TDAA Ch 59

“You mean Princess Ladie’s words?”

As if trying to recall for a moment, Eorzen smiled and clung tighter to Siol. As the large Eorzen leaned his body against Siol and kept getting closer, Siol ended up looking as if he were being worn by Eorzen. Siol endured Eorzen leaning on him and signaled him to stop with his eyes, but Eorzen didn’t drop his smile as he whispered.

“Ah. You mean the words about going everywhere with me. That’s right. You should have listened to Princess Ladie. If you leave my side again, I will tell the princess later.”

“You’ll tell on me?”

“Yes. So please, stay by my side.”

“I… I get it, so please stand up straight.”

“Really?”

“Really. I said I get it.”

“As you command.”

Only after hearing the answer he wanted did Eorzen pull his leaning body away, speaking shamelessly. How was this ‘as you command’? He’d even threatened to tattle to Ladie if Siol didn’t listen. Siol was so flabbergasted he couldn’t even speak.

He glanced furtively at Lipez and Kadion. The two were quietly talking amongst themselves, but they met his gaze as soon as he looked. Siol flinched in surprise, his shoulders trembling.

He had thought Lipez, who seemed short-tempered and authoritarian, would surely get angry and ask what on earth they were doing in front of her, but for some reason, she just sighed. The sigh was laced with discomfort.

“All packed up. Let’s go!”

Just then, Ryufen finished packing the tent and shouldered his backpack. Eorzen once again lifted Siol into his arms and spread his wings, and Lipez and Kadion transformed back into wolves.

It was time to run again.

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The party ran all day, arriving at a city just as the sun began to set. Siol, who had been dozing off while leaning in Eorzen’s arms, rubbed his drowsy eyes and sat up when the city came into view.

“You can keep sleeping if you’re tired.”

“No. I’m not going to sleep….”

The city called Atum, where Lipez was the leader, was different from any city Siol had ever seen. Siol’s party had flown from human territory to this place, passing many cities from a distance, but none had been as large as Atum. This wasn’t simply a matter of the lord’s or leader’s capability. In this world, the size of a city was not determined by the leader’s influence or the city’s military power. The only factor that determined the size of a city in this world was the Tower. It was about how wide an area the barrier of the Tower of Survival protected.

Siol had thought that all the towers had similar capabilities, since all the cities and lords he’d seen so far were of a similar scale. But looking at Atum, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

The massive city was surrounded by walls so high and sturdy that monsters couldn’t easily invade, even if there were no barrier. A moat surrounded the outside of the walls, and the city gates were firmly shut, but they opened on their own as the party approached. The wolves on top of the walls were saluting Lipez. They were a perfect army, appearing to be bound by a discipline even more flawless than that of dogs.

Shrinking back from the sharp gazes of the wolves watching them, Siol unconsciously burrowed deeper into Eorzen’s arms. Eorzen hugged him tightly and gently patted his back. When he lifted his gaze, Eorzen was looking at him. Looking into the dragon’s eyes put him at ease.

Since it was a fear of the unfamiliar atmosphere rather than any specific thing, he soon felt better once he consciously registered the fact that he was in contact with a trusted warmth. He was with Eorzen now, and although a bit unreliable, Ryufen was by his side too.

“…It’s peaceful.”

Siol said cautiously to Eorzen as he carefully looked around.

“In other cities, the atmosphere can change each time a different beastman becomes the leader, but it’s not like that around here. The fact that the same system is maintained even if the leader changes provides stability.”

“Will your city become like that too, Eorzen-nim?”

“If you wish it.”

Eorzen whispered, looking into Siol’s eyes.

Thinking back on it now, Eorzen had never hidden his feelings. He acted so obviously, it was a mystery to Siol himself how he had never once suspected it.

Siol met the ardent gaze and asked, as if testing him.

“…What if I, perhaps, don’t wish for it?”

“Then shall we leave the city behind and go on a trip, just the two of us?”

“A trip.”

“You are frail, so let’s go south. The sea in the south is very beautiful. The sea is vast, so there would be no chance of a monster not being able to escape. Above all, I will be by your side.”

Why did his heart swell up like this when they were just talking about the future? Siol felt as if he had become an immature adolescent boy. A foolish child who attached meaning to the other’s every gesture, every glance, and didn’t know what to do.

He had no immunity to this sort of thing. At this rate, he felt his face would turn beet red and he would start spouting nonsense. Siol first nodded in agreement with Eorzen’s words, then quickly changed the subject.

“Y-You’ve managed to deliver the prosthetic limbs this far already!”

At the half-shouted change of topic, Eorzen obediently turned his head to follow Siol’s gaze. The place they were walking on was a straight road leading from the city gate to the leader’s mansion. It was the first road guests of the leader would walk on when visiting the city, and it was made very wide with lavish buildings on either side, as if to intimidate visitors. The buildings housed various shops, and he could see a young man working at a high-end cafe skillfully stacking several plates with a prosthetic arm as he carried them.

Eorzen frowned slightly and said.

“I know nothing of this.”

