IPDT 46

KRAAANG!

As Yul brought his sword down, a tremendous roar echoed out. The sandy ground caved in, and a loess-colored insect was crushed as if by pressure. Crack, crack. Cracks formed on the hard exoskeleton of the antlion, which was now lying on its back, and purple blood leaked out.

Hiss… The soft sand that absorbed the blood was scorched black. It seemed this monster’s blood was acidic. Hmm, acid is a bit dangerous. I used magic to block the monster’s blood from flowing toward us.

Yul, who had leaped high into the air, landed lightly on the sand. The soft sand rose like the wind and mysteriously enveloped Yul. His black hair fluttered softly. My heart pounded. He was so beautiful and cool that my admiration came out on its own.

As I was staring at Yul in a daze, Jibril, who had been hiding behind me, appeared while shaking out his messy hair. No, it wasn’t just his hair; his clothes and face were also a mess. It was because he had been hit by the shockwave created when Yul struck the antlion with his sword.

“An antlion, that was really dangerous. If we had been the ones caught in the antlion’s pit instead of the Hero… just thinking about it is horrifying.”

The antlion was a lowly creature that made a funnel-shaped pit in the sand and hid there, preying on insects that slipped and fell in. The one we encountered was a bit different in that it preyed on humans, not insects.

In any case, Jibril was saying that he was glad it was Yul, and not us, who had stepped into the antlion’s pit. My mood plummeted.

“You’re glad that Yul was caught in the antlion’s trap? You are a very bad person. If Yul had gotten hurt, who would stop the world from ending? Are you going to stop it?”

“Hey! Why are you treating me like trash!”

“You’re the one who made yourself trash. And it’s not ‘we’ who are fine, it would just be you. I don’t get hurt.”

There was no time to bicker with this vile human. Hmph, I snorted and turned my head, and the sound of footsteps on the sand, crunch, crunch, grew closer. It was the sound of Yul walking toward us. I left Jibril behind and quickly approached Yul.

“Yul, you were so cool!”

Yul looked down at me quietly. His gaze was like he was searching for something. My reflection was visible in his pure black eyes, unmixed with any other color.

I tilted my head. Does he have something to say to me? Or did something happen? Just as I was about to open my mouth in concern, Yul cupped my cheek.

“Huh?”

I could feel the warmth from his large hand. Before I could even be surprised that Yul had touched my cheek directly, it was pinched. It didn’t hurt, but it was a bit shocking. It was the first time I, the great Balancer, had ever had my cheek pinched.

“Yuh, wha…?”

With my cheek pinched, my pronunciation slurred. Me, making a sound like a little kid with a missing front tooth. My expression distorted subtly. Regardless, Yul was still looking at my face as if he was trying to find something.

“Hey, I know the mood is nice and all, but the sun is already setting! Are you going to spend the night there?”

Jibril’s voice cut through the space between Yul, whose thoughts I couldn’t guess, and me, who was dumbfounded and confused. Yul, who had slightly furrowed his brow, turned his head to look at Jibril.

“It’s nighttime, nighttime! We need to find a place to hide quickly.”

“I don’t see why we have to do that.”

“I guess you don’t know because this is your first time in the desert, Mr. Hero. The desert is very dangerous at night, you know?”

As soon as Jibril finished speaking, we heard the howling of a monster, ‘Oooooooh—’. Jibril’s face turned deathly pale. He even shivered as if he had gotten goosebumps and hastily looked around.

“It’s already starting.”

After confirming that there were no monsters nearby, Jibril let out a sigh and continued.

“I get that you’re strong, Mr. Hero. But you still have to take care of yourself. Do you think you’ll be safe even if a whole swarm of monsters attacks? There’s no winning against numbers, you see?”

I really didn’t like the way he spoke, but he wasn’t wrong.

Because he had received half of my heart, Yul was the strongest among humans. That was an undeniable fact. Nevertheless, because Yul was human, if dozens of monsters swarmed him, he would inevitably get hurt. He didn’t have a body as sturdy as mine, nor could he use magic as easily as breathing. If possible, I wanted to avoid any option where Yul could get hurt.

“It really could be dangerous. So let’s rest and then go, Yul, okay?”

I tugged on the hem of Yul’s clothes. Yul, who had let go of my cheek, looked at me for a moment, then opened his lips as if he had made up his mind.

“Where are we going.”

Jibril’s face brightened. It was a bonus that my face brightened along with his.

The campsite Jibril guided us to was a ruined city. Traces of life remained here and there, as if people had lived here until very recently. Though, there were no people to be seen.

“Ah, I think I can get some sleep here.”

Jibril, who had laboriously climbed over the collapsed stone walls and pillars, found a relatively flat spot on the ground. Having picked a place to lie down, Jibril kicked away the pebbles with his foot, brought over a blanket from a nearby mud-brick house, and spread it on the ground. Then, without hesitation, he lay down on it. He seemed quite accustomed to sleeping outdoors.

“Jibril, you said you were a prince.”

“Yaaawn, I’m sleepy, let’s talk tomorrow… You should get some sleep too.”

Jibril closed his eyes the moment his head hit the ground and soon fell into a deep sleep, making snoring sounds.

Listening to Jibril’s snores, I looked up at the sky. A dark blue sky sparkling with stars. For some reason, it was a sky that reminded me of when I had invited Yul into my mental world.

“You said you were a dragon’s familiar.”

