REFDL 55

Meanwhile, among the people clapping and stamping their feet.

A soldier who kept eight cats and spent most of his pay on them felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.

“Hmm…?”

His eyes, which had been shifting between the tyurel and the dragon, sparkled, then took on a boyish mischief.

He hurriedly left his seat and returned holding a broken mirror shard from somewhere.

The soldier smiled meaningfully and tilted the mirror to reflect the sunlight. The white dot, aimed at the pick playing tyurel, wobbled before slowly separating.

The dragon’s gaze followed the light dot precisely.

Soldiers who had looked like they were thinking, ‘What is that kid doing?’, now watched the scene with fascinated expressions.

“…Oh.”

The skilled caretaker demonstrated perfect control. He knew precisely the point that drove a purring cat wild.

Though his size was different, the dragon, equally adept at purring, flattened himself against the floor and assumed the posture.

‘Oh, just like my cats…’

The soldier froze in place.

His eyes, which had been smiling, now trembled.

He belatedly recalled what disaster followed those dilated pupils and the hip-shaking motion. Even a single fat cat could easily reduce a house to rubble.

…Then what about a dragon the size of a castle?

“……”

‘I’m done for…’

The dragon launched.

Boom!

Grrr!

“Aargh!”

“Wh-what is that?!”

The Kremlis leapt with a wind nearly as fierce as a storm and slammed into the nearly collapsed spire.

The tower, now just a spiked shell, fell with a thunderous sound. A cloud of dust billowed as soldiers panicked and scattered in all directions.

“What’s happening?!”

Knights and soldiers rushed over.

The knights especially gripped their swords, and some even arrived arrived riding their Pensilta.

An explosion this massive.

A sound this deafening.

They were certain a monster lurked within. Tense eyes scanning the surroundings, searching for the enemy.

“……”

There was no monster.

Instead, they discovered a massive red rear end trapped beneath the debris.

“Damn…”

A knight, pale in shock, shouted.

“Clear it!”

“Clear the debris!”

“Lord Yuram! Lord Yuram, are you alright?!”

Irina was the first to rush over.

She sobbed uncontrollably as she cleared away the debris with her bare hands.

Beside her, a Pensilta used its long neck to lift and move large chunks, casting Irina a look of disbelief. Irina didn’t notice.

The castle lord and Kaelus, hearing the news, came running.

‘Déjà vu…?’

It was not long after the annex, a 700-year-old structure still bearing the traces of the Harpy King and Basilisk, had been destroyed.

The knights were tense, wondering if the kord would clutch the back of his neck and pass out this time too, but fortunately, the feared incident did not occur.

The lord, eyes wide open, surveyed the situation and let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, thank goodness! That spire was so badly damaged, I was planning to tear it down and rebuild it. It’s fine. It’s fine. …That one.”

His eyes grew moist, perhaps recalling the building’s majestic history, but regardless, the incident passed with minimal damage considering its scale.

Now, the only thing left was…

“……”

Kyu… kya…

Kaelus glared at Yuram.

The dragon clearing debris dropped the fragment he was holding.

Thud!

“Eeek!”

Fragment to a dragon, maybe. To human standards, it was a chunk the size of a wall, crashing to the floor.

Yuram rolled his eyes and quietly hid behind Irina’s back.

…Though whether you could really call that hiding was questionable.

‘He should just shrink himself.’

‘He’s too flustered to even think of that.’

‘Ah… he’s kind of cute?’

‘I’m crazy I’m crazy I’m crazy Lord Yuram chose me after all I must’ve been the most comfortable one this is nice this is really nice this is way too nice?’

“Yuram.”

The soft atmosphere was cut short as a voice like the cold wind of this season called to the dragon.

“Come here.”

The dragon couldn’t even hesitate.

He stumbled out from behind Irina.

“This is unfair abuse of power…! Mmph!”

Irina was dragged off somewhere by her companions. Yuram didn’t look back. Deflated, he knelt before Kaelus, only gauging his mood.

Kaelus tilted his head.

His foul mood improved a bit. But he couldn’t tell why.

Kyuu….

The dragon, who had ghost-like intuition about his softened mood, whined.

He could have used words. Yet he chose to whine and act spoiled.

Seeing that big body doing that… it was funny and cute.

In that moment, Kaelus understood why so many humans were captivated by this.

And at the same time… he couldn’t stand it anymore.

The revulsion rising from the depths choked his throat.

It wasn’t Yuram’s fault.

Yuram hadn’t done anything wrong.

Honestly, he was doing more than enough. More than anyone could reasonably expect. Comparing him to other dragons felt almost unfair.

This was his own problem.

He himself was the problem.

Beyond learning, it was a rejection etched into his bones and soul.

A string pulled taut on both ends.

Emotions that could never coexist were viciously entangled. The scales, which had seemed to balance momentarily, collapsed and fell to one side.

Like light bursting in the pitch-black night, fragmented nightmares pierced his eyes.

Between monstrous teeth. Human bodies were torn apart.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The sound.

It was as vivid as if he were hearing it now.

Kaelus unconsciously drew back his foot. Fortunately, the dragon before him didn’t notice. The others simply thought he’d turned away normally.

“…Be careful from now on.”

…It was a mess.

Kaelus fled the scene, desperate to keep the vomit like chaos in his head from being exposed.

* * *

As the cleanup of the castle entered its final stages.

The mage, Odan, spoke up.

“Ah, right. I think we should go check on the damage from the Sea of Trees.”

He explained what he had seen.

Count Anax grabbed the back of his neck. Kaelus handled it more wisely. He grabbed Odan by the collar.

“Ugh…!”

“Captain. Just calm down for a moment…”

“Mages are so weak they’ll die if you handle them roughly. I mean it, he really will die!”

A little time passed.

The interrogation followed: Why did you wait until now to say that?

The mage considered telling the truth, but with his mage-like mind, he realized the circumstances at the time wouldn’t exactly serve as an excuse. Then, was there really any need to explain it all tediously?

Having made his decision, he grinned.

“I forgot.”

“…….”

“…….”

This time, Count Anax joined in the attack. The knights, who had been prepared in advance, once again restrained the two. They shouted at the mage that if that was what he was going to say, he should just shut up.

Odan muttered with a weary expression.

“You two were the ones who asked…”

“……”

“I just answered sincerely.”

…Should I let go?

Could I let go and pretend it was an accident?

No.

The knights somehow managed to win the battle against themselves.

Amidst the frantic cleanup, an ‘investigation team’ to enter the Sea of Trees was hastily assembled.

* * *

I flew over the Sea of Trees with Kaelus on my back.

It felt not just new, but refreshing.

When we met at the cliff, I never imagined things would turn out like this.

But that wasn’t the thought occupying my mind.

With him on my back, perhaps because our bodies inevitably touched, I could read Kaelus’s moods, thoughts, and emotions with surprising clarity.

Right now, he seemed slightly uncomfortable.

He, too, was recalling the moment we first met.

And if he felt uncomfortable, then that meant….

Damn it.

Fortunately, my scales were red. Even if my face turned red, it wouldn’t show. I knew it. This feeling was ultimately heading down a dead-end path. Even if I confessed that I could become human, he wouldn’t accept me as I was, a dragon.

This is doomed love…

Well, when has it ever been any different?

Heh heh heh.

I suddenly laughed, and felt eyes on me.

[Just… because I felt like it.]

The gaze quickly withdrew.

I clenched my teeth, holding back the wind leaking through the cracks.

If it can’t ever come true…

That night must remain buried deep within my heart until the very end.