IPDT 45

“You really are a dragon’s familiar. That was amazing.”

“Yes, because I’m the familiar of the great dragon.”

On the way to the bob-haired man’s hideout after purifying the flowers, I ignored the bob-haired man who was praising me and kept my eyes fixed only on Yul. Since I was staring so openly, he must have felt my gaze, but Yul just walked on, looking straight ahead.

“But doesn’t purifying the flowers take a lot of energy? Are you okay?”

“It was about the size of a pond. That much is fine.”

Purifying the flowers was a task that consumed a fair amount of energy, but I wasn’t so weak as to be exhausted after purifying something the size of a pond. I am not such a fragile and feeble dragon. For me to feel tired, it would have to be something on the level of the flower fields on the volcanic island or in the monster forest.

More than that, I was worried about Yul. I didn’t know what he was thinking, but the beating of his heart was unstable. If our eyes met, I could at least ask him what was wrong, but Yul wasn’t giving me even the slightest glance.

As I furtively watched Yul like that, we arrived at the bob-haired man’s hideout before I knew it.

“Come in. This is where I’m staying. A bit shabby, isn’t it?”

The bob-haired man’s hideout was in a tree. It looked like he built it himself, as there were shoddily finished parts here and there. And perhaps because it was in a tree, it was incredibly small.

“Yeah, it is.”

I answered honestly and then let out a sigh, phew. This wouldn’t do. I couldn’t stand the frustration any longer.

I’ll just ask Yul why he’s angry. Just as I made that decision, Yul was the first to slip into the bob-haired man’s hideout.

“Huh?”

“What to do about this. It seems Hero-nim doesn’t think it’s very shabby.”

The bob-haired man, smiling with a smirk, followed him into the hideout. Thanks to that, I was the last to enter the hideout.

“Since we have guests for the first time in a while, shall I get you some tea?”

The inside of the bob-haired man’s hideout was more tolerable than the outside. Though it became cramped and crowded once three people entered. I looked at the bob-haired man shaking a jar of tea leaves and shook my head.

“I’m fine.”

As I answered sullenly, a thought flashed through my mind. Now was my chance to talk to Yul.

“What about you, Yul?”

“Don’t need it.”

Yul answered so firmly that it was impossible to add another word. I let my shoulders slump.

“Really? Then let’s skip tea time and get to the main point.”

The bob-haired man, who had set down the jar of tea leaves with a thud, spread a map on the long table. The map, unfurled with a rustle, depicted the Eastern Continent in detail.

“See this? The places marked with a red X like this are where the flowers have grown.”

Just as the bob-haired man said, red X’s were marked all over the map. I felt a little overwhelmed looking at the X marks drawn all the way to the end of the Eastern Continent.

To think that the race that committed this outrageous act was either the dwarves or the elves. My resolve to punish the culprit, whoever it may be, when they are caught, remained unchanged, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange. It was because when I thought about whether the two races I knew were this vicious, the answer was ‘they are not’.

As I was blinking blankly, the bob-haired man pointed to a part of the map with his finger. I fixed my gaze on the place he indicated.

“We’ve purified the flower field that was in the village, so the next closest place is here.”

“This is your kingdom’s capital.”

“To be precise, it ‘was’ the capital.”

The bob-haired man gave a bitter smile.

“Now, this place is called ‘Takla’. Though I’m probably the only one who calls it that.”

“Takla… Doesn’t that mean tomb?”

“It’s an ancient language, and you know it. Is it because you’re a dragon’s familiar? Anyway, yes, Takla means ‘tomb’ just as you said.”

The bob-haired man’s finger moved to the edge of the Eastern Continent.

“As the flowers started to grow, desertification began. What started at the edge soon encroached upon the kingdom’s capital. People somehow survived, but they were scattered. And in that state, they even went mad.”

The bob-haired man, who had muttered self-deprecatingly, turned his gaze to me.

“But if what you said is true… then if we purify the flowers, even the people who went mad can return to normal. Right?”

“As long as they haven’t directly ingested the flower, they should be able to return.”

“…That’s a relief. Thanks to you, it seems there’s some hope now.”

