...I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll kill everyone.
“Varen, look at me.”
At the firmness in my voice, his lost gaze slowly turned toward me.
“No one will ever imprison you again. You can fly wherever you want.”
......
“Varen, how do you want to live?”
The eyes that had been wandering through fog gradually sharpened. Fear lifted, and a resolute will filled the space.
...I don’t want to kill.
“Good. You won’t kill anyone.”
His eyes, no longer swinging like a pendulum, were calm as a still lake. I could see my own reflection in that clear blue.
“I’ll never let that happen to you.”
...Ceryl Aylos.
His trembling voice called my name. A name I once thought was fake, but had now become completely my own.
“Varen Dravergh. Trust me.”
As if answering, he spoke the name I had given back to him.
Varen closed his eyes again and pressed his forehead to mine. Hot dragon skin touched a human body still damp.
...Okay. I’ll trust you.
Just feeling each other’s warmth made any further conversation unnecessary.
***
The Spirit’s domain was safe and peaceful.
Rami wandered who knows where to hunt and always returned covered in bright colors. Even without teeth, she smacked her mouth proudly.
Ella grazed as if determined to eat every blade of grass in the meadow. After being fed only hay in the Facility, the lush green seemed too tempting to leave untouched.
Varen also recovered quickly. In a place overflowing with mana, a single good night’s sleep was enough to make his golden scales shine again.
He had recovered enough mana, but he didn’t humanize. We no longer needed words to understand each other’s intentions.
“Aahaha! Varen, try and find me! Guess where I’m hiding!”
...You’re behind me.
“How did you know? Aahaha!”
I had hidden behind a dragon the size of a house, but apparently he had eyes ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) on the back of his head—my position was revealed instantly.
With no choice, I ran toward the edge of the meadow, putting Varen behind me. It was basically running in place.
“Vareeen, catch me if you caaan!”
Ha... you’re not even running away, so what exactly am I catching.
Then his thick, massive tail swept around once and coiled around my body.
In an instant, I was in the dragon’s grip and lifted into the air. The sunlight, somehow closer, heated my skin.
“Aahaha! Hey, using your tail is cheating!”
I hugged the tail wrapped around me and rubbed my cheek against it. The cold, smooth texture sent a shiver down my spine no matter how many times I touched it.
Ceryl, stop it. How long are you going to act like a loose-screwed human.
His voice was sharp compared to the gentle way he set me back down.
Only eight rides sliding down his back, twelve flights with his tail as an airplane, and just six rounds of tag. Honestly, he was being stingy.
Varen looked down at me with displeasure.
I’ve never seen you laugh this much.
“It’s fun. You’d think so too if you were in my place.”
...I can’t stay in this form forever.
The forest beyond was thick with conifers and rolling hills—places where Dragon Hunters could hide anywhere. At least until we left the forest, traveling in human form would be safer.
Saying goodbye to these lovely golden scales... the thought alone made my eyes sting. Still, I tried not to show it. I was supposed to be the adult here.
But Varen noticed first. He had offered to give me rides and was doing his best to play with me.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
Just then, a high scream rang out from the cabin. Kallen stood there, hair a total mess.
Her airways had burned so badly she could hardly breathe earlier, and yet somehow her voice had returned to the volume of a train whistle.
“D-d-dragon... dragon...!”
She pointed at the dragon with a shaking hand. I realized too late.
Even if the body recovers, the mind might not. Seeing the culprit of the Facility inferno would terrify her.
So you’ve awakened at last, human.
The moment Varen saw Kallen, he lowered his long neck toward the ground. His eyes gleamed in a threatening posture.
When the dragon growled, Kallen’s legs gave out and she collapsed.
It was an expected reaction. But that was fine.
Dragon training was only just beginning.
“Hey! Don’t glare like that!”
At my scolding, Varen instantly dimmed his eyes. Then he looked at me with a gaze full of rebellion.
Seeing his face directly made my heart soften. If he wanted, I’d pluck stars and moons for him.
No—focus.
Training had to be firm. If a guardian went soft, bad behavior never corrected itself.
“Hey, what’s with that look? Did we or did we not make a promise?”
...We did.
“What promise?”
His golden lips jutted to one side. A fang that didn’t tuck away poked out through the gap.
