981. Yongin and Saxony
Temares strolled leisurely through the city. He had been doing so for weeks, yet no one recognized him, and to his surprise, it was only natural.
He now looked like a wanderer with ordinary-looking brown hair, rather than his usual lemon-blonde hair and vertically slit pupils.
Temares was born a dragon, and like other dragons, he mastered various spells as naturally as breathing.
One of them was Epimorph, a spell that allowed him to change his appearance at will.
With this single spell, Temares fulfilled his duty as the owner of a small fruit shop at one moment, and became a peddler or a mercenary at another.
Hundreds of duties meant hundreds of lives. He had lived that way because that was the only way life had meaning.
Then, what about now?
Temares questioned, explored, and pondered inwardly.
It is absent.
What is the meaning of the word “absence”?
It means having nothing. What? There are no obligations. For Yong-in, that is an unbearable agony. It is the beginning of the two words “wandering.” Since the reason for life disappears, a ship that does not drop anchor becomes a drifting vessel.
Without a goal, one must wander and roam. But that was not the case. Even without an anchor, he was staying at the border guard, watching over the world, and his mind was not uneasy.
Find your duty.
The instinct that had always driven him was now still. Quiet and calm. Has it been time to die? Is it time to let go of duty and disappear?
Has the moment come to end a life sustained by duty for so long? But why is my heart pounding? When was the last time I felt something like this?
First duty.
It was about protecting a small flower. It wasn’t a flower garden, but a single flower.
I’m alive.
Absorbing sunlight again and again, the life force condensed within the petals pulsates like a dragon. The profusely blooming flowers bloomed and faded with the passage of time. They bloom profusely, scatter, and disappear.
What others might have called a quiet cycle was, to Temares, a dragon-pulsing.
What is the difference between running toward the sky with all one’s might and a flower now pouring out its entire life to bloom fully?
None. In his first duty, Temares felt the beauty of the world.
Had that moment not existed, would he have endured the long years that followed? One never knows the path not taken, but it was self-evident that it would have been more difficult than it is now. There is no life without a reason. To Yong-in, this was the same as saying there is no life without duty.
Several thoughts followed one another like a repeating musical note.
“A unique moment, a unique being. Those things are enjoyable. When the moment comes to feel that joy, you will understand the meaning of my words.”
Feel that joy; it is enough to make it the purpose of your life.
Now I understand the meaning of those words. I can vividly feel what my father told me when I was a child.
‘ah.’
It is joyful. Living for that one thing alone is enough.
True joy lies in watching something radiant.
Despite the absence of duty, Temares felt a quiet satisfaction with his current life. He reflected on his own life while observing them—the Encred and everyone else—from a distance and detachment. He
walked, reflecting on his duty and comforting his past. He walked and walked, thought and thought, and felt and felt.
The funny thing is, once people knew of the existence of Yongin, they were busy seeking him out to entrust their wisdom or strength to him.
No one is looking for you.
That is also fun. Everything is a joy. And now I know clearly why.
A peculiar being.
It is not just one human named Encred. It is the entire group he created. That is why strolling through this city is enjoyable.
What do you want?
He realized it because the time had come, and because he realized it, the absent duty arrives. It is a will that fills the heart more faithfully and fully than ever before.
The ecstasy stemming from joy becomes the pillar supporting that will. Temares closed his eyes and stopped walking. Filled with his boiling heart, he established his duty.
Watching.
No, more than that.
Being together.
To stay by the side of a single entity for a lifetime, enjoying and digesting that life.
Just as when he had fulfilled his first duty, the same sense of anticipation fills his heart.
Yongin has chosen his path. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes emitted a golden glow. His pupils were split vertically.
At the same time, his hair slowly turned lemon-colored, starting from the roots where it began at his scalp. Everything had changed, from his facial features to his physique.
“oh.”
A passing woman blushed at the sight of him. That is the extent of his looks. One might have been used to seeing Encred by now, having seen him so often, but this was not the case.
Moreover, one might even say that he somehow evokes a protective instinct.
Of course, Yongin would never need the protection of a passing woman.
“Why show off such a talent here?”
Just then, he heard a voice. It was a familiar voice. Turning his gaze to one side, he saw a man with reddish-brown hair and eyes of a similar shade.
He appeared to be walking leisurely. Beside him was a woman with orange eyes and curly blonde hair tied back tightly.
At that moment, Temares was soaring with exhilaration. He was filled with determination, and everything in the world was perceived anew. Thus, the words came naturally. To put it simply, he thought of flowers, marveled at what he saw, and praised it.
