TDAA Ch 5
by soapa“I was curious too. About beastkin alchemy…”
“Oh, we don’t have alchemists…!”
“That’s okay. Countering alchemy sounds interesting too.”
“Right? I knew it! I had a feeling we’d get along! But for today, could you first tell us about the items brought from the cabin? There’s something urgent. Okay?”
“What’s the urgent matter?”
“Well, actually…”
Burdril, who had been about to launch into an animated explanation, glanced at Ryufen and stopped. Ryufen, noticing, frowned in clear displeasure.
“What? Why’re you looking at me?”
“Because it’s… kind of related to you.”
“Then stop hesitating and spit it out.”
Burdril rolled his eyes, looking troubled. It seemed he thought the place wasn’t suitable for such a conversation. With a sigh, he turned to Eorzen and spoke quietly.
“Commander, you heard about the kin transport convoy, right?”
The kin transport convoy. Siol couldn’t fully grasp the emotions carried by that strange phrase, but he understood immediately. It was, without a doubt, a slave transport convoy. That’s what the beastkin called the process of humans kidnapping them to enslave them.
Siol stiffened involuntarily. Eorzen tightened his grip around Siol’s waist, holding him securely, as if to say his arms were a safe haven.
“Yes.”
“The news is that Muriel is among them. It’s solid information, brought by the eagle.”
At that, Ryufen stopped in his tracks, his face hardening.
“Yes, your sister, Muriel.”
“…Why is she there…?”
Ryufen growled, his face contorted.
“No, why is someone who’s supposed to be shuffling papers in El Grem caught up in that?!”
His shout was a mix of exasperation, irritation, and rage. It sounded like a question, but it wasn’t. Knowing his sibling’s personality after years together, he could guess why she was there, yet he still couldn’t fathom it—a lament more than anything. Siol couldn’t tell which emotion was strongest in the complex mix, but worry was clearly part of it.
“Ugh, I’m going insane… If I get her back this time, I’m gonna kill her…”
The wolf, usually laid-back and only lively when it came to food, now growled and slammed the floor. It was an unfamiliar sight.
She must be quite a troublesome sibling, Siol thought.
“She’s so weak, why does she keep pulling stunts like this…?”
“You keep calling her weak, so maybe she’s acting out to prove something?”
“If she’s weak, she should stay back and be protected, not this!”
Ryufen’s outburst seemed to vent some of his frustration, and he glanced back at Eorzen cautiously.
“Uh, Commander. Can I go rescue her?”
“If Muriel’s there, of course we have to rescue her.”
As Ryufen was about to offer a sheepish thanks for Eorzen’s ready approval, Burdril suddenly stepped between them.
“No way. In the current situation, it’d just be a suicide mission.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“…I think we need to explain, so shall we go inside?”
With a troubled expression, Burdril led the group deeper into the lab.
The spacious lab had a dark, damp atmosphere. Half-dead beastkin were sprawled across the floor or desks, sleeping, while those awake looked barely better. Unwashed and disheveled, with dark circles under their eyes, they shuffled like zombies.
Yeah, this is what a lab looks like. Siol chuckled, recognizing the scene as nearly identical to the alchemy labs he’d seen on Earth. Then, he locked eyes with a rabbit beastkin, who startled, ears shooting up as he leapt from his chair. The clatter of the chair drew the attention of nearby beastkin.
“Shh… It’s okay, Sizool.”
Noticing Siol’s involuntary flinch, Eorzen rubbed his back and whispered. As his gaze swept the room, the gathered stares scattered like sparrows.
“I was just a bit startled.”
“Yes. It’s nothing.”
As his surprise subsided, Siol, despite Eorzen’s warning, gave a small wave to the bold researchers sneaking glances.
They arrived at Burdril’s desk, tucked in the innermost corner of the lab, arranged in a U-shape. It seemed he’d prepared for their arrival, as a large map of the continent was spread out on the desk.
Siol saw the shape of this world’s continent for the first time.
The world consisted of three continents and small islands. The land truly resembled a giant dragon. It wasn’t surprising that history books recorded a dragon descending to become the land.
