TDAA Ch 51

He pulled Siol’s hand and slipped it onto his left ring finger. It was loose when he put it on, but when Eorzen generated mana in his hand, it shrank to a perfect fit.

“Because I wanted to give you a gift, too.”

“…T-to… me…?”

Siol answered blankly.

No way. Right now, Siol and Eorzen were wearing matching rings. And both on their left ring fingers. Of course, Eorzen had done it without knowing anything, and to him it was probably just a ring with no meaning, but for Siol, it was different. His heart was pounding so hard he could barely breathe.

“A ring… for me….”

Siol, who was staring blankly at the ring on his outstretched ring finger, didn’t notice the amount of money Eorzen was handing the shop owner for the ring. Following the pouch he had given the clerk earlier, this one was also quite heavy. The shop owner, realizing that the heavy pouch contained both a fee for the lie she had told just before and a warning to keep her mouth shut, swallowed nervously and quietly nodded.

No one in this shop wanted to lose their life to the dragon’s wrath, so of course the secret would be kept. Even if a time came when the secret was revealed and they were able to speak, there was no one in this shop who would speak carelessly of today’s events.

This was a high-end jewelry store that catered to nobles, and although the workers were commoners, they knew a certain amount about the world. They knew of the existence of a demon king who tracks down lies about dragons, and they knew how easily humans speak lies. If the story were to leak even a little, tails would be added to the truth again and again, becoming a trigger that would summon the demon king.

The shop owner, wearing a business smile, tucked the pouch into her bosom.

“It’s a memento.”

“I’m so glad I came out… today….”

“That is a very happy thing to hear.”

“The ring… I really like it.”

“Then I shall have to give you a ring as a commemorative gift next time as well.”

“Next time…? Next time when…?”

Siol was so engrossed in the ring, his gaze fixed on it, that he wasn’t properly listening to what Eorzen was saying. Even if he heard, it seemed the words weren’t being properly processed by his brain. His answers were probably just reflexive utterances, and he was likely unaware of what he himself was saying. Eorzen was pleased by this, but at the same time, felt a little jealous.

Eorzen took Siol’s ringed hand and pressed a kiss to his fingertips. Delightfully watching the surprise, bordering on shock, spread across Siol’s eyes, Eorzen asked.

“What shall we commemorate next?”

“Uh…. Um…. Next time….”

Taken aback by the sudden question, Siol frantically racked his brain. He had to say something that wouldn’t reveal his sly inner desire to spend time like this again in the near future, but that wasn’t too far off, and preferably something soon.

“Next time, let’s… commemorate… Nathaniel’s death….”

Siol’s face turned deathly pale.

Even as he said it, he knew it was an absurd answer. Today, they were commemorating enjoying the festival for the first time, so to suggest commemorating Nathaniel’s death next was neither romantic nor meaningful.

However, Eorzen looked at Siol, who was unable to finish his sentence with a look as if he were being choked, and answered gently.

“Siol, if you wish for it….”

“N-no, no, no! That’s not it. It was a slip of the tongue.”

“Hmm…. Then next, shall we commemorate the day we go on a picnic together?”

“A picnic… when are we going?”

“Well. When would be good for you?”

I can decide the next appointment, the next day to commemorate, myself…?

Siol tried to calm his pounding heart as he thought about a date. Tomorrow would be nice, but the blue dragon was a busy person. If he took too much of his time, he would surely dislike it….

“Then, the day after tomorrow…?”

“Excellent.”

Siol smiled brightly, full of gratitude toward Eorzen who, without minding his strange slip of the tongue, readily made the appointment.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

“Master Siol, what are you doing instead of eating?”

“Mmm. I’ll eat.”

Siol, who had been sitting at the dining table without taking his eyes off the ring, picked up his fork at Luber’s urging. But his gaze was still fixed on the ring, so the fork tapped the empty part of the plate several times. Unable to watch any longer, Luber adjusted the position of the fork, and only then did he succeed in picking up a piece of steak.

“Geez, what’s so great about some stupid ring.”

“Luber.”

“It’s true. What’s so special about a ring that you’re not even eating properly? If you keep this up, I’m going to tell sister Ronia.”

