“Hey, you should watch where you’re walking!”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Naro bowed his head and apologized, conscious of being overly excited. Completely unaware in his dreams that the other party had deliberately bumped into him.
The men were thugs found everywhere, living day to day on what they earned that day. Of course, they couldn’t touch nobles, so their main source of income was preying on fellow commoners. Especially those who seemed to be visiting the capital for the first time. Naro clearly looked like a greenhorn who had just come up to the capital, and since he looked frail, he couldn’t help but catch their eye.
“You bumped into me and now my shoulder feels dislocated. What are you going to do about this? My shoulder was already bad to begin with!”
“Ah, well… I’m sorry for bumping into you, but to say it got dislocated because of me is a bit…”
Though intimidated by the sizeable man’s momentum, Naro didn’t hold back what he had to say. People clicked their tongues thinking those thugs had found another new target, but didn’t actually offer help.
“What? How would you know! If I say it’s dislocated, then it’s dislocated! It’s a fact that you bumped into me, right? I need to get treatment, so hand over some money. Unless you want to make this problem bigger.”
The man revealed his true purpose and threatened Naro with a menacing expression.
“Naro.”
Just then, Ray approached quickly with large strides, wrapped his arm around Naro’s shoulder, and pulled him to his side.
“What are you…”
The man, whose momentum had risen, looked at Ray without softening his expression, but it didn’t last long. Along with his significantly taller height, the man with jet-black hair exuded an overbearing atmosphere, and from his tightly pressed lips and sharply raised eyes, a chilling energy could be felt.
“Apologize.”
“Y-yes… Yes?”
The man who had been speaking informally just moments ago made an awkward expression and asked back in formal speech.
“You bumped into him first. Isn’t that right?”
“Ah, well, that is, so…”
“That shoulder—whether it’s dislocated or not, I could check it myself.”
The man who had been at the front of the group pressuring Naro gulped. He had that premonition. If that man really checked his shoulder, then it would truly be dislocated—no, his shoulder bone might actually be crushed.
“I-I’m sorry!”
The appearance of trying to extort money vanished without a trace, leaving only an utterly servile demeanor. The man repeatedly bowed his head to Naro in apology. So much so that Naro, who had almost been victimized, waved his hands saying it was fine.
The gang hurriedly ran away with their tails between their legs, worried they might give Ray another reason to catch them.
“Naro, are you okay?”
Ray didn’t forget to glare at them until they disappeared before looking down at Naro.
“Yeah. Thanks to you, Ray.”
Naro said he was fine while staring unnecessarily at Ray’s hand on his shoulder. His hand was thick and large. Large enough to grasp his shoulder with one hand and then some.
Those men from earlier probably got scared looking at Ray’s outward appearance and ran away. Naro looked up at Ray. Tall stature and solid build. Even for another man, it was an outstanding physique, and Naro was just now feeling that anew.
Of course, when he first saw Ray, he was a baby dragon, and Naro didn’t know he could transform into such a splendid man. Even after becoming human, Ray, like a baby taking its first steps in the world, didn’t know much and acted spoiled.
Because of that, Naro couldn’t help but perceive Ray as a younger brother he had to look after or a subject he had to protect. But Ray these days was slightly different. Perhaps from learning and adapting to human culture, even though he still acted spoiled like before, it seemed he had developed a certain characteristic calm atmosphere. Ray’s unique aura.
Then was this man really still a younger brother he had to look after and a subject he had to protect?
“Naro, were you scared?”
As if worried about Naro being silent, Ray drooped his eyebrows and tapped Naro’s cheek. At that touch, Naro snapped out of his reverie with a start. When he met the green eyes looking down at him, he felt like he would be helplessly sucked into them.
“A little? But I’m really okay now.”
Before drowning in those green eyes, Naro quickly escaped from Ray. He shook off the hand on his shoulder and awkwardly averted his eyes.
“Should we go over there this time?”