“What? But the shape of that prosthetic hand and the joint articulation technology are definitely things I researched with Budril.”

It was then, as Siol replied in bewilderment, that Lipez and Kadion, who were walking ahead, came to a sudden halt.

“Did you just say Budril?”

When Lipez, in her white wolf form, asked as if interrogating him, Siol stiffened with tension again. As if reading his state, Eorzen turned around while still holding Siol, and Ryufen squeezed in between them.

“Sis, you’re scaring the kid.”

“…Kid?”

“Well, he’s not a kid, but… still a kid… Ah, anyway. You’re scaring him. Tone down your expression.”

“……”

Lipez, dumbfounded that Ryufen, who had been intimidated and tiptoeing around her ever since they met, was now frowning and nagging her, simply stared intently at him. Still, Ryufen didn’t back down and just gestured with his eyes at the frozen child in the blue dragon’s arms, urging her on. Lipez eventually let out a sigh and relaxed her expression.

She put on a broad smile and kicked Ryufen in the side. Ryufen, who flew off with a yelp, crashed into a bench and sprawled on the ground.

No one, except for Siol who didn’t know he was exaggerating, paid any mind to the groaning Ryufen. Lipez took a step toward Siol and spoke.

“Siol. No, should I call you Master Siol as well?”

Though still somewhat high-handed, she was, unlike before, trying to be polite. And in her eyes, there was neither contempt nor disdain. Siol, who had faced Lipez tensely, tapped Eorzen’s shoulder to signal for him to put him down, in order to show proper courtesy to her.

Once on the ground, Siol answered politely.

“No. You can just call me Siol, Leader-nim.”

“Alright. Siol. You researched those prosthetics with Budril?”

“Yes. I researched prosthetic arms and legs in the blue dragon’s… in Eorzen-nim’s city.”

Siol felt as if he were in a job interview. The trembling feeling of wanting to be acknowledged by the other person. He hadn’t felt this way very often. Perhaps only when he was a child, trying to become his master’s official disciple. Back then, his entire future was on the line, so he had no choice but to cling desperately.

Why did he feel this way now, when there was no particular reason he needed to be in Lipez’s good graces? Was it because she was Ryufen’s sister? Because she was family to a wolf he was on friendly terms with, did he subconsciously want to get closer?

“Did Budril perhaps visit here?”

To that question, Lipez shook her head.

“Then do you perhaps know where he went…”

“He is in my mansion.”

“…Right now?”

Siol subconsciously glanced towards the massive mansion at the end of the main road, then looked back at Eorzen and Ryufen. They looked like they hadn’t heard of this.

Budril was a beastman under Eorzen, and not only was he an important figure, but he was also a dangerous person for whom Eorzen was responsible. For such a person to be in a place like this without Eorzen’s permission? Something was clearly wrong.

After hesitating for a moment, Siol asked in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“…Is he insane right now?”

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The story went that a blond-haired rabbit suddenly appeared one day and began making prosthetic arms and legs for the wolves of Atum. Hearing the news, Leader Lipez invited Budril to the mansion and asked him to make prosthetics for all the wolves living in the city, offering to cover the costs herself, and Budril accepted the proposal. But at some point, Budril started acting a little strange, and not long after, he completely lost his mind.

Since he had become a benefactor by providing prosthetics to many people, they couldn’t just recklessly kick him out of the city, but his condition wasn’t one where they could let him wander the streets either, so Budril was now effectively under house arrest within the mansion.

“…Despite everything, he is a benefactor to many of Atum’s wolves, so this must be resolved amicably. Can you do it?”

Lipez asked with a face that suggested she didn’t have high expectations. Siol’s pride was wounded.

“I will take care of it, so don’t worry.”

Lipez glanced at Siol, then said again.

“Don’t overdo it.”

“Don’t worry, Leader-nim. I’ll handle it well and make sure there are no problems on our way to deal with Nathaniel tomorrow.”

At his firm assertion, Lipez made a somewhat sour face, but she didn’t add anything more.

The party walked down the main road again and reached Lipez’s mansion. Around the time the mansion came into view, breathing started to become heavy, and by the time they stood right in front of it, it was rather difficult to breathe. A dense, sticky, dark purple cloud-like magic was layered around the mansion. That abnormal magic was obstructing their breathing.

As soon as Siol identified the magic, he was able to guess what state Budril was in. This magic was the same type he had seen when he first taught Budril alchemy conversion, the first transaction.

“…Budril was taken by the deliveryman.”

“What does that mean?”

“He made a bad deal. The deliveryman probably whispered sweet nothings, asking for the rights to just a bean-sized portion of the magic in his body.”

“The rights to the magic in his body.”

“Yes, and if you give that up, what happens is…”

“I wasn’t asking because I don’t know. Siol, whatever you do, you must never…”

Eorzen, who was about to shout something, suddenly shut his mouth. A tempest raged within his eyes, yet he couldn’t utter the words.

Wondering blankly what on earth he was about to say, Siol’s cheeks flushed as a thought struck him like lightning, and he clenched his teeth. He was clearly about to tell him not to do it. But saying that would turn it into a command, and because of the curse, he couldn’t give commands. That’s why he was holding back what he wanted to say.

