IGWNI Ch 13
by soapaYatenbaum laughed as he pulled the limp Yoon Jaewoo into his arms. A sense of satisfaction, of finally obtaining something he desired, spread across his face.
「Wow. Are you really giving him to me?」
Yatenbaum laughed loudly and asked again. Eustace’s cool gaze swept over Yoon Jaewoo’s face.
「I told you this thing wouldn’t believe me, didn’t I?」
「Of course he wouldn’t.」
Yatenbaum knew very well that the Ramia trusted no one in this world, let alone Eustace. The Ramia, who constantly limped around causing trouble without rest, had always wanted to escape this world. The reason he asked to have his leg fixed was the same.
A little guy who’s always looking for a chance to run away is hardly going to trust you, a collector of Ramia.
Yatenbaum chuckled and hugged Yoon Jaewoo, who was in his arms. The thought of somehow fixing this body, taking him to his own country, and fucking him in bed all night long made his lower body tighten and a smile appear on its own accord.
「Mäden. If you make him believe me, you must take responsibility for your words. Promise me.」
「I promise.」
Yatenbaum said, pointing to his chest with his palm. It meant he was making a promise. The words of a Dweord are heavy. A promise made between Dweords was especially so. They rarely made promises to each other because it could mean risking their lives. That was how confident Yatenbaum was.
Eustace reached out his palm and touched Yoon Jaewoo’s face. After confirming he was unconscious, Eustace looked at Yatenbaum and smiled faintly. The face that wore a beautiful smile gradually blurred and changed. The air surrounding him swirled and moved. When the vortex that had been raging disappeared and the air stabilized, a beast with pure white fur and blue eyes was standing there.
Yatenbaum’s face was colored with bewilderment.
Usually, a Dweord did not show their transformation into a lot in front of others. It didn’t matter to Yatenbaum, as he was also a Dweord, but it was a different story for the Ramia held in his arms.
「What are you thinking?」
Eustace, having transformed into a lot, did not answer. The beast opened its mouth and abruptly bit onto the clothes of Yoon Jaewoo, who was held in Yatenbaum’s arms. Before Yatenbaum could even tighten his grip, the beast tossed Yoon Jaewoo into the air.
The body thrown into the air landed on the ground as lightly as a leaf. A large front paw shook Yoon Jaewoo. Watching Yoon Jaewoo, who had lost consciousness, struggle to open his eyes, Yatenbaum smirked.
There was no particular reason for the Ramia’s reaction to be different just because it was Eustace’s lot. Even if he was in the form of a lot, the soul contained within was still Eustace.
“…Hyung.”
A sound like escaping air flowed from his parched, cracked lips. Yatenbaum, who had been smiling, stopped.
“Jin…soo….”
Yoon Jaewoo, who until then had been as limp as over-boiled spinach, moved his fingers. As if it knew what that meant, the beast pushed its face closer. Yoon Jaewoo stroked the beast’s fur with his hand. As if caressing a very precious being that should not be touched, with a gentle and soft touch.
A bushy tail wrapped around Yoon Jaewoo’s body. Yoon Jaewoo hugged the tail and let out a pained groan.
“Jinsoo hyung…. I’m dying….”
Yatenbaum’s expression twisted. He couldn’t understand exactly what the Ramia was saying, but his attitude was markedly different from just a moment ago.
“I think I’m dying, Jinsoo hyung, …what do I do, I’m scared….”
Yoon Jaewoo, with his large eyes full of tears, honestly poured out his fear.
Yatenbaum doubted his own eyes.
With a weak hand, Yoon Jaewoo took the tail and hugged it. The gesture showed at a glance how much Yoon Jaewoo relied on the beast. The beast lifted its head. When its gaze met Yatenbaum’s, a smile faintly graced the corners of the beast’s mouth. Its eyes seemed to say, Go on, take a look.
「What kind of trick…」
Before Yatenbaum could open his mouth, the beast perked up its ears. Thump, the surrounding air grew heavy and settled. In the moment Yatenbaum covered his face with his sleeve and took a step back, a barrier formed around the beast.
Inside the transparent, hemispherical barrier, only the limply sprawled Ramia and the beast were placed. No matter what Yatenbaum did from the outside, he could not affect anything inside the barrier. The reason it was a transparent barrier was to tell him to watch carefully from the outside.
The beast brought its nose to the Ramia’s face. As they gently touched noses, the Ramia, despite his pain, wore a happy expression and reached out his hand. Seeing Eustace touch his nose there, Yatenbaum went, Ha, and put a hand to his forehead.
He wanted to scream, Where do you get off acting so demure, so gentle, so coy? But no sound could be heard from inside the barrier.
Yatenbaum chewed on his frustration as he watched Eustace’s coy performance.
The Ramia, who had been fiddling with the beast’s nose, coughed and collapsed on the spot. The beast quickly wrapped its front paws around the Ramia’s body. Buried in the cozy fur, the Ramia closed his eyes with an expression that said he could die now with no regrets.
「…Putting on a good-guy act…」
Yatenbaum muttered to himself in disbelief. Regardless, Eustace in his lot form gently stroked the Ramia’s body with his front paw. Tears welled up and trickled from between the Ramia’s closed eyes. When the Ramia pressed his face against the beast’s large front paw and his lips moved, the beast graciously lowered its head and brought its ear close. It was a beautiful and noble scene, one that seemed like it should be painted and passed down through generations. Amidst it all, Yatenbaum clearly saw the beast’s eyes narrow slightly, forming a mysterious smile.
