SRS 127

The next day, Yohan and his friends captured Professor Ariel in a deep part of the forest after their gymnastics class with the griffins. It was all according to their prior plan. They had a brief discussion about whether to capture him in his dragon form or keep him as a human, but under Professor Ariel’s earnest and desperate plea, they decided to take him in his human form.

Ariel looked down at his body with wide eyes, as being tied up with ropes was fascinating.

“Human ropes are so fragile! Wouldn’t it be better to use a magic tool? I feel like these will snap if I use just a little strength…”

“Is that so? Suhyeok, do you happen to have a magic tool?”

“A prepared hunter has everything.”

Suhyeok laughed confidently and took a rope out of his subspace pouch to hand over. Yohan replaced the rope tying Professor Ariel and then called the guide.

The guide of the commercial district appeared as usual, unbothered even though the summon location was the Sky Garden, and verified the identities of Yohan’s party. Then, he looked at Professor Ariel.

Ah. Should I explain?

Yohan thought that since Ariel was a professor, he could enter the commercial district without any special restrictions, but that might not be the case. Yohan’s mind began to race. He racked his brain to find an excuse in case the guide questioned the situation.

Right then, the guide turned around, drew his sword, and tore through space.

He gestured with his head for them to follow. Fortunately, Yohan and his friends didn’t have to explain the bizarre activity of capturing a dragon professor.

“It’s been a while since we were here.”

“Yes. I hope Lord Gerog hasn’t waited too long.”

“What are you so worried about, Yohan? You even sent a letter through the guide.”

“That’s true, but I’m still worried.”

Originally, Yohan was supposed to visit Gerog the day after they met. However, he hadn’t been able to see him for a long time while searching for ways to treat his trauma. Concerned about this, he had asked the guide to deliver a letter. Although the guide had returned after receiving Yohan’s letter, he was so silent that Yohan didn’t know if he had accepted the request. Unable to be sure if it reached Gerog, a slightly nervous Yohan retraced the path he had taken once before and knocked on Gerog’s door.

Knock, knock.

He knocked twice, but there was no sign of anyone inside. The friends looked at Yohan during the ensuing silence. Yohan glanced at Professor Ariel and blushed.

It was one thing if it were just in front of his friends, but he didn’t want to say such nonsense in front of the professor. Just as he was agonizing over it, creeeak, the door opened very, very slowly. A goblin with a face pale from illness stood before them.

“Lord Gerog!”

Seeing Gerog looking as if he might pass out at any moment, Yohan forgot his greeting and ran inside. Losing his balance, Gerog stumbled and fell. Yohan caught him and frowned as he examined the goblin whose complexion was pale and body was gaunt. Gerog’s body was shaking as if having a seizure, at a rate of about thirty times per second.

Could it be…

“Mikael! Is there a spell to temporarily erase someone’s presence or interfere with perception?”

“There is, but I’m not sure if I can erase Professor Ariel’s presence. His rank is quite high.”

“Then just interfering with perception is fine.”

“I’ll try.”

Mikael was quick-witted. He moved systematically, as if he had guessed the reason for Gerog’s seizure just as Yohan had. Yohan bit his lip while pouring divine power into the fallen Gerog.

“I think we were too careless.”

Currently, Gerog couldn’t even open his eyes or breathe properly. Reflecting on how he had underestimated the physical effects of extreme fear, Yohan asked Suhyeok and Kylus to take Professor Ariel further away for now. The two led the professor and stepped back. Professor Ariel stared at the fallen Gerog with a startled expression for a long time before leaving at the students’ lead.

Gerog only opened his eyes thirty minutes after Suhyeok and Kylus disappeared. The fact that it took this long even with Mikael’s perception interference magic meant Gerog’s fear of dragons was beyond imagination.

Yohan let out a sigh as he bestowed a divine blessing upon the waking Gerog.

“…This is.”

Gerog looked around as he regained consciousness. He seemed dazed, perhaps because the sudden fainting was a shock to him as well.

“…It’s your house, Lord Gerog. Do you remember how you collapsed?”

“Ah, ah, ahhh…”

Gerog thought for a moment, but soon clutched his head and had another fit as if recalling something hideous.

“Mikael!”

“May peace guide you.”

As Gerog gasped again, Mikael quickly cast a stabilization spell. With the added power of the incantation, Gerog’s seizure gradually subsided.

“Let’s calm down first. We can talk after.”

Yohan patted the back of Gerog’s hand and gave Mikael a look to switch places. After swapping with him, Yohan went further into Gerog’s house and brought out some warm water. The state of the house was a mess, just as it had been during his previous visit.

“Here is some warm water.”

He wanted to let him drink tea if possible, but he couldn’t just touch someone else’s food. Since he brought the water as a last resort, Gerog took the cup with trembling hands. Yohan supported the bottom of the teacup, fearing he might drop it.

The answer Gerog gave after a short while was exactly what Yohan and Mikael had expected.

