IPDT 34

“The hero can stay here. This person’s room is…”

“Viviana, are you free tonight?”

At my question, Viviana’s eyes widened. She seemed flustered. However, the surprise that appeared on Viviana’s face soon turned into displeasure. It was as Viviana frowned and moved her lips to retort something.

“Ha.”

I heard Yul’s laughter from above my head. Huh? Yul laughed? I snapped my head up, and the scruff of my neck was grabbed. I was lifted like a piece of clothing on a hanger.

“Yul?”

Instead of answering, Yul dragged me and threw me into the room. Bang! The sound of the door closing was loud. At the same time, Yul stood blocking my path. He also grabbed me by the collar.

“You said you’d explain, but I see you said you’d stay to show me this kind of thing?”

“…But I didn’t show you anything?”

I thought about it carefully, but I really hadn’t shown him anything. I hadn’t taken out my wings, nor my tail. I hadn’t revealed my grand and magnificent true form either… What on earth did I show him?

“What are you going to do with that woman, meeting her at night.”

“Meeting at night is, of course…”

I was about to say, because I have something to say secretly, avoiding the Margrave’s eyes. That is, if a thought hadn’t flashed through my mind.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Yul! You’re thinking I’m trying to mate with a human, aren’t you! But it will never, ever happen. I don’t do it with humans!”

“You don’t?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not that kind of an immoral creature. Really! The reason I was trying to meet Viviana at night was because I had something to say in secret. Yul, did you know that a flower is growing at the end of the world?”

Yul, who was frowning, spoke in a low voice.

“A flower?”

“Yes, a flower. Humans don’t know. Because they’ve never been there. But there’s definitely a flower at the end of the world. When God created the world, a byproduct called ‘Chaos’ was also created. But Chaos is a power that becomes dangerous if a fragile creature like a human gets close to it. If exposed for a long time, they can no longer maintain their human form and become monsters. So God buried Chaos deep under this land and tied it down. The flower that grows at the end of the world plays that role.”

“So.”

“That flower should only be at the end of the world, but for some reason, it seems to have flowed into the human world. In the midst of that, I heard that ‘Igor Javier’ is spreading that flower in the human world. I want to ask Igor himself how it happened, but Margrave Javier seems to favor Igor. If something bad happens to Igor, the responsibility will surely fall on you. I don’t want you, the hero, to go through such troublesome things.”

A gloomy emotion surged in Yul’s black eyes as he looked down at me.

“Listening to you, I have a question. Why are you here.”

“Huh?”

“Why did your master send you to me? Because I’m a hero?”

It was true, since he was a hero, and I came because I was worried he’d get hurt. I nodded my head.

“Yes, that’s right. I came because I was worried you’d get hurt.”

As soon as my words ended, Yul roughly let go of the hand that was gripping my collar.

“Get out.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re done talking, go.”

As if words weren’t enough, Yul pushed my back and shoved me out the door. While I was going ‘Huh? Huh?’, the door slammed shut behind me with a bang. I looked back at the firmly closed door and blinked. It seemed I had been kicked out, by Yul.

I barely composed myself by looking back on Yul’s adolescent years. Right, Yul must have needed his personal time too. He probably didn’t mean to kick me out. Yes, yes. Thinking like that made my gloomy mood feel as if it had been washed away. With a light heart, I was about to go to Viviana’s room. Alone.

“Yul, why were you in front of my room?”

But why am I walking down the corridor with Yul right now? I thought he wouldn’t talk to me until at least tomorrow. As I quietly looked up, my eyes met Yul’s.

“What do I have to trust you with to send you alone at this time of night.”

“Is that because you’re worried about me?”

Yul, who was quietly looking down at me, shook his head.

“Let’s not even talk about it.”

“You can keep talking though…”

Even when I glanced at Yul, he didn’t speak to me anymore. I slumped my shoulders. Couldn’t he let me hear his voice a little? It’s pleasant to listen to. It was a real shame.

As we continued to walk in silence, we soon arrived in front of Viviana’s room. Finally, an opportunity to talk to Yul had arisen. I immediately looked up at Yul. His black hair and black eyes, his pretty face no matter when I saw it, were illuminated by the moonlight. The corners of my mouth, beyond my control, relaxed into a gentle smile.

“This is Viviana’s room.”

Contrary to my smile, Yul’s face hardened.

“How did you know where that woman’s room was.”

“If I use magic, I can find the location. Yul, should I show you too?”

“Not necessary.”

Yul cut me off coldly. In the old days, he would have asked me to show him. But the chance isn’t only this once! I didn’t ask Yul a second time and knocked on the door, knock knock. Viviana’s voice came from inside.

“Who is it?”

“I said we should meet at night, remember?”

“…I have no memory of accepting that promise. Please leave.”

Viviana answered firmly. Displeasure and wariness were mixed in her voice. Instead of knocking again, I said something that would entice Viviana.

“Not even if I want to talk about Igor Javier?”

Viviana’s silence lengthened. She seemed to be thinking about the meaning of my question. I leisurely waited for Viviana’s deliberation. No, I was trying to wait. If it weren’t for the shing, the sound of a sword being drawn next to me.

