TDAA Ch 42

Siol instinctively glanced at Luber. He understood now why Ryufen had been mindful of Luber earlier. In fact, it seemed strange that he hadn’t sent Luber out of the laboratory.

Luber, with wavering eyes, looked back and forth between Siol and Ryufen, then voluntarily left the room. Then, perhaps feeling that just leaving was meaningless since there was no door, the sound of his footsteps receded down the corridor.

Had he fled, judging that this was not information he could handle?

Siol, flustered, asked Ryufen.

“What do you mean by that? No, is it okay to say this like this? Luber…”

“Do you think the Blue Dragon would become an idiot just because he has amnesia? He just doesn’t remember the last year or so. And for a dragon, a year is nothing. It doesn’t matter if that kid goes out and tells everyone.”

“Ah. A year… that’s a relief.”

In the Tower of Survival, Eorzen had drunk a terrifying amount of the potion. It was the Last Breath, its effects deliberately enhanced to make a dragon lose its reason. After drinking it, Eorzen had looked dazed, as if on drugs.

Since Siol, who had taken the same potion, had woken up perfectly fine the next day, he had assumed Eorzen would be the same, but that wasn’t the case?

As his thoughts reached that point, Siol’s face turned deathly pale and he looked up at Ryufen.

“Wait, a year?”

“Yeah, a year.”

“Then he doesn’t remember me at all?”

“…Yeah. He doesn’t know you at all.”

Ryufen answered in a slightly awkward tone and glanced at Siol’s expression. His face was awkward and looked as if he were sweating profusely, but the shocked Siol didn’t notice.

“But then, Ryufen, how did you know… that I was Sizool? If Master Eorzen didn’t tell you? I… I’ve grown up, so I must look like a completely different person….”

“Asios told me you had grown up, and Muriel figured out that you were actually the alchemist Siol.”

“Then…”

“Muriel also found out that the alchemist Siol was actually a fool who was locked up in a research institute just making tools.”

“…I see….”

Siol suddenly felt his throat go dry and gulped down his tea.

“Then, what does Master Eorzen, who doesn’t remember me… think of me?”

“For now, he doesn’t know anything about Sizool. And, you….”

As Ryufen, who usually never minced his words, hesitated, Siol narrowed his eyes, a suspicion rising that he might be about to lie.

However, at the words that followed, Siol let out a low groan with a blank expression.

“That he killed you, too.”

“…Ah.”

So that was it.

That was right. The fact that the Death Alchemist was revealed to be Sizool meant that it was also revealed that the one the Blue Dragon had killed was Sizool.

“That’s… right. It hasn’t been a year since that happened….”

“Yeah.”

“Then does he… still despise me?”

“No! I just didn’t tell him about Sizool. The Commander also knows you were tricked into making the weapons. I just told him that you escaped, came to our city, revealed the truth, and passed on alchemy to Budril.”

What a relief.

But the calming of his trembling heart from relief was only momentary.

Despite hearing the answer he had hoped for, Siol’s heart was beating stronger and stronger.

Because a situation he had never imagined even when he was tormented by the desire to be with the Blue Dragon in the land of the beastmen was now unfolding before his eyes. The current Eorzen had neither killed Siol, nor did he hate the Death Alchemist, nor did he cherish the child Sizool with affection. It was different from the truth, but at least that’s what Eorzen thought.

If he had heard the whole story except for the part about Sizool, the Blue Dragon might even feel some sympathy and favor towards him for having been framed by the king.

Could this be a chance to start over with the Blue Dragon from the beginning?

While Siol was dazed by this sudden hope, Ryufen scratched the back of his head with his front paw in irritation and sighed.

“Anyway, that’s the situation for now.”

“Yes, yes.”

“So I’d like you to… pretend you don’t know.”

“Pretend we’re meeting for the first time?”

“Yeah, pretend we’re meeting for the first time.”

When Siol didn’t respond, staring blankly, Ryufen said, as if making an excuse.

“The doctor said it would be better to wait for his memory to return naturally.”

“Pretend we’re meeting for the first time….”

“I’m not trying to hide you. Okay?”

