TDAA Ch 31

How embarrassing.

In the spot where Ladie had apologized and left, Siol covered his face with both hands, buried his face in his knees, and couldn’t get up.

He was so embarrassed he didn’t know how he would face Ladie later.

“Ughhh…”

Siol roughly rubbed his dry face, let out a deep sigh, and flopped down on the floor.

His relationship with Ladie was a bit ambiguous.

At one time, Siol had raised her, but the period Siol had cared for her was very short. As soon as he made her limbs, the despairing girl grew and recovered in an instant and, instead, began to take care of Siol. Once that started, the two of them became very distant, growing apart as if they were merely a handmaiden and her master.

But when Siol was on the verge of death, she had run to him, grabbed him, and fled with him. And now they had met again, and Siol was indebted to her.

What should one call such a relationship?

He couldn’t find an expression to define it precisely, but it was certainly not a relationship where one could confess their crush and sniffle about it.

Confessing that he liked the Blue Dragon was one thing, but did he have to say it so pathetically? He couldn’t even begin to guess how Ladie must have felt, having to listen to his half-sobbing confession.

He could have just explained that the Blue Dragon likely had another mate, so why…

Perhaps he had wanted to tell someone all this time that he liked the Blue Dragon. And when Ladie asked, it felt like she would understand his heart, so without realizing it…

“…Ughhh… I still shouldn’t have said it.”

Didn’t it make him look like a foolish kid who had failed at love and run away? Of course, the thoughtful Ladie would be considerate enough not to bring up stories related to the Blue Dragon in front of him, but the very fact that he would receive such consideration was too embarrassing.

As Siol lay groaning and rolling around on the carpet for a long while, he suddenly noticed a small shadow standing above his head.

It was the harvest mouse that was now living with him. The little mouse with brown fur held a small seed-like thing in both hands and was looking at Siol with its black eyes.

“Hello.”

When Siol rolled over, propped himself up on his elbows, and rested his chin in his hands, the harvest mouse cautiously sat down on the floor. Although it was watching him warily, Siol, who knew what a tremendous thing it was for a wild mouse to sit comfortably in front of a human, felt a strange warmth fill his chest.

Having the small animal, who wouldn’t understand a word he said, in front of him somehow put his mind at ease. The words he couldn’t properly say, pushed away by sorrow, sadness, and shame, came to his mind one by one.

“You were surprised earlier, weren’t you? Ladie had such a… such a ridiculous idea…”

What was so ridiculous about it? Having said it himself, Siol, hurt by his own words, slid his chin down to the floor with a gloomy face.

Then, the harvest mouse stealthily came closer and placed a small paw on Siol’s cheek. Siol, who had been looking down, felt the touch and cautiously opened his eyes. The small creature was twitching its nose right in front of him.

“I, I like the Blue Dragon.”

This feeling had grown stronger and deeper than when he had left the Blue Dragon.

Even though they were far apart, his heart just kept growing in a place with no light or fertilizer. The memory of his smile shone down like light, and longing wrapped around his heart like fertilizer. So that his loving heart would not wither and die.

“…But I don’t know what I want.”

He didn’t dare wish to be with the Blue Dragon. After all, the emotion of love is something that fades with time. So he didn’t want the Blue Dragon. He had decided he would choose a way to stay by the Blue Dragon’s side for a long time rather than have a short-lived love.

But the moment he heard that the Blue Dragon’s mate was in the human lands, the moment the existence of that mate, who had been as faint as a shadow, became clear, Siol felt a suffocating, heart-twisting pain. Just like when the dragon’s curse had seized his heart, no, it squeezed his heart even tighter than then…

Siol bit his lip hard.

Jealousy.

“No, I hope the Blue Dragon doesn’t meet his mate.”

I must be crazy.

Siol mumbled in a trembling voice.

The more he spoke, the more a dirty emotion that he could never confess in front of the Blue Dragon leaked out. To wish that the Blue Dragon, who had eagerly waited for his mate to appear for hundreds of years, would not meet her—what a terrible thought. If he didn’t meet his mate, he would have to live a life of repeating rampages forever.

The harvest mouse’s small paw gently stroked his cheek. A mouse’s intelligence probably wasn’t that high, but for some reason, he felt as if he were having a conversation with it.

The warm fingers touching his cheek, the pitch-black eyes looking straight at him, somehow felt like they were telling him it was okay, and Siol once again laughed at himself.

Because it was ridiculous how he was trying to justify himself by interpreting the harvest mouse’s thoughtless gaze in such a way.

