IPDT 8

“Listen here, Fleabag. The black-haired one, no, Yul and I—you wouldn’t know, but the human’s name is ‘Kwon Yul’. I asked him, and you know what, the tight-lipped human told me himself. Anyway, Yul…”

I explained everything that had happened in the human realm in detail, without leaving anything out. Fleabag, who had been listening quite attentively at first, gradually started to slacken. His eyes, which had been wide open, were now half-closed, and his brow was full of wrinkles.

“Fleabag.”

“Yes…”

Fleabag answered in a voice that sounded like he was groaning. I squinted and glared at Fleabag.

“You’re not listening to me.”

“Is that so…”

Fleabag, who answered with extreme insincerity, licked his bent leg. A chilly silence flowed through the lair.

“…”

“…”

Only then did Fleabag’s half-closed eyes fly wide open. The wrinkles that had been all over his face smoothed out, and his fur puffed up as if it had exploded.

“It is a misunderstanding, Master!”

“Today is the day I’m finally turning you into a mouse.”

As I was huffing and trying to catch Fleabag, I heard the sound of the bedroom door opening. I was startled and turned around. Has Yul already woken up?

For now, instead of turning Fleabag into a mouse, I cast an invisibility spell on him. I saw the trembling Fleabag let out a sigh of relief. It is too early to be relieved. Hmph, as I snorted, Yul came out of the bedroom with a face that showed no signs of sleepiness. I rushed to Yul in one go.

“You’re already up?”

Yul blinked his eyes silently. I looked all over Yul’s pretty face. He did not seem sick, and his mood did not seem too bad either. Still, I thought he might have woken up too early, so I asked.

“You don’t have to sleep more?”

「…Master, it is already time for dawn outside.」

Fleabag suddenly interjected into the conversation. No, it was a voice that was only heard in my head, so it’s a stretch to say he interjected.

I shot a glare at Fleabag. You keep your mouth shut and reflect quietly over there! When I sent him that look, Fleabag clamped his mouth shut and avoided my eyes.

“What about food? Aren’t you hungry?”

After getting rid of the impertinently interfering Fleabag, I asked again. Yul shook his head. It seemed he was not hungry since he had just woken up.

But shouldn’t he eat? I heard that if humans do not eat, they get malnutrition and can even starve to death. As I looked at Yul with worried eyes, Yul blinked his eyes quickly a couple of times.

“Yul, are you sure you don’t have to eat?”

“…”

“Yul?”

When I called his name, Yul made a strange expression. He seemed somehow flustered… and embarrassed.

“Yul, Yul, Kwon Yul.”

Yul frowned and shrank back. But it did not seem like he was running away because he disliked it. The tips of Yul’s ears were slightly red.

My fingers twitched. Like a crow that has seen a jewel, I could not take my eyes off Yul’s ear. I wanted to touch it. Would it be soft and warm if I touched it?

“Yul.”

In the end, Yul even covered his face. It was not that he covered his entire face with both hands, but he covered just his mouth with one hand, but in any case, the embarrassment Yul was feeling was transmitted to me. Looking at him, a sudden impulse came over me. Would I feel embarrassed if my name was called?

“Aren’t you curious about my name?”

「Master!」

Fleabag, who had been quiet for a while, jumped. When I glanced towards Fleabag, I saw him shaking his head like crazy.

I flicked a finger that I had hidden behind my back. At that, Fleabag’s voice, which had been ringing loudly in my head, was cut off with a thump. I had no intention of reconnecting our minds until the conversation with Yul was over.

“You are curious, right?”

“…”

Yul’s lips moved slightly. A voice that was hard to hear even once, despite trying, flowed out pleasantly.

“Curi…, curious…”

Yul pressed his lips together firmly. It seemed he was not very pleased with his stuttering. But what of it? He was still in the process of learning the language, so this was excellent. To be honest, it was more cute than excellent, but in any case, it was pleasing to my eyes.

I approached the dejected Yul and covered my mouth as if telling a secret. Yul looked at me. I whispered in a very small voice.

“You have to be the only one who knows. My name is ‘Ilyas’.”

“…Ily—”

“W, wait a minute. You can’t say the whole thing.”

I hastily covered Yul’s mouth with my hand. I saw Yul’s body tense up with a flinch and then slowly relax. He must have been about to bite me again. The effect of the education is certainly there. While a wave of emotion washed over me, cold sweat ran down my back.

There was a fateful power in names. That is why when people call each other’s names, they become fatedly intertwined, whether for a short or long time.

If beings of similar species were to become intertwined, there would be no problem. Although there were differences in strength, they were all more or less the same anyway. But I, who held sway over the balance of the world, was different. If I were to have my name called by an ordinary human, the law of causality would collapse.

“Call me Illy, Illy.”

“Illy?”

“Yes, yes.”

I nodded my head vigorously.

“It’s a nickname I’m only allowing for you.”

Yul’s pupils trembled briefly. His well-formed lips, which had been firmly closed, parted slightly.

“Illy.”

“Yes. Yul.”

I took a step closer since he called my name. Yul was startled and stepped back as if a fire had erupted in front of him, and I blinked, not knowing the reason.

Yul just looked at me silently while keeping his distance. Does he have something to say? I waited patiently. But Yul did not say anything in the end. Eventually, my patience ran out.

“Aren’t you going to call my name anymore?”

“…I don’t want to.”

“Gasp, why?”

It was a bolt from the blue. I told him my name thinking he would call it, but he says he does not want to? As I could not close my mouth, Yul sharply turned his body and started to walk away. I urgently followed behind Yul and bombarded him with questions.

“Yul, where are you going? That’s towards the cliff. Do you want to go for a walk?”

“…”

Yul, who had heard the word ‘cliff’, stopped walking abruptly. Yul, who had returned silently, slipped into the bedroom before I could follow him. The door slammed shut with a ‘BANG!‘. I blinked, dumbfounded, and then turned my gaze to Fleabag.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Humans in adolescence are usually unpredictable.”

“Ugh, adolescence.”

I clutched my head. An adolescent human was difficult to understand even for me, who had mastered all the truths of the world.

“Then I can’t open the door and go in now?”

“It would not be a good choice.”

“…But it’s my bedroom.”

I muttered gloomily, but the bedroom door did not open. I let out a deep sigh and trudged over to Fleabag’s side. Fleabag’s tail swayed from side to side.

“Fleabag, lead the way.”

“Excuse me?”

Fleabag blinked as if he did not understand. To not understand his master’s intentions like this. I kindly pointed towards Fleabag’s room with my finger.

“Let me borrow your bed for a bit.”