IPDT 2

I watched the cheering humans and then opened my mouth.

“Can I go now?”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

I asked because I was getting eager to leave, but the man who had been holding the knife suddenly snatched my arm. He was a noticeably ugly man.

“Your skin is so fair and your face is quite pretty… Don’t be in such a hurry, why don’t you stay and enjoy yourself a bit, hm?”

The man pushed his face close to mine. It was an uncomfortably close distance. I pulled my head back awkwardly and frowned.

“Hey, take about two steps back.”

“Hahaha! Take a step back? Young master, it seems you haven’t grasped the situation…”

The man raised the knife again. The sharply honed blade touched my chin. A vile smile appeared on the ugly man’s face.

“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore.”

Really, truly, I tried very hard. But I could not stand it any longer. This was not my fault, but the fault of this man who had shoved his face into mine.

Clang!

I grabbed the blade as it was and crushed it. The blade, which crumpled like clay, could not withstand the pressure and shattered, falling to the ground with a clatter. All the humans in the alley froze in place as if they had turned to stone. I scrubbed my nose with my sleeve.

“Ah, seriously, your breath stinks!”

The humans’ faces turned pale. Their eyes darted back and forth. It was clear they were terrified. However, the humans could not flee a single step from this spot.

“You guys are really lowlifes. You’re as rotten as you smell.”

How could they move when they were caught in a dragon’s binding spell?

“Don’t feel too wronged. Think about what you all did. …Hmm. But why am I explaining myself? I’m a great intelligent being who maintains the balance of the world. I’m not killing you, so doing something like driving you insane is within my rights.”

It was a logic that made one nod in agreement. I held out one hand in the air. The humans, stiff as statues, began to tremble and soon started to shed tears. Wooo, some humans made beast-like sounds. Unfortunately, they did not look pitiable at all.

Crackle. Like static electricity, the humans’ hair shot straight up with a rustle and then settled back down. When I closed my outstretched hand into a fist, the humans slumped to the ground with a thud, thud. Every single one of them was staring into space as if they had lost their minds.

“Greedy humans.”

Tsk, I clicked my tongue and beckoned with my finger. The coins scattered on the ground gathered together and flew into the pouch. I fastened the pouch, now full of gold coins, to my waist and looked toward the entrance of the alley.

“Is Fleabag crying? I should hurry back.”

It was the moment I took a step, thinking of the cheese-colored cat who would be sitting on the bench.

“…Aaaargh!”

A man’s ear-splitting scream came from deeper inside the alley. My feet stopped dead in their tracks. There was a faint smell of blood.

I turned around. The deeper part of the alley was unlit and looked spooky. I blinked blankly and then grinned.

“Somehow, this feels like it’s going to be fun.”

Fleabag is fine on his own, so he can wait a little longer. Without hesitation, I entered the deeper part of the alley.

Using link magic allows one to run as if teleporting, so I was able to arrive at the scene of the incident in no time. I hid my body against the wall and peeked my head out.

“Aargh, ah, argh!”

The large man who was still screaming had his pants down and was crying, and in front of him, a black-haired person was kneeling. The black-haired person’s mouth area was completely covered in blood. A sight like a beast after a hunt. It felt like my nose would go numb from the strong smell of blood.

“Gasp.”

However, what surprised me was not the black-haired person’s blood-soaked appearance. I was rendered speechless by the fact that a human had ‘black hair’.

Black hair!

Black was a color that humans could not possess. Because it was the color of the gods. Wasn’t it only humans of the rank of High Priest who had dark navy hair that was close to black? Then is the black-haired person from the temple?

But why would a person from the temple be in such a state over there? From a quick glance, it seemed like the large man had tried to do something bad to the black-haired person and got more than he bargained for. The black-haired person’s hands were tied behind his back, and the large man’s pants were pulled down to his ankles, so it was almost certain.

But has the temple’s status fallen so much after 1500 years? For a priest to suffer such a harsh ordeal at the hands of a commoner.

But if the temple had faltered, it would have affected me as well… since I am the dragon who maintains the world’s balance in place of the gods.

“Hooook… Heuk, you crazy bastard, die!”

As I was lost in deep thought, a sound like a bear’s roar came from somewhere. Gasp, right, the black-haired person!

“Ah, no.”

The large man, bleeding from his crotch, was about to swing a knife at the black-haired person. I grew anxious. To meet a living being that has piqued my curiosity for the first time in tens of thousands of years, only to see him die right away! That could not happen. I threw myself into the path of the knife the large man was swinging.

Slash!

I felt the sharp, blue blade graze past my chest. My clothes were split in two, revealing my skin.

“Sh, shit, who the hell is this guy!”

The large man seemed surprised by my sudden appearance. Confusion, bewilderment, and pain were all jumbled together in his tear-soaked eyes. I glanced down at the large man’s crotch and shuddered. It was completely severed.

