146 Dragon’s Name
As the snow melted and the days began to warm, the advance of the Imperial army accelerated.
It was also because the number of Cania soldiers who abandoned the castle and ran away increased.
Like the collapse of a dam holding water, the fear of the Cania soldiers spread to all of them.
No one stands in the way of the imperial army. I just run away with my back turned.
Leaving behind the figure of the people crouching in the corner of the city, as skinny as a phantom, Rudi accelerated the pace of his march.
The end of the war is in sight. Watoringu was right in front of me.
*
Torches were lit here and there, and numerous tents were erected in the imperial camp.
In a few days, we will reach the border of Watoringu.
Rudy stared blankly at the empty space while soaking his soiled body in the bathtub.
In the meantime, in order to meet the dragon, I called out a name that I could attach myself several times.
Yonggary, Invisible Dragon, Tud, Black Flame Dragon, Black Goat, Red Dragon, Serial Killer, Jack the Ripper…
The dragon didn’t react to anything.
‘But when I say middle school, I can only think of that much.’
Rudy recalled a distant memory.
At that time, I was really, seriously ill that I am ashamed to remember. Looking back on those days now, I just want to kill myself. I want to bury myself in darkness forever.
To give an example, he unwraps a bandage from a first-aid kit and wraps it around his wrist and recites his lines while looking in the mirror, or stands on a rooftop railing looking down and reciting his own poem while trembling with fear.
No, no, I think I just remembered something I should never have thought about.
Rudy suddenly raised his body, which had been leaning leisurely. I could feel the blood rushing out of my whole body.
‘No, wait a minute, no way, that can’t be the case. I was serious, but not to that extent. No way, such an idiot.’
Rudy covered his face with one hand.
My face felt hot, not because of the warm water, but because of my shame.
‘Do I have to do that at my age?’
Can not help it. I have to try even if I’m ashamed.
Rudy mumbled in a low voice, reciting the lines he used to look in the mirror when he was young.
“Heh, I’m sorry for being like this in front of you guys. But this is for you guys. The Black Flame Dragon is sleeping on my left arm.”
Nothing happened. Isn’t this then.
“Don’t look at me. The Medusa’s blood that rages within me will blind you.”
I guess not.
“I could take your breath right now, but tampering with human life is forbidden. Consider yourself fortunate.”
A few more things were said, but the dragon did not appear.
I don’t know if he was relieved that this line was not his name, or if he felt sorry for not being able to call it out.
‘Well, of course. No matter how stupid I was, there was no way I would have named that line. What a stupid idea.’
After that, it was as usual.
The aide cleans things up, pours warm water into a leather water bottle, wraps it in a cloth, and puts it in the bedding.
It’s not winter, so I don’t think that’s necessary anymore, but the aide said that the blankets used here are thin, and still prepared a hot water bottle.
When I lay down under a blanket, my body quickly became warm thanks to the water bottle.
I closed my eyes and heard the sounds the soldiers made through the thick tent.
Voices talking loudly, footsteps, weapons clattering.
Hearing the noise he had become accustomed to over the months, Rudy soon fell asleep.
It seems that I have been asleep for a long time. My consciousness is still as if submerged in water, but suddenly someone’s voice penetrates my head.
[If the owner hasn’t returned, do you remember my name? It shakes the heart, like joy or sorrow.]
I woke up as if I had been covered with cold water.
When he opened his eyes, the dragon was directly above him, looking down at him.
“Dragon.”
[You wear the master’s magical power, and act as the master did. And I know what my master knew, and I think as my master thinks.]
The dragon continued with a sad expression.
[But you are not my master.]
Rudy raised his upper body slightly.
However, it is difficult to move because the dragon is riding on it as if pressing it with its forepaws.
“Can you step aside for a moment? It’s heavy.”
[Ah, sorry.]
The dragon stepped aside slightly in embarrassment.
But he was still holding the blanket that was draped over Rudy’s body as if he were grabbing it. It looked like he didn’t want to leave Rudy.
