#130

It didn’t make sense.

Kiyen was the only being in the entire world. The word Dragon meant Kiyen. Wasn’t he the one who had lived for an immeasurable age without even a name?

Moreover, Kiyen had willingly put a leash on himself with his contract with Carias to find his own kind. How could he not know of a Dragon?

A strange sense of unease washed over Cullen, and he turned completely towards Kiyen. He cautiously took Kiyen’s hand, but Kiyen’s mind was entirely focused on the being before him. He stared intently at the other, his expression one of utter disbelief.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Can you not speak?”

When Kiyen didn’t answer, the other asked innocently. As he tilted his head slightly, Cullen spoke first.

“Who are you? And why did you attack my companions?”

Only then did the Dragon’s gaze turn to Cullen. He shook the companions bound by vines and asked,

“Are they your friends?”

“Yes.”

“Someone entered my land. I came to see. Sometimes humans come and ruin the forest.”

At the words “my land,” Lasano, who was bound, spoke. His face was cynical.

“The Empire belongs to Larkan, this is not your land.”

The Dragon looked at Lasano this time. The Dragon looked at him as if he found him curious and said,

“But there was no one here. Except for the hiding plants, there was no one, so I decided to live here. The land likes me being here too.”

As if agreeing with the Dragon’s words, the plants grew even more. Beautiful flowers that should only bloom in spring bloomed at his feet, and the trees around him extended their branches further. Kiyen, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke after seeing that.

“Did you bring this place to life?”

The Dragon’s expression brightened. A smile appeared on his pale, beautiful face. His eyes, which crinkled shut, were as beautiful as Kiyen’s. There was no sense of revulsion from non-human pupils.

“Ah, you spoke!”

His bare feet, which seemed excited, headed towards them. Cullen’s gaze fell on his bare feet. Like Kiyen, he was barefoot, stepping on the ground. What he wore was close to rags. He was almost naked.

“Yes, I brought it to life! The land was in pain, so I brought water and plants. Is it pretty? I like it!”

Kiyen fell silent again after hearing his answer. Kiyen, who had been quietly observing him, opened his mouth.

“First, let those humans down.”

“Why?”

The Dragon asked, genuinely curious. Kiyen said calmly,

“They are humans who travel with me. They will not ruin this place.”

At Kiyen’s words, he tilted his head back to look at the companions hanging, then slowly lowered the vines. The moment his feet touched the ground, the vines receded.

As soon as the vines disappeared into the ground, Arne quickly moved far away from him. Ulli looked at the Dragon with a wary yet curious face, then quickly pulled Arne along. The Dragon took no further action as the companions moved towards Cullen. He simply watched.

“Where did you come from?”

Seeing the party running towards him, Kiyen asked. The Dragon smiled brightly.

“I just woke up one day! I was sleeping deep underground, and I came out!”

Kiyen approached him even closer. His face now held not only wariness but also an indefinable longing and curiosity.

“Was it a goddess?”

“A goddess?”

The Dragon blinked.

“I don’t know. My mother woke me up. Then she told me I had siblings.”

Kiyen’s face showed confusion at the word mother. He moved even closer to the Dragon.

“Did she say I was her sibling?”

The Dragon looked up at Kiyen. Smaller in stature than Cullen, he quietly looked at Kiyen, then shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

At the words “I don’t know,” Kiyen stepped back. He looked at the Dragon with a suspicious expression, then shook his head.

“You are not a Dragon. Dragons know everything from birth. You couldn’t possibly not know about a goddess.”

“No, I’m a Dragon!”

At Kiyen’s denial, the Dragon spoke as if hurt, then reached out his hand towards him. In the blink of an eye, his hand began to glow. Cullen’s eyes widened as he called out to Kiyen.

“Lord Kiyen!”

Cullen’s shout was drowned out by a thunderous roar. The Magic, cast without even giving them time to prepare, engulfed the party in a great light. Cullen closed his eyes, seeing Kiyen’s white robe flutter one last time.

A strong wind whipped around them. His hair scattered, and he braced himself with his feet to prevent his body from being pushed back.

The air, which had been swirling intensely, calmed down a moment later. As soon as he opened his eyes, Cullen looked for Kiyen. He stood in the same posture as before. The space where the party had been, and the space surrounding them, had not particularly changed. However… the scenery of the forest had changed.

“……Is there Magic like this too?”

Ulli approached Cullen and whispered. She cautiously observed the giant trees that had grown around them, a hint of fear in her eyes.

“I don’t know. I….”

Cullen’s words were cut off by the Dragon.

“Besides this, I can do many other things!”

The Dragon said to Kiyen, as if frustrated. As if to show him, he flapped his wings and floated slightly into the air. With each flap, a gentle breeze blew.

“The lake listens to me, and I can use other Magic too! I didn’t use it because I didn’t want the forest to get hurt.”

He spoke like a child, trying to prove himself to Kiyen no matter what. Kiyen watched him fly around for a long time, then let out a small, low chuckle.

