TDAA Ch 16
by soapaThere were no orders.
Siol smiled faintly, looking at the blue dragon who readily listened to whatever he said. It was fortunate that this man was the blue dragon. If someone like Ryufen had been the blue dragon, Siol might have already lost his life.
Miserably, the most likely cause of death would have been a burst stomach. From following the order to eat a lot.
The two entered the barracks and easily found the entrance to the basement. This was thanks to the fact that the building itself was originally built as a hotel, so the entrance to the basement wasn’t particularly hidden.
Siol smelled a foul odor as he descended the stairs. It wasn’t simply the musty smell characteristic of basements, but a strange mixture of fishy and burning smells.
Opening the tightly locked door at the bottom of the stairs and entering the basement, they found it was a spacious area.
The only light illuminating the dark basement was the light pouring in from a square opening in the ceiling. Strangely, the opening had iron bars attached to it.
“But there doesn’t seem to be anyth…. Huh?”
“Sizool!”
At that moment, something like a sharp shadow shot up between Siol and Eorzen. Eorzen calmly pushed Siol away and slammed his fist down on the shadow. A scream erupted as the magic-imbued fist tore through the shadow.
Eorzen clicked his tongue. If it had been a beast-type monster, a few punches would have knocked it unconscious. However, this type of formless monster was troublesome to deal with.
Since it didn’t have a proper form, attacks didn’t land well, and it was quick to flee. If he only needed to kill it, he would have incinerated the surroundings, but since he had to bring it alive to Siol, it wasn’t easy.
“Come here.”
Eorzen extended his hand toward Siol, wary of the shadow that had disappeared. Siol, who had been standing blankly, quickly got up and was about to run to him when a shadow suddenly rose from the floor, enveloped Siol, and seeped into the ground. The place where the shadow reappeared was the corner of the opposite wall. At the end of that short exchange of blows, the monster had sensed who had the upper hand in the fight, grabbed its prey, and fled as far away as possible.
“Sizool!”
Siol gasped and collapsed to the floor. To Eorzen, it looked like his legs had given way from fear, but the reality was different.
Go to the dragon immediately, obey the command.
The dragon’s curse whispered, slowly squeezing Siol’s heart.
Siol tried to inhale with a gasp. Every time his lungs moved, he felt his heart flutter beside them. The pain gradually spread from his heart to his entire chest, and his vision began to blur.
The shadow rose again. This time, it was in the shape of a mouth with dozens of sharp teeth.
However, Eorzen’s magic was faster than the shadow could devour Siol. As soon as Eorzen’s index and middle fingers pointed at Siol, a transparent hemispherical light enveloped him. The monster’s teeth crashed against the barrier several times with a kang kang sound.
Siol couldn’t just stay still. Holding his breath to endure the pain, he slammed both hands onto the floor. Strange alchemical symbols were engraved on the floor and spread wide. But just before completing it, a sudden thought crossed Siol’s mind, and he withdrew all his power. And the next moment, the barrier shattered, and the shadow’s mouth lunged.
Oh no…!
“Sizool.”
Siol, who had squeezed his eyes shut and shrunk back, opened his eyes at the voice calling him. Eorzen was looking at Siol with his fist shoved inside the giant mouth. He pressed the shadow’s tongue to the floor, holding it tight. The shadow, its tongue caught, struggled, unable to escape.
“Are you hurt?”
The dragon’s curse didn’t recede just because Eorzen came closer. Siol, his vision swimming with near-unbearable pain, looked at Eorzen and crawled towards him. As he trembled and clung to Eorzen’s leg, the pain in his heart finally stopped.
“No…”
“Oh dear. Sizool….”
Eorzen twitched his eyebrows, watching young Siol finally stop gasping only after clinging to him. He should have just picked him up earlier, even if Siol had refused and said he only wanted to hold hands.
Then this wouldn’t have happened.
“There, I’ve completely subdued it, so don’t be scared. See? It can’t move at all.”
However, a strange sense of satisfaction bloomed in his chest.
He gently soothed the small boy, clinging to him as if he had no one else to rely on.
Siol only regained his composure after a long while. He removed the necklace from the neck of the shadow Eorzen had subdued. As Siol’s hand touched the necklace and the electrical discharge began, the shadow trembled and convulsed. He was nervous that he might destroy the necklace by mistake, but fortunately, he was able to cut off the current and remove it before that happened.