Luber seemed very displeased with Siol’s attitude. But to declare he would tattle to Ronia…. Luber was a boy who did what he said he’d do, so Siol furtively lowered his left hand under the table to hide it and began to concentrate on his meal. Only then did Luber relax his displeased expression and nod his head as if in praise for a job well done. Siol was inwardly dumbfounded, but he just quietly chewed his salad.

After moving his room to this floor, the maid Ronia not only brought him breakfast, lunch, and dinner on time, but also set the table on one side of the room, and even cleared it away when he was finished eating.

When he was in the basement, Luber would usually go to the kitchen when it was time and pack some food in a basket, so it was mostly easy-to-eat finger foods, and he would skip a meal or two a day. His mealtimes were erratic, and some days he would eat sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, and other days he would eat sitting at his desk, scribbling on documents.

There was a brief period when Luber diligently took care of Siol, but it was only for a short while. As Luber himself had said, once his guilt had subsided a bit, he would just lie down in front of the fireplace and sleep. In fact, from Siol’s perspective, he was much more comfortable with Luber rolling around like a puppy than acting like a maid.

Unfortunately, however, that time did not last very long. After coming up to this floor, Siol, who had missed the breakfast that had been set out for him because he was engrossed in his research, and Luber, who had left Siol to his own devices and eaten his own meal, were both scolded until they cried that day.

Actually, it was only Luber who was properly scolded. Ronia, with a scary face, pointed out and scolded him for everything, from eating alone leaving Siol behind, to sleeping on the floor on top of that, and then, after scolding the whimpering Luber, she snapped her head towards Siol.

Siol, who had been tense, thinking he would surely be scolded terribly, was bracing himself for it, but Ronia just stared at Siol for a long time, then suddenly sighed deeply and simply turned away. In hindsight, it seemed he hadn’t been scolded at all, but for some reason, he didn’t feel at ease.

He ate every last bite of lunch. And later, when Ronia came to get the plates, she smiled sweetly and nodded, and only then could Siol let out a sigh of relief.

Luber, just a moment ago, seemed to be imitating the Ronia of that day. However, the weight of their actions was completely different. If Luber wanted to have the same weight as Ronia, retiring from his position as the mansion’s superstar would have to come first. As could be seen from Ryufen, being a superstar didn’t necessarily make one’s actions feel light, but Luber’s position was so purely that of a cute pet that his credibility was too low.

When will that kid ever grow up?

Siol began to think that perhaps the reason Luber wasn’t able to grow up wasn’t just his own problem. In fact, hadn’t Siol himself felt 괜히 uncomfortable and a little sad when Luber started working diligently as if he had grown up?

Luber guided Siol’s fork to the steak again as he got lost in thought, and complained.

“I told you to eat. Are you just going to keep daydreaming like that?”

“I was just thinking about you for a moment.”

“Huh? Why were you suddenly thinking about me? What were you thinking?”

“That you, Luber, are the cutest and most popular dog in the mansion.”

Luber frowned for a moment, then shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“Well, sometimes an obvious fact comes to mind anew.”

I always think this, but how can he be so confident that he is loved? Siol looked at Luber with deep admiration. As if sensing his gaze, Luber’s nose went up in the air.

After they finished eating, Ronia soon came in, checked the plates, and then nodded with a sweet smile. Siol also smiled diligently and nodded. For some reason, ever since that day, he would get nervous when she scanned the plates, and then relax again when he saw that smile. Fortunately, Siol wasn’t the only one. Siol chuckled as he watched Luber, who had been sitting stiffly with his back straight, let out a sigh of relief and slump back into a debauched posture.

As Ronia quietly cleared the table and left, Luber mumbled, as if making an excuse.

“…She’s scary.”

“I know. She’s scary to me too.”

“Master Siol did something wrong, but sister Ronia only gets mad at me. She’s really mean.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

When Siol answered perfunctorily, Luber glared at him. At first, he wouldn’t notice even if he answered carelessly, but now he had become quite perceptive. Siol chuckled, patted Luber’s head briskly, and got up from his seat. Today, he was planning to ponder over the tool to trap Nathaniel’s shadow.

