IPDT 48

“Why are you wearing such a heinous piece of trash on your wrist?”

“Trash!”

This was something I gave to Yul because he said he wanted to hold onto something like a leash instead of just putting me down. And he calls that trash.

No, wait. I, the great one, must endure. Getting angry at an ignorant human was as useless as an elephant getting angry at a gnat. That’s right. How could a human understand my profound intentions.

Hmph, I snorted and was about to ignore him, but this time Jibril pointed at the nape of my neck.

“Wait, wait. What’s that now!”

“What is?”

“The mark on your neck… Don’t tell me while I was unconscious, you guys were… No, right? Please tell me it’s not true.”

Swoosh, Yul, who had been leaning on my shoulder, lifted his head. I regretfully felt my shoulder where the weight of Yul had disappeared. The bite mark Yul had left brushed against my fingertips.

“What in the world are you talking about? The mark on my neck is because Yul bites hard.”

“I-is that so. Mr. Hero bites too… I wonder if he’s even human.”

Jibril, who had glanced at Yul, averted his gaze with a pale face. To shut Jibril’s mumbling mouth, I held out a skewer that was sizzling and cooking over the campfire.

“Stop talking nonsense and eat this.”

“An octopus?”

Jibril, who took the skewer, muttered as if in doubt.

“How did you get an octopus in the desert…, wait. Don’t tell me this is?”

“Yes, it’s the octopus that tried to eat you.”

“Aargh!”

Jibril dropped the skewer as if he had caught a cockroach. I cast a levitation spell on the skewer as it fell to the sandy ground. The falling skewer floated up in mid-air.

“How can I eat this monster! What if I get sick from eating it?”

“It’s fine because I purified it. And this wasn’t a human turned into a monster, but a real octopus. It was just its body that grew bigger from the influence of chaos. I don’t know how it ended up in the middle of the desert either.”

“Ugh…”

Even with my explanation, Jibril’s frown showed no signs of smoothing out. I grabbed the skewer floating in mid-air.

“Don’t eat it if you don’t want to.”

「Master! Please give it to this Fleabag!」

「I’ll give it to you later when everyone’s asleep.」

I put Fleabag’s share of the octopus skewer into a subspace and glanced back at Yul.

“Yul, you don’t want to eat any more?”

“No.”

Sizzle, sizzle, there was only one skewer left grilling on the campfire. I snatched up the last skewer. White steam billowed up from the perfectly cooked, bright red octopus.

“Then I’ll eat it.”

“…Wait!”

I looked at Jibril, still holding the skewer. Jibril, with his face flushed, hung his head low and clutched his stomach.

“L-let me just have a taste.”

“Are you sure it’s just a taste?”

“Argh, fine! Let me have some!”

Jibril snatched the skewer from my hand. I could have not let him take it if I had used my strength, but I am not a vile dragon who torments others with food, so I just gave it to him.

Jibril, who had plopped down on the spot, blew on the steaming octopus leg, hoo, hoo. Jibril, who gulped at the delicious smell wafting from the skewer, took a small bite from the end. A few drops of juice spurted from the plump, white flesh. Jibril closed his eyes as if he were eating the most exquisite delicacy and savored the taste of the skewer.

“It’s frustratingly delicious…”

Jibril muttered and stuffed the skewer into his mouth, chewing it voraciously. It was impressive how he didn’t spit it out even while panting from the heat. The thick octopus leg disappeared in an instant. Jibril licked the remaining wooden skewer regretfully and smacked his lips, smack.

“You, you know a lot about dragons, right.”

The one who spoke to Jibril was none other than Yul. Why is he suddenly asking about dragons? I tried to look back. However, Yul rested his chin on my shoulder, so my head got stuck on his as I tried to turn and stopped.

“Mr. Hero, are you asking me? Ah, I get it! You keep staring at me so scarily… Anyway, among humans, I probably know the most. The first king was very fond of dragons, after all. But why? Is there something you want to ask?”

“Later.”

Yul’s low voice came from right beside my ear. My shoulders flinched reflexively. For some reason, my ear felt ticklish and my heart pounded.

“Don’t you have one more?”

Jibril asked, looking at the skewer regretfully. Only then did the pounding of my heart subside a little.

“No. That was the last one.”

“I should have savored it…”

Jibril muttered in a regretful voice.

The flower patch that had sprouted in the middle of the desert felt strange. It looked all the more so because it was so vibrant, as if it had grown by sucking up all the life force from the surrounding land. Even so, the purple flowers shook their petals beautifully and gave off a sweet scent.

「Who on earth transplanted this flower to the human world? The Elf elder is only interested in protecting his village, isn’t he? I doubt such an elder would have transplanted the flower.」

“It’s the same for Custos, the Dwarf chief. Custos is a dwarf who is only interested in making weapons. Right now, no one can be sure.”

I stretched my hand toward the flower patch. I could feel the golden mana gathering in my hand.