Then, Eorzen extended his hand to Siol, who breathed a sigh of relief.
“You look pale. Sizool, come here.”
Siol readily surrendered himself to the blue dragon’s hand.
He didn’t have the strength to walk properly on his own anyway. His aching heart and dizzy head were fine now, but he couldn’t help but want to act spoiled.
“I was scared.”
“I’m sure you were…. I’m sorry, Sizool.”
“No, it’s not Eorzen-nim’s fault….”
Siol remained silent for a moment, his face buried in Eorzen’s chest.
How could he express the emotion that filled his heart right now? Fear? Pain? Resentment?
“No, it’s all because of Eorzen-nim. I…”
The feeling of adoration he held for the blue dragon wasn’t false. If Siol was told to go, he would gladly go, and if he was told to make alchemical tools, he would gladly make them as well. Whatever was asked of him, he was prepared to trust and follow if it was the blue dragon’s request.
The blue dragon also trusted and cherished him. Siol could feel it in the way he was usually treated. He felt affection in the gentle, warm, and tender gestures.
However, Siol was also in a position where he wouldn’t escape death if he didn’t go when he was called.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t gone, but that he couldn’t go, yet the dragon’s curse crushed his heart.
“I thought I was going to die…”
But he couldn’t tell the blue dragon such things. If he revealed his true identity, he would surely lose even what he currently had.
To want the truth in a relationship that began with a lie.
And so desperately at that.
“I won’t let you be in such danger again. But for that to happen,”
Eorzen whispered in Siol’s ear as he gently patted his back.
“You shouldn’t leave my embrace, should you?”
Siol flinched at the voice that penetrated his ear.
Certainly, this embrace was cozy and comfortable. He wanted to stay in it forever if he could.
But that was impossible.
Siol looked up at Eorzen. His long hair, tilted as he looked down at Siol, cast a shadow. In that shadow, Eorzen’s eyes glittered with a strange light.
Siol knew those blue eyes were waiting for his answer.
I wish I could have you all to myself. But you have too much to take care of.
And I also have too much of the past to undo.
Above all, the weight carried in those words couldn’t possibly be as heavy as he desired.
Siol playfully pushed Eorzen’s chest.
“I don’t want that. If I keep being held like this, Ryufen will tease me relentlessly.”
“I see….”
Siol, surprised by the deep disappointment he sensed in those eyes, looked up, only to find Eorzen wearing his usual gentle expression.
Did I see wrong?
“But certainly, this incident was my fault, Sizool. I’m sorry for frightening you.”
“…No. Actually, I just wanted to whine a bit. I’m sorry.”
“Then keep whining.”
Eorzen looked expectant.
“Huh…. What?”
“Keep whining. You don’t have to apologize or take it back.”
“D-don’t tease me!”
“Sizool, I’m not teasing you….”
“Oh, really! I just wanted to whine because I was surprised and scared. I won’t do it again, so please stop it, Eorzen-nim!”
“No, what I mean is really-”
Siol tightly covered Eorzen’s unstoppable mouth with his hand. When he looked up with a sullen face, Eorzen smiled with a charming smile. It was such an alluring expression that anyone who saw it would think he had a lover in front of him.
Siol groaned, “Oh, dear,” and glared at him with a stern face.
Then, Eorzen laughed as if genuinely amused and said something. Proper words didn’t come out, muffled by the small hand. But then, Siol, curious about what he had said, slightly removed his hand.
Thinking that if he said the same thing again, he would cover his mouth again.
“Are you feeling better?”
“…Yes…”
Siol answered, feeling somewhat shy, and shrugged his shoulders.
“Then let me ask an important question. Sizool, why didn’t your alchemy work properly earlier?”
At the sudden questioning, Siol flinched involuntarily.
That alchemy, if activated, could have created a prison to trap the shadow. However, just before completion, it vanished according to Siol’s will, unfinished. Since Eorzen had seen him using alchemy, it wasn’t strange that he was questioning it.
It was rather commendable that Eorzen had waited for Siol’s emotions to stabilize before asking, quite gentlemanly.
“Actually…”
The moment Siol used alchemy, half of his body was immersed in the world beyond the magic circle. The energy from beyond poured into him, and through it, Siol realized that someone was watching him.
More precisely, probing.
Perhaps the monster in the basement was a trap from the beginning.