He explained that a few hours ago, he suddenly found it hard to breathe, and at some point, the symptoms of the curse became extreme. By the time Yohan knocked on the door, it had overwhelmed his mind and he couldn’t move his body.

Gerog, who said that forcing his stiff body to open the door was the best he could do, had a very bitter expression.

“I’m pathetic. How can I call myself a hero who fought a dragon? Haha. I’m no different from a senile goblin…”

He self-deprecated with a mournful face. Feeling a pang of conscience, Yohan hesitated before speaking.

“Um, Lord Gerog. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I think your seizure this time happened because of my carelessness.”

“Pardon? Haha. How could that be? This is all the dragon’s curse…”

“It isn’t.”

“What?”

“It isn’t a curse.”

Yohan firmly interrupted Gerog and exchanged a look with Mikael. He was seeking another’s opinion on whether it was okay to speak his mind. Mikael nodded. Yohan knew Mikael was only somewhat soft toward him, so he hesitated for a few seconds before explaining the situation.

“Actually, Lord Gerog, you aren’t cursed. That is just part of a psychological issue. You said the war was long and very brutal. It wouldn’t be particularly strange to be mentally pushed to the limit during that process.”

Yohan continued his explanation, choosing his words carefully to emphasize that Gerog’s abnormality wasn’t as unusual as possible.

“Your symptoms are closer to a physical reaction caused by mental trauma. In other words, your fear of dragons is so great that when you see a dragon or feel their presence, your body reacts with excessive tension, dread, terror, and anger.”

Gerog’s eyes went wide, as if he couldn’t understand the explanation. Yohan lowered his voice and spoke more gently.

“So the way to treat Lord Gerog isn’t to lift a curse. Lifting a curse won’t solve those symptoms. That’s why we thought it would be better to reduce the fear Sir Gerog holds toward dragons.”

“Reduce the fear?”

“Yes. Lord Gerog, what kind of being is a dragon to you?”

Yohan signaled to Mikael while asking the question.

“May peace protect you for a long time.”

Mikael quickly cast a continuous stabilization spell. Gerog scratched his chin and let out a groan. His gaze grew dull as if recalling the battlefield, but no seizure symptoms appeared.

“Dragons are terrifying, great, and cruel beings. They are beings that kill and annihilate everything that annoys them, and they can stand above and rule over all other races.”

All other races?

Only now did Yohan understand the excessive fear Gerog felt toward dragons. It seemed dragons were more terrifying beings to other races than to humans. Yohan summoned his spirit and signaled it to bring Suhyeok and Kylus. Once the water spirit disappeared, Yohan grabbed the back of Gerog’s hand and smiled softly.

“But there are dragons that aren’t like that.”

“…”

“This is the Nameless Realm, Lord Gerog. It’s a different place from the dimension you were in. The dragons in your dimension might be like that, but as long as they exist here, they aren’t. They are the kind of dragons that sometimes fail at flying and tumble down, roll around on the ground with griffins, cry because they can’t soothe a griffin, and feel sad because they are hurt by students’ gossip.”

Gerog’s eyebrows twitched at the description. Since he looked as if he were asking where such a dragon existed, Yohan smiled and looked back at the door.

“We wanted to show such a dragon to Lord Gerog.”

At first, although it was a quite blasphemous thought, he had planned to treat Gerog’s fear by capturing the somewhat pathetic-looking Professor Ariel and revealing his weakness.

However, talking about it now, it seemed that alone wouldn’t solve Gerog’s mental problem. Therefore, Yohan changed direction.

Instead of showing only Professor Ariel’s weakness, he decided to show Professor Ariel himself, the half-dragon of Fantasiademia.

A misunderstanding with a dragon should be resolved by a dragon.

What Gerog needed was a conversation with a dragon that wasn’t scary.

“So we brought such a dragon here. It won’t be dangerous. We will protect you if anything happens, so could you please try having a conversation?”

Yohan stood up and pushed the door wide open. There, standing in the space bathed in sunlight, was the small-statured professor fidgeting with his hands. He had already untied the ropes, perhaps having heard the conversation inside.

“Um… hello?”

The awkward Professor Ariel tentatively waved his hand. White mana was glowing around him, perhaps because Mikael’s presence interference magic was still working. Gerog stared blankly at the sight before parting his lips.

“…Welcome, Great One.”

The conversation between the two races began. Yohan smiled as he watched Gerog, who managed to greet Ariel despite his hands and feet trembling . He was glad that they could resolve it through a more peaceful method than expected.

About three hours later.

Gerog succeeded in clearing up his misunderstanding of dragons, at least slightly.

“…Representative of the Lord. I wish to grant Will’s request.”

At that, Yohan could finally see the end of the somewhat exhausting quest. Yohan smiled brightly at the goblin knight who had mustered up his courage and took out a piece of paper.

“Then, Lord Gerog, let’s write a contract first. It would be troublesome if you changed your mind later and said no.”

“…”

Gerog’s expression became subtle as Yohan immediately pulled out a contract and a pledge. The three students let out small sighs.