IPDT 31

I paid the innkeeper for a week’s stay and moved rooms. To the room next to Yul’s, to be precise. Yul told me not to stick to him, but… after seeing his hurt expression, I couldn’t just stand by.

Yul was a human who was not afraid to inflict wounds on his own body. What if he does it again this time? If Yul’s body gets hurt, I will become very sad. It seemed I had developed a fear after Yul died once.

“Master, what do you think you’ll hear by doing that?”

“…Nothing.”

With a sigh, I pulled my ear away from the wall it had been pressed tightly against. I had been trying to listen for any sound from the next room, even holding my breath, but it was as quiet as a mouse. Oh, wait. Fleabag is here, so I shouldn’t say it’s as quiet as a mouse. Let’s say it was as tranquil as my sleep.

“Fleabag, do you think maybe Yul hasn’t come back to his room yet? It’s so quiet…”

“If you are curious, why don’t you use magic to see through the wall?”

“There you go again, saying things that could get us in big trouble. You said we have to treat a teenager with care. What if I look through the wall and he’s doing something embarrassing? I would keep his secret, but think how embarrassed Yul would be!”

When I scolded him, Fleabag drooped his tail with a dejected face. Hmph, it was no use trying to look pitiful. It was Fleabag who had told me to be careful because Yul was a teenager. And yet he forgot this crucial rule. Fleabag deserved to be a little crestfallen.

But even seeing a crestfallen Fleabag didn’t ease my mind. Instead, I grew more anxious. What if Yul really hasn’t come back to the inn? What if he’s harboring malicious thoughts and sharpening a knife in some alley?

“This won’t do. I’m going to step out for a bit, Fleabag.”

“At this time of night, sir?”

“Yes. I need to avoid being seen, so nighttime is actually better.”

Because Yul told me not to stand out. I don’t know how I, the great Balancer, ended up being so mindful of a human’s feelings, but… Yul was such a precious human that I wanted to accommodate him as much as possible.

“You rest here, Fleabag. I’ll just check the vicinity and come back.”

“But I have been resting all day, sir…”

Fleabag gave me a pitiful look, as if asking me to take him along, but I didn’t fall for it. Having Fleabag and Yul together would only lead to noise. The two of them were completely incompatible life forms, after all.

Leaving Fleabag behind, I left the inn. Whoosh, my hair fluttered in the blowing sea breeze. The hood I had casually thrown over my shoulders flapped wildly.

“The wind is blowing hard.”

As I watched the night sky sparkling in time with the sound of the waves, I reached a hand toward my shoulder. It felt like the hood was about to be blown off by the strengthening wind.

“Huh…?”

But there was nothing to grab onto on my shoulder. When I whirled around, my hood was already fluttering away on the wind. Oh dear, I need to find Yul as quickly as possible, really! I was about to use magic to retrieve the hood.

At that moment, the scent of flowers drifted on the wind. A sweet, yet rich smell. I quickly turned my gaze in the direction of the scent. A sun-tanned, bronze-colored hand snatched my hood as it flew away.

“Blondie, you need to hold on to things like this.”

The human who caught my hood was a man with a rather cheerful impression. The man, grinning, strode toward me. The closer he got, the stronger the flower scent became… I looked up at the human.

“I caught this for you, isn’t there a reward?”

The floral scent coming from the man was the scent of the flower that blocked Chaos at the end of the world.

“Smell.”

“Smell?”

I must have mumbled without realizing it. The human repeated my word. I felt strangely offended. For a mere, ordinary human to be repeating my words, not even like Yul learning to speak. But this wasn’t the time to quibble over such things. I looked into the human’s eyes and finished what I was about to say.

“You smell.”

“What?”

As soon as my words were out, displeasure clouded the human’s face. But for whatever reason, he tried to hide his expression and force a smile.

“Blondie, it’s not polite to tell someone you’ve just met that they smell.”

“The flower scent. Where did you get this from.”

I ignored him and said what I had to say. At that, the human’s expression changed subtly. A cynical smile appeared on the face that had surely been wearing a good-natured grin.

“What’s this. I thought you were some pampered dandy visiting Oberon for fun, but you’re also interested in ‘that,’ are you?”

“That?”

I had asked where he had picked up this overpowering flower scent, but the human suddenly started talking about ‘that.’

“Why are you playing coy? You were the one who mentioned the ‘flower scent.’”

“That’s right. But what is ‘that’?”

“You’re going to keep pretending you don’t know? How cute.”

Ha ha, the human laughed out loud and took a step closer.

“Have you ever seen how ‘that’ is used?”

“Used? How?”

“Looks like you’re a newbie who’s never used it before. Well, you do look young.”

The human placed the hood, which he had caught just before it flew away completely, over my shoulder.

“Of course, I have no intention of hiding it just because you’re young. People have things they want to know, even if they’re young. Isn’t that right?”

Looking at the human’s secretly smiling face, a sense of bewilderment washed over me. It was because I had no idea what on earth he was talking about.

Who was young, and what was it that people wanted to know even if they were young? I had only asked about the whereabouts of the ‘flower scent,’ but all I was hearing was utter nonsense.

“So why do you smell like flowers? That flower doesn’t grow here. It’d be best for you to answer honestly while I’m asking nicely.”