Yes. Nathaniel’s.
“I didn’t have an offering.”
“…What?”
“Alchemy requires an offering, and I forgot to bring something suitable.”
Ah, wouldn’t he look like an incompetent and pathetic alchemist?
Siol averted his gaze with an awkward laugh. Alchemists were also known as “the prepared ones,” yet he was making excuses about not having an offering. If he had given this excuse to his master, he would have been beaten black and blue and bedridden for days.
Eorzen seemed equally dumbfounded, looking down at Siol, observing him before falling silent.
It’s understandable…. Siol felt dejected, wondering how much effort it would take to make up for this. How long would it take to build an image of a competent, excellent, and reliable alchemist?
Siol, who had a strong desire for recognition, felt a bit discouraged, but soon clenched his fists, determined to work hard.
As he was doing so, Eorzen started walking. He seemed to have finally decided to leave this gloomy basement.
As Eorzen and Siol emerged from the basement, they were met with a scene of knights crowding around like a pack of dogs, craning their necks to see what had happened. While Siol hesitated between praising or reprimanding them for not charging down below, the knights, sensing his mood, scattered like birds in all directions.
Eorzen clicked his tongue and shook his head, returning to where Ryufen was.
Ryufen had already consulted with the lord and was bustling about, talking about lodging, going hunting, and making stew.
“Ah, Commander! Your room is at the very end of the second floor.”
“Alright.”
“Huh? What’s wrong with him again? Is he hurt somewhere?”
Eorzen turned away from Ryufen, who came closer to examine Siol’s face.
“It’s nothing like that, so you go back to preparing dinner.”
Ryufen looked puzzled by the cold attitude. Siol also didn’t understand why Eorzen was blocking Ryufen.
Ignoring the two who were bewildered by his strange reaction, Eorzen strode into the building. Peeking over Eorzen’s shoulder, Siol made eye contact with Ryufen, exchanging unspoken questions like, ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘I don’t know. What should I do?’
That exchange ended abruptly as Eorzen walked further into the building, blocked by the wall.
Ryufen, though he found it strange, quickly forgot about it and returned to preparing dinner. To this giant wolf, nothing in the world was more important than food.
Moreover, it was currently an emergency situation with no food. Hunting. It was time to go hunting.
The room at the very end of the second floor. Arriving at his room, Eorzen placed Siol on the bed, lit the fireplace with his fingertips, and immediately left the room.
Leaving only the short words, “Wait here.” Without saying when he would return or what he would be doing.
Was forgetting the offering something to be this angry about?
Of course, he almost died…
Perhaps it would have been better to make a less pathetic excuse than that ridiculous one.
But I thought Eorzen was always lenient with me and wouldn’t get angry over something like that…
As Siol paced back and forth in the room, trying to clear his confused mind, he felt himself getting hotter and hotter. The fireplace, lit by dragon magic, radiated a heat more intense than an ordinary fire.
He first took off his thick coat, then his cardigan, and when he still felt hot, he was about to undo his shirt buttons when he saw a shocking sight.
“What is this?!”
The dragon’s mark was vivid on his chest.
Originally, the dragon mark was the same jet-black color as Siol’s curse mark, so they blended together, making it difficult to distinguish their shapes. But now, it was different. The curse mark was still jet-black, while the dragon mark was somewhat faded. The overlapping parts were still difficult to discern, but the different colors in the separate areas made it easy to deduce that it was the dragon mark.
Siol was startled. He opened his shirt, stared blankly at his chest, and then quickly buttoned it up again.
“What, what is this? Why, why is this happening all of a sudden?”
Fear washed over him.
If, if the blue dragon were to see this…!
As Siol trembled, picked up his cardigan, and hurriedly put it back on and buttoned it, the door opened, and Eorzen entered.
“E-Eorzen-nim…”
Eorzen stared silently at Siol, frozen with his hand on the buttons, then closed the door and stepped inside. Siol frantically tried to button up but failed several times as his hands slipped. Ah, it’s over now.
Since he had shown such panic, Eorzen was sure to take off his cardigan and check underneath out of suspicion.
Siol stared blankly as Eorzen’s hand undid the buttons of his cardigan one by one.
“Sizool.”
As if swallowing poison, Siol responded to the call.
“Yes.”
“Why are you trembling? Are you cold?”