Naro pointed to another place with unnecessarily exaggerated gestures. Watching Naro’s back as he hurried over there before Ray could even answer, Ray stared down at his own hand. It was the hand Naro had just shaken off.
After that, the two wandered around the plaza interior diligently. Of course, since it was such a vast space, it was impossible from the start to see everything in one day, so they just moved wherever their feet took them.
They visited places selling curious crafts and also entered a restaurant famous in the plaza that they’d heard about from passersby to eat. For dessert, they bought and drank beverages sold on the street.
And just as a cat can’t pass by a fish shop, Naro naturally went to a shop handling herbs to browse. His face was lively as he asked the shop owner various questions and conversed. Perhaps recognizing from just a brief conversation that Naro was an expert, the shop owner happily engaged in the discussion.
Ray watched Naro from the side. His amber eyes shone like smooth, clean glass beads. His lips moving in small motions were cute, brimming with vitality like several drops of cherry juice had been dropped on them.
Most of all, both his cheeks were flushed red, seemingly in a good mood, and that appearance was similar to having two well-ripened apples placed there.
Just watching made him feel good. It wasn’t boring at all. For Ray, capturing this man beside him in his eyes was far more valuable and interesting than the sights of the great plaza full of new things and many people.
Just then, as if sensing the gaze, Naro, who had been talking with the herb shop owner, casually turned his head. When their eyes met, Naro fumbled and quickly averted his gaze.
“…”
Ray’s pleasantly relaxed lips gradually hardened into a straight line.
“I lost track of time talking with the herb shop owner.”
“Yeah, you looked really happy, Naro.”
The two left the plaza around when the sun was slowly setting. Naro had really browsed the plaza without noticing the time passing. He had resolved so firmly to stay alert and not get excited for the sake of their purpose. The stiff sensation in his legs from wandering around too excitedly pricked at his conscience for no reason.
“Let’s go to the inn and eat dinner right away.”
“Okay.”
But just then, someone brushed past Naro’s front. Because of that, Naro’s body lost balance and almost fell backward, but fortunately Ray caught him.
He wondered if it was the doing of people trying to forcibly extort money like earlier, but it wasn’t. The person who brushed past Naro quickly disappeared into the crowd. That’s right. People were suddenly swarming into the plaza interior.
People gathered with murmuring commotion. There were countless people who almost fell like Naro, and he could see people who actually tumbled to the ground.
“Naro, are you okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. But what’s going on? Did something happen?”
Of course, this place originally had many people, but it was certainly unnatural for people to suddenly swarm centered around this area.
Just as Naro was looking around to satisfy his curiosity, someone suddenly shouted.
“It’s the Erwin Knights!”
The murmuring from that voice gradually grew louder. Naro flinched at the word Knights.
“The Erwin Knights are passing by!”
“The Erwin Knights!”
“Ah, please stop pushing!”
“Commander Flens is there too!”
“Commander-nim!”
As if it were contagious, cheers spread among the people. The murmuring soon changed to voices of excitement. The crowd summoned an even larger crowd. As if drawn by the voice of someone who shouted that the Knights were passing by, the number of people swelled even more.
Naro, who ended up caught in the middle of the crowd unexpectedly, looked around with anxious eyes.
The ones he least wanted to encounter since coming to the capital were precisely the Knights. Whatever purpose they had for putting out a bounty on Ray’s egg, it was difficult to think of it in a positive direction.
Then why did the Knights put a bounty specifically on the ‘egg’ rather than the dragon-person Ray? Was it because they didn’t want to create fear among the Empire’s citizens? Or perhaps there was a reason they had no choice.
For instance, the Knights might not know Ray’s current state, or what the Knights knew about that black dragon might only be the egg’s appearance. Or it might be a situation where they could only release information about the egg to the outside for now.
But Ray could take human form. That was the one element that allowed Naro to feel somewhat reassured at this moment.