Luber, who had been grumbling about being the only one scolded, cheered up immediately after having his head patted a bit. Luber laughed, “Heh heh,” shook his head vigorously, and then asked.

“By the way, aren’t you going to hang out with the dragon lord today?”

“Mmm. Lord Eorzen is busy, so I can’t ask him to hang out every day.”

“He didn’t seem that busy.”

“What are you talking about? He must be incredibly busy. So I have to be a little patient too….”

Bang!

As Siol was heading toward his work desk, he was startled by the sound of the door and turned around, but Luber was already gone from the room. Siol wondered where Luber had gone in such a hurry, but he didn’t have the energy to follow, so he decided to just let it be.

While Siol was sitting at his desk, taking out a notebook and pen and doodling to warm up his brain for research, Luber, who had come running back with a thumping sound, shouted in a loud voice.

“He said he’s not busy!”

“…What?”

As Siol turned around, dumbfounded, Luber answered with a wide smile.

“I went and asked him! He said he’s not busy today!”

“…What?”

“Oh, come on, I’m talking about the blue dragon lord. He said he’s not busy at all today.”

“…What?”

“Master Siol? What’s wrong?”

He went and asked him that?

Siol, who had been holding his breath without realizing it, let out a deep sigh and deflated. Eorzen must think he was the one who told Luber to go and ask; how was he supposed to fix this?

He shouldn’t have just let him run off just now; he should have grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

“Go and ask him to hang out! Before someone else snatches him away!”

“Luber…. You really….”

Luber, who had hopped over to his side, saw Siol’s strange reaction and asked, a little disheartened.

“Was I not supposed to ask…?”

“It’s just…. Ugh….”

He was at a loss as to how to explain this situation, from where to start and where to end.

Of course he wanted to spend time together, but how could he make this energetic and cheerful puppy understand his fear that Eorzen might find it annoying or dislike it if he tried to be with him too much?

No, right now, Eorzen was the priority over Luber. He had to make an excuse to Eorzen, to tell him it was nothing….

Before he could even come up with a plausible excuse, the door opened.

“Siol.”

Eorzen stood at the doorway and called him. Siol, who turned his head in the direction of the voice, thought that Luber must have misheard something. Because Eorzen was dressed in his usual beautifully adorned attire. There was no way he would be dressed in such a high-maintenance outfit unless he had plans to go out.

“Lord Eorzen. Um, I wasn’t the one who asked him to ask you….”

Towards Siol, who was starting to ramble on with excuses in his embarrassment, Eorzen held out his left hand. Siol stopped talking and, as if mesmerized, approached and took that hand with his own left hand.

Their hands intertwined, and the rings clinked against each other.

“If you have the time, would you spare some for me?”

At that whisper, Siol couldn’t offer a single word of resistance and just nodded.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

The walk went on for a long time.

At first, he thought they would just walk a little around the mansion, but as they talked about this and that, they were soon riding on horseback towards the city walls. It was the result of readily agreeing to the suggestion that it would be good to see the protective barrier at least once for his research. Since Siol didn’t know how to ride a horse, he had to ride with Eorzen on his horse.

I shouldn’t have readily agreed to the suggestion, Siol regretted, sitting up straight. However, Siol’s limp back, unused to exercise, would helplessly give way whenever the horse sped up even a little. After bumping his back against Eorzen’s chest every time, Siol had no choice but to quietly entrust his body to Eorzen.

Their bodies… were touching too much. It was difficult in many ways.

“Ngh…”

Siol glanced at Eorzen. He was riding the horse with a gentlemanly expression, and when Siol looked at him, he met his eyes and smiled affectionately. To be having shameful thoughts with such a kind and innocent man behind me. His chest ached with guilt.

Siol gave an awkward smile and turned his head forward again. Because they were sitting together on the horse, the breath that unavoidably touched his ear and Eorzen’s kindness in wrapping an arm around his waist to hold him steady whenever his body swayed stimulated his spine.

He couldn’t understand why the desires he had never felt during the many times he had been held up in his arms were now rearing their head on horseback. Siol let out a sigh, trying not to be noticed, and tried to focus on the distant scenery. But Eorzen’s breath kept tickling his ear, making even that difficult.