“N-no… Just…”
All the buttons on the cardigan were undone. Now, if only his thin shirt was removed, the whole truth would be revealed.
Siol was no longer trembling. Thinking that this was truly, truly the end, he felt less like trembling and more like regretting what he had never had. Siol stared into the eyes of the blue dragon, who tilted his head.
If I die, I prefer it to be by the blue dragon’s hand. Yes, if I die at the hands of this man, at least I’ll be remembered.
Even if not forever, for a few years… even if it’s not a fond memory, but an unpleasant one of a foolish alchemist pretending to be a little wolf and staying by his side, as long as I can remain in the blue dragon’s memory…
No, but if possible, he wanted to throw off the stigma of the Death Alchemist, reveal the whole truth…
He wanted to save the beastmen suffering because of alchemy.
And then, after that, come back to the blue dragon…
“There, all done.”
Lowering his head at the voice, he saw the buttons of his cardigan sparkling. The blue dragon smiled gently as he fastened each of the glowing blue buttons.
“If you wear them like this, you’ll never forget them. My scales have magical value, so they won’t be insufficient as offerings, Sizool. Use them freely when needed and tell me later. I’ll give you new ones anytime.”
Saying so, Eorzen took Siol’s hand and attached new buttons to his sleeves as well.
Siol was speechless as he watched the ordinary wooden buttons of his cardigan transform into dragon scales.
“Is… Is it okay for me to have these?”
“They’re mine, so why wouldn’t it be?”
To have a part of a dragon attached to his cardigan…!
Siol was dumbfounded that the reason he received such a precious item was so trivial.
If he said, ‘I tried to do alchemy, but I failed because I didn’t have an offering, so the dragon gave me these,’ how many people on Earth would believe him?
Emptiness washed over him along with joy. The dragon wasn’t even interested in Siol’s chest. Why was I so afraid just now? Siol reflected inwardly and smiled brightly.
“Thank you! I’ll treasure them!”
“Good. And when we return to the castle, I’ll decorate all your clothes with jewels. All the precious jewels and gold are yours.”
“Y-you don’t have to go that far…!”
“There’s no one else to use them anyway. As I said before, there’s a whole lot of them just lying around in the basement because no one uses them.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ll give them all to you.”
Was I always this greedy?
Siol smiled bashfully, not knowing the nature of the joy that washed over him.
Simply because he liked the voice of the blue dragon whispering that he would give him all the precious things.
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
The next day, Siol woke up, took off his shirt, and checked his chest again.
The curse mark and the dragon mark were still clearly separate on his pale white skin. He even felt that the dragon mark was fainter than yesterday.
He hadn’t been caught by Eorzen yet, but since they were living together, it was only a matter of time.
He felt like he was holding a time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Siol took a small piece of wood, a piece of candle, and removed the earring he was wearing, placing them on the floor in his room. Then, he slammed both hands onto the floor. The light consumed the prepared offerings and stealthily stole half a quarter of the dragon scale attached to his sleeve. It was as if it was saying, ‘Oh, there’s something amazing there!’ and snatching it away, even though it wasn’t strictly necessary.
Siol clicked his tongue at the thieving behavior.
It was a bit of an unfair trade just now, but he decided not to protest since it usually made things easier for him.
He put the resulting earring in his ear and turned the red jewel slightly to the side, matching the color of his curse mark with the dragon mark.
This was just a temporary fix.
To fundamentally solve this problem, he needed to find out why the dragon mark was fading. He had a hunch. The curse placed by the dragon was originally a powerful one, designed to follow Siol’s soul and torment him even through multiple lifetimes. The fact that the dragon mark, a testament to that curse, was fading meant that the curse itself was weakening.
There was no way the blue dragon himself would have lifted the curse on the Death Alchemist.
Siol would bet his alchemical talent that some external factor had weakened the curse.
He had to uncover that reason.
His head ached. He felt like the number of things he had to resolve was increasing day by day.
Restore his honor, stop Nathaniel, take revenge on the human king, teach Burdril more alchemy, distribute prosthetic limbs…
Oh, thankfully Burdril is taking care of the prosthetic limbs.
Anyway, on top of all that, he had to figure out how to dismantle the necklace and discover the cause of the weakening curse.
“Right now, the most important thing is the reason why the curse is weakening…”
That had to be done secretly, and the first thing he needed to do publicly was figure out how to dismantle the necklace.
