Chapter 131

He had dreamed.

For Asad, dreams were unpleasant things. He would deliberately avoid sleeping to avoid dreaming.

Asad habitually brushed his eyes. Fortunately, they were dry without a trace of moisture.

Certainly... something was different this time.

Like before, he couldn't remember what he had seen in his dream, as if he had walked through a hazy fog all day. However, this time, someone's voice clearly came to mind. This had never happened before.

Asad lowered the hand that had covered his eyes and looked around. A dragon's eyes could see through everything even in darkness. A dark room with thick curtains drawn over every window, not letting in a single ray of light. This was undoubtedly his bedroom.

Though it was a place he had used for years, it strangely felt unfamiliar. Come to think of it, he had rarely slept here since the selection began, hadn't he?

As soon as he realized he was lying in bed, Asad unconsciously felt beside him. It was a natural gesture, like someone expecting something that should naturally be there.

When he reached out like this, he would usually feel skin that couldn't honestly be called smooth due to the bumpy scars. Though he had clicked his tongue at first, after seeing it continuously, it wasn't unbearably ugly. It was also amusing how it would twitch slightly when he traced the scars with his fingers, as if ticklish...

But now, there was no one beside him.

"..."

Asad's face, as he fiddled with the empty sheet, appeared calm at a glance. In fact, he was much more composed than before losing consciousness. However, it didn't stem from tranquility. Rather, he was more like a predator just before pouncing on its prey.

Just then, he sensed someone unauthorized entering his territory. The dragon saw no reason to tolerate it.

"Ugh!"

The intruder, struck by magical energy like a whip, was slammed against the wall without resistance. The silver tray he had been carrying clattered loudly as it rolled across the floor.

Asad stared at the intruder, fixed to the wall and unable to move, as if looking at an insect pinned to a board.

"Tell me why I should let you live."

"...You woke up earlier than expected."

Blood trickled from between Shinsurial's lips, perhaps from internal injuries due to the impact. Though it must have been painful, he was smiling as if he couldn't feel the pain.

"I thought you would naturally be angry when you woke up. I didn't try to do anything harmful to you, Lord Asad. Quite the opposite. If I hadn't put you to sleep then, you would have turned into a magical beast and never returned to normal."

It was a loyal and sincere answer, as if prepared in advance. His submissive tone showed no sign of defiance toward the one treating him like an insect. If someone else had seen this, they might have thought a mad dragon was persecuting a loyal subject again.

A capricious dragon who could turn into a magical beast at any time and a wise great spirit who had lived for ages. If asked to choose which one was crazy, everyone would naturally select the former.

In reality, Asad wasn't exactly normal either, but... there was something others didn't know.

"Everything I do is all for the dragon. From the day I met you in the human realm until now, there hasn't been a single moment when I wasn't thinking of your welfare."

That this so-called great spirit was also quite a madman.

With his arms crossed, Asad stared at Shinsurial with a face tinged with mild irritation. To speak so calmly in a situation where he might die at any moment.

'Is this why other great spirits die before going insane from living too long?'

Shinsurial's eyes, looking at Asad in the darkness, were like the deep sea where light couldn't reach. Unfathomable in depth and in what lived there.

With eyes like that, it was strange that no one had noticed his oddity. Had they all gone cross-eyed together?

As for Asad, he had noticed that Shinsurial was a strange one almost from the beginning... but he had just left him be. Whether Shinsurial was crazy or not, he didn't care.

"Right. If it weren't for you, I would be living as a stupid magical beast who didn't even know who I was, drooling all over the place."

As Shinsurial himself had said, everything he had done so far had been for Asad. Since he neither harmed Asad nor caused trouble, but rather helped, there was no reason not to leave him alone.

If Shinsurial hadn't discovered him in the human realm, if he hadn't purified the demonic energy and revealed his true identity as a dragon... Asad would certainly be living differently now.

However, Asad's gaze toward Shinsurial was, as always, too indifferent, even disrespectful, to be directed at a benefactor.

"As you say, you've been more devoted to me than anyone else. But I realize I've never heard what you want."

To be precise, he should say he hadn't been interested until now.

Shinsurial seemed a bit surprised by the question he had never heard since meeting Asad. His eyes, which had only contained Asad, widened slightly before regaining their composure.

"What I want is for Lord Asad to become a perfect dragon, that's all."

"What good does that do for you?"

"That's the only thing I desire."

Realizing that conversation with a mad spirit wouldn't get him anywhere, Asad decided not to waste time. If what someone wanted was clear, they were easy to handle, but if not, it was impossible to predict their next move—hadn't he painfully learned this recently? Asad's eyes darkened as he recalled the emotion he had felt when touching the empty sheet. ...No, he could soon recover it.

Just as he was about to quickly dispose of the problem before him, Shinsurial spoke with perfect timing.

"Lord Asad, surely you're not thinking of going to look for that human?"

Asad didn't answer, but Shinsurial seemed to read the answer in his silence.

"You must have quite liked that toy. But that one is a criminal who insulted you and deceived everyone. He's not even worth your attention."

"..."

"Don't worry about him anymore. This morning, the winner of the selection was decided. The day you've been waiting for has finally come."

Eyes of different colors held Asad.

"Welcome your mate and become full-grown, Lord Asad."

As Shinsurial said, that was indeed the only thing Asad had wanted.

He had intended to take anyone as his bride, regardless of who, to become full-grown. Then he would no longer have to wake up crying from dreams he couldn't even remember, or live with the possibility of going berserk and becoming a magical beast at any moment.

He had wished to be reborn as a perfect being, far from the unhappiness and ugliness that had tormented him all this time.

...Because if he had been such a being, he wouldn't have lost him.

The thought that followed scattered like fog but left residue. Asad slightly furrowed his brow at the feeling of something throbbing somewhere in his chest.

"Aren't you curious about the winner? That person will be your bride."

Seeing Asad's face, which seemed to have the words 'not interested' written all over it, Shinsurial continued calmly, as if he hadn't expected much anyway.

"Well, Lord Asad wasn't interested in the selection. The winner is Biche."

"Who's that?"

At this indifferent question, Shinsurial's smile hardened slightly for the first time. Though he knew Asad wasn't interested, even he hadn't thought that Asad wouldn't have memorized a single bride candidate's name until now.

"...The bride candidate from the scaled tribe. Not just because we're both from the scaled tribe, but Biche is truly an excellent omega. Of course, the other candidates are outstanding too, but Biche is a match that suits Lord Asad better than anyone else. He will surely make Lord Asad perfect. The wedding ceremony should be held as soon as possible, don't you think?"

"..."

"You won't have to worry about anything, Lord Asad. After obtaining an heir, you can depart for the divine realm as you've wished. Then I will devoutly care for Lord Asad's child, the new dragon."

Toward Shinsurial, who seemed to be looking at a distant future already, Asad bluntly said:

"What if I say I don't like that Bi-whatever person?"

"Is there someone else you have in mind? The horned tribe's bride candidate and the tailed tribe's bride candidate are also fine dominant omegas. Anyone would be sufficient as Lord Asad's mate."

Even at the suggestion that the scaled tribe's bride candidate could be eliminated, Shinsurial didn't bat an eye.

Indeed, what Shinsurial was interested in differed from others. Not 'who would become the dragon's bride,' but solely in 'Asad becoming a perfect dragon.'

The reason Asad had left Shinsurial alone until now was because they wanted the same thing. He had only thought about becoming full-grown as soon as possible and departing for the divine realm.

That thought hadn't changed even now. However...

"The test should be fair. You've left out one person."