Siol took Eorzen’s scale out from his pocket and gently kissed it.

It was the last of the scales Eorzen had given him. He had almost used it to prevent Eorzen from waking on the day he left the Tower of Survival, but thanks to the delivery person not taking it, it was the last remnant of Eorzen’s warmth. Holding this scale somehow made him feel as if he were with Eorzen.

“No, actually… I just miss Lord Eorzen.”

Siol whispered with a sniffle and squeezed his eyes shut.

Perhaps this foul feeling had arisen because he couldn’t meet Eorzen. Maybe after he met him, after he saw his face, after he heard his voice, a gentle and kind heart would well up again, and he could decide to work by their side for the Blue Dragon and his mate, just as he had thought before.

So anyway, for now, he wanted to see Eorzen.

This was the aftereffect of confessing his feelings to someone else for the first time. Once he had said it, he couldn’t stop thinking about Eorzen.

But what would he do when he met him?

The entire time in the tower, Eorzen hadn’t been in his right mind due to Nathaniel’s schemes. First, because of the drug in the teacup, and later, because of the last breath of the rampage potion that filled the floor.

Asios had found out that he was Sizool, so that was exposed, but how much of the truth about Siol was known? Would they even believe the truth? In fact, that day, he had basically run away because he was scared they wouldn’t believe him when he confessed the truth…

“…I still want to see him…”

As Siol fell asleep with a soft sob, in his sleep, or perhaps in a dream, he felt the touch of a missed hand.

“Mmm…”

The touch gently rubbed Siol’s cheek, then pulled him up onto its body. As he flinched at the unfamiliar feeling of their bodies pressed tightly together, a strong force embraced him and patted his back. Just as it had in the land of the beastmen, the hand that enveloped him in its arms, soothing him and rubbing his back as if to say it was okay, provided perfect comfort. Siol instinctively knew who it was.

Ah. It’s that dream again.

Siol thought in a daze and leaned his cheek toward the source of the warmth.

A soft, smooth sensation touched his cheek. Is this a floor tile? Siol chuckled to himself, then mumbled, Oh, no, and swallowed the hazy fragments of sleep again. As his senses crumbled and his mind grew foggy, this fake sensation enveloped him as if it were real.

“Lord Eorzen…”

“Yes.”

The voice tickling his ear was unbelievably clear. The urge to open his eyes and see him arose, but Siol barely held back. This illusion, which had appeared by deceiving his senses, would reveal its true nature the moment he confirmed its form. He wanted to savor this happiness a little longer, even if it was a lie.

“Lord Eorzen…”

“Yes, Siol.”

When he called again, the other person replied in a low, whispering tone and stroked Siol’s back in a long sweep from top to bottom. The hand, stopping before it reached his buttocks, began to gently caress his waist.

One of the person’s hands urged sleep from his back, while the other tempted him by rubbing his waist.

Somehow, the desire revealed in those two touches felt entirely like his own, and Siol’s cheeks flushed.

“Um…”

Ah. What was I about to say?

Siol sat up a little and gauged the sensation of the hands on his back and waist for a moment. If it’s this much, if the feeling of the hands rubbing my back and waist feels this real, wouldn’t it be okay to move a little more?

The moment that thought came to him, Siol impulsively brought his lips to the other person’s face.

Their lips met, and a soft sensation followed. Even though he knew it was a dream, joy and satisfaction welled up. He felt as though a moist vitality was returning to his soul, which had been exhausted by anguish, jealousy, and self-loathing. A wave of fatigue washed over him.

I guess I was tired. Siol entrusted his body to the gentle touch that soothed him, who hadn’t even known he was tired, and let his consciousness gradually sink.

“…ll, …… …gether ……aybe?”

Eorzen’s whisper was ticklish, as if it were nibbling at his eardrum. He didn’t know what he was saying, but for some reason, he felt as if all his worries would be solved if he took that hand. A choice where he wouldn’t have to care about anything, worry about anything, or struggle with anything.

“…You can’t…. That’s…”

But it was a choice Siol could never make.

Even in his sleep, Eorzen simply held Siol, who was refusing his request, tightly and nodded his head.

“……. Always… by your side…”

“…Yes…”

“Quickly…. …because…”

Ah. What did he just say?

Siol tilted his head in a daze, and then, he fell into a deep sleep. As Siol nodded slowly and went limp, Eorzen held him up, leaving a pecking kiss on the crown of his head.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

I had a really good dream.

Siol opened his eyes and nodded his head as if certain.

