IPDT 13

Lauren, who had answered with ‘duty,’ showed no stir of emotion on his face.

“Duty, you say…”

The duty of observing the end of the world was mine as well as Lauren’s. But why did Lauren and I feel such different emotions? I felt a very faint curiosity.

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Of what, may I ask?”

“Of upholding your duty. You must be around 3,000 years old, so you’ve been observing this flower field for roughly 3,000 years.”

At my words, Lauren stopped walking. I quietly waited for Lauren, who seemed to be contemplating quite carefully.

“I am not bored.”

“Then what do you feel?”

“…If I had to say, it would be fear.”

“Fear?”

When I tilted my head and asked, Lauren nodded. Then he began to walk one step ahead of me. I hurriedly caught up to Lauren’s pace.

“The fear that the village might collapse if I neglect to watch the border. Fear can prevent one from making a decision, but at times, it can also become a driving force. That is why I do not find observing that place to be boring.”

“Is that so?”

Fear. Does fear make one feel less bored? But even a primal emotion like fear had already grown too faint for me. As more time passed, it too would disappear, just like the emotion of ‘authoritativeness.’

Was that why Yul caught my eye? Because it’s not boring just watching him? Because it feels good just to meet his eyes?

As I was deep in thought, I heard the sound of someone running this way. I lifted my head to see an elf I’d never seen before, panting as he looked at Lauren with desperation.

“Elder Lauren! A human is causing a disturbance in the village!”

I was about to step back and observe, but my eyes widened at the unexpected words. A human? The only human who would be in the elf village was Yul. As soon as I thought that, the nameless elf drove the point home.

“He is the guest the Balancer brought, so we can’t lay a hand on him, but he’s causing such a huge scene…”

“Lead the way. I’ll stop him.”

I cut the elf off and stepped forward. The elf then looked back and forth between me and Lauren, at a loss for what to do. Why is he dawdling like this? I was just about to get frustrated.

“The Balancer is right. Guide him.”

“Yes!”

The moment Lauren’s command was given, the elf took the lead and ran. My brow furrowed sharply. He doesn’t listen to me, but he listens to Lauren’s command?

I wanted to say something, but given the situation, I decided to hold back. I was worried Yul’s wounds might worsen if he kept causing a scene.

As we reached the village, I could feel the commotion. What’s more, from the very entrance of the village, I could see elves gathered in a circle, as if surrounding someone. It was easy to guess that Yul was in the middle of it. I grew anxious. I urgently tapped Lauren’s arm.

“Lauren, Lauren.”

“Yes.”

“Tell the elves to move aside, quickly. What if something serious has happened!”

As I urged him on impatiently, Lauren said a word to the densely packed elves.

“Everyone, please step aside.”

However, the elves only murmured without moving an inch. It seemed they probably hadn’t heard Lauren’s voice. To be fair, Lauren’s voice was as beautiful as a song and as quiet as a forest breeze. So quiet that it wouldn’t be heard at all amidst such a racket.

“Ah, really!”

In the end, I gave up on leaving it to Lauren and pushed my way into the elves myself. Pushing and clearing away whoever I could grab, I soon found myself near the center of the commotion.

Standing on my tiptoes to peer over the needlessly tall elves, I saw a head of black hair. I quickly shoved the elf blocking my way.

“Yul!”

Yul, who had his back to me, turned his head to look at me. At that moment, I was faced with a shocking sight of Yul.

Gasp.

The corner of Yul’s mouth was covered in blood. The blood splattered on his white face was a gruesome red. Yul, looking at me with vacant black eyes, slowly opened his lips.

“Illy…”

“What is all this!”

I rushed over to Yul and grabbed his cheeks. I turned his head this way and that to find the wound, but thankfully, there were no visible external injuries. Then where was he hurt? Was he hurt inside his mouth?

“Where are you hurt? Is your mouth bleeding?”

Yul’s lips twitched as if to say something. I didn’t miss the chance and stuck my fingers into his mouth. I carefully felt the mucous membrane inside, but there were no wounds. I could only feel slick blood. Then what on earth? Why is the corner of his mouth so bloody…

“Ugh, ugh.”

Someone’s pained groan came from not too far away. I turned my head toward the sound without thinking…

“Ah.”

An elf with a bitten ear was sitting there on the ground. Other elves were surrounding him, applying herbs and wrapping something like a bandage around it.

Only then did I grasp the situation. For some reason, Yul had come out of the lodging, and when the elves tried to touch him, it seemed Yul had bitten the elf’s ear. He hadn’t tried to bite me for a while, so I had forgotten.

Clang!

“…!”

As I was staring blankly at the elf, the sound of metal hitting the ground rang out. Startled, I turned my head toward the ground and saw a blood-covered arrowhead. Why did this suddenly fall?

“Where did you go?”

Just then, Yul grabbed both of my arms tightly. One of my arms began to get damp. Yul’s blood was starting to soak into my clothes. …Blood?

“Alone here… I don’t like it.”

I quickly lifted my eyes and saw Yul’s distorted face. He looked like he was about to cry. Yul, whose hands were trembling, hugged me as if to cling to me. Yul’s feverish forehead buried into my shoulder.

“If it’s not you, I don’t like it.”

