Morpha and Varen flew without rest. Subjectively, it felt as if the scenery changed every time I closed and opened my eyes.
Kallen and Margon were no longer screaming. They had passed out, unable to endure the speed.
I watched the two of them hanging limp as they flew and felt puzzled. Far from wanting to pass out, I felt as if a gentle spring breeze were brushing past me.
Even Rami and Miya in my arms were perfectly fine. The two small reptiles wriggled around inside my clothes, even playing tag with each other.
I asked Varen, who was focused straight ahead.
“Why did Kallen and Margon pass out?”
“Humans have a hard time enduring a dragon’s flight speed.”
“Really? I feel fine.”
“That’s because I have a barrier on you.”
When Varen said it matter-of-factly without taking his eyes off the front, I gave an awkward smile.
Well, from Morpha’s perspective, two humans were just baggage—but to Varen, I wouldn’t be baggage.
I shouldn’t get used to this kind of special treatment. Even so, I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting.
After flying for half a day, we took a short rest. While I ate the bread I’d brought from Belzena, Kallen and Margon still couldn’t wake up, foam at their mouths.
Morpha and Varen sipped from small bottles. They said it was magic medicine to replenish magic power.
When I held out my hand to Varen after he drained his bottle in one go, he passed me the empty vial. I brought the opening to my nose and sniffed, but there was no smell at all.
“Can I drink this too?”
“If you want. But it doesn’t taste good.”
“I’ll just taste it. Just a taste.”
Honestly, there was no reason for me to replenish magic power—but dragon magic medicine? There was no way I could just let that pass.
Tilting my head back, I opened my mouth wide and shook out the bottom of the glass vial. A couple of drops fell onto my tongue.
Varen had said it didn’t taste good, but that was a lie. This didn’t have a taste at all.
“Gah—ahhh!”
The part of my tongue the dragon magic medicine touched felt like it was burning away. It was as if my mouth had caught fire.
I stuck out my tongue and felt at it with my fingers. I thought it was burning, but the wet flesh was intact. That didn’t mean the pain disappeared.
I writhed all over, stamping my feet as if doing a tap dance. It had to look ridiculous, but I stuck my tongue out and even teared up.
“Hah—ah! Hey—ee—eugh!”
“That’s a mess.”
With my tongue out, my pronunciation was a disaster. I just looked at Varen with eyes begging for rescue.
Varen approached me with a calm expression. He grabbed the back of my neck and my jaw, then pressed his lips to mine.
His warm, soft tongue entered my mouth and extinguished the fire on my tongue. As the pain melted away, I stopped writhing and quietly accepted him.
Ending the brief kiss, Varen pulled his lips away. I swallowed the saliva still lingering in my mouth. It had been just a sip, but strength returned to my exhausted body.
As I blinked blankly, Varen smiled and stroked my cheek.
“Dragon medicine seems harsh for humans.”
“...Yeah. I don’t think I need that.”
With medicine this sweet and good for the body, there was no need for magic medicine that felt like it was slicing my tongue.
Then I heard someone clear their throat nearby. It was Morpha, in the form of an expressionless boy.
“Please stop copulating and depart.”
“...Co—what? Morpha, this isn’t copu— that’s not what this is.”
“You pressed your mouths together and entwined tongues. That is copulation.”
“No, wait. Don’t use words like that with that appearance.”
I didn’t know their exact age, but since Morpha mostly ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) looked like a child, I slipped into informal speech without realizing it.
Morpha shrugged and walked over to the unconscious Kallen and Margon. After carefully placing their slipped-off hoods back on, they shot up into the air and disappeared.
Staring into empty space, Varen touched his lips shyly and muttered.
“Copulation... that’s what it’s called.”
“Please, Varen. Don’t learn words like that.”
“Why do you keep doing this? You know the word too—why are you telling me not to learn it?”
A stubborn gaze pierced into my face. I had a bad feeling.
And sure enough.
“Ceryl, I want to copu—”
“Aaah! Stop, stop!!”
I lunged forward and clapped a hand over Varen’s mouth. Then, before he could say anything else, I pulled my cloak’s hood down over my head.
