IPDT 33

Even after I finished speaking, Yul remained silent. Moreover, the way his lips were pressed firmly together made it seem like he had nothing to say in response. If he was done speaking, then it was my turn. I opened my mouth to ask something I had been curious about for a while.

“By the way, how did you know where I was?”

Yul’s black eyes trembled briefly. It didn’t seem to be because he was scared or nervous. What was that emotion again? Ah, bewilderment. Yes, it looked closest to bewilderment.

As soon as I read Yul’s emotion, he sharply shook off the hand that had been holding my chin. Then, he also removed the hand that had been braced by my head and turned his back as if to leave.

I habitually started to follow Yul but stopped short. It occurred to me that I hadn’t dealt with the people who had taken the drug because Yul had dragged me out by the scruff of my neck.

Yul probably wouldn’t care much whether I followed him or not anyway, so I should go back for a moment. It was as I was stealthily backing away. Yul, who was ahead and about to exit the alley, turned his head and looked at me. His black eyes glinted menacingly.

“Follow me before I kill you.”

“I told you I can’t die…”

Why does he keep saying he’ll kill me? Did I do something to upset Yul without realizing it? As my shoulders slumped, drained of energy, Yul walked toward me.

Is he going to swing his sword again this time? As I thought this listlessly, Yul passed by me and went deeper into the alley. …Huh? He’s going into the alley, not for me? I hurriedly followed after Yul.

“Yul, where are you going?”

“To where the druggies are.”

“Why are you going there?”

“Because you were thinking of going back there.”

Yul stopped walking and looked down at me.

“If I kill them all, you won’t feel like going, right?”

What Yul meant seemed to be, ‘If all the humans are dead, I won’t think of going to that place.’ It was true, but it wasn’t right for Yul to kill the humans there. It wasn’t that Yul’s killing was wrong, but the problem was with those humans.

They were already walking Chaos itself. If Yul killed them, he, being in close proximity, would surely be tainted. That alone had to be prevented.

“You’ve misunderstood! I had no intention of going there at all. Really. If this is a lie, I’ll become a lizard’s familiar, not a dragon’s. Gasp, my shoelace is untied? You have to wait and not go for a moment, okay?”

Yul’s expression crumpled as if in disapproval, but I paid him no mind and bent my knees to sit. Yul stood still in that spot and looked down at me. It seemed he had decided to actually wait since I told him not to go.

My heart throbbed for no reason. It was as moving as the time Yul stopped trying to bite me. Oh, wait, this isn’t the time for this. I quickly connected with Fleabag mentally.

“Fleabag!”

“Yes, Master! Have you finally decided to give that impertinent human a piece of your mind?”

“It’s not that! Phew. Stop with the nonsense, I’ll share my power with you, so can you go into the alley in my place? You saw it too, so you know, right? You just need to purify the Chaos spread by the humans.”

The Chaos that had already begun to spread was like water, impossible to gather back up. It meant you couldn’t collect it grain by grain like sand and bury it underground.

Therefore, the only way to erase Chaos from the world was through purification, and purification was the act of burning Chaos with my power. Just like incinerating trash.

“Understood.”

Fleabag, who had muttered grimly, slid down from my hood. I confirmed that the small mouse had slipped out from under the hood and disappeared into the alley, then stood up.

“Ah, all tied. Let’s hurry back!”

I subconsciously reached for Yul’s hand before belatedly remembering that I shouldn’t touch him. But since I had already extended my hand, I carefully grabbed only his sleeve.

Yul glanced at my hand with his black eyes. Is he going to push me away again? As I hesitated and watched Yul’s reaction, he started to walk ahead without a word. Huh?

“Yul, you’re not shaking my hand off?”

“…”

Yul’s steps came to a halt.

“Let go.”

I shouldn’t have asked. I slumped my shoulders and let go of Yul’s sleeve.

The departure day of the boat to the Javier fief finally dawned. I had carefully packed Fleabag and my hood and came out to the docks with Yul. The supervisor, who was already standing by the pier, spotted us and smiled welcomingly.

“Welcome, welcome! The weather is clear today, so it’s a perfect day for sailing. I was quite worried when you said you wanted to take a boat when it was about to pour rain, but it seems it all turned out this way so you could go on the best day!”

The supervisor, who laughed heartily, continued speaking as he issued the boat tickets.

“And you two are very lucky.”

“Lucky?”

“They say a group of people were found dead yesterday. It seems they all died at the same time, and thanks to that, this whole area is in an uproar. Well, from what I heard from a soldier I know, there were no signs of homicide, so they’ll likely conclude it as suicide, but you wouldn’t want to be in a place when things are unsettling, would you?”

What the supervisor was talking about seemed to be the final moments of the humans I had seen that day. They probably died during Fleabag’s purification process. But they had brought it upon themselves, so there was no need to feel sorry for them.

I put my hand inside my hood to praise Fleabag, who must have done his best to purify that place. As I rubbed his small head, Fleabag also rubbed his head against my finger.

“But did you two already know about it?”

“Huh?”

“Your faces don’t look very surprised to hear that a group of people died. Gosh, I thought I was the first to hear about it…”

I knew because it was my doing, but Yul too? I glanced up at Yul. Yul was looking somewhere in the village with a slight frown, and just as the supervisor said, he seemed to know something.