“What is your name? It is beautiful. I wish to swim within your heart.”
In his eyes, the woman standing beside Saxen was a healthy and strong-willed person. Yongin’s mind-reading ability caught a glimpse of the pure strength she possessed.
A strong-willed woman is beautiful. That was what Yongin thought as he spoke.
Saxen pulled out the hilt of the dagger hidden in his sleeve and gripped it.
That lizard-eyed bastard, who had suddenly vanished and reappeared one day, was flirting with his lover.
To put it in Rem’s terms, wouldn’t it be fine to kill him at this point?
“Yena, back.”
“So that’s Yongin. I heard he was super honest.”
Even at Saxony’s words, his lover Jenatrice did not back down.
I don’t think that was meant to be a fight.
As always, she was wiser than Saxony.
“Are you fighting? Why?”
Yongin asked back.
In the meantime, several onlookers had gathered nearby. To anyone watching, didn’t they look like two men fighting over a woman?
After all, both of them were quite good-looking.
“Yes, you are beautiful too. I wish to feel your touch.”
Yongin, who had been indifferent to the world, changed his personality along with his sense of duty. He spoke and acted to go beyond merely watching them and enter their midst. As
he took the hand of a woman who had been watching, her face turned red.
“This bastard?”
The craftsman, whose relationship with her was developing, clenched his fist. However, a member of Georg’s Dagger Guild following behind blocked him. He may
look clumsy on the outside, but he is a Dragonkin on par with a knight capable of killing a thousand men alone. If you attack, it is you who will die.
“Ah, I mean it no other way. Yes, your hands are truly beautiful, too.”
While he was blocking them, Temares also flirted with the craftsman. The hands of the man—an artist expressing his own world, agonizing between commercialism and artistry—were human because they held that very struggle. Temares found that appealing as well.
He then looked around, turning his gaze toward everyone he found attractive.
“You possess a beauty that could truly move the world.”
“Me?”
It was Vanessa, who was passing by. The creator of pumpkin soup, the innkeeper who had gathered Crona to build a library, a woman past middle age who had reached old age, and whose skin had become rough from years of hardship—she pointed at her and asked.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, too. Yongin’s appearance was too fatal to a woman to simply laugh off.
Yongin possessed an otherworldly beauty that made it difficult to approach him readily, so she couldn’t just say she had good taste and pat him on the back to move on. Yenatrice
realized the situation. If left as it was, half the city would become Yongin’s lovers.
Saxony.
Saxony noticed it immediately, too. He wondered why that guy had gone crazy again, but he knew that he couldn’t just let it slide.
Right, this isn’t the time to stab someone.
After stopping Saxon, Jenatrice observed the Dragon once again and thought. If she just left it alone, it would only cause trouble everywhere, wouldn’t it? That must be the case.
Jenatrice recalled what Luagarné had said about the Dragon.
“If you give them work to do and keep their mouths shut, they are useful.”
Didn’t someone mention that she learned to crack clumsy jokes and found them quite unpleasant to listen to?
Yet, considering Yongin is a legendary figure, wouldn’t it be a good idea to accept her as a member of the Order anyway?
Yenatrice is the true power behind Georg’s Dagger during Saxen’s absence.
Leading a group is no ordinary feat. Yet, she succeeded.
While it is partly because her partner is an exceptional assassin, the majority of the success was due to her own inherent abilities.
It is to the point where Kreis occasionally asks Saxen if Yenatrice has any intention of just coming to live in the castle.
That was the case back when work was piling up and they were suffering from a shortage of talent. Now, thanks to Edin Molsen, the burden has eased, so Yenatrice no longer needs to go out of her way to join their group.
“Wouldn’t it be better for that big-eyed friend if someone took care of the outside affairs?”
By saying this, she had pinpointed exactly what was needed.
She was right.
Saxony was the kind of person who would simply say, “I see,” if Jenatrice told him that the sun would rise in the west starting tomorrow.
To him, Jenatrice was more than just a lover.
To elaborate, had a matchmaker only sought out Encred all this time?
A matchmaker had reached out to everyone, including Rem.
“Hey, I have a child and a wife in the West.”
Even though Rem said this, they were people who never gave up.
“Then it would be nice to have a wife and children over here as well.”
Seeing how he responds to that remark, isn’t it obvious?
Then everyone will die.
Rem countered the hawks’ argument with a highly realistic narrative of the continent’s destruction. Saxony was even more handsome, so the hawks flocked to him even more.
Each time, Yenatrice said it was fine and that she would be happy to go as a son-in-law to a noble family.
