[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-41":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},1705228,2177,"Chapter 38: Letters & Lies","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-41",41,"\u003Cp>I sat cross-legged on the dusty floor of Tent Seven, hunched over a scrap of parchment like it held the secrets of life, the universe, and how not to lose your mind in a totalitarian lesbian war cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In one hand: a charred twig.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the other: what remained of my dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All around me: stale sweat, cheap incense, and the faint but unmistakable scent of sheep shit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They told us to write home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reflection,” they said. “Reconnection. Spiritual grounding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure. Fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Except… where the fuck ishome?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scratched a lazy “S” into the corner. Backwards. Of course. Scratched it out. Tried again. It looked like someone carved a snake while sneezing. Good enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inn? Burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The town before that? Looted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brothel? Don’t be ridiculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The temple school? That place could burn twice and still owe me money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That fake “auntie” who “raised” me? She’d sell the letter for firewood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which left… him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That stupid, smug, treasure-sniffing bastard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gods help me, if anyone was home, it was probably him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that thought made my stomach turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where was he now? Dead? Dismembered? Mounted on some Amazon war banner? I’d heard whispers about a “serpent pelt” hanging in a trophy tent. I chose not to believe them. Had to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I jabbed the twig against the parchment. Drew another crooked letter. Stared. What was I even supposed to write?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dear flying lizard,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I miss you. But not really. But maybe a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please don’t be dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, fuck you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you writing to your mother?” came a voice beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flinched. The twig jerked, leaving a smear like a smashed spider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was that farm girl again. The dull one. Always smiling like someone promised her cake at the end of this spiritual boot camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grunted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your sister?” she guessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your sweetheart?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened my mouth to snap—but nothing came out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My nose prickled. My throat tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And, just like that, the treasonous bastards rolled down my cheeks—tears. Real ones. Uninvited. Unwelcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” I said, staring at the page. “He’s not my sweetheart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a stupid, old, scaly lizard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One who hoards gold, quotes poetry, complains about my hygiene, and once flew six leagues back because I forgot a blanket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked down. The “S” was warped, bleeding ink from a teardrop. The page looked ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anyway,” I muttered, “he’s probably dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The farm girl didn’t say anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For once, she just sat there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And thank the gods for that.\u003C\u002Fp>",415,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.900Z",1,"novelbin.me","8f8b07eb6475fab0fa38bb740404f6397810540cfba735509aa0a7f960fa9517","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-42","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-40",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]