Naro opened the door and entered first. Jerian moved a little closer to Ray’s side.
“From the looks of it, things worked out well with Naro-ssi?”
Ray glanced once at Jerian, who was whispering quietly, and nodded his head.
“Thanks to someone.”
“Wow, hearing you say that makes me feel so proud.”
Naro immediately prepared tea to drink. They had drunk some at Garnet’s house, but his mind had been complicated then, so he hadn’t been able to taste the tea well.
“Naro, I’ll handle the hot things.”
“It’s okay, it’s almost done, so Ray, you go sit down too.”
Jerian, who had come as a guest, sat at the table with his chin propped up, smiling while watching the backs of the two people. At that moment, Ray, who had been staring intently at Naro making the tea, subtly curled up the corners of his mouth. Jerian, who noticed that momentary small change in expression, covered his mouth while keeping his gaze fixed on Ray.
“I made it in a hurry, so I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry for suddenly visiting without any notice.”
“Right. If you come suddenly, Naro gets flustered too. That kind of thing is an imposition.”
“Ray, you can even use difficult words like that now? That’s amazing.”
Naro clapped his hands as if praising him. Ray, having received praise, crossed his arms triumphantly and nodded his head.
“Does that mean Naro-ssi also thinks I’ve been an imposition…?”
“Ah! That’s not it! I’m sorry.”
On the other hand, seeing Jerian become dejected, Naro urgently waved his hands. He said he had missed the timing to deny it because he was paying attention to Ray’s language skills.
“Haha, I’m joking too. Still, I really am sorry for visiting suddenly. Actually, I have something I want to consult with Naro-ssi about.”
Come to think of it, Jerian had said earlier that he had something to say. Jerian pushed the dessert he had brought in front of the two people and opened his mouth.
“I mentioned before that I originally live in the capital, right?”
“Yes, I heard that you’d be returning soon since your scheduled teaching days are ending.”
“Yes, that’s right. Teaching children in Rodelus Village with its good air and quiet atmosphere is nice, but I’m going to prepare in earnest for a professorship at the National Academy in the capital.”
There were widespread rumors that becoming a National Academy professor was difficult. But to say he was preparing for that. Perhaps Jerian was a much smarter and more impressive person than he had thought.
“Having this kind of job, I end up getting to know many people even unintentionally. Among them, there’s a duke I was once indebted to, and he really wants to meet Naro-ssi.”
“What? A-a duke? Why would such a great person want to see me…?”
Ray, who had been kneading Naro’s hand beside him, asked, “What’s a duke? Is it something to eat?” But Naro didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to Ray’s question. If it was a duke in the Empire, it would be one of the most distinguished families—why would someone of such noble status want to see him?
“Actually, before I leave for the capital, there were those medicinal herbs Naro-ssi prepared for me, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Naro had on his own initiative mixed medicinal herbs that help with fatigue recovery and given them to Jerian. Since a teacher’s work wasn’t easy, he had hoped it would help even a little.
“I shared some of that with the duke. And he liked it very much. When I told him I received it from a friend who runs a medicine shop in a small village, he said he really wanted to meet you.”
“But that was just simple medicinal herbs.”
“I don’t know much about herbology either, but surely the effect of herbs changes a lot depending on how you mix and blend the ingredients, right? Naro-ssi said it was simple, but I definitely think Naro-ssi’s skills and knowledge are excellent. I think the duke probably recognized that too.”
At the unexpected story, Naro was dumbfounded. Actually, Naro had received such offers several times before. Things like a viscount who owned a certain territory asking him to become his exclusive pharmacist, or the owner of a large herb shop in some village asking him to work under them.
But this was the first time it was on such a large scale. An offer from someone who held the title of duke in the Empire.
“But then why does that duke want to meet me?”
“I don’t really know that much. The conversation didn’t continue very long at that time, so he just asked me to convey that he wanted to meet Naro-ssi. What do you think?”
Naro paused for a moment. Perhaps sensing that hesitation, Jerian put down his teacup and nodded his head.
