[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-38":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705225,2177,"Chapter 35: Picnic in Cypress Shade","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>The imp nearly pissed himself when he saw the Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dropped the basket, squealed like a kicked goose, and ran for the hills, clutching his little fez like it owed him money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kicked the basket open with my silk-slippered foot. “Drama queen,” I muttered. “It’s not like you eat every courier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon raised his head slowly, eyes glowing faintly. “You had him carrying your loot?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ihadhim carrying our loot. Now I have no delivery guy and no tip to give.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spread the picnic blanket with a flourish. Gold-threaded silk. Ridiculously impractical. Probably cursed. Don’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Behold!” I said, arms wide. “The spoils of our most recent fraudulent conquest!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sneezed. Twice. Then growled, “You picked the middle of a godsdamn lavender field.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did,” I grinned, plopping down and pulling my dress tight around my thighs. “Because it’s pretty. And you hate it. And because I can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sniffed suspiciously. “What’s in the basket?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Magic,” I said. “And cheese.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled out a slab of pale stuff wrapped in leaves. “This one is... soft goat cheese whipped with saffron and... some flower. Maybe a daisy. I wasn’t listening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I slapped it onto a cracker and shoved it toward his snout. “Open.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rolled my eyes. “It’s not poisoned. Probably.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed like I’d just asked him to recite ancient treaties naked. Then opened his mouth a crack. I popped it in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chewed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too soft,” he grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re too soft.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sneezed again and hissed. “This field is a death trap.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I poured a thimble of deep red wine and waved it dramatically. “Drink this. You’ll feel like a baron’s mistress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He narrowed his eyes. “Smells like syrup.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Itissyrup. With attitude. Drink.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took it. Sipped. Coughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too sweet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You said the same about me once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never said that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Youthoughtit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bit into a honey fig and made a noise that was borderline obscene. Then caught him watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” I said through a mouthful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head. “You act like a noblewoman. A ridiculous, spoiled one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I winked. “Takes one to know one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squinted. “How doyouknow about all this? These aren’t brothel snacks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I smirked. “Thought I was just some gutter rat?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I licked honey off my fingers, slowly, deliberately. “Well, yes. That too. But also—some of thefanciestpleasure houses in the plains. Places with marble bathtubs. Perfumed pillows. Clients who bathe. Once I served soup topless to a cardinalandhis wife. She tipped better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He choked slightly. “That can’t be true.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrugged. “Does it matter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sneezed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I told you,” I said, tossing a candied date into his mouth, “I’m an experience.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chewed, grumbled, but didn’t spit it out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Face it,” I said, stretching out on the blanket, “you lucked out. Most dragons get virgin sacrifices and screaming.Youget me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave me the longest, slowest stare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then muttered, “Truly, a divine punishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly,” I beamed. “Now eat your fig, you glorious old bastard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stretched. Long. Lazy. Arms overhead, tits pushing against the silk, back arched just enough to be entirely unnecessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmm. Isn’t this divine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon sneezed so hard a nearby bush caught fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I popped a slice of dried mango into my mouth, chewed with theatrical delight, and said around it, “Careful. Might set your own tail alight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes narrowed. “You’re in anew dress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wiggled my shoulders. “Am I?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sniffed again. “You are.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well-spotted, bloodhound.” I kicked one leg in the air and let it flop dramatically back onto the blanket. The bangles around my ankles jingled like guilty wind chimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze dropped to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those are new too,” he growled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Obviously.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where did the coin come from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From the universe,” I said, wiggling my foot in the air. “The universe provides for girls who look this good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Which brothel did you rob?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gasped. “That isdeeplyoffensive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed a claw at my ankles. “They don’t even match.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wiggled again. “Andfabulous,right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat up and smacked both ankles together so they jingled like a drunk temple procession. “I couldn’t decide. So I got both sets. One’s from a Toemachan dancer. The other was hanging off the neck of a statue. I’m culturally diverse now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re a walking art theft.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m acurator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed. “You’re going to get us cursed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned in, grinning. “Too late. I’m already cursed with style.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another fig. Another indecent moan. Another puff of dragon smoke and sneezing fit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gods, Saya,” he muttered, coughing. “You're chaos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Luxury chaos,” I corrected, licking honey off my lips. “Now hush and try the candied beetroot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Candiedwhat?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t. But he ate it anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And sneezed.\u003C\u002Fp>",785,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.900Z",1,"novelbin.me","f1cec8300341b2fda363c32287d1ddacc1e47cfe4e065d4375f096444c0718b7","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-39","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-37",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]