As Siol admired the map, he recalled the story of the Demon King who hunted down lies about dragons. To Siol, the idea of a Demon King tracking and destroying those who spoke falsehoods about dragons felt like a myth or fairy tale. But given Ryufen’s serious expression, if the story of a dragon becoming the land was recorded as dragon history, wouldn’t it have been eradicated by the Demon King if it were false?
Though it still felt like a fairy tale with fairies or angels to Siol, the story of a dragon descending to become the land was true.
Seeing the map made this world, which he’d vaguely thought of as just different from Earth, feel vividly real.
Of course, he knew it, but this really was a different world.
While Siol was newly realizing this, Burdril placed a small wooden carving of a wagon near the second rib of the dragon on the map.
“The convoy was first spotted here. We checked per the strike force treaty, but none of the beastkin were from treaty-signing cities. So, we only reported it and didn’t dispatch the strike force.”
“El Grem is a treaty-signing city. Muriel is from El Grem.”
Burdril nodded and moved the wagon’s position further down, near a city labeled Marbelon.
“The convoy headed straight to human lands. But, whether out of greed or necessity, they went hunting again. Here, in Marbelon.”
“…Didn’t Marbelon recently contact us about joining the treaty?”
“Correct, Commander. The related paperwork is being handled by a delegation from El Grem.”
Since Eorzen’s city was close to human lands, communicating with distant beastkin cities was inconvenient. Thus, Ryufen’s sister had been sent to a cooperative allied city to handle such tasks.
Sending delegations to explain the strike force’s purpose and obligations to cities wishing to join the treaty was one of El Grem’s responsibilities.
“So, Muriel was part of the delegation sent from El Grem.”
“Exactly.”
“Argh!” Ryufen clutched his head.
“That troublemaker!”
“…She probably volunteered…”
Siol didn’t quite understand, but everyone seemed convinced Muriel had caused this situation by stepping forward.
“Couldn’t it just be a coincidence that she was chosen?”
“No way. She’s my sister, and despite being born so weak, she’s so hot-headed that I deliberately placed her in a backwater city with no human conflicts. Unless El Grem wanted to pick a fight with me, they wouldn’t have sent her.”
In short, she was a parachuted appointee.
Sent to be coddled, yet this parachuted appointee had volunteered for dangerous work and ended up kidnapped.
“I get it now, what she was thinking… Ugh, that makes me even angrier…”
Ryufen groaned and slumped to the floor. Eorzen sighed, as if he understood. Siol, rolling his eyes, was the only one confused, so Burdril chuckled and explained.
“Basically, the strike force doesn’t rescue beastkin from non-treaty cities. It’s not like we’d be criticized for it—people would be grateful. But we’re short-handed. If we saved everyone, even non-treaty beastkin, who’d bother joining the treaty? We’re not here for charity, so we prioritize the treaty over gratitude.”
“That makes sense.”
Even if Eorzen was a dragon, he couldn’t save everyone unless he had a hundred bodies. In war, numbers matter, so it was natural for treaty-signing cities to band together. If they had spare resources, they could extend influence elsewhere, but that wasn’t the case.
“But if even one beastkin from a treaty city is involved, we can dispatch the strike force.”
“Oh…!”
“Most likely, Muriel was in a safe area in Marbelon. She must have seen the convoy and deliberately got herself kidnapped to give the strike force a reason to intervene.”
“She got kidnapped on purpose?”
“That’s just how she is.”
Everyone nodded wearily, agreeing with Burdril.
“Then tell me, Burdril. What do you mean by ‘suicide mission’? Are you saying we shouldn’t save her?”
“Muriel probably didn’t expect this either. Who could’ve known? The convoy wagons are equipped with ‘fortress defense devices’…”
“What?”
“I don’t know how it happened! Those things installed in the Alchemist of Death’s lab are on the wagons!”
“No way!”
“It’s true. The eagle’s information is reliable.”
Ugh. Again.
It’s the Alchemist of Death again.
