IPDT 49

“Hold on.”

Jibril crouched down on the ground and spread out a map. Then he took a pen from his waist and drew a circle. The circle was a mark to indicate the flower patch that had been purified.

“We’re here right now, so… the next place we have to go is here. Oh, it’s not too far.”

“How long will it take?”

“About 40 minutes on foot. We could get there faster if we had horses. No, since it’s a desert, would it be camels instead of horses?”

Jibril, who was laughing playfully, suddenly widened his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Why?”

“Aren’t those horses over there? And there are two of them…?”

Jibril pointed somewhere with his finger. When I turned my head, there really were two horses standing there. But that wasn’t all; I could see something else.

“It’s not just horses, though?”

“It’s not? Huh, why are there kids over there?”

Jibril belatedly discovered the two children standing with the horses. The children were wearing clothes that protected them from the sandstorms and were just standing there blankly, with one of them holding something in their arms.

“Hey kids, what are you doing here…!”

“Wait, you stay here with Yul.”

“Huh?”

I stopped Jibril, who was trying to approach the children. Jibril turned to look at me with a questioning expression.

“Since they’re humans near a flower patch, I’ll go check.”

“Ah, right.”

Jibril nodded his head as if he understood. I nodded back and was about to take a step, but my wrist was suddenly grabbed. The one who caught me was Yul.

“Yul, why?”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No. It could be dangerous, so I’ll go check by myself. Besides, you cut your hand.”

Yul pressed his lips together firmly and tightened his grip on my wrist. I could even feel a sense of persistence in his strong grip. Why is Yul suddenly being like this? As I blinked, unable to understand the reason, I read Yul’s expression.

“Are you worried about me?”

I didn’t get a reply, but I could tell that was the right answer. A corner of my heart tightened with a pang. Being with Yul always made me feel happy, sad, and then happy again. Right now, I was very happy.

“Yul, don’t worry. I’m probably sturdier than you.”

I thumped my chest. Even so, Yul didn’t let me go. Hmm… maybe he doesn’t trust me because I have the appearance of a young human. If he’s going to be like this, I have no choice.

I gently pushed Yul’s hand away. Yul tried to grab me again, but I firmly stepped back.

“Don’t worry! I’ll be right back.”

Yul looked at me like a child who had lost his parent’s hand. For a moment, my heart fluttered. I knew Yul wasn’t a child who needed a guardian, but when he made that kind of face, my heart went out to him.

Ugh… this won’t do. I really can’t win against Yul. Let’s go and come back quickly. I turned around and ran towards the children.

As I got closer to the kids, things I couldn’t see before came into view in detail. Things like bloodstains on their clothes, or their fingertips being stained black. The more peculiarities I discovered, the more convinced I became that there was something hidden about the children. I soon arrived in front of them.

“Why are you just standing here blankly?”

“…”

The two children looked at me at the same time. Both of them had no focus in their eyes.

“You guys, you’ve been brainwashed.”

There was no answer. The children just looked at me with their cloudy eyes. I swallowed a groan and touched my chin.

Brainwashed children. Could they be messengers sent to us by someone? If they’re messengers, could it be that ‘Lili…’ who gave Igor the drugs? That name was the only one that came to mind right now.

Click.

“Huh?”

A dull sound woke me from my reverie. The child who had been holding something in their arms was holding it out to me.

There was no time to assess the situation. KABOOM! The object exploded with a tremendous roar. My body, which was within the blast radius, was violently pushed back.

—Screeeech!

A ringing sound hit my ears. Since I had taken the full force of the shockwave, I couldn’t come to my senses right away. I frowned. As my senses belatedly returned, I realized that something sticky was on my eyes and that I was being held by someone.

“Cough. Ugh, the stuff on my eyes is sticky.”

I was about to rub my eyes vigorously, but someone wiped the stuff on my eyes for me before I could. I blinked my blurry eyes a couple of times and then looked at the person who had caught me.

“Yul.”

“…”

“You don’t look good.”

Yul’s face was pale. It was a face as frightened as when he was surrounded by humans. I really didn’t mean for this to happen, but it seemed I had unintentionally scared him. I rolled my eyes and carefully began to speak.

“Hey, I’m really okay. But you were really startled, huh?”

Without listening to all of my words, Yul lifted me up with one hand and held me. Then, he started walking towards where the children were without hesitation.

“Yul?”

When I looked back, I saw that both children were lying face down on the ground. The one who had handed me the bomb had been hit by the shockwave as well and their body had burst, while the other one seemed to have just lost consciousness and was in a sound state.

The one Yul was looking at was that unscathed child. Shing, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

“No!”

At that moment, someone ran in, hugged the child, and rolled away. It was Jibril.