Yatenbaum beat his chest with his fist in frustration.
The beast’s pure white fur began to glow. It was proof that Eustace in his lot form was using his power. The color gradually started to return to the face of the Ramia, who was enveloped by the bushy tail.
The Ramia completely entrusted his body to the beast. Neither Yatenbaum standing outside the barrier nor Eustace performing the healing inside could fail to know this fact.
Eustace’s blue eyes, in his lot form, shone with a silver light. It was a change that appeared when he was at the pinnacle of his power.
The Ramia’s face grew more and more peaceful. The wounds healed and the bleeding stopped. The Ramia reached out his hand and caressed the tail of the beast that had healed him. In his faintly smiling eyes, affection for the other being was apparent.
Yatenbaum’s mouth hardened as he watched the scene. He had never, not even for a single moment, thought that the Ramia, the yellow Ramia, could make such an expression.
Eustace, inside the barrier, looked down at the Ramia with an expression that suggested such affection towards him was only natural. Then, when his eyes met Yatenbaum’s, the beast’s pointed ears twitched slightly. Yatenbaum instantly recognized it as a taunt directed at him.
「You bastard….」
Before Yatenbaum could say anything more, Eustace pressed the Ramia’s neck with his front paw. Eustace, being a Dweord who governed healing, was more proficient than anyone regarding the body’s internal flows. Seeing the Ramia instantly relinquish consciousness and close his eyes the moment the front paw was removed from his neck, Yatenbaum clicked his tongue.
He was at a loss for words at Eustace’s thorough wickedness—using his hand, or in this case his front paw, to ensure the Ramia wouldn’t see at the crucial moment.
The barrier dissolved, and Eustace in his lot form walked out. With every step of his large front paws, the blades of grass on the ground lay down as if lowering their presence. After just a few steps, the white beast returned to Eustace’s form. A smile flickered in his blue eyes. Yatenbaum, who had been scowling deeply, parted his lips.
「You try to humiliate me with a cheap trick.」
「A cheap trick?」
「Yes. What I meant was not in your lot form but…」
「Then is the me in my lot form not me? Is your lot not you? In that case, you’d have nothing to say even if I were to kill your lot.」
Yatenbaum’s face turned red and blue as he barely suppressed his anger. There was a mountain of things he wanted to say, but he knew that no matter what he said, he was at a disadvantage in this situation.
「You made a promise to me.」
「…….」
Eustace smiled thinly. Facing that sinister expression, Yatenbaum swallowed the words he had spoken earlier and chewed on his regret.
「Dweord Yatenbaum Mäden.」
As Eustace’s voice rang out, the surrounding air began to resonate. An overwhelming authority was imbued in his voice. The words of a promise are heavy. Especially if it is a promise between Dweords.
Yatenbaum placed his right hand over his own heart. It was the moment to fulfill the promise.
“Will it be okay?”
Yoon Jaewoo, who was wrapped in a blanket inside the carriage, opened his mouth with a worried face. Eustace remained motionless with his eyes closed, but knowing that he wasn’t asleep, Yoon Jaewoo muttered the same words once more.
“Is it okay for him to keep doing that?”
Eustace opened his eyes. His blue eyes seemed to ask why he was asking the question. Yoon Jaewoo carefully continued.
“He keeps… Yatenbaum keeps driving the carriage, but wasn’t that man a god of this world too?”
Yoon Jaewoo had noticed that Yatenbaum and Eustace’s relationship had subtly changed since the day he lost consciousness from the bleeding that wouldn’t stop.
Before, although they bickered and argued, they basically seemed like equals, like friends. But now, Eustace was unilaterally ordering Yatenbaum around.
For example, they used to take turns driving the carriage one day at a time, but since that day, Yatenbaum has been driving continuously. Also, when it came to meals, gathering firewood, and fetching water, it was all Yatenbaum’s share.
“Should I drive? The horse, giddy-up, giddy-up.”
Yoon Jaewoo stretched out his hands and made a gesture of driving a horse. Eustace smiled lightly and turned his head. Thinking perhaps Eustace hadn’t understood him properly, Yoon Jaewoo mimicked the sound of a horse and showed the driving gesture again.
「You cannot drive this carriage.」
“Huh? Why not?”
「The speed at which this carriage runs is not the speed you perceive. It is so fast that no one can see the moment this carriage passes by.」
“…I see.”
Come to think of it, he didn’t think he had seen a single person while riding the carriage on the road. Yoon Jaewoo recalled himself, who had been so carefree as to open the window or lie down to sleep on a carriage that was moving too fast for human eyes to see, and shivered.
If he had fallen out of the carriage, he might have had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair….
“Then, um, are those horses some kind of magic or something like that too?”
Before he could hear an answer, the carriage stopped. As Yoon Jaewoo was about to open the door and get out, Eustace raised a hand to stop him.
「Under no circumstances are you to open the door first.」
“Why is that?”