Siol sank into despair, his face ashen. The more he learned about this world, the more he tried to do something in it, the Alchemist of Death loomed before him. Whispering that he couldn’t escape, reminding him of his existence over and over. You are the Alchemist of Death, a monster who committed horrific acts.
“So, Sizool, we need your information!”
Burdril rushed forward, grabbing Siol’s hands.
“My… information?”
“Yes. Is there a way to neutralize the fortress defense device? Any hint would help!”
“Well… but…”
None of the items he made while living in the cabin were related to war weapons. Back then, he only crafted daily necessities, medicine for illnesses, and preserves to survive in the forest. He had prepared only to live quietly in that forest until his death.
A way to neutralize something like a fortress defense device? It wasn’t impossible, but he wasn’t confident he could explain it naturally in connection to the cabin’s items.
Seeing Siol’s hesitation, Burdril pulled a heavy-looking object from a box beside the desk.
“This was brought from the cabin. I think it’s like an early version of the fortress defense device… If so, that means the cabin was where the Alchemist of Death lived.”
It was an electric fence made to protect the cabin from wild animals. While its appearance was entirely different from the fortress defense device, the core technology, like the method of storing electricity, stemmed from the same principles. Calling it an early version wasn’t entirely wrong.
If it was this, he might be able to provide information while mixing in some lies.
“What was your relationship with the Alchemist of Death?”
Siol froze, holding his breath. His gaze instinctively darted to Eorzen. Unlike his usual smiling face, Eorzen was looking down at him with a stern expression.
If he said, “Tell the truth,” Siol would have no choice but to confess or die.
…Dying would be better than confessing.
Siol clutched his chest, trembling as he thought.
“Stop. That’s enough, Burdril.”
But the words from those cold lips weren’t what Siol expected.
“Didn’t I tell you to keep it in check?”
“No, I was just… just curious…”
“You’ve scared the boy.”
“I… I’m sorry…”
“Apologize to Sizool.”
At Eorzen’s stern tone, Burdril immediately bowed to Siol.
“Sorry. I got carried away. I can’t stop myself when I get excited. Really sorry.”
Siol, caught in the odd situation, glanced between Eorzen, Ryufen, and Burdril. As he stood unsure, Eorzen whispered in his ear.
Want to leave? The gentle offer snapped Siol back to his senses. He shook his head.
“It’s okay. And… um… it looks like there’s a master key in that fence.”
“What? Where?”
“There, in the flat slot…”
He remembered. That electric fence had a broken monster detection sensor, so he’d inserted a master key to temporarily disable it for repairs. When he tried to remove it, the key snapped, and he retired the fence with the broken key still in it. He’d thrown away the other half, leaving the remaining piece in the key slot.
And Siol had never changed the alchemical sigil on the master key since creating it in this world.
In other words, if they restored that master key, it would still work.
“But what exactly is a master key?”
Siol wasn’t sure how much to say or how to say it without raising suspicion. He couldn’t even understand how they’d figured out the cabin was linked to the Alchemist of Death. If they’d connected the fence to the fortress defense device just by looking at it, the man before him was a genius with incredible talent. Even though both items shared the same core technology, their scale and power were worlds apart.
Even for an alchemist, tracing their origins would be nearly impossible without exceptional skill…!
His head spun, and he struggled to breathe. Burdril’s gleaming eyes felt like a blade at his throat. Siol clenched his fists tightly to keep from collapsing.
He had come to the lab today to cooperate. He’d accepted Eorzen’s offer with that intent, planning to share everything he knew to atone, even slightly, for his mistakes. He intended to provide information on all the items made in the cabin and help beastkin counter alchemical war weapons.
But if sharing that information exposed his identity and cost him his life, it would defeat the purpose. He had to survive to pay for his sins. Thinking that far, Siol wondered if all this was just his cowardly desire to live.
“A master key is…”
Ignoring the turmoil in his racing mind, his mouth mechanically spilled information.
“It’s like… a certificate of authority that can interfere with an alchemist’s tools.”
“A certificate of authority?”
“Yes, this fence was designed to carry electricity to keep wild animals away—”
He must never say “I made it.”
