TTDBK08

Episode 8

Baberi carefully approached Kur and turned over his limp body. Their eyes met—Kur’s wide open, glaring directly at her.

“Did you die with your eyes open?”

“…I used up the last of the magic remaining in my body.”

Kur’s gaze was accusatory, as if he wanted to say it was all her fault.

“Is that so? Good.”

Baberi exhaled in relief, completely oblivious to the reproach in his eyes. At least she had avoided being torn apart by an enraged dragon.

“Are you saying it’s fortunate that all the magic I’d been saving is now gone?”

Kur’s voice, though slack from exhaustion, carried anger.
She internally scoffed. It wasn’t like he’d been forced to do anything—he chose this himself.

Baberi thought better of it as her head cleared enough to focus on the situation.

“I didn’t mean it’s lucky your magic’s gone. I mean it’s lucky that neither of us got hurt.”

She let the words trail, offering a flimsy excuse, then extended her hand to him.

“Stop lying there. Get up.”

Kur only glared at her, refusing to take her hand.

“I can’t get up right now.”

“Why?”

“I told you. My magic’s all gone.”

Baberi blinked, annoyed. What did his inability to rise have to do with magic?

“You mean… you can’t even lift a finger without magic?”

“Not even one.”

Her jaw dropped. As if being torn apart by a dragon weren’t enough, now this absurd complication.

“Then when can you get up?”

“Normally, magic recovers after resting.”

“Then let’s rest here for a bit.”

Kur shot her a cold look.

“‘Normally,’ I said. I don’t recover.”

“Why not?!”

“I already told you. Someone made a wound in my chest.”

Baberi clenched her eyes shut and cursed silently. Whom could she blame for this? Her own carelessness in thinking his arm was fine—or the fact she’d left gaping holes in his chest?

Everything was her fault—Baberi Langs, it was all her.

“So… I have to drag you all the way to Londar?”

With her right arm still troublesome, dragging this enormous creature? It was nothing but hardship. Baberi sighed.

“If you don’t want that, bring a magic stone.”

Kur replied with a haughty tone: he’d walk on his own then.
Even lying on the ground, unable to lift a finger, he still had that arrogance. Baberi found it irritating.

“Kur, listen. How are we supposed to get a magic stone in a forest like this?”

She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with her left arm, her frustration boiling over.

“Do you think you’ll find anything by just digging anywhere, Mr. White Dragon?”

“I merely mentioned a possible method.”

“It’s impossible! That’s why we’re in this mess!”

Kur, without resistance, swayed weakly as she tugged him. Then, suddenly, he sniffed the air.

“Why are you sniffing like a dog? Did your intelligence drop with your magic?”

“The magic stone is near.”

Kur’s cryptic words made Baberi frown. A stone is just a stone—it doesn’t move on its own. Yet he claimed it was approaching? Ridiculous.

Then a rustling sound came from behind. Baberi instinctively turned to check.

“Is the stone really… walking toward us?”

Of course not. The sound belonged to humans—thieves, at a glance. A dozen or so, surrounding them.

“There! The magic stone!”

Kur pointed at a wizard, stepping back slightly, whose staff glowed with a red stone embedded at its tip.

“You want me to fetch that?”

Baberi pointed at the stone with her finger, glancing at Kur. He blinked.

“Meeting us in a forest like this… your luck is something else.”

The thieves tried to intimidate them with villainous voices, but Baberi ignored them. She quickly assessed their stance and weapons. They didn’t seem strong—except for the one holding the stone. The rest were barely even third-rate.

“One… two… ten in total.”

Their number was large, and Baberi was unarmed. With her right arm unusable, the penalty was severe. And now, she was expected to fight for the stone.

“I don’t know if I’ve gained allies or just bosses…”

Normally, a retainer would handle such matters for their lord. Baberi couldn’t shake the feeling of role reversal. But there was no choice.

She started the fight, taking on the closest thief. Baberi called out names, demanded theirs—one by one. Knights of Glock, yearning to demonstrate honor and nobility, often acted this way.

“Isn’t it cowardly to gang up on one person?”

But these thieves had no such scruples. They attacked her recklessly. Baberi, reacting swiftly, threw dust in the eyes of the nearest attacker.