Siol felt love in Eorzen’s silence. It was a love received as the adult Siol, not the small, young Sizool, and it was so unfamiliar he had no idea how to handle it.

“I’m fine! My deliveryman likes me. He would never do something like that to me.”

“…Even if he suggests it…”

“I won’t do it! I’ll refuse.”

“…Good.”

Seeing the face that finally smiled in relief, Siol tried hard not to let his cheeks get any redder. Of course, there was no way to do that, and trying to breathe slowly was utterly meaningless in stopping the heat rushing to his face.

Siol hunched his shoulders to make an excuse for his reddened cheeks.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

Immediately, a cloak was draped over his shoulders. It was the cloak Eorzen had been wearing.

Ah, really. How could I have not known all this time when he’s been so good to me? The days I spent worrying, thinking only that he was strange, that he’d gotten even stranger, felt like such a waste.

I wanted to be alone with him, quickly. To hold this man’s hand, sit close, and tell him I heard everything, to ask if those words were really true….

As a sudden gust of wind blew, Siol genuinely hunched his shoulders and shook his head.

His apprentice was right in front of him, needing to be saved, yet all he could think about was romance. It was so immature. But if we start dating, it’ll be my first relationship. It’s my first, so it can’t be helped. Siol mumbled excuses to himself and turned toward the source of the unpleasant magic.

Budril was in the middle of drawing a magic circle on the floor with a large, mop-like brush dipped in a sticky liquid. The liquid appeared to be magic made corporeal, but normal magical water wasn’t that sticky and usually mixed with the air and vanished as soon as it came into contact with it. Not writhing disgustingly on the floor like that.

“Budril!”

Siol called out sharply and strode toward Budril. Budril, who had his back to Siol and was focused on the magic circle on the floor, blankly raised his head, then his face lit up as he spotted Siol and turned around.

“Master! What brings you here? The Commander, too! And Ryufen!”

“What on earth is this?”

Siol froze, not even getting the chance to tell him not to call him master. That sickening magic was billowing out from Budril’s neck now that he had turned around. No, to be precise, from a magic circle drawn on his neck. It was the kind of magic circle drawn temporarily when making a deal with the world. A magic circle that connected world to world, the one Eorzen had told him to never stick his hand in again….

To have such a magic circle carved into his neck, he was out of his mind. The magic circle was continuously connecting space to space, using the magic within Budril’s body as a sacrifice. Naturally, Budril’s condition, being drained of magic like that, was not normal either. His undereyes were stained jet black, as if he hadn’t slept for days.

“What do you mean, what is this? What about me?”

Even his leering grin was unlike him, but Budril seemed completely oblivious to his own state. The Budril who, in Eorzen’s city, had been more of a fresh, lively, and cute rabbit, had now become a terrifying rabbit that looked like it belonged in an old Western grimoire.

“More importantly, Siol, my master, I really missed you. I’ve been studying hard, you know?”

“……”

Siol was at a loss for words.

“I can trade for anything now.”

Budril staggered toward Siol. It was a strange gait, somewhere between a limp and a stumble. Budril’s body had been taken over by the ominous magic and was no longer his alone, causing him to lose control and move against his will. In truth, he shouldn’t have been able to walk at all, but the ominous magic was assisting his steps.

“…Why is my luck with apprentices so bad?”

“Shall I kill him?”

Eorzen, standing behind him, whispered in response to Siol’s lament. Siol shot Eorzen an annoyed glare. Making jokes when he was trying to figure out how to solve this situation. Even if it was a joke meant to ease the tension, it was a bit much. Besides, this was no time for jokes or games.

“Don’t say such strange things. I’ll try talking to him.”

“As you wish.”

Eorzen obediently took a step back and watched what Siol would do. He wasn’t the only one watching. Ryufen, Lipez, and Kadion were all watching as well.

I’ll use this chance to prove I’m quite useful. Siol clenched his fists, resolved. When they went to face Nathaniel tomorrow, if there was any alchemy-related obstacle, the person who could best handle it would be him, Siol. But no matter what he tried to do, if he wasn’t trusted, he wouldn’t even get the chance to try. To avoid that, it was better to give them a little preview of what he could do.

Siol fiddled with the small gem grains in his pocket and took another step closer to Budril.

“Budril, you are not right.”

“Me? No, I’ve become a much greater alchemist now…”

“You’re being devoured by the deliveryman right now.”

“…Devoured?”

“You said you liked alchemy. You said you wanted to know more new things, and create more amazing things. What about now? Do you still have that desire?”

At Siol’s question, Budril tilted his head.

“…I don’t know.”

“You said that after helping with my prosthetic limb business, you wanted to build golems. You wanted to delve into engineering alchemy so that small beastmen could wield great power, so that something like what happened to Ephania would never happen again. Is that dream still inside of you, Budril?”

“…Here…”

“Your excessive desire for knowledge and curiosity can be honestly annoying at times, but it’s a strength. Don’t let the deliveryman take it away.”