“Haha. Don’t rush me, young master. As it is, I’m already filled with the desire to invite you.”

We were getting nowhere. Phew, I let out a long sigh. I was foolish to think for even a moment that I could resolve this with the human through nice words.

I lifted my head and met the human’s eyes. I was planning to cast a spell on him right then and there. But the human, who was wiping under his nose with the back of his hand, spoke first.

“Come here tomorrow morning. Then I’ll take you to a very good place.”

“A good place?”

“That’s right. Because ‘that,’ which the young master is so curious about, is there.”

The human burst out laughing, ha ha ha, as if something was hilarious. Then, with a face still holding traces of laughter, he waved goodbye to me.

“See you tomorrow, then. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Watching the human walk away, I let out a deep breath. As the great Balancer, I knew at least that I shouldn’t just let go of a human reeking of the flower’s scent. This was clearly no ordinary matter. To find traces of a flower that only grows at the end of the world in the human realm.

But I still hadn’t found Yul. Another sigh escaped me.

I was scared. Scared that Yul might get hurt where I couldn’t see him, that he might get sick, and that I might lose him again. Keeping Yul from harm was more important than catching a human who reeked of flower scent.

“I’ll find out tomorrow anyway.”

There was no great difference between today and tomorrow. I turned my back on the departing human and looked around for places Yul might be.

Of course, it was a fool’s errand. No matter where I searched, I couldn’t find a single strand of Yul’s hair. I trudged back to my room with nothing to show for it.

“Master!”

As I entered the room with my shoulders slumped, Fleabag greeted me. I picked up Fleabag, who was trying to climb up my leg, placed him on my shoulder, and looked out the window.

“Ah.”

Pitter, pat, droplets of water tapped against the window. Rain had begun to fall at some point.

The rain that started at night showed no signs of stopping even as morning came. I ignored the downpour and pressed my ear tightly against the wall. There was still no sound coming from the next room.

“Fleabag, you don’t hear any sound from Yul’s room either, right?”

“No, sir. It is as quiet as if there isn’t a single rat.”

Fleabag, who had been listening in on the other side of the wall with me as per my command, answered in a solemn voice. So even Fleabag couldn’t hear anything. I let out a long sigh.

“Yul is in his room, right? He wouldn’t be outside with it raining like this, would he?”

“Didn’t you say his expression soured yesterday when he heard it was going to rain? If he dislikes the rain that much, he wouldn’t want to get hit by a single drop.”

“He didn’t say he dislikes it. Take back what you said about him disliking it!”

Yul didn’t dislike the rain. He had even told me, “I wish it would rain,” before he died by my hand.

There must have been another reason for his hurt expression. For instance, maybe he remembered a time when a pet plant he’d left outside got too much rain and rotted, or recalled a cherished book getting completely soaked in the rain and becoming unreadable. In any case, it wasn’t that Yul disliked the rain.

“…I take it back, sir.”

“Be more careful with your words from now on.”

After graciously forgiving Fleabag, I leaned my back against the wall. Yul must be beyond this wall. Even though he’s not making any sound… I stood with my eyes closed for a moment before moving.

“Yul needs to rest, too. As a hero, he’ll have a lot to do in the future.”

I said, as if making a vow to myself, and picked up the hood I had tossed aside.

“Fleabag, I’m going out for a bit.”

“Where are you going, sir?”

“I told you I met a human yesterday who smelled of the flower of Chaos. That human told me to come out in the morning. I’m going to meet him.”

“Please take me with you, sir!”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Fleabag clung to my foot. With sparkling eyes, Fleabag looked up at me with the most pitiful expression he could muster. His face, which even looked desperate, tugged at my heartstrings today. Maybe it was because I also wanted to look good in Yul’s eyes but couldn’t seem to manage it. I picked Fleabag up and placed him on my palm.

“Alright, let’s go together.”

“Master!”

Fleabag, overjoyed, rubbed his cheek against my hand. So cute. I rubbed Fleabag’s tiny, quail-egg-sized head with my finger and then took a step.

“Then let’s go…”

But my step was halted before I could even take one full one. Fleabag, who had been wearing a happy expression, looked up at me with a quizzical face.

“Wait a minute, Fleabag.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Didn’t you just hear a sound from the next room?”

“I’m not sure, sir. Perhaps you misheard? Master, let’s hurry and uncover the identity of that smelly human!”

Fleabag shook his head from side to side. As if to say he definitely hadn’t heard anything. But even if Fleabag hadn’t heard it, I had clearly heard a sound. It was so small and faint that I was confused whether it was Yul’s voice or just some noise.

“No. Wait a moment.”

“Ma-Master.”

I placed Fleabag on the bed and pressed my ear to the wall. The faint sound I had heard grew closer. I still couldn’t identify its source, but it was definite.

“There is a sound.”

I saw Fleabag flinch and look away. So he had heard it but pretended he hadn’t. When I narrowed my eyes, Fleabag even started to feign ignorance. Should I send him back to Rare form? As I was having that thought, another sound came from beyond the wall.

…Please, stop…

It was a voice strained with anguish. The sound of teeth gritting to endure pain. My heart sank. Did something happen to Yul? Is he hurt somewhere? Why is he making a sound like that?

“Fleabag, I have to go to Yul’s room.”