The dream he had yesterday was the clearest and most vivid among all the dreams he’d had since coming to Lord Meric’s fiefdom. It felt as if he were still in Eorzen’s castle, spending time with him.

If it hadn’t been for the incident with Nathaniel, Siol might have returned to Eorzen’s city after the matter in Marsiga was over, teaching alchemy to Budril under his care. A peaceful time where Budril would come to the castle to learn alchemy for two or three hours, then Eorzen would send him back saying it was time to rest, and then sit Siol on his lap and they would eat together…

He missed that time. The time when he was just beginning to know the painful reality, when he had turned away from that reality and entrusted his whole body to the immediate warmth.

But the reality surrounding him now was no longer so warm.

In the reality he had thrown himself into, there was no Blue Dragon to hold him, no Ryufen trying to feed him meat.

So he found himself desperately clinging to a dream that had only fooled his brain for a brief moment. It was a really, really realistic dream. The body heat, the touch of skin, the low voice that tickled his ear. Everything was a fantasy of pure happiness.

He could close his eyes and recall the sensation of Eorzen being by his side even in this very moment.

However, if it was such a vivid dream, it would have been better if—

“It would’ve been nice if it were a slightly naughtier dream.”

The harvest mouse, which seemed to have been resting on Siol’s head, slipped and tumbled off. It was a familiar occurrence to find the harvest mouse by his head when he woke up. Siol gently patted the crown of the harvest mouse’s head with his fingertip as it looked somewhat dumbfounded after tumbling down.

“Hm? Don’t you think so, little one?”

Though no answer would come from talking to the clueless harvest mouse, Siol continued.

“If you’re going to appear in my dream anyway, we could have kissed a little more, and then…”

Siol, feeling a bit too shy to say it specifically, rolled his eyes and mumbled, then just let out a deep sigh.

He was already quite old, but he still found sexual acts a bit awkward. It wasn’t simply because the sexual meaning was embarrassing, but because he kept being reminded of the gap between a loveless act and an act filled with love.

The things that happened while he was forced to work as a guide on Earth were merely part of the job and, at the same time, acts he was forced to do, but when facing the Blue Dragon, all of it took on a completely different meaning. When they were together for three days and nights to deal with the dragon’s rampage, and when Siol rampaged and pounced on the dragon, it was completely, utterly different from what had happened on Earth.

“Sigh. What am I complaining to my little mouse about.”

Siol giggled as he playfully squished and petted the harvest mouse, watching its face get smooshed. The harvest mouse, suddenly subjected to this ordeal, looked at Siol with an aggrieved expression, then shivered its body and leaped onto Siol’s neck, rubbing its face against him.

“Whoa! That tickles, little one.”

The harvest mouse, paying no heed to Siol’s words, rubbed its whole body on his neck, then crawled up and into Siol’s shirt, rummaging all over his back. Siol, afraid he might squirm and crush the mouse, couldn’t move and stood frozen, groaning and half-begging it to come out. However, the harvest mouse only returned to his face after it had rubbed its body all over Siol’s to its heart’s content.

Drained from the tension, Siol just blinked his eyes while buried deep in the blankets, letting the harvest mouse touch his face as it pleased, when he suddenly felt warmth and turned to look at the fireplace.

Seeing how bright the semi-basement lab had become, it must already be midday, yet the firewood was still burning brightly. The wood he’d put in last night should have turned to ash by now.

It was like this last time, too. Someone was clearly sneaking in and out, bringing food or adding firewood. But he had no idea who it was.

Suddenly, a book he had read on Earth came to mind. There was a story called The Snail Bride. Maybe there was a harvest mouse bride in this room. This little mouse might turn into a human at night and cook and warm the room to repay him for the sunflower seeds and almonds… Siol giggled at the absurd fantasy while poking the harvest mouse’s cheek.

It was when Siol was wriggling in his blanket, debating whether to get up or not. The sound of clattering footsteps grew closer, and the door burst open as Luber ran in. But he was a complete mess. His hair was a mess, his whole body was covered in bits of grass, and Luber was even panting with rage.

Luber saw Siol and suddenly burst into tears, diving into the blankets.

“Master Siol!”

It didn’t seem like he was crying, but he was so overcome with sorrow that he clung tightly to his chest with no intention of letting go, so Siol just gently stroked his head. Just in case, he glanced up and saw the harvest mouse had already climbed onto a beam and was peeking its head out. Thank goodness it was fast at running away.

“Hmph… I think someone is jealous of me.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“They’re jealous that I get to come to work at Master Siol’s lab! Otherwise, there’s no way they would have laid out chicken jerky on my way to work!”