“When you insert this card key into that slot, you can control the fence. Turn it on or off, adjust the strength…”
“…That’s amazing! Such a thing exists?”
Burdril held the fence aloft as if he’d found treasure.
For someone studying alchemical tools, discovering such a crucial detail was understandably thrilling.
“I thought only the ‘registered’ person could use an alchemist’s tools. But there’s something like this!”
“Yes, so… if you have this—”
“If you have the master key and the registered person, which has higher authority?”
Siol didn’t want to answer anymore. But his mouth kept moving like a machine.
“The master key has higher authority.”
“So the master key’s authority is primary.”
“…So if you have this…”
Siol hesitated, unable to continue. Burdril, grinning confidently, finished for him.
“If you have this, you can bypass the fortress defense device, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Great! Then I’ll definitely restore it!”
If anyone could, it would be him. The master key’s alchemical sigil was also on the cabin’s automatic sharpener, lawnmower, and solar transmitter. Burdril could likely disassemble a few tools, read the sigil, and restore it without much difficulty.
Some items had self-destruct mechanisms for security, but not all. Back when Siol thought there were no humans in this world, he hadn’t bothered with security on his creations. He’d seen no need to protect against thieves in a world without them.
Whether he regretted or was relieved by that now, he couldn’t decide.
Siol could barely breathe, dizzy and struggling just to stand upright. The world swayed and shimmered. In the midst of it, he clung to Eorzen’s warmth to hold on.
“Removing the key isn’t a problem, but this must have some alchemist’s spell on it, right? Then I should start by disassembling other tools to find similar sigils…”
Burdril pulled a screwdriver from his pocket and began disassembling the area near the fence’s card slot. The electric fence wasn’t a complex creation, so he quickly took it apart and retrieved the card fragment inside.
“Yep, that’s it. First, I’ll need to restore this circular spell. Then? Anything else, Sizool?”
“Once you restore the sigil, it should work on its own. The issue is the corner part… Is there any red left?”
“A little. What’s that?”
Siol could predict what questions would follow if he answered. But, as expected, he couldn’t avoid answering.
“It’s… the alchemist’s blood. The key needs it to work.”
When Siol spoke, Burdril fell silent for a moment. He looked thoughtful, then smiled broadly.
“Right, I thought it was strange! A simple spell like this wouldn’t be secure enough! It only works with the alchemist’s blood. Got it.”
“Yes…”
“So that means… the cabin’s owner was indeed the Alchemist of Death, right? Only his blood could deactivate the fortress defense device he made. Isn’t that so?”
It was as if Siol had confirmed a hypothesis that had only been speculation.
Just as Siol, with a blank face, was about to confess the truth—
“Stop.”
Eorzen’s hand covered Siol’s eyes. He pressed Siol’s head to his shoulder, holding him firmly in place. Only then did Siol realize he was on the verge of tears.
“Stop talking, Sizool.”
He whispered gently in Siol’s ear, pausing there for a moment.
As Siol panted, trying to compose himself, Eorzen, still holding him, glared coldly at Burdril. He had let Siol speak out of respect for his wishes, but this had gone too far. To keep questioning a terrified child about the Alchemist of Death.
Burdril, flustered, lowered his gaze to the floor.
“…Idiot.”
As both Birdril and Siol flinched simultaneously, Eorzen gently stroked the back of Siol’s head and whispered, “I wasn’t talking to you.”
“You should understand after being told once.”
“S-Sorry… I’m sorry….”
Only then did Birdril, pale with realization of his mistake, flounder in a panic. Once again, he had been so engrossed in alchemy talk that he completely failed to consider the feelings of the boy they had rescued from the cabin. He often got himself into trouble because of things like this, but it was the first time Eorzen had glared at him with such anger.
After all, he was a very generous dragon.
Eorzen stared at Birdril for a moment before turning away. Continuing to scold Birdril would only make Siol tremble more.
He turned, gently patting the boy.
“It’s alright, Sizool. He’ll never come after you.”
Eorzen whispered again that the Alchemist of Death was gone. That he would never return to take Siol back.