“So what I have to do right now is just to make the buds of this flower close.”

As I focused and gathered the mana, its density gradually increased. With this much mana, I could create a fireball of immense size. Moreover, a single one of those fireballs would be more than enough to destroy a city.

Soon, the massive mana that had gathered in my hand dispersed and covered the entire flower patch. The purple flowers, which had been swaying leisurely, all stopped dead in their tracks at once.

「This is a sight that makes one feel greatness every time it is seen!」

Fleabag, who had poked his head out of my hood, let out an excited voice.

The flowers, enveloped in the golden mana, cowered as if in fear, then soon twisted their petals to form tight buds. Starting from the flowers closest to me to the ones farthest away, they closed their mouths one after another like a wave.

“It’s finished here.”

The flowers blooming in the capital had all been purified. I withdrew my outstretched hand and turned around. Yul and Jibril, who were at risk of being affected by the chaos emitted by the flowers, were standing far away from me. As far as the handcuff I had given Yul would allow.

I walked towards where they were. But the closer I got to the two of them, the more I noticed something strange. Yul and Jibril were standing quite close to each other. Moreover, they seemed to be talking about something. I tilted my head.

“What are they talking about like that?”

「What’s there to talk about for humans? They’re probably just talking about some silly things.」

“You think so?”

But weren’t they close to hating each other? Since when were those two so friendly… For some reason, I was displeased that they were standing together. I strode forward and squeezed in between them.

“…I’ve seen all the records, but there was nothing like that— huh?”

Jibril made a strange sound as he saw me suddenly jump in. I looked back and forth between Jibril and Yul before opening my mouth.

“What were you talking about?”

“Ah, that’s, Mr. Hero was asking about the dra—.”

“It was nothing.”

Yul cut off Jibril, who was about to answer. I looked up at Yul sullenly.

“What do you mean, nothing? Weren’t you asking about the dragon? What was it?”

“Uh, well, you see.”

Jibril glanced at Yul’s side and then flinched as if pricked by a needle. Then, he started looking elsewhere as if to feign ignorance.

I whirled around to look at Yul. However, Yul was just making his usual stoic expression. As if asking, what’s wrong? It seems he definitely did something to Jibril… Just as I narrowed my eyes, Jibril opened his mouth.

“It really was nothing! Mr. Hero was just curious about the dragon, so I answered within the scope of what I knew. The questions were just the kind of things Mr. Hero would be curious about, that’s what it was.”

“So what was that kind of thing.”

“…Whether dragons are really born to protect the world, whether dragons exist only for the sake of the world, well… things like that?”

I bet that wasn’t all he asked. He was definitely hiding something. I took a big step closer, as if to pressure Jibril.

“That’s in the records. But you definitely said, ‘I’ve seen all the records, but there was nothing like that.’”

“No, that’s, I mean.”

Jibril, who looked troubled with his eyebrows drooping, moved his lips. It seemed like if I pushed him just a little more, he would give in and spill the answer. But the moment I opened my mouth, Yul hugged me from behind.

“Yul?”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“It hurts.”

My eyes widened. It hurts? I urgently pushed away Yul, who was hugging me, and turned around. Yul, who looked somewhat dejected, had his eyes cast down. I felt my heart drop. I frantically examined Yul’s body.

“Where does it hurt? Does it hurt a lot?”

Yul, who had kept his mouth shut, held out his hand in front of me. A thin red line was drawn on Yul’s long, white hand. I quickly snatched that hand. Upon careful examination, it wasn’t a major injury, but seemed like a small cut from something sharp.

“How did you get hurt…”

I knew it wasn’t a serious injury, and that a scab would form in a few hours and it would heal soon, but my heart ached. Even though I had offered to be his attendant because I didn’t want to see Yul get hurt, I had let him get hurt again. I wanted to cry. I am the greatest dragon in the world, but in front of Yul, I always seemed to become useless.

“I think I got scratched by a tree branch.”

“I can’t get rid of all the tree branches… Does it sting?”

“A little.”

When I gently felt around the wound, Yul’s eyes narrowed slightly. I hastily stopped rubbing it and let my shoulders slump.

“From now on, I’ll check on you more often so you don’t get hurt again. I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

Yul smiled as if satisfied. I smiled along with the beautifully smiling Yul, then let out a sigh. Even as a hero, Yul still gets hurt. My worries increased.

“I’ve seen it all now, I have…”

I heard Jibril, who was standing beside us, mutter something, but I didn’t pay it any mind. What was important to me was Yul’s health, not Jibril’s whining.

After purifying the capital, we immediately headed to our next destination. The flower patch beyond the capital was not located far away, so we were able to arrive quickly.

I left Yul and Jibril behind and quickly purified the flower patch. Then, after confirming that all the flowers had formed buds, I rejoined the group.

“The purification is done. Where’s the next flower patch besides this one?”