Without You (6)

And a few days passed.

Anything changed?

Not much.

This dragon’s lair has a very simple structure.

At the entrance, there’s a bit of a dungeon-like maze, and once inside, it’s the dragon’s chamber. That’s it. I live in the corner of that room, while the Black Dragon prefers the center.

Sunlight sometimes filters into the center of the lair. From what I’ve observed, she seems to like the warmth.

Anyway, since it’s a dragon’s lair, it’s vast, and the physical distance within it is quite significant.

So the emotional distance is like that of the Pacific Ocean.

Compared to the beginning when she would just stand still or give me a deadly stare, telling me to die, it’s gotten slightly better.

I’m still mostly ignored. Except now, like a child who just learned to speak, she has started showing great interest in food.

“This, uh, is roasted uba foot – it’s very good for the skin, and chewy too.”

As I roasted the jokbal, I applied the seasoning I made and explained the dish. The word jokbal doesn’t really exist in this world, but it’s not like this dragon would know anyway.

“What’s the point of liking something like that?”

The dragon showed no interest in its skin and completely skipped over my words. However, it seemed to like the smell, as she kept sniffing in front of the roasting jokbal.

“Anyway, it’s all done. Be careful, it’s hot.”

“It’s definitely better than eating it whole. You’re my cooking servant!”

“In what world is a servant stronger than their master?”

“……”

“Don’t glare at me. Just eat. Food loses its taste if it gets too cold.”

I take a bite of the jokbal.

It’s delicious. Ah, that chewy texture. And the collagen!

I think I did a good job balancing the seasoning.

Slurp.

The Black Dragon, watching me devour the roasted jokbal, took the piece I handed over, stared at it for a moment, and then brought it to her mouth.

She eats well.

She eats very well.

It feels like her appetite exploded after the pork ribs. She often ate far away from me, as if she didn’t want to be around me, but maybe she was too lazy to move this time. Either way, she was staying put in front of the stone slab, eating.

“But can I ask you something?”

No answer.

She doesn’t seem interested. Unlike when she’s in her dragon form, the polymorphed human-shaped dragon had her small face focused entirely on the jokbal.

Anyway, since the killing intent had subsided enough for us to eat together, I asked subtly.

“About that incident with your mother…”

The moment I brought it up, the dragon shot to her feet, tossing the uba bone it had been gnawing on at me without hesitation.

She then began to glare at me with genuine murderous intent – the strongest I had felt so far.

If there were any other living creatures around, they would have died from the sheer pressure she was emitting.

A regular human would have already suffocated to death from the aura alone.

Did I touch on a taboo too hastily?

I was just testing my luck. I should’ve known better. Just because I’d closed the gap a little, I thought I could hear more about that incident.

“You… I hate you. You’re just the same. Just like everyone else. Get out of my lair right now!”

Her eyes were cold as ice. She no longer even glanced at the food, and her breathing had become rough.

She unleashed her breath wildly. Her mana, fueled by rage, began to crush everything, stone slab and all.

“Die. The ones who killed my Mother. The ones who insulted her. All of them. Die!”

“Wait, wait, I didn’t mean it like that. Really!”

I shouted while deflecting her breath, but she wasn’t listening.

Her black hair stood on end under the influence of her mana, and her eyebrows were raised as high as they could go. She started casting every attack spell she knew.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! That was my bad. I have nothing to do with that incident. I just heard bits and pieces and was curious. My bad!”

I even bowed my head and apologized, but all I got in return was a gaze full of murderous intent.

Then, she clenched her fists, trembling, and sharply turned her head away.

She stomped off to her space, then dropped to the ground and hugged her knees.

And then.

That state continued.

Not a single word was exchanged after that.

At least in the beginning, she told me to die or something, and while it wasn’t pleasant, at least she acknowledged my existence. Eventually, she even started eating the food I made.

But now, it felt like we had regressed too far.

No matter what I said, she had completely sealed her mouth.

Of course, everyone has a point of no return you should never breach. But at this rate, how was I supposed to get any information?

This dragon is probably the only one who knows the full truth about that incident.

The problem is that I can’t give up and leave, as this is a request from the Lord, for which I traded my heart.

And so, a few more days passed.

Silence hung over the lair. Dirt began to trickle down from the ceiling.

Thud.

The sand-like dirt flowed down continuously.

It kept falling all around.

-Thud!

As the ceiling of the lair rumbled, even more dirt began to fall from it.

-Bang!

-Bang!

Outside the lair. The tremors came from the mountain peak, but unless someone was intentionally targeting the lair from above, such vibrations couldn’t occur. If it were an earthquake, the ground would shake first, not cause dirt to fall from the ceiling.

-Bang!

It seemed like the whole lair was about to collapse. The dirt falling grew heavier and heavier. The Black Dragon finally got up after two days.

She had been curled up without eating or drinking, but she finally got up.

It seemed like she had an idea of what was causing the shaking ceiling, so she quickly ran out of the lair.

Of course, I followed her.