「Because it’s dangerous. You don’t know what might happen.」
It was Yatenbaum who answered as he opened the door. He extended his hand to Yoon Jaewoo. Surely he doesn’t expect me to grab that hand, which is as big as a baseball glove.
Yoon Jaewoo blinked his eyes, then looked at Eustace behind him. Eustace pushed Yoon Jaewoo aside and slapped Yatenbaum’s hand away.
「Move.」
Yatenbaum clicked his tongue with a tch and stepped aside.
Right, this is exactly what’s strange.
Yoon Jaewoo followed Eustace down and observed Yatenbaum’s face. It was full of dissatisfaction, but he didn’t openly talk back to Eustace. When his eyes met Yoon Jaewoo’s, Yatenbaum gave him a wink.
Yoon Jaewoo rubbed his goosebump-covered arm and tilted his head.
Seeing him act like this, it’s not like the guy is sick or anything. But for the past few days, he’s been weirdly deferential to Eustace. It’s as if, he has a weakness that’s been exposed.
「Ramia. From now on, you must always be careful wherever you go.」
“……”
「Before opening a door, before entering anywhere, always look around. Be careful of your footing when you walk, too.」
“…It’s a little hard to say this, but I think the first people I need to be careful of are you guys….”
One had said he would take him and get him pregnant, and the other had declared he would turn him into a bead and put him in a display case.
Hearing Yoon Jaewoo awkwardly laugh and mutter, Ugh, these bastards, Eustace turned around to look at him. Yoon Jaewoo smiled as brightly as possible and waved his hands, saying, It’s nothing.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but lately, it seemed like Eustace was understanding his words better and better. At first, it was frustrating because they couldn’t communicate, but now this was slowly becoming scary too.
“…I should watch my mouth.”
Yoon Jaewoo muttered to himself and walked behind Eustace.
「Watch your step.」
Eustace pointed to a tree root protruding from the ground at his feet. Yoon Jaewoo walked around that spot, glancing at Eustace with suspicion.
「Watch your head.」
Yatenbaum moved a tree branch that was brushing precariously over his head and said a word. Yoon Jaewoo let out a short, stifled laugh and continued walking.
Why are these guys suddenly treating me like a child all at once? They wouldn’t be doing this for no reason.
「There….」
Yoon Jaewoo, who was looking back and forth between Eustace and Yatenbaum, didn’t see the hole that suddenly gave way beneath his feet and ended up tumbling forward.
“Ugh!”
Since one of his legs was impaired, his reaction was a beat too slow. Yoon Jaewoo managed to avoid smashing his face by planting his palms on the ground.
「This stupid thing.」
Eustace let out an annoyed voice as he helped up the Ramia who had fallen before he could even finish his sentence.
「Why do you even have eyes.」
“…None of your business.”
「I told you so many times to be careful. What would you do if you got hurt?」
“Am I not supposed to get hurt?”
It was a genuine question.
The memory of shivering and losing his body heat from the constant bleeding, clinging to Jinsoo hyung and shedding tears, had been completely erased from his mind. It was the result of Eustace having manipulated Yoon Jaewoo’s memory while treating him, just in case.
“It’s my body, if I get hurt, why do you, …hic.”
Eustace’s gaze turned chilly in an instant. Yoon Jaewoo swallowed and hastily shut his mouth.
「You have to be careful. Yellow. If you get hurt now, it’ll be a big problem.」
“But why?”
Yoon Jaewoo felt a little wronged.
It’s my body, and I’m the one getting hurt. What right do these guys who won’t even fix my leg have to say so much?
Eustace, who had only been wearing a cold expression until then, grabbed Yoon Jaewoo’s pant leg.
“What, what are you doing…!”
As the pant leg was lifted up, his right leg was exposed. Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned red. He wasn’t comfortable enough with Eustace or Yatenbaum to casually show the surgical scar that ran from his ankle to his thigh.
「Do you see this?」
“……”
Yoon Jaewoo bit his lip.
Unless he was blind, there was no way he couldn’t see the scar. It was the scar he prayed and wished every night would disappear, the one that pushed him into a pit of despair every morning.
「I asked if you can see it.」
“I see it! I see it very, veeery well. So well that, dammit.”
Yoon Jaewoo muttered a curse, unable to understand the man’s intention in deliberately lifting his pant leg to show him the hideous scar. He didn’t care if the man understood and he got hit for it. He felt really terrible.
「Oh dear.」
Yatenbaum, who was standing beside him, also examined Yoon Jaewoo’s leg and clicked his tongue as if in pity. Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.
“If you’re going to pity me, then fix it!”
Yoon Jaewoo grabbed his pant leg and tried to cover his leg, but since Eustace was holding his ankle, even that was not easy.
「Look. It’s still here.」
「Oh dear, oh dear.」
“Of course it’s still there, it’s not like it would just disappear overnight… huh?”
Yoon Jaewoo looked at the location of the wound the two men were looking at and clicking their tongues over, and he lifted his head in confusion.
“…What are you looking at?”
「This.」
What Eustace pointed to with his finger was the mark of a pinky-nail-sized wound on his knee.
“What’s this?”
「You almost died because of this.」
“What kind of bullshit is…”
No matter how much this world operated on an illogical basis, he couldn’t easily accept the fact that a small wound like this could be life-threatening.