Siol opened the window and looked out at the open space outside the building. He could see Ryufen, lurking like a hyena around a huge pig and a pot set over a bonfire since early morning. Every time the knights nearby tried to sneak some food, Ryufen’s fist would fly. If only Ryufen were half as serious in his everyday life as he was when cooking. It was both funny and fascinating how the wolf, who initially thought cooking was just about grilling, had suddenly become interested in cooking and was acting like a chef.
The city, as the sun rose, had a strange vibrancy. As the city shifted from darkness to light and awoke, the beastmen also began to move. People carrying and selling groceries, food distribution lines, technicians propping up pillars to somehow restore collapsing buildings, children carrying water or small stones to help the adults.
Among these people pulsating to live again, something was happening.
Amidst this strange sensation where everything seemed suspicious and dubious, Siol looked around and made eye contact with the only being who completely calmed him.
Eorzen, who was talking about something among the knights, caught Siol’s eye and smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
“Eorzen-nim…”
At the low murmur, Eorzen seemed to rise from his spot, and in the blink of an eye, he was already standing outside Siol’s window. Leaning against the window from the roof of the first floor, Eorzen reached out, buttoned Siol’s cardigan up to his neck, and gently caressed his cold ears with warm hands.
“Oh dear… Sizool, your ears are freezing.”
“I guess I enjoyed the cold breeze for too long.”
“Your body is getting cold, so go inside quickly.”
Eorzen seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.
He cupped Siol’s cold cheeks in his hands, sharing his warmth, then lowered his head. Leaving a light kiss on the tip of Siol’s nose, Eorzen, however, froze instead of smiling and stroking Siol’s hair as usual.
When Siol looked up in confusion, Eorzen was staring at him with sunken eyes. With an expressionless face, as if peering into Siol’s very being.
“Eorzen-nim?”
“Ah. Oh dear. I was lost in thought for a moment. No… That can’t be.”
Siol paled, guessing what “other thought” Eorzen had just had. Fortunately, Eorzen didn’t seem to notice anything strange, perhaps because he couldn’t read the change in Siol’s face, which was already pale from the cold.
As if to compensate for the cold, distant few seconds just now, Eorzen rubbed Siol’s cheeks, kissed his forehead, and returned to the knights.
“It’s cold, Sizool, so it’s best for you to have your meal in your room. I’ll bring it to you soon, so wait.”
After that, Siol closed the window, stared blankly at Eorzen talking with the knights, and slowly turned around.
With trembling hands, he unbuttoned his cardigan and shirt, revealing the curse mark and the dragon mark underneath.
The curse mark, which he had clearly matched in color earlier, was now darker than the dragon mark.
The dragon mark was rapidly fading.
⋆୨🔮୧⋆
The group decided to use this city as a base to reclaim the surrounding lost cities one by one.
The problem was that the knights, worried about Asios, had rushed out without proper preparation. They had all their basic luggage and weapons, but things like food and weapon maintenance tools were severely lacking. Eorzen had told the remaining personnel before leaving with the knights, so they would be following, but there was a vast difference in speed between the elite knights who had come with only themselves and the baggage wagons loaded with supplies.
“Then, let’s scout the surrounding cities and wait for a bit.”
Siol was startled because Ryufen had spoken sensible words with a serious face. What Siol had imagined Ryufen would say was something like,
‘Who cares about that? Let’s just go and crush all the enemies with these awesome legs!’
Seeing his reaction, Ryufen scoffed and said,
“Sizool, you shouldn’t underestimate logistics in war, especially in a city this far from the castle.”
He meant that if it were a city close to the castle, he wouldn’t care about supplies. Indeed, it would be ridiculous to worry about supplies when they were only a few hours away. If someone had legs as fast and stamina as tireless as Ryufen, that wouldn’t be strange either.
Siol was impressed, thinking that Ryufen, despite seeming to live carelessly, actually thought things through. Perhaps the reason he seemed like a carefree wolf until now was because he could live that way without any real problems. Come to think of it, the reason he always seemed bored might be similar.
Ryufen, who had felt like a pathetic unemployed uncle, suddenly appeared in a new light.
“There are twenty-four of us, including me, so we’ll form groups of five and go scouting. What about you, Commander?”
