I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

97. What Happened Beyond the Wall (1)

1.

“…So who are you?”

Abel tilted his head.

He could sense an unusual flow of magical power, and he could tell that the uninvited guest was one of his own kind.

However, even though they are essentially the same species as the dragons, they do not form great bonds with others. They share a sense of kinship with the fact that there are only a few dozen dragons left in the world, and even if they do clash during play, most of them back off first and make concessions, but that is about it.

Moreover, because of their characteristic of leaving offspring in the form of self-reproduction, they do not even have the concept of family, so even if they meet one of the few members of their species in the world, they usually do not feel particularly happy or anything.

Abel was just like that.

If they weren’t of the same race, the human archmages would have attacked the rude intruder who dared to invade their lair with magic that was too much for even human archmages to follow, but they didn’t do that because they were of the same race.

“If you don’t scrap that plan, things will get this big, right?”

“No, you have to show your face first so I can know who you are.”

Despite Sylphia’s warning, Abel just kept tilting his head and didn’t give a proper answer.

Judging from the red hair flowing under the cone-shaped hat, it was assumed that she was from the Red Dragon Clan, but Sylphia’s true identity was still unknown.

Finally, when Sylphia raised her head and her face was revealed under her hat, Abel clapped his hands.

“Aha, I was wondering who you were. It’s Sylphia. It’s been over eight hundred years since we last met.”

Abel and Sylphia.

Their last meeting took place a full eight hundred years ago. Eight hundred years is not a long time for dragons who live a life close to eternity.

The two dragons are known for playing nonstop, without taking a break or falling into a long sleep, and there were several instances where they met during their play.

“What are you doing here? Would you like some tea?”

“No problem, I just came to give you a simple warning.”

“……A warning?”

“Yes, warning.”

Abel, who had been welcoming her warmly, stopped as soon as he heard Sylphia’s words and asked back in an eerie voice. Sylphia nodded without paying any attention and confirmed her words again.

Basically, it was considered a great rudeness to interfere with another’s life or play. Dragons who had passed the hatchling stage treated each other as equal individuals throughout the clan, and among dragons who had virtually no concept of elders, there were few greater rudenesses.

“……Excuse me, Sylphia. Did I mishear that just now?”

“No. You heard me right. I told you to give up on that ridiculous plan you were talking to yourself about earlier, like building a nomadic empire as the leader of a barbarian tribe.”

“I don’t think I ever said I wanted to build a nomadic empire… Anyway, let me hear your reasoning first.”

“Well, Abel, you’re trying to interfere with the game I’m playing.”

“huh?”

Abel took a step back with a puzzled expression, perhaps taken aback by Sylphia’s rather cynical attitude.

If Sylphia was already enjoying some form of entertainment in the Empire, then it was only natural that she would abandon her current entertainment plans, which would inevitably have a huge impact on the entire Empire.

But Abel tilted his head and asked, not remembering hearing anything about Sylphia enjoying herself in the Empire in human form recently.

“Could you please tell me what the reason is?”

“I’m talking about that human wizard over there who was just being cheeky and saying, ‘Should I just get rid of him?'”

“……That guy?”

“I’ll warn you in advance.”

The voice that Sylphia spoke was so cold that it reminded me of the eternal snow of the Norse Mountains.

There was no room for compromise. The moment Abel blurted out, “I suddenly feel bad. Should I kill him?”, he had crossed the river of no return. The reason Sylphia’s attitude was cold was also on this side.

At the moment when she had said that she would kill Ludrick lightly, Sylphia had already made up her mind to fight Abel to the death.

“If you touch even one hair on Ludrick, one of us will die.”

“…….”

It wasn’t a level of remark that would come out between dragons of the same level. The one who was taken aback by Sylphia’s unexpectedly strong stance was Abel.

It was extremely rare for two dragons of the same species to make such a statement that they would fight until one of them died. At least, as far as Abel knew, there had been no such case in the past ten thousand years.

“……I’m sorry if I interrupted you during your play. Is that wizard that precious?”

“Don’t even think about touching it, it’s a little more precious than my life. If you don’t want to die.”

“…….”

When this happened, it was Abel who was confused.

It was too harsh and too harsh of a statement to think that Sylphia was simply angry because her play had been interrupted.

Abel briefly cast a synchronization spell on the dragon’s teeth again, and then stopped as he released the spell to bring Ludrick into his sight once more.

A guess flashed through her mind.

If you think about it calmly, it was nonsense, but looking at Sylphia’s appearance now, there was no other explanation.

Abel asked cautiously, even though he clearly knew in his head that it was nonsense, just in case.

“…Sylphia, do you by any chance like that human wizard?”

“…….”

Sylphia didn’t answer.

But silence is soon affirmation.