It is somehow different from the first impression.
The first time I saw it, it seemed like an adult and there was something there, but now I feel a little clumsy.
As Rudy was staring at him, the dragon turned his head slightly away.
[Don’t look at me with the same eyes as your master.]
“Sorry. Have I used to look like this before?”
[It’s not you. You are not my master.]
The dragon’s words are strange. If it’s the same person, it’s the owner, but what’s not?
When I asked that, the dragon flicked its eyelids, which shimmered softly even in the dark, several times.
[We are different from human beings who have a body and a soul. No substance, no soul. If it is destroyed and disappears, that is the end.]
The dragon smiled with a slightly sad expression.
[So we don’t remember. If it does not remain in someone’s memory, even the fact that it existed disappears. Conversely, even if one of us dies, as long as the owner remembers, it can be revived.]
The dragon looked straight at Rudy.
[So, even if you have the same memories as your master and have the same magic power, if you don’t remember me, then there is no master in it. For us, memory is the soul and body. You who have no memory are not my master.]
“…”
I can understand what the dragon wants to say. But maybe that’s too biased toward personal feelings.
In fact, Jumbo the baby elephant accepted Rudy as his owner, not even thinking about such things as grime on his fingernails.
Even if the words seem flimsy, in the end it’s simply something the dragon doesn’t want to accept. For one childlike reason, that he doesn’t remember himself.
‘In a word, he’s pissed off.’
Is it because you think that’s the name? Looking at the dragon, conscious of the name he gave himself, every word he said and every action made him look somewhat young.
The intimidation I felt when we first met made me feel like an idiot.
‘also.’
When you first create a monster, the name you give it has a meaning. Considering that the phoenix has a graceful and dignified personality and Jumbo has a childlike personality, it certainly seems like that.
‘But they’ll hate me if I say that.’
Rudy smiled bitterly and sat down right away.
The dragon laughed and rolled its long tail forward and hit the floor with a bang.
[All of your monsters are coming. They put their nerves on edge and watch out for me. If the owner is in danger, do you plan to attack without sparing yourself? If you do that, you won’t be able to defeat me.]
It seems that phoenixes and mice are all around Rudy’s body. Perhaps because he was hiding his appearance, Rudy couldn’t detect it.
More than that, the dragon’s way of speaking is funny.
‘As expected, this guy is young. I think it’s the second bottle. Is it because of the name?’
With that thought in mind, let’s look at the dragon.
[You look at me with the same eyes as the owner. Don’t laugh.]
hahahaha. Every time he saw a dragon, he thought he was a second grader and laughed inwardly.
Come to think of it, this dragon got angry because his master laughed every time he called his name.
I didn’t even remember it, but somehow the dragon felt close.
“Don’t sit in the air like that, come here.”
As Rudy banged on the bed, the dragon hesitated a little before sitting down.
No matter what, I listen well. Even though he said he wasn’t the owner, he came rushing over when his name was called.
“Tell me about the witch. I heard she was my wife. Is it real?”
[It is true that she was a wife in the human world. But it was to make a place for her after he died. The master has never taken a witch as his true wife.]
From nob le mt l dot com
Demonic creatures have a different way of thinking than humans. The same goes for dragons that live long enough to talk and act like humans, so it seems that witches who had no bodily relations were not considered wives of their masters.
Moreover, according to the dragon, the witch became his wife only about a month before her death.
Until then, he said that he was simply in a position to save and protect her who was in a difficult situation.
The master said that he did not love the witch, he only felt pity for him.
“Then I don’t think witches have any reason to hate me, so why would they want to kill me?”
[Are you trying to kill me?]
The dragon looked at Rudy in surprise. And he shook his head.
[The witch loved her master. I can’t try to kill you Unlike me, she doesn’t have your memories, ah!]
The dragon frowned as if he had suddenly remembered it.
“why?”
[The witch may not know that you are the owner.]
“Uh, why?”
[Our voices do not reach the witch. She knows that we can understand human speech, so she just asks what she wants to know.]