“I will…”
Eorzen glanced at Siol sitting next to him and reached out. He gently stroked Siol’s unruly hair and rubbed his ear between his thumb and forefinger, then smiled faintly with a seemingly satisfied look, and turned back to the knights.
Siol felt that Eorzen’s physical touch had become more frequent recently. Why? The “strange Eorzen” that he and Ryufen had talked about, thinking it wouldn’t last forever, seemed to be getting worse lately. Siol tried to ignore the warmth spreading from his earlobe, where Eorzen’s fingertips were tickling him.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask him to stop touching his ears because they were sensitive. It would sound strange. Siol straightened his back, trying to appear composed.
“I’ll go to a nearby allied city and see if I can request supplies.”
“Ah! That’s a good idea. If things go well, we might be able to get supplies today.”
“Yes. I’ll try to secure enough to use until the supplies from our city arrive.”
Normally, in such cases, they would requisition goods from the city, but this city was too poor to afford that. They were relying on Ryufen’s hunting for about half of the residents’ meals.
“Then please make sure to ask for seasonings. We definitely need salt and pepper. Other things would be good too. I can’t make proper food with what we have now.”
“But it was delicious.”
“Huh?”
“It was delicious. Ryufen is a good cook, so it’s delicious even if the ingredients are lacking. The bread and stew we had this morning were delicious too.”
“Of course it was delicious! I made it after studying from a book! I even read a cookbook because of you…!”
Ryufen clicked his tongue and furrowed his brows.
“Anyway, I’m saying I can make food of a different dimension with various seasonings! Sigh. Our little one hasn’t eaten much delicious food yet, so he says food made with such ingredients is delicious… This is a serious problem.”
“Why are you complaining when I said delicious food was delicious! You’re making a fuss even when I’m taking your side!”
“I’m worried! What if you go around saying everything is delicious and rumors spread that the Commander only feeds you tasteless food?”
That wasn’t something the wolf, who until recently only served grilled food, should be saying. Siol, who had enjoyed all sorts of luxurious fruits, meats, spices, and delicacies for nearly ten years, was so dumbfounded by Ryufen’s accusation that he was beyond being just upset, but he just closed his mouth maturely and turned his head.
He had recently realized that Ryufen just enjoyed Siol getting riled up and was acting mean for that reason. He had managed to learn the truth thanks to the knights around them who looked at them with amused and endearing eyes every time they bickered. I won’t fall for it next time.
“Enough. I’ll bring seasonings if they have any to spare. Anything else we need?”
It was obvious that Ryufen was subtly trying to avoid making a list, but Eorzen just nodded. It seemed he didn’t expect such meticulous work from Ryufen in the first place.
“Then, Sizool, you will…”
“I’ll examine the necklace!”
“…Right. There was that…”
Eorzen muttered in a somewhat displeased tone. Siol tilted his head at him. Did he have something else in mind for him to do?
However, before Siol could ask, Eorzen rose from his chair. As he stood, all the knights also stood up and straightened their posture.
“Then everyone, carry out your duties for today.”
“Yes!”
The knights, including Ryufen, saluted and rushed out of the dining hall.
Left alone in the quiet dining hall, Siol felt a sense of tension tightening his back. When he was with the foolish Ryufen, it wasn’t like this, but when he was left alone with Eorzen, he didn’t know what to say, he worried about Eorzen doing something strange, and above all—
“Sizool, come here.”
He was constantly being picked up, making his face flush and his heart race.
He was already afraid of his dragon mark being discovered, his heart pounding, and being this close made him so scared and nervous that he felt breathless.
When Eorzen touched his cheek like this, his ear, traced his neck, gently held his shoulder—.
“Uh…!”
At the sound Siol inadvertently made, Eorzen, who was climbing the stairs, stopped and stared down at him. It was the same gaze he had felt in the room earlier. Not Eorzen, but the blue dragon, the gaze of that massive and magnificent being. As if piercing through him, as if probing, as if scanning Siol from head to toe.
“I… I must have slept wrong! My neck, it hurts when you press it…”
“Ah. I see…”
Eorzen started walking again as if he didn’t know he was the one doing it. His hand still gripped the back of Siol’s neck, pressing and massaging.
“There, this will make it better. If you leave it alone, the muscles will stiffen more.”
“Nn… Y-yes. Mm… Ugh… It, it hurts…!”