At the gesture that could only be interpreted as affirmation no matter how you looked at it, Abel forgot the serious atmosphere and burst into laughter.

“Phew, phew! Gyahahahahaha!”

Just a moment ago, the atmosphere was tense and serious, as if a clash would occur at any moment, but Abel’s burst of laughter broke the tension.

“Hey, wait a minute… Gyahahahaha! Really? You really like that guy? You’re not lying, are you?”

“Is it funny?”

“Yeah, it’s funny, isn’t it?”

Abel, who had been laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes, suddenly wiped away his tears and spoke.

“Well, wasn’t the hatchling period a long time ago? Aren’t you a little too absorbed in play? To think you really like humans?”

“……I knew this would happen.”

Abel had not simply said it to tease her. Sylphia sighed, rubbing her forehead, because she had some sense of the concern and worry behind those words.

Abel’s reaction just now wasn’t anything special. Perhaps it was just a difference in degree, but if it wasn’t Abel but another dragon, if Sylphia said that she truly liked humans, they would have worried that he had a mental problem, or they would have just laughed and held their stomachs like Abel did now.

This often happened when mentally immature hatchlings pushed through the play despite the dissuasion of those around them, not realizing that they were actors on stage and becoming overly absorbed in the life of the play.

That is why it was an unwritten rule for the entire clan not to engage in play during the hatchling period, and so even when dragons that had become adult dragons did play, they did not show excessive affection towards humans.

Even if you make a hundred concessions and interpret it in a positive way, the feelings that dragons feel toward the humans they meet during play do not go beyond the level of pets that they have become close to.

“Then I’ll give in. I’ve been laying the groundwork for quite some time now. How about a scenario where I play the leader of those barbarians to some extent, and you gain fame by defeating them?”

Abel, who had been laughing for a long time, gave in first with a smile still on his face.

In fact, even though it was Sylphia who was enjoying the fun first, it was a bit excessive to tell the entire empire not to touch anything. So, Abel, who would not have done it normally, volunteered to be the villain and sacrifice.

“No.”

“……huh?”

“Because Ludrick will be sad. If you don’t want to see things get this big, then your only option is to just quietly step aside and step back.”

Sylphia spread her arms out in a cheeky manner, as if to say, “What the hell are you talking about?” and made a gesture that picked her ear. As if to tell her to get out if she really doesn’t want things to get worse.

“…Hey, Sylphia. But this time, I think I made quite a concession. How about we just compromise to that extent? I’ve been preparing for ten years, so I should have some fun with it.”

“I told you, no.”

“Are you really going to fight me over that one human being?”

“If necessary, there is nothing I can’t do.”

Sylphia was stubborn.

In a normal situation, if Abel had come forward first in such a humble manner, Sylphia would have accepted the compromise. No matter how much Yuhee had been interrupted, if Abel had bowed down first, she would have accepted the offer for the sake of saving face.

But now Ludrick is entangled.

In fact, at the moment when Abel muttered to himself, “Should I kill Ludrick?”, I was so angry that I wanted to rip open the mouth of the person who said such a thing.

And if we accept that offer and let Abel do whatever he wants, the repercussions on the empire will naturally be considerable. I don’t know for sure, but countless people will die. Normally, it wouldn’t matter whether people die or not, but if that were the case, Ludrick would definitely be sad.

“……When you say that, I start to get a little angry. The hatchling days are over, right? Shouldn’t we think rationally?”

“I told you. If you touch Ludrick, one of us will die.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious.”

As soon as Sylphia finished speaking, an unusual magical current began to surge around Abel. Undeterred, Sylphia also began to draw out the infinite magical power within her heart. It was a tense situation, as if they would collide at any moment.

Abel thought it was absurd, but if Sylphia was going to fight him so openly, he was willing to fight her without avoiding her.

‘He really risks his life for a human? He wasn’t normal either.’

I never dreamed that the Sylphia I had met so far would act like that because of a human. Things in this world do not always go as planned.

After fully preparing for battle, Abel taunted before the fight.

“Think carefully.”

“What do you want me to think about?”

“If you lose here, I will definitely kill that human named Ludrick.”

“…What did you say?”

“I’ll play with you until you cry and beg for your life, and then I’ll kill you. And I’ll do it as painfully as possible. But you’ll still fight─── crazy!”

Kookookookook!

Before Abel could finish speaking, an explosion of air right next to her head sent a chill down her spine.

The entire wall with the glowstone that I had been thinking of replacing earlier collapsed with a loud noise as it was engulfed in the aftermath of the explosion of compressed air. In any case, his lair was damaged, but Abel had no time to worry about it.

If she had reacted even a little later, it would have been her head that exploded instead of the air.

As soon as the blow that was truly intended to kill Abel was over, Sylphia asked in a dry voice.

“What did you just say?”