Flens Rihill. The protagonist of the original work and the commander of the Erwin Mana Knights Order. A hero who saved the Empire and a genius mana knight. And to Naro, he was the very person who had defeated Ray, the mastermind behind everything, and the one who had personally written the journal he’d just seen.
The brown-haired man with slightly tanned skin was definitely the same Flens he’d seen in the square that day. Naro stared at the man endlessly with his mouth and eyes wide open in disbelief.
“Ah, perhaps you don’t know me well? Haha, this is embarrassing—I revealed my identity so confidently. Well then, would this face be more comfortable after all?”
Flens tapped between his brows three times again. Then he changed back into the face of the inn guest uncle that Naro was familiar with.
“How…?”
“You mean this? It’s a type of disguise magic.”
Flens returned to his original face as he spoke.
“However, it consumes an enormous amount of mana and the activation is quite tricky, so it’s not an easy spell. And Naro? You won’t say you don’t know me, will you? Not as long as you’re helping that dragon friend of yours.”
Naro’s Adam’s apple bobbed deeply. Flens knew. That Ray was a black dragon. He had known everything from the beginning, which was why he’d used disguise magic to stay at this inn where he and Ray were lodging, approaching them while pretending to be a guest.
Concluding that the Knights wouldn’t know Ray’s humanized form at all had been a huge miscalculation. In the end, they’d been practically stuck together with the commander of the Knights ever since coming to the capital.
“…May I ask just one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
Naro met Flens’s gaze.
“Are you our enemy?”
Naro asked, recalling the journal he’d seen in Roton’s room.
“Ray… That’s a good name. I thought so from the moment I first heard it.”
Flens nodded with a smile still on his face.
“Then let me answer you. Naro, I’m not your enemy. As long as you and Ray set foot and live on this Empire’s land, I’m on your side. Because I’m a knight who protects the Empire.”
Flens spun around and crouched down at the core scene of the incident.
“Besides. I also have some business with that friend of yours. I just really want to meet him.”
“So that’s why you put out a bounty for Ray’s egg?”
“You could say that.”
Flens carefully examined the blood drops on the floor and the scattered food.
“That business… is it something that will harm Ray?”
“Naro, I can’t explain everything to you right now, but I don’t lie. You can trust what I’ve said.”
Naro clenched his fists, recalling the words that they were on his side. That was right. Naro still didn’t know what had happened between Flens and Ray in the past, or what business he had with Ray. However, if he were an enemy, there would be no reason for him to be acting this way now.
Moreover, Flens already knew Ray’s identity. He’d been right next to them while in disguise, yet far from capturing them, he’d merely circled around them like a bystander. At least in this situation, he wouldn’t be harmful.
Naro, having reached a conclusion, took a deep breath.
“Then…”
At that tearful sound, Flens, who had been carefully examining the surroundings, turned his head.
“…P-please help. Please help me find Ray. Hic, I can’t do anything on my own…”
“Ah, dear.”
Naro burst into tears. Flens stood up abruptly with a flustered face and approached Naro.
“I was too inconsiderate. I should have comforted your shocked heart first.”
Flens skillfully pulled several tissues from the box on the side table and placed them in Naro’s hand.
“Don’t worry. Since I also have reasons to meet Ray, I’ll find him somehow. Of course, I have no intention of ignoring an Empire citizen in distress either.”
Flens gently stroked Naro’s hair. Thanks to that, Naro was able to calm down relatively quickly.
“First, let me share my thoughts—I think Ray was probably kidnapped by traffickers.”
“Traffickers?”
“Remember what I said before? That kidnappers have been causing problems in the capital lately.”
“Ah.”
Naro recalled a mother who had been holding a picket asking for help finding her child in front of the inn. After that, he’d heard stories about the kidnappers from the disguised Flens. Not only did they kidnap children with outstanding appearances, but they also targeted rare animals for kidnapping.
Had Flens at that time been giving a roundabout warning in case Ray, being a dragon, might become their target?
“Th-then you’re saying those people targeted Ray from the start?”
“That’s right. In times like these, dragons are extremely rare, so they probably thought they could make a lot of money if they could just get their hands on one.”
