Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 139

Hearing those words, Ayra found herself caught in a mess of emotions—was she annoyed that Janus had spent all this time trying to kill her, or was she actually... glad that in the end, he hadn’t been able to? Remembering that Janus had saved her twice now—from collapsing walls and buildings—she decided to give a few more points to the latter.

"But you’re still not completely sure, right? What if I’m not your mate? Are you going to kill me and destroy my territory anyway? Must be nice being a dragon. You can just slaughter humans until ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) you find your ‘one.’"

As she spoke, something unexpectedly flared in her chest, and she found herself slipping into sarcasm. Janus, however, responded without a hint of irritation.

"Let’s be precise. I said mate, not lifebond. And I’m risking my life, too, you know. It’s not like I expected my mate to be a terrifying mage like you."

Risking your life, huh? That was rich—especially coming from the creature who’d nearly killed her multiple times while she had to explode expensive artifacts just to survive. Ayra scoffed.

"So what’s the difference between a mate and a lifebond?"

Spoken like a true researcher—starting with definitions. Janus, surprisingly helpful, answered in a smooth tone.

"A lifebond means you’re the only person I can have sex with. A mate means we can share a significant emotional connection."

Did he really need to emphasize sex like that? Ayra had a feeling Janus viewed lifebonds more like designated sex partners. And from the way he said it, it sounded like dragons couldn’t even form emotional bonds unless it was with their mate.

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"Of course, even if you’re not my mate, I won’t kill you."

He said it in that lazy, arrogant voice of his.

"You’re far too entertaining. Honestly, even if you’re not my mate, you’re... good enough."

His gaze slid over her, thick and slow like oil, and he licked his lips like he was parched.

"After our last fight, I imagined you dying. It pissed me off. I wanted to crush everything. Same if someone else killed you."

A flash of ice flickered across his face—probably remembering the assassination attempt. He clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Humans are so damn fragile. You so much as tap them, and they’re gone."

Then he murmured, almost to himself, “Maybe I should feed you more meat. You’ve put on some weight.” His eyes roamed up and down Ayra’s body, and for some reason, it didn’t feel gross or threatening. Instead, Ayra felt... odd. A flicker of pleasure. Satisfaction. Victory.

What was certain was that the feeling wasn’t unpleasant. And it wasn’t just the thrill of taming a dragon or becoming a mate. Her heartbeat quickened, her chest swelled slightly, then deflated slowly. She tucked the emotion away, saving it to examine later.

"Hm, alright. So you think I’m your mate, and even if I’m not, you won’t kill me. Thanks for clarifying."

Ayra said sweetly. Janus’s red eyebrows twitched. That clearly wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for, and Ayra smirked inwardly. She’d already run the calculations.

So I’m your mate, huh?

She let herself savor the moment—and a subtle spark of revenge bloomed. How much had she suffered because of this dragon? She still held a grudge over the expensive magical dolls and tools that had been destroyed in tears because of him.

Even if I’m not your mate, you still can’t kill me?

She could almost hear the shift in power. The arrogant dragon who viewed humans as little more than clever beasts was now at a disadvantage. She imagined flattening Sobletz and Bolni, those lords who’d mocked Solar, and expanding her territory with a dragon at her side.

But then her rational mind snapped her back into place. She wasn’t going to leap into his arms just because she was happy about the situation. Just because Janus couldn’t kill her didn’t mean she was his slave.

And besides, Janus had left room for uncertainty. “Might” be his mate. Dragons “usually” didn’t kill their mates. “Usually” wasn’t the same as never. Ayra wanted to minimize any risk. And clearly, Janus wasn’t the type who liked submissive partners anyway.

"I'm going to speak with Lord Argan now... Are you staying?"

Her voice was as pleasant and courteous as ever, but Janus frowned as if he’d just heard something terribly offensive. Suit yourself, Ayra shrugged lightly, then turned her attention to Argan.

"Lord Argan. So—who did this to you?"

Janus shot Argan a glare so sharp and cold it could slice. Argan turned pale and opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, then carefully turned his body away and buried his face in the corner like he was trying to disappear.

"Is that all the story we get?"

