Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Side Story: Ilulu's Dilemma
A flame dragon's heart wavers between duty and doubt...
Ilulu was raised on one truth: humans are lesser beings, meant to be ruled. As a soldier of the Pure-Blood Flame, the Chaos Faction's most radical faction, she's never questioned the code—until the day she's ordered to deliver judgment on Tohru, the senior who once taught her how to fight, now living among humans as a maid.
Descending into a world of convenience stores, morning commutes, and gentle smiles, Ilulu watches Tohru serve a huma
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Side Story: Ilulu's Dilemma - The End of Flame — I Don't Hate It, but That's the Best I Can Do
Morning light slipped in thin through the gap in the curtains.
Ilulu stood in the kitchen. Alone, perfectly still, before the gas stove.
Click.
The blue flame leapt up with a soft whump.
(I have to absorb the fire.)
The energy source of the Flame Dragon clan was flame. In the human world, she absorbed the fire from this gas stove and converted it into magical power. Ilulu brought her face close to the blue flame.
She drew in a breath.
The fire thinned and flowed into her mouth. Warm. But it had no taste. Human fire was like a flavorless snack.
(But for now, this is enough.)
(Because this is my everyday now.)
That she could think so surprised Ilulu, just a little.
After last night's battle, Gardo had said it.
*The Pure-Blood Flame will not give up.*
Those words clung to the back of her mind and would not let go.
(He'll come again.)
(Next time, with more warriors.)
Knowing Gardo's character, there was no doubt of it. That man would use any means to achieve his ends. His loyalty to his comrades ran deep—but his mercy toward those who broke the code was just as shallow.
Ilulu turned off the stove.
The blue flame vanished with a breath.
Quiet returned to the kitchen.
The wall clock in the living room ticked, tick, tick.
Seven-thirty in the morning.
Kobayashi was still asleep. Tohru would be up soon.
"Oh my, Ilulu. Good morning."
A bright voice.
Ilulu turned. Tohru stood there, blond twin-tails swaying, a white apron tied on. The flat-tipped forked horns caught the morning light and glinted. Her golden eyes were narrowed in pleasure.
"...Morning."
Ilulu answered quietly.
"Lovely weather again today. The laundry will dry nicely."
Tohru stepped into the kitchen.
"Ilulu, you fought well yesterday. You really saved us."
Tohru's voice turned suddenly serious.
Ilulu dropped her gaze.
"...Whatever. If you'd collapsed, it'd be a hassle for me."
"Fufu. You're never honest, are you."
Tohru smiled softly.
"What shall we have for breakfast? Today I thought I'd make Kobayashi's favorite—tamagoyaki, miso soup, and grilled salmon."
"...Anything's fine."
"'Anything's fine' is the hardest answer of all. ...Oh, I know. Ilulu, are you a sweet tamagoyaki person or a salty one?"
Tohru asked while pulling eggs from the refrigerator.
"...Don't know. Never had it."
Ilulu answered in a mumble.
"My! That won't do. Today I'll make both and we'll compare. Kobayashi likes hers sweet. Kanna likes hers salty. Which will you be, Ilulu?"
Tohru happily began cracking eggs.
The clatter of whisking echoed through the kitchen.
(Tamagoyaki.)
(Human food.)
(Never had it.)
(...Maybe I'd like to try it.)
That she could think so surprised Ilulu again, just a little.
"Ilulu, you've fought enough. Leave the rest to me."
Tohru said it quietly, still whisking the eggs.
Ilulu raised her head.
"...What, all of a sudden?"
"Gardo will come again, surely. That man never gives up. So next time, I'll fight alone. You stay with Kanna and protect Kobayashi."
Tohru's voice was quiet.
But behind that quiet lay unmistakable resolve.
Ilulu looked at Tohru's back.
The back of her apron. Her slender shoulders.
(Is she going to carry all of it on that back?)
(I said I wanted to protect her.)
(And yet—am I going to be the one protected, again?)
Something stirred, restless, deep in her chest.
"...Making you carry it all alone—that just feels wrong."
Before she knew it, the words were out.
They'd come from her own mouth, and still they surprised her.
Tohru's hand stopped whisking.
"...Ilulu?"
Tohru turned around.
Her golden eyes looked straight at Ilulu.