Eustace reached out and placed his hand on Yoon Jaewoo’s chest. At the feeling of the firm palm touching him, Yoon Jaewoo’s body froze completely.
「It’s subtly changing.」
「Still?」
「Yes.」
「How is it changing?」
「I don’t know for sure.」
Listening to the conversation between the two gods, Yoon Jaewoo realized that he was the subject that was changing and asked back, What?
“What are you talking about? I’m changing? How? Hah, don’t tell me.”
Yoon Jaewoo ran his hands through his hair and widened his eyes.
“Is my black hair growing back?”
He did want to go back to having black hair, but that was for when he returned to his own world. For now, he wanted to live here with blond hair and be called handsome.
Yatenbaum chuckled and tapped the ground with his finger. A silver-white liquid rose up following his fingertip. After a red flame flared up and burned the liquid, a small mirror appeared in the air.
If I took these guys back to my original world and formed a circus troupe to tour the world, I’d become filthy rich.
As Yoon Jaewoo blinked his eyes with a greedy face, Yatenbaum pointed to the mirror with his finger and smiled.
Yoon Jaewoo hurriedly checked his reflection in the mirror. The him in the mirror still had amber eyes and dazzlingly brilliant blond hair. Yoon Jaewoo let out a small sigh of relief.
“Then what do you mean is changing?”
Eustace once again groped Yoon Jaewoo’s chest with his palm.
“What do you think you’re doing right now!”
Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned red again. Eustace looked down at Yoon Jaewoo with a sneer that said, Me, with someone like you?
“…Damn bastard. So what if you’re a god. So what if you’re handsome. Why the hell are you touching my chest.”
Yoon Jaewoo brushed off the area Eustace had touched with his palm and grumbled in a voice too low to be heard.
「Such a young thing, being needlessly shy.」
While he was trying to figure out whether he should be angry at the part that said “young thing,” or at the word “shy,” Yatenbaum abruptly stuck his face in front of Yoon Jaewoo’s and said.
「On the outside, he looks the same. Pretty, and looks delicious.」
「So vulgar.」
Eustace clicked his tongue and pushed Yatenbaum away. Then, looking straight into Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes, he continued in a stern tone, like a teacher scolding a student.
「Your body is constantly changing.」
“Of course it is. I get older too, you know.”
An invisible force struck Yoon Jaewoo’s back. Yoon Jaewoo yelped, “Ow, that stings,” and twisted his body.
「The poison remaining in your body hasn’t been fully detoxified yet, and there is an interference of power.」
He felt like he had heard that phrase, “interference of power,” a few times, but he had no way of knowing what it specifically meant. Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head earnestly, pretending to understand.
「You must not get hurt for the time being. Seeing how even such a small wound doesn’t heal completely and leaves a scar, if you get injured even slightly more seriously….」
Eustace’s expression clouded over as he spoke up to that point. Tense, Yoon Jaewoo unknowingly swallowed dryly.
「I suppose, it would be so.」
That “it would be so” was loaded with many meanings. Yoon Jaewoo did not have the courage to ask what would happen if he got seriously hurt.
“I, I won’t get hurt.”
When the thoroughly frozen Yoon Jaewoo exclaimed that, Eustace let out a small laugh. He stroked Yoon Jaewoo’s chin with his fingertips and soothed him, saying, That’s right.
Yoon Jaewoo smiled awkwardly and looked at Eustace.
…Ramia might mean a pet for a Dweord, but there’s really no need to treat me so much like a pet.
「Yellow. Don’t get hurt. You have to finish your work quickly and play with me. Right?」
Yatenbaum took Yoon Jaewoo’s hand and spoke, pretending to be affectionate. A smile more wicked than a witch offering candy to a child was plastered on his face. Yoon Jaewoo was neither hungry nor foolish enough to snatch and eat that candy.
“Fuck off. …Hah.”
After retorting out of habit, Yoon Jaewoo covered his mouth with his palm and looked at Eustace. Whether he hadn’t understood the curse, Eustace’s expression remained unchanged.
Haha. What a relief. He hasn’t figured out the meaning of “fuck off” yet. Thinking he should use it often, Yoon Jaewoo let out a dry cough. Eustace’s cool hand touched the nape of his neck this time.
「If your throat hurts, tell me immediately. Before you vomit blood and collapse.」
“Vomit blood….”
Hearing those words, his perfectly fine throat suddenly felt heavy, and Yoon Jaewoo stroked his neck with his palm. The story that his body would develop problems if he got even slightly injured was starting to become a little scary. Yoon Jaewoo tugged on Eustace’s sleeve.
“Excuse me.”
Eustace turned his head. His long hair, which had returned to silver at some point, swayed in the wind.
“Is my body’s condition that serious?”
Eustace looked down at Yoon Jaewoo with a what-are-you-talking-about expression. After having explained it to him so seriously for a while, for him to be asking the same thing again, it made him genuinely wonder why this being even had a head.
When Eustace’s expression hardened, Yoon Jaewoo was suddenly terrified.
Doctors always scare their patients about the worst-case scenario. That way, they can avoid responsibility, and even if the situation is only slightly better than the worst, they can receive thanks from the patient.
But when the situation is truly the worst, doctors do not say much. When his leg became like that after the accident, the first doctor who entered the hospital room had kept his mouth shut, maintaining a heavy silence.