“I’ll do… it well.”

Unaware that Ryufen was looking at him with concern, Siol nodded his head several times in a daze.

I have to do it well, do it well. But how do I do it well? How well do I have to do it?

The position he was aiming for was to be Eorzen’s alchemist. The promise that Siol had once requested and Eorzen had said he would willingly wait for, but which had become nothing now that he had left the land of the beastmen.

It would be easier to start over from the very beginning rather than trying to salvage that promise, which had become ambiguous due to complex circumstances.

“But is Master Eorzen here too? I haven’t heard anything like that.”

“He’s not here yet. But he’ll be here soon. Probably.”

“Probably?”

Siol asked back in surprise. It wasn’t just because of the content of the conversation, but also because of Ryufen’s expression. Surprisingly, Ryufen didn’t have a ‘whatever happens, happens’ or ‘I don’t know’ kind of look, but a genuinely troubled one.

It was clearly because he couldn’t know the Blue Dragon’s whereabouts or intentions even if he wanted to.

Groaning with an “Ugh,” Ryufen irritably shifted his lying position to the other side. This time, Ryufen’s large head rested on Siol’s lap. He wiggled around, finding a comfortable position with his chin resting, then stretched out facing the fireplace.

“He keeps coming and going, doing who knows what, so I don’t really know where he is right now.”

“He disappears without a word?”

“Yeah, he’s gone for a day or two at a time. Where does he go when there’s a mountain of work to do, really.”

“Isn’t it because he’s looking for his mate?”

“No, that mate…!”

Ryufen, who had been shouting, suddenly froze.

“What’s wrong? Is there something strange?”

When Siol followed Ryufen’s gaze, there was a tiny harvest mouse. The harvest mouse was hiding in the pile of firewood next to the fireplace, watching Ryufen warily. It was poised to bolt at any moment, but it was truly brave. To reveal itself in front of a wolf hundreds of times its size.

Staring at the harvest mouse, Ryufen asked blankly.

“…That mouse, how long has it been here?”

“Uh…. Since around the time I came here….”

“You see it often?”

“I guess… so? It lives here with me.”

“It lives with you?!”

As he looked at him quizzically, wondering why he kept asking useless questions, Ryufen rubbed his face furiously with both front paws. It was a gesture akin to a human washing their dry face.

“Why? Ryufen, are you perhaps scared of mice?”

“As if I’d be scared of a mouse!”

“Why are you suddenly getting angry!”

“Ah, it’s because of that mouse, I’m annoyed. No, without even telling me…!”

“I started living with it after I came here, so I couldn’t have told you, Ryufen….”

At that reply, Ryufen looked at Siol with eyes full of what seemed like pity. But his gaze, directed at Siol who knew nothing and was just staring with wide eyes, didn’t last long, and Ryufen began to vent his frustration by pounding the sofa cushions with his fists.

“No, why is the Commander! Why does he just disappear without a word! If he just told me, I would understand!”

Was the mouse conversation already over? Siol, without understanding the situation, gently stroked Ryufen’s head to comfort him.

You’re right, disappearing without a word is a bit much. Ryufen must have had a hard time, he thought, playing along.

Ryufen once again launched into a long list of complaints. Stories about how his eyes were about to fall out from handling paperwork he was never meant to do because Eorzen kept disappearing, and how his head felt like it was going to split from cleaning up the messes the kids made.

Indeed, such tasks were not something Ryufen was suited for. Normally, Eorzen would handle them, and Muriel would take care of other miscellaneous jobs, but Muriel was away on a business trip to the Meric territory, and Eorzen kept disappearing without a word, so from Ryufen’s perspective, he must have been at his wit’s end.

And yet, it would have been difficult to say anything unpleasant to Eorzen, who was wandering around searching for his mate.

Siol paused the hand that was stroking Ryufen and took a deep breath. If he hadn’t reflexively clenched his fists just now, a pained gasp might have escaped. Just thinking about Eorzen’s mate, who was somewhere in the human lands, made his heart ache. The dragon’s mate. Just imagining the Blue Dragon, out of his mind, captivated by that person who must surely be beautiful, was like this….