"...Making you fight all alone—it just feels wrong. I'll fight too. ...Because that's what I want."
Ilulu spoke slowly, as if testing each word.
It was the first time.
The first time she'd offered to cooperate of her own will.
Tohru's face registered surprise.
Her golden eyes went wide.
And then, the next moment—
Tohru's expression melted, loosening into a soft smile.
"...Yes. Thank you, Ilulu. I'm so happy."
That smile was so warm that Ilulu found herself looking away.
"...Whatever. It's not for your sake."
"Fufu. I know."
Tohru laughed.
Ilulu felt the corner of her mouth loosen, just slightly.
(Why is this so embarrassing?)
(I only said I'd fight.)
And yet, deep in her chest, it was warm.
──
Past noon.
The air changed.
Ilulu was sitting on the living room sofa. Kanna sat beside her, watching anime on TV, white long hair swaying, big purple eyes riveted to the screen.
"Ooh. This monster's strong."
Kanna murmured.
"...Kanna. Quiet."
"Ooh."
Kanna gave a small reply.
That was when it happened.
The fine hairs on the back of Ilulu's neck stood on end.
(He's here.)
Her heart clenched tight, as if gripped by a cold hand.
"...Kanna. Go to Kobayashi."
Ilulu spoke in a low voice.
"Ooh. ...Ilulu, what's wrong?"
Kanna looked up at her, puzzled.
"Just go. Hurry."
Ilulu stood.
Then—
A voice came from outside.
Low, a voice that resonated in the pit of the stomach, oppressive.
"Ilulu the traitor. And the human woman. I told you I would deliver the Flame's judgment to you both together."
It was Gardo's voice.
Coming from beyond the window.
Ilulu pulled back the curtain.
The road in front of the apartment.
A residential street in broad daylight.
And there stood Gardo.
Black scales covering his whole body—most striking on his arms and the nape of his neck. Old scars on his face. His red eyes glowed sharply. His massive frame—six foot three—stood planted squarely in the middle of the road.
He was still in human form.
But his appearance was bizarre.
Passersby stopped in their tracks at the sight of him.
"W-what is with that guy?"
"Cosplay...? That's some serious presence if so."
"Aren't his eyes red? Isn't that bad?"
The neighborhood residents began to murmur.
"What's happened, Ilulu!?"
Tohru came flying out of the back room.
"Gardo's here. Outside."
Ilulu said it shortly.
Tohru's face went taut.
"Understood. ...Kanna, go to Kobayashi's room and put up a barrier."
"Ooh. Got it."
Kanna nodded and ran toward Kobayashi's room.
"Ilulu, let's go."
"...Yeah."
The two of them stepped outside the apartment.
──
Outside, the midday light beat down without mercy.
In the middle of the residential street.
Gardo stood, arms crossed, immovable.
"So you've come out, traitors."
Gardo's red eyes fixed steadily on Tohru and Ilulu.
"Gardo. This is a human town. I won't let you do as you please."
Tohru stepped forward.
Her blond twin-tails swayed in the wind.
"A human town? Hmph. Humans are meant to be ruled. I'll burn this human town to the ground along with you."
Gardo raised his right hand.
A hand covered in black scales.
At his fingertips, a red flame flickered to life.
"After I dispose of you, I'll reduce this apartment and this whole town to ash. I'll show you the fate of those who've been tainted by humans."
Gardo's voice rang low.
The surrounding residents began to scream and scatter.
"What is that fire!?"
"Run! This is bad!"
"Ilulu, I'll put up the barrier. I'll protect the residents, so you—"
"I'm fighting too. I told you that."
Ilulu took her place beside Tohru.
"...Yes. So you did."
Tohru smiled faintly.
"Are your foolish words finished?"
Gardo opened his mouth.
He drew a deep breath.
(Here it comes!)
Ilulu braced herself.
"Barrier!"
Tohru spread both hands.
A transparent wall unfurled, wrapping around Tohru and Ilulu and the surrounding houses. Tohru's barrier—serving both as perception-block and defense.
WHOOOOO!!!
From Gardo's mouth, a breath of red flame was unleashed.
A torrent of searing heat, easily three meters across.
The asphalt scorched.
The barrier caught the flame.
Gggggg...!!
The barrier groaned.
"Hmph. This is the extent of your barrier?"
Gardo intensified the flame further.
