It's just a safety device

The dragon's name was decided: Arthur.

Apparently it's the name of some hero from the past. To me it sounds very Pendragon-ish, but I wonder if that's just how it got localized? Oh well, whatever.

"Good for you, getting such a nice name, Arthur-kun."

"Ahh, thanks thanks! By the way, Dea-kun-chan is super cute, ya know! He was so happy when I let him ride on my back!"

"Boys really do love dragons, huh? Strong and cool and all that."

"Hahaha, but I'm no match for you, Anego… Wait, boy? Huh? Dea-kun-chan is male!? I totally can't tell!"

Arthur-kun did a double-take at Dea-kun.

"By the way, if I'd been the one naming you, my next candidate was 'Tama.' Be grateful to Dea-kun."

"Yes ma'am! Dea-kun-chan, thaaanks!!"

Arthur-kun flipped open his word cards to the "Thank you" page and waved it enthusiastically at Dea-kun. He seemed genuinely delighted. Yep yep, that's how it should be.

"Ahh, y'know, I'm starting to think I could go for Dea-kun-chan even if he's male. Way better than a carriage, if you know what I mean… I'd love for him to straddle my tail…"

"If you lay a claw on Dea-kun, dinner's gonna be dragon heart sashimi. Yours."

"Eek! Sorry sorry! I'd never try to steal Anego's mate! Just your cute pet running his mouth!"

W-wait, he's not my mate. That's not what this is. As I was getting flustered about that, Mashiro-san called out to me, fresh from her bath.

"Hey Karina, what's Arthur saying?"

"Nothing important, just small talk… Are you okay, Mashiro-san? You seemed really on guard earlier."

"Of course I was, it's a dragon! A dragon! Think about common sense here… actually, saying that to you is pointless at this point. Haah…"

What's that supposed to mean, like I have no common sense? … Okay, that's accurate, but still.

"Oh, right. We should be arriving at Rosetta soon, yeah? Don't let him out in the middle of town."

"Ahh, hmm. I'll probably need to show him at the gate, and I guess I can tie him up at the riding beast area?"

"Ehh, I wanna follow Anego around though."

Arthur-kun held up his word cards open to the "Dissatisfied" page. Don't ask for the impossible, you're a dragon.

"It's so unfair that Anego gets to walk right in when she's way more dangerous than a dragon!"

"Can't you, like, transform into a human? Some kind of magic for that?"

"Nah, I can't. I mean, there've been dragons who had kids with humans, so maybe that's where those rumors came from? … Oh, but maybe the Fafnir faction could pull it off."

Apparently that's a dragon faction obsessed with researching magic and curses. But at least it's confirmed that Arthur-kun himself can't transform into a human.

"Well, you'd definitely stand out, so I can't take you walking around town. Unless you want me to parade you around as a spectacle?"

"Oh, but I do have a shrinking skill! I can get down to about wolf-size, so maybe that'll work!"

"Oh, really? Try it out."

"Yes ma'am! Shrink!"

With a little pop, Arthur-kun shrank down. From his original carriage-sized form, he was now about the size of a medium dog. His word cards plopped onto the floor. Looks like the shrinking only works on his actual body.

"I guess that's small enough to maybe take you around? And we should put a collar on you to make you look like a proper pet."

"Oh, that's a good idea. Makes him look like a tamed beast. Actually, you should at least register as a tamer, yeah? Even adding it to your Healer registration would work."

"I wouldn't run away even without a collar, ya know?"

"Hm? What are you talking about, Arthur-kun. This is just a safety device that'll strangle you to death if you accidentally revert to your original size."

"Geh!? Anego, you're merciless! But that's what I love about you!"

If he had the confidence to wear this, well, I suppose I could allow him to tag along. Only if he gets permission to enter at the gate, of course.

When I told him that, Arthur-kun accepted the collar pretty readily.