No, Siol chided himself. A good opportunity had come, and he couldn’t let it slip away because of something like jealousy.

Siol, who had squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, met the eyes of the harvest mouse, which was staring at him, frozen stiff. For some reason, its jet-black eyes seemed to show a sense of shock. Siol unconsciously reached a hand towards the harvest mouse, but Ryufen’s weight was too heavy, and he couldn’t move an inch.

In that time, the harvest mouse disappeared somewhere.

“Anyway, when you meet the Commander, you must remember that he made me suffer like this. Got it?”

Letting Ryufen’s complaints go in one ear and out the other, Siol thought about Eorzen again. Let’s think about the first meeting with Eorzen. It was a chance to meet again with him not being the Death Alchemist, and Eorzen not being the Commander of the Order of the End.

A polite greeting, a handshake….

He was happy that they could build a new relationship, but the days when he could sit on that lap would never come again… As just one alchemist, how close could he get?

How often had Muriel visited the castle?

“Hey, Sizool. Are you listening to me?”

“Ah. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

As the dazed Siol apologized and smiled awkwardly, Ryufen shook his head.

“Sheesh. Forget it, forget it. What’s the point of me saying it.”

“What did you say? You can just say it again.”

“I said forget it. Forget it, let’s talk about that other thing. Have you heard about that bastard Nanthiel?”

A feeling of resentment welled up at the look that seemed to view him as a nuisance, but this time, he decided not to pick a fight.

“I heard there are plans to sign an agreement. Is it going well?”

“The agreement has already been signed, but that’s not the problem. Ah, Asios is the leader of the tracking team. His skill in handling birds has gotten really good lately…. No, that’s not what I was trying to talk about. Anyway, that’s what he said. He thinks he’s probably still here.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m talking about Nanthiel.”

“Nanthiel is here now, in the Meric territory?”

He had thought that after failing to cause a commotion by spiking the banquet drinks with Last Breath, Nanthiel would have surely fled far away. But he was still here?

He couldn’t understand what on earth he was thinking. Nanthiel had been able to wield powerful strength in Marsiga because of long preparations. That’s why when he realized Last Breath was in the drinks, Siol thought Nanthiel’s goal was simply to harass and annoy Ladie. If he had other intentions, it wouldn’t have ended with just secretly putting Last Breath in the drinks at the banquet. He probably thought it would be good if some dogs got hurt or died in the process, but he had no intention of putting in any more effort than that. He had thought it was just that level of a scheme.

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“If you had come to see me as soon as you woke up, I would have told you that day!”

“Ah…. I’m sorry about that….”

Ryufen shot Siol a sideways glance before leaning his head heavily against him again.

“Asios is still looking, so his location should be narrowed down soon. Oh, did you know? Asios is the lord of Marsiga now. It’s not that the original lord died; there are two lords.”

“…I know.”

“What? How do you know?”

“I know because I’m the one who connected Asios to the Tower of Survival’s magic stone.”

“…What?”

Siol, who had been replying in a sulky tone, only realized what Ryufen had misunderstood after seeing his dumbfounded face.

“No, no. It’s not that! I just connected it, and it was only possible because all the lines were exposed. It seems Nanthiel had made two connection lines for the magic stone and connected one to his own body, but it was exposed because it was severed.”

“Sizool, you’re saying you can’t just appoint a Grand Chief as you please, right?”

“Yes, I can’t! I was just using what was already made. Now that it’s connected, it won’t be broken until either Asios or the Grand Chief dies, and we’ll have to see if the line remains after that. I got a rough idea of how it was done, but it would probably take ten years of research just to build the theory. The connection method was incredibly complex. It might be faster if there were a few towers that could be broken, but that’s not possible.”

Research on a subject that must absolutely not be broken requires a great deal of time. And even with time, there was no guarantee of a good outcome.

Ryufen pondered this for a moment before speaking.

“It’s a bit of a shame… and yet, I also feel relieved.”

“Right.”

