IPDT 10

“I’ll teach you how to dance. It’s the dance for this song.”

I quickly got up from the rock and extended my hand to Yul. After just looking at me for a moment, Yul took my hand and stood up.

“Have you danced much before? Like a waltz, or something like that.”

“…Waltz?”

“Hmm, you don’t know it. That’s okay. I’ll teach you!”

The song flowing from the village and the sound of the waves mingled together. Listening to that pleasant sound, I stood in front of Yul. The tips of his shoes and my shoes touched. Yul’s black eyes trembled briefly.

“Yul, put one hand on my waist. Yes, like that.”

Yul hesitantly placed his hand on my waist. Our bodies drew even closer. Yul, who had been gazing at my face, turned his head again to look at the sea.

Does he like the sea that much? A question arose as to why he kept looking toward the sea, but I decided to set it aside for now. The sound of the song was gradually building to a climax.

“I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder, okay?”

“…”

When I placed my hand on it, Yul’s shoulder tensed up. His black eyes, which had been turned to the sea, came back to me. His shimmering gaze was like the night sea. I smiled foolishly and held out my hand in front of Yul.

“Here, place your hand here.”

Yul, who had been just staring at me, let out a small sigh. Then, he obediently placed his hand on top of mine. I gently grasped his hand.

“This is the basic posture. Hmm, and now, try moving your left foot back. Yes. After that, put your right foot forward…”

With the cool scent of the water that I could feel every time the waves rolled in, the sound of music from afar, and the sparkling starlight as our backdrop, I danced with Yul. Yul followed my instructions with awkward movements, even stepping on my feet a few times. I burst into laughter at his clumsy footwork, and Yul’s ears turned bright red.

Watching his red ears, which he tried to hide but couldn’t, made me genuinely happy. The rhythm of our dance soon fell apart, becoming nothing more than comical gestures.

“Ah.”

Just then, cold water touched the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw that it was raining from the sky. It was a light drizzle.

“It’s raining.”

Yul followed my gaze and looked up at the sky. The drizzling raindrops clung to Yul’s black hair, looking like dew. He looked just like a fairy. I stared blankly at the sight, then spoke as if entranced.

“Yul, did you know? It’s raining right now because I’m so happy. It rains when I’m happy or sad.”

“…Happy?”

Yul lowered his eyes from the sky to look at me. His black eyes sparkled like obsidian.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re dancing so close like this, and I can see your eyes clearly. That’s why I’m happy. Is that not okay?”

Hearing my words, Yul blinked as if he were stunned. After standing still like that for a while, Yul suddenly ducked his head and buried it in my shoulder. Uh, why is he suddenly doing this? Is he perhaps sick again?

“Yul? Are you sick somewhere?”

I gently shook the shoulders of Yul, who was leaning on me, and he shook his head back and forth. The feeling of his hair brushing against the nape of my neck was ticklish. I swallowed the laugh that almost escaped and rested my head against Yul’s with a thud.

“If you’re sick, you have to tell me right away. When you’re sick, I feel like my heart drops.”

“…Okay.”

“Yes, make sure you tell me.”

I closed my eyes and felt the sea breeze. I could hear the rustling of Yul’s hair. A pleasant scent wafted from his warm, flushed skin, and the arm wrapped around my waist was firm.

I hugged Yul back. The light rain tapped, tap tap, against my head, soaking it.

On the night the festival ended, Yul didn’t lock his bedroom door for the first time in a long time.

I chattered by Yul’s bedside all night, and Yul listened quietly to my words before falling asleep. I never tired of looking at Yul’s beautifully sleeping face. As I traced the straight line from his eyebrows to the tip of his nose and over his quietly closed eyelids with my fingertips held slightly above, the day would break before I knew it.

“Sleep well, Yul.”

Watching the sun rise outside the window, I whispered to Yul in a small voice. Yul was still sleeping, unaware of my whisper. Ugh, he’s so cute. I barely resisted the urge to poke his cheeks and got up from my spot.

When I quietly came out of the room, Fleabag clung to my leg, as if he had been waiting since who knows when.

“Master, are you starting your inspection tour today?”

“Yes.”

“It seems like it has been a long time since you last looked around the world.”

Fleabag’s stiffly raised tail and head rubbed against my calf. I dodged Fleabag, moving my legs this way and that.

“Umm, I was so bored all this time that I didn’t even want to go outside… There might be more places that need repairs than I thought.”

The world was a sandcastle built upon chaos. Chaos, the opposite of order. When it entered the world, humans went mad and livestock fell ill.

As the great Balancer, I had a duty to repair and defend against such chaos so that it could not infiltrate the world. …Although for about 1500 years, I was so bored and fed up that I didn’t care whether the world got sick or not.

In any case, since meeting Yul had shaken off my boredom, I was planning to take care of my backed-up work while I was at it. I opened a subspace and threw in luggage as it came to hand. The subspace, which could be described as a ‘pouch that can hold an infinite number of items,’ swallowed up even a chair and a table.

“Umm, should I pack the rug too?”

My fluffy and plush rug. After a moment’s thought, I decided to take it. I trudged into the bedroom. At that moment, Yul, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, turned to look at me.

“Yul, you’re awake?”

“…”

“Did I wake you?”

Yul shook his head back and forth. That was a relief. I had thought he might have woken up because I was moving about busily packing my things. Phew, I let out a sigh of relief and knelt down in front of Yul.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I grabbed Yul’s bare feet, which were on the rug, lifted them, and pulled the rug out. Yul looked at me as if surprised.