“Yul? Why the sword?”

“It’ll be over if I just kill one person, why do I have to wait?”

The ‘one person’ Yul was talking about was clearly pointing to Igor Javier. Oh, no! I resisted the urge to jump up and down and quickly stood in front of Yul. Yul’s eyes, looking at me, turned cold.

“What is it you wish to say about my brother?”

Just in time, Viviana’s voice came from inside the door. I proudly straightened my shoulders and smiled. See, if you just wait a little, it gets resolved well! At the same time, Yul’s expression crumpled slightly.

“Igor is committing an act that could bring about the destruction of the world. Aren’t you curious what it is?”

“…”

“Why are you hesitating? Viviana, you want to push Igor out of the successor’s position.”

The moment my words ended, the firmly closed door opened. A demonic glint flickered in the eyes of Viviana, who was wearing an overcoat over her indoor clothes and holding a lantern.

“What is it you want to say?”

“I also want the Margrave to give up on Igor. With the Margrave having designated Igor as his successor, if a problem arises with Igor now, Yul… no, the hero will clearly get his feet caught. That’s why I need your help, Viviana.”

“…Are you not the hero’s guide? What can you do for me that you propose so confidently?”

My mood dropped in an instant. I decided to correct this foolish human’s misunderstanding.

“There are two things to correct. First, I am not a guide, but Yul’s attendant. And I am not a being that does things for you. Find another human to wait on you. You’re the one who will be moving.”

“Ha, have you come to joke with me at this late hour?”

“Hear me out first. Igor is spreading drugs in the empire. And I can guarantee, the drugs Igor brought were not created within the empire. This is the Margrave’s fief, which borders another country. But by what means is Igor bringing in drugs from another country? Moreover, what Igor is doing now is an act that will bring about the destruction of the world.”

Viviana’s pupils trembled greatly. It was a face that said she hadn’t expected it at all, even though it was about her own brother. It was also an expression of disbelief. Hmm, does the destruction of the world sound like a distant story? Then I’ll have to give her some certainty… I glanced at Yul’s expression.

“The hero didn’t just come here for nothing. Right, Yul?”

“…”

Yul, who was looking at me with his black eyes, nonchalantly turned his head away. Phew, that was a relief. That he didn’t rebuke me at a time like this, saying ‘don’t talk nonsense’.

“…What should I give you?”

It seemed her faith was established only after I mentioned the hero’s position. Viviana asked in a tense voice.

Finally, we can talk. I clapped my hands once, clap, and smiled. Viviana was a human who was quite easy to talk to. Of course, not as much as Yul.

“Hand over Igor.”

Once I had Igor in my hands, I was going to ask. Whether the race that processed that flower into a drug and gave it to you was a dwarf, an elf, or a human.

I couldn’t rashly go to an elf or dwarf village because I couldn’t specify it yet. Besides, if I went there alone, my plan to look good to Yul would be for naught.

Of course, there was a way to go together, but Yul, being the ‘hero’, was not a being I could take along like a pet, so it was difficult.

And before catching the culprit, I also had to do the work of purifying the power of Chaos that had spread in the human world. So I needed Igor even more. Because only by tracing back where the distribution of this flower started could I completely finish the purification.

“If I hand over Igor, what will you do to him?”

Viviana asked in a trembling voice. It seemed she disliked her brother but didn’t wish for him to die. But that wish could not be granted.

“Don’t worry about it. Igor is no longer the brother you knew. He’s already half a monster.”

Those disgusting eyes that had scanned Yul. Igor was already becoming a monster. I could tell just by looking at his long, vertical pupils, which were not like a human’s.

“What is that…”

Viviana gasped.

“Ahem, my daughter is not feeling well today, so she was unable to join us for luncheon. Please be generous and forgive her.”

“It’s alright. She’s sick, after all.”

When I answered instead of Yul, the Margrave’s eyes narrowed. Hmph, look at me like that all you want. The Margrave, the very model of a foolish human, was on the same level as an ant to me.

I tore my eyes away from the Margrave and looked at Igor Javier, who was sitting opposite me. Igor, whose eyes were darkly discolored, was holding a fork and poking at his plate, but he hadn’t eaten a single bite of the food.

“Igor.”

At my call, Igor’s eyes slowly turned toward me. As our eyes met, the disgusting smell intensified.

“It seems the food is not to your taste.”

A gurgling sound came from the corner of Igor’s mouth. It was a very low sound that humans couldn’t hear.

“Or are you full right now?”

“…”

Igor smelled of rotting corpses. But this smell was likely not coming from Igor himself. For one, Igor was a living, moving creature. There was no creature in this world that exuded the stench of a corpse while being perfectly alive.

Then what was the disgusting smell coming from Igor? I knew the answer.

Igor had already laid his hands on a human. Meaning, he had eaten one.

“Igor, what did you eat before the luncheon?”

The Margrave, who heard my words, looked at Igor’s plate. The food, which had only been poked at and not eaten, was messy to the point of being hard to look at. The Margrave’s brow furrowed.