IPDT 51

However, for the two races to have worked together, their relationship was far too poor. The dwarves loathed the elves as obnoxious and arrogant, and the elves despised the dwarves as small and ignorant.

Therefore, the two races would not have formed an alliance to bring about ruin. It might be different if it were to protect the world, but there was no reason to form an alliance to destroy it. If that’s the case…

“Stop looking.”

While I was lost in thought, Yul snatched my arm and pulled me toward him. Huh? I was forcibly moved a few steps away from the bomb.

“Yul?”

“If you’re curious about who made the bomb, you can just ask the person who brought it.”

When I looked up at Yul, he spoke in a pleasant voice. I nodded as if mesmerized without realizing it. Seeing my nod, Yul turned his gaze to Jibril.

“Isn’t that why you kept that little brat alive?”

Jibril, who received Yul’s gaze head-on, gasped, sucking in a breath.

“Th-that’s right. We won’t know who made it by just staring at it. Isn’t it a huge discovery just to find out the components inside the bomb? Now that we know there’s a flower in the bomb, let’s all be careful together! Ahaha, we should hurry and go purify the next flower bed. Where’s the closest flower bed from here?”

Jibril quickly unfolded a map and pointed to a spot.

“It seems we can stop by the place we couldn’t go to yesterday and then head here, but this place will take some time. It’s a bit far. I guess we should be glad we got horses.”

Jibril glanced at the two horses tied to a collapsed pillar. I looked that way too.

“But you know, there are two horses, but four living creatures to ride.”

“We’ll have to share. Ah, for the record, I’m riding with him. The Hero doesn’t seem to have any intention of riding with me or this kid.”

Does that mean Yul seems to want to ride with me? Just as I was about to sneak a look at Yul’s expression, he intertwined his fingers with mine. My fingertips trembled without my realizing it. Yul smiled faintly.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

I was enchanted by Yul and came all the way to the horse, but there was a problem. I hesitated in front of the sand-colored horse and asked Yul.

“Do I ride in front?”

Yul nodded his head. I pictured myself sitting in front and Yul sitting behind me in my mind. As expected, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

When riding a horse, the person sitting behind plays the role of protecting the person in front. Of course, for a great dragon like me, the position of front or back isn’t important… but still, isn’t there a certain dignity I want to maintain as a dragon?

“I’m probably better at handling a horse than you are, Yul…”

With Fleabag, I was confident I could handle a horse better than Yul. However, he declared without changing his expression one bit.

“If you sit behind me, you won’t be able to see what’s ahead.”

“That’s—.”

Come to think of it, that was true. Even if I sat behind Yul, in this form, I wouldn’t be able to see ahead. My body now has short arms and legs, and Yul, unlike me, is big. It was clear that even if I craned my neck this way and that, his back would block everything from view.

“…Alright.”

As I let my shoulders droop dejectedly, Yul vaulted onto the horse. Then, he held out his hand to me. I took Yul’s hand and got on the horse. In an instant, my view became higher, and Yul’s firm chest touched my back.

…Wait. It felt like I had run into an unexpected difficulty. Was riding a horse always such a heart-pounding affair?

“Do you want to ride the horse yourself that much?”

“Huh?”

My heart kept pounding, so I was just clenching and unclenching my fists, but Yul asked something strange. Ah, no. I had made the excuse that I was better at riding. With nothing to say in my defense, I answered vaguely.

“Uh-huh… well.”

“Then you ride. I’ll just sit in the back.”

Yul handed me the reins. With no reason to refuse, I took the reins and swallowed a sigh. I couldn’t even protect the dignity of a dragon, and now I was stuck riding the horse. The only positive thing was that I was close to Yul.

“Since I’m the one who knows the way, I’ll go in front.”

Jibril, who had taken the child and mounted his horse, said as he passed us. I gave him a perfunctory nod.

Most of the Eastern Continent’s territory had turned into desert and the cities had collapsed, but that didn’t mean everything that had been built before was destroyed. For example, things like the roads where wagons might have been pulled. We rode the horses and walked along that road.

「The road is wide open, so I have no immediate instructions to give you, but…」

When I connected to the mental system to ride the horse, Fleabag spoke in a grim, subdued voice.

「Master, has that human finally lost his mind?」

“Ngh.”

Instead of answering Fleabag, I bit my lip and held back a moan. It was because Yul’s hand had slipped under the hem of my clothes and was stroking my waist. A strange feeling, different from ticklishness, made me grip the reins tightly and hunch my shoulders.

「Master! Order Kwon Yul to take his filthy hand away at once! No, give the order to me! I will turn that vile hand into a rag so that he can never touch you again!」

To calm down the fuming Fleabag, I covered the top of the hood where Fleabag was hiding with my hand. At that, Fleabag calmed down a little, but this time, Yul was the problem.

“Is there something there?”

“Huh?”

