Chapter 17
“Where are you going? I told you to let me down!”
“You’re too weak. You need to move more. You look like you could snap in half any second.”
“I am not! I’m good at running and super strong!”
At that, Erev stopped in his tracks.
He threw his head back, then tilted it to the side, looking down at me as if to gauge me.
“Really? Doesn’t seem like it at all.”
Stubborn Erev ended up dragging me to the training grounds.
“Alright, stand straight.”
“No.”
“Are you going to keep disobeying your big brother? What kind of good little kid doesn’t listen? You need to exercise or you’ll catch a cold.”
Huh?
I feel like I’ve heard that exact line somewhere before.
Where was it?
Even the tone and voice were identical.
Startled by the sudden sense of déjà vu, I widened my eyes and looked up at Erev.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Okay, do this.”
Erev grabbed my arms and stretched them forward.
I gave him a sharp glare, pretended to go along for a bit, then decided to make a run for it.
I stretched my arms forward like he said.
“Now up.”
“……”
“There you go.”
Erev started making me do strange exercises now.
Why am I even going along with this?
I don’t like it at all!
“I’m not doing this anymore!”
I shouted and quickly turned to dash toward the exit.
“Onah!”
I heard Erev call after me, but I ignored him and ran further away.
* * *
[Are you adjusting well? You don’t look too happy.]
I had completely left the place where Erev was and was heading back to my room when I stopped at the sound of Mafeos’ voice.
Mafius! He never answers when I call him, but now he just appears?
‘I’m doing fine, actually!’
Recalling what happened yesterday, I put on a brave front.
[You seem pretty awkward with your family. Since you have one now, wouldn’t it be good to get closer to them?]
Ugh…
He wasn’t wrong.
I was originally planning to call him a fraud yesterday, but I’d changed my mind.
[You don’t even use proper titles for them and keep avoiding them, you know.]
‘I… I’m going to do it slowly, later.’
[The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Unless you’re planning to use them as tools…]
‘They’re not tools!’
That part really rubbed me the wrong way, so I cut in immediately.
[Apologies if I offended you. I haven’t been monitoring the human world for long, so I sometimes misspeak. Since you’re there, Lady Ion, I’ll do my best to learn.]
Just hearing his voice, I could somehow imagine Mafius’ apologetic expression.
‘Okay.’
[Anyway! There’s no time to waste. You need to adapt quickly and find the crest, remember? Have you thought about how to approach Lord Callisto?]
‘Not yet.’
[There seems to be a crest in the imperial palace, but in your current state, you won’t even be able to get close. You’re not dependable at all.]
“….”
Is he insane? How the heck am I supposed to go to the imperial palace?
This is way too hard from the start.
[Can’t be helped. I’ll give you a bit of help. I’m seriously worried if we’ll ever get anything done at this rate.]
‘Huh? Help me how? Wait, I can do this just fine on my own…!’
Flutter.
As I was talking, a piece of paper suddenly floated down and hit me in the face.
“….”
1. Go out somewhere with the family.
2. Eat out together as a family.
3. Sleep together with the family.
4. Call Dad and Brother properly at least once.
5. Hug each family member once.
6. Give each family member a present.
“What is this…?”
How am I supposed to do something this awkward and difficult?
[Will this do? Not too hard, right? This should help you get closer. If you complete all of them, I’ll give you an extra coin.]
‘Really? You’re not gonna go back on your word later, right? You said coins were hard to get?’
[As you can see, it’s a very generous offer. Think of it as a welcome bonus. I’ve asked a lot of you, Lady Eon, but adapting to your new life is the priority. I’ll do my best to support you, so please do your best to adjust.]
Looking back at the list after hearing Mafeos, it did seem a bit easier.
‘Alright.’
[Great. Then good luck. Ten days should be enough.]
With that, Mafius said what he wanted and cut the connection again.
At the same time, the number 10 appeared in red on the paper.
It was hard to figure out what kind of person Mafius really was.
He seemed kind, but there was also something unsettling about him.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t human?
“Ugh…”
And yet again, I found myself giving in because of the coins.
But pulling the lever on the gacha machine with a coin was strangely addicting. It felt wasteful to only use one at a time.
This time, I would get something good with the coin.
I folded the paper and put it into my all-purpose pouch.
* * *
“Why do you keep staring like that?”
“Hm? I’m looking at my daughter.”
Amoter stood by the window with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed in one direction.
Out in the garden, Ion walked slowly with her head down, her twin lemon-colored pigtails swaying gently.
Today she wore a vivid blue frilly dress.
She had changed out of her pajamas after breakfast, it seemed.
Maybe it was the bright blue, but her hair looked even fresher and more vibrant.
“All the walls that Lord Barat knocked down have been repaired. The trampled flowers have also been replaced.”
“Mmm, good job.”
Even up close, she looked fragile and tiny—as if she might break if not held gently—but from here she looked even smaller.
With that tiny head of hers, what could she be thinking about? Her furrowed brow showed deep thought.
Amoter watched her for a long while without realizing time had passed.
‘Strange. She’s definitely my daughter, but why can’t I stop worrying about her?’
“Is it just because she’s so adorable?”
“Excuse me?”
When Tail asked, Amoter shook his head.
“No, never mind. Eon seems to like the garden, so plant more flowers.”
“Yes, understood. This week, you’re due at the Imperial Palace.”
“The palace? Why?”
“His Majesty has been requesting your presence. Almost daily, for the past three months.”
“Oh, has he?”
“Please stop pretending to forget.”
Amoter’s shoulders tensed for a brief moment.
“Tail.”
“Yes?”
“You really need to learn to be less perceptive.”
Tail flinched and stepped back.
Startled, a pair of gray horns briefly popped out of his head before disappearing again.
“I’m joking. Postpone the palace visit to next week. Too much to do today.”
“…Understood. I’ll pass it on.”
Tail finally gave up and bowed his head. Amoter smiled faintly and turned back toward the window.
As he continued to watch the child’s back, a faint image of an even smaller child overlapped with her.
“Hm?”
He tilted his head, and the image vanished.
‘This is so strange. She really reminds me of someone…’
But no matter how hard he tried to recall, the harder it became. His mind felt wiped clean.
Dragons do not forget. Just as Tail had said. But Amoter was a bit different.
Long ago, for certain reasons, his mind had been damaged—and ever since, his memory would occasionally fail him.
‘Maybe it’s just a coincidence.’
Or maybe his mental condition had worsened.
If so, it surely wouldn’t be good for the child. He figured he should look into it.
Amoter stood by the window with his arms crossed, watching the child for a long time.