“Uh… huh? Luber, I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Luber seemed to be seriously mistaken; the position of Siol’s attendant and guard knight was not popular enough for anyone to be jealous. In fact, if there wasn’t a dog like Luber who wanted to play all day, it probably would have been difficult to find someone for the job.

As he was wondering how to explain this, Luber, who had been mumbling into Siol’s stomach, huffed and lifted his head. Siol patted Luber’s head a couple of times, then sat up and started picking off the bits of grass stuck to Luber’s hair and body.

After receiving the touch quietly for a long while, Luber, as if his sorrow had subsided a bit, let out a deep sigh and began his story.

“I was trying to come to work this morning. Being by Master Siol’s side is my job, you know. I’m a very diligent dog, so I was trying to come to Master Siol’s side without being late. But there was chicken jerky on the ground. Chicken jerky, I tell you, chicken jerky!”

Luber emphasized with a stern expression towards Siol, who was making a “so what’s the big deal” face.

“I haven’t had even a tiny piece of chicken jerky in months! There’s not enough chicken to eat for meals, so what’s with the snacks…”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

“So the moment I saw the chicken jerky, I couldn’t resist.”

Luber paused, looking back at Siol as if he were about to tell some grand story, then continued.

“My appetite!”

“…Right.”

“I wanted to eat it so, so badly. I thought someone had secretly made it and dropped it on the ground while eating it alone! But as I picked it up and followed it, the ground suddenly gave way. The ground! It was a trap that was like, three meters deep! There’s no way this could happen unless someone hates me!”

An extremely agitated Luber insisted strongly.

Siol thought it was a bit strange too. The chicken jerky was one thing, but making Luber fall into a three-meter-deep trap? Luber was a popular superstar in this mansion, so who on earth would do this to him?

“I see. You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“Of course I wasn’t hurt! I’m a knight from the large dog unit. But I got a little scratched. Hmph, it hurts.”

“So you fell into a three-meter-deep trap and got a little scratched, Luber…”

The bodies of beastmen are truly amazing.

Siol looked anew at Luber, who was whining about a scratch being painful in a situation where he himself would have broken a bone. This must be why he was called a weak wolf who couldn’t even jump from the third floor when he lived in the land of the beastmen…

Luber, who had buried his face in Siol’s chest, suddenly tilted his head and slowly sat up. Luber narrowed his eyes and stared at Siol, then asked with suspicious eyes.

“Master Siol, did you meet someone?”

“Huh? I met with Ladie yesterday, but why?”

“No, not the mistress. You have a suspicious smell on you, Master Siol.”

Luber twitched his nose suspiciously and sniffed around Siol.

“I’ve definitely smelled this before.”

A strange smell? A flustered Siol lifted his shirt and sniffed it, but he couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.

“What do you mean, what smell? I don’t smell anything.”

“No, it’s different from Master Siol’s usual smell. What this smell is…, hmm…”

Luber, who had been struggling, suddenly whipped his head around to look at Siol.

“Don’t tell me you got friendly with another dog? No way! I’m the only dog for Master Siol here!”

Hearing those words, Siol froze stiff. It might be a meaningless phrase to the people of this town, but to Siol, who was once an Earthling, it was a statement that sounded far from ordinary. Of course, Luber was indeed a dog, but…!

“Luber, please don’t say things like that. It sounds weird.”

“What sounds weird? Stop acting so suspicious and tell me the truth. I won’t get mad.”

“You’re the one being suspicious by talking suspiciously. Please, Luber.”

“…This won’t do.”

Luber said ominously. He could tell just by hearing it that he was about to do something. The moment Luber turned into a dog with a poof and took a step toward Siol.

“Ouch!!”

A single peanut struck the golden-brown dog’s head. Luber, who yelped and turned his head, jumped when he saw the harvest mouse on the beam.

“I knew it!! The source of the smell on Master Siol. It’s definitely him!”

“Ah…”

He hadn’t thought of it before in his panic, but it was plausible that the harvest mouse’s scent had rubbed off on him.

“Wait, you’re not surprised, which means you’ve had contact with him, right?”

“Why do you keep saying things like ‘contact’ so unnecessarily meaningfully?”

“When did you get so close to him? Without even telling me!”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean…”

Eyes full of betrayal looked pleadingly at Siol, then he slumped to the ground.

“I thought I was the closest to Master Siol, besides the mistress!”

