The ignoring wasn’t particularly positive either. It literally meant that a situation with taut tension had continued, and if either side invaded the other’s territory, another bloody fight would immediately begin.
“They say in the old days people trembled in fear of dragons, but that won’t happen anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because 25 years ago, the Dragon Tribe almost disappeared, at least within this Empire.”
25 years ago? Strangely, that story bothered him. He had a premonition that it was something he needed to know.
“Um, could you tell me about what happened then in detail?”
“You don’t know that story? It’s something all people of the Empire would know.”
“Ah… well, if it was 25 years ago, it’s something from before I was born…”
Naro absolutely couldn’t say that he didn’t know the history that all people of the Empire would know because he came from a different world, a different dimension.
“Ah, I see. Certainly these days there are many parents who try not to tell children about bad pasts or history. 25 years ago, a dragon with quite formidable power from the Dragon Tribe attacked human settlements.”
Only one dragon had suddenly invaded, but Jerian added that the dragon’s power was so formidable that the Empire’s capital became a complete wasteland at the time.
“It literally became a war with that dragon. If they hadn’t stopped it then, the Empire might have been destroyed.”
Jerian was speaking with a smile, but it wasn’t mixed with jokes or exaggeration at all.
“But led by one outstanding knight, they succeeded in subjugating and killing that dragon, and peace quickly returned to the Empire.”
Listening to Jerian’s story, Naro became certain. That this novel he had dimension-traveled into was a world after it had already been completed. What allowed him to be certain was what he’d heard through people’s mouths.
‘A certain hero fought and defeated an evil dragon threatening the Empire, bringing peace.’
Naro hadn’t finished reading the novel, but he knew the plot to some extent from reading the early parts. This novel’s protagonist was a magic knight with outstanding abilities, and as that magic knight experienced various events and incidents while growing, in the end he achieved numerous accomplishments and became a knight respected by all.
Then there was only one answer. What he’d heard through people’s mouths and the outstanding achievements the protagonist had made must undoubtedly refer to the incident Jerian mentioned that happened 25 years ago.
“Was my story helpful? Actually I’d like to tell you in more detail, but since this is also an incident related to dragons, there isn’t much information left.”
“Ah, that’s enough. Thank you so much. By the way, you really are a teacher. Thanks to you, I was able to learn a lot of information.”
“My main major is mathematics, but I also work in history. Ah, it’s already gotten this late. I have another appointment, so I should get going.”
Naro also got up to organize his seat.
“Um, teacher. May I ask one more thing?”
“Of course.”
“By any chance, what happened to the current Dragon Tribe?”
“Hmm, they were probably almost annihilated.”
“Pardon?”
“I know that before and after the incident 25 years ago, there were almost no dragons left. Of course, I can’t say there’s not a single one, but if any are continuing that bloodline, wouldn’t they be living in hiding? That’s also originally the nature of dragons.”
Jerian showed an apologetic expression, saying he didn’t know in more detail than that.
When he came outside with Jerian, he saw children clinging to Ray. Ray was giving one a piggyback ride and playing with one child dangling from each arm.
“Hyung! Do it for me too!”
“I just did it for you. I’ll do it fairly taking turns, so wait.”
The sight of him seriously lining up the children was cute enough to make one laugh.
“Huh? It’s Naro hyung! The teacher is here too?”
“Teacher Jerian!”
When the children discovered Naro and Jerian coming out of the library, they came running over. Jerian seemed to be a popular teacher with the children, receiving tremendous attention all at once.
“Naro.”
Ray naturally approached Naro and pressed his head forward.
“I played well with the small humans.”
“Yeah, you did well.”
Naro smiled warmly and stroked Ray’s head. Perhaps because that touch felt quite good, Ray embraced Naro’s waist and rubbed his face against him.
“Wait a minute. Ray…”
Sure enough, the children who had been clinging to Jerian chattering about this and that were now staring intently at the two people stuck close together.
“They’re showing affection!”
Garnet’s daughter shouted out loud. The children expressed puzzlement, saying “Showing affection? What’s that?”