“It’s probably too much to decide right now, isn’t it? Since it’s so sudden. I’ll be leaving here and returning to the capital in a week. Think about it until then, and if you decide to go, we can leave together at that time.”
With that, Jerian added that if he didn’t feel like it, he could comfortably refuse. He said the duke had a good disposition, so he absolutely wasn’t someone who would disadvantage him for refusing.
Naro nodded, saying he would do that for now.
“Then I’ll be going now. Please enjoy the dessert I brought with Ray-ssi.”
After Jerian left, Naro scratched his head and mulled over the words he had just said again.
“Naro.”
Just as he felt warm warmth, Ray grabbed Naro’s waist and burrowed into his embrace. It wasn’t behavior befitting a man of considerable physique at all, but since it was a habit he’d had since he was a baby dragon, Naro now familiarly stroked his hair.
“Ah, you didn’t understand the conversation from earlier well, right? To explain…”
“I understood roughly. A high-ranking human fell for Naro’s skills and is asking you to come, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You understood surprisingly well.”
Though he still wasn’t sure if the expression “fell for” fit the current situation.
“So are you going to go?”
“I’m not sure.”
Naro had refused all similar offers he had received before. Since he enjoyed just running his own small, modest medicine shop in Rodelus Village, he had no intention of becoming anyone’s exclusive pharmacist or working under anyone.
Of course, he didn’t really know the duke’s intentions for wanting to see him that Jerian mentioned, but still, it seemed better to refuse as usual.
Leaving aside the medicine shop problem, there was a more important matter to think about right now.
Naro stared down at Ray, who had returned to his baby dragon state before he knew it. Ray, who rubbed his face and opened his eyes clearly, came into view.
Actually, right now his mind was full just with Ray’s problem. He didn’t have the mental capacity to pay attention to other things. Just because he trusted Ray didn’t mean he could just sit back like this.
Even if there was no problem right away, since the Imperial Knights had even distributed wanted notices, something could happen at any time. He had to prepare in advance to deal with any possible situation.
“Haah.”
The words were easy, but Naro still hadn’t even grasped what to prepare or how to deal with it.
To begin with, there was far too little information he knew. If he had read the entire original work, it might be different, but he only knew part of the original content—he didn’t know all the details in depth.
The information he had now was that 25 years ago, a dragon had attacked human lands and was subjugated after a difficult battle. That dragon was Ray, and Ray, who was thought to be dead, had actually returned to egg form and then awakened, having lost his previous memories and some of his power.
He didn’t know why the Knights were looking for Ray, but it surely wasn’t for a good reason. Ray had once been the mastermind behind the scenes of this world, after all.
If only there was more information, or if Ray’s memories returned even a little. Then he might be able to figure something out. At least the detailed inside story of the incident when Ray had threatened the Empire.
This was just a feeling, but somehow he had a premonition that there was something more hidden in that incident. Of course, it could be that he wanted to believe that because he cherished Ray. But the fact that Ray hadn’t actually died, contrary to known history, and the fact that the Knights had put out a wanted notice for Ray’s egg as if they had known that all along, bothered him.
“What should I do…?”
Naro muttered like a sigh.
* * *
Three days had passed since Jerian had visited and made the unexpected proposal. During that time, Naro had been more on edge about issues related to Ray rather than worrying about that proposal.
“Naro.”
“Hm?”
“Your face has been dark lately. They say when humans have worries piling up in their hearts, their faces become dark.”
Did it show that much? Naro fumbled with his face for no reason.
“It’s nothing.”
But Ray’s persistent gaze wouldn’t let up. Ray’s insight was surprisingly impressive.
“I’ve been thinking a bit about the proposal the teacher made a few days ago.”
It seemed like he couldn’t just brush it off, so Naro thought of a plausible excuse. He had already decided to refuse that proposal, and his dark face was probably because of Ray’s problem, but he couldn’t reveal that in front of the person in question.
“I don’t care what choice Naro makes. Do what you want to do.”
“Yeah, thanks. But Ray, what were you looking at?”
Naro showed interest in the book Ray had been sitting at the table looking at the whole time. It was partly to change the subject before Ray pressed further.
“Lupel guidebook?”