“Let’s go. We’ll miss it.”
“You’re shy.”
For some reason, Varen sounded pleased as he wrapped an arm around my waist. With the hood on, he kicked off the ground in a single motion and took flight.
***
Just as Neira had said, we reached Bellorian in a single day. On foot it would have taken a month; even on horseback, a week.
The destination was right in front of us, but we decided to hide ourselves in the forest and regroup.
Though not as large as the capital, Bellorian was a sizable city. Stone walls encircled the entire city, and guards stood at the entrances opened to the east, west, south, and north.
The distance was considerable, but when I gently closed my eyes and listened, I could hear human voices.
“Name.”
“Dorian Baria. I’ve come to sell shellfish and fish.”
An elderly voice answered the curt one. Rustling, bustling noises followed, as if goods were being inspected.
“Have you seen a large blond man with long hair recently. A handsome man in his early twenties.”
“Blond? I’ve never even been born with a color like that.”
“Report to the army immediately if you spot him.”
After overhearing the short exchange, I slowly opened my eyes. If I opened my mouth, all kinds of curses would probably spill out, so I bit my lip hard.
And Varen, who must have heard the same thing, wore an innocent expression. He pretended not to care, but now that we were actually near a city, his eyes shone with curiosity.
Looking back, I saw Kallen and Margon, who had just come to, blinking vacantly.
I looked at them one by one, then grabbed at my hair in despair. To be honest, I wanted to grab Varen by the hair instead.
I had thought it would be fine even if word reached the king that Varen had declared before the dragons that he would kill the Human King. That had been careless of me.
On top of that, the king knew Varen’s humanized appearance in exact detail. My suspicion that there were still informants among the dragons hardened into certainty.
That aside... how were we supposed to get through there?
“Ceryl, why are you like that. Is there a problem?”
“Uh, yeah. A very big problem.”
“Tell me. No matter how big it is, I’ll solve it.”
You—you! You’re the problem!!
I wanted to shout it, but forced myself to hold back. If I said that, he’d just get dejected again.
Only after screaming internally dozens of times did I manage to speak calmly.
“The guards are checking people. Varen, I think they’re looking for you.”
“So?”
Varen tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand. Then he cast his gaze toward the checkpoint.
“If that’s the problem, can’t we just kill them?”
“No. There’s no need to draw attention by causing a disturbance.”
I snapped my eyes open and turned toward Morpha. I turned my neck so fast I nearly pulled something.
But even if my neck snapped, I didn’t care. My chest swelled with joy at finally having a companion with normal reasoning.
Unaware of my moved gaze, Morpha surveyed the city’s outer wall with a cautious look.
“Magic is flowing through the wall. It would be difficult to hide ourselves and climb over.”
“Wow....”
“We could pass through the gate wearing the veils, but without obtaining travel permits at the entrance, operating inside the city would be inconvenient.”
“Woooow....”
I let out my admiration without hiding it, clasping my hands and looking at Morpha. I didn’t know their age or even their gender, but Morpha looked so lovely I almost wanted to kiss them.
When I stared with honey-dripping eyes, Morpha happened to turn their head and meet my gaze—and flinched back.
“W-what is it? Why are you looking at me with such a disgusting gaze?”
“.......”
“That’s unpleasant. Utterly unpleasant.”
It seemed to be a racial trait of dragons to incur a thousand nyang of debt with a single sentence.
I dropped my gentle gaze and plopped down on the dirt. Dravergh clothing didn’t get dirty, so it was good for mobility.
“Then is there a way to get through? They know Varen’s appearance exactly.”
“Appearance is only the surface. They do not know Lord Varen’s soul.”
“Well, I get what you’re saying. But does that mean there’s a way, or not?”
At my repeated question, Morpha looked at Varen with their pitch-black eyes.
“Blond long hair. A large build in his early twenties. As long as he isn’t that, isn’t it fine?”
Without giving anyone a chance to stop them, Morpha placed a hand on the crown of Varen’s head. A faint light began to emanate from his blond, long hair.