It was surprising to see such an emotional reaction from her. Outside the lair, on the mountaintop, sat two Black Dragons.

Hmm. They had arrogant expressions, as usual for dragons. But these guys had a malicious, playful arrogance.

My talent for reading a dragon’s expression was in full effect.

So, it was clear that these two were the reason the ceiling was shaking.

“Heh heh heh.”

The culprits looked at each other and started laughing. Very provocative.

“Well, well, why are you in that pathetic human form? Are you planning to go have some fun? Heh heh. That’s too funny.”

“Exactly! Know your place! Know your place!”

The dragon on the left stomped on the part of the lair roof it was standing on again. The lair shook precariously. More dirt must have fallen inside by now.

“Get off the lair right now! How dare you… How dare you step on my Mother’s lair…!”

“What? Say that again? You’re a disgrace to the Clan. If your mother was a disgrace, then the child is naturally even worse. How dare you lift your head and speak?”

“You shouldn’t have been born. Why are you even alive, making a fuss?”

The two dragons took turns, denying her very existence. They kept messing with the lair as if they were enjoying her reaction.

“Get off my Mother’s lair right now!”

Unable to take it any longer, she fired her breath at them. But, being outnumbered and not yet a fully grown dragon, it was clear she stood no chance against them.

Her breath was effortlessly neutralized, and the dragon on the left jumped over and crushed her body under its massive foot, pinning her human form to the ground. The dragon’s foot covered her entire body.

Only her face stuck out from under its foot. That face still glared unyieldingly at the dragons.

“No one would say anything if I just destroyed this lair, would they? The fact that the lair of a disgrace to the Clan still stands is the real problem. So, how about you lower those arrogant eyes?”

“Exactly. The only reason we spared your life is because you’re the Elder’s granddaughter, but you’re still walking around with your head held high. Tsk tsk.”

“……”

This was clear bullying.

They were completely denying her entire being.

But she seemed all too familiar with this kind of bullying. Even as they stomped on her, she just glared at them.

The only time she reacted was when they mentioned her mother.

“My Mother is not a disgrace to the Clan!”

“Stop talking nonsense. Should I call Nies over? Let’s see if you can still say that when Nies arrives.”

She clenched her mouth shut. Her face was even more filled with rage.

“Hey, Nies is having fun right now.”

“Oh, really? Having fun, huh? Rurin, you’re lucky. Otherwise, you might’ve tasted hell again. Heh heh. Anyway, Nies is Nies, and I’m me, so bow down. Beg us not to destroy the lair, and we might let this filthy lair stand. Or else we’ll break it down by jumping on it together. Heheh. Then we’ll just say it collapsed because it’s old.”

The dragon lifted its foot from her. If she had been human, her body would have been crushed by now.

Her body survived thanks to the internal structure of a dragon, but her heart must’ve been in shambles by now.

I was too shocked to intervene earlier, but now was the time to step in.

I approached her and asked.

“Why are you being bullied like this?”

“…I’ve never been bullied.”

If there’s one thing I’m thankful to those bastards for, it’s that thanks to them, she finally answered my question after days of silence. For the first time in two days, her mouth opened.

“Exactly. This isn’t bullying. This is the pain you’re supposed to endure as a disgrace to the Clan. You’ve been through this for hundreds of years, and yet, look at that glare. We concluded we need to give you even more pain. But who are you? A human?”

“Looks human to me.”

The dragons looked at each other and started laughing so hard it made the ground shake.

Ignoring them, I grabbed the Black Dragon’s arm. Her slender body was now covered in dust.

But she swatted my arm away.

“Don’t touch me!”

She staggered to her feet, glaring at me before shifting her gaze to the dragons. She clenched her mouth shut. Was she really about to kneel?

These few days together were all we had.

I don’t know much about her, but I know she isn’t the type to kneel this easily.

They said they’ve been torturing her for centuries, calling her a disgrace to the clan.

So, has she always lived like this, curled up in this dark lair, eating raw birds just to survive, sleeping again, and enduring their torment? Has that been her life?

No wonder her heart was closed off.

Is that why she hasn’t even considered closing the gap between us? Because her heart is so tightly sealed?

I heard bits and pieces about the incident involving her mother from the Lord and the chieftain.

Even if it’s true, there’s no reason for her to be tormented this much just for being her mother’s daughter.

Come to think of it, she called this her mother’s lair.

Her mother’s legacy?

To her, this lair must be like her mother’s embrace and her final stronghold, right?

These dragons are using that lair as a hostage, threatening to destroy it and tormenting her, enjoying her reaction.

It’s vile.

Utterly vile.

My blood pressure is rising.

Beyond simple heartache, watching such a proud creature stagger, ready to kneel, just to protect her only legacy.

It made me furious.

“Hahahaha! Rurin, are you seriously keeping a human as a servant? Unbelievable!”

“Know your place, already. This won’t do. We should ask Nies to come destroy your mind as well…”

“Shut your filthy mouths already.”

I shouted and cut their words off.

I was too annoyed to listen any longer.