REFDL 76

If I thought that looked cute, would that make me ridiculous?

…Yeah. It does make me feel ridiculous.

But what if it does?

I say it’s cute!

Rotol looked at me with a flat expression, but I pretended not to notice.

Kaelus and Nitan beckoned Derrick over with a glance, and he quietly followed the two of them with a worried expression.

It was an ‘adults-only conversation’ kind of atmosphere.

…Technically, I’m an adult too, so why am I…

I felt a momentary pang of resentment, but quickly changed my mind.

I’m the one in charge of watching the kids.

A crucial role that wouldn’t be entrusted to anyone less reliable than me!

[…….]

I know. They probably just put me here because I’m on the same level as the kids…….

[How has everyone been?]

I decided to just catch up.

It was a good choice. Even to a simple question, the kids chattered like sparrows.

The anxiety that reminded me about how long a year really was gradually faded. In its place, the kids of the Forest Village I knew jumped up and took their seats.

“We’ve been well! Wasn’t that the answer you were expecting? But seriously, we’ve been doing great! The academy food was delicious. Does all the tuition go to the cafeteria?”

“Haha. Just like Rotol said. Maybe because the food was so good, my skills improved quickly too.”

“And I gained muscle. All by myself.”

“……”

Rotol and Mirim were still the same. I wondered if thinking that they seemed slightly more mature have been a mistake. Aside from their outward appearance, almost nothing had changed.

Only Odan was different. Unlike the two who entered the Academy directly, he entered the Academy’s preparatory school alone.

“Oh, right! This guy Mirim is actually a year older than me! I’ve been fooled this whole time?!”

“I, I didn’t mean to deceive you… Back then, I was confused about my own age too….”

“Liar!”

Beside the two who were still bickering just like a year ago, though only their bodies had grown, Odan remained silent, but his eyes crinkled.

……His personality seems to have changed a bit?

The Odan in Forest Village was a typical kid his age, smart, but always getting beaten by Rotol, and squealing as he ran away.

But now.

Isn’t he too quiet?

He was serene. No, perhaps subdued is the better word?

The calmness feels excessive, almost heavy. If you judged by atmosphere alone, Odan felt like the oldest of the three.

Is something wrong? I tentatively broached the subject.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

[…….]

…Did puberty hit early? His hair was dyed brown, maybe it really did?

As I stared, Odan grew slightly restless. His fidgeting fingers fiddled with his scarf.

Hm?

I squinted. Something felt wrong. Compared to the other two, the difference was even more pronounced.

It was spring. Though a cold wind blew at night, the days were quite warm. This was a greenhouse, so it was a little warmer regardless of the season.

Even Rotol and Mirim had just taken off the outer garments they wore when they entered and draped them over their arms.

But not Odan. He was bundled up tightly in a long, thick outer garment, his scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. He even kept pulling it up over his nose several times before hesitating and pulling it back down. It meant it had already become a habit.

…No way.

Is he being bullied?! Are they picking on him just because he’s so pretty?!

The image of Odan, much smaller than the other kids, being stomped on and wailing, replayed in my mind. I felt rage that made the back of my head throb.

You bastards!

[Odan. Don’t misunderstand, listen.]

“…Starting like that usually leads to something people misunderstand.”

“Rotol. Shh!”

[…Are you being bullied at the academy?]

Three pairs of eyes widened at my words. Rotol and Mirim turned their heads around.

“What?! Is it true? Are you being bullied?”

“Odan. Is what Lord Dragon said true?”

“Uh, no…!”

“You just said ‘uh’!”

“That’s not it…!”

Odan was flustered as he insisted it wasn’t true. His panicked look didn’t seem fake.

“I haven’t made any friends yet, but everyone’s been nice to me. The teachers pay a lot of attention too.”

His subsequent explanation felt sincere. But what stuck in my minds was the very first thing he said.

He hasn’t made any friends yet.

