Chapter 70

Chapter 70

When she opened her eyes again, the dragon was still in her sight. He sat motionless in the very spot he’d called his tomb.

“No! Why do you keep telling me to go to the village? I’m fine just living in this forest!”

And toward that dragon, the owner of the memory shouted sharply. Her voice felt a little more mature than before—she’d grown up a fair bit.

“Yesterday you were thrilled about buying pretty accessories and eating delicious food. Why are you sulking again?”

“That’s… different! I hate bumping into people all the time. They’re noisy, they stink, and their personalities are awful! I hate it so much!”

“You are human, my child. You must grow accustomed to such things.”

“Oh, honestly! You stubborn old dragon!”

Furious, she clenched her tiny fist tight and thumped the dragon’s head. But next to the dragon, her miniature fists—no matter how hard she swung—probably couldn’t even tickle it.

The dragon gave a light shake of its head, dislodging her touch. Then it lowered itself slowly and pointed its snout at the floor.

“A tiger that died in the forest left its hide, and a deer left its antlers. Take them, sell them, and use the money to amuse yourself in the village.”

Soon, a tiger’s hide and a deer’s antlers materialized before him, smooth and pristine, their quality evident at a single glance. As the dragon had said, they were wares that would surely fetch a high price at the market.

“What’s this? More of it? Guess more animals died?”

“Many animals die and are born.”

“I don’t like dying. I wish I could just keep on living……”

“There’s no need to lament. As I’ve said before……”

“Yeah, yeah! That damn reincarnation!”

She cut in with an irritated shout at the dragon’s words. Then she hugged the tiger skin and deer antlers in both arms and began striding down the forest path.

“He’s probably thinking he’ll just die and leave me behind……”

Then she muttered in a voice so small only she could hear it.

* * *

One day, she climbed onto the back of the dragon’s hand and lay down at full length. Soon, a cloudless blue sky filled her view. A warm breeze brushed against the tip of her nose, and the light chirping of birds rang in her ears. It was an utterly peaceful day.

“Hey. Why do you just lie there every day? Come on, fly a little. You have wings, don’t you?”

Then she suddenly slapped the dragon’s hard hide with both palms, *pat-pat*, and asked him.

“An old specimen like me has no energy left to move.”

“Then that won’t do. You’ll get that—what’s it called—bedsores! Yeah, you’ll get bedsores.”

“……That’s a word I’ve never heard from you before. Did you learn it from other humans?”

“Hmm… well… I just heard it while talking with people…”

She answered, brushing it off vaguely. It seemed the dragon had told her to mingle with people from time to time, and she’d been following orders.

“I see. That’s good.”

A hint of laughter crept into the dragon’s voice. He genuinely seemed pleased she was socializing. He laughed so hard his body trembled for a moment, then went on.

“You said the person who let you stay at their home was a human who made pottery? You said they were kind, and that you liked them—did you meet again?”

“Yeah. I stopped by their place yesterday, too. And I learned how to make mushroom soup from that lady. Do you know what mushroom soup is?”

“It must be one of the foods humans eat.”

“Yeah, that’s right. But the soup she made was super delicious. Mine turned out way too salty. But the kids at that house said it was fine and ate it all up?”

“They must have kind hearts.”

“Right. Turns out there are plenty of good people after all.”

Her voice rose a notch. Her legs swung back and forth alternately, as if possessed by a god.

Then she abruptly sat up and turned to face the dragon.

“But it feels like I’m the only one talking every time. Tell me about yourself, too.”

“My story isn’t worth much. I’ve lived for a long time, but all those years I just drifted through the sky. They were very tedious days.”

“So you must have only ever seen clouds and the sun?”

“For the most part, yes. That’s why listening to your stories is quite enjoyable. It seems only now, at the end of my life, that I’ve found something worth cherishing.”

“Hmm…”

At that, she let out a short hum through her nose. Then she quietly closed her eyes, feeling the spring breeze carrying the scent of flowers.

“I’ll tell you lots of stories from now on. Live long.”

