[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-82":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},1705069,2177,"Chapter 79: Disciple of Arcane Ortography","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-82",82,"\u003Cp>I was hunched over the grimoire like it might suddenly start making sense if I stared hard enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runes on the page just sat there—elaborate, smug, utterly indecipherable. Like theyknewI was faking it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dragged a finger under the letters, mouthing each sound out like some deranged puppet. \"Ruh… oh… tuh…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Orthography ishard,” I muttered to myself, as if the book cared. “Too many bloody vowels. And what's with all the silent consonants? If you're not gonna make a sound, why show up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Words blurred. My eyes ached. The ink shimmered with malicious joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, I gave up. Slammed the book shut. Kicked off my hideous scholar clogs with enough force to dent divine geometry. Threw on my cloak and snuck out under moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dragon was camped two valleys out, behind the ridge with the crooked pine and the waterfall that sounded like someone constantly sighing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up from his pile of scrolls and roasted rabbits as I approached, clutching a smaller book under my arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s that?” he asked, tail flicking lazily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I held it up like a sacred relic. “The Happy Alphabet of Arcania.For beginner minds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squinted. “Are those… cartoon letters with smiling faces?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t judge me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Itoldyou this was a stupid idea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stamped my foot. “Teach me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Teach youwhat? High Draconic? Demotic Lepintic? Or maybe Deathrune Syntax 101?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. All of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at me like I had just asked him to braid a basilisk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Saya,” he said slowly, “the moment I teach you to read those glyphs, your immunity is gone. You’ll see the death magic in Gregory’s book—and then you’lldie. Instantly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked. “…Oh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh indeed,” he hissed. “The protection is your ignorance, darling. It’s the only thing keeping your soul inside your perky little body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I crossed my arms. “Well what the hell am I supposed to do then? Charm my way past a blind demonic-cat-sporting librarian who cansniffliteracy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” he said. “That.Precisely that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scowled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He added, a little more gently, “Find another way. Use that dirty little brain of yours. Or those hips. But don’t you dare open that book with your eyes trained.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat down beside him and sulked. The fire crackled. He handed me a chunk of rabbit. I chewed in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stupid knowledge. Stupid Gregory. Stupid cursed book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stupid alphabet,” I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chuckled. “You should’ve stuck to whorecraft.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shut up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Archdeacon’s bed was, predictably, austere. Iron frame. No pillows. Sheets like monastic parchment. Still smelled like incense and denial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lay curled against his side, one leg draped over his robe-clad thigh, humming softly into his ear. He hadn’t quite caught his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mmm. I bet that succubus in your binding circle never made youfeelthis way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tensed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So stiff. So controlled. So bound by contract. Not like me. I’m just…” I kissed the tip of his ear, “curious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swallowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“About knowledge,” I purred. “About forbidden things. About ancient texts and scholarly integrity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also,” I whispered, tracing my finger down his chest, “I was wondering if you might do me atinyfavor. Just a little… verification.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Verification?” he said, suddenly wary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A signature. On this.” I slid a folded parchment from beneath the sheets. “Just to confirm that I’ve passed my Entry Examinations in Theoretical Binding and Arcane Orientation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brow furrowed. “But you haven’t—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah-ah.” I pressed a finger to his lips. “Let’s not sully this beautiful moment withtechnicalities. I mean, youfeltthe strength of my… willpower. Myapplicationof sacred technique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The succubus in the circle across the room gave a low growl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s just jealous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the paper. At me. At the circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One little signature?” I coaxed. “Just a squiggle? You’ve already compromised your clerical purity—what’s a bit of paperwork between scholars?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the quill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Archdeacon frowned as he examined the parchment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you only attended theintroductorylecture.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stretched, bare and smug against the sheet. “Yes. And I found it… illuminating.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One lecture does not qualify you for access to the Lower Sanctum.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, I don’t know.” I leaned in, voice syrupy. “I know plenty now. Like, for example…” I gestured toward the binding circle in the corner of the room, “abouther.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The succubus blinked slowly. Her claws tapped the chalk sigil, eyes glowing faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s notregistered, is she?” I asked sweetly. “Not declared to the clerical board? Not documented as a shared instructional resource?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been keeping her all to yourself. Naughty, naughty. What would the rest of the faculty say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Holy Inquisition—” he began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“—Would beveryinterested,” I said, sitting up and letting the sheet falljustenough. “In yourteaching methods. In the… extracurricular activities. In the misuse of bound infernals.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swallowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilted my head. “How do you know I’m not alreadyan agentof the Grand Inquisitor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face went pale. The succubus grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now be a darling,” I said, holding out the quill, “and give me that signature. Unless you'd rather explain yourprivate demonetteto the next purity tribunal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grumbling, he signed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kissed the top of his head. “You’re such a good administrator.”\u003C\u002Fp>",859,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.620Z",1,"novelbin.me","49b30f37f56cdde8f8dfaf870b3be7faf00b0609c988abb0ea3685fd140473ca","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-83","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-81",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]