So you liked this rug too, Yul? It’s understandable to be surprised when the soft texture is suddenly snatched from under your feet. But this rug was scheduled to be used as my bed during my inspection tour, so it couldn’t be helped. Ah, while I’m on the inspection tour, should I get a rug for Yul too?

I casually tossed the rug into the subspace and left the room. Then Yul, who had been sitting on the bed, followed me out. Is he going to the restroom? I didn’t think much of it, but Yul wasn’t heading to the restroom, he was following me.

I went into the kitchen, packed some food, and walked toward where Fleabag was. I could see Fleabag, under an invisibility spell, glaring up with displeasure. It was because Yul was still following behind me.

It was truly strange, how Yul, who had been avoiding me like the plague until yesterday, was now trotting after me. Does he perhaps have something to say to me?

“Yul, do you have something to say to me?”

Yul shook his head from side to side. I tilted my head. If he doesn’t have anything to say, why is he following me? I was about to open my mouth to ask when Fleabag’s voice flowed into my mind.

「Master, please let me know when you are ready. I will accompany you on the inspection tour.」

When have I ever gone on an inspection tour without Fleabag? Why is he even asking again? I gave a careless nod and took a step closer to Yul. As if he had been waiting, Yul grabbed my arm. It was like seeing a small child hiding behind a parent, clutching their clothes. Ugh, so cute.

I cautiously reached my hand toward Yul’s head. I was testing the waters, wondering if I would get bitten this time too, but Yul lowered his head. As if he was asking to be petted! The corners of my mouth shot up without me realizing.

“Yul, listen. I’m going to go out for a little while. If you wait for just a week, I’ll be back soon, so…”

“No.”

“Huh?”

I stopped my hand, which had been gently stroking his hair. He doesn’t want to wait? Is he going to try to run away again then? After I’ve been so good to him, how long is he going to keep thinking of running away… As displeasure began to creep in, Yul let out a low voice.

“Together.”

“Together?”

At first, I didn’t understand Yul’s words. The word ‘together’ seemed to have popped out completely without context. But after blinking a couple of times, a thought suddenly struck me. Could it be…

“Are you saying you want to go together?”

Yul nodded. My heart throbbed. Is raising a human a continuous series of touching moments like this?

But separate from feeling touched, I was worried. The barriers that blocked the invasion of chaos were located in treacherous places. From the monster forest, the home of the elves, and the volcanic island, the home of the dwarves, to the northern ice caps where no living creature could survive. They were all harsh places for a fragile human to endure.

“Wouldn’t it be better to wait here?”

“No.”

I asked cautiously, but Yul was stubborn. The way he was biting his lip so tightly showed his determination to never back down.

Honestly, this troublemaker, what kind of accident is he planning to cause there! Even while thinking that, the thought of forcibly leaving Yul behind didn’t occur to me. I seemed to have a real soft spot for Yul.

No, I wasn’t weak. It wasn’t just me; anyone who saw those black eyes would be mesmerized and nod their head. So, it wasn’t that I was weak.

After completing my logical train of thought, I glanced over to where Fleabag was. Fleabag was still glaring at Yul with a displeased look. I sent a thought into Fleabag’s mind.

「Fleabag.」

「Yes, Master! Are you ready?」

「Yes, but I think you’ll have to guard the lair.」

「What? Master, what are you saying! How could you go on a patrol without this Fleabag…」

Leaving Fleabag to his rambling, I held out my hand to Yul. Yul didn’t refuse and placed his hand on top of it.

“Yul, let’s go!”

「Masteeer!」

Ignoring Fleabag’s scream-like cry, I opened a gate. When I jumped into the gate and opened my eyes, Yul and I were standing in the middle of a forest.

A place that felt completely different from the forest leading to the human world, a place with a dark and damp energy. This was the monster forest. The forest where trees and monsters, which had grown to have monstrous appearances by feeding on chaos, lived.

“Yul, be careful not to trip on the tree roots, okay?”

But I didn’t have a single worry. I was a great dragon. Any monster that valued its life would not dare to attack me. And even if they did, I could just beat them up and turn them into fertilizer for this forest.

Holding Yul’s hand, I walked deeper into the forest. For some reason, it felt like we were on a picnic, and my mood lifted.

How much time had passed since we entered the monster forest? I was now in the midst of bitter regret.

“Hah, hah…”

“Yul, are you having a hard time?”

I asked, gently patting the back of Yul, who was panting heavily. Yul wiped his sweat-beaded chin with the back of his hand and shook his head from side to side. He could just say he’s tired if he’s tired. Seeing Yul’s pitiful state, my heart stirred. I was at the point of hating my past self for personally setting up a barrier in the elf village.

Why did I set up a barrier in the elf village…

A long time ago, when I still had a sense of ‘authoritativeness,’ an elf called ‘Elder’ came to visit me. The elder was quite an eloquent speaker, and what he said to me was as follows.

“The elves will gather in the monster forest to build a village, and by living there, we will take your place in your duty to block the chaos. If that happens, you will not have to face the chaos as often as you do now. There is only one thing we ask of you. Please erect a very powerful barrier around our village, one that cannot be breached even by your magic. If you do so, our village will always welcome the great Balancer, and we elves will be eternally subservient to you.”

Thinking back on it, the elder was truly a good talker. I wonder how he managed to spew out words like ‘welcome the great Balancer’ and ‘eternally subservient’ so smoothly without even swallowing once.