Kallen, who’d been flailing, calmed down once we were out of the dragon’s line of sight. More than anything, someone who could soothe her was waiting.
“Snort!”
“Ella! You’re safe!”
Ella, who had been mouthing at the grass, greeted her gladly. Kallen threw her arms around Ella’s face and shared the joy of reunion.
“Hic... I really thought I was going to die. Thank you for saving me, Ella.”
“Snort, snort.”
The composed monster comforted the sniffling girl. She tapped Kallen’s wet cheek with her nose and pushed her forehead forward to make her lift her head.
It felt like only yesterday she’d nearly fainted because a monster licked my hand, and yet now she was sharing a deep friendship with one. It was gratifying to see.
“Ceryl, thank goodness. Let’s ride Ella and run!”
The time had come. I swallowed and faced Kallen.
“No. There’s no need to run.”
“What? But the dragon is still right there.”
Kallen clung to Ella with a frightened face. Just saying the word “dragon” seemed to scare her; the color she’d regained drained pale again.
“Kallen, I have a favor. From now on, listen to what I say until the end.”
“What... are you going to say?”
Her long, abundant orange curls had burned in patches. On top of that, she’d only just woken, so her hair was a wild mess.
I quietly smoothed the disaster of hair. It was the first time my hand had ever touched her like that, and Kallen flinched and looked up.
“The dragon in the underground prison you used to bring feed to. Do you remember?”
The confusion in her eyes quickly filled with anger. Kallen bit her lip and glared toward the cabin—no, at the dragon beyond it.
“Of course I remember. No—I can’t forget.”
“Right. That dragon remembers you, and...”
“The Facility was my workplace and my home. The «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» people there were my colleagues and friends. How could I forget the dragon that burned them all?”
I patted Kallen’s shoulders as she shouted through clenched hatred. Her thin frame, easily spanned by one hand, felt painfully fragile.
“Kallen, I asked you, didn’t I. Please let me finish.”
At my calm tone, Kallen drew a breath. She still huffed, but steadied her breathing and waited for me to speak.
“You’re right—the dragon trapped in the underground prison burned the Facility down.”
I had spent the night spinning through scenarios—how to soothe Kallen, and how to persuade Varen.
“And I’m the one who set the dragon free.”
“...What?”
No matter how I turned it over, the truth was best.
“I freed the dragon in the underground prison.”
I didn’t care anymore if people mistook me for a Rebel. There was no superior left to threaten my life, either.
I laid it out as plainly as I could, but the shock to Kallen was not small.
“C-Ceryl... what are you... h-how could you...”
Her body went rigid while her eyes just blinked. She kept turning the short sentence over, trying to grasp its meaning.
But there was no way Kallen could accept what I meant.
“You know this now, too—monsters are sentient beings. Especially dragons; their intellect surpasses humans.”
“What does that have to do with me? My hometown, my family! And now even my friends! A dragon burned everything!”
“Kallen, calm d—”
“No!”
Kallen slapped away the hand that had been patting her shoulder. She glared at me with eyes full of raw injustice.
“Dragons all deserve to die! They’re cruel, savage, dangerous creatures mad for slaughter!”
The hand she rejected hung there, lost. I had no words for her scream of a denunciation. The scenario I’d prepared all night was no help at all.
Of course. She’d lost everyone precious to her to a dragon; asking her to understand Varen might be too cruel.
In my silence, it was Ella who answered her.
“Snort...”
The monster, who understood every human word, let her tail droop limply. Her pricked ears folded back, and her melancholy eyes dropped to the ground.
My gaze went to Ella’s limping leg. Kallen noticed the injury late and her eyes went wide like lanterns.
“Ella, are you hurt? Are you okay?”
The Spirit’s power had healed the wounds, but the dragon’s flames had left indelible marks on Ella’s body.
Kallen stamped her feet, not knowing what to do. Watching her, I opened my mouth with a heavy heart.
“She was hurt while saving you.”
“...No way. Because of me...”
Kallen stared blankly at the monster’s scar. Her big eyes still brimmed as if the tears would never run dry.
“Snort, snort.”
Ella rubbed her face against Kallen as if to say she was fine. The sight of the two dear friends made me let out a dry laugh.
“Funny, isn’t it. When you two first met, you were both desperate to devour each other.”
Remembering a past not so distant, Kallen said nothing.
In the Spirit’s domain, even the wind was calm and quiet. I gently patted Kallen’s shoulder again now that she’d stilled.
“Kallen, remember what you said before? You said all monsters were devils.”
“......”