If one could freely control the connection of the magic stone, meaning if one could freely appoint the Grand Chief, it would be no different from holding absolute power. If someone could appoint a person they liked as the Grand Chief and dismiss those who didn’t follow their orders, the beastmen would have no choice but to submit to them for their own lives and safety.

In fact, the human lands were currently such a case.

“Then what about Nanthiel? You said that bastard did it.”

“Well. It’s true Nanthiel succeeded, but it wasn’t a very skillful job. If he had made just a few more mistakes, the magic stone might have shattered. In my opinion, it was only possible because he was able to touch the magic stone in the first place.”

“So as long as the Grand Chief is sane, it’s fine.”

“Exactly. If the Grand Chief lets Nanthiel into the Tower of Survival, it could be seized again, but who would do that? I heard that originally, no one but the Grand Chief is allowed inside.”

“That’s a relief. Things were tiring enough, but it would have been more tiring if something else had come up.”

As he said that, Ryufen stretched his front paw toward the table, swiped at it, and then hooked it with his claws to pull it closer.

“What are you doing!”

“I don’t want to move, I don’t want to move.”

Siol was at a loss for words, looking at the claw marks on the table and the crumpled carpet under the table legs. Isn’t this a bit much, no matter how lazy you are? It was fortunate that the table was originally from this basement and not a high-quality item.

Ryufen pressed Siol down with his head as he tried to get up and inspect the claw-marked table, and nonchalantly picked up a cookie from the table and ate it.

“…Everything here belongs to the Lord of Meric, so you shouldn’t damage it like that.”

“Is the Lord of Meric that petty? He didn’t even give you a single table?”

“No, that’s because I’m just mooching off this place…!”

“Wow, you’re living on eggshells because a table got a little damaged? Don’t do that, just come back to our side. The Commander would probably buy you a hundred tables like this if it were for you. You can use the magic stones as much as you want, and if you say you need jewels, he’ll give you as many as you want.”

Ryufen subtly tried to entice Siol. It would be great if he came over, and even if not, he was planning to appeal to a certain someone in this room that he had made an effort.

“It’s okay. I have a promise with Ladie, so I can’t. After everything is resolved… I’ll go then.”

“Well, do as you wish.”

Hearing the answer ‘I’ll go’ anyway, Ryufen nodded in satisfaction.

Siol, having brought up the topic, had slyly tried to mention returning, and he struggled to hide his excitement at the nonchalant permission that was given.

He hadn’t received Eorzen’s permission yet, but if Ryufen was allowing it, didn’t that mean there was a huge possibility?

Eorzen had a soft spot for Ryufen, after all….

Ryufen, leaving the thoughtful Siol to his own devices, shot a sideways glance at the harvest mouse that had somehow climbed onto a beam. Watching it brazenly wash its face with both front paws, he felt a surge of irritation.

So, he was here, from the very beginning? Looking like that?

“Hey, Sizool.”

“Yes?”

“About the Commander, you want to see him, right? Even as soon as today?”

“Well… yes. Hmm. I’m worried about how to pretend we’re meeting for the first time, but… I do want to see him.”

“Right?”

“Yes, I’d like to mentally prepare myself today, so it’s a bit much… it would be nice if he came tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Yes, it would be greeeat if he came tomorrow.”

Ryufen grinned at the harvest mouse on the beam, as if to show it. Agony spread across the little harvest mouse’s face.

“By the way, Ryufen.”

“Yeah.”

“Why Titi?”

“…Huh?”

“I was just wondering why someone like Ryufen got a cute name like Titi.”

Siol asked with a face that made his intention to tease him perfectly clear. It was a question he had been curious about ever since he first heard that Ryufen was Titi. Titi. Was such a cute name even appropriate for Ryufen?

“Hah…. Do I have to tell this story again?”

“Why, who else did you tell?”

“Muriel was curious, so I told him earlier. Well, fine. Since it’s you, I’ll make a special exception and tell you. It was something that happened over ten years ago…”

The fireplace crackled, the cookies were delicious, and Ryufen’s story was entertaining. Basking in the warmth of the fireplace with the large wolf somehow made him feel as if he had returned to the castle.

For the first time in a long while, Siol thought he was comfortable and happy.