“……”

Budril stared at Siol with confused eyes.

“But, I’m much more capable now than before… I can do so much more…”

“What do you want to do with that power?”

“What do you mean, what? Well…”

He tried to say something, but no answer came out.

It was unlike Budril. He was originally a rabbit with intense desires. Because of that desire, he had tried to destroy the Tower of Survival, and for that, he was almost executed. He had lost the desire he hadn’t given up even at the risk of losing his life, the wish to know.

The moment Siol made him realize that, Budril was seized by a terrible fear. He felt like a stranger to himself. It felt as if he were trapped inside a completely unfamiliar body that wasn’t his own.

Budril grabbed his own throat with both hands. Not to choke himself, but because he couldn’t even be sure if he was breathing on his own.

“It’s okay, Budril.”

Siol said, taking another step closer to Budril. Budril looked at Siol’s face with a dazed expression.

“It’s, it’s my fault, too. I should have taught you more, but I couldn’t…. You must have felt hopeless and struggled while researching alone again.”

“…I wanted to do better.”

“But that was the wrong path.”

“……”

Siol took another step closer.

“I’ll help you return to how you were. Because you are my apprentice.”

“…Master.”

The desire that remained in a corner of Budril’s heart, when prodded and stimulated by Siol, quickly burst into flame. Because of that desire, Budril was known as a reckless rabbit who never looked back, an existence that even Eorzen’s knights were wary of. Among the beastmen who lived by desire, there was likely no one as greedy as Budril.

No matter how much his desire had been neutered by a wicked deliveryman, if even a single spark like this remained…

It was then. A rumbling sound, as if lightning was striking, echoed through the space. Following that, Budril, unable to even scream, snapped his head back and trembled violently. The smoke of magic that had been constantly flowing from the magic circle on his neck began to pour out at an accelerated speed. It seemed Budril’s deliveryman did not approve of the conversation between Siol and Budril.

Siol gauged the distance to Budril. This was close enough. The moment he took another step forward and stomped his foot, light began to race out from under it. The lines of light, running faster than usual, completed the magic circle in an instant.

And from within it, a massive power shot out violently and collided with something in front of Siol’s eyes. With a sound like a boulder falling from a cliff and shattering, magic scattered in all directions. Siol’s knees buckled from the sudden drain of magic, and he almost collapsed.

“Siol.”

Eorzen, who caught Siol by the waist to support him, called his name worriedly. Siol leaned his back against Eorzen and caught his breath.

“…Eorzen-nim, you can see it, can’t you? What’s happening.”

“Your deliveryman is fighting Budril’s deliveryman.”

“My deliveryman looks angry…. Is that right?”

“Yes. He is angry.”

“Why on earth?”

“Because that thing tried to grab you by the throat.”

Eorzen stared ahead with a fierce growl. He looked as if he wanted to leap forward himself at any moment. Siol was a little intimidated by his murderous expression. Even though he knew the anger wasn’t directed at him, he somehow felt a bit self-conscious.

Wait, is it because of me?

As Siol’s eyes darted around nervously, Eorzen glanced at him, then ran a hand over the nape of his own neck and placed something in Siol’s hand. It was a scale. A freshly torn scale, at that.

I’m sure I heard it hurts?

While Siol was staring with wide, bewildered eyes, Eorzen bent Siol’s fingers to make him grip it properly, then pointed at Siol’s buttons. Siol followed his finger with his gaze and let out a low groan at the sight of the gem buttons on his clothes melting one by one.

He had thought that since the deliveryman was taking a tremendous amount of magic from him, it wouldn’t need a separate offering yet, but it seemed it had been taking what it needed on its own. Well, with all that ruckus, there was no way magic alone would be a sufficient offering.

“Ah…!”

Just then, all the buttons on his coat melted away, and next, the dragon’s scale began to slowly melt from the edge.

Siol watched the direction where the forces were colliding with anxious eyes, then tugged on Eorzen’s sleeve and asked.

“What about now? What’s happening?”

“Your deliveryman kicked the opponent. He looks strong. But the opponent is no pushover either.”

The deliveryman, knowing Siol had almost been in danger, had rushed at the opponent to protect him before he was even asked. In fact, deliverymen were originally reluctant to come out into this world, but he had moved for Siol, for him. Although he was taking a tremendous price in return, such an abnormal transaction naturally required a great price.

Siol thought he had to do something for the deliveryman who was fighting for him.

“Eorzen-nim, please let me go for a moment.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to help.”

“…I will let you go if you promise you will not overdo it.”

“I promise.”

With a dubious expression, Eorzen reluctantly released Siol’s waist. Siol felt it was unfair that Eorzen didn’t trust him, but he suppressed the urge to argue and placed his hand on the magic circle on the floor. From his fingertips, light began to race out once more. He imbued the already completed magic circle with a little more meaning, delicately manipulating the magic to support the deliveryman. The magic circle formed more detailed patterns and transformed into a higher-dimensional spell.

When the new magic circle was finally complete, Siol hesitated and looked back at Eorzen. Eorzen hadn’t taken his eyes off Siol.