Just like right now.
“What is it. …Why. Am I dying?”
「…….」
“Am I really dying?”
Sighing for a moment, Eustace grabbed Yoon Jaewoo’s head with his palm. Shaking his head back and forth, he admonished in a low voice, Listen carefully, Ramia. Yoon Jaewoo, whose head was being held, struggled before lifting his head.
「You are not going to die.」
“…Lies….”
「If you listen to me well.」
“……”
For some reason, that sounds even more like a lie than what he said just a moment ago.
As if he had said all he needed to, Eustace shook off Yoon Jaewoo, who was clutching his sleeve, and walked forward.
Yoon Jaewoo quickly walked after Eustace. He thought it would be better to do as he said for now.
There would be no harm in being careful.
Whenever something protruded on the path or a tree branch brushed precariously over his head, Eustace and Yatenbaum took turns warning him.
Yoon Jaewoo obediently paid attention as they said and walked on. As he watched the backs of the two men who had gotten off the carriage and were walking into the forest, Yoon Jaewoo suddenly wondered why they were walking now instead of taking the carriage.
Until now, they had never gotten out of the carriage to walk, except when they had to eat or sleep.
“Where are we going?”
Yoon Jaewoo asked. Yatenbaum, who could not understand his words, turned around and smiled. Yoon Jaewoo awkwardly smiled back and then posed the question to Eustace again.
“Where are we going now? Why are we walking? My leg hurts.”
Walking slowly was not a problem, but walking to keep up with the two men with their long strides was on a different level. As Yoon Jaewoo said this while patting his leg with his fist, Eustace, instead of answering, reached out his hand and wrapped it around his waist.
Before he could even ask what he was doing, Yoon Jaewoo’s body was lifted into the air. More than bewilderment, shame took precedence at the fact that the man had casually lifted his body with one hand. No matter what, he was a former athlete, yet to be lifted up with one hand like a puppy….
“Put me down.”
「Isn’t your leg hurting?」
“……”
「It’s better than falling behind.」
“…I said it’s better to fall behind.”
「We have to walk much further to get to the entrance of another’s castle. You cannot drive a horse there.」
“I get it, so please put me down.”
He asked to be put down a few more times, but Eustace didn’t even pretend to listen. It was no use struggling. The more he did, the tighter the grip on his waist became. In the end, Yoon Jaewoo rested his head on Eustace’s shoulder, sighed, and entrusted his body to him. Seeing that, Yatenbaum burst out laughing loudly.
“Why is he like this? This person… well, he’s not a person, but anyway, this god. Why is he being so nice to me?”
Yoon Jaewoo lamented while slung over Eustace’s shoulder, even though he knew Yatenbaum couldn’t understand his words.
「What is he saying?」
「It seems he’s wondering why I’m being so nice to him.」
「I’m curious about that too. Yellow. I, at least, have a purpose.」
As Yatenbaum said that, his eyes gleamed. He revealed a blatant desire, like a beast in front of its prey.
「He’s a very useful Ramia, after all.」
Recalling the scope of that “usefulness” Yatenbaum had mentioned, Yoon Jaewoo furrowed his brow.
「He’s not that useful, maybe one or two uses.」
The “usefulness” Eustace spoke of was also disagreeable in its own way. Yoon Jaewoo’s face gradually turned ashen.
「What are you going to use him for?」
“Why do you even ask something like that. It’s obvious he’s going to turn me into a decoration for his display case.”
After saying that out loud, Yoon Jaewoo felt the man’s arm holding him become extremely burdensome.
「If you’re going to make him into a bead, give him to me.」
“Don’t give him to me.”
And don’t make me into one either, he added in a small voice, but there was no way Eustace would listen to him. I have to run away quickly and make my own way to live.
「I have no intention of making him into a bead yet.」
「Don’t tell me you get turned on by this Ramia too? Hahaha.」
「Unless I’m crazy, there’s no way I would for something like this.」
At Eustace’s extremely firm and dismissive tone, Yoon Jaewoo felt a slight surge of anger.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I “something like this”? Why?
「Well, I suppose. Among the Ramia you’ve picked up, there were plenty of really pretty ones.」
He almost blurted out, I’m pretty too, you know! Yoon Jaewoo felt an inexplicable displeasure amidst the two Dweords’ conversation and suppressed his anger.
「You are good at picking up strange and pretty things. That’s a talent too.」
「It’s a hobby.」
“……”
He couldn’t bear the injustice and anger of having been caught by this damn man’s hobby. As Yoon Jaewoo glared at the back of Eustace’s head with a face full of frustration, Yatenbaum let out a small laugh and continued.
「Are you treating him so well because of a hobby? Rau, that’s not like you.」
Yatenbaum had watched Eustace from his side since they were young. The way he was treating this Ramia was different from the usual Eustace.
In fact, as payment for the promise that day, Eustace had accepted a vow of silence from Yatenbaum, making him unable to speak about the lot. When Yatenbaum questioned if that was all for such a heavy promise, Eustace had added that of course, Yatenbaum would have to drive the carriage until they reached their destination. It meant he was to act as a coachman. But even considering all that, it was still a light payment.
