IPDT 57

I pinched my nose shut and scanned the area. In the stable, which held about thirty horses, the fishy smell of animals and the stench of excrement mingled in the air. It was so bad I wanted to run out of the stable right away.

“Yul.”

When I opened my mouth while holding my nose, my voice came out whiny. Having no choice, I took away the hand that was pinching my nose. Ugh, the smell. My face scrunched up on its own. It became much more bearable once I hurriedly got rid of the smell with magic.

“Are you really going to shovel horse manure?”

Yul, who was holding a shovel, looked back at me. The sight of him holding the worn-out shovel was surprisingly unfamiliar. This really wasn’t right. How could I let Yul shovel horse manure? I quickly snatched the shovel from Yul.

“Yul, you’re the hero and I’m the dragon’s… familiar! So, no matter how I think about it, I don’t think we should be the ones cleaning this up.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Let’s clean the stable with magic, and then rest somewhere humans can’t see us. Yul, all you have to do is stay still!”

Even though I had come up with a clear solution, Yul didn’t immediately agree. He just stood there looking at me for a moment before brushing aside the messy strands of hair over my eyebrows with his hand.

“Yul?”

Yul focused and looked at my face. His pretty hand, which had gently swept through my hair, touched my ear. It tickled as it rubbed the shell of my ear, then passed my earlobe and headed for the nape of my neck.

I held my breath without realizing it. The spot where my ear and the nape of my neck connected was where Yul had bitten me last night. The moment I realized that, I felt a heat rising to my ears for some reason.

“It’s faded.”

“…What has?”

“The mark.”

There was no way I could see it, but my eyes turned toward my neck on their own.

…So there was a mark left where Yul had bitten me. Yul’s candid words made me feel embarrassed. My heart started beating faster. I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t know where to look.

But as soon as my vision went dark, Yul’s breath came even closer to the nape of my neck. My eyes flew open. I quickly blocked Yul’s lips as they neared the nape of my neck. Yul narrowed his eyes as if he were displeased.

“Yul, what are you trying to do right now…?”

I asked cautiously, unable to hide my bewilderment, and Yul licked my hand without a single change in his expression. I flinched and pulled my hand back like a cat caught by the tail. With the obstruction gone, Yul pressed his lips to the nape of my neck without hesitation.

My heart pounded, and my lips felt dry. After tickling the nape of my neck with his tongue, Yul bared his teeth. It was at the moment I unknowingly gripped his forearm.

“Hey! What are you doing over there instead of working!”

I heard some human’s voice. Not only that, but the sound of footsteps kicking hard against the sandy ground was getting closer. I belatedly came to my senses. I had almost been bewitched by Yul and offered my neck again. Of course, just my neck would have been fine, but it wasn’t just my neck I was offering anymore, was it?

I hurriedly pushed Yul away. Just then, a middle-aged man with a sparsely grown beard stuck his head into the stable.

“You’re not slacking off, are you?”

Since Yul and I were behind a pillar, that human probably didn’t see what we were doing. I brazenly waved the shovel I had snatched from Yul.

“Can’t you tell by looking? We were just getting our tools. What are you doing? Aren’t you working?”

“My job is to pick out slackers like you who don’t work!”

“Then you should go find another human now. If you stay here, you’ll be slacking off too.”

The human, left with nothing to say, ground his teeth and disappeared. I scoffed, hmph. How dare a human who wasn’t even a claw’s length away from me try to pick a fight.

I squared my shoulders triumphantly, and Yul reached his hand toward me. What is he trying to do now? As I listened to my pounding heart and looked up at Yul, he gave me a slight smile.

“Time to work.”

“Huh?”

Clank. A small noise sounded from behind me. What was that? I looked back to see a shovel in Yul’s hand. Ah, I finally understood the situation. He hadn’t been reaching for me, but trying to pick up the shovel that was behind me.

“R-Right…”

Yul had no intention of biting me, but I had been having strange thoughts all by myself. I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even lift my eyes.

I just stared at the innocent ground and bit my lip. If I could, I felt like turning into a mouse like Fleabag and hiding in a mouse hole. As I was ruminating on my shameful regrets, soft lips touched my cheek.

“Huh?”

“Because it seemed like you wanted this.”

Yul smiled prettily and walked deeper into the stable. A little kiss seemed to be nothing to him now. I held the cheek Yul had kissed and blinked blankly. Both my cheek and the nape of my neck were hot.

…Can’t I just clean it up with magic, even now? A sigh escaped me on its own as I scooped up a shovelful of horse manure and dumped it outside.

To think that I, a great intellectual being, was shoveling horse manure. If Fleabag were here, he would have said he couldn’t bear to watch and yelled, ‘Master, please stop!’ Then I would have used magic, pretending to give in.

