Naro licked his lips and tightly clasped his slightly stinging hand. Only then did Ray come to his senses and hurriedly approached.
“Naro, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m the one who’s sorry. I was just trying to clean up…”
He didn’t know what the apology was for. He could only feel the awkward air surrounding the two of them on his skin. Ray bit his lip hard and stood still in that spot. Like someone who had something to say.
“I’ll clean this up.”
But soon he left the room carrying the tray without saying anything in particular. Naro looked at the hand that had been swatted away by Ray earlier. He was flustered that Ray had brushed off his hand, but he felt hurt by the fact that even while apologizing, Ray hadn’t looked at his hand even once.
He was the one who had told Ray to reestablish distance. Since then, Ray hadn’t approached excessively like before or engaged in intimate skinship. But Ray had never refused him first like he did now. That came across as very painful, but Naro shook his head vigorously.
Who was the one who said to do that in the first place? And yet here he was feeling hurt? It was absurd. Humans were truly selfish. Naro even felt disappointed in this contradictory side of himself that he’d discovered for the first time today.
He was desperately suppressing his hurt feelings when Ray, having returned the tray and dishes, came back into the room.
Naro reflexively raised the corners of his mouth. Even to himself, it couldn’t help but be an awkward smile. Since when had it been? Since he’d stopped being able to show his honest feelings in front of Ray and started putting on fake smiles? Was this really right?
Just then, Ray’s left arm caught his eye. A bandage he’d never seen before was wrapped around his forearm.
“Ray, are you hurt?”
Naro asked in surprise. He reflexively reached out his hand to check the wound, but Ray pulled his arm back and shook his head.
“I just scratched it. Dragons recover faster than humans, so it’ll heal quickly.”
“Ah, okay.”
Naro’s hand swept only empty air before dropping with a thud.
“Oh right, Ray. I’m going out today. I’m going to meet the princess and go to the Lupel Library again.”
In return for following Mellian to the banquet last time, Naro had asked her to let him use the pass to Roton’s Room inside the Lupel National Library.
Mellian had told him to let her know whenever he wanted to go to the library. So Naro had made plans to go there with her in earnest today.
“I’ll stay here today.”
“…Huh?”
“There’s something I want to think about. Quietly.”
“Ah…”
The words asking what it was got stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out. Looking at Ray, he somehow felt like even if he asked, Ray wouldn’t tell him.
“Yeah, okay. The princess was worried that three people wouldn’t work anyway. Then I’ll go with just the princess.”
Besides, the materials Naro wanted to find in that room were about the incident Ray had caused 25 years ago. Ray’s memory wasn’t intact, so naturally he wouldn’t know about that incident either. Whatever was behind it, it might even be fortunate, since he’d be confused if he learned that he’d tried to destroy the empire in the past.
It wouldn’t be too late to reveal that matter after finding out accurate information about it.
So from Naro’s perspective, it could be considered fortunate that Ray had said he wouldn’t go along. However, he was a bit flustered now that those words had actually come out of Ray’s mouth.
Because ever since Ray became human until now, he’d always been with him wherever they went, and he’d never even considered the option of not being together.
“Ray, you have to stay inside the inn. Don’t wander around outside on your own. You understand, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Since you’re resting anyway, you can stay in dragon form in your room. I’ll just stop by the library and come back soon.”
“Okay. You be careful too, Naro.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m going with the princess.”
Naro looked at Ray standing there as if seeing him off as he came out of the inn, with anxious eyes. He had a lot he wanted to say, but he didn’t know what to talk about. Unable to do anything else, Naro just repeated that he’d be back soon and waved his hand slightly.
Ray clenched his fists and stared intently at Naro’s retreating back as he slowly moved away.
Naro, who had walked near the inn, looked around. Just then, the window of a carriage that had stopped in front opened, and a familiar person stuck out their face.
“Naro.”
It was Mellian. As Naro approached the carriage, the waiting coachman opened the door.
“Hello, Princess.”
“Yes, but… you’re alone today?”
“Ah, yes.”
“What about the black mass?”
“He said he’d rest today. Anyway, you said three people might not work, Princess.”
Mellian nodded, convinced by those words. As Naro sat down in the carriage, the carriage wheels slowly began to roll. Naro looked at the scenery moving beyond the window and clutched at his clothes for no reason. Everything felt unfamiliar because it had been a long time since he’d moved alone, separated from Ray. Even the air surrounding him.
Ray was always by his side. He should be. But now there was no one in the seat next to him.