“But how did those people know Ray was a dragon? Ray has hardly ever undone his humanization since coming to the capital. Except when sleeping at this inn…”
“Think carefully. Was there really never a time?”
Naro, who had been about to answer yes, hesitated. Come to think of it, not long ago, when he’d attended a banquet following Mellian and was returning to the inn, Ray’s humanization had come undone once in the square. He’d quickly covered him with the clothes Ray was wearing. Could someone have witnessed that?
“There was, wasn’t there?”
“Yes… just once…”
Naro answered helplessly. If he’d been more careful from the beginning so Ray could rest comfortably with his humanization undone, such a thing wouldn’t have happened, and ultimately Ray wouldn’t have been kidnapped either.
“But Ray is quite good at controlling his humanization. Even if the traffickers targeted Ray, I don’t understand how they made him return to his dragon form.”
“Hmm, they probably used some kind of trick.”
Flens fumbled around on the floor and said quietly, “Ah, here it is.” He picked something up and showed it to Naro. It was a long silver needle. The sharp tip was stained with blood.
“This was probably their tactic. I suspect some kind of drug was applied to it.”
As soon as Naro saw what was presumably Ray’s blood, he choked up again.
“Here’s what I think happened. After finding out Ray was a dragon, they must have been watching you two continuously. Then today, you happened to leave the inn alone, and they thought that was their opportunity. They probably disguised themselves as staff to induce him to eat, making the job easier. There’s a high possibility they put the same drug from the needle into the food scattered on the floor.”
Flens continued his explanation calmly.
“But whether Ray found him suspicious or there was another reason, he didn’t easily fall for the first trick. So the guy used a hard-line approach with physical methods.”
Flens took out a cloth from his pocket and wrapped the silver needle while speaking.
“Because of that, Ray’s humanization came undone, and they took advantage of that vulnerable moment to take him…”
“Right. And they had to do it when I happened to be away too. If I’d been at this inn, I could have stopped it.”
Naro stared blankly at the chaotic scene. He didn’t even want to imagine what kind of state Ray might be in right now. The fact that he wasn’t by his side was utterly heartbreaking.
“So what should we do now?”
Flens looked at Naro. The man who had been shedding sad tears just moments ago now had an upright expression.
“Ray is precious to me. So I must find him.”
The fragile appearance from before had completely disappeared, leaving only a strong will. Flens’s lips curved slightly upward.
“There’s nothing we can do by staying here now, so follow me for the time being.”
Flens gathered up all the scattered food from the floor and erased all the bloodstains with magic. Then he went downstairs and asked them to clean up room 303, saying food had been spilled. He emphasized that all the cleaned-up food should be disposed of.
Naro left the inn with Flens, his face darkened.
“Um…”
“Call me whatever’s comfortable. Flens is fine, Commander-nim is fine. Or you can call me ahjussi like you used to.”
“Then I’ll call you Commander-nim.”
No matter what, calling someone older than him by just “Flens” without formality seemed a bit rude. Besides, now that he knew his identity, calling him ahjussi didn’t seem right either.
“Commander-nim, are those bastards going to s-sell Ray?”
“Probably so. If they put him on the black market, the price would jump to hundreds of millions. If not that, then…”
Flens trailed off. In the past, there had been stories secretly passed among humans that dragon organs or body parts could bring tremendous benefits to humans. However, seeing Naro looking gloomy beside him, Flens decided not to mention that.
“Hmm, at any rate, they won’t act immediately. Since they already know Ray has a companion, they’ll be cautious at first. Which means we have time too.”
Naro nodded weakly, hoping that would be the case. At the same time, it struck him as strange that he was walking side by side with the protagonist of the original work and someone he’d once been wary of. He never even imagined he’d be getting help from him to rescue Ray. The saying that you never know how things will turn out was a hundred percent right.
If he hadn’t gone to Roton’s room today and seen the journal this person wrote, he probably wouldn’t have been able to trust him so easily.
“Since we have time while walking, shall we talk a bit?”
Flens said as he put on his purple robe.
