"Gurgle~! Gurgle gurgle!?"

  The rabbit, upon making eye contact with Zephyr, widened its eyes dramatically before promptly lying down and fainting, its form rapidly blurring and disappearing.

  "...Ah? Fainted from fright..." Patty quickly communicated with her summon through their contract but received no response. However, the contract remained intact, indicating her summon was still alive, suggesting it had fainted from fright.

  "It's okay." Zephyr waved his hand lightly. The rabbit, more accurately a half-rabbit humanoid, was several times larger than a regular rabbit and seemed to possess considerable intelligence based on its earlier behavior.

  At least, judging by the terrified look in its eyes, it recognized Zephyr, almost as if it wanted to scream 'There's a dragon!' like a human would.

  "Can summoners only summon their summons in this projection form?"

  Patty looked somewhat embarrassed, "My mana isn't sufficient, so I can only do it this way. If my strength increases, I could directly summon my summon beside me."

  "So if you contracted a stronger creature, wouldn't you be unable to summon it when needed?" Zephyr asked while staring at the array he had drawn on his palm, which was the summoning array he had just seen.

  Compared to flat arrays, three-dimensional ones were harder to draw. Flat arrays only required drawing the pattern correctly, whereas 3D arrays involved many more factors.

  Patty shook her head, "If the summoned creature is very strong, the summoner receives additional feedback from it. Even if they can't summon the actual body, they can still summon a projection. If the summoned creature is willing to share the mana consumption, then the summoner can definitely bring out the real deal."

  "Huh~ So that's how it works." Zephyr nodded slightly, "Could that rabbit also help you share the mana consumption?"

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  "It's a bit timid, so each time it summons, it first comes as a projection to check things out," Patty said helplessly. She had even hidden Zephyr's presence from the rabbit during the summoning; otherwise, it might not have even accepted such a basic summon.

  Zephyr nodded to show he understood. After chatting a bit more, Patty felt more relaxed and watched him stare at the magic array he had drawn on his palm.

  She took several deep breaths and, when Zephyr dismissed the array, cautiously approached him, "Um, Mr. Dragon, may I touch you?"

  "...," Seeing her hopeful eyes, Zephyr nodded.

  With his permission, Patty's trembling hand touched one of Zephyr's scales. At that moment, she was so excited she almost jumped—she had really touched a dragon!

  "Huh... Am I not dead?" Hearing a weak voice behind her, Patty reluctantly withdrew her hand and turned around to see the second awakened girl, her roommate who was not a summoner but a mage. Given mages' stronger mental powers, she recovered from the hallucinations faster.

  However, others were waking up too. With Patty's reassurance, they were surprised but not as shocked as Patty initially was upon seeing Zephyr.

  "Why hasn't the teacher woken up yet?" Patty's roommate wondered, looking at the still unconscious teacher, "Does this mean we've become stronger than him?"

  Where did young people get such confidence? Zephyr glanced at the girl and pointed to a long stick stuck in the ground, "He woke up earlier but hadn't recovered from the hallucinations, so I knocked him out again."

  "Now that you're all awake, take him and leave," Zephyr said, having stayed in place for a day and night because of these people.

  Patty looked at Zephyr, nodding reluctantly, suppressing her desire to propose an equal contract or even a subordinate contract with him.

  But it was just a thought; she didn't dare to propose it directly, even though Zephyr didn't act like the dragons described in books and had even saved them...

  Books about dragons indicated they were proud beings, with every right to be so. As a newly entered-level summoner, she had no right to make such a proposal.

  It was akin to a beggar wanting to dine and drink with a tycoon. Once proposed, he would surely be furious, potentially endangering her classmates and teacher.

  "By the way, don't tell anyone about me," Zephyr added as Patty and the others prepared to leave.

  The students quickly agreed. Just as they were about to depart, the phantom maid returned, stopping them and placing a dark-colored paper in Zephyr's hand.

  "Huh... A contract." Squinting at the content, Zephyr muttered. His words made two of the students' faces momentarily stiffen.

  Glancing at those two, Zephyr gave a light hum. He wasn't stupid; their reactions clearly indicated they harbored ill intentions.

  Seeing Zephyr's glance, the two students paled, feeling an urge to flee. Though their knowledge of dragons was limited, they could tell Zephyr was likely a young dragon—not particularly strong. Reporting this back to their families would be a significant achievement.

  After all, there had never been any record of dragon activity in the Illusionary Demon Forest, a place where only certain special creatures could survive.

  After reading the content, Zephyr placed the contract in front of Patty and the others, "This is much more effective than a verbal agreement. Sign it."

  The contract required the students and teacher to keep everything about him confidential, forbidding any active disclosure. Violation would result in losing all knowledge of him, including their souls.

  Seeing the terms, the already pale-faced students turned even paler. This contract effectively quashed any of their thoughts, and the dark aura emanating from the paper indicated it wasn't an ordinary magic contract. Such contracts typically carried severe penalties, ensuring strict adherence without any leeway.