“Since your situation is pitiful, I’ll warn you nicely. Leave the black-haired one and go to a healer quickly. Even if you get treated, you’ll be saying a permanent farewell to that thing between your legs…”

“Die!”

The large man’s eyes suddenly rolled back in his head as he charged at me. His face showed he had completely lost his reason. Honestly, they just do not get it when you try to be nice. I let out a deep sigh, grabbed the large man’s wrist, and twisted it. The knife fell from the large man’s grotesquely contorted hand with a thud.

“Aaaargh!”

“Look at me, I’ll end this quickly.”

I grabbed the screaming large man’s face and forced him to meet my eyes. Fear clouded the large man’s tear-filled eyes. I imbued my voice with mana and murmured.

“Go find a healer. This one’s mine.”

The large man’s pupils went blurry and then refocused. Then, as if he could not see me or the black-haired person, he bolted out of the alley.

“Haeuk, ack! A d, doctor…!”

Finally, it was just me and the black-haired person, with no interruptions. As I glanced back, I saw the black-haired person’s jet-black eyes shining fiercely like a beast’s.

“Gasp.”

I sucked in a breath in surprise.

“Even your eyes are black.”

I had not noticed from a distance, but even his eyes were a pure, deep black. I crouched down in front of the black-haired person and met his gaze. The more I looked, the more fascinating this human was. Where did a human like this come from? I was really glad I had broken my vow and come to the human realm after 1500 years.

“I want to take you to my lair…”

The words slipped out without passing through my thoughts. Gasp, he did not hear that, did he? I quickly clamped my mouth shut and watched the black-haired person’s reaction. However, the black-haired person was still just bristling with hostility. Ahem, ahem, I cleared my throat and changed my words.

“I, I want to take you home.”

Even if he found out I was a dragon, I could just erase his memory, but not getting caught in the first place is the best method.

I glanced at the black-haired person, but he did not seem to care much. That was a relief. I removed the fist that was covering my mouth and squared my shoulders proudly.

“You know, I’m actually incredibly rich. To the point where I can comfortably support one human. So, what I’m saying is… do you want to be my pet… human?”

I stopped myself before saying pet. In terms of species, humans are animals too, but they really hated being called ‘animals’.

“Hm? No? Yes?”

“…”

Even though I kept asking, the black-haired person did not utter a single word. He must be a very quiet type. After waiting for an answer for a good while, I just conveniently took his silence as a yes.

“Good choice. From now on, you’ll live in my house. If you stay with me for… just nine years, I’ll let you do everything you want to do. If you want to become a noble, I can make you a noble. I’m a much more amazing intelligent being than you think.”

Of course, of course. I was the great balancer of the world. As long as I did not cause a problem that would affect the world’s continued existence, I could act as I pleased. The gods decided it so, and I accepted it.

“But you know, your face is covered in blood.”

After the important business was concluded, I mentioned the thing that had been bothering me. Then I reached out my hand toward the blood on the black-haired person’s lips. I was going to wipe it off since it must be uncomfortable. That is, if the previously docile human had not suddenly bared his teeth at that moment.

“Ouch.”

With no time to defend myself, my finger was bitten. The highly agitated black-haired person seemed to genuinely want to bite my finger off. The biting force was getting stronger and stronger.

“Calm down a bit.”

I gave the black-haired person a light flick on the forehead, not hard enough to hurt. At that, thump, the black-haired person collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Oh my.”

A faint bite mark remained on my finger. The black-haired person seemed to be a more wild and violent human than I thought.

“Time to head back. The sun has completely set.”

I heaved the black-haired person over my shoulder. Carrying the limply dangling human, I exited the alley with a cheerful spring in my step.

“Master!”

As I came out carrying the black-haired person, Fleabag came running to me breathlessly. I waved a hand at Fleabag.

“You were out so late, I was worried something had happened. But that… isn’t that a human?”

Fleabag, who had been circling my feet and nagging, finally noticed the human slung over my shoulder. In response, I bent my knees and crouched down. This was to show Fleabag the human’s features up close.

“Yes. But look at this. He has black hair.”

“Gasp.”

Fleabag’s tail puffed up like an ear of corn. I knew he would be surprised. A human with black hair was an unprecedented event in history.

“Isn’t it amazing!”

“Yes, a human with black hair… But what do you intend to do with this human you have brought along?”

“I’m taking him to my lair.”

“What?”

Fleabag blinked as if he had heard something he should not have, then placed his two front paws on my knees.

“Did you not say you would be staying in the human realm for the time being? Have you had a sudden change of heart?”

“Yes. I had a sudden change of heart. Is that not allowed?”

“Th, that is not what I mean. I was just worried about you, Master… Is this not the first time you are bringing a human to your lair?”

“Hmm, not exactly the first time.”

Fleabag would not know, since it was something that happened before he was even born. And ignorance is not a sin. I decided to explain it kindly.

“Fleabag, humans are not very strong. No matter how strong a human is, they probably can’t even scratch one of my claws. This black-haired person is the same. There’s no way a pet human could be a danger to me.”