Chapter 20
Ah—I should have asked whether dragons even existed.
But he didn’t seem to notice anything strange about my words. I quickly asked again.
“Then… are you saying that lizard was a dragon?”
I’d never seen a dragon in real life, but through novels and illustrations I’d encountered them often enough to have a rough idea of what they looked like.
The dragons I imagined were massive—bigger than houses—with overwhelming presence, breathing fire from their mouths… Yes. Fire. It had been weak, more like a torch than a blaze, but it had definitely been fire.
“It hadn’t reached adulthood yet, so there was some confusion during its transformation. Thanks to you subduing it properly, there wasn’t any major damage.”
“So I guess that makes me its benefactor.”
“Revan probably wouldn’t see it that way… but yes, essentially. I’ll thank you on its behalf. You really helped.”
“So. Back to my question. Why would a dragon come looking for me?”
The man couldn’t take his curious eyes off me as he replied.
“I told you. I’m interested.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Then why? Why would a dragon be interested in me?”
“Hm. You’re really certain I’m a dragon?”
“Only magical beasts use magic. You said you’re not a magical beast, so that leaves dragons.”
Or a magical beast pretending to be a dragon.
I didn’t bother saying that part out loud. Suspicion was both my habit and my specialty.
“So why exactly is a dragon interested in me?”
“Who do you think is the strongest person on the continent? Many names come up, but one stood out more than the rest. Shiona Rodriguez, knight of the Perunia Empire. The moment that name is mentioned, everyone agrees.”
“So what? What does that have to do with why a dragon is interested in me? Do you need my strength or something? Or are you hoping to leave strong offspring for the future?”
“Well, that’s not a bad proposal either. But first, I became interested in you as a person.”
What was this—his roundabout way of saying it was love at first sight?
“I suppose that’s possible. So what now? You’re interested in me, so you came looking for me. And then?”
“For now, I plan to keep watching. Last time, you gave me permission.”
By “last time,” he seemed to mean the day he’d handed me that strange stone. When he said he wanted to keep watching me, I’d told him to go ahead.
“That was when I didn’t know who you were. Right now, I’m still debating whether to report you and that kid to the Empire immediately. Why would I keep someone like that by my side?”
“Well, if our identities were exposed, you’d be in trouble too.”
The strange nuance in his words made my eyes widen.
“Is that a threat?”
“Of course not. Just advice—from a friend.”
“When did we ever become friends? I don’t recall befriending a dragon.”
“That hurts. Don’t you remember the gift I gave you last time? Our kind gives gifts to show friendship. Humans do that too, don’t they?”
He drooped his eyebrows as if genuinely hurt. I tossed my question at him casually.
“Oh, that rock?”
“…A rock.”
“So basically, you came here to keep me quiet?”
“I never said that—but you’re not wrong. Just remember this one thing: right now, I’m on your side. If you keep me close, you won’t regret it.”
Right now.
It felt like he was drawing a line.
“So you might not be on my side later?”
“Sharp. But nothing lasts forever. If I promised to always be on your side, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
He knew me well. Eternal relationships didn’t exist in this world.
If there was one exception, perhaps it was love.
Absolute trust and faith—a fated bond worth offering one’s entire eternity for. Only love could make something like that possible.
Everything else? I didn’t really want to believe in it.
Honestly, I figured there had to be a reason behind his incomprehensible behavior.
And I had a vague idea what that reason was.
When it came to love, I wasn’t stingy. If anything, I was generous.
That was why I felt a little sorry for him. Love that crossed species… it even sounded romantic.
And if someone liked me, giving them at least one chance didn’t seem so bad. That was the conclusion I reached.
“I still don’t understand most of this, and there’s more than a little that seems suspicious—but for now, I get it.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. I was worried you might refuse.”
There wasn’t a trace of tension in the smile he gave me. Suspicious, as expected.
Keeping someone like this around?
Even the phrasing felt odd. He wasn’t my subordinate, nor was he hired help—yet here I was talking about keeping him “by my side.”
I corrected myself.
“And saying ‘stay by my side’ is strange. Think of it as me allowing you to watch from afar.”
“Watching from afar is what I’ve been doing already. I was hoping to watch from closer now.”
Unbelievable. The sheer audacity of this stalker was astonishing.
The smiling eyes he put on, pretending innocence, were downright sly.
If it weren’t for that face, I’d have kicked him out immediately…
Raking a hand through my messy hair, I finally asked the question I should’ve asked long ago.
“By the way… what’s your name?”
It was ridiculous—we hadn’t even exchanged names.
