Aaaargh!!!
“Hey! Calm down!”
“M-my eyes! My eyes!!”
A golden dragon rushed towards the man, who was writhing on the floor, clutching his eyes and screaming.
“Ugh, I can’t see…!!”
“Pull yourself together!”
“Aaaargh!!!”
Though the dragon desperately called out to the man beside them, he merely drooled and splattered blood across the floor, unresponsive.
“…I can’t see.”
“First, calm down. Take a deep breath.”
“Hoo-hoo…….”
The dragon, who had been supporting the man, peered at a small screen below.
It displayed the Grand Mage of the Empire extracting a colossal eyeball.
Seeing this, the dragon frowned deeply.
“That crazy bastard.”
The curse was softly uttered, yet it was laden with profound fury.
Whether he heard the curse or not, the man, his limbs a mangled mess, leaned on the dragon’s shoulder and asked.
“…What about the Apostle?”
“They’re fine.”
“……I brought them here, yet I couldn’t help them.”
“They’ll understand. They were going to die anyway.”
“That was my mistake too, wasn’t it?”
“…You should’ve known when to stop.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re going to apologize, apologize to them. Their life seemed to have been spent in vain.”
“……I should.”
The dragon snapped their fingers, conjuring a pristine white bed.
“Rest there.”
“…Thank you.”
“…If you’re grateful, repay me later.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to repay you.”
“Hey!”
Watching the man, who bled from his eyes yet managed a faint smile, the dragon, now in the form of a woman, turned away with a displeased expression.
“I’ll support them well, so they should recover within 100 years, at the earliest.”
“I hope so.”
****
Within a space of pristine white tiles.
He looked at himself, submerged within a tub filled with water.
A green bottle was clutched in his hand.
Beside the white tub, on the floor, about two more green bottles lay scattered.
Beside him, some unknown, perforated object slowly burned away.
The white room was hazy.
‘What is this?’
Damian, the man dreaming, began to analyze why he was in such a state.
He was certain he had been sleeping soundly in the quarters provided by the dragons.
‘This must be a dream.’
The moment Damian’s thoughts reached that conclusion.
“Cough!!!”
An immense headache began to surge through him.
‘If this continued, I would surely die.’
Driven by that thought, he struggled to move, yet his body utterly refused to obey.
‘Insane.’
Despite such dreadful conditions, he moved his body as vigorously as possible.
He succeeded in slamming his head squarely against the white tub, which felt as unyielding as stone.
Ultimately, by hitting his head against the tub, Damian jolted awake from his dream.
“Gasp!!!”
His entire body was drenched in a clammy, cold sweat.
Nevertheless, Damian swept a hand across his face, relieved that the situation had merely been a dream.
“Haa…….”
Feeling as though a similar situation had occurred long ago, Damian gathered his clothes and left the room.
He intended to take a walk to clear his mind.
The gardens in the dragons’ castle were exquisitely beautiful, so Damian decided to go there.
He tightened his robe against the chill, settling air of dawn.
Damian walked slowly, breathing in the fresh morning air.
Upon seeing him, the servants were startled but bowed their heads in greeting.
Though he was human, a mage, and from the Empire, he was now, by all accounts, a citizen of the Kingdom, vouched for by the Elders and the King.
Moreover, he had rescued a persecuted royal descendant and brought them to the Kingdom.
He also possessed numerous Imperial secrets.
He was truly a guest of the highest honor.
His face had been plastered across newspapers in giant print, so no one in the Kingdom would fail to recognize him or discriminate against him.
Damian offered a light eye-greeting to the bowing servants as he made his way to the garden.
After about five minutes of walking, he arrived at the garden.
It was abundantly planted with lilacs.
As they were Queen Erses Lascaris’s favorite flowers, they filled one corner of the garden.
“…Even the King of this kingdom is a romantic.”
Though he muttered it with a hint of dissatisfaction, Damian’s face was smiling.
Damian shrugged, a slightly bitter smile playing on his lips.
“Lilacs.”
Damian didn’t dislike lilacs.
Yet, every time he saw them, he felt a strange, aching throb in his chest.
“Why is that?”
Upon reflection, it felt as though lilacs were more intertwined with his life than he had realized.
He was an abandoned orphan.
Having lived in the slums, he had few memories of his parents.
Tracing his memories back, the earliest recollection of opening his eyes was before a woman who held lilacs in her arms, her eyes closed in peaceful repose.
He didn’t know if she was his mother.
Whether she was simply someone who raised him, or if he had merely stumbled upon her.
He knew nothing of any connection they might have shared.
Yet, in that memory, he stood before the woman, weeping expressionlessly.
Not overcome by passionate emotion, but simply shedding silent tears as he gazed at her.
“…Who could she have been?”
Afterward, his talent for magic was discovered by the Grand Mage, and he spent his entire life as his disciple.
