Chapter 23

What in the world... what was he doing?

The question of why the human was there didn't even cross his mind. That's how bewildering the sight was.

"Shh, stay still."

Though it was far away, Asad's excellent hearing had no problem hearing the human scolding the carp.

Naturally, the carp raised in the dragon's palace weren't ordinary fish. They were spiritual creatures presented by the scaled tribe, their scales shimmering in rainbow colors under moonlight, incredibly auspicious.

"Hmm. Since they're big, two should be enough?"

This made the human's smiling face as he gripped the carp look even more wicked.

"Lord Asad. Will you just leave them be?"

Asad, who had been blankly watching the human crawl out of the pond, put the carp in a basket and leave while humming, finally came to his senses at Targan's voice.

"...What is he doing?"

"Well."

Targan pondered with a serious face before answering.

"Isn't it theft?"

"Theft."

Asad muttered as if it were an unfamiliar word he was learning for the first time.

It couldn't be helped. What brazen person would dare steal from a dragon? And right in front of the owner, no less.

Like anyone who had experienced something utterly absurd, Asad's mind went blank. He was so dumbfounded he couldn't even feel angry anymore.

"What would they steal that for?"

"Hmm. Wouldn't they sell it? Usually thieves sell stolen goods for money. Those spirit beasts would fetch a high price whether in the spirit realm or human realm."

"...Come to think of it, they came to the Gold Pot too."

The Gold Pot was a place that Fei, the tailed tribe leader, had created after being greatly impressed during his visit to the human realm. Fei, the only spirit leader friendly to the human realm, was very interested in human culture and artifacts. Though others considered Fei eccentric, Asad often associated with him because he provided some entertainment in the monotonously flowing time.

Even so, Asad thought the Gold Pot was the epitome of Fei's unpleasant tastes. The customers at the Gold Pot all wore luxurious clothes and carried pouches full of gold tokens, yet every one of them had a hungry look.

Though Asad didn't care whether Fei liked or disliked humans, he felt irritated by the Gold Pot's unique atmosphere. He had thought about destroying it several times.

If the sharp-witted Fei hadn't rushed over somehow knowing each time, the Gold Pot would have long since collapsed into a pile of rubble.

'Though the noble dragon may find it hard to understand, all living beings desire something and move to obtain it. If one desires nothing, they're no different from the dead. Therefore, desire itself is life force. Isn't that wonderful?'

No matter what Fei said, Asad's opinion of them remained the same.

Stupid, pathetic creatures.

That human was the same.

"So they like money."

According to Jet, the human had won a lot of money at the Gold Pot. Asad furrowed his brow as he imagined the human's stupid face grinning while clutching gold tokens.

Yes, an ordinary person would have fled long ago. Yet the reason they still remained here could only be one thing.

They wanted something more than life itself.

Had they gone mad at the sight of the magnificent dragon's palace? Well, worthless humans would probably view even a pebble from the dragon's palace floor as a jewel...

That human had won so much money at the Gold Pot yet still wasn't satisfied, even crawling into the room of an alpha in rut. For such a human, it was understandable that they hadn't fled, blinded by the gold before their eyes.

Since Asad didn't realize the manager had mistaken Kinaine for a beta when letting him in, he misunderstood Kinaine. Even if he had heard the story, he would have thought the manager was lying.

After all, the pheromones Asad had sensed that day could absolutely not have been mistaken for a beta's.

"Let's go."

"Shall we pursue them?"

"They stole what's mine, so they must pay the price."

A beautiful yet cruel smile bloomed on the dragon's face.

It wasn't difficult to follow the human. There was no need to use magic. That human had a distinctive smell. Asad moved following that scent that subtly grated on his nerves.

His steps stopped in front of the old palace he had assigned.

"I didn't know... there was such a place."

Targan blinked slowly upon seeing the shabby palace. Such a dilapidated building in the dragon's palace where everything was splendid as if new. Not having come out to the outskirts, he hadn't known such a place existed.

Asad spoke.

"It seems one of the previous dragons liked omegas too much and took in several brides. This palace was used to drive out omegas he didn't like."

"Ah."

"I heard an omega who realized they had been abandoned committed suicide here? It's been empty ever since."

Asad's tone was completely casual while speaking of the tragic incident.

In moments like these, Targan would think about how different dragons were from themselves.

Though they took similar forms, dragons were fundamentally completely different beings.

Some said dragons had no hearts.

This was related to the background of dragons' creation.

In the beginning, the gods created dragons as weapons to protect the world.

Since weapons didn't need hearts, they didn't create them.

However, something unexpected happened.

The gods fell in love with these beautiful weapons.

The love-struck gods bestowed numerous blessings hoping the dragons would be happy, but the dragons without hearts didn't feel happiness no matter what they received.

Only then did the gods realize their mistake. But dragons' hearts were already empty.

The gods pondered deeply for many days about how to solve the problem, and finally found a solution.

It was to create beings who could substitute for dragons' hearts.

"..."

Targan's eyes took in the beautiful dragon's form.

A being who had everything but a heart.

Though he had heard countless stories about dragons even before being selected as a retainer for this generation's dragon while still in the horned tribe's land, seeing one in person was still incomprehensible.

After briefly looking at the shabby palace where a pitiful omega had supposedly hanged themselves, Targan spoke.

"But dragons only take one bride, don't they?"

"They say he later found his true bride and drove out all the other omegas. A boring story."

Asad answered indifferently.

Only one omega in the world could become a dragon's bride. The true mate called 'the dragon's final scale.'

The being who substituted for the only thing dragons couldn't have - a heart... wasn't that what they said?

Though he had heard this story countless times since becoming aware he was a dragon, Asad's impression was always the same.

'All nonsense.'

What was so important about a mere heart?

He had lived just fine without such a thing until now.

There was only one thing Asad wanted from the omega who would become his bride.

Bearing his child.

Once the next generation dragon was born, Asad would be freed from a dragon's duties and finally become free. He could end this tiresome act of being a guardian.

"Hm?"

Asad's eyes narrowed.

"But... what's this smell?"

A strange smell was wafting from somewhere. Fishy and burnt...

"Ugh."

Asad, with his sensitive nose, frowned and shook his head. As if that would make the smell disappear.

Meanwhile, having assessed the situation, Targan reported.

"The bride candidate is grilling something."

"What? What are they grilling?"

"The spirit beast they stole."

"...What?"

At this unimaginable answer, Asad froze again as if struck on the head.

* * *

Smoke rose in the back garden where dry leaves rolled about.

Sitting around a bonfire, Ramu opened her mouth.

"...Lord Nine. Is it really okay to eat this?"

At Ramu's question, Kinaine nodded after taking a bite of the fish grilled on a stick.

"Yes, it's fine to eat. It's well cooked, isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant..."

Growl, a loud sound from her stomach cut off Ramu's worried words.

Ramu lowered her head, her face red.

"It's alright. It's quite tasty."

"..."

"Try it, I said it's fine?"

Kinaine urged again.

When those eyes with strange expectation turned toward her, Ramu shifted her gaze. She saw the nicely browned grilled fish.

Gulp, Ramu swallowed.

Yesterday she had cleaned the palace that was little better than an abandoned house, and today she had walked long distances since early morning. Moreover, being startled and angered by the insects had drained all her energy. Now she was beyond hungry - her insides felt twisted with pain.

However, her last bit of reason held her back.

"...This is absurd, eating this."

Unlike her words, Ramu's lips looked like they might start drooling any moment.’