“I’ll have to leave Georg’s dagger behind, though.”
Well, since he had laid the groundwork like this, he was indirectly telling me not to go.
Even if the sky were to split in two and monsters were to rain down from above, Saxon had absolutely no intention of doing so.
In other words, even if the world were to end, he was Jenatrice’s man. He did not need another woman. She was his lover, his family, and his other half.
Jenatrice quietly gazed at Yongin and asked.
“You have quite a lot to do today, don’t you?”
As for today’s task, Saxon was in the process of weeding out and cleaning up the remaining henchmen.
Jenatrice was a clever person, quite different from Kreis. She had a natural talent for handling people and gauging what they were capable of.
Yongin is one who stands alone.
Then, does he not want to get involved in things like this? Considering that, isn’t he pulling too many stunts around those around him right now?
It is a simple test. Besides, if that Yongin needs the knack for getting along with others, there is no teacher who can teach him better than Saxon.
Why? Because, in a way, Saxon is also the kind of person who finds living alone more comfortable.
And yet, he gets along with everyone quite well right now. There were many times when they looked quite close, especially when fighting with that bastard Rem. Of course, if I said it to his face, Saxon would glare at me no matter who I am.
But that is actually cute.
Yenatrice was two years older, and because they had been close since childhood, they were like lovers and siblings.
It would be nice to go around together.
Yenatrice said.
Why me.
Saxony’s answer came back immediately.
Now that even the devil’s henchman has appeared, things are going to get even more dangerous from now on, aren’t they?
“That must be the case. I admit it.” Saxon answered inwardly, while outwardly he simply looked silently at his lover.
“Then wouldn’t it be nice if there were at least one more person who could be of help?”
As always, she was right. And so, Saxony accompanied Yongin. Yongin acted as if he didn’t care what happened.
“A minion of the devil?”
“Yes.”
“That would be beneficial to this city and Enki, too. And it would be polluting those beautiful things again.”
Compared to before, his attitude was infinitely proactive. Yet, his expression remained calm, making it impossible to read his emotions.
The two spent three nights together just like that. Temares’s mind-reading was extremely useful in weeding out the remaining henchmen.
We won’t need to look for them one by one, Brother Lizard.
Audin, whom I met, spoke.
Right, bear shapeshifter.
Yongin answered.
“……Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“Me? No.”
Saxen taught him that it was best to keep his mouth shut if he didn’t know, and only told him the title of the Order of the Mad Knights.
Temares took those words literally and called Audin a bear. Saxen laughed as he listened to their conversation. “
Yeah, it is amusing to watch.
Well, it is the return of the Dragonman.” While he was weeding out the henchmen and teasing the knights, a letter arrived from Kreis. It was a letter sent specifically targeting Saxen.
“He called for me. He told me to bring Yongin along if he has joined, and if not, to find someone to act as a guide. And not just any guide, but one better than the rangers crossing the Northern Mountains.”
“Are they looking for me?”
Ragnar stepped forward, but naturally, no one listened to him.
Looking for me? Then I have to go.
Instead, Yongin stepped forward.
Did Kreis naturally expect Yongin to join?
That was not the case.
The letter he sent to Saxony contained twelve possible scenarios. He simply prepares for and anticipates everything.
I’m telling you, he’s a really funny person.
Yenatrice described Kreis in that way.
Yongin nodded with the same indifferent face as before and a tone that irritated the other person.
“If you step forward as the guide, many will suffer. Crazy swordsman.”
In the midst of this, he threw the Stone of Truth at Ragnar.
Ragnar swung his greatsword without hesitation. The sunrise, having heated the air, dropped fire into the void and fell with a thud.
Temares parried it with his own sword, Baek-ah.
A Dragonman is different when he has no duty compared to when he recognizes and accepts it.
He proved that fact with his sword. Although Ragnar did not put his heart into it, he saw his sword firmly blocked.
Strength, speed, and proper weight distribution.
In terms of skill alone, he is not inferior to anyone right now. The Dragonman’s ability has improved compared to before.
To be precise, it is not so much improvement as a process of regaining his previous prowess.
“then.”
It was just as the two of them were about to leave. Kreis wanted Saxony accepted for the King’s protection, using him as a card that was clearly a guide and a special being. After all, two would have been enough.
I’m joining too.
One more person joined the group. Her name was Sinar Kirhais, the Return of the Fairy.
I guess I can meet my soulmate there?
She spoke as she reflected on the time that had passed. No one stopped her. Not that she would have listened even if they had tried.