A voice that woke me from my reverie came through. I turned my head to where Yul was standing.

“But I have never seen you before.”

“H-huh? You’re looking at me right now.”

“I’m saying I never saw you when I was at the dragon’s nest.”

I flinched and my shoulders trembled. My eyes darted back and forth. …Why is he suddenly asking something like this?

“We-well, you see. Back then, thanks to the Dragon’s consideration, I was hiding my appearance, shall we say…? I’m a little shy… That’s right! Because I’m so shy, he hid me so you couldn’t see me.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. During the time Yul stayed in my lair, I did hide Fleabag so Yul couldn’t see him. Even so, Yul didn’t retract his suspicious gaze. I jumped up and down like a wrongfully accused Fleabag.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s true! I’m the one who prepared all your meals while you were staying at the lair!”

「…Wasn’t I the one who prepared the human’s meals?」

I heard Fleabag’s grumbling voice in my head. I tried hard to ignore it, pretending not to hear, and faced Yul.

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

When I answered, nodding my head vigorously, Yul closed his mouth. It seemed he had nothing more to say. As expected, the more cornered you are, the more brazenly you have to act.

But once Yul became quiet, this time I had something I wanted to say. I fiddled with my fingers and carefully opened my mouth.

“Yul, but you know. Don’t hate the dragon too much.”

“…”

“Like you said, he’s dogmatic, so he might not know what he did wrong… but he did it all for you. He didn’t do it with any bad intentions.”

Yul, who was watching me quietly, spoke in his pleasant voice.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“Yeah?”

“If he’s that devoted to me, does that mean he’ll tolerate anything I do?”

As I just blinked, unable to guess his meaning, Yul continued.

“You said he does everything for me. Then he should understand whatever I do. Isn’t that right?”

…Does it work like that? I held my chin and pondered for a moment before quickly reaching a conclusion.

“I’ll try to understand everything, except for things that would get you hurt.”

“You’ll understand?”

“…M-my Master would! Because he likes you a lot.”

The word ‘Master’ felt like it would never stick to my tongue even after ten million years. I glanced at Yul, embarrassed that I had stuttered, but Yul’s face was nonchalant. Yul, who had been looking at me with his jet-black eyes, abruptly turned his back.

“Don’t take that back later.”

“Huh?”

Yul leaned against a nearby pillar and sat down. Seeing him close his eyes, it seemed he planned to sleep there.

Leaving the snoring Jibril, I stealthily approached Yul. Then Yul, who had his eyes closed, slightly opened them to look at me. I stopped in my tracks and pretended to be looking elsewhere for no reason.

“…”

He must have noticed me approaching, but Yul just closed his eyes again without a word. I quietly went and sat down next to Yul. His closed face, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, was beautiful. More so than the starlight twinkling above his head. As I looked at that face as if bewitched, the day soon dawned.

“Gasp, huh. Is it morning already…?”

Jibril, who woke up startled by his own snoring, muttered something, and Yul opened his eyes too. Black pupils, devoid of any sleepiness. I quickly looked away as if I hadn’t been secretly watching him. I couldn’t understand why my heart was pounding when I had nothing to be embarrassed about.

The desert environment was harsh. So much so that even though we were walking in a straight line, we still hadn’t reached our destination, the capital. Every time the wind blew, sand dunes the size of small hills shifted and moved, and the temperature rose to the point where heat hazes shimmered.

Of course, Yul and I were fine, but the problem, once again, was Jibril.

“Jibril, are you okay?”

“Do I, pant, look okay?”

Jibril was dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. His face was also pale, and it looked like he might collapse from dehydration at this rate. It would be a huge problem if the guide who was supposed to lead us to the place with the flower patch collapsed. After glancing at Yul, I reluctantly held out my hand to Jibril.

“Give me your hand.”

“My hand? It’s a bit hot to touch…”

“No back talk, just give it to me, quickly.”

When I gave a stern warning to the dawdling Jibril, he flinched and held out his hand. I pushed cold mana into Jibril’s body. Instantly, Jibril’s complexion brightened considerably.

“Whoa? What is this? It’s less hot than before!”

“…”

Yul glanced at the fussing Jibril before starting to walk ahead again. I quickly followed after him.

How long had we walked and walked? From the desert that had only smelled of baking sand, the scent of water wafted over. It seemed Jibril had caught the scent as well. His eyes, visible beyond his goggles, widened.

“An oasis! We’ll reach the capital soon!”

Jibril, who let out a cheer of ‘Yahoo!’, started running, overtaking Yul. Yul frowned as he watched Jibril run, kicking up sand. Just by his expression, you could tell he disliked Jibril.

Well, I did wonder how many humans Yul actually liked. In any case, I had a reason to chase after Jibril.

“Yul, let’s hurry too!”

I grabbed Yul’s sleeve and pointed in the direction Jibril had run. Yul, letting out a small sigh, quickened his pace.

We found Jibril, who had run ahead, at the oasis. Near the oasis, dirty clothes and smelly shoes were tangled in a mess. Yul frowned as if in disgust, and I blinked, looking at the shameless Jibril.

“Jibril, why are you naked?”

“I took them off because I need to wash. You should wash too, Mr. Hero. We don’t know when we’ll get to wash again.”

Yul walked away from the oasis, as if he didn’t even want to reply. He didn’t go far, just moved to a spot where he couldn’t see Jibril. After confirming that Yul was within my line of sight, I turned my gaze to Jibril.