Luber wasn’t shedding tears, but it was as good as crying. Siol stared blankly at Luber, who had his lips tightly sealed, looking as if he were barely suppressing his welling frustration. Flustered, Siol sat in front of Luber and hugged the ball of fur.

“Of course, I’m closest to you! He’s just a harvest mouse. You’re my guard. Huh?”

Luber protested with a strange “ungh-ungh” sound and rubbed his head wildly against Siol’s chest. It seemed he was protesting that it was a lie. Siol had no choice but to keep petting and soothing the genuinely hurt golden-brown dog’s body until he felt better.

Strangely, Luber wasn’t like this with people, but he seemed to feel a subtle sense of competition with other mice, cats, or birds. He was a funny kid for a beastman.

“…Okay. I’ll believe you. I’m your favorite among the animals, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Siol nodded his head, forcing himself to erase the image of Ryufen that popped into his mind.

Only after receiving a firm answer did Luber’s mood lighten, and when he finally smiled bashfully, Siol was already covered in fur and bits of grass. His clothes were also a mess from the dirt and grass on Luber’s body.

It was complete chaos. The wistful feeling from thinking about Eorzen, the faint sensation as if Eorzen’s touch still lingered, had all vanished completely.

Feeling a sense of loss, Siol ran his hand over the crown of his head, but it was completely different from Eorzen’s touch.

“Ow. Ouch! Master Siol, that, that mean mouse…!”

Luber rolled on the floor, clutching the head that had been hit by a peanut.

“Stop being a baby and go get some food.”

“I’m not being a baby. It really hurts, Master Siol.”

“Hurry.”

When Siol wouldn’t give in, Luber pouted with dissatisfaction. However, he didn’t ignore Siol’s words. Luber shook his body, glared at the harvest mouse, and obediently went to get food. And then, less than five seconds later, he returned with a bewildered look on his face, carrying a large basket.

“Mah-her H-ol…?”

Siol took the basket and sat down in the armchair in front of the fireplace.

It was that same food basket. He didn’t know who brought it, but it was a suspicious food basket containing strange foods that weren’t made in the mansion. He hadn’t told Luber, but this food basket often became Siol’s meal. When he worked late after Luber went home, he would sometimes sense a presence outside, and at those times, this basket would invariably be waiting for Siol outside.

On the small coffee table in front of the armchair, Siol took out a skewer of some unknown meat, a spicy-looking sauce, a small dish of stir-fried potatoes, and a small basket of cherries, one by one. But when he saw the last remaining dish, his expression turned strange. In it was a piece of simply grilled meat in a bowl with a dog shape drawn on it, as if intended for Luber. It seemed the person knew not only that Siol hadn’t eaten yet at this hour, but also that there was a dog who needed to eat with him.

Who could this person be, watching him to this extent?

“Meat!”

Luber, who had been hesitating, approached Siol, transformed into a human with a poof, and snatched the bowl of meat. Siol stared at Luber, who was joyfully holding the bowl high as if it were a treasure, with an incredulous look, then shook his head.

“Let’s eat.”

“Is this from that stranger from before?”

Luber asked, already putting a piece of meat in his mouth. Siol also sat in the armchair and picked up a skewer.

“Yeah, he actually brings late-night snacks often, too.”

“That’s really suspicious, don’t you think we should investigate who it is?”

“The meat you’re eating right now is also from that suspicious person, Luber.”

“There’s no poison in it.”

Siol looked at Luber, who answered slyly with a grin, and shook his head.

“More importantly, Luber, why do you keep trying to fight with the harvest mouse? He’s just a wild animal. Look at the state I’m in because of your strange misunderstanding. I’m all covered in fur. It’ll take another half a day to wash and dry this.”

Actually, there was another problem he really wanted to complain about.

But he couldn’t possibly say that he was angry because he had a good dream about the Blue Dragon last night and Luber had ruined the afterglow. And even if he did say it, it was unlikely that this simple-minded puppy would understand emotions like love and feel sorry for his actions.

Luber mumbled an excuse.

“I was just surprised because I smelled an unfamiliar scent on Master Siol, who’s always in the basement.”

“What’s wrong with me finding him a little cute?”

“It’s okay now that you said I’m closer to you. But you must never get closer to him than you are to me.”

It seemed Luber really disliked the harvest mouse. He was a nice kid other than throwing a few peanuts, so why was their relationship so bad? Siol chewed on his skewer and replied playfully.

“Would you mind not meddling in my human relationships?”

“I don’t meddle in human relationships. But he’s a mouse. I hate mice!”