“Eorzen-nim.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“…I want to push myself, a little. Please help me.”

Having tried the new magic circle, Siol realized he would be short on power and mumbled his request. He felt embarrassed doing this after having just boasted that he wouldn’t overdo it, and his cheeks reddened on their own.

At that, Eorzen let out a low laugh, approached Siol, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Of course, I should help you.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because you’ve learned how to ask for help. It’s admirable.”

With that, Eorzen kissed the top of Siol’s head. Siol didn’t know what he meant and was puzzled, but Eorzen was genuinely proud of him. His mate, who had once left his side, thinking he couldn’t receive help and would resolve all his sins on his own, was now asking for help. He couldn’t help but feel pleased and happy.

Eorzen took a step closer, placed a hand on Siol’s shoulder, and invited him into his domain. The second experience of the sensation of his own existence expanding infinitely. As if floating in the air, or swimming in water, within that sensation, Siol struggled not to be swept away by the magic. Eorzen gently held him and pointed him in the direction he needed to look.

Having shared magic with the dragon and thus being able to see what the dragon saw, Siol was able to see with his own eyes the one he had always wanted to see. His deliveryman, whose touch he had only felt as the wind until now, his face.

He was fighting fiercely with his enemy, his golden hair flying. The man, who was handsome enough to make him feel sorry for having called him a deliveryman all this time, was brutally trampling a pale-faced man. A cruel madness, seeking to completely subjugate the opponent by stomping on him violently, was visible. The pale man connected to Budril tried to counterattack several times, but each time, Budril flinched and convulsed, so in the end, he could only take the beating.

If he were to drain Budril of his magic until he died, he might have been able to fight more, but he wasn’t doing so. Budril’s deliveryman, though trying to devour Budril, did not seem to wish for his death.

Finally, when the pale-faced man who had been rolling on the floor passed out, the blond handsome man kicked him one more time, then picked up his body and began to stuff it into Budril’s neck, or to be precise, into the magic circle on Budril’s neck. The pale man was crumpled up like a cotton doll and driven out into the magic circle.

Next, the blond handsome man grabbed the magic circle from Budril’s neck and tore it off. He didn’t bat an eye even as Budril trembled in agony, ripped the magic circle off, and threw it to the ground. The magic circle, its connection to the alchemist severed, turned into dust of light and slowly faded away.

“……”

His appearance was unexpected, but so was his personality. He had never thought he would be such a violent person.

As Siol stared, dumbfounded, he approached Siol, smiled gently, and caressed his cheek. It felt like the wind brushing against his cheek. It was a familiar touch. This person really, truly is my deliveryman.

As if reading his disbelieving expression, the deliveryman chuckled and patted Siol’s head. The wind ruffled his hair. Then, after gazing into Siol’s eyes for a moment, the deliveryman left a kiss of affection on Siol’s forehead and departed. The moment he disappeared into the magic circle, the piece of Eorzen’s scale Siol had been holding also completely melted away.

Siol rubbed his forehead with an embarrassed expression. Eorzen watched him with a slightly displeased look on his face.

“Ugh, urgh…!”

Suddenly, Budril, who had been standing blankly like a mannequin, vomited a gush of blood. It was not red blood, but black, dead blood. After coughing up blood several times, Budril tried to say something, then pitched forward.

“Budril!”

Siol was startled and ran over.

It was strange. While it was possible to vomit up stagnant dead blood as the body regained control, to collapse was another matter. While the deliveryman was siphoning his magic, Budril would have been in a state similar to hypotension. Now that he could fully retain the magic that was being siphoned, he should have felt more alert, not less.

Could there be another magic circle on his body besides the one on his neck?

Siol tried to turn over Budril’s prone body, but strangely, it wouldn’t budge from the floor, as if it were glued there.

“Budril, snap out of it. Where does it hurt?”

At first, Budril just pretended to be unconscious, but as Siol kept shaking him, trying to wake him up, he eventually curled himself up into a ball like a pill bug. He was especially hiding his face in his arms with a determination not to lift it, like a rabbit with only its head hidden in a burrow.

The rabbit whispered in an urgent voice.

“Just leave me and go. I’m about to die of embarrassment, so hurry.”

As he looked down in disbelief, Eorzen approached and kicked Budril in the side. With a strange scream of “Eu-huh-hung,” Budril went flying, then quickly got to his feet and began to make excuses to Eorzen.

“It’s all my fault. I’m the idiot who fell for that bastard’s sweet talk about a good deal, and I did everything he said without realizing he was taking over my body…. But he said if I just get my hands on the power of darkness or something from the nearby ruins, he’d return everything later. I didn’t know that meant he would treat me like a doll to do something…”

“Wait, what did you just say?”

“I didn’t know he’d make me so stupid and control me like that…”

“No, not that. You said, in the nearby ruins, the power of darkness?”

Siol interrogated him in surprise. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but it sounded like that was precisely the reason Nathaniel had hidden in the ruins. The power of darkness, wasn’t that the kind of power that Nathaniel, who controlled shadows, would be after?

