#103

“You have finally borne the fruit of your love!”

Contrary to Ulli’s expectations, Arne was not surprised by their sudden declaration. He had just finished cooking, as evidenced by the stains on the white cloth tied around his waist. Lasano, who had been watching Arne’s cooking beside him, also did not show the reaction Ulli expected.

“Someone as oblivious as Kiyen-nim has accomplished something great.”

It was a strange nuance, not as enthusiastic as Arne’s. Regardless of his meaningful expression, Arne said, unable to hide his excitement,

“Doesn’t it feel like forbidden love? The love between a great Dragon and a human… When we finish our journey and settle down, I will write this story! Leave it to me.”

As Kiyen shot him a cold glare, Arne quickly changed his tune.

“It’s really great. Congratulations, you two!”

“Aren’t you all being too… optimistic?”

Ulli said as if everyone else was strange. Lasano retorted.

“What do you mean?”

“First of all, from when I first met you two, that blonde didn’t seem to particularly care for Cullen. So it’s strange that you’re suddenly lovers. And a Dragon…”

Ulli pursed her lips, then said,

“Has killed countless people. I’m overlooking it now, but in reality, you are no different from my enemy. You killed all the people of my father’s territory, and furthermore, you killed all the good people of the East.”

Lasano and Arne looked puzzled at Ulli’s mention of territory people. They hadn’t been present when she spoke of her secret, so it was understandable they wouldn’t know. Cullen, unable to explain the circumstances himself, calmly rebutted Ulli.

“It was not something Kiyen-nim wanted.”

“Still, the fact that you killed people doesn’t change.”

“If you put it that way, I have also killed many people.”

“But you didn’t kill just anyone.”

As the argument ensued, Kiyen said coldly.

“Death is death, in the end.”

Ulli paused at his words. She looked back and forth between the two, then sighed. She then asked Kiyen,

“Do you, Kiyen, like Cullen? Do you even know what a lover is?”

“Ulli, that’s enough…”

“I know well, so shut up.”

With those words, Kiyen pulled Cullen. In the blink of an eye, Cullen was in Kiyen’s arms. After holding hands, this was the first time they had touched so openly in front of others, and he froze for a moment. Kiyen, who held him tightly from behind, slowly lowered his hand and embraced his waist.

Even Ulli, who had been talking back, paused at the sight. Bewilderment could be seen in her slightly widened eyes. Her earlobes seemed to have turned red. Arne gasped and covered his eyes. Only Lasano seemed unfazed.

“If that’s the case, then anyone can be a lover. You can’t call yourselves lovers just by touching and having sex.”

“But you two love each other!”

Arne whispered, slightly lifting the eyes he had covered. At the word ‘love,’ Cullen smiled bitterly. He knew that if the conversation continued, facts he didn’t want to be reminded of would surely surface, so he cut in.

“It would be best to stop here. What’s important right now is not our relationship.”

“Well,”

Lasano shrugged.

“You two are important. This journey began because of Cullen-nim, for Cullen-nim. And Kiyen-nim is at the center of that.”

Lasano said quietly, reminding him of his forgotten status.

“If Cullen-nim ascends the throne after completing the journey, he must take a consort to continue the lineage. Gender doesn’t matter. You can receive magical procedures for conception at the temple. But it’s impossible for Kiyen-nim.”

A status he had never intended for, nor desired. Cullen shook his head indifferently.

“I have no intention of becoming Emperor.”

“The goddess must have had her own plans for that too.”

Cullen remained silent. Even if he were destined to become Emperor… A vague sense of an end, felt since leaving the Imperial Palace, loomed. He could not picture himself ascending to that position. It was like encountering a road cut off midway.

“Well, let’s consider that something to think about later.”

Ulli, who had been listening silently, looked at Cullen and asked.

“Alright, let’s say that blonde considers you his lover. But, if that’s the case… if you die first, what happens to the one who remains alive?”

He was momentarily speechless at that question. It was a problem he hadn’t considered. He had never dared to imagine Kiyen would like him, and besides, Cullen loved Kiyen’s immortality itself. However, what she mentioned was also a loss that Cullen had always experienced.

Cullen knew better than anyone what it felt like to be left alone.

“That will be alright.”

But soon, Cullen felt relieved.

Kiyen doesn’t love me, so he won’t be sad about that.

Ulli’s words are very important. Cullen was inwardly relieved that Kiyen didn’t love him. Kiyen is wise. There must have been reasons like this for why a Dragon and a human cannot be together. Their lives are vastly different.

Cullen’s entire life would, to Kiyen, eventually be but a moment.

It was an impossible love from the start. It was rather fortunate. If Kiyen, just, if by any chance, were to take a liking to me and suffer… that would ultimately be my suffering. I don’t want him to suffer.

Being left alone is more painful than death. I don’t want Kiyen to experience a life of longing for those who will never return. My head became clearer. My mood even improved.

Cullen gently gazed at Kiyen’s hand holding him, and changed the subject.

“My story is enough. Based on what we’ve learned here, we need to decide on our destination. We should head east, but if Zarkas took Arne’s teacher, it would be better to pursue them.”