When a witch asks a dragon something, the dragon replies with a nod or a shake.
When you don’t feel like it, there are many cases where you ignore the witch’s words.
It seems that the dragon didn’t like the witch who called herself the owner’s wife even though she wasn’t his real wife.
[I met a witch after leaving you in the meadow. She asked me if the owner remembered the name.]
After shaking her head that she was not a dragon, the witch’s question was over.
They were both so disappointed that they didn’t even think to ask or groping.
‘Haa, I almost died for such a stupid reason.’
A sigh comes out.
“I’ll ask you one more thing. Do you know how to unlock the slave necklace?”
[It can’t be done. The necklace, which had already started working, could not be released even by the owner.]
The dragon spoke quietly and glanced around Rudy.
[If I stay longer, your demon creature will suffer. You’re using too much power to be on your guard against me. I just have to go.]
Even as he said so, the dragon did not intend to rise. I glanced at Rudy, wondering if there was something else I wanted to say, or if I just didn’t want to leave.
Rudy reached out and touched the dragon’s body.
[…]
The dragon flinches. He thought he might try to escape, but he stayed still.
Touch the skin as if stroking it and go down. Something was definitely touched.
As if tickling, the dragon twitched slightly. Still, there was no action to avoid Rudy’s touch.
“What is your body made of? I don’t think it was just written with My Ink.”
[The owner broke the magic stone and wrote letters on the powder. The powder that used to make up letters makes up our bodies.]
Oh, there was such a way. Certainly that way, thanks to a small amount of powder, it can look transparent while still having substance. The amount of magic stone powder that goes into the letters will be very small.
[If you want to make your monster like that, you can. As long as the owner’s memory exists, the demonic creature will still come back to life no matter where it moves.]
The dragon’s voice sounded somewhat lonely. Maybe it was because he was jealous of the monster next to Rudy. Because he no longer had an owner who laughed and had fun with him.
“I’m sorry I died. I probably didn’t think it would turn out like this when I made you guys.”
[…]
The dragon quietly looked at Rudy’s face. There are no tears, but somehow his face seems to be crying.
Touching his nose lightly, the dragon spoke.
[Why do you say the same thing as the owner?]
“sorry.”
[We are fine. we do not forget I can remember things from a thousand years ago as if they were yesterday. so it’s okay Just as you remember yesterday, we can remember the owner.]
Maybe that’s a bit sad. Living only with memories.
“Sorry.”
[…Really, just the same words as the owner.]
The dragon looked at Rudy for a while and stood up. It looks like you’re leaving now.
What was this dragon’s name anyway? I don’t know what the name is because I called it so many times.
Rudy opened his mouth as the dragon just started flapping its wings.
“So, which one was your name?”
[…don’t tell me. I’m sure you’ll laugh every time I call your name.]
hahahaha.
When Rudy laughed, the dragon looked away as if slightly pouting.
After the dragon left, the tent became quiet again.
It seems that no soldiers noticed the dragon, as if they made their bodies transparent while going outside. It was quiet outside.
Up until now, I made demon creatures whenever necessary, but I don’t think I can do that anymore.
It hurts my heart to think that I will live alone with memories in a world without myself.
A small light started to turn on in the dark tent.
The phoenix and the mice shook their faces, scattering light in the convex air.
Will these kids miss him like Dragon or Jumbo?
“Sorry.”
As Rudy murmured, creatures of light surrounded the surroundings, sparkling like fireflies.
‘I have to work hard and reincarnate in this world again.’
At the time when he was the founder, he probably did not know that he was reincarnated. So I wouldn’t do anything. But now that I know it, I don’t think I can just die irresponsibly over these children.
“If I am reborn in this world, you guys will find me. It might be difficult for me to find you guys.”
Yes, yes, the monster’s light flickered as he answered.
Still, I wish I could be born with memories. So that these children are not lonely.
“…”
In the next few days, you will meet the witch. When I met her, I was at a loss as to what to say.
That night, I couldn’t fall back to sleep until dawn.
