Chapter 138

No sooner had Asad's words ended than he glared at the trembling black eyes.

The relief and joy he had felt upon seeing his face were quickly forgotten in the anger that followed.

'What kind of state is this?'

If he had kicked away the things Asad had promised to give him and run away, shouldn't he at least be enjoying something better? But no matter how he looked at it, he didn't seem to be receiving better treatment than at the dragon palace.

'Wearing this kind of thing around his neck.'

What happened to the necklace he had given him, and why was he wearing an ugly iron collar? Even at a glance, it looked too heavy for a human to bear, making it seem strange that his thin neck hadn't broken.

Asad tapped the collar with his fingertips. He could shatter the collar into pieces by applying a little more force, but... he didn't try.

'With my magic not being well-controlled right now...'

After failing with teleportation magic, he had tried using magic again several times, but failed once every three attempts. This was a first. It was impossible not to realize that his condition wasn't normal.

If there were also problems with controlling his strength, not just the collar but other things would shatter along with it.

'That wouldn't do.'

Though Asad was angry at the human for lying and running away, he didn't want to kill him. Of course, if someone else had done the same thing, he would have killed them without hesitation.

It was already too late to question why only this human was different, as he had already come to the human realm because of him. ...Though there were other reasons as well.

"I asked what I should call you."

Separate from not wanting to kill him, his anger made his words come out harshly.

And the problem giving Asad a headache wasn't just this human. He had another issue to pay attention to right now.

That problematic person was looking at him from the side, but Asad didn't even glance in that direction as he removed his hand from the collar.

"Why aren't you answering?"

Even when pressed, there was still no answer. His black eyes, with their gaze subtly misaligned, reflected Asad's image.

Was he shocked because his lie had been exposed? Or was he concocting another lie?

'What on earth is in that small head that makes him hide, conceal, deceive...'

The truly strange thing was what this human had gained from all this. If one worked so hard to deceive others, there should be something to gain, but Asad couldn't understand what he had gained. A collar with chains?

If he had wanted the dragon's wish like others, he wouldn't have given up his position as a bride candidate, and if he had wanted gold and treasures, he wouldn't have run away from him.

But Asad didn't want to ask the human "why did you do it?" After all, this human would just lie again. So he said something else.

"Where did you throw away what I gave you? If this is your taste, you should have said so earlier. I would have given you something like this."

Though he made a joke to hide his low spirits, the other didn't laugh. His face was expressionless, but Asad now knew that he wore the same face even when in pain, so he wasn't fooled.

'I can't tell what he's thinking.'

The impulse to rummage through his mind with magic suddenly arose. If it had been someone else, he would have acted immediately upon having such a thought, but this time he restrained himself.

"I..."

After a long while, the human's lips moved. His lips were so bloodless they appeared bluish.

"I never participated in the selection with ill intentions. I had even less intention of harming Lord Asad."

His complexion had never been good to begin with. He later learned it was due to a chronic illness. Still, with good food and rest, his color had been gradually returning, but his current appearance was more serious than when he had first seen him.

'That's not what I asked.'

He was acting as if he had a guilty conscience. If Asad had been a suspicious person, he might have believed the human had entered the selection with evil schemes.

"It wasn't me who had ill intentions, but someone else. I saw that person harm the gatekeeper."

"You're saying it wasn't you? There aren't many spirits who could harm a gatekeeper."

"There was someone else besides me on that bridge. I saw their face... it was definitely the scaled tribe's bride candidate."

An unexpected person was mentioned. But of all people, the scaled tribe's bride candidate?

The scaled tribe was not physically strong by nature. It was a fact that even ten scaled tribe members would struggle to defeat one horned tribe member. Asad wore a slightly troubled expression. Why would he tell such a lie?

'Is he afraid of being punished?'

After a moment of silence, Asad opened his mouth.

"Since you're not answering, I'll just call you Nine. That's what I'm used to."

"..."

"I don't know why you're lying, but you don't have to anymore. Do you really think I would do something to you for killing one gatekeeper?"

Of course, Igni might think differently, but what could she do if he stood in her way?

'This should reassure him a bit.'

That's what Asad thought, but reality was different. For the first time, cracks appeared in the face that had been feigning composure all this time.

Asad was surprised by the reaction, as if he had been wounded.

'...Why?'

The human lowered his head and moved his lips again.

"...It's not a lie."

At the claim made in a voice so faint it seemed about to break, Asad belatedly thought that perhaps what the human wanted wasn't the answer "I won't punish you for killing the gatekeeper," but "I believe you."

"No, I..."

Just as the confused Asad was about to continue.

"Lord Asad, there's no need to listen to his words."

A strange yet familiar voice called to him.

It was the "problem" he had been deliberately ignoring until now.

"I don't know how Hasan managed to reach the spirit realm, but he must have been planning to use the dragon's power for evil purposes. It's fortunate we realized before something bad happened."

The tone was gentle yet powerful. Only someone who didn't doubt themselves at all could speak in such a way.

'If he had truly been a magical beast, this village would have been annihilated long ago.'

So when he had said that, no one could refute it...

'If you wish to come with me, take my hand.'

...and that must be why he had taken this hand.

Asad slowly turned his head to stare at the man.

The man looked almost identical to the one in his "memory." Though he seemed a bit more mature, it wasn't difficult to identify him as the same person from his memory.

Asad frowned as he looked down at the ring on his finger.

Fortunately, the ring had been in the possession of the incinerator manager.

'No matter how many times I tried, it wouldn't burn, so I kept it thinking it might be a valuable item!'

The flame used in the incinerator wasn't an ordinary fire. It was a special fire that the previous dragon had received as a gift from the horned tribe, capable of instantly melting even the hardest metals.

Yet a mere ring didn't even get singed by this flame, so the incinerator manager had found it strange and kept it.

'I thought it was quite peculiar, and indeed it was Lord Asad's item. I even tried to break it once, but only the hammer was damaged while not a single scratch appeared on the ring. I thought it was amazing how it looked like it could break at any moment.'

As the incinerator manager had said, the ring was in a damaged state as if it could break at any moment. Despite this, it neither burned in fire nor was damaged by a hammer, which was strange.

'It's not my item though.'

'What? Really? Oh my.'

The incinerator manager, who had glanced down at Asad's hand, laughed awkwardly.

'I misunderstood because it fits Lord Asad's hand perfectly.'

The most puzzled person about this was Asad.

How could a ring that the human had worn around his neck fit his finger, specifically his ring finger, so perfectly?

As if it had been his from the beginning...

'I have many things to ask.'

Asad realized he had a perfect reason to capture the runaway human and moved without delay.

It was from that day. That Asad began to dream.

Originally, Asad couldn't remember his dreams even if he had them, but from the day he wore the ring, he clearly remembered every dream. No, they weren't dreams but sequential memories of the past.

And most of those memories were occupied by this man beside him, the king of humans. Though he didn't seem to recognize Asad.

'Because my appearance has changed since then.'

Asad was rather relieved. He didn't want to be entangled with the human over past events he couldn't even remember. It was also because, unlike in the dreams, he didn't feel any particular emotion toward the man he actually faced in reality.

But the next moment, the man opened his mouth, instantly shattering Asad's relief.

"Lord Asad. Could it be that you don't remember me?"