Yul, who had peeked his head over my shoulder, looked down at me. I felt so flustered it was like I was about to break out in a cold sweat. I absolutely could not let him find out about Fleabag’s existence. I had lied to Yul that I was the dragon’s familiar, so if he found out about Fleabag… I quickly shook my head.

“No, no! There’s nothing!”

“Really?”

Fortunately, Yul didn’t seem to doubt me and didn’t ask any more questions. He just rested his chin on top of my head and started moving his hand again. Every time Yul persistently groped my waist, my body twisted without me realizing it. The constant touching made the area around my lower abdomen feel ticklish.

「Master, please give the order!」

Fleabag, who must be watching me twitch and tremble closer than anyone else, cried out in a lamenting voice.

「Oh, seriously, I said it’s fine! It’s a good thing for you that Yul can’t touch my body!」

「Master, but for a mere human to touch Master’s body…」

「That’s enough, don’t say any more! If you keep saying strange things, I’ll turn you into a flea this time, not a rat!」

Perhaps scared of becoming a flea, Fleabag clamped his mouth shut. My head was finally a little quieter.

“Heut.”

Yul, who would never dream that I had just settled things with Fleabag, was busy touching me. I swallowed a moan and grabbed Yul’s hand, which was groping my waist.

“Yul.”

“What is it?”

“It feels strange when you touch me.”

“How so?”

Yul asked in a calm voice. I thought about it, then slowly parted my lips.

“Well, it’s like, it’s ticklish and my body keeps squirming…”

“Uh-huh.”

“Ngh, can you stop touching me?”

Yul turned his head and met my eyes. Yul’s jet-black eyes always had a way of mesmerizing me.

“Why?”

“…Because it feels strange?”

“But I like it.”

You like it? For some reason, I was tempted. I glanced at Jibril riding ahead and then looked back at Yul. Yul wasn’t looking anywhere else and was just waiting for my answer.

“How much do you like it?”

At my whispered words, Yul’s lips formed a beautiful arc. It was when Yul lowered his head to my ear as if to whisper a secret. I heard the sound of Jibril’s horse coming to a stop.

“We’re here!”

Startled by the loud voice, I looked ahead. To be startled by the voice of a human, of all things, Jibril no less. I felt like I had become a timid rabbit. It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

“What are you so surprised about? I said we’re at the flower bed.”

“I know.”

I answered curtly and jumped off the horse. Then Yul also got off the horse and stood next to me.

“Yul, you and Jibril wait here for a little bit.”

I strode toward the flower bed, then suddenly turned back and approached Yul. Yul looked at me standing in front of him, surprised. Regardless, I gave Yul’s waist a tight hug and then let go. Yul’s pretty eyes widened.

“I’ll be right back!”

The expression on Jibril’s face as he watched us was noticeably sour, but I didn’t care. I smiled happily and walked toward the flower bed.

I had purified one flower bed, and it was right after I had just purified the second. Jibril, who was with the child, called me urgently.

“The kid woke up!”

We stood in front of the child. The child just blinked its eyes blankly without reacting, even with three adults surrounding it. It was clear that the brainwashing had not yet been broken.

“Hey kid, are you coming to your senses?”

“…”

Jibril spoke to the child, but there was still no response. Jibril waved his hand in front of the child’s eyes as if to check one more time. But it was the same. Jibril, who scratched his head awkwardly, looked at me.

“It seems his condition hasn’t improved yet?”

“Move aside.”

I took a step toward the child to undo the brainwashing, but Yul stopped me.

“Yul, why?”

Yul glared at the child without answering. It was as if he was tense that the child, who was still just dazed, would cause trouble at any moment. I placed my hand over Yul’s hand that was holding me.

“Are you worried he’ll set off another bomb if the brainwashing is broken? If that’s it, don’t worry. The first time, I didn’t expect to be hit by a bomb, so I wasn’t prepared. But it’ll be different now! I’m strong, you know!”

As I confidently puffed out my chest, Yul slowly let go of my hand. I seized the opportunity and approached the child. The child looked to be around 13 or 14 years old. At that age, is it a bit much to call him a ‘child’? Since it’s puberty? With these silly thoughts, I lightly tapped the child’s forehead with my finger.

A halo of light that bloomed from my fingertip seeped into the child’s head. Soon, light slowly returned to the unfocused eyes.

“…Uh, uh.”

Finally, the child woke up from the brainwashing. The child, who let out a dumb sound, looked around frantically and then scooted back on his bottom as if terrified.

“Wh-who are you?”

The child asked in a trembling voice. Instead of introducing Yul and myself, I decided to sell out the most convenient person, Jibril.

“That guy there was the prince of this kingdom. What do you think, do you recognize him?”

“The Prince?”

The child, who muttered blankly, suddenly clutched his head as if in pain.

“Ack!”

“Wh-what, why is this kid suddenly acting like this. Did something go wrong?”