“He’s a nice mouse.”

“He’s not nice at all. You know he’s always tormenting me.”

Luber stomped his feet on the floor with an expression of utter injustice.

“Ah! I, I know who would be jealous of me coming to work in Master Siol’s lab! It’s Master Siol’s harvest mouse. He’s always hated me, right?”

“What? Luber, how would our harvest mouse get chicken jerky? And how would he dig a three-meter-deep trap?”

Even if he could somehow manage the chicken jerky, it was obvious that for a harvest mouse the size of two finger joints to dig a trap big enough to drop a large dog like Luber, and three meters deep, would require a construction period measured in years. Watching Luber, who was now making a ridiculous claim, Siol felt a little repentant.

No matter how cute a large dog he was, he was still a beastman. He had been too soft on him and only doted on him, and it seemed he was getting dumber. From now on, he would have to properly tell him no when it’s no. And he thought he should make some simple math worksheets and have him study while they were together.

At that pitiful gaze, Luber pleaded with an aggrieved look.

“But I smelled a similar scent in the trap, too. If the smell on Master Siol is the harvest mouse’s smell, then that must be the harvest mouse’s smell, too.”

“He’s not just in my lab, Luber. He probably just went there while wandering around looking for food.”

“…Really…?”

“I’m sure of it.”

Siol ruffled the blond hair of the tilting head and dipped a meat skewer deep into the sauce before putting it in his mouth. He thought, as he did, that he had no idea what kind of head he had to have for the conclusion to flow to the tiny harvest mouse having committed such an act, just because he had smelled a similar scent.

The food was very delicious.

He always thought so, but it was a cooking skill that seemed to know Siol’s tastes well. The meat, the stir-fried potatoes, and even the cherries for dessert were just right. Although the portion size was a bit excessive.

As he was blankly finishing his breakfast/lunch, his gaze naturally went to the firewood.

“So what are you planning to do with the firewood?”

“I’m not sure yet. The easiest thing to try first would be a tool to dry the firewood quickly, but that would probably only be possible with a mana stone… I’m researching to see if there’s another way.”

“The firewood dries quickly? How quickly?”

Luber asked lightly, sitting on his butt on the floor without much thought.

“Well… I think I could reduce it by about three-quarters… Actually, if I were to build such a facility, the heat energy used for it could also be used in other ways. But to do that, I would need a facility to collect the heat energy and transfer it where it’s needed. That would take a lot of time, money, and manpower… so I can’t easily propose it. Of course, in the long run, building the facility would be profitable, but the first problem is whether we can survive in the long run. And we don’t know how long this distribution crisis will last. If we build the facility and then Ladie or the Lord solves the distribution crisis, the facility would become garbage.”

“Ye…s…?”

“So to build such a facility, we first need to predict how long this situation will last, and after that, we need to calculate how much firewood or heat energy will be needed. Depending on how the heat energy is used, it will affect the firewood consumption of this fiefdom, and if there’s too much or too little firewood, that would also be a problem… To solve that, we would have to make the facility that uses heat energy a hybrid type…”

“Uh… Ma, Master Siol!”

Siol, who was deep in thought, turned his head at Luber’s sudden call. Luber, who had a blank face, slowly started to look tearful.

“You’re not doing that to torment me, are you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I don’t understand a single word you’re saying…”

“Ah.”

Only then did Siol realize that he had been lost in his alchemy thoughts and had been spouting a string of things Luber wouldn’t understand. It would have been nice if Budril were here at times like this. To think he would miss Budril, who used to sneak away with his research notes at the drop of a hat.

“Master Siol, you know—”

Luber, who had sneakily scooted closer and clung to his leg in the meantime, asked with a sly, smiling eyes.

“Pet me, please. My head and my back.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Come on. Please?”

Siol found the suddenly clingy Luber a bit suspicious, but he didn’t have anything to be suspicious about. Maybe he was just trying to gloss things over like this because he didn’t like talking about difficult topics. Siol tutted and petted Luber’s head.

At that, Luber closed his eyes and savored the touch, then glanced up at Siol, leaned his body completely against Siol, and hugged Siol’s waist with both hands. The posture, with his face leaning against his stomach, would have been burdensome if he were just a human, but this kid was just a stupid dog, so whatever.

Siol petted Luber with one hand, held a meat skewer with the other, and stared at the firewood in the fireplace with his eyes. His mind was full of thoughts about the alchemy he had been talking about earlier.