Meanwhile, Siol was slowly regaining his senses, which had been scattered. Was this how a criminal felt standing before a detective? As he shook off the fear that someone would uncover everything about him and declare, “You’re the Alchemist of Death!” he began to feel the warmth of the embrace and the gentle whispers again. Though the content of those whispers wasn’t exactly kind to Siol, Eorzen’s intentions were, so he decided to mostly ignore the words.
“I’m sorry, Lord Eorzen.”
Eorzen, who had been walking through the snowfield to return to the castle, stopped.
“What for?”
“I… I got too emotional. I want to help, but I’m not doing it well.”
“Sizool, you’re already helping enough. Why would you think like that?”
“But… I almost cried earlier…”
“Kids are supposed to cry.”
But I’m not a kid. Siol mumbled the words he couldn’t bring himself to say aloud. Then, as if reading his thoughts, Eorzen soothed him.
“No matter how much you dislike it, if you’re still a kid, you’re a kid. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“But… this is about Ryufen’s younger sibling’s life. How could I not be harsh on myself?”
“Oh… Sizool, I didn’t know you liked Ryufen this much.”
“No, it’s not, it’s not like that-.”
As Siol stammered, his face turning bright red, Eorzen said,
“Giving your heart to someone isn’t a bad thing.”
“…I like you more than Ryufen, Lord Eorzen.”
“…I see. Thank you, Sizool.”
Eorzen, who had paused for a moment, smiled softly and kissed Siol on the crown of his head. In the warmth of that gentle gaze, Siol found himself unable to say anything more. As he fell silent, Eorzen began walking slowly toward the castle again. The snow-laden branches looked beautiful, like sculptures made of ice.
“But there’s one thing you seem to be misunderstanding, Sizool.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Muriel isn’t in danger.”
“…What?”
“For now, I’ll leave it to Birdril and Ryufen, but if the worst happens, I’ll go and rescue her myself. Saving everyone there might be difficult, but escaping with just Muriel is easy.”
It made sense when he thought about it. For a dragon, a near-transcendent being, rescuing a single beastman would be a trivial task.
“Then… why not just do that now?”
When Siol asked, Eorzen hesitated, pursing his lips for a moment before answering.
“…There are complicated adult matters involved… I’ll explain in detail when you’re older.”
Come to think of it, he had heard something about why the knights couldn’t act earlier. It must be something similar.
If he had known that, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to provide information or struggled so much! He wouldn’t have fearfully blurted out everything about the master key in front of Birdril!
Feeling deeply wronged, Siol glared at Eorzen before burying his cheek against his neck again.
No, even if he had known, he probably would’ve still tried to confess everything.
It wasn’t just about saving Ryufen’s sibling. True, he had mustered courage because it involved Ryufen’s sibling, but Siol had shared the information about the master key out of a sense of duty.
Because he believed beastmen needed to know about the alchemy that humans monopolized and used.
In the current situation, where beastmen were suffering unilaterally from weapons made with alchemy, the knowledge of alchemy needed to be spread to their lands as well. Ignorance of the enemy’s weapons would doom them to remain losers forever.
As an alchemist who had supplied humans with alchemical weapons and knowledge, dragging beastmen into the war, Siol felt deep guilt and indebtedness. So perhaps sharing knowledge with beastmen like Birdril was the least he could do to atone.
But feeling wronged was still feeling wronged.
If he had known the situation wasn’t so urgent, he could’ve conveyed the information more calmly and rationally! Siol pouted, suppressing his boiling emotions. Complex feelings swirled and swelled within him.
Among them, the strongest were probably irritation and anger. A spiteful rage bristled sharply.
Siol suddenly felt his teeth itch. And right in front of him was a shoulder that looked perfect for biting. With a grudge, Siol chomped down hard on Eorzen’s trapezius.
“Sizool?”
Eorzen called out in surprise, but Siol bit down even harder, grinding his teeth. He wanted to bite harder, but Eorzen’s skin was so tough it didn’t yield easily.
“Mmm…!”