Thud! The sword just stabbed into the sandy ground, but it made a sound like a hammer smashing a brick. The look in Yul’s eyes, having missed his target, became fierce.

“Move.”

“If I move, you’ll cut him down!”

“You think I can’t cut down two?”

“Mr. Hero, open your eyes and look properly! This kid wasn’t the one who set off the explosion. He was just standing next to him! We can ask him what happened after he wakes up!”

Jibril desperately defended the child. However, there was no change in Yul’s cold expression.

“Why should I?”

“…What?”

“That kind of thing is for the people of your world to worry about, not me.”

Yank, Yul pulled out the sword that he had driven deep into the sandy ground. The black sword vibrated, hummm, resonating with Yul’s emotions. Yul was seriously trying to cut down Jibril and the child at once. That’s why I felt I had to stop him even more.

“Wait, Yul!”

Yul’s sword stopped above Jibril’s head. I could feel the startled Jibril gasp, huff, and quickly suck in his breath.

“These kids were under a brainwashing spell. They weren’t holding the bomb of their own free will; they were following someone’s orders. So it’s better to break the brainwashing and find out information rather than killing them.”

“…”

Yul looked at me with his sunken eyes. I avoided Yul’s gaze without realizing it. For some reason, my chest stung as if I had committed a crime.

“Is saving that thing for my sake?”

“Huh?”

“Is not being able to get rid of something I want to kill and destroy right in front of me also for my sake?”

“That is…”

In terms of the outcome, it was for Yul’s sake. If we broke the child’s brainwashing and found out about the ringleaders, we could save the world more easily. But what if Yul doesn’t want to let the child live, like now? Can I say that stopping him is for Yul’s sake?

As I hesitated, unsure of how to answer, Yul put me down on the ground. He didn’t even give me a glance. I called out to Yul, a little bewildered.

“Yul.”

Yul sheathed his sword and turned his head away. My heart stung. The feeling of being ignored by someone you like was something I thought I would never get used to.

“…Thanks.”

As I stood there at a loss, just looking at Yul’s back, Jibril muttered in a whisper.

“For what?”

“For saving the child.”

“Not really, that wasn’t my intention.”

It was true. Whether the human child lived or died had nothing to do with me. I just did it because I thought saving the human child would be helpful… The price of my choice was painful. I let out a sigh and my shoulders drooped.

Jibril said he would sleep while holding the surviving child. He said to ‘rest assured, because if the child commits another act of terror, he, who is sleeping while holding him, would be the first to die.’

I glanced at the sleeping Jibril, then shifted my gaze to the redly burning campfire. Crackle, pop. The gathered branches burned quietly.

“Hey, you know, Yul.”

“…”

Yul was leaning against the ruins of a collapsed building with his eyes closed. Is he sleeping? I cautiously approached Yul on my knees. The sand rustled under my legs.

“Can I come next to you?”

I asked even as I was already approaching. Yul was motionless, as if asleep. I carefully looked at Yul’s face. I planned to apologize, saying ‘I’m sorry for doing as I pleased,’ even though he might not hear me.

But at that moment, Yul opened his eyes. His black pupils, devoid of any sleepiness, approached swiftly. No, it would be more accurate to say that I was pulled in, not that he approached. Yul, who had grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and pulled me, tilted his head. In an instant, his breath was close.

“Huh?”

Something soft touched the lips that had uttered the questioning sound. Yul had covered my mouth with his lips. As I blinked in bewilderment, he bit my lip and pushed his tongue into my parted mouth. His hot tongue delved in as if to steal my breath.

This wasn’t a peck. It was too deep to be a peck…

I quickly placed my hands on Yul’s shoulders. It was because I thought I should pull our lips apart and have a conversation first. But as I looked into Yul’s black eyes, the strength drained from my fingertips. I felt like a lizard speared by a harpoon.

“Mmmph.”

When the roof of my mouth was grazed, a ticklish moan escaped my throat. It was a reflexive reaction. Yul, who had been holding me by the scruff, gripped my waist. Then, in an instant, he lifted my body and sat me on his thigh. Yul’s hard leg rubbed against my bottom.

“Hnngh…”

It felt strange. Being entangled in Yul’s black eyes that made me unable to do anything, and kissing Yul. My hands on Yul’s shoulders trembled slightly.

I shouldn’t be doing this, it’s not right… I was a dragon with common sense. I knew that me kissing a human was abnormal. A peck was something I could do out of cuteness and affection, but mixing tongues isn’t a peck, is it?

So I should push Yul away at this point and give him a stern scolding. I should, but… I just couldn’t push him away. Why? Because of Yul’s black eyes, staring at me persistently so I couldn’t close my own? Because of the desperation wafting from Yul, who was kissing me hastily as if being chased by something?