IPDT 24

My eyelids twitched. The eyes that had been shut for a long time seemed as if they would open, then as if they would not. I belatedly realized that I was about to wake up. I don’t want to get up yet. I furrowed my brow, but it was no use. My mind was already clearing.

“Ugh…”

In the end, I surrendered to my fate and opened my eyes. Having just woken up, my vision was hazy and blurred. I blinked a couple of times, then opened my mouth wide and yawned.

“Haaam, huh?”

But something was strange. It felt like my mouth was opening wider than usual. Could it be? I hurriedly lifted my arm. Instead of a long, white arm, I saw the true form of a dragon, covered in golden scales.

“Oh.”

When did I return to my true form? Thinking back to my last memory, I hadn’t returned to my true form on my own. Did I get changed back by force then? It did happen sometimes, when I used my power recklessly.

I blinked my eyes and muttered, “Polymorph.” Immediately, my body shrank, and my familiar human form appeared.

“Hmm.”

Now that I was smaller, the miserably destroyed state of my lair came into view. It seemed that everything in the bedroom had been destroyed when my body grew larger while I was falling asleep.

I scratched my cheek and glanced around. I’ll have Fleabag clean up the messy bedroom. I could clean it with magic, but I just woke up, so it’s a bother.

“Fleabag!”

“Master, you’ve finally woken up!”

As soon as I called his name, Fleabag came running into the bedroom. His fluffy, cheese-colored tail wagged back and forth. He seemed overjoyed that I had woken up. I stroked Fleabag’s head until I left an imprint, then asked the question I was most curious about.

“How long was I asleep?”

“You were asleep for the duration of a full season’s change.”

…For the duration of a season’s change? A whole season really passed? I was flustered by the unexpected answer.

“This Fleabag thought that Master would never wake up…”

“Only one season has passed?”

I had split my great dragon heart in half and given it to a human, so I thought I would be asleep for at least 90,000 years. In fact, a punishment of sleeping for 90,000 years was an incredibly light one. If God had been truly angry, he would have put me to sleep forever and made me a living corpse.

But I woke up after sleeping for only about a season?

“…That’s strange?”

As I tilted my head, my thoughts jumped to something else. I sucked in a sharp breath.

“Wait, wait a minute.”

If it’s been a season, then Yul should still be alive. That is, if he accepted my heart properly!

“What about Yul? What happened to Yul? I sent him to the human world before I fell asleep, he arrived safely, right?”

I put my hands under Fleabag’s armpits and lifted his body up in the air. Fleabag, who had been rubbing his head against my leg affectionately just a moment ago, now had a sour look on his face.

“Yes, well… I believe so.”

“What do you mean, ‘I believe so’? Speak clearly!”

“Aack! Master!”

I pulled on the cheeks of Fleabag, who was ominously trailing off. Fleabag tried to push my hand away with his cotton-puff-like paws, but I didn’t yield. In the end, it was Fleabag who waved the white flag first.

“He arrived safely! He arrived safely, but…”

“He arrived safely, but?”

“…It seems he caused a ruckus after arriving in the human world.”

“Caused a ruckus? How so?”

Fleabag gathered his pink lips into a ‘ㅅ’ shape and crinkled his nose. It was clear he was planning to beat around the bush and stall for time again. I didn’t have time to listen to that. I covered Fleabag’s mouth with my fingers and spoke first.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll see for myself. You just tell me where Yul is.”

I put Fleabag down on the floor haphazardly and tried to use teleportation magic. There was no need to open a gate when I was going alone. As I gathered my mana, I could see shimmering gold particles slowly gathering at my fingertips. However, they dispersed not long after.

“Huh?”

My eyes widened as I looked down at my hand. I did it like I always do, why is this happening?

“Master?”

It seemed Fleabag had noticed the strange occurrence as well. Fleabag, whose expression had been screaming “I object with all my being,” now had wide eyes. I fumbled for my heart and called to Fleabag.

“Fleabag, what happens if you lose one eye?”

“One eye, you say? Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Don’t talk back, just tell me.”

Unable to refuse my prodding, Fleabag rubbed his chin with his cotton-puff-like hand.

“First… your sense of distance decreases and your sensitivity to reactions is dulled. And also—.”

“I think that’s what’s happened to me. I gave half my heart to Yul, you see.”

“Pardon?”

I lowered the hand that had been fumbling over my heart. I had come to my own conclusion as to why the mana had gathered and then dispersed.

“It seems the way I use magic has changed a bit.”

Originally, I used magic by taking all the mana that passed through my heart as easily as breathing, without controlling it, and channeling it into my hand. Gathering the overflowing mana was as easy as drawing water from a river. But now that my heart was torn in half, the amount of mana passing through my heart had also been halved.

At this rate, I couldn’t use my old method of pouring out copious amounts of mana to use magic. In the past, it didn’t matter if I poured out more mana than was needed because I was so full of it, but not anymore.

If so, I must use a different method than before. I began to focus and gather mana at my fingertips. Not with the feeling of pouring it out to overflowing, but with the feeling of matching it perfectly to the water level so it wouldn’t overflow. And then, the mana successfully gathered. Oh my… I let out a deep sigh.

“This is a bit awkward.”