Yatenbaum had asked several times if that was really all he wanted. Not only was it too light a price for a promise, but he also couldn’t understand Eustace’s reasoning for specifically forbidding him from telling the Ramia about it.
「Is it just that Yellow is your type?」
「If we’re talking about color preference, I’m not particularly fond of yellow.」
Eustace reached out and pulled on Yoon Jaewoo’s hair, hard.
「Besides, it will turn back to black eventually anyway.」
“That hurts! Don’t pull!”
「Every time it turns back, I’ll just have to take him to the Najaf Forest and dip him in the spring. It might be good to dye it a different color too.」
「I’ve told you many times, he is not yours. Yatenbaum Mäden.」
“That’s right. As I have told you many times, I am not yours either. I am an independent, sovereign individual, a proud citizen of a democratic nation.”
Yoon Jaewoo grumbled in protest, but what came back was a stinging palm. After getting a harsh slap on the butt, Yoon Jaewoo lowered his head and endured the pain, while Eustace added a warning to Yatenbaum in a firm voice.
「And from now on, do not carelessly use any power on this one. It could be dangerous.」
At the added phrase, “it could be dangerous,” a momentary fear flickered in Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes. Eustace whispered a threat softly into Yoon Jaewoo’s ear, So you better listen to me well, too.
「Alright. I get it. You say he’s not your type, but you sure do treasure him like crazy.」
“Treasure him my ass! You won’t even fix my leg!”
Yoon Jaewoo strongly protested, but Yatenbaum only licked his lips and looked at him with a pleased expression.
「Then if he’s not your type and not useful, why on earth do you keep him so preciously by your side? Instead of just making him into a bead. If it’s a problem related to the barrier, it wouldn’t matter if you made him into a bead and carried him in your pocket. It’s the same life force anyway.」
“Yeah, why is that?”
That was a question Yoon Jaewoo wanted to ask too.
He knew he was involved in some problem about an interference of power or some barrier, as he had overheard it several times, but he had never once heard the reason why he was being kept around without being turned into a bead.
Eustace grabbed the back of Yoon Jaewoo’s head with his hand and made him meet his eyes. As he met the cool gaze that felt like it could freeze his heart, goosebumps rose on Yoon Jaewoo’s skin.
“…I wasn’t saying you should make me one. Please don’t misunderstand. I beg you.”
A smile flickered on Eustace’s lips as he looked at the Ramia who, even while terrified, said everything he needed to say.
「Because I have a premonition that I will need him someday.」
“…A premonition.”
Yoon Jaewoo muttered the word “premonition” and hung his head low. To think that the reason he had survived and not become a bead until now was because of a stupid premonition.
「If you have a premonition, then you must act on it.」
However, at Yatenbaum’s attitude of accepting those words so readily, Yoon Jaewoo, who had lowered his head, jerked it back up.
“Just because you have a premonition, is it okay to just do that? Does this world run and get decided by premonitions and stuff… hahaha. Of course it must be decided. Yes, absolutely. That’s a given. I must have been crazy for a moment. Hahaha.”
Yoon Jaewoo made a motion of slapping his own lips with his palm. Eustace grabbed Yoon Jaewoo’s hand and pulled it down, chiding him, Stupid thing.
「A Dweord’s premonition is the principle by which this world is maintained.」
「Hahaha. Yellow. A Dweord’s premonition is on a different level from the feelings you humans have. So pray that Eustace’s premonition doesn’t change. Got it?」
It was the tone one would use to soothe a child. He didn’t feel particularly good that Yatenbaum kept treating him like a child, but Yoon Jaewoo obediently nodded his head. He decided he should pray before bed, just as Yatenbaum said, that Eustace’s premonition wouldn’t change for the time being.
「Even so, you’re fawning over him too much, aren’t you? If Philippte or Dicker saw this, wouldn’t the Ramia have a hard time?」
Recalling the personalities of the two Dweords, Yoon Jaewoo’s future looked bleak.
「He would have a hard time.」
Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned pale. Yatenbaum alone was tiring enough to kill him, and the words that more misfortune would be added weighed heavily on his heart.
「That’s why you must listen to my words even more carefully.」
Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head vigorously. The words “listen carefully” had never sounded so terrifying. Even when his seniors in the sports club or the coach yelled at him to listen to them while dishing out punishments, it wasn’t this bad.
「When we go to Dweord Cox’s castle, do not even think of wandering around alone. Understand?」
“……”
「Answer me. Ramia.」
As the large palm slapped his butt again, Yoon Jaewoo straightened his shoulders and answered, “Yes.” Whether satisfied with the energetic voice, Eustace’s hand patted Yoon Jaewoo’s back a couple of times.
“Do whatever you want. I’m just a twenty-three-year-old baby, after all.”
Resignation was laced in his sigh.
The steps of the two Dweords walking through the forest were as smooth and elegant as if they were walking on water. Dangling from Eustace’s shoulder, Yoon Jaewoo watched the scenery receding behind him. Once he set aside the shame of being carried by a man for a moment, the beautiful forest scenery came into his view.
The occasional breeze carried the deep scent of the forest. Yoon Jaewoo sniffed and took in the clear scent, then suddenly wondered what a god would smell like and put his nose to Eustace’s shoulder, sniffing.
「What are you doing?」
Like a child caught doing something bad, Yoon Jaewoo quickly lifted his face.
