“That noble young master seems to cherish Anton quite a bit, and he’s been sending people even to our village trying to find the bastard who did that to Anton.”
“I-I see.”
So that’s why Ron said the village atmosphere had been unsettled lately.
“I know you had nothing to do with it, but still, Anton was so persistent in tormenting you. I came to tell you first in case those people might come looking for you too. That young master has just as bad a reputation as Anton, so be careful.”
“Yes, I will. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Naro will be fine. I’ll protect him.”
Ray, who had been silently listening behind Naro, spoke for the first time. Naro’s lips moved wordlessly, not knowing what to say in his inexplicable embarrassment. Fortunately, Garnet seemed to think it was just the heart of a cute younger cousin who looked up to his older cousin and laughed heartily.
“That’s right, very reliable. Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Take care.”
Even while seeing Garnet off, Naro had to feel an indescribable unease. Of course, since Naro had suffered at Anton’s hands, he wasn’t particularly pleased to keep hearing about that person.
“Ray, you should be careful too, just in case.”
“I’m strong.”
Naro let out a small laugh. Either way, he thought what happened to Anton was karma. It was a bit regrettable that he was injured so severely his life was in danger, but since it had nothing to do with him, there was no need to particularly worry about it.
“Shall we get back to work?”
“Okay.”
After patting Ray’s head once, Naro moved diligently again.
* * *
Peaceful days had been continuing lately. In the morning, he’d wake up with Ray and exchange that embarrassing morning greeting, then Naro would prepare breakfast while Ray would occasionally go to the mountains to pick fruit or catch fish, procuring food on his own.
He’d told Ray he didn’t need to do that anymore since they’d reopened the medicine shop, but Ray’s behavior didn’t change. After bringing back prey he’d caught himself, Ray would invariably present his head asking for praise, so petting him had become part of their routine.
After eating breakfast, Naro would commute to the medicine shop with Ray. Ray mainly helped by moving heavy loads or tidying up, while Naro prepared for business by selling herbs to visitors or personally making herbs that had been ordered.
When evening came, they’d close the medicine shop and go home together to make dinner. Sitting across from Ray at the same table, chatting warmly about the day’s events—this had become Naro’s joy lately.
While Naro cleared the finished plates, Ray would study the Empire’s language or read books to adapt to human culture, and when there were words he didn’t know, Naro would sit beside him and explain them.
When darkness deepened, the two would naturally go to the same bed and lie down. When sleeping in human form, Ray would pull Naro tightly into his arms, and when he occasionally slept in baby dragon form to conserve his stamina, Naro would hold Ray close.
Others might say these were just simple, ordinary days, but for Naro, these were fulfilling days spent with another person—something he’d never easily imagined before.
“Ray, let’s close up and go inside now.”
“Okay.”
When darkness had colored the world outside the window, Naro began cleaning up to close the medicine shop.
“Ah, right. I need to give this to Uncle Garnet.”
“What’s that?”
“Tea leaves that are good for fatigue. Uncle has been looking out for me a lot lately, so I prepared it as a gift, but I completely forgot to give it to him when we went to the plaza earlier.”
Ray sniffed the scent of the tea leaves and wrinkled his brow, as if it wasn’t to his taste.
“Ray, could I ask you to just finish cleaning up? I’ll take this to Uncle Garnet’s house and come back. When you’re done cleaning, go home first.”
Ray had adapted to the medicine shop work well enough by now that he could handle cleaning up alone without any trouble. So normally Ray would have said okay, but strangely today, instead of answering, he just stared intently at Naro.
“Why?”
“I’ll go. It’s late now, so it’s dangerous if Naro goes.”
“Dangerous? Ah…”
Was he concerned about what Garnet said when he came to the house last time? Ray probably didn’t understand exactly what Garnet had said. Of course it would be difficult for a dragon to grasp the concepts of power and status in the world where humans lived. As an example, Ray had even asked what a noble was.
But Ray must have sensed the general direction of that conversation.
“It’s not good to wander around at night. I’ll go. Naro, finish cleaning up and go home.”
“Then can I ask you to do it?”