Because of that, he missed the sight of Luber snuggling even deeper into his arms while making a provocative face and sticking his tongue out at a harvest mouse on the beam above. And, of course, he also missed the sight of the harvest mouse on the beam glaring intently back at Luber with its jet-black eyes.

“Ugh. Let’s go down now, Luber. We have to eat.”

“Hmph. Just a little longer. Please? Pet me just a little longer.”

“Sigh. You’re a grown dog….”

“Juuust a little longer. Please?”

Unaware of why Luber was being so insistent, Siol petted him to his heart’s content.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

It was already the fourth day.

He had thought it might be like this for a day or two, but after being neglected for four whole days, Muriel started to think something was wrong.

“It seems they don’t like us. Don’t you think so, Muriel?” a muscular, shirtless man said from the sofa, sounding amused.

Muriel had once formed an intelligence team under Eorzen’s command. At that time, he had received permission to select ten men from the knighthood to form the team. This man, however, was a white lion who had volunteered for the intelligence team himself, even though Muriel hadn’t chosen him. Muriel hadn’t particularly liked the man, but he had accepted him as a team member on Ryufen’s advice that he would be necessary to control the rougher knights.

And the wisdom of that advice was proven true in no time.

Whenever the clumsy Muriel, who was unskilled at handling his subordinates, clashed with the rough knights, this man would step in to mediate and restore balance between them. Perhaps without this man, Muriel might not have been able to manage the intelligence team properly at all.

“This was to be expected. It is our job to change their minds.”

“But… isn’t it strange?”

The white lion, Reston, said with a somewhat chilly smile on his lips as he looked out the window.

After their audience with the princess of the human lands, the Meric domain had allowed them to use the entire mansion. There were servants and maids to attend to them, and at mealtimes, meat-centric meals designed to appeal to the carnivorous beastmen’s palates were provided. Not only that, but there were separate snack times between meals, where sweet bread, cookies, and tea were served. The bathwater was warm, and they even sent a troupe of musicians to let them listen to the music of the human lands.

The treatment, in other words, was not bad.

But that was all. The princess did not summon them again, and the dogs were standing guard outside the mansion, a surveillance disguised as protection.

“The humans were the invaders in the first place, so why are they so wary of us, who came to befriend them and not fight?”

“They were struck, so they must think they’ll naturally be struck back.”

“Is it normal for us to be in a situation where we have to prove we won’t retaliate?”

Muriel leaned deep into the sofa, looking tired, and glared at Reston with an annoyed expression.

“Of course it’s not normal. But even so, what can we do? Lord Eorzen ordered us to deliver the gift in a peaceful manner.”

“We’ve already delivered the gift, so wouldn’t that mean our mission is complete?”

“That is….”

If the order to deliver the gift had simply meant to hand it to the princess, then of course, the mission could be considered complete. But Muriel had a secret mission beyond that.

Muriel was the only one who knew that it was the blue dragon’s wish for the gift to be delivered to his mate, Siol. This was because Siol’s identity was a secret that must not yet be revealed to the world.

As Muriel stared back at him with a complicated expression, Reston nodded as if he understood. Annoyed by the unnecessarily gentle smile on his lips, Muriel abruptly tried to pick a fight.

“What do you know that makes you nod your head?”

At that, Reston’s eyes widened for a moment, then he stood up with an even deeper eye-smile than before and leaned his upper body toward Muriel. Surprisingly, just by leaning forward over the coffee table, the large man seemed to completely envelop Muriel. With his hands placed on either side of Muriel’s head, the man bent his arms as if doing a push-up, bringing his face so close they were almost touching. Muriel, pale as a sheet, pressed himself deeper into the sofa.

“Are you… displeased?” Muriel asked, stammering.

Reston tilted his head slightly and replied in a whisper.

“No.”

“Th-Then why… are you doing this?”

“It’s just novel.”

“…Pardon?”

“A Muriel who picks a fight with an innocent person just because he’s annoyed. It’s novel.”

“What?!”

As Muriel looked up in a fit of anger, Reston was smiling deeply. Muriel clamped his mouth shut and forcefully shoved Reston’s face away.

Returning to his spot, Reston chewed and swallowed a whole scone. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, then opened his mouth with a bright smile.

“Muriel, it should be fine to go out and have a little fun for a while, right?”

“Have fun? What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll really just be having fun. The guys who came with us are starting to look bored, so I think they need to blow off some steam.”

In truth, it was a miracle that the trouble-making knights had stayed cooped up in the mansion behaving themselves for four whole days. The journey to the Meric domain had been arduous, leaving them exhausted, and the constant supply of food had kept them quiet while they ate their fill and rested. It was obvious that if even one of those conditions hadn’t been met, they would have been unable to control their surplus energy and would have been out causing trouble everywhere.