I glanced at Yul. Yul, who didn’t suit the stable at all, was surprisingly cleaning it with great skill. There’s no need for him to be good at things like that, is there? I rested the head of the shovel on the ground and watched Yul. Just looking at his back was somehow enjoyable.

It seemed that what was meant to be a quick peek had lasted too long. Yul, who had been working, turned to look at me. Oh no. I quickly pretended I hadn’t been looking, but it was no use.

“You can’t do it?”

“Well, you see, it’s not that I can’t do it, but… I’ve never done this kind of thing before.”

I didn’t want to say, ‘I can’t do it.’ Yul was doing it without complaint, so what would happen if I showed a sign of weakness? As I hesitated, Yul came over to me.

“Then sit down and rest.”

“Huh?”

Lifting me up in a flash, Yul set me down on a pile of stacked hay. I sat there and blinked blankly for a moment, then grabbed Yul as he was about to turn and leave.

“Yul, can’t you rest with me? We can just clean the rest with magic.”

“What will you do if someone comes to check on us like before?”

“I’ll stop them.”

When I spoke with determination, Yul smiled prettily. I held my breath. Yul’s face was truly unfair. To think he could look so pretty even in a place like this. Should I call it the beauty of a hero bestowed by the gods?

“Should we do that?”

“Yes!”

I nodded my head vigorously and, in case Yul changed his mind, I quickly cast a spell. The stable, swept over by mana, became clean in an instant.

“Yul, you don’t have to work anymore. Let’s sit and rest together!”

When I patted the spot next to me, Yul sat down beside me without refusal. Seeing him like that made me feel good. It felt like just yesterday that I was discouraged, thinking Yul saw me as a bad dragon. At this point, wouldn’t it be fair to say Yul is starting to like me again?

“Yul, you don’t hate me, right?”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I want to hear you say that you like me.”

After I finished speaking, I felt a little nervous. As I swallowed dryly and looked up at Yul, he rubbed the side of my ear with his large hand.

“I don’t hate you.”

It wasn’t the answer I wanted, so I felt a bit let down. Still, it was a relief that it wasn’t a bad answer. I should watch him a little longer, and when it seems like he’s come to like me, I’ll reveal that ‘I was the dragon.’ It’s not like I can hide it forever. As I smiled sweetly, Yul opened his lips.

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Something you’re curious about? What is it?”

“Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes, of course!”

When I nodded my head vigorously, Yul smiled.

“Will you answer anything?”

“Um, okay. Anything. What is it that you’re curious about?”

The hand that had been touching my ear moved down and gripped my forearm.

“They say dragons are mana itself, so what happens if they use up all their mana?”

“Hmm, I’ve never used up all my mana, so I wouldn’t know. …My master has! Anyway, even if all the mana is used up, they probably wouldn’t get weaker. Even without mana, a dragon’s body is so tough that humans can’t break through it.”

The more I spoke, the more Yul’s expression became blank. I carefully asked him, who was now showing a hint of coldness.

“But why did you ask that?”

“Because I was curious.”

Yul’s hand tightened.

“You’re free.”

“No, I’m wearing handcuffs, see!”

When I lifted my wrist, which was encircled by a golden band, it made a jingling sound. It was the sound of the bracelet Yul had gifted me. Only then did Yul burst out laughing. Seeing him laugh made me feel relieved too. I lowered the arm I had raised and sat closer to Yul.

“Yul, you know, I have something I’m curious about too.”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you so good at stable work?”

Yul answered without a single change in his expression.

“Because I’ve done it before.”

“When?”

“Before I met you.”

“…You worked in a stable?”

Had Yul been doing this kind of work until I picked him up? Even thinking back to his old, feral-like appearance, it was hard to imagine him in a stable.

If I had been his master, I would never have made him do such a thing. Just watching him be happy isn’t enough time, so to make him do such hard labor! I felt regret for not having picked Yul up sooner.

“Yes.”

“Did you do any other work?”

When I asked urgently, Yul’s eyes curved into a smile.

“You seem to be very curious about me.”

“I’m always curious about you. Is that not okay?”

“No, continue.”

“Then tell me. What did you do before you met me?”

As I stared at him earnestly, Yul answered in his usual voice.

“I carried luggage.”

“Whose luggage?”

“Before I met you, the luggage of the bastard who had me.”

They made him carry luggage too? I ground my teeth at a human whose face I didn’t even know.

“Then did you clean the stable because that human made you?”

“Yes.”

…If I ever get my hands on them, I’ll make them regret it. The first thing I would do after preventing the world from ending was now decided.

“What happened to that human?”