My body stiffened at Yul’s desperate voice. They were words I never expected to hear in a situation like this. He doesn’t like it if it’s not me. As I blinked in bewilderment, the murmuring of the elves surrounding us subsided.

“I believe… an explanation for this situation is in order.”

It was Lauren’s voice. I looked behind me to see that Lauren had also reached the center of the commotion. It seemed he had followed me in. Thinking he had come at just the right time, I called out to him.

“Lauren.”

The moment I called his name, Yul’s grip tightened. The blood-soaked part of my clothes clung to my skin, and I flinched.

How can he put so much strength in his hands when he’s bleeding so much! At this rate, it would be a huge problem if all the blood drained out of his fragile body. Isn’t his face already deathly pale?

I hurriedly examined Yul’s face. However, instead of paleness, his complexion was filled with fierceness, and his sharp black eyes were glaring daggers at Lauren.

“Yul, what’s wrong?”

I asked while stroking Yul’s blood-stained cheek. He looked like he was about to cry when he saw me, but he gets angry upon seeing Lauren. Considering he was holding the arrowhead too, Yul’s state didn’t seem normal. He needed to cool his head a bit.

“Yul, rest for a moment. It will be just a little while.”

I held both of Yul’s cheeks and made him meet my eyes. Yul’s fiercely upturned eyes gradually grew gentle, then soon fluttered shut. Goodness… I felt as sorry as Fleabag’s claw for having to forcibly put him to sleep continuously these past few days. Still, it was all for Yul’s sake.

I supported his limp body and scanned our surroundings. The gazes of the elves watching us were mixed with emotions like surprise, fear, and disgust. I could let the others go, but what was with the disgust? I too scowled just like them.

“I’d also like to know what happened. And why my human was holding something like this.”

With a flick of my finger, the arrowhead on the ground floated up into the air. The blood-stained arrowhead looked sharp and ghastly.

Why was he holding it so tightly? A sense of pity for the sleeping Yul welled up. I was unconsciously stroking his black hair when one of the elves among the onlookers shouted at Lauren.

“That human charged first, bit Raul’s ear, and snatched the arrowhead away!”

Hearing him make it sound like it was all Yul’s fault, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of injustice. There must have been some reason for Yul to cause trouble. Even if not, he must have had some inexplicable reason anyway! I beat Lauren to the punch.

“Don’t make excuses. It’s because you all shot an arrow at my human in the first place that he got scared. He was just trying to protect himself from you!”

The words I blurted out in a fit of anger sounded quite plausible. Come to think of it, Yul’s violent side felt somewhat desperate. Like prey struggling before being eaten by a predator.

Thinking of it that way made me feel a little bad. Was that really it? I just said it on a whim… A deep sigh escaped me. Whatever the truth was, for now, I didn’t want to make a spectacle of the sleeping Yul for the elves to gawk at.

“Lauren.”

“Yes.”

“Clean this up and follow me.”

Leaving Lauren behind, I turned toward my lodging. The elves blocking the way stepped aside and made a path, as if on cue. Thanks to them, I entered the lodging with ease. As I laid the sleeping Yul on the bed, the dried blood became more visible.

“…It’s not like I enjoy washing you.”

I used a cleaning spell to erase the bloodstains on Yul’s face. Perhaps because his face was much cleaner, his expression also looked a bit more peaceful. I crouched down in front of Yul and quietly gazed at his tranquil face. To think this face was so desperately contorted just a while ago.

“If it’s not you, I don’t like it.”

I mulled over his trembling voice and expression for a moment. For some reason, I felt good.

“Have I become a dependable master to you?”

The words, “I don’t like it if it’s not you,” were so pleasant to hear. It was to the point where I wanted to beg him to say it one more time. Yul would return to the human world in nine years, but until then, I found myself hoping that he would like only me. Because right now, I like Yul the best too. It’s unfair for only one person to do the liking, isn’t it?

As I was grinning and looking at Yul, click, I heard the door open. I knew without needing to turn my head. The only elf who would enter my lodging was Lauren. I simply glanced in his direction and asked.

“Lauren, is everything outside taken care of?”

“The elf who had the dispute with the human seemed to have a wound that could be sealed, so I instructed them to do so. I also told those who were there that I would be speaking with the Balancer, and asked them to disperse. By now, they should all be scattered and doing what they need to do.”

“Good job.”

I tossed him a compliment and shut my mouth. I had told Lauren to follow me earlier because I had something to say to him, but now, I didn’t really feel like talking. Looking at Yul’s face was more fun than chattering away at Lauren.

How much time had passed since I sat in front of the bed, ignoring Lauren? Lauren, who had been maintaining his silence, began to speak in a voice as pleasant as the sound of wind rustling through a forest.

“Balancer.”

“Hm?”

“How did you come to form a relationship with the human?”

“Hmm, you mean Yul and me? I picked Yul up. In an alley, it looked like he was about to have something bad done to him. Besides, Yul has black hair and black eyes. It’s so unusual that I wanted to keep him by my side and see.”

I found myself rambling on with an answer, and then a thought struck me.

“But why do you ask?”

“With all due respect, we elves came into the forest to avoid humans. Because humans are greedy and unfaithful. We tried to coexist with them, but we ultimately failed. Nevertheless, we have still kept an eye on the human world and have been observing them continuously.”

“Wait, hold on a minute.”