Now that their energy was starting to bubble up again, they needed to burn it off to prevent them from causing trouble.

Muriel sighed and replied.

“…Just don’t cause any trouble.”

“Don’t worry. Have you ever seen me cause trouble?”

“No, but… you always act in a way that makes me anxious.”

“But in the end, it always helps you, doesn’t it, Muriel? I’m a subordinate who takes very good care of you.”

That part was also true. He didn’t know why a white lion, who was quite renowned for his martial prowess within the knighthood, had volunteered for a unit like the intelligence team, but contrary to Muriel’s wariness and suspicion, he was doing a rather good job as a subordinate.

“…Why?”

“Pardon?”

“Why do you work so hard?”

When Muriel asked, not even trying to hide his suspicion, Reston replied with his usual deep eye-smile.

“I want to get a promotion.”

“……?!”

He’s after my position? As Muriel’s face contorted in horror, Reston burst out laughing and rose to his feet. He then patted Muriel’s shoulder and left the drawing-room.

That was the part he hated most. When he just tossed out an enigmatic comment like that and disappeared, it was bound to leave one’s head spinning. Muriel clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Since childhood, Muriel had been told he was too frail to ever become a proper wolf. His weak constitution from birth was something he couldn’t help. But he believed that if he studied, he could climb higher in a different way from those stupid, pathetic fools, and his current position was the result of that effort. He had earned the blue dragon’s trust, acting as a liaison with the outside world before being put in charge of the intelligence team. Before then, there had been personnel to deliver information, but no dedicated team to gather, organize, and report it to the blue dragon. Being entrusted with such a team, Muriel considered it an honor and did his utmost.

But what was the result of that? He had been swept up in false information and ended up reporting falsehoods.

By the time he realized the full truth and sent a message to the blue dragon, everything was already over. And yet, Eorzen had trusted Muriel once more. He had trusted him and sent him to the human lands. Muriel wanted to repay that faith, that trust.

First, to ensure the gift reached Siol. Second, to make the humans believe in their goodwill and accept their help.

Thinking he should at least speak with the lord of the domain if the princess was not an option, Muriel got up and trudged toward the mansion’s exit. And the scene that greeted him outside was his subordinates and the dog beastmen, facing each other in the desolate garden, cracking their knuckles and preparing to fight.

Of course, Reston was among them.

“Reston! What is the meaning of this?!”

As he approached and asked, the gazes of the beastmen, who had been brimming with fighting spirit, all turned to Muriel. Reston, who had been growling with a fierce expression, saw Muriel and spoke with a bright smile.

“Ah, Muriel, you’re here? Looks like you were heading somewhere. Why don’t you wait a moment instead of going alone? I’ll finish this up quickly.”

“What do you mean, wait? You said you were going to have some fun, so why are you fighting?”

Seeing Reston, who had said he was just going to have fun, poised for a fight, Muriel worried he had caused some trouble and moved closer to whisper to him. Everyone here was a beastman. Even if he whispered, having spoken right in front of them, there was no way the dogs wouldn’t have heard.

“Look at this. What kind of wolf has no guts? Huh? A wolf is supposed to be stronger, bigger, cuter, and more lovable!”

He understood the ‘stronger and bigger’ part, but what did he say after that?

Muriel was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even ask back and just stared at the dog who had just spoken. Judging by his tone and expression, he was clearly jeering, but the content sounded less like a taunt and more like a confident statement, as if he had once met such a wolf.

“What did you just…?”

“Ah, whatever! Don’t tell me the land of beastmen only has weakling wolves like you? You’re more pathetic than I thought….”

Muriel stared at the dog who was contemptuously looking him up and down, then called out to the white lion.

“…Reston.”

“Yes, Muriel.”

“Why don’t you teach these house pets, who know nothing of the wild, a lesson on why lions are called beasts of prey.”

“As you command.”

If they were deliberately picking a fight, he absolutely could not avoid it. Since they had mentioned the land of beastmen, backing down now would be no different from swallowing his pride. It was time to show them what he was made of.

“You all, stand back.”

The subordinates, who had been excited at the prospect of a brawl, were about to protest with dissatisfaction but obediently stepped back after receiving the white lion’s murderous glare. They didn’t know why he had gone berserk, but they knew they had to save their own skins; challenging a lion with eyes flashing like that would leave them without even their bones to pick up.