Janus’s lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were glowing red, burning with the desire to devour. Ayra watched the ever-shifting expression on his face—conflict passing over his features every few seconds—and smiled right back.

"Unless you’ve got something else to say, go ahead."

"Heh..."

His lips curled into a rare, full smile. Not angry or irritated—he looked genuinely entertained.

"I figured. Even if I told you you're my mate, you wouldn’t come running into my arms, huh?"

Ayra blinked innocently, pretending she didn’t understand. A strange silence fell between them—his savage, unblinking red eyes staring straight into her cool blue-gray gaze, which did not flinch once.

Finally, Janus rose to his feet, casting a shadow over Ayra. His crimson eyes, once brimming with arrogance, softened slightly. Ayra suddenly wondered: when exactly did that look in his eyes... start to resemble something human?

"Ayra."

He approached, steps heavy and intense. Then, to her surprise, he dropped to one knee at her feet. His exquisitely carved face lit up with a confident, almost seductive smile.

"Will you go out with me again?"

"Hmm..."

Ayra gave the most vague response imaginable. Even being asked out by a dragon—turning him down felt way more thrilling than she expected. She decided to enjoy this feeling. As she purposefully looked away, warm fingers wrapped around her ankle. The pose might have been submissive, but the grip was anything but gentle.

"If I do something for you... will you agree to date me?"

"I'm not really feeling it... But if you really want it, why don’t you kiss my shoe? Then I’ll think about it."

The moment she said that, Janus’s eyes briefly flashed a vivid blue. Ayra tensed slightly at her own boldness—but to her surprise, there was no sign of anger in his red eyes. If anything, the flames inside them burned even brighter.

Right, Ayra thought. As if something as minor as kissing someone’s shoe could humiliate a being like him. Would that even count as an insult?

"You really are infuriatingly arrogant."

Janus muttered as he lowered his upper body slowly. His fingers slid up her pants leg like a serpent, stroking the tender skin inside her knee.

"What if I get mad and kill you?"

"Will you?"

He rested the filthy sole of her shoe in his palm, raising his eyes up to meet hers. As if proving how twisted he really was, the look on his face radiated something lewd and dark even in this bizarre situation. Ayra pressed further.

"Even if I tried to kill you... you still wouldn’t kill me, right?"

Her voice carried a trace of confidence, and Janus chuckled low in his throat. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and kissed the top of her shoe. Then he pushed up her pant leg and rubbed his lips against her ankle, gently grazing it with his teeth. When he bit down and left a mark just above her anklebone, Ayra involuntarily swallowed hard.

Then Janus clamped down on the tough buffalo leather of her shoe, and without even straining, tore a hole in it. The sheer strength in his bite was terrifying.

"Why would I kill you? This is way too fun."

Fun, huh? Ayra wasn’t so sure about that. To Janus, her shoe probably felt like chewing gum. Or worse—like a dog chew toy.

"But even if I can’t kill you... what if I slaughter your retainers? Your people?"

Still chewing up the expensive leather like it was trash, Janus glanced up. Ayra tried pulling her foot back, failed, and met his gaze without flinching.

"What could a mere human do? At most..."

She paused, then said in an innocent, gentle voice, soft as lamb’s wool:

"At most, you’d just lose the chance to ever make me love you."

Then she added sweetly, almost playfully:

"You know, the dragon who once ruled this land lost his mate in the end, didn’t he? Maybe that’s all we’ll become, too—you and me. Just another repetition of that same old story."

Janus burst into laughter like a lunatic.

[Janus Rehzedet’s Favorability has increased by 6!]

Current Favorability: 56♡

His favorability was rising faster than ever—like a snowball rolling down a mountain. Not so long ago, even a single point had taken endless effort. Ayra briefly entertained the absurd thought: What if it actually reaches 100 someday? She’d seen thousands of stat windows in her life, but even between parent and child, a perfect 100 was rare.

"Probably. That’d be a problem..."

Janus muttered in a voice that sounded not the least bit troubled as he finally released her poor, mangled shoe. In this freezing weather, with her one good shoe now in ruins, her foot was instantly chilled. She glanced down—turns out her sock had a hole in it too.