The group followed Cullen’s lead as he changed the subject. Lasano shrugged, and Ulli scowled and patted his back. Arne, glancing at the group, suggested they eat first and led them inside.

The sun set, and people dispersed. The group was assigned lodging at the small inn where the commotion had occurred. Cullen spread the parchment obtained from Pir on the table. The goddess’s compass was placed beside it. With Akesis’s Stone, which Arne had kept, placed down as well, preparations were almost complete.

“The fact that he didn’t kill Ruena but took him means he is certainly useful to one side or the other. It’s the same with the story about the god Akesis that Arne told us… We should try to find him.”

Arne told Cullen what he had heard.

“But they said no one knows where he went. There was no way to pursue him either.”

Ulli added.

“Besides, quite some time has passed, so tracking him down is impossible. Footprints left on forests or roads would have already disappeared.”

Cullen looked at Lasano and asked.

“Is there perhaps a way to track him using divine power?”

“The divine power of a Common Priest is minimal. If it were a High Priest, they might find a way to follow, but tracking a Common Priest seems difficult.”

Cullen considered the timing of Ruena’s abduction. It was similar to when Kwanu appeared a few weeks ago.

“This is a hypothesis, but…”

“Speak.”

Kiyen said. Even though we had become lovers, his tone hadn’t changed much from before, so it didn’t feel real. Cullen looked at him for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and said,

“Kwanu said he was like a legacy of Akesis and didn’t want to awaken. I don’t know the exact purpose for which he was awakened, but Zarkas is definitely involved. If so, perhaps Ruena’s abduction is also related to Kwanu.”

Kiyen rubbed his chin. His blue eyes, back to normal, looked at Cullen.

“There’s some truth to that. All Zarkas are connected to Akesis, but if they would go so far as to take him, he must be a necessary figure… He might know or possess something they don’t.”

“Then… did they take him to their base?”

Ulli offered her opinion. The group agreed.

“It’s highly likely. I don’t know what kind of structure Zarkas has… but Ulli rescued Pantal in the East, so they must have a base there.”

Ulli continued, looking displeased.

“But if that human, Duke Renon, is an accomplice, then there’s a high possibility something is in the southern duchy as well, right? We can’t just not check. We have to pass through there to go East anyway.”

“In that case, it would be best to use an information broker for now.”

“We need to hurry. A lot of time has passed. He might be dead.”

She glanced at Arne.

“Arne, are you alright? Your teacher is in danger.”

“Ah, yes.”

Arne replied sheepishly.

“Strangely, I feel like my teacher will somehow be alive. I dislike grim assumptions. Besides, Cullen-nim is here.”

He looked at Cullen with eyes full of trust.

“It’s amazing how you do everything so well.”

Kiyen added a remark.

“Leave out cooking.”

“…Your cooking is also good.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t tried Cullen’s cooking. How is it?”

Lasano said quickly.

“It’s passable, at best.”

“What, is there something Cullen can’t do?”

Kiyen smiled faintly.

“There’s more than that.”

A sense of foreboding washed over Cullen, and he quickly pulled Kiyen closer.

When he gripped Kiyen’s hand tightly, Kiyen looked at him without pushing him away.

Though they didn’t seem like lovers at all, a flutter stirred in his heart when he felt it was okay to touch him.

Joy, coexisting with sadness, welled up.

“What is it?”

When Ulli asked out of curiosity, Kiyen replied coolly.

“You don’t need to know. It would be best to head south for now. Not much has changed, but you’ll need to find someone named Ruena there. By chasing that person, you’ll learn more about Zarkas, and by finding him, you’ll uncover even more.”

“You annoying lizard.”

Ulli said, loud enough to be heard, then turned her attention back to the compass.

“Then do you know about this compass too? When will it start moving again?”

Lasano said, lifting the compass. When he opened the lid, faintly glowing stars were visible.

“It will move when the full moon rises. We can check it on the way south.”

“What on earth is it for….”

Ulli alternated between looking at the compass and Akesis’s stone, her brow furrowed in curiosity.

“It pointed in the direction Kwanu was on the night of the full moon, and it glowed when we got near this stone, right? So, does the compass ultimately point to something related to Akesis?”

“Seeing as it doesn’t react to Pantal or other curses, it’s more likely to be a certain object rather than Akesis’s power.”

“Hmm.”

Ulli examined the compass and the stone closely, then let out a sound.

“Hey, doesn’t this… look like it fits on top of the lid?”

Ulli held out the compass. A small groove was carved into the lid, and as Ulli said, the stone was just the right size to fit into the groove. Whether the shape matched perfectly was unknown, but it seemed possible.

“You’ve made a rather useful deduction for your level of intelligence.”

“I’m probably smarter than a lizard, anyway.”

Kiyen silently brushed off Ulli’s provocation. Instead, he spoke to Arne.

“Priest, you try fitting it.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer if Lasano-nim did it? I….”

Kiyen pressed him with silence. Arne quietly closed his mouth and carefully picked up the stone, then gently placed it into the groove on the lid.

Click.

A sound of it fitting perfectly echoed.