I stared quietly at the bob-haired man who was murmuring the word ‘hope’. His blood must have thinned considerably, as there was almost no resemblance to Nassyr, the first king. Still, the eyes that pursued hope seemed to resemble Nassyr a little.

“You, you want to rebuild the kingdom, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’ve lived my entire life as a prince of the kingdom. So if I lose my position so meaninglessly, my past life would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? I have to try everything I can.”

The bob-haired man, speaking in a cheerful voice, shifted his gaze to Yul. Yul met the bob-haired man’s gaze with an emotionless face. The bob-haired man’s shoulders flinched, and he hid his trembling hands behind his back and smiled.

“So, I’m asking you a favor, Hero-nim. Please help me.”

“…”

As Yul stared without answering, the bob-haired man’s face grew progressively paler.

Yul was showing hostility toward the bob-haired man. I could tell just by looking at the formless energy radiating from Yul. He’s seemed to be in a bad mood since earlier, is he trying to take it out on the bob-haired man?

“Yul, why are you angry?”

I finally asked what I had been wanting to ask since earlier. Yul, who had been looking only at the bob-haired man, turned his head to me.

“Let’s go.”

But instead of answering my question, Yul said something completely different.

“Right now.”

After saying that, Yul left the bob-haired man’s hideout. Just like before, when he had been the first to set foot in the hideout.

“You’re leaving right now? No, Hero-nim! What are you doing, going alone!”

The bob-haired man then rushed out after Yul. I blinked blankly for a moment, then hurriedly went outside the hideout.

“Yul, let’s go together!”

The bob-haired man and I chased after Yul’s heels like chicks following their mother duck.

Just as the bob-haired man, no, Jibril, said, the kingdom’s capital had turned into a desert. Under the blazing sun, a landscape of a wide, sandy plain that crunched underfoot continued on.

I, a dragon strong against both heat and cold, had no problem, but Jibril was different. He chased after Yul and me, panting heavily.

“Slow, ugh, let’s go a bit slower!”

I turned my head toward the pitifully panting Jibril.

“Yul, who is a fellow human, is fine, so why are you struggling so much.”

“That person is a hero, you think he can be compared to me, ugh!”

Jibril exclaimed as if it was unfair, looking at Yul who was walking ahead. Indeed, Yul, unlike Jibril, looked perfectly fine. Despite being under the scorching sun, he wasn’t sweating a single drop. Just like me.

“Ugh, damn. If the dragon had come in person, we wouldn’t have to go through this hardship. If the dragon were here, I could ask for some teleportation magic, ugh.”

As I was looking at Yul’s back, I heard something that grated on my ears. I narrowed my eyes into triangles and glared at Jibril.

“You, what’s with that insolent tone. Is the dragon your friend? Do you want to become a human who sheds tears just at the mention of the word ‘dragon’?”

“It’s not that, no, but why are you speaking so harshly! …No, I’m sorry.”

Jibril, seeing my fierce face, lowered his eyes and quickly apologized.

“Anyway… dragons can ‘polymorph,’ can’t they? Isn’t there something like in the myths, where they come in the form of an old man and help humans?”

Jibril muttered with a deep sigh. Listening to his voice, hmph, a snort escaped me automatically.

Helping humans. He seems to think a dragon is some kind of leisurely saint, but a dragon is a very busy creature. Not only does it have to maintain the balance of the world as if breathing, but it is now an existence that also serves as Yul’s servant. I was about to fire a sharp remark at the foolish Jibril.

“What did you just say.”

“Huh?”

That is, if Yul, who had been walking ahead, hadn’t approached us.

“I didn’t say much… but it’s right to answer when asked. Haha, did I say something like, ‘a dragon comes in the form of an old man and helps humans’?”

“…An old man?”

Yul, who muttered softly, turned his gaze to me. Not knowing what was going on, I blinked and then opened my mouth.

“Yul, why? Do you have something to say to me?”

Yul, who was looking at me, frowned. Then, with a somewhat complicated gaze, he began to scan me up and down. I also looked down at my own body. Other than my legs getting shorter, there’s nothing else unusual?

“…”

Yul, who had been staring at me for a while, turned around without a word and walked away. What just happened? As I was blinking blankly, it seemed Jibril felt the same way.

“What was that just now?”

Those were my thoughts exactly.