Trying to look cute, huh? Not happening. After training I’d give him all the kisses he wanted.
Varen rolled his blue eyes as he recalled last night’s promise.
Think once more before killing.
“Next.”
Don’t breathe fire just because I’m angry.
My darling dragon was clever. He remembered the difficult promises well.
Whether from the author’s parameters, his upbringing in the underground prison, or just his innate temperament...
He sometimes showed the violent traits of his original. He struggled to contain bursts of rage.
I had assumed burning the Facility had simply been revenge. But when he attacked Rami and Ella without hesitation, saying it wasn’t his will, I understood.
If I didn’t want him to walk the path of the original mad slaughterer, then Varen needed effort too. He needed to learn emotional control and patience.
“Even if you want to kill, you can hold it back, right?”
Yes. Because I promised.
“Good, that’s my boy. I’ll talk to her, so wait here—no fire. Okay?”
What are you talking about? How long do I have to wait?
The dragon, full of complaints and questions, needed a carrot.
“If you wait quietly, I’ll give you a kiss when I’m back.”
The dragon bit down on the carrot immediately and exhaled a long snort. Then—thump—he stomped a forepaw.
Fine. But I won’t wait long.
I patted the cheek of the dragon who had obediently lowered his head. And from the cabin came another scream of pure despair.
“Kyaaaa! Ceryl!”
It had been a long time since anyone used that title for me, and my temples throbbed.
Varen and Kallen. Two beings who absolutely could not forgive each other. I’d spent all night thinking about how to handle them.
Finally, I’d come up with a scenario—and with resolve, I approached Kallen.
“Kallen, is your body okay? You—”
“C-Ceryl! Get behind me! It’s dangerous!!”
That was not in the scenario.
Kallen stood up and blocked me with her whole body. A small girl, trembling all over, trying to shield me.
What was she doing? I tilted my head, studying her expression. Her young face was filled with grim determination.
“I-I’ll hold the dragon off somehow. You run!”
Since when had her loyalty toward me become so intense? This was the girl whose hobby was insubordination.
Did almost dying change her outlook on life? The absurdity and the sweetness of it made me laugh faintly.
“You’re telling me to run?”
“H-hurry! You’re weaker than me! I’ll stop it!”
Even if this body wasn’t the strongest, I wasn’t weaker than a skinny 160-centimeter girl.
“Do I look weak?”
“You can’t even lift a single haystack properly!”
Well. When I thought about it... she might have carried haystacks in both arms while I barely managed one.
But that didn’t mean I was weak. It meant Kallen was extremely strong for her size.
A girl who’d followed her herb-gatherer parents up mountains her whole life had the grip strength of a seasoned laborer.
Unintentionally bruising my pride, Kallen squeezed her eyes shut. Her pale face was clearly terrified, but she didn’t budge from blocking my path.
“My mom, and dad... and the villagers... and even the friends from the Facility—they all died.”
“...Kallen.”
“I won’t lose someone precious to a dragon ever again!”
Her earnest cry made my nose sting.
To think I counted as someone precious to her. On the night of the fire, I hadn’t even thought of her.
No matter how tough she tried to act, Kallen was still a child. A child who responded to an adult’s smallest kindness with pure affection.
My throat tightened. I cleared it once and barely managed to speak.
“What did I even do for you...”
“E-even though... you dumped all your work on me... and slacked off every day!”
“......”
“All you ever did was nag at me, but... but you’re still precious to me!”
...Am I supposed to be touched? Or offended?
I had to talk to her, but seeing her stand there trembling, orange hair sticking up like static, made me curious.
Courage was admirable, but... what exactly made her think she could stop a dragon?
“So how are you planning to fight a dragon?”
Kallen’s eyes widened dramatically. She glared at Varen from afar like she meant to kill him on the spot.
“I read it in a book. A dragon’s weakness.”
“A dragon’s weakness?”
“If you hit a dragon really hard on the nose, it gets disoriented. You knock it out in one blow and run.”
That tactic existed in my old world too. The difference was that the target there was sharks.
“Stop spouting nonsense and come with me.”
“Kyaaa! Ceryl, don’t abandon me—!”
In the end, I grabbed the scruff of the girl’s neck and dragged her behind the cabin.