It seemed like using magic would feel a bit awkward for the time being. But it’s not like a huge disaster would happen just because using magic is a bit difficult for a few days. It’s not that I can’t use magic at all, just that I have to use it a bit more leisurely, so what’s the big deal. Nodding in acceptance, I turned back to Fleabag.

“Anyway, where is Yul now?”

“Master, surely… you’re not planning to go to Kwon Yul in your current state?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem?”

As I answered, I felt strangely offended. “Planning to go in your current state?” Does he think I’ve become weak just because I have to be a bit more careful when using magic? I was still the great dragon, the great balancer, Ilyas. No sword or magic could leave a scratch on my body.

So what was with that attitude, treating me as if I were made of sugar cookies? I narrowed my eyes and glared at Fleabag.

“Fleabag, you seem to be treating me like a complete invalid. Do you think I’ve become weak?”

“That is not it!”

Fleabag jumped and shook his head. On top of that, he even drooped the corners of his eyes as if he were wronged. It wasn’t very convincing, but I decided to be magnanimous and let it go just this once. Knowing where Yul was was more important than punishing Fleabag.

“Because Kwon Yul caused such a ruckus, I believe he moved from this kingdom to that kingdom. So now…”

As I stared at him without a word, Fleabag hesitantly opened his mouth. I widened my eyes menacingly to tell him to speak faster. Fleabag hurriedly spit out the words.

“I believe he has returned to the empire where he was first entrusted.”

“Good. I need to go right now.”

“Master!”

Fleabag suddenly clung to my leg. I tried to shake him off, but Fleabag was persistent.

“If you go to the empire, the humans will think you have come to invade!”

“So what, I don’t care what the humans think.”

“You must also consider Kwon Yul’s position! Is Kwon Yul not a human hero? So what will happen if you act familiar with the hero Kwon Yul!”

The leg that had been shaking to get Fleabag off came to a sudden halt. I furtively avoided Fleabag’s gaze and mumbled.

“I could use the excuse that I’m giving the hero a blessing or something…”

“Please think of all the punishments you have inflicted upon the human world over the long years, Master.”

I didn’t do it anymore, but in the past, I had caused all sorts of incidents. I had taught a lesson to a human king who dared to try and make me, the balancer of the world, a symbol of his kingdom, and I had also caused an earthquake as a warning when they started a war and devastated the world. And those incidents were talked about for a long time on the lips of humans as the ‘evil deeds’ of a dragon.

“…You’re right.”

Even if I said I was giving Yul a blessing, the humans wouldn’t believe me. If anything, they’d jump up and down, asking if I was placing a curse on him instead. Then I’d be more of a hindrance than a help to Yul. I really didn’t want that.

I let out a deep sigh and crouched down. With my face buried in my knees, I felt a wave of sorrow. It had been a long time since I felt this kind of unjust and frustrating feeling, but I wasn’t happy about it at all.

“But I want to see Yul. Since I shared my heart with him, I want to ask if all his sickness is healed, and how he’s getting along in the human world. And I’m also curious if he missed me…”

As I muttered gloomily, Fleabag pushed his face toward me. The white-muzzled cat rubbed his cheek against mine.

“Master, isn’t there a way to see him without going there yourself?”

“A way to see him without going myself?”

“Don’t you have the mirror that can show the human world?”

“Ah!”

It had been so long since I used it that I had forgotten it even existed. I jumped up and opened a subspace. After rummaging for a long time, I was able to find a mirror buried under a pile of miscellaneous items. The rustic, wooden full-length mirror saw the light of the world for the first time in a long while.

I leaned the mirror against the wall and stood in front of it. The opaque mirror, as if stained with grime, looked like it couldn’t reflect a single thing, but it was different when I pushed mana into it. I placed my fingertips on the mirror and gathered my mana. Soon, the mirror rippled like water and began to glow brightly.

“Show me Yul.”

At my mutter, the light emanating from the mirror grew more intense. When the light, which poured out as if flooding, became as hot as a flame, someone else’s image began to appear in the mirror. A black-haired human, lying on a bed with one arm covering his eyes.

“It’s Yul.”

He was said to be in the imperial palace, and although it was a bit small, it was a fairly decent room. Thankfully, it seemed the imperial palace was treating Yul as a hero. If they had been mistreating him, I was planning to go see him even if I got a reputation for casting curses, so it was a shame.

“But is it nighttime in the human world…?”

I don’t think so? Then why is Yul’s room as dark as night? As I tilted my head, Yul dropped the arm he had placed over his face. For a moment, it felt like our eyes met. His black eyes, which held no trace of sleepiness, were looking at me coldly.

Of course, Yul had not noticed the mirror’s existence. So, I shamelessly spied on Yul’s day-to-day life through the mirror. I watched him while he ate meat, I watched him while he was lying down, and I watched him while he was sitting. In fact, I was watching Yul’s daily routine all day long.

“He’s become a hero, is someone bothering him?”

Yul, in the human world, never once smiled. He was always on guard against humans with sharp eyes and did not let his guard down even for those who came to serve him. I let my eyebrows droop as I looked at Yul’s furrowed brow. If I were by his side, I would have smoothed out that furrowed brow for him.

“…I can’t do anything for him from beyond the mirror.”

I tapped the mirror with my finger. I did it as if to poke Yul’s cheek, but I only felt the cold touch of glass. I let out a deep sigh and leaned my head against the mirror.

“Even though I’m looking at you, I miss you.”