The red fire turned white.
Its purity was rising.
Clearly stronger than during last night's battle.
"Kh...!"
Tohru gritted her teeth.
Cracks began to spider across the barrier.
"Tohru!"
Ilulu shouted.
"I'm fine. It'll hold...!"
But Tohru's voice sounded pained.
Gardo's flame pressed the barrier in, inch by inch.
"Tohru. I told you—your flame is no more than a candle before mine. And so it is with your barrier. What need is there to protect mere humans?"
Gardo's voice rang out mockingly from beyond the flames.
"Silence! I am simply protecting what's precious to me!"
Tohru shouted back.
But the cracks in the barrier kept spreading.
(At this rate, Tohru can't hold out.)
Ilulu bit her lip.
(I have to do something.)
(But what?)
The gas stove's fire alone wouldn't be enough.
Last night's battle had burned the strength of Gardo's flame into her.
(I need more power.)
(I need more fire.)
Then Ilulu's eyes caught the electrical panel on the apartment wall.
(Electricity.)
(Kanna absorbs electricity from outlets.)
(I absorb fire. But electricity should work as power too.)
(Because electricity is the same energy as fire.)
Ilulu ran.
To the electrical panel.
"Ilulu!? Where are you going!?"
Tohru's voice came from behind her.
Ilulu pried the panel cover open with her hands.
Crack!
Complex wiring appeared inside.
(I'll absorb this.)
Ilulu reached her hand toward the wires.
Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt!!
Pale blue sparks scattered across her fingertips.
"Guh...!"
Electricity poured into her body.
It hurt.
But power was filling her.
(Still not enough.)
Ilulu looked at the propane gas cylinder next door.
(That's fire too.)
(Human fire.)
(A flavorless snack.)
(But right now—)
(It'll become the power to protect this place.)
Ilulu dashed onto the neighboring property.
She twisted the valve on the propane cylinder.
With a hiss, gas leaked out.
Ilulu held her hand over the gas.
Whump!
The gas ignited, rising in a blue flame.
Ilulu drew that flame in.
Deep, deep, she inhaled.
Fire flowed into her body.
Warm.
(Ah. I see.)
(This fire isn't a flavorless snack at all.)
(It's the power to protect this place.)
Within Ilulu, magical power swelled.
The flame of chaos wrapped around her whole body.
The orange flame turned pale blue, then white, its brilliance intensifying.
"Ilulu...! That power...!"
Tohru raised her voice in astonishment.
"Tohru! Now, Ilulu!"
Tohru shouted.
"Yeah!"
Ilulu ran back to Tohru's side.
Their hands thrust forward as one.
"Gooooooo!!"
"Haaaaaaah!!"
From both their mouths, flame breaths were unleashed at once.
An orange flame and a white flame.
The two fires overlapped into one.
WHOOOOOOOOO!!!
A roar.
The air around them trembled.
The two-against-one flame pushed Gardo's fire back.
"W-what...!?"
Gardo's red eyes went wide.
"You push back my flame...!?"
Gardo intensified his fire further.
But he could no longer push back.
Ilulu and Tohru's flame swallowed Gardo's.
"Uwooooooooh!!"
Ilulu shouted.
She wrung out every last drop of magical power in her body.
(Protect it.)
(This place.)
(Kobayashi.)
(Tohru.)
(Kanna.)
(This warm place.)
KABOOOOOM!!!
An explosion.
Gardo's flame was completely overwhelmed.
"Guaaaaaah!!"
Gardo's massive frame was blown away.
He tumbled several meters across the asphalt.
His black scales were scorched here and there.
"...Why, Ilulu."
Gardo slowly rose.
Still on one knee, he looked up at Ilulu with his red eyes.
"Why, Ilulu. You are a warrior of the Pure-Blood Flame. Have you forgotten the pride of the Flame Dragon clan? You were taught that humans are meant to be ruled."
Gardo's voice was mixed with anger, bewilderment, and a faint trace of sorrow.
Ilulu looked straight at Gardo.
Her golden eyes with their vertical slits caught Gardo's red gaze.
"...I remember what I was taught. That humans are the enemy. That they're meant to be ruled. But what I chose is this side."
Ilulu spoke quietly.
"You have defied the code. The Flame's judgment cannot be escaped."
"Even so. Because I want
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.