#166

“Why the long face? Did we do something wrong?”

The child with white hair spoke, seeing the Dragon’s frozen expression.

Hearing the question, the Dragon slowly came to his senses.

Three pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

Only then did he realize he had to do something. It was the moment he had waited for.

…Had he waited?

The Dragon thought fleetingly.

He checked the eggs every day, waiting for them to hatch, but there was no impatience in the Dragon’s heart.

There was no longing either. Rather, what he had desperately wanted was…

He shook his head, cutting off the thought that was about to surface, and looked at what was before him.

The beings who had awakened suddenly at an unexpected moment had the same color as the eggs.

Their appearance was roughly similar to human children.

With an appearance that looked a little over ten years old, and with their wings unconcealed.

It was probably because they didn’t yet know how to control their own bodies.

Looking at them, the Dragon recalled his own birth.

Magic was a natural power for a Dragon, like breathing, so changing his form was not difficult.

However, he hadn’t taken on a human form from the start.

It was strange that newly born beings had this appearance.

“You’re in human form.”

This was the first thing the Dragon said to his own kind.

There was no immediate sense of joy, affection, or any bond.

Only a calm voice assessing the facts flowed out.

He himself was puzzled. He thought he would be happier than ever to meet his own kind.

“Dad always looked like this, so we copied him.”

The answer came from the blond child who had first asked for their name.

The Dragon squinted at the word “Dad.”

“I am not your father.”

It was an unfamiliar term.

Though he thought it was exclusive to humans, the term, upon reflection, could apply to any creature capable of reproduction, the Dragon quietly denied it.

The white-haired and black-haired children nodded in agreement without any particular objection.

Although they had the appearance of children, there were parts that were clearly different from humans.

The white-haired child asked calmly,

“Then who are you? Why did you keep us?”

The Young Dragons spoke as if they had seen him since they were in eggs.

That assumption made the Dragon flinch.

The memory of the day he had buried resurfaced in his mind.

The cracked heart and the pooling blood at his feet…

The Dragon swallowed the emotions that welled up somehow.

Then, he asked calmly,

“Do you know anything about before you woke up?”

At the Dragon’s question, the black-haired child nodded.

“Not everything. Only since we came here.”

“It was stuffy!”

The blond child exclaimed, following up, then tilted his head and asked,

“But are you really not our dad?”

He was speechless again. The Dragon moved his lips and gave an answer.

“I am merely… your… kin.”

It was a word filled with immense weight and time for the Dragon.

At the heavy words that left his mouth, the children stared at him as if puzzled.

The black-haired child replied,

“Of course, we know. We can feel it.”

This time, the white-haired child asked.

“What should we call you?”

Seeing the beings who passed over the word “kin” so casually, the Dragon blinked.

It was foolish to expect affection from them when he himself felt none, but it wasn’t the reaction he had expected.

Even he was feeling something different from what he had imagined.

Everything was different from his long-held fantasies.

That fact struck him with chilling clarity.

“I’m going to call you Dad.”

In the ensuing silence, the blond child said, flapping his wings. His expression was resolute.

Looking at him, the Dragon corrected him.

“Call me Guardian.”

It was the only word that came to mind immediately.

His own name strangely wouldn’t come out.

It was… difficult to utter that word. Because too many things would surface.

“Yes, Guardian.”

Unlike the blond child, the other two children agreed.

It wasn’t an incorrect title, by any means.

The Dragon would protect them for a while.

After that, they would probably go their separate ways. He felt that certainty.

“Is that your name? It’s strange.”

The blond child pouted instead of agreeing.

His blond hair against his white skin was a color similar to his own, making the Dragon feel as if he were looking at his own young self.

Of course, he hadn’t acted like that. There was no one who would act that way.

“Why are you so fixated on a title?”

The Dragon, who had been alone for a long time, asked him.

In fact, he had lived as just a Dragon until he was given a name.

He had never placed such importance on a title to call him.

“Otherwise, we can’t call you.”

The answer came from the black-haired child.

The black hair that spoke calmly had the color of someone who had disappeared, making the Dragon flinch.

Even though his purple eyes were not mixed in at all, it was so.

After encountering the adventurers, the Dragon felt the walls in his heart, which had been shaking chaotically, about to crumble.

“Please give us names, Guardian.”

The white-haired child said.

At the request for names, the Dragon’s expression seemed about to crumble for a moment.

Every word they spoke kept reminding him of someone.

The person who had given him a name. The person who had made him give names.

“Cullen, you’re good at naming things, aren’t you?”

The Dragon had finally thought of him.

Whenever he named something, he was always there.

His purple eyes, showing a hint of embarrassment at the request.

“…Alright.”

But now, there was no one to do it for him.

He had to do it alone.

The Dragon, who had never named anything before, thought for a long time after saying “Alright.”

Nothing came to mind immediately. Countless ancient words and terms passed by, but nothing felt right.

Only then did the Dragon realize one more thing.

How much the human must have thought to give him his name.

That naming required more than just interest; it required affection.

Only after meeting his own kind did the Dragon finally realize this.

His body, which had been moving without rest, became rapidly fatigued.

It was a fatigue of a kind he didn’t usually feel, but he hadn’t moved continuously like this for three years, so it was understandable.

The Dragon looked down at them with a shadowed face.

He brushed his hair back and concluded in a dry voice.

“It would be best to call you by your respective colors. I will call you Black, White, and Gold.”

Instead of the many words that had passed in a short time, the Dragon brought forth very intuitive meanings.

The black-haired and white-haired children nodded calmly.

They were now the children he would call Black and White.