「I think he’s smelling you, Rau?」
A completely unwelcome explanation flew in from behind.
「It seems he wanted to smell his master. The cute little Yellow.」
…An even more unwelcome commentary, one more.
Yoon Jaewoo, whose face and even the nape of his neck were flushed bright red, wanted to make an excuse, but no proper words came to mind.
「You flirtatious thing.」
There was no particular anger in Eustace’s voice as he said that.
「What does Rau smell like?」
Yatenbaum asked. Yoon Jaewoo hesitated, then said, Well, while sneaking a glance at Eustace.
「What does he smell like?」
When the Ramia, who usually chattered nonstop, was completely intimidated and couldn’t answer readily, Yatenbaum asked again with an interested expression.
「What does he smell like? Does he smell strange or something? Let me have a smell too….」
As Yatenbaum made a motion of sticking his face forward, Eustace’s expression hardened. A sharp wind pushed Yatenbaum back.
「Get the hell away from me.」
「So prickly. Ramia. What did he smell like?」
With his head resting on Eustace’s shoulder, Yoon Jaewoo seemed to think for a moment in a troubled manner before opening his mouth.
“Um, I don’t know if you have it here, but it smells like watermelon….”
When he first smelled it, Yoon Jaewoo wondered if his nose was playing tricks on him and sniffed a few more times. It was a sweet and cool, familiar scent he had smelled many times somewhere. Realizing it was the smell of watermelon, Yoon Jaewoo couldn’t help but tilt his head. From a god, the smell of watermelon….
「What is that?」
It seemed watermelons did not exist in this world after all. The taste of fruits was similar, but their colors, sizes, and a few of their names were subtly different.
“It’s a fruit. So, …um.”
Yoon Jaewoo, who was choosing his words, not knowing how to explain, felt his heart drop the moment his eyes met Eustace’s.
「A fruit?」
Eustace’s expression was cool upon hearing that a fruit scent was coming from his body. Yoon Jaewoo instinctively noticed the arm holding him tighten.
“Well, that is to say. That is, um, it’s a very wonderful fruit.”
Yoon Jaewoo pictured a watermelon in his mind and diligently tried to come up with flowery words for it.
“It’s a fruit with a beautiful green color, and on its surface, there are patterns drawn in a dark, no, a deep color, and inside, it has a beautiful red flesh that would make your eyes pop out just by looking at it.”
In this world, the highest praise was related to color. Yoon Jaewoo diligently mobilized every flattering description of color to continue his explanation.
“It’s a fruit whose color is so beautiful that people lavish praise on it just by looking.”
Damn it. Anyone hearing this would think I’m a watermelon otaku.
「Is that so?」
Thinking Eustace’s voice sounded a little more relaxed as he asked that, Yoon Jaewoo did not miss the chance and poured out even more sincere praise for watermelons.
“Yes. The pattern is so beautiful, it’s as luxurious and splendid as if a picture had been drawn.”
In elementary school art class, when given the assignment, Things I did during summer vacation, Yoon Jaewoo always drew the same subject. A shabby-looking melon hut that seemed like it would fall over in the wind and watermelons hanging in bunches in the field, he drew them without ever getting tired of it. The end of that boring drawing was to draw the watermelon’s stripes with a black crayon. Roughly, carelessly, screech screech screech screech.
「A beautiful pattern?」
“Yes. That’s right.”
A vigorous nod of the head.
「What kind of pattern?」
Yoon Jaewoo, who was about to mindlessly draw a zigzag with his finger, stopped short and clenched his fist.
“…It’s a pattern I dare not draw….”
I see, Eustace’s voice was noticeably lighter as he replied. The strength in the arm holding him seemed to have loosened a little as well.
Yoon Jaewoo let out a small sigh of relief and rested his chin on Eustace’s shoulder. Just like before, the forest scenery flashed by at a constant speed.
He could not help but admit that this was a hundred times more comfortable than walking with his bad leg. With his head resting on the broad shoulder, Yoon Jaewoo watched the changing forest from within the swaying embrace. It is a beautiful and clear forest. He wanted to walk slowly along this forest path with his own two feet and take in the view, but for now, he was satisfied with just this.
His vision blurring in and out, Yoon Jaewoo entrusted his consciousness to the drowsy breeze.
As he dozed off, Eustace’s hair brushed against his cheek several times. Soft. It’s truly soft. Just like….
As if electricity shot through his head, Yoon Jaewoo startled awake with wide eyes. I think I just had a scary thought in my sleep….
Blinking his eyes, he looked around, and Yatenbaum pointed to the corner of his mouth, saying, Wipe your drool. Yoon Jaewoo quickly wiped his lips with his palm, but there was no drool.
「He’s so easy to fool.」
「Because he’s stupid.」
“……”
「Good timing. I was just about to wake you since we’re almost there.」
“Really? Then please put me down.”
Although it was comfortable, he couldn’t stay in Eustace’s arms forever. However, Eustace didn’t answer and continued walking along the forest path at the same speed. If he had his way, he would have liked to jump down right then and there, but he didn’t know what kind of trials and tribulations he would face if he did. Yoon Jaewoo decided to exercise his patience and stay in Eustace’s arms until they reached the castle entrance.