Eorzen let out a confused groan and awkwardly reached out to pat Siol’s head gently. At the soft touch, Siol finally released his bite. The deep imprint of his fangs was clear on Eorzen’s trapezius. Staring at the tough muscle, which didn’t even bleed, Siol mumbled,
“Thank you…”
“…Alright.”
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
I can’t control my emotions.
Siol mumbled, crouching on his bed.
It was strange. He had never trembled with fear or cried like this in his life. He had always been surrounded by cold calm, observing whatever happened with dry detachment. No matter what he went through, he handled it rationally.
Yes, that’s how it was back on Earth.
Even after coming to this world, nothing had changed much. He woke up in a strange forest, and since he was alive, he built a cabin and made tools to survive…
“Is it because my body got younger?”
But when he first woke up in the mana spring, it hadn’t been like this.
He couldn’t tell when he started crying at every little thing. When he began taking situations emotionally, feeling hurt and upset so easily—he just didn’t know.
I’m not a kid.
Siol muttered self-deprecatingly, rubbing his forehead tiredly with his palm.
Expressing emotions was exhausting. In the moment, he’d get swept up and let everything out, but afterward, he’d regret it. Why did I do that? The thought would grip his heart and torment him.
He shouldn’t have shown his fear so openly. He should’ve acted more composed, spoken casually. Pretended to be a beastman boy kidnapped as a child and forced to live as the Alchemist of Death’s assistant. That’s all he needed to do, so why couldn’t he help but be afraid? Why couldn’t he stay calm?
I’m not that kind of person, so why?
Now, he could calmly reflect on the day’s events. He could see what he did wrong and plan how to act moving forward. All he had to do was follow the plan, so why—why did he keep feeling so anxious?
Siol spent the night consumed by questions that gnawed at him.
Then, at some point, he felt it.
“…He’s calling me.”
It was Eorzen.
Wiping away the tears that had been flowing unnoticed, Siol stood up.
He was calling him. Entranced, Siol opened the door and stepped out. Ryufen had gone to the knights’ building in the outer castle to prepare the order for his sibling’s sake and hadn’t returned. Tonight, it was just Siol and Eorzen in the castle.
He walked over the cold stone floor, through the corridors, up the stairs, across the cloister, and up the tower’s steps.
Siol walked a path he had never taken before and came face-to-face with a sleeping Eorzen.
At the top of the small tower was an empty space. The ceiling was open, and looking up, he could see the dark blue sky and cascading stars, yet strangely, no cold wind blew in. Some kind of magic must be at work.
Siol glanced up at the ceiling before turning his gaze back to Eorzen.
He was in a deep sleep. Yet even so, he was fiercely calling out to Siol. Come here. Come, come…
Siol approached Eorzen, cautiously undoing his clothes and placing a hand on his chest. The first sign of trouble in an ability user was the heart’s movement. When they went berserk, the heart would race first, veins bulging across the body. Then came severe headaches and dizziness, nerves fraying, and a gradual loss of reason. That’s how they turned into monsters that destroyed everything around them, or so he’d heard.
“It doesn’t… seem like he’s going berserk.”
Eorzen was asleep but didn’t seem to be in pain.
So why was he calling him? And to begin with, how did Siol even know Eorzen was calling him?
Siol froze, his hand still on Eorzen’s chest. He’d never heard of such a case on Earth. An ability user calling a guide in their sleep? It was absurd. Maybe a telepathic ability user could do it, but even then—calling a guide in their sleep? When he didn’t even know Siol was a guide?
Yet even as he stood there, Eorzen kept calling him. Siol couldn’t ignore it.
“I’m here, right beside you.”
At his voice, Eorzen twitched in response. Siol focused guiding pheromones through the hand on Eorzen’s chest. Eorzen relaxed, sinking deeper into sleep. Guiding was fundamentally about calming the other person. Siol’s guiding was particularly strong in that regard—not enough to put an awake person to sleep, but enough to keep someone already asleep from waking.
“Lord Eorzen, until you find another guide, I’ll help you.”
Starlight poured over his serene face. What had he been doing alone in this tower with an open ceiling, where he could gaze at the stars?