“Enough. What’s the point of dwelling on the past?”
His thoughts somewhat sorted, Damian rose from his spot.
The seal on his magic had long since been released, a recognition of his service in rescuing the royal family.
After lightly dusting off his clothes with a cleaning spell, just as he was about to leave the garden.
“…Mage?”
“Ah, Hero.”
“Do you like lilacs?”
A gray-haired woman approached Damian, smiling brightly.
A woman he inexplicably found himself drawn to.
Yet, it didn’t seem to be the emotion of love.
Rather, watching her only brought an ache to his chest.
A desire to constantly help her.
Damian simply defined that feeling as pity.
Seeing her smile so brightly, his heart undoubtedly felt at ease.
“So, you do smile like that?”
“Yes, something good happened today.”
“Something good?”
“Yes, something good.”
“Can you tell me?”
“No, it’s a secret!”
“Alright then.”
Han Yuri, smiling brightly, brought her index finger to her lips, declaring it a secret.
Damian chuckled softly, watching Han Yuri.
“Hero, do you also like lilacs?”
“Yes, I saw them a lot when I was there.”
“They have lilacs there too?”
“Yes, they do. Everything is pretty much similar to here. Even the animals.”
“What are the differences?”
“Hmm… magic, and the presence of demons? I haven’t been here long enough. Are there races like elves and dwarves here?”
“Yes.”
“On my side, humans are the only sentient beings.”
“Really? That’s fascinating.”
Damian pushed aside his burgeoning curiosity and steered the conversation back to lilacs with Han Yuri.
“Ahem! I got a little sidetracked.”
“No, it was interesting. It brought back old memories.”
“So, why do you like lilacs?”
“Originally, I didn’t think much of them, but my fiancé loved lilacs.”
“…Ah.”
The air nearly grew cold for a moment, but as Han Yuri seemed to have already overcome her grief, Damian shrewdly matched her mood.
If he were to express sadness or pity here, it would only make her uncomfortable.
“I see?”
“Yes, he always gave me lilacs as gifts.”
“Aha~”
“He’s probably doing well. His family strongly opposed him marrying a woman with no family, after all.”
“That’s too much!”
“Oh, don’t say that.”
Han Yuri continued, laughing spiritedly.
“I’m healthy now, you know?”
“Are you?”
“Yes, Elder Baal Breeze healed me.”
“Hmm…….”
“I’m satisfied. Being a Half-Dragon… means I won’t age anymore, right?”
Damian burst into a chuckle at Han Yuri’s unexpected satisfaction.
“Why, why are you laughing?”
“I thought you’d be satisfied with becoming stronger. Your satisfaction with that aspect is just unexpected.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“No, it’s perfectly fine.”
As the two chuckled awkwardly, a breeze swept between them.
“Ugh, it’s a bit chilly.”
“Is it? Have you become weaker to the cold since you’re a dragon?”
“I suppose so.”
Dragons are vulnerable to the cold.
Their sensitivity to temperature changes is a natural fact. If they were immune, they would be monsters.
Even the Elders’ conditions vary slightly with temperature.
“But with the wind, the scent of lilacs just wafts over.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“It’s really nice.”
“The scent is indeed pleasant.”
Han Yuri, who had been savoring the fragrance for a while, looked at Damian and continued.
“I got a bit closer with my younger sister today.”
“Oh, really? That’s good. Her Royal Highness the Princess is adorable, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“Ah, should I start calling Hero ‘Princess’ now too?”
“Oh, no, that’s not right.”
“Isn’t it? Living as a Princess now.”
“W-well, yes, but.”
Watching Han Yuri blush in embarrassment, Damian continued.
“I’ll now be working under Elder Anuket Mizuumi.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“…The Elder is quite eccentric, you know.”
Of course, Damian was satisfied.
For him, who yearned for knowledge, she was the person—no, the dragon—who could impart the most wisdom without touching upon taboos.
“I am satisfied. What she teaches is also interesting. She seems to have lived a similar life as well. She is someone who did her best to live, just like me.”
“Is that so?”
Han Yuri looked surprised, an unexpected expression on her face.
“I thought you were a young master.”
“Ahahaha, even in jest, I am from the slums.”
“You have a noble air about you.”
“Thank you.”
Damian gave a slight bow.
Then, from behind, came the pattering sound of bare feet scampering across the stone floor.
“Noo! No, Unnie!”
“Oh, Mino!”
Mino rushed over and sat beside Han Yuri.
Looking at Mino, Damian thought.
‘She’s seriously so damn cute.’
And when he came to his senses again.
“Ugh… that hurts…….”
“M-Mage?!”
“Ah.”
He had picked up Mino and was indiscriminately pulling and squeezing her cheeks.
‘Did I just ruin my life…?’
Damian reviewed his life up to this point.