The forest path, which seemed as if it would never end, gradually widened, and before he knew it, they had reached the edge of a lake. Yoon Jaewoo doubted his own eyes at the deep blue color of the lake, as if blue dye had been collected and dissolved in the water.
“Whoa.”
The lake was so vast that he would have thought it was the sea if not for the calm surface.
「We have arrived.」
「No matter how many times I see it, this lake always gives me a bad feeling.」
Yatenbaum muttered as he looked down at the lake’s surface. He looked so genuinely disgusted that Yoon Jaewoo cautiously asked.
“Why? Is there something wrong with this lake?”
Seeing Yoon Jaewoo point at the lake with his finger, Yatenbaum roughly guessed the meaning of the question and answered.
「I’m saying the inside of the lake gives me a bad feeling.」
“Is it a lake where something like Nessie lives?”
Yoon Jaewoo recalled a third-rate science magazine he had seen once. The cover model of that magazine was Nessie. The descendant of a dinosaur living in a lake, an unknown animal!
He had thought that he would definitely go to that lake to see Nessie someday, but he had already grown up this much and had come to a world full of things more mysterious than dinosaurs.
「What is he saying?」
「He’s just spouting nonsense, so don’t mind him.」
“Nessie is real!”
Feeling offended that Nessie was being dismissed, Yoon Jaewoo exclaimed firmly. Just then, the surface of the lake rippled. Eustace shushed him, placing a finger across Yoon Jaewoo’s lips.
Thinking that perhaps Nessie was really about to appear, Yoon Jaewoo swallowed dryly. However, no matter how long he waited, no living creature poked its head out of the lake’s surface.
“…What was that?”
Yoon Jaewoo asked, lowering his voice as much as possible. Eustace, with a serious face, simply stared at the surface of the lake indifferently.
Sheesh. Really.
Yoon Jaewoo cupped his palm and whispered his question into Eustace’s ear.
“Why did it just do that?”
Eustace smiled with a relaxed expression and clamped his palm over Yoon Jaewoo’s mouth. The surface of the lake moved as if it were alive. Yoon Jaewoo’s mouth fell open at the movement of the water, which churned and shot up into the air.
Yatenbaum’s expression grew more and more grim.
「Are we supposed to come, or not.」
As soon as his words ended, the lake’s surface became as quiet as a dead mouse again. As if the previous movement had been a lie. The only sound was the wind shaking the tree branches.
「He says to come in.」
Having said that, Eustace took a bold step toward the lake. No way, thought Yoon Jaewoo, and when Eustace’s leg was about halfway submerged in the lake, he shouted as if screaming.
“What are you doing? Where are you going right now?”
Eustace simply smiled lightly instead of answering.
“What do you think you’re doing! Are we committing a double suicide right now?”
Yoon Jaewoo screamed, “I don’t want to,” and tried to jump down from Eustace. But Eustace’s hand holding him was as hard as a rock. Yoon Jaewoo looked at Yatenbaum with a face that looked like it was about to cry.
“What are you doing? Why are you just watching? Help me.”
Yatenbaum, who was standing on the shore, sighed with a displeased face and then followed Eustace into the water.
“Agh! Why are we committing a group suicide? If three men commit suicide side by side, the rumors will be so awful!”
「We are not going to die.」
Eustace finally opened his mouth.
“Then why are you going into the water.”
The water surface nearly reached Eustace’s shoulder. Yoon Jaewoo felt like he was going to cry. Considering the height difference, it meant that even if he got down from this man’s arms now, his feet would not touch the surface of the water.
Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned pale with fear. Swimming in a moderate depth was fine, but a depth where his feet could not touch was a different story. The mere thought of his feet not being safely on the ground was frightening enough to make his stomach churn.
“Agh!”
When the water reached his own shoulder, Yoon Jaewoo wrapped both arms around Eustace’s head. Yatenbaum, who was following behind, whistled as he watched.
「Yellow. Do you like your master that much?」
“Do I look like I’m enjoying this? This crazy….”
Eustace’s palm wrapped around the back of Yoon Jaewoo’s head.
「Ramia. Calm down. We are just entering the southern castle.」
“If we’re going to a castle, why are we going through the water.”
The water reached near Eustace’s neck. Yoon Jaewoo clung to that neck with all his might, as if it were his lifeline.
「Southern Dweord. Cox Philippte.」
Eustace’s voice rang out. Like a current flowing on the wind, a graceful and beautiful voice spread across the surface of the lake.
The calm surface of the lake rippled in a circle centered on Eustace’s body. Just seeing it made him dizzy, so Yoon Jaewoo closed his eyes completely and buried his face in Eustace’s neck.
「O Dweord who rules the blue waters. I bless your castle.」
From behind, Yatenbaum also said, I bless it, in an unwilling voice. While Yoon Jaewoo was bewildered, Eustace began to walk again.
“I don’t want to. I said I don’t want to.”
Eustace grabbed the nape of Yoon Jaewoo’s neck with one hand as he thrashed about, not wanting to fall into the water.
「Stay still.」
The water touched the tip of Yoon Jaewoo’s chin. The only thing Yoon Jaewoo could believe in was the man he was clinging to. Right now, he had no choice but to admit that this man was his lifeline.
The blue lake, swallowed them in an instant.