“Agh!”

Blinded, the thief panicked. Baberi seized the opportunity, disarming him with her left hand. Though she felt uncertain swinging it, there was no choice.

“What kind of woman is she?!”

When she took down three in an instant, the thieves murmured.

“Hand over that stone if you don’t want to get hurt more.”

She gestured at the wizard with her hand. The wizard fired balls of fire with his staff. Baberi narrowly dodged, her movements slowing with exhaustion.

“Kill the men first!”

The wizard shouted to his gang—he was clearly their leader.

“Move, you fool!”

Kur, despite being unable to move, called out in panic. His face was pitiful, eyes blinking helplessly. Two thieves lunged at Kur; Baberi tried to block them, but it was already too late.

“No, stop!”

A sword struck Kur’s neck precisely. A metallic clang echoed—not skin being cut, but metal colliding.

It sounded just like two years ago, when soldiers’ swords shattered against a dragon. Oh right, Kur was a dragon in human form.

Baberi realized she had been worrying unnecessarily. Human-like skin, soft to touch, but struck with power, it became stronger than anything.

“Humans’ swords are still weak, even now.”

Kur laughed at the trembling thief, watching his sword shatter.

“All that arrogance while lying down,” Baberi muttered, annoyed by his long, thick lashes.

The thieves, terrified, slowly backed off. Baberi didn’t let them escape. Using Kur’s leg, she spun him to strike at the attackers.

“Stop using my body as a weapon!”

Kur groaned, dizzy, but she continued, blocking attacks with his body.

“Don’t even use me as a shield.”

Simply colliding with enemies rendered their weapons useless—Kur made an excellent weapon.

One drawback:

“Heavy!”

She couldn’t chase the fleeing thieves; instead, she approached the unconscious wizard. The magic stone embedded in his staff was tiny—smaller than a fingernail. All this trouble for something so small.

Baberi sighed silently, but Kur called out.

“Put it in my mouth.”

“Now you want me to feed you too?”

Baberi muttered—truly a lord like no other. Yet she complied, placing the stone in his mouth.

Kur rolled it on his tongue like candy, then swallowed.

“Too many impurities. Not even a D-grade. Worthless.”

He grimaced, slowly rising to his feet.

“This is barely enough to walk. Running is impossible.”

Baberi chuckled.

“What a noble prince we have here.”

Kur ignored her, looking away.

“We’ll make it to Londar on this. Next time, prepare a better stone.”

Baberi considered punching him but wisely refrained; she wouldn’t survive hitting someone who could shatter steel like glass.

Exhaustion hit her as the tension released—she was far from the days when such fights left her unscathed.

“Here we go again. Really.”

Her body, grown strong thanks to Yuchae-young, was now troublesome after just two years. Baberi groaned.

“Hey. One promise, for both our sakes.”

She offered her left pinky to him, wincing from the pain, then reluctantly extended it.

“No matter how mad I get, I won’t use Ballista. So don’t drain your magic to the point you can’t move.”

Kur glanced at her hand and face, then gently hooked his pinky with hers.

“Also, don’t cook anymore.”

“Even if you order me, I won’t.”

“Good.”

For three silent seconds, they stared at each other. Baberi doubted how long this promise would last.

Having narrowly avoided breaking their alliance, they headed for Londar. But first, they had to figure out how to enter the heavily locked city. Surprisingly, the problem solved itself.

“They said it was sealed, but it’s wide open.”

A guard stood at the gate, asking only for names, origins, and purpose. Baberi and Kur passed without difficulty.

“I’m Margaret from Tosen Village. We fled because a dragon appeared in Pony Canyon. This is Kur, my brother.”

Baberi spoke quickly while waiting her turn. The tired guard didn’t even look at her face and let them through.

“I’ve lived much longer than you.”

Kur disliked the “brother” label.

“A hundred years more than me? Next time, I’ll call you grandfather and granddaughter.”

Baberi waved it off. Kur suppressed a retort, turning away.

“Baberi.”

“Call me Your Majesty.”

“Hey, a familiar face is on the wanted poster.”

“Wanted poster?”