“After treating the monsters yourself, how did it seem?”
Kallen didn’t answer easily. Instead, she raised her hand and stroked Ella’s head.
“They were all good kids. They just... had wounds.”
“Right. Monsters with wounds are especially fierce. Do you know why?”
“......”
“Because they’re in pain and afraid.”
Perhaps wondering if she’d taken monster care too lightly, Kallen slowly nodded to my words.
I steadied my tight breathing and swallowed.
“The dragon out in the meadow is the same. His wound is so deep that he’s been in pain and afraid—and so he’s been especially fierce.”
“......”
“He’s been trapped in an underground prison since the moment he was born. His whole body chained, tortured by humans his entire life. His heart pierced, his claws torn out. Day after day.”
I stood in front of Kallen as she stared, vacant. Then her orange eyes, empty as a husk, turned to me.
“You lost your family and friends. But that dragon has never even met his family, never once made a friend. He was locked alone underground his entire life.
“......”
“He’s never seen the sky, never breathed clean air. He’s never seen even a single flower blooming in a meadow.”
It had only been a few days ago, yet it felt like I was recalling something from a long time past.
The underground cell where Varen had been trapped still stood before my eyes. The choking darkness. The stench that made breathing itself labor.
“And... he was given the corpses of his kin as feed. You remember that, too.”
“...Ha.”
A hot breath burst out from Kallen’s clogged throat. At the same time, tears pattered from her eyes like beads.
“I... I didn’t do it because I wanted to...”
“I know. I ordered it.”
Kallen’s eyes wandered in confusion. Then, as if she’d remembered something, she snapped up her pale face.
“T-then that dragon... ate... a friend’s corpse...”
“He didn’t eat. He lived surrounded by corpses.”
“...Ugh, urk...”
Maybe she’d tried to put herself in Varen’s place—Kallen covered her mouth and gagged. I lightly patted her back.
“I won’t ask you to forgive the dragon. But... could you try to understand?”
At my cautious request, Kallen’s head dropped forward. She raised both fists to cover her face, but couldn’t stop the tears that flowed through her fingers.
“Uuugh... why... why did the Facility... do that...”
“It was all human greed. To steal a dragon’s power.”
“Greed...”
Her thin body trembled pitifully. Soon she slumped onto the grass.
I went down on one knee and sat across from her. In a voice not yet ripened into adulthood, she muttered disjointed fragments to herself.
“Then... they could’ve just killed me... just the bad... hic... greedy people...”
“......”
“My friend, Amy... why... the only thing Amy was greedy for... was... my apple pie...”
I held those pitiful shoulders without a word. Kallen didn’t push me away anymore.
Her hitching sobs grew louder. Her white hands clutched at my waist and balled into tight fists.
“Kh— you’re... all so... cruel... everyone... hic— so cruel...”
I squeezed my eyes shut at her crying. You’re supposed to turn away from misfortune you can’t take responsibility for—but I couldn’t.
Nineteen. Far too young to be an adult, and too old to be allowed to be a child—an especially cruel age.
Because I knew too well what it meant to lose your parents then. Because I knew how brutal this world was for someone barely nineteen.
For a child whom even the world had stolen away from adult care, the apology belonged to the adults.
“I’m sorry, Kallen.”
There was no more anger or grievance coming from Kallen. All those feelings washed away with her clear tears.
***
We headed back to the meadow. The golden dragon sat obediently as instructed.
When we drew closer, Kallen still hid behind me, afraid. She couldn’t even lift her head; she just stared at the ground.
“May we speak with her for a moment?”
Varen looked down at Kallen with eyes that held no emotion. Then he dipped his huge head, just a little.
Kallen trembled head to toe and took deep breaths, over and over. After a moment, hesitating, she stood facing the dragon.
Even I grew nervous at the standoff between the two. It felt like holding a time bomb in both hands, not knowing when it would go off.
The human spoke first.
“Y-you killed everyone at the Facility. So... I can’t forgive you.”
Her voice was bolder than expected—and the content, not what I expected. I groaned and pressed my fingers to my brow.
“But... I’m not asking you to apologize.”
At that, I looked back at Kallen.
She’d cried so much her eyelids were puffed up, but her eyes shone clearer than ever.
“I’m sorry. For bringing you corpses of monsters as feed all that time.”
......
“And... for pretending not to see you suffering... I’m sorry.”
Receiving that heartfelt apology, Varen began to glow. As the dragon’s body shrank, I quickly covered Kallen’s eyes.
Couldn’t show something indecent to a minor.
