Chapter 59

Kinaine froze for a moment, then smiled awkwardly. This was why he hadn't wanted to show his body. He didn't care what others said, but it was painful to see his lover frowning while looking at his body.

"Haha. It's quite something, isn't it? It must be unpleasant to look at, so please return my clothes..."

"Why are you like this?"

He seemed determined not to return the clothes until he got an answer.

This stubborn side of him certainly still seemed like Helio. In the end, Kinaine answered, trying hard not to be conscious of his bare upper body.

"I worked as a mercenary... I lived a rough life."

"A mercenary? You? But you're an omega."

Asad asked curiously. Omegas were precious beings and rarely did such dangerous work.

"Were omegas common in the human realm?"

"No. They weren't common."

He doesn't remember as much as I thought.

Considering the story Asad had told earlier about his past, it seemed that Asad's remaining memories were from when he was living as a wanderer before meeting him. Asad had been in an almost idiotic state then, so it made sense that he didn't know much about the human realm.

Well, if he forgot me, he must have forgotten everything I taught him too.

Swallowing a bitter smile, Kinaine continued.

"I had my reasons for working as a mercenary, but omegas are just as precious in the human realm."

"Why did you do such work?"

The questions didn't end. What was he so curious about?

It seemed the dragon had become curious after seeing his scars the previous night. Was he curious even though he found it disgusting to look at? Well, the dragon who had only seen and heard good things here probably never had the chance to see something so unsightly. It wasn't strange to be curious about something he was seeing for the first time.

Kinaine felt like covering his body with a blanket, but he pretended not to care.

Why did he work as a mercenary?

In exchange for not revealing his identity to the kingdom and finding clues to undo the black magic, he had agreed to become a mercenary and do everything the guild master ordered.

There were things he didn't want to do, and many moments he wanted to run away, but he endured.

The scars that the dragon looked at as if they were terrible were no different from the life he had lived. However, he wouldn't talk about that. It was a desperate and unhappy past for him, but to others, it would just be a long-winded story. The noble dragon didn't need to know such things.

So a short answer was enough.

"I needed money. A lot of it."

Kinaine saw a cold sneer spread across Asad's beautiful face.

"Humans really do love money..."

Asad had experienced things he shouldn't have because of human greed. Kinaine had expected him to react coldly.

However, Kinaine didn't add his long-winded circumstances until the end. Even if his lover didn't remember him, he remembered everything. So he didn't want to talk about it. What person in the world would want to tell their lover about their unpleasant circumstances?

Even though it was a life where he had no pride left... he didn't want to be pathetic in front of him. That was Kinaine's true desire.

"Who doesn't like money?"

He added lightly, but the chilled atmosphere didn't return.

I wish he'd return my clothes now. He glanced at Asad's back, but his clothes still showed no sign of returning to their owner.

Meanwhile, he could feel the sharp gaze scanning his body. Unfortunately, the dragon didn't seem to want to end the conversation yet.

"So, what exactly did you do?"

"...Well, I found lost people or objects, guarded merchant caravans, things like that. Mercenary work doesn't have specific tasks. You do what the person paying wants you to do."

"If the person paying wanted your body?"

"What?"

"Did you give that too?"

For a moment, Kinaine couldn't understand what the dragon was saying.

After a brief silence, Kinaine finally managed to open his mouth.

"...Are you asking if I sold my body?"

People seemed to have an uncanny ability to recognize those they could treat carelessly. Mercenaries who had nothing but their bodies were also among those that others could treat carelessly.

The first time he was insulted, he couldn't hold back and threw a punch. But like all things, repetition makes one accustomed. He became able to brush off both jokes made in jest and insults thrown to his face without caring.

Kinaine was grateful to those who had mocked and insulted him. Thanks to that experience, he was able to laugh it off quite nonchalantly this time too.

"That's... unlikely. Who would pay money for a body like this?"

Pulling up the corners of his mouth to smile wasn't difficult at all, but for some reason, his heart felt uneasy.

It wasn't just because of the dragon's eyes that seemed to see through everything. It was because he absolutely didn't want him to know that he had been hurt by his words.

The mindset of someone telling a lie that doesn't matter if it's discovered and someone telling a lie they absolutely don't want discovered is bound to be different. The anxiety of the desperate one is bound to be much stronger.

He couldn't be sure if he was smiling properly with his eyes curved. If there were a mirror, he could have checked and shown a perfect expression. But with only the cold-faced man in front of him to see, he just couldn't relax.

'Isn't he staring too much?'

Afraid that the dragon might discover even a single crack in his face, Kinaine forced his stiffened tongue to move.

"Well, I don't know if someone would have bought it if they offered. But it would have been hard to get much money for it anyway. So, what I mean is, I didn't do that kind of work."

"..."

"If you're concerned about the night we spent together, you don't need to worry at all because I've never used my body carelessly like that. I don't have any diseases or anything."

What on earth am I saying... Trying to divert attention by saying anything, he ended up rambling words even he couldn't understand.

He had never been told he couldn't speak well in his life, but he felt like a complete fool. It was obvious that the people who had praised him as a genius would look betrayed if they saw him now.

'I want to disappear right now...'

If there was one fortunate thing in this awkward and embarrassing situation, it was that he seemed to be maintaining a shameless face to others.

"Ha."

Seeing Asad laugh coldly as if dumbfounded proved that.

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly as if winter had come to the room. In fact, cold sweat was breaking out on his back, but it seemed that even the great dragon couldn't see through someone's back.

Asad crossed his arms and glared at him. His eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

"...Well, that's uncertain. Human diseases don't affect me anyway."

"Diseases don't affect you?"

Though that probably wasn't the intent of his words, that particular part caught Kinaine's ear. Kinaine's eyes widened in surprise, then he immediately smiled brightly.

"That's really great!"

This time, smiling wasn't difficult at all. He could smile genuinely. How could he not smile after hearing that his lover wouldn't get sick?

At the same time, he realized how little he knew about dragons. He didn't know much beyond the fact that dragons grant their mate's wish. Nothing else had seemed important.

But now that he knew the dragon's true identity, he was very curious about many things.

"So, Lord Asad, does that mean you can't get any diseases at all?"

"..."

As if the chilly atmosphere had never existed, Asad blankly stared at the brightly smiling Kinaine. The icy look in his eyes that had seemed to be covered in thin ice had already melted away like snow in spring. However, Kinaine, focused on his newfound curiosity, didn't notice the change in Asad's demeanor.

"Lord Asad, is that right?"

"...Yes."

"You can use magic, you don't get sick, what else can you do?"

Kinaine realized he was being inappropriately cheerful for the situation, but it was too late to pretend otherwise now.

Just a moment ago, he had been hurt and at a loss, but now he was desperate to know even one more of the dragon's mysterious abilities. Even he thought the change in his emotions was sudden.

But that was how he had always lived. By trying not to think deeply about negative emotions, he had naturally come to ignore them.

He had thought it would be fine even if Asad didn't answer, but surprisingly, a straightforward answer came.

"I rarely get hurt, and even if I do get wounded, it heals quickly. Incomparably more than mere humans like you who barely live 100 years."

"Barely 100 years, you say."

Could it be that Asad thought all humans naturally lived an average of 100 years? In fact, humans were considered to have lived a long life if they reached about 100 years.

However, Kinaine didn't correct the facts. It was a story the dragon didn't need to know anyway.