At Siol’s reaction, Budril tilted his head foolishly. By now, everyone there had their eyes on him. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Budril glanced at everyone one by one, then smiled brightly.

“I’ll tell you everything if you say you’ll forgive me!”

Budril, the opportunist who failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and tried to make a deal, was thoroughly beaten by Kadion. Lipez watched with a chilling expression as Kadion silently stomped on Budril with a cold face. She seemed like a completely different person from the one who had just said to resolve things amicably because Budril was a benefactor. For this white wolf, matters concerning her son were not open for negotiation. Her pitiful son, who had never opened his eyes since birth, was her Achilles’ heel.

Lipez’s expression was so terrifying that it almost looked as if Kadion had saved Budril’s life. If Kadion hadn’t stepped in first, she would have stepped in and torn Budril’s throat out.

“Tsk, that idiot…”

Ryufen, who had come to sit by Siol’s side at some point, clicked his tongue and shook his head. He looked at Budril, who had dared to propose a deal concerning his nephew, with contempt. It might have worked if he had spilled the information first and begged for forgiveness.

Just as Siol was about to pull on Eorzen’s arm and suggest they leave,

“Wait, wait, I actually only need my master’s forgiveness!”

Budril shouted and held out a hand to Siol.

“Master, you can’t take back your promise to make me your apprentice. Okay? I’m really your apprentice now, right?”

Siol glared at Budril with a sulky expression. He couldn’t go back on his word because of what he’d said earlier, but agreeing to it was somehow annoying. But he couldn’t drag this trivial matter on forever.

In the end, Siol sighed and nodded. As if he had been waiting for it, Budril began to rattle off the story.

“My deliveryman said that in the ruins, there’s a power of darkness hidden by the ancients long ago. He asked me to help him get that power, and in return, he’d give me a huge discount every time we made a deal from now on…”

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The garden was too cold for a long conversation, so the party moved inside the mansion. Everyone was starving, so they went straight to the dining room and began talking while waiting for the food to arrive. Budril’s story, when summarized, was as follows.

The ruins near Atum were an energy power plant built by the ancients. At that time, the ancients operated a facility that used the wavelength flowing from a creature of the dark attribute, which they had confined underground, as an energy source. That creature is alive but not alive, a creature and yet not a creature, a being born of darkness. Even now, after a long, long time, it still exists there.

Nathaniel had snuck into the ruins to get his hands on it, and Budril’s deliveryman, who had been after that creature for his own reasons, separate from Nathaniel, noticed this and tempted Budril. Just a little control over his body in exchange for helping him get his hands on it, and he’d be good to him from then on. A little more for this, and a little more for that. It seemed Budril had fallen hook, line, and sinker for the temptation and become a half-zombie.

“…Budril, don’t you dare think about moving on to the next step until you’ve completed a course in alchemical ethics.”

Siol snapped, but Budril, on the contrary, beamed.

“That means you’ll teach me the next step as soon as I complete it. Yay!”

“……”

It was an infuriating way of talking. To completely skip over the important part and only emphasize the part he liked…! Siol quietly raised the difficulty of the alchemical ethics course Budril would have to learn by about two levels.

Anyway, the story continued. The creature was trapped in the ruins, sleeping a slumber that might be eternal, but since Nathaniel had entered the ruins, it would soon awaken. And if Nathaniel got his hands on that creature, it would be like obtaining an energy source that had operated numerous facilities. The statement that its power was equivalent to more than a dozen magic stones from the Tower combined was enough to startle even Siol.

“How on earth did Budril’s deliveryman plan to snatch such a creature from Nathaniel?”

“I don’t really know either.”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s true. Until a moment ago, I was basically… an idiot golem moving as I was told, without any consciousness. I just know I was drawing something on the floor. But, um… I can’t remember what the magic circle looked like either….”

Budril answered while watching his reaction. Though he looked clearly dejected, Siol honestly suspected he might be deliberately acting pitiful. When he narrowed his eyes and stared, Budril offered a somewhat desperate smile.

Siol let out a deep sigh and shook his head. It seemed impossible to get any more information out of Budril. Siol turned to Lipez.

“Nathaniel must have had a purpose for trying to obtain that dark-attributed… no, I’ll just call it an ancient creature. Nathaniel uses a spell that allows him to revive even after death, using shadows as a medium. And while darkness and shadows aren’t exactly the same, they do have overlapping aspects. This was surely a measure to strengthen his power related to that.”

“To strengthen a spell that uses shadows as a medium, you say…”

“Yes. He probably intends to do something by manipulating souls and bodies.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain any further than that. Siol hung his head, crestfallen.

“…If anything happens to the child, I will not leave that damn race alone.”

Lipez was silent for a moment before spitting out the words as if chewing them. A chilling murderous intent wrapped around the room. Even though Siol knew Lipez wasn’t speaking to him, he was scared and unconsciously pressed his back tightly against the chair. Then, Eorzen took his hand under the table. Perhaps it was because of the warmth that spread from that hand. Siol felt his fear subside and the tension leave him.

