fist in front of his mouth and cleared his throat, regaining his composure.
The man presented the arm with the newly appeared tattoo. The dragon understood the man's intentions and presented its back with the tattoo to me.
It's like he's trying to tell me something. He's placing importance on the tattoo they both have, but without words to convey, all I can do is guess.
I looked at the miniature three-obelisk altar formed on the table with golden orbs, then back to the pair of tattoos.
Could the tattoo and the altar have some relationship?
I noticed all the orbs floating above the table.
From what I saw, the dragon possesses the same power the man has with Mr. Blonde's ability to create and command golden orbs at will.
Were they both given the ability or did one get it from the other? Is chanting necessary when using the power, or was he simply commanding the dragon to follow his example?
Regardless, finding answers to these questions wasn't the priority now, as Mr. Blonde was staring at me.
Thoughts ran through my head as I thought about everything presented to me. The man's knowledge of the altar. He and his dragon willingly reveal their tattoos. Their shared power.
Could it be that his golden dragon was summoned on that same altar?
Seeing that this room was no stranger to displays of power, I thought of replying in kind. Since words weren't an option, I should try using my Imagination Manifestation to present ideas I'm thinking of.
My hand hovered over a space on Mr. Blonde's desk. I visualized the same black altar I had reincarnated on.
A miniature version appeared on the desk, with alien green symbols and traced green groves carved into its structure. It was made of plastic, looking like any toy you'd see in stores.
Next, I imagined a miniature dragon in the palm of my hand, mimicking the same features I saw on its body, save the tattoo. It was made of rubber, similar to what stress balls are made of. I put the miniature rubber dragon on the scaled-down black altar, having it waddle like a penguin off the altar, before letting go of it on the table. I felt like a kid again, playing with toys.
I looked at Mr. Blonde's face. His expression told me he was surprised by my display of power. He took the tiny version of his golden dragon and inspected it closely.
With a wave of his hand, the floating golden orbs dissipated.
He took both the altar and dragon replicas, balancing the tiny replica dragon on the altar like a waiter with a plate before moving toward the door to his right, the one adjacent to the shelf with the dead branch.
He opened it and walked inside. Not long after, we walked out, closed the door behind him. and sat back down at his desk.
I guess he wants to keep them.
Mr. Blonde gestured his hand toward the door. Golden orbs formed in the air, slowly moving toward the door behind me.
Guess that's my cue to leave.
I got up slowly, waiting for him to tell me to sit down again. Seeing that he didn't, I bowed slightly as a show of thanks, following etiquette I remembered from Japanese culture, before turning around and walking toward the door my summoner walked out of.
Seeing how smoothly things went, I guess you could call that a success.
I motioned to open the door, but the golden orbs beat me to it, opening it for me.
I turned around and nodded slightly toward Mr. Blonde as another show of thanks. When I stepped out of the office, the door closed itself.
Interesting.
I looked around the hall I found myself in, hoping to find my summoner.
He shouted some syllables in worry, running to me. From how worried he sounded, he was either asking about my well-being or if whatever lie he'd said to Mr. Blonde had held.
I merely gave him a thumbs-up, hoping that'd portray the words "everything went smoothly."
Judging by how his expression shifted, that didn't reassure him.
Well, I'm not sure what I can tell you.
I looked around, noticing the interior architecture of the building we were in. Across the door I went through were windows lining the hallway we were standing. They went from waist level to the ceiling, letting in an abundant amount of sunlight.
The floor had a long red rug reaching from one end of the hallway to the other.
I looked out the window, tuning out the syllables sounding like words that my summoner was speaking.
Through the gridded window panes, I saw a lush forest and a mountain further out, with a river flowing between them. The sun illuminated the landscape, making the scenery feel more vibrant.
It'd be nice to take a picture of this scenery.
I reminisced about all the times I had taken pictures with my phone.
The sound of a door opening brought me out of my nostalgic daydreaming. Mr. Blonde walked toward us, holding a box no longer than his forearm.
He offered it to me, expression indifferent as when I first encountered him.
The sight of the box sent my summoner into a panic, only to be shut down again by a few stern syllables from Mr. Blonde. The man looked at me expectantly while my summoner seemed somewhat nervous.
I guess I'll open it.
I complied with the unspoken request, being careful not damage the package so as to not appear impatient or reckless. Inside the box was a shirt with a distinguishing emblem.