He was just about to try and straighten his back to put a little distance between them. Suddenly, Eorzen’s hand pressed firmly against Siol’s stomach. The next moment, as Siol flinched in surprise, the horse leaped. Frightened, Siol let out a strange scream and burrowed deeper into Eorzen’s embrace.

“Are you alright?”

“…N…no….”

Siol managed to answer, clutching his pounding chest.

“The protective barrier is just a little further.”

Siol nodded weakly and, limp, simply entrusted his entire body to Eorzen again. The fortunate thing was that the lewd thoughts that had been slowly creeping in had completely flown away. His heart was pounding so hard that he could no longer think about the breath on his ear or anything else.

Swaying limply in Eorzen’s arms, Siol’s eyes sharpened at a sensation he had felt once before. The sensation of the protective barrier he had felt when they reached Marsiga, the city of beastmen, was getting closer. A ferocious storm of mana, a whirlwind that seemed to claw at the surroundings, an immense flow of mana that anyone with mana could not help but fear.

Still, the flow of mana was much gentler than what he had felt in Marsiga. It could have been because the ruler of Marsiga was in an unstable state, or because the facility itself was more stable as the control room remained in the tower in the human lands, or it could have been both.

“It’s truly amazing.”

“What is?”

“How could the ancients have created such an amazing facility? I want to meet them and talk to them.”

It was amazing from the very thought of artificially creating a mana storm, which on the surface just looked like a disaster, to drive away monsters. The idea that creating such a mana storm would require more than the power of a single person, and thus, that they should collect the mana of everyone living in that city or domain like a tax, gather it in a giant manastone, and then activate it, was also a concept Siol had never thought of.

It was truly an idea that only those who used incantations and magic as if they were their own limbs could have come up with. At the same time, because there were so many such people, they must have put it into action. Perhaps all the ancients were both alchemists and magicians.

“It’s so amazing that I don’t understand anything.”

Siol confessed honestly. Even though the flow of mana was more stable than in Marsiga, it was still just a violent mana storm, and Siol couldn’t figure out what kind of regularity it flowed with.

“What about you, Lord Eorzen?”

“I, too, cannot grasp the principle.”

“I’m sorry you brought me all the way here for nothing.”

“No. It was something I wanted to bring you to see.”

With that, Eorzen gracefully jumped off the horse and held out his arms to Siol. It was an offer to lift him down. Was there a reason he had to be held like a child to get off a horse even after growing this big? Siol, who thought he could probably get down on his own, stealthily gauged the distance to the ground.

“Come on, Siol.”

Siol entrusted his body to Eorzen.

Not only was the height from the horse’s back to the ground dizzier than he had thought, but come to think of it, there was no reason to refuse physical contact with Eorzen. However, contrary to his expectation of being set down on the ground right away, Eorzen held him with one arm and rummaged through the bag attached to the saddle. He took out a small basket from inside and started walking in a certain direction.

“…You’re not putting me down?”

“Do you want to get down?”

Of course not. If he could stay in these arms forever, there would be no greater happiness. But he couldn’t reveal such inner thoughts.

“Of course. I’m not a child, so I don’t want to be carried around.”

“I see. Then it would have been nice if you had stayed a child.”

“What?”

Siol asked back, startled by the reply that seemed to be aimed at Sizool. Eorzen smiled, crinkling the corners of his eyes, and tilted his head.

“Did I say something strange?”

“…No….”

After hesitating for a moment, Siol shook his head.

His heart dropped every time Eorzen spoke like this, as if his original memories had returned. It made him realize that the peace and happiness he was currently enjoying relied on Eorzen’s amnesia. Perhaps the Eorzen with his memories restored would still be strange like he was now, but the possibility that he might not be was terrifying.

After having such thoughts, the extravagant words asking to be put down completely disappeared.

As long as he kept his mouth shut, he could be held as much as he wanted without his inner desire to be held being revealed. Siol stealthily changed the subject.

“More importantly, what’s in that basket?”

“Snacks. Do you like Earl Grey cookies?”

“I do, but… snacks? How did that get in the saddlebag….”