…He hasn’t made any friends yet?!

“It’s… it’s my fault! Everyone tried to be nice, but I… pushed them away because I’m shy.”

“But why?”

“……”

Odan didn’t answer.

I tried to gently prod him, but he wouldn’t budge. Rotol gave up, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head vigorously. Mirim said, ‘Odan doesn’t usually act like that, but once he does, even if Uncle Derrick scolds him, he won’t open his mouth.’

…If he could resist the Derrick, who used to look like a bandit rather than the handsome Derrick, it was proof of his strong will.

[You might not want to talk about it. Just tell me this. Are you really fine?]

I asked, my small body was trembling.

For a moment, I thought I might look like a Chihuahua angry for no reason to others, but it wasn’t important. What mattered was our Odan’s life at the academy.

Rotol and Mirim also held their breath.

And Odan just smiled. It was a deflating reaction, but it was also a relief.

No, given the gravity of the situation, this was actually better. Rotol jumped up and pounced on Odan.

“Ugh.”

She took his head in a headlock and rubbed Odan’s crown roughly with her fist.

“Alright. If you’re fine, that’s all that matters!”

“Ack! Aaargh! Brother Mirim, why aren’t you stopping her?! Aaargh!”

“If any trouble comes up later, tell this sister. I’ll go and fix it all!”

“You’re the one troubling me up right now?!”

“Ahahaha!”

A little time passed.

Mirim, who had peeled Rotol off like seaweed clinging to a rock, looked at me and asked.

“But Lord Dragon, aren’t you going to see the festival?”

[Yes.]

“Why?”

[It’s not fun.]

To be precise, sightseeing from inside a carriage and a cage wasn’t fun.

At first, I went out to enjoy seeing the fantasy world, but that only lasted once or twice.

What fun was there in just looking around through the window, stuck in a cage, let alone getting out of the carriage?

But I couldn’t just wander off on my own either. Kaelus wouldn’t allow it.

After that, with the birthday celebration and the monster wave happening back-to-back, things got so hectic I didn’t even think to ask.

If it were now, he might let me go out…

Just as that thought crossed my mind. Rotol clenched her fist and said.

“Then, how about we go on our own?”

“Rotol! That’s…!”

“Sister Rotol, you’re talking nonsense again.”

Smack!

“Aah!”

“…Odan. Please. You know better, yet you provoke her. You have a problem too.”

“What did I do? Brother Mirim is always on Sister Rotol’s side!”

Mirim’s face turned red, and Rotol delivered a second slap.

“I can’t take this anymore!”

“What are you going to do if you can’t take it?”

Odan clenched both fists and charged forward. Rotol snorted derisively and pushed Odan’s forehead away with her palm, sending him flying backward. Odan’s clenched fist struck only air.

Rotol turned to me and asked.

“So, Yuram. What do you think?”

[……Even so, violence is…….]

“Not that.”

Rotol started pleading for me to go out with her. She said it would be fine if we came back quickly.

“Since you’re small, if you hide inside my outer garments, the gatekeepers won’t notice.”

“I don’t think that’s the issue.”

Mirim objected. Odan thought it over carefully and also opposed the idea.

But Rotol insisted that since she was the leader here, they had to follow her orders. She claimed the other two were subordinates and had no decision-making power.

The two nodded unconsciously, then closed their mouths with expressions of belated shock.

[That won’t do.]

Playing with the kids was fun. It was fun too when we sneaked around the forest to play behind the adults’ backs.

Fun enough to call it a memory now.

But the reason I could call it a memory was precisely because we couldn’t act like that anymore. This wasn’t the Forest Village.

There was also the question of practicality. Even if, as Rotol said, I could somehow pass through the Duke’s gate in her outer garments…

Walking around the capital in dragon form?

I guarantee you, if I went anywhere crowded, I’d be exposed in less than five minutes. Hiding under outer garments had its limits.

The Kremlis was now a famous figure in the capital.