Naro wasn’t particularly worried about it and doubted anything would happen to him, but he didn’t want to refuse Ray’s willing offer.
“Leave it to me. But when I come back, praise me lots.”
“Alright. You’ve been to Uncle Garnet’s house once so you know where it is, right? Just hand it over and come back.”
“Okay.”
Ray left the medicine shop and Naro continued cleaning up. After finishing everything, he went outside and locked the door. After carefully checking several times that the lock was properly secured, he was about to head home when he sensed a presence behind him.
“Excuse me.”
Naro was startled by the sudden presence. Realizing he’d startled Naro, the man who approached first bowed his head in apology.
“Do you sell herbs here by any chance?”
“Yes, but we just closed.”
Naro calmed his surprised heart. The man was a face he’d never seen before in the village. Without realizing it, a faint wariness rose within him.
“I see. Actually, I came to this village to see my nephew, but I fell on the way and hurt my arm.”
The man smiled awkwardly and raised his arm. Just as he said, his sleeve was soaked with blood.
“Are you alright?”
Naro was alarmed.
“It doesn’t seem like I’m badly hurt, but I was wondering if I could get some herbs for the wound. If I go like this, my nephew might be shocked…”
So he really was a customer. Come to think of it, he didn’t know everyone in this village, and someone’s family or acquaintance could come to visit. As someone running a business, it wasn’t good to be wary just because someone was unfamiliar.
“Then please come in.”
Naro reopened the lock he’d fastened. Naro wasn’t the type to turn away an injured person just because business hours were over.
He lifted the cloth he’d already tidied and selected herbs that would help wounds heal, putting them in a bag.
“The medicine shop is incredibly clean and nice. I can hardly believe it’s tucked away in a corner of a village like this?”
“Thankfully everyone uses it often.”
The man who had been standing by the door smiled brightly and took a step forward. His gaze was fixed on Naro’s back as he moved busily.
“Mm, even so, surely no one else comes at night like this, right? The person who was with you left earlier.”
“What?”
The moment Naro was about to turn around, the man swiftly struck the back of Naro’s neck.
“Urk!”
A short scream flowed from Naro’s mouth. What kind of situation was this? Naro tried to grasp his confused mind and somehow understand the situation, but it was futile. His vision swam and he couldn’t breathe well.
The last thing reflected in his vision was the man’s fishy smile. Strength gradually drained from his body. In the midst of losing consciousness, the first thing that came to mind was Ray’s face.
Without even being able to call Ray’s name, Naro collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
* * *
“So that’s why Ray came himself?”
“Yeah. To keep Naro from wandering around at night.”
Ray had just arrived at Garnet’s house and handed over the tea leaves.
“Haha, what a reliable younger cousin. Yes, I’m much more at ease with Ray here. Naro has been alone since he came to this village. Seeing a young person living on his own so bravely—it was admirable but also worrying on the other hand, so I’m really glad Ray came.”
“Naro isn’t alone anymore.”
Garnet laughed and patted Ray’s shoulder.
“Tell him I’ll enjoy the tea.”
“Okay.”
After completing his mission of delivering the item to Garnet, Ray immediately turned his feet toward home. Now all that remained was to go home and ask Naro to praise him for accomplishing the task he’d been asked to do. At the thought of feeling those warm, gentle hands, his steps naturally quickened.
The closer he got to home, the more Ray’s lips curved upward. But the moment the house and medicine shop came into view, Ray froze in place.
“…Naro.”
For some reason, he couldn’t sense Naro’s scent at all. Ray ran at tremendous speed and threw open the door to the house. At this time, Naro should be inside, but there was no one.
The medicine shop was the same—Naro wasn’t there. However, the cloth that should have been tidied up was partially lifted, and the basket for holding herbs was rolling around on the floor.
Naro had disappeared. The moment he realized this, unfamiliar feelings and emotions surged up from his toes.
Ray’s breathing became ragged. These strange traces directly indicated that something had happened to Naro. He’d been so confident, saying he would protect him.
Ray’s eyes, which had been filled with disappointment, suddenly became sharp. Ray swiftly turned and ran out, finding a man hiding near the medicine shop door and immediately grabbed his throat tightly.