“I asked a maid. To put it in the saddlebag while we were taking a walk around the mansion.”

Didn’t that mean he had planned to ride out far on horseback even before Siol had agreed to the walk? Dumbfounded by the remark, Siol stared with his mouth agape, but Eorzen just smiled sweetly.

No, let’s not think too strangely about it. The Eorzen from before, when he was being strange, had this side to him. Compared to when he would sit him on his lap and cut his steak into pieces to feed him, or when he would tell him not to leave his side, this was nothing. At least now….

Thinking up to that point, Siol tilted his head. The more he thought about it, the less he felt it was any better. In fact, it seemed that the constant picking him up, now that they understood they were in a relationship where they spoke to each other formally and politely, was even more problematic.

Just then, Eorzen set Siol down on a smooth rock. Eorzen sat down next to Siol, handed him a bottle of milk from the basket, and then broke a cookie in half and shared that with Siol as well.

“Um…. So you were planning to come to the protective barrier from the beginning?”

“Yes. Siol, since I know your tastes, I knew you wouldn’t refuse if I suggested we go to the protective barrier.”

To have my tastes figured out when we’ve only just met again. But he had nothing to say about this part. On the day Siol had first met Eorzen anew, he had suddenly taken him to the Tower of Survival. Recalling the things he had rambled on about that day, it would be stranger if Eorzen didn’t know his tastes.

Blushing from a needless sense of shame, Siol cleared his throat with a “Hmph, hmph.”

“If you just wanted to spend time together, there are other good places.”

“Is there a particular place you would like to go?”

“Uh…. No…. Not really, but….”

Siol wasn’t a picky person and would have been happy anywhere as long as he could be with Eorzen, but the area by the protective barrier was a bit of an exception.

“It’s just that with the mana constantly swirling here, it’s a bit disorienting.”

“Actually, that is why I chose this place.”

“Uh…. Do you like this kind of feeling?”

For Siol, the sight of swirling mana was a little scary and dizzying, but perhaps for a dragon, a natural-born magician, this was nothing.

At that question, Eorzen’s eyes widened and he laughed out loud, a rare occurrence, before speaking.

“No. It’s not that, it is because of Ryufen.”

“Ryufen?”

Eorzen spoke to Siol, who had no idea why Ryufen was suddenly being mentioned in this conversation.

“Ryufen is being overprotective of you.”

“What? Uh…. I-is he?”

“He tries to prevent you and me from being alone. Did you not know at all? He was following us from a distance even when we were riding the horse earlier.”

This was news to him.

Siol stared at Eorzen with his mouth agape. Eorzen put a cookie into Siol’s open mouth. Unconsciously chewing the sweet cookie, Siol let out a low groan inwardly. He thought he knew the reason.

Back when Eorzen had just started acting strange, Ryufen had once secretly barged into Siol’s room, sighing heavily and showing his concern. It was Ryufen who had said it wouldn’t last forever and to just play along, but he must have gotten a little worried since Eorzen was still strange even after losing his memories.

“Then why here….”

“Ryufen is a congenital mana user, so he’s heavily influenced by the surrounding mana. Passing through the protective barrier is fine, but he can’t last long in a place like this where mana is running wild.”

Eorzen said, lowering his voice to a whisper. His tone was slightly boastful, playful. It seemed even the great blue dragon had a childish side when it came to the wolf who was like a brother to him. Siol chuckled at the story that Eorzen had deliberately brought him to the protective barrier as a prank because Ryufen was being so wary.

“Then Ryufen must be stamping his feet in frustration over there right now.”

“Well, let him. Let’s us stay here and play for a very long time before we go back.”

“Is that really okay?”

“Why would it not be?”

“But aren’t you busy? Lord Eorzen, you are the representative of the beastmen lands….”

“I am not busy at all. In fact, if I were busy, it would mean there is a big problem on our side, so it is better that I am not busy. And… I have something important to attend to for the time being, so Muriel will handle most things.”

“Something important to attend to?”

When Siol asked, full of curiosity, Eorzen said nothing and just gazed quietly into Siol’s eyes.

He couldn’t understand the meaning of that gaze, but for some reason, his cheeks grew hot.

Maybe, just maybe….