Uh oh… Don’t tell me he went back to that place after Fleabag took care of it? Because he said he would kill them?

“Anyway, welcome aboard our ship. We’ll get you there safely, so don’t you worry. Well, you might have to worry a bit if you get seasick.”

The supervisor grinned as if making a joke and then opened the entrance to the ship.

Just as the supervisor had boasted, we arrived safely at the Javier fief. Also, Fleabag suffered from extreme seasickness.

Leaving Fleabag, who disappeared while retching as soon as we set foot on land, Yul and I rode in a carriage provided by Margrave Javier to our destination. Since Fleabag was a familiar anyway, he could quickly return to me even if we were separated.

Passing through a city that seemed somehow barren and rigid, we soon entered the castle where the Margrave was staying.

“Welcome!”

Margrave Javier was an old man with a full head of white hair. But as a human who protected the border, his physique was no less than that of a young man. Even standing at the entrance of the enormous castle, he did not look like a shabby old man.

“You must have had a hard time coming. Hero, and…”

The Margrave, who had been smiling benevolently at Yul, looked at me. He probably didn’t know what to call me. I snorted lightly. I didn’t need any title given to me by a human. I was the great Balancer of the world, and Yul’s attendant.

“Guide.”

“Ah, a guide.”

But Yul introduced me as a ‘guide.’ I turned to look at Yul in shock, but he didn’t even glance at me.

“We have already prepared a room for you to stay in. This way for guidance…”

“Not necessary.”

“Pardon?”

“Information about the dragon, bring it.”

Yul, who simply finished what he had to say regardless of what Margrave Javier said, gestured his head toward me.

“Give the information to this one.”

Yul seemed to remember my excuse that I ‘needed to find information about the dragon in the Javier fief.’ The Margrave’s hesitant gaze turned to me.

Ah, come to think of it, I need to find out about ‘Igor Javier’ too!

“Before that, I have something to ask. Are you ‘Igor Javier’?”

“The hero’s guide is quite blunt.”

Margrave Javier frowned as if displeased. However, after meeting Yul’s eyes, he shyly shrugged his shoulders like a docile animal.

“Why do you ask that.”

“Yes or no, answer with one of the two. Are you Igor?”

The Margrave hesitated for a moment before answering.

“…Igor is my child.”

Then, as if he thought his explanation was insufficient, he added more.

“He is the son who will succeed me in the future. As it happens, he is coming over there now.”

The Margrave’s gaze turned toward the door. When I turned my head, I saw a lanky man and a woman in a black dress. The Margrave introduced them in turn as they came to stand beside him.

“This is Igor, and this child is my daughter, Viviana. Greet them. They are the Hero and the guide.”

Igor, who had dark circles around his eyes, looked Yul up and down and then dawdled without greeting him. He seemed to be displeased with something.

I narrowed my eyes into triangles. The way he was scanning Yul with those disgusting eyes felt like a crime. It was the moment another reason for Igor Javier to die was added.

But if I were to grab Igor by the neck right here and now, the Margrave wouldn’t stand by idly. Of course, it didn’t matter to me whether a human stood by idly or not, but it wasn’t the same for Yul. Besides, if I stepped in, the hero Yul’s honor would surely be tarnished. Endure it, endure! I can endure it because I am the great Balancer!

After barely calming myself down, I turned my eyes to Viviana. Viviana was a human with a gentle impression, but her gaze toward Igor was cold.

Huh? Something…? It was as I was tilting my head at the strange atmosphere. Viviana, who had quietly averted her gaze from Igor, held the hem of her skirt and bowed her head.

“So, the information?”

However, the impatient Yul didn’t even glance at Igor and Viviana and pressed the Margrave. I hurriedly grabbed Yul’s sleeve. Yul looked down at me with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Yul, can’t we stay here for just a little while before we go?”

“Why should I listen to you? And who is ‘we’?”

“First, just lend me your ear. You’re so tall my mouth can’t reach.”

It was a little upsetting that he told me not to call us ‘we’, but that wasn’t the urgent matter. Persuading Yul to stay at the Margrave’s castle came first.

As I gestured, Yul, who had been looking at me without a word, let out a sigh. Then he bent his waist slightly to lower himself. I stood on my tiptoes, not wanting to miss the opportunity.

“Can I explain it to you in the room in a little bit?”

I whispered to Yul and lowered my heels. Yul looked at me quietly with his black eyes. I blinked my large eyes a couple of times instead of speaking. You’ll allow it, right? That was the meaning of the blinks. Yul turned his head away from me without a word. Yul’s silence was an affirmation.

“I’ve finished talking with the hero. We’re going to stay here for a few days.”

“…”

“Where is our room?”

The Margrave raised his eyebrows significantly. Just like the father of the impertinent Igor, he was acting just as impertinently, failing to recognize me, a great intelligent being. But I, being the more highly evolved one, should endure. This father and son should be grateful to Yul.

“Viviana!”

“Yes.”

“You will guide them.”

When the Margrave commanded, Viviana bit her lip before answering slowly.

“…Yes.”

We followed Viviana down the castle’s corridor. After walking for quite some time, Viviana stopped in front of a certain room. She looked at Yul once, and then at me. Our eyes met.