“A Young Dragon.”

He muttered, his expression one of disbelief, then turned towards Cullen. The wariness on his face had faded.

“Cullen, he is indeed a Dragon. That Magic is ancient. Humans cannot know or use it. If he has only recently awakened… he would know little, having not received the guidance of a goddess.”

Instead, a radiant joy slowly filled Kiyen’s eyes.

“We must take him with us.”

Kiyen’s firm voice echoed in the air.

Kiyen had never asserted anything so resolutely before, and the Dragon was now potentially joining their party. Though the sudden turn of events was highly suspicious, Cullen had no other recourse. Moreover, if the other party was truly a Dragon, the damage from making an enemy of him would be immense.

However, the situation felt strange. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was bothering him, but a corner of his heart felt uneasy. As he grew frustrated, unable to find the reason, Ulli approached him.

“Why does he feel so familiar, like I’ve seen him before?”

“……You mean you’ve seen this Dragon before?”

“No. Not exactly, but he just feels strangely familiar. Like his wings… maybe it’s because they’re similar to a Wyvern’s?”

Ulli rubbed her chin as if she couldn’t recall anything further. Cullen felt similarly, but nothing more came to mind. Meanwhile, Arne had completely adapted to the Dragon, sighing in wonder beside him.

“You’re saying you have no gender?”

“Yes, I don’t!”

Kiyen laughed at his confident declaration. Watching the Dragon dangling his feet while perched on a tree, Kiyen showed a smile that was rarely seen. Cullen stood frozen, staring at the scene. Everything had happened so quickly, and things he hadn’t had time to observe began to catch his eye one by one.

Cullen, who had taken over half a year to see that smile, was now showing it to the Young Dragon so casually. He felt a strange pang in his chest. An indefinable frustration churned within him.

“Dragons naturally have no gender. They can choose to have one if they wish, but if they don’t want to, they remain genderless.”

“Yeah, I haven’t found what I want to be yet!”

“That’s truly amazing!”

The Dragon giggled at Arne’s enthusiastic agreement. The Dragon, with his smooth black hair cascading down, looked excited. As Cullen watched the scene, Lasano approached him.

“Are you going to let him join as is?”

It was a question whose intent was difficult to discern.

“Lord Kiyen wishes it.”

At Cullen’s answer, Lasano hummed.

“However, the protagonist of this journey is, after all, Lord Cullen. If Lord Cullen does not wish it, then of course, he can be excluded. Isn’t he safe enough on his own as a Dragon?”

“I also find it a bit sudden. Of course, he’d be a help to our strength… but it’s hard to believe there’s another Dragon.”

Ulli agreed. Cullen was also confused. As his worries deepened, Lasano spoke again.

“It might be Zarkas.”

Cullen looked at him at the name he hadn’t thought of amidst the current situation. Lasano continued his explanation, blinking his red eyes calmly.

“They deal with Demonic Beasts, don’t they? For ages, there has only been one Dragon. Rather than a Dragon appearing now that no one knew about, wouldn’t it make more sense for there to be a Demonic Beast that resembles a Dragon?”

“But… he looks a bit different from a Demonic Beast. And he uses Magic.”

“It’s just a hypothesis. We are just entering the East, and Zarkas is looking for the same thing we are.”

Lasano seemed to be backing down, yet he was strangely persuasive. Cullen squinted at him, one eye narrowed. Doubts bloomed and faded randomly. Neither Lasano nor the Dragon were easy to read.

“Lord Kiyen said he is a Dragon, so he must be. If it concerns his own kind, Lord Kiyen would surely know.”

Not wanting to start with suspicion when nothing was confirmed, Cullen said that for now. Then, Ulli offered an opinion.

“Why don’t we just ask him?”

“That doesn’t seem like a good method.”

Lasano denied it, but Cullen thought it was a good judgment. Dragons cannot lie. That was something he had experienced through Kiyen. It might be the simplest and most certain method. Since Kiyen was certain he was a Dragon, that part would surely be true.

Having made his decision, Cullen slowly walked towards Kiyen. The Dragon, laughing heartily at something, noticed Cullen first. Kiyen, who had been talking, also turned his gaze. The smile on his face remained unchanged.

“You’ve come at just the right time. This one doesn’t have a name. How about you give him one?”

Kiyen whispered affectionately, causing Cullen to stop. He blinked.

“You’re going to give me a name?”

The Dragon, excited, descended from the tree and approached Cullen. His pale skin glowed in the moonlight. His gently curved eyebrows, long eyelashes, and sculpted face were androgynously beautiful. Standing beside Kiyen, their shared species became even more pronounced. It was even more so when their joyful smiles overlapped.

His insides felt heavy. Cullen clenched and unclenched his fists slightly. It was a simple task, just to give a name, so he should just say, “Yes,” but…

“I’m sorry, but….”

He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“That will be difficult.”

He didn’t want to give a name to anyone but Kiyen.