However, the blond child protested.

“I don’t like it!”

The child, who detested the name Gold, flapped his wings vigorously.

“Give me another name. I don’t like Gold.”

Seeing his determined refusal to accept the name, the Dragon maintained a blank expression.

If the human had been by his side, would it have been different?

Would he not have been this tired?

The Dragon pushed back the emotions that rushed forward like a tidal wave.

He wanted to end the conversation about names for now.

“Alright. I’ll find something else.”

For now, he just wanted to rest without feeling anything.

At the Dragon’s words, the blond child’s expression brightened.

Looking down at him, whose face showed more pronounced emotions than the other two Dragons, he waved his hand.

“Now, each of you find a room to stay in. I will rest for a while.”

At the mention of resting, White’s lips moved as if to ask something, but then stopped.

Black took White and the blond child’s hands and they left.

Watching their small retreating figures disappear, the Dragon slowly sat down on the bed where the eggs had been placed.

The texture of the blanket felt rough against his palm.

Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted up.

The Dragon lowered his head and looked at the bed.

After gazing at the bed for a long time, he slowly lay down on it.

He lay down at an angle and rubbed his forehead against the blanket.

A faint, ancient scent tickled his nose.

It was the sweet, calm scent he had smelled from the human.

It might be an illusion born of longing, but feeling that scent, the Dragon closed his eyes.

Soon, his vision turned black. His thoughts gradually faded.

A rare peace began to flow in. As the darkness filled his empty chest, he imagined one thing before falling asleep.

Would I be at peace if I died?

He thought that.

Without even knowing what he wanted to be at peace from.

After waking up, the Dragon became busy in a different sense.

He thought the beings who perceived everything from birth wouldn’t need much attention, but there was surprisingly a lot to teach.

First, they were curious about the outside world.

And they were very curious.

Even White and Black, who seemed calm, were the same.

It was natural that he couldn’t know about a world they hadn’t experienced, but the Dragon didn’t want to leave this mountain range immediately.

Nor could he send the Young Dragons out.

He didn’t want them to be bound by the same contract he was.

Even if it was his given destiny, he didn’t want to be played by human manipulation.

The humans he had seen were those who did not hesitate to make selfish choices for their kind.

Wasn’t the crown prince like that? And, humans also…

The last part was not what he intended to recall.

With the birth of the Young Dragons, he found it increasingly difficult to suppress thoughts of the dead human.

So, the Dragon tried to divert his thoughts elsewhere.

He tried to evoke feelings of resentment towards him, and distorted memories related to him.

Then, anger would somehow revive and flicker faintly.

“We’re done, Guardian.”

Black called out to the Dragon, who was lost in brief contemplation.

When he turned his head, two pairs of eyes were looking up at him.

Lately, the Dragon had been restoring the mountain range with the children.

They seemed to find it quite fun to bring forth beasts and make plants grow, so they temporarily set aside their curiosity about the world and followed the Dragon’s instructions. Today, they were making trees grow near their home.

“Where is Gold?”

He asked, as the blond child, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.

White replied,

“He disappeared to find a name.”

“No. He followed a cat.”

Black quietly interjected. The Dragon squinted.

“Do you know where he went?”

“He went that way.”

Black pointed north. Looking in that direction, the Dragon hesitated. A faint sense of unease rippled. More precisely, it was discomfort. It was because the graves there came to mind.

“I will go and come back, so stay here. If humans appear, do not speak to them under any circumstances.”

White, watching the Dragon warn him before leaving, asked.

“Are humans bad? They would be incomparably weaker than us.”

The Dragon looked down at White, who was genuinely perplexed. Even though he knew not all humans were bad, the Dragon simply reiterated his warning instead of saying so.

“You are young, so it is best to be cautious. At least until you become an adult, there is no harm in being vigilant. I will go look for Gold, so stay here.”

“Yes.”

A calm affirmation followed. Excluding Gold, the other two required very little attention. The Dragon felt more and more each day that they were independent and not reliant. Just as he himself had been. It was a little, no, a lot different from the forms of family humans showed.

The Dragon surveyed the children, then turned his body. He stepped onto the soft earth where grass had begun to sprout. His steps quickened. His long legs moved hastily, and soon a lake was revealed. An ice lake, hidden like a secret among the growing young trees.

The young golden Dragon was in the center of it. His gently bowed, tender nape was visible. The moment he saw the child standing among Kiercharus Flowers as tall as himself, something surged within the Dragon. It was an emotion that was difficult to define precisely. It blazed like anger and drove him away like fear.

As if sensing the Dragon’s presence, Gold turned. A look of joy appeared on his small, white face.

“Guardian, what is this human?”

The moment he heard the bright voice asking, the Dragon spread his wings. Though unintentional, he flew before the young Dragon with a sharp intensity. As his massive shadow spread menacingly, Gold’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was a place he had desperately tried to avoid looking at, a place his gaze kept returning to. As he finally faced the sight he had fled from, his insides churned.

“I told you not to come here, I…!”

As he landed before the child with a roar, a strong wind arose. The Kiercharus Flowers all bent as if to fall. Gold stepped back.

The child seemed extremely surprised by the Dragon’s sharp demeanor, which he had never seen before, and his eyes welled up with tears. It was at that moment the Dragon realized his mistake.

“This is not like you, Kiyen.”

A voice came from the forest on the opposite side. The Dragon’s eyes shone intensely as he glared there. Someone walked out from the darkness cast by the trees.

“The Kiyen I remember was kind to children.”

The red eyes that revealed themselves from the shade smiled faintly as they looked at the Dragon.