“By the way, is your stomach okay? If I’d known you were such a lightweight, I would’ve been more careful. I’m sorry.”
“No. Actually, I found out for the first time this time that I can’t handle alcohol that well.”
Naro waved his hand. Still, thanks to Mellian, he’d been able to learn that he couldn’t drink well, so it wasn’t completely without gain.
Mellian looked at Naro’s face, which seemed somehow sunken, and let out a deep sigh.
“I told the black mass this too, but I think I tried to meddle too much. That wasn’t my intention.”
“Pardon?”
“You know that saying, right? That when alcohol goes in, you become honest.”
So this saying was common in this world too. At this unexpected commonality, Naro thought it was fascinating inside.
“You two seemed awkward somehow, so I deliberately took you to the bar thinking you might open up if you revealed your feelings. I went too far ahead.”
“Was going to the bar yesterday because of th-that?”
Mellian nodded. Naro couldn’t help but be surprised by the fact that Mellian had been concerned about his and Ray’s relationship all along. She added, somewhat embarrassed, that she had wanted to drink anyway.
“Thank you for caring. But Ray and I… we’re fine. We’re not particularly awkward.”
Even while saying that, Naro had to swallow the uncomfortable sensation of his heart being pricked here and there.
“Naro, I don’t just think of you two as people who came to fix my condition. So if you ever need counseling or have something you want to confide, rely on me anytime. Just like you did for me.”
Naro nodded vigorously with a moved expression.
“First, I should repay the debt from the banquet, right?”
Mellian turned her head toward the window. Naro’s gaze followed along. Before they knew it, the carriage was approaching the Lupel National Library.
Naro’s Adam’s apple bobbed deeply.
“Naro, listen carefully. I heard this from Father this time, but originally the pass to Roton’s Room can only be used by the person who received it or a member of that family. That means, in other words, even if you have the pass, in principle you can’t enter that place unless you have the Hernia surname.”
Naro nodded. Jerian had said it might be possible if you asked someone who had a pass, but in fact even that wasn’t permitted.
“But I can’t disguise your status either, and even if you lied about being a member of the Hernia ducal house, you’d be caught right away.”
“Then what should we do?”
The carriage slowly stopped in front of the library.
“Just trust me. I promised I’d take you to that room.”
Mellian smiled faintly and nodded. Confidence could be felt on Mellian’s face with her hair tied up tightly and high. So Naro didn’t ask any more and quietly followed beside her.
The two who had come up to the third floor of the library headed straight to the area where the entrance to Roton’s Room was. As if proving the fact that even though the value of the pass itself was high, there weren’t many who used Roton’s Room, the area was empty without a single person.
When Mellian took the lead, the clerk managing Roton’s Room bowed his head in greeting.
“I’d like to use the room.”
“Could you show me the pass?”
Mellian held out the pass. Peculiarly, the pass was made of a wooden plaque. On the somewhat thick square object, intricately carved letters were lined up.
The clerk’s eyes widened slightly as he recognized the Hernia family crest engraved there. He tapped a crystal orb once to activate it. Then when Mellian placed the pass she’d handed over on top of it, the crystal orb immediately turned green.
“You may enter now.”
“Before that, there’s one thing I’d like to ask. The child behind me is my personal attendant, and I’d like to enter together.”
“But Princess, those who don’t have the Hernia surname cannot cross the door.”
“I know. That’s why I’m asking. You know I’m a princess of the Hernia family, right? Then you also know that my body is very weak.”
“Hmm…”
“Since I might collapse inside or something might happen to my body, I’m saying I’ll go in accompanied by my attendant.”
The clerk seemed a bit flustered as he pushed up his glasses.
“Then let’s go in together with me.”
Naro swallowed dry saliva in the tension that the plan might fail.
“The one who can take the fastest action when something happens to my body is someone who knows about me well. Can you do that?”
The clerk couldn’t say anything.
“I feel bad for being unreasonable too. But I’ll just look at the materials I’m searching for and come out right away, so couldn’t it work somehow?”
The clerk seemed to think for a moment, then soon nodded. Naro let out a sigh of relief inside without showing it. He thought they’d probably made an exception because it was none other than the Hernia family. The Hernia ducal house had high credibility among the empire’s citizens.
He hadn’t known that what Mellian had said about trusting only her meant this. To use her weak constitution. In any case, thanks to that they were able to pass through the entrance safely.
The clerk opened the door and cleared the way for Mellian. Naro, who had been following behind her, finally stepped into Roton’s Room.