“Your neck is very stiff. It seems you’ve been overdoing it lately, teaching Burdril alchemy.”
Oh my! Won’t this sound strange to Eorzen?
If he were to say that his neck didn’t hurt at all, and the touch felt strangely arousing—.
“Hngh…! It hurts! Ugh… It’s, it’s okay now… Uhhn…!”
Eorzen’s large hand completely enveloped Siol’s neck, moving rhythmically. It was half painful and half a strange sensation, like something was tingling up his spine, so Siol clenched his jaw to suppress his moans.
Siol only realized they had arrived in the room after he was placed on the bed. Eorzen turned his back to Siol, rekindled the dying fire in the fireplace, meticulously closed the window, and drew the curtains.
“Sizool, you’re sensitive to the cold, so don’t wander around carelessly.”
And with those words, he left abruptly.
Normally, he would have hugged him again, stroked his hair, or at least kissed him on the cheek before leaving, but his attitude was cold.
Did he show too much dislike for the massage that Eorzen had thoughtfully given him? Siol felt dejected and resolved to endure it better next time. He didn’t want to upset Eorzen over something like this, after all he had done for him.
Suddenly, the window rattled loudly. Siol jumped up, slightly parted the curtains, wiped the frosted window with his sleeve, and pressed his face against it. Eorzen, transformed into the blue dragon, was taking flight.
Even now, the sight of the blue dragon’s feet made his whole body stiffen with fear. Even now that he admired him, his soul was still caught in those claws. But at the same time, when he met those beautiful blue eyes, an indescribable, overwhelming emotion welled up. Siol stared, entranced, as the reptile’s vertically slit eyes looked at him and then turned towards the sky. Only after the dragon’s form completely disappeared did he close the curtains.
Now it was time for him to work. The tasks piled up like a mountain, and most of them had to be done secretly.
First, he needed to do something about the necklace so he could make time for other things, so he had to disassemble and analyze it…
Siol took out the necklace he had put in the drawer and placed it on the table by the fireplace. He happened to glance at the blue scale button attached to the end of his sleeve. This sparkling button was attached by Eorzen himself yesterday. With a scale from his own body. He couldn’t even imagine its value. Perhaps if he sold just the buttons on his current shirt and cardigan, he could buy several tens of tons of food on Earth.
A dragon who gives away such precious things so easily. He even said he’d give him all the jewels in the basement when they returned to the castle. Such a kind dragon, what a good partner he would be to his mate.
Dragons are said to be a possessive species…
Facing that gentle dragon, it was hard to believe that he would have to pretend not to be possessive towards his mate.
Siol shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts of Eorzen that kept surfacing.
The necklace taken from the shadow’s neck was a more elaborate and expensive item than he had expected.
First of all, the leather was gargoyle leather, specially skinned and treated magically. Thinly rolled and inscribed with spells, five layers of gargoyle leather were bonded together inseparably, and an ignition spell was engraved on the outermost layer. It was a kind of security system to prevent anyone from finding out what spells were inscribed inside.
Small but expensive magic stones were embedded in the metal studs that lined the leather. Twelve in total. Beyond one or two magic stones, it already surpassed the value of a necklace meant for a slave, and this one contained a whopping twelve.
“But then again, it’s crude for something like that.”
On the other hand, the ring where the necklace cord was attached and the ornament hanging from it were terribly poorly made. Especially the spell on the ring was on the verge of breaking, barely supported by the spell on the jewel that was disguised as an ornament.
“I see, Nathaniel… That’s just like you…”
Siol could grasp the truth without much thought.
This necklace, stitched together with mismatched pieces like Frankenstein’s monster, was clearly the garbage created by Nathaniel, his only disciple.
The boy wasn’t particularly talented in alchemy. He had some talent in potions, and besides that, he was good at analysis and replication, but he couldn’t create anything original. Comparing him to Burdril would make him feel too sorry for Burdril.
So, to create such an alchemical tool, he would have had to borrow the power of the alchemists under his command, but the alchemists of this world, despite their lack of skill, had sky-high pride and didn’t like being treated like factory alchemists. In the past, they had reluctantly obeyed, somewhat restrained by Siol’s presence, who occasionally bestowed knowledge upon them, but would that have continued after Siol’s disappearance?
Siol would bet his entire fortune that Nathaniel had struggled to control the alchemists after his death.