Siol hesitated for a moment before pulling his hand away. Suddenly, Eorzen grabbed his hand. Thinking he had woken up, Siol startled and tried to step back, but Eorzen pulled him down onto his chest first.
Siol froze for a moment, but the grip on his wrist gradually loosened. Lying on Eorzen’s rising and falling chest, Siol observed him. His breathing was steady, and there were no further movements. Glancing up, Siol saw his eyes were still closed.
Was it sleep-talking? Siol cautiously tried to get up, but the hand that had grabbed his wrist tightened again.
“…Weird sleep habit.”
Siol giggled.
The starlight was beautiful, and the skin against his was warm. The warmth wasn’t just physical.
Suddenly, he understood.
The worries he’d had alone in his room earlier. Why he’d become so emotional lately, unable to calm down, unable to stay composed, knowing the right way to act but lacking the confidence to do it.
A guide child with no parents or siblings had to avoid getting hurt as much as possible to survive on Earth. But since it was impossible to selectively feel only certain emotions, Siyoon, the Earthling, had lived suppressing all emotions. That’s how Siol’s world had been. It had to be. It was the only way to survive.
The alchemist Siol, working with the king, was an extension of that.
But the beastman Siol was different. The blue dragon Eorzen and the wolf Ryufen had showered the little wolf who’d appeared out of nowhere with boundless love. They wiped his tears when he cried, tried to feed him heaps of food, nursed him when he was hurt, and held him when he trembled. It was a kind of affection Siol had never experienced.
The cooperative relationship with the king and the mentor-student bond with Nathaniel, which he thought he’d built in this world, turned out to be lies that trampled him. Wounded, Siol had been overwhelmed by the first affection he’d ever felt, unable to resist.
He was afraid because he didn’t want to lose that newfound warmth. He thought he’d be despised if his identity was revealed, that death would be better. But at the same time, as the human Siyoon, he wanted to be loved, which made pretending to be the beastman Sizool feel awkward.
It was strange. The blue dragon, who had cast the worst curse on him, was one of the few beings who showed him affection.
Once he understood the nature of his emotions, everything started to feel peaceful. And he knew what he had to do next.
Siol lifted his head and kissed the tip of Eorzen’s chin. He wanted to remove everything blocking this beautiful dragon’s path. He wanted to ensure he could live peacefully and safely. He wanted to help him succeed in his endeavors.
At the heart of all those wishes was, as expected, alchemy. Stopping the war-mongering human king and undoing the atrocities caused by alchemy—that was what Siol had to do from now on.
Acknowledging his confused heart gave him the confidence to act convincingly.
He wanted to help Eorzen and Ryufen while delaying the revelation of his identity as the Alchemist of Death for as long as possible.
The first thing to do was to spread alchemy to this land.
“Good night.”
Siol pulled Eorzen’s arm over himself and closed his eyes.
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
Ahh. I fell asleep last night while reading the stars.
Eorzen thought as he woke. The stars twinkled in the dark sky. The pre-dawn, before the sun rose, often felt darker than the deep night. It was as if the darkness, knowing it was doomed to be consumed by the sun, asserted itself even more intensely. It tried to masquerade as night, but that only made it clearer that dawn was approaching.
“Mmm…?”
As he tried to sit up, he froze, realizing the warm thing in his arms wasn’t a blanket or quilt but a living wolf. He was sure he’d left Siol in his room last night, so when had he come all the way here? The path from the room to the tower was quite complicated.
Did he wake up feeling lonely? Eorzen lay back down, lightly patting Siol’s back.
The boy they’d rescued from the alchemist’s cabin was sensitive and cried easily. It wasn’t hard to understand, given the harsh days he must have endured. It just made Eorzen’s heart ache with pity every time.
Still, the good thing was that in the weeks they’d cared for him in the castle, the boy had grown a lot. At first, he was so small and thin he looked barely ten, but now he seemed about twelve. He’d grown taller, but more than that, his scrawny limbs had filled out with healthy flesh.
Considering his real age was fifteen, he still had a long way to go, but this was progress.