“Lipez.”

“If you had properly captured Nathaniel in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened, Blue Dragon!”

That was an excessive lashing out. Siol was about to defend Eorzen, but Eorzen stepped in first.

“I apologize for that part. The origin of this incident is indeed me. Nathaniel must have kidnapped your child to lure me.”

Eorzen squeezed Siol’s hand tightly under the table to stop him from turning around in surprise. The incident in Marsiga was certainly Nathaniel’s plot targeting the Blue Dragon. But the incident in the Meric territory was aimed first at Ladie, then at Siol. And the target of this incident was also him, Siol. It was true that he had used Lipez’s child as a ploy to get Eorzen to come here, but that too was ultimately a plan to lure Siol.

So, the origin of this incident was not Eorzen, but him, Siol.

Eorzen, still holding Siol, calmly continued his lie as if nothing was wrong.

“Nathaniel targeted me in Marsiga as well. He tried to make me lose my reason with potions and magic circles, and to put a necklace on my neck that would make me obey him. At that time, Nathaniel died once. And in the human lands, he revealed himself while hatching a futile plot, so I tried to capture him, but he took his own life and fled.”

“……”

“This time, too, he’s probably targeting me in a new way by obtaining an ancient creature. And Lipez, your son is likely the bait…”

“It’s not the first or second time the witch’s clan has targeted the Blue Dragon.”

It was a declaration that could have been shocking, yet Lipez was not surprised. However, when she looked at Eorzen, the hatred that pooled in her eyes deepened.

“I have no intention of holding you responsible for the cause. What’s important to me is the child’s safety. For the child’s safety, I need you, Blue Dragon. No matter what anyone else says, that child is alive and will come to his senses someday. So you, Blue Dragon, must also consider this child to be alive and help with the rescue.”

It was a statement that directly shattered the ‘persuasion’ Ryufen had spoken of in the morning. Ryufen sighed but couldn’t bring himself to interfere between the two, and Eorzen, after staring into Lipez’s eyes, finally gave a heavy nod. As if he understood from her resolute eyes that persuasion would not work.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

“…If anything happens to the child, you too will regret it.”

It was a cold warning, almost like a threat, but the tone was incredibly bitter. The hateful gaze she usually had had also softened somewhat. The emotions contained within her eyes were so complex that it was impossible to read what she was thinking.

Amid the awkward atmosphere, Kadion pushed in a wagon and began to set food on the table.

Having gone through a big ordeal today, Siol was hungry and was staring blankly at the food when his eyes met Lipez’s. Blushing with embarrassment, he sat up straight in his chair, but Lipez frowned and said.

“Give it to the kid first.”

“Understood, Leader.”

Kid? Siol looked at Kadion in bewilderment, then turned his gaze back to Lipez, but she was already looking out the window with her usual haughty expression. As his leader had ordered, Kadion went to Siol first and placed a piece of meat on his plate.

“Here. Please eat a lot, Master Siol.”

It was a large portion, as expected of Ryufen’s kin. Kadion immediately turned to Lipez, so Siol didn’t even get a chance to say it was too much.

As Siol was looking around, not knowing what to do, Lipez, misinterpreting something, gestured with her chin and said to Siol.

“The kid doesn’t need to stand on ceremony and can eat first.”

It was one thing for Eorzen and Ryufen, who had seen him in that state, but why would Lipez, who had only seen his adult form, say that? Hadn’t she looked dumbfounded when Ryufen called him a kid earlier?

Feeling awkward, he was just staring at his plate when Ryufen suddenly picked up a piece of meat and shoved it into Siol’s mouth.

“How is it?”

“Mmph… What is?”

“How does it taste?”

“It’s delicious.”

At Siol’s answer, Kadion, who had by then gone to Lipez and was transferring a large cut of meat to her plate, smiled brightly. At the same time, Ryufen’s face crumpled. Ryufen clung to Siol’s side and whispered again.

“Siol, I’ll only ask once. Answer carefully.”

“Why are you setting the mood like that just to ask something?”

“Whose cooking is more delicious, mine or my brother-in-law’s?”

“…Ryufen.”

This wolf was getting more childish by the day.

Even as Siol stared at him, looking fed up, Ryufen paid no mind and poked him in the side, urging him on.

“Hurry up and tell me. Whose food is more delicious?”

As Siol sighed, Eorzen flicked Ryufen on the forehead with his fingertip, pushing him away.

“That’s enough. Don’t bother him while he’s eating.”

“What did I do to bother him? I’m just asking for his opinion.”

Ryufen was a very petty wolf, and if he didn’t get the answer he wanted, it was obvious he would hold a grudge for a long, long time and bring up today’s events at the drop of a hat, saying,

‘You said that other wolf’s food was more delicious back then, didn’t you?’

Siol had no choice but to quietly take Ryufen’s side.

“Ryufen’s food is more delicious.”

“See?!”

Ryufen snorted and lifted his chin at Kadion.