He seemed to know everything about me: my name, my work, where I lived, even my personality. All I knew about him was that he was a dragon—and my stalker.
The man threw his head back and laughed loudly.
He really laughed easily.
Wiping away a tear, he finally answered.
“Ah, sorry. I just thought it was funny how late you asked.”
The clearly mocking tone made me frown. I crossed my arms and tilted my head, urging him to answer.
“Ernan. That’s my name.”
Ernan.
I rolled the name around in my head. As expected, I’d never heard it before.
At this point, I was tired of trying to connect the novel to reality. If he was a dragon, then keeping him on my side didn’t seem like a bad idea.
He’d also said himself that he wasn’t my enemy. We weren’t exactly trustworthy allies, but there was no particular reason not to believe him either.
I uncrossed my arms and held out my hand—a standard greeting between strangers.
“Ernan, nice to meet you. And thank you for saving me earlier.”
But he just stared at my hand.
Did dragons greet differently from humans?
He looked perfectly human, so I’d assumed their behavior wouldn’t be all that different.
Then again, he’d given me a rock as a gift. That alone said plenty about how far removed their sense of aesthetics was from humanity’s.
Maybe they had their own unique greeting customs—showing off magic, flapping wings, something like that… But I was human. I couldn’t do any of those.
So I’d have to teach him.
I took Ernan’s hand, clasped it in mine, and shook it up and down.
“Like this. You shake it up and down. It means ‘nice to meet you’ or ‘I look forward to working with you.’”
After shaking for a while, I heard a muffled snicker and looked up.
Ernan was bent forward, laughing.
What now? Was he mocking me?
His hand was still cold—so cold it barely felt human.
And the things he found funny were completely incomprehensible to me.
Only then did it truly sink in that the person in front of me wasn’t human.
I twisted my hand free and asked him, still smiling,
“So how are you planning to get close to me from now on?”
“Well, I’ll watch for now… and slowly approach.”
That was interesting. I leaned forward.
“And after that?”
“Hmm… I’ll need to confirm something.”
“What exactly?”
“…This and that?”
“Oh?”
I propped my chin on my hand and looked at him with interest.
Ernan mirrored my posture and leaned closer.
I briefly wondered whether I should press him on what exactly he meant and what he planned to do to me.
But maybe it would be enough to deal with it when the time came.
I knew it was a careless way of thinking, but I’d never been overpowered by anyone before, so the decision was quick.
Part of me also felt sorry for the effort he’d put into learning everything about me.
Come to think of it, his constant laughter over trivial things made sense now.
His lips still curved into a smile, as if just looking at me made him want to laugh.
Was he not even trying to hide it?
He didn’t need to, now that I’d already noticed—but this was almost too obvious.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and leaned back against the sofa, studying his expression.
The gentle smile remained at the corners of his mouth, and his blue eyes were full of curiosity.
It was the textbook look of affection—directed at someone you liked.
Troublesome.
His appearance was completely my type, but… a dragon?
Different species—would that really be okay?
What had seemed romantic at first was now starting to worry me.
I imagined how I’d reject him if he confessed seriously, but when I pictured those earnest eyes, I thought I might end up accepting him without realizing it.
I really was far too generous when it came to love.
Still, I needed to draw a clear line first.
“You probably already know this, but I’ve sworn loyalty to the Empire. You might want to try all sorts of things with me, but I’m busy. I can’t make time to be with you.”
“Hm. That’s a little different from what I know.”
“I don’t know how much you think you know about me, but your interest is excessive. I’d like you to hold back a little. Don’t you have your own responsibilities?”
“This is my responsibility.”
Oh no…
His words caught me off guard. I might’ve even been a little moved.
Could someone’s duty really be love? Was he planning to stake everything on it? To think there was someone—no, a dragon—this reckless.
All the more reason to stay cold. If I had no intention of accepting him, it was better to cut things off clearly.
“I’m sorry, but… I’m not interested in dating at all.”
“That’s also different from what I’ve heard.”
Just how much did he know about me?
At this point, it was severe. Whatever condition he had, even medicine couldn’t cure it.
Even the way he looked at me was starting to feel… sticky.
And yet, maybe because his looks were my type, his devotion felt strangely touching.
Then shouldn’t I at least give him one chance? Wouldn’t that make it easier for him to give up afterward?
“…This is troublesome.”
I muttered softly, then spoke almost in a whisper.
“Fine… I guess I don’t have a choice. If you really want it, just once.”
Ernan tilted his head, pretending not to understand.
His intentions were obvious to me. Did he want me to ask him out directly?
His inner thoughts were downright sly.