When she opened her eyes again, the scene before her had changed. She was walking down a dark night street, relying on the light of a small oil lamp.

But suddenly, a man popped out from a corner of the road. He flashed a leering grin at her, their accidental meeting. His gaze was so cold it sent a chill down her spine.

“Whoa. So I run into you here.”

“…What? Do you know me?”

“Perfect timing. Hey, you. You’re always bringing precious things to sell at the marketplace, aren’t you? Where the hell do you get them?”

“…”

“Not gonna tell me? Whatever. Doesn’t matter. Instead… you sold a tiger skin today, right? You need to hand that money over to me.”

“What?”

She spat out a short, incredulous breath at the man’s shameless attitude. Then she slowly looked him up and down. He was thin, not all that tall. His face was delicate and pretty—hardly the sort of person you’d expect to be a robber.

“You heard me, didn’t you? Give me that money.”

“So you’re just going to take it by force?”

“Take it? That’s harsh… Fine, if you don’t want to give it, let’s make a deal. Hmm… What could I do for you…”

The man stroked his chin as if thinking. Then he lifted his gaze and looked at her abruptly.

“Hey, is there anyone you hate so much you want them dead?”

The words that slipped from his neatly shaped lips were shockingly brutal. It was baffling—what chain of thought could possibly lead to that kind of question?

“What if I did?”

She took a step back, asking him.

“Just point them out. I’ll handle it however you want.”

“…What?”

“Why? Worried? It’s fine. As long as the reason’s justified, it’s allowed.”

He sounded like he was offering to kill someone for her. She shook her head at once. There was no need to play along with such insane talk.

“There isn’t anyone like that.”

“Then what about someone you loathe, even if you don’t want them dead? Think hard. There’s no way there isn’t.”

“…No. There’s no one.”

“Come on. Don’t hold out. When you bump into people enough, it’s natural to dislike some of them.”

“…”

He kept pushing her. In the end, she seemed to rack her brain for something. Then, at some point, she lifted her head and met his eyes.

“…Come to think of it, when I was very young, there were kids who threw stones at me. I only remember their names.”

It was one of her fading memories from early childhood.

* * *

It was the same street again. Around the same time, in the same place, she encountered him once more. But this time, he wasn’t alone. He was dragging someone by the hair.

“You came? I realized we never set a time to meet again. But today, I had this sudden feeling I’d see you. So I waited here, and sure enough, you showed up, right? Guess we’re pretty synced.”

He looked at her with a bright smile. A faint metallic smell clung to him. She found it odd and held her lantern toward the figure he was gripping. Under the light, a face smeared with blood came into view.

“What’s this?”

“Caught one of the people you mentioned from the next village over. For you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. So, can I have the money now?”

“Ah. Yeah…”

At that, she rummaged through her bosom, found the money pouch, and handed it over to him. The man, brimming with excitement, hummed a tune as he immediately began to untie the pouch to look inside.

And in that moment, she turned her gaze toward the blood-soaked man lying collapsed on the ground. He was wheezing, struggling to draw each ragged breath.

“Hey. What about this one?”

She pointed at the man and asked him.

“Just dump him, I guess.”

He replied, as if it were nothing. She slowly lifted her eyes to look at him. His indifferent profile caught in her gaze.

And in that instant, a sudden flutter of emotion rose in her chest. Even amidst a scene where someone was dying, she felt a strange elation creeping in. It was a bizarre sensation.

“Hey. You need money?”

She shuffled closer to him, who was counting the coins with nimble fingers, and asked.

“That’s right. I need a hell of a lot.”

“……Then do you want this too?”

At that, she untied her bundle and pulled out the beast’s hide. Then she thrust it toward him abruptly. He looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression.

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks. But this isn’t enough.”

“Why do you need so much?”

“I have to gather people under me. So can you bring more?”

“Should I……?”

“Sure. If you want, I’ll do this to everyone else who threw stones at you.”

He nudged the blood-soaked man with his foot, kicking him lightly. It was a terrifying situation, but she didn’t seem to care. She just nodded slightly.

“Yeah. Okay!”