“What my mom and dad do. They always hug like that when they come home.”
Naro’s face ended up turning bright red. Not only had he somehow shown an embarrassing sight to the children, but he felt sorry to Garnet for some reason, feeling like he’d learned about his private life.
“Then are Naro and that tall hyung married?”
“But married people have to like each other to be that, right?”
Even in the midst of this, Naro tried to detach Ray, but as expected, it was beyond his strength. Ray, who had been listening to the children’s talk, suddenly lifted his head.
“Naro and I like each other.”
And before Naro could stop him, he made an incredible statement.
Naro’s mouth fell open. The children went “Wow…” with sparkling eyes. Moreover, the children weren’t the only problem. Jerian, who was standing with them, also had his eyes wide open while awkwardly lifting the corners of his mouth. Children aside, Jerian had obviously taken it in a different meaning.
“H-he’s my cousin. He follows me around so well that he’s saying that, so don’t misunderstand! You guys too, okay?”
“Ah, he was your cousin. Your younger brother must really like his hyung.”
As if the misunderstanding was cleared up, Jerian nodded as if relieved. In contrast, the children gathered together busy having a debate about whether cousins hug like that.
“Kids, even family members hug and such when they’re close. Those two people are cousins, so you can’t tease them too much and make them uncomfortable. Got it?”
“Teacher Jerian, thank you…”
Thanks to Jerian, he also succeeded in making the children understand. If the children had spread around to their parents or here and there in the square saying ‘Naro hyung and the tall hyung like each other!’, it would have looked strange.
“Then Naro-ssi, and Ray-ssi. I’ll be going now. You two also get home safely.”
Jerian greeted them while making eye contact with both of them. Naro said he was grateful for today and saw him off while telling him to come to the pharmacy sometime.
“Who is he?”
“An Academy teacher. He sometimes comes to this village to teach the children.”
Only then did Ray seem to recognize Jerian’s existence as he stared intently at his retreating figure. Then suddenly Ray began sniffing Naro’s scent.
“Wh-why?”
“Were you with that human the whole time?”
“Yeah, I had some questions because there was something I didn’t know.”
“I don’t really like that Naro smells like an unfamiliar human.”
Ray stuck close to Naro even on the way home.
“Ray, you should be careful about saying things like earlier.”
“What words?”
Naro’s lips twitched. Trying to repeat what Ray had said was harder than expected. Rather, it was amazing that Ray had blurted out such words so casually.
“You know, when you said you… like…”
“Right, I like Naro.”
At the words that struck once more, Naro clenched his fist without realizing it. When Ray said such things, he couldn’t smoothly get past it. There was no reason to, but perhaps because of awkwardness, his heart kept beating irregularly and his body temperature rose.
But Naro knew well. That wasn’t that kind of “like,” but merely favorable feelings like those toward a close friend or family.
After all, Ray was a Dragon Tribe member different from humans, and it hadn’t been long since he was reborn from an egg, so he was in a situation where he had no one close except himself yet. Just as Naro had accepted the existence called Ray as precious family, Ray surely felt the same way.
Moreover, there was also the story he’d heard from Jerian earlier.
‘Actually, there aren’t many known habits of the Dragon Tribe, but there are quite a few interesting ones. Like how they prefer to live in closed groups, and also that they’re born from eggs. Ah, you know this? That dragons follow well the first person they see as soon as they’re born from an egg. They say they do that even if it’s not their blood-related parent or family.’
So the reason Ray followed Naro so well now was all due to such characteristics of the Dragon Tribe. When he first discovered Ray, there were broken eggshell fragments around. Inferring from that, Ray had probably been in a state of having just hatched from an egg not long ago, and he had been by his side continuously ever since.
So there was no need to be swayed at all by what Ray said. Was his heart unsettled because he’d never heard such words even in his previous life?
“Naro.”
“Yeah?”
“Your face is red.”
“Ah, well…”
Ray’s face became quite serious. He examined Naro, whose cheeks had turned bright red, this way and that, then suddenly lifted him up.