So, in the end, all Nathaniel could do was rely on the king’s authority and place orders for proper products.
He must have ordered the necklace, the collar, the metal studs, and the ring separately, as if they were parts of different products, and then taken only the necessary parts and assembled them into this shoddy piece of junk.
Only the jewel that supplemented the ring’s spell seemed to be made by Nathaniel himself. He must have thought the ring’s completion was poor, but since he couldn’t make a better one himself, he just added a supplementary spell and finished it.
“As expected… I can’t leave him like this.”
Siol resolved to find a way to deal with Nathaniel after this was over.
And he analyzed and examined the Frankenstein’s monster in front of him, piece by piece, uncovering almost all the secrets hidden within. His tenacity, his persistence, his willingness to experiment from beginning to end and not be afraid to start over if something puzzled him—these were the secrets to his success in this tedious task.
“Hehehe… Now I’ve figured out the principle…!”
“Sizool-nim.”
“Eek!”
Siol, who was smiling sinisterly while looking down at the necklace, was so startled by the sudden call that he almost fell, but the person who surprised him caught him. Siol looked up at the person, tense. It was a familiar face.
“Asios… nim?”
“Please, just call me Asios.”
“Then call me just Sizool.”
“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”
The man, who had asked Siol to call him by his name but casually refused the same request, held up a large envelope and said,
“The Vice-Commander made sandwiches for Sizool-nim and left, but you didn’t come out even when I called you for lunch. It’s almost dinner time now, so I came in because I was worried.”
“Did you call? I had no idea…”
“I suppose you were deeply focused. Like just now.”
“Ah… Just now, I was… Um…”
“I won’t tell anyone what you were doing, so don’t worry. I’m not the Vice-Commander.”
Siol chuckled at the teasing remark about Ryufen. It seemed Ryufen had that kind of image among the knights as well. Well, Ryufen wasn’t the type to act differently depending on who he was with.
And as if he had planned it, Asios suggested,
“You’ve been in your room all day, wouldn’t you like to get some fresh air? And have dinner too. I have to finish everything in this envelope before the Vice-Commander returns, or I’ll get scolded.”
At his friendly, polite, yet playful attitude, Siol readily nodded. Ryufen was certainly someone who would fly into a rage if he skipped lunch. He couldn’t let Asios get scolded because of him.
It was the first time since becoming Sizool that he had concentrated on work all day like this. After he started living in the castle, Ryufen or Eorzen were always by his side, so he couldn’t do that even if he wanted to.
“Then let’s go. The city has been repaired quite a bit. I’ll take you to a good spot.”
Saying that, Asios sat on the floor and turned his back to Siol. Siol, who was carried by Eorzen every day, thought shamelessly, ‘Isn’t he a bit old to be giving piggyback rides?’
“Come on, Sizool-nim. If we don’t hurry, the sun will set.”
“Oh, dear.”
As soon as he reluctantly got on Asios’ back, Asios opened the window and jumped out powerfully.
“Eek!”
“Haha! Don’t worry.”
So, if a bird beastman carries another beastman on their back and transforms, they can fly while carrying them…
Siol gained useless knowledge about beastmen while clinging to Asios’ back and looking around. Asios, who had soared into the sky in an instant, was circling above the city.
It had only been one night, but the city was becoming incomparably cleaner than yesterday. The work efficiency of beastmen is incomparable to that of humans. Their stamina, strength, and speed are vastly different. They accomplish in a day what would take humans a week. And that, by beastmen who were as thin as sticks.
After showing Siol around the city, Asios flew to the spire next to the east gate and landed.
Meal preparation was quick. Asios, transformed into a human, struck a flint against steel to light the brazier and placed the kettle he had brought on it to boil tea. Siol warmed his cold cheeks by the brazier, rubbing his hands together, and then accepted the steaming teacup that Asios offered.
“Actually, the Vice-Commander was injured because of me.”
Asios said as he handed Siol a lukewarm sandwich.
“I was the one who fell into the trap back then. But the Vice-Commander, trying to save me… lost his arm and leg.”
“…I… see.”
“So, the Vice-Commander, the Commander who fixed his front leg, and Sizool-nim who fixed his back leg are all my benefactors. I intend to repay the Vice-Commander and the Commander by serving as a knight for life. But I couldn’t find a way to repay Sizool-nim. So I intentionally created this opportunity to ask you directly.”