Eorzen nodded, pulling Siol’s arm to gauge its thickness.
“Mmm…”
“Oh, you can sleep more, Sizool.”
Though he whispered softly, Siol, still half-asleep, sat up. He was lying sprawled over Eorzen’s chest, and as he rose, he climbed over Eorzen like he was scaling a mountain.
“Good… morning…”
Siol, unable to even open his eyes, greeted him with his face close, and Eorzen chuckled, pressing down on his crown to pat it. The round head’s hair flattened and sprang back up.
“Yes, you can sleep more, Sizool.”
“I’ll… get up…”
“Really?”
“Yeah… I’ll get up…”
Despite saying so, Siol couldn’t seem to move. He fumbled, placing both hands on Eorzen’s chest to push himself up, only to slowly collapse and go still.
Eorzen, who had closed his eyes as well, opened them in surprise at a sudden pain. Siol was biting his shoulder hard. His eyes were closed, and his head wobbled, showing no sign of being awake. It seemed he’d bitten whatever was in front of him because his teeth itched in his sleep.
Eorzen reached out, opened Siol’s mouth, and touched his fangs. Surprisingly, Siol’s fangs seemed newly grown. How had this small boy survived in that cabin if his fangs were only growing in now?
Concerned, Eorzen rubbed the fangs lightly with his thumb. Siol, briefly furrowing his brow, began gnawing on the finger. Like a young wolf, he seemed unable to bear the itch of his new teeth.
After a moment’s thought, Eorzen let Siol bite his shoulder. Siol chomped down on the tough shoulder in his sleep, sinking back into a deep slumber.
Eorzen patted Siol’s back gently and closed his eyes again.
Some time after the two fell back asleep, the castle grew noisy.
Ryufen, who had spent the night briefing the knights on strategy and conducting training, returned to the castle to prepare breakfast. He checked Siol’s room, noticed he was gone, and rushed to Eorzen’s room. Finding Eorzen missing too, he searched the entire castle for them.
Surely nothing had happened, but just in case.
But where Ryufen found them was a truly unexpected place.
The Star-Reading Tower. A magical tower built to trace the movements of the stars and read fate. As a child, Eorzen had come here to seek his destined partner, only to be told each time that none existed. After dozens of attempts, a disheartened Eorzen hadn’t climbed this tower in over a decade.
“Ugh, why are they both here?”
Ryufen grumbled, scratching his head, and looked at the two sleeping peacefully together. Both were so deeply asleep they wouldn’t wake for hours.
‘Sizool aside, for the captain to sleep this soundly—what happened?’
Ryufen considered waking them but shook his head. It was long past Eorzen’s usual waking time, but he looked so peaceful that Ryufen didn’t want to disturb him.
He felt a bit cheated after his exhausting night, but such was the life of a dragon’s guardian, so he just shrugged.
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
Inside the tower with an open ceiling, vines covered the walls, and remarkably, a campfire burned in the center of the floor. A camp pot simmered over the fire, bubbling away. It was probably a creamy chicken stew with sausage, bacon, and potatoes—a savory dish. Sliced brown baguette-like bread was topped with tomatoes and thinly sliced meat to make open sandwiches, and there was a small fist-sized salad as well. Roasted sweet potatoes with butter, steamed fish coated in a spiced marinade…
Smells good-, Siol smacked his lips in his sleep. A chuckle-like sound came from above his head.
“Mmm…”
“Sizool, wake up.”
Siol reflexively sat up but slipped on what he was leaning on, stumbling and falling forward.
“Oh, are you alright?”
Someone caught him, pulling him up to sit. Still half-asleep, Siol grabbed the person’s shoulder, feeling something drain from his body.
Ah, it’s Lord Eorzen.
Last night was incredible. When Siol poured out his guiding, Eorzen devoured it greedily. Like someone starved their whole life finally drinking water for the first time, he consumed Siol recklessly. If it had been the ability users from Earth, they might’ve pinned Siol down and tormented him, even in their sleep, but Eorzen didn’t. Was it because he was refined?
“I’m sleepy… and tired…”
“What did you do to be tired?”