In truth, it was a lie. From the eye for choosing ingredients to the skill in butchering the meat and the technique in grilling it, Kadion was better in every aspect. But Siol could tell such lies for the sake of his future. That is, if it meant not being pestered by that petty wolf.

However, Kadion, who had approached again and was cutting meat to place on Eorzen’s plate, said with a mocking expression.

“How pathetic, Ryufen.”

“Anyway, he said my food is more delicious, brother-in-law.”

Ryufen provoked him with a grin, but Kadion didn’t even reply and just placed another large piece of meat on Siol’s plate before turning and walking away. Without giving any meat to Ryufen. Siol, seeing Ryufen, who was suddenly left to lick an empty plate, grumbling, couldn’t help but share a piece of his own meat. He had received enough that he couldn’t eat it all by himself anyway.

As he did so, he glanced at Kadion, and he was already standing by Lipez’s side, watching Siol. Looking at that gentle smile, Siol pondered the true nature of the kindness Kadion was showing him. He had felt his goodwill for a while now, but he couldn’t understand why.

In truth, it was unlikely that the husband of a leader wolf, a man who said that his position as the leader’s husband was less important than the fact that the leader was his lord, would so easily give his heart to a wolf he had just met. Even if he were someone who opened up easily, his tendency to show his favor so openly was strange, given that he prioritized the public over the private.

But strangely, Siol didn’t feel any wariness toward this man either.

After eating his fill, a wave of fatigue washed over him with startling suddenness. He remembered eating his meal and a sweet pudding for dessert.

But did he finish the pudding to the last bite? Did he place the dessert spoon neatly on the table? His memory was hazy.

When he came to his senses, he was already lying in bed. As he stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember where he was, a strange voice called him.

“Siol.”

Startled, Siol flailed and sat up, finding Lipez sitting right beside his bed.

“L-Leader-nim…?”

“Eorzen went out for a moment to check on the ruins. Ryufen got caught by the other wolves. It’s been a while since he returned, so it’ll take some time for him to come back after playing with them to their satisfaction.”

“…Did you intentionally create this time for us to be alone, Leader-nim…?”

“Yes.”

Pale blue moonlight streamed through the window, dyeing Lipez’s silver hair blue. Because of it, Siol couldn’t tell if Lipez’s pale complexion was real or an illusion created by the moonlight.

Siol was not unperceptive. He already knew that Lipez burned with hatred for Eorzen, and Eorzen alone. Perhaps that was why. With Eorzen absent, there was neither hatred nor anger in Lipez’s eyes. Unfortunately, there was no vitality either.

With a deathly expression, Lipez slowly sighed and turned her head toward Siol.

“I thought I should give you a warning before the situation worsens. Alchemist Siol, there is a story you need to know.”

“…What is it?”

“The Blue Dragon is making you misunderstand, isn’t he? He dotes on you so openly, it wouldn’t be strange for you to be mistaken.”

Siol suddenly felt as if his throat were being strangled. He couldn’t breathe properly.

“What… do you mean by that…”

“I know who the dragon’s mate is.”

“…Pardon?”

Lipez turned her gaze to stare at the firelight in the fireplace and continued her story.

“When the witch was still alive, she once came to see me. She told me the Blue Dragon’s mate was here, in the wolf’s territory, and that she intended to find and kill them. So that she could become the Blue Dragon’s mate. But she said it would be no fun to just kill them, so she suggested a game of hide-and-seek.”

“…Nathaniel also likes to play with others.”

“Yes. It seems the mother and son are quite alike.”

Lipez clicked her tongue.

“The witch’s clan is all like that. They look down on others and treat them as a joke. The witch said the dragon’s mate was still very young. She said she would give up if she couldn’t find and kill the Blue Dragon’s mate by the day of the full moon, so I gathered all the young wolves of this land and protected them inside the tower. But… I couldn’t protect them.”

Lipez, who had clenched her teeth for a moment as if to compose herself, looked at Siol and said.

“On the day of the full moon, the witch achieved her goal, Siol.”

The young wolf who was the dragon’s mate had, in the end, lost their life at the witch’s hands that day.

Siol could only stare blankly back at her, unable to say a word. He couldn’t understand. His mind was in turmoil. The Blue Dragon, Eorzen, had definitely pointed to him and said, ‘That child is my mate.’ Eorzen’s and Lipez’s words were making contradictory claims. One of them was lying.

“You don’t want to believe it. I understand. But it is not your fault. The Blue Dragon is a madman who, having not met his mate for so long, has mistaken his affection for love, and you are just a victim. Anyone would be mistaken if they were treated so kindly.”

Lipez’s eyes, which had been listlessly sunken all this time, shone briefly with hatred only when she spoke of Eorzen.

“If you cannot believe me, I will swear on my honor as the leader of Atum that it is not a lie. I know who the dragon’s mate is. The Blue Dragon’s mate does not exist in this world right now.”

Siol looked at Lipez with trembling eyes. He crumpled the sheet in his fist and braced himself for Lipez’s next words.

Lipez looked Siol straight in the eye, as if delivering a final verdict, and said.

“You are not the Blue Dragon’s mate.”