chapter 73
Chapter 72 [Why are you hurting me](3)
Static.
“[……A piece of paper was kicked in.]”
A clear voice rang out slowly.
It was not unreasonable for Yeonhwa to say that.
In fact, as if proving the near-miss, there was a sharp scratch on the nape of her neck, and red blood was dripping from there.
However, ‘scratch’ wounds and ‘pierce’ wounds on the fang are clearly different injuries.
──First of all, have you passed a hurdle?
She almost got hurt.
After that, she let out a short sigh, and Yeon-hwa, who couldn’t figure out what had happened at all, tapped Dante’s back with her tail, who was making a sound with a dumbfounded expression.
“[My dear. I can understand your surprise, but first, breathe slowly and calm down. The story comes next.]”
“N, yes… That, I will… Whoa… Ha…”
He is a gentle-tempered demon boy who does what he is told to do.
Moving his hand over and over again at his pounding chest, Dante fixed his gaze on the huge tiger that stopped in place and couldn’t even see the slightest movement of its body.
It happened in an instant.
‘[───■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!!]’
With a loud roar reminiscent of thunder, the golden tiger jumped down the cliff and, unable to turn its eyes 180 degrees, turned halfway around and lunged at Yeon-hwa.
Right before the sharp fangs of the tiger pierced her neck, Yeon-hwa managed to fly an amulet over her head with her nagi.
As soon as the amulet with an unusual red pattern clung to his body, Nagi stopped moving and hardened on the spot like a rat poisoned by snake venom.
Dante blinked slowly as he covered his mouth with his hand in surprise at the appearance of a stuffed tiger.
“What…What happened…?”
“[I just cast light magic. To put it simply, I was caught in an ‘illusion’.]”
Perhaps by now, that tiger must be tearing me to pieces in the fantasy, and Dante, who had the courage to say something cruel without thinking about it, had no choice but to stick out his tongue and nod his head quietly.
Surely Yeonhwa-sama, indeed, the god of the Han Empire. I believed in you…!
“[Now then, saboteur… No, the lightning problem has been solved, so let’s get going. Dante.]”
“Yes? But you can’t just leave me alone…”
“[I made it so that the illusion dissipates naturally after an hour, so don’t worry about that part.]”
“Then I’m glad…”
He’s trying hard to pretend to be calm, but to be honest, Dante’s head is still very confused.
Ah, the brain has to follow the situation in real time to deal with it somehow.
No. Aside from the reason why Nagi suddenly appeared on the cliff and attacked Yeon-hwa, it was the first time he had seen Nagi’s bloody expression.
I shouldn’t have said this, but… Nagi, who exposed his teeth, was so frightened that his whole body gave goose bumps, and he was terrified.
Her ── The King of Beasts is what she is called.
It wasn’t like this when he killed the wandering black dragon that had invaded Olivia’s lair with lightning.
Watching the reality with a fierce and relaxed expression in any situation is her identity.
Dante felt bitter as if he had seen Nagi’s hidden true face.
…..Still, it’s too bad to leave it like this (?).
No matter how much it is to protect Nagi, it’s not polite to say goodbye and leave without explaining, or should I say that I’m sticking to my side…
Of course, as Yeonhwa-nim said, it’s a thunderbolt to chase after the owner even if he jumps into the limbs, but I know that he’s not the kind of person who can convince me not to follow him because it’s dangerous in the first place.
And yet…Is this really the right choice?
Dante, who could not make a decision and looked at me with a complicated expression, came down from Yeon-hwa’s back at the end of a deep inner conflict.
A demonic boy with a good temper who doesn’t want to hurt others decided to choose the indicator of conscience.
“…As expected, I don’t think this is the case. Yeon-hwa.”
I don’t want to leave any more regrets. Rather than avoid it, I will face it properly.
“[…You’re too soft-hearted to get rid of it.]”
“I can’t argue…”
Dante shrugged his shoulders with a bitter smile at Yeonhwa’s point, not his point.
“I want to talk to Nagi. Can you release the genjutsu?”
How can I remove that amulet?
“[Yes. If you take off the medium talisman, you will return to reality in no time.]”
For Nagi to see Yeon-hwa, he was afraid that he would run amok again, so Dante sent Yeon-hwa back to his mental space and approached the stuffed tiger very carefully.
A shiny golden fur. A strong, solid and muscular torso that seems to send a weak demon like me to the other world even if only one brushes against it. Even the veins sprouting from its forepaws were wriggling furiously.
……That means I rode a kid like this. I?
“…….Overwhelming thanks.”
As he expressed his sincere gratitude for his humble, but not insignificant, household ability, Dante carefully removed the amulet from Nagi’s head.
Well, I couldn’t reach anything, so I had to step on Nagi’s body while whimpering to get it off.
“Oops, tea.”
Jjiik!
“[…….!]”
The removed talisman became powder and scattered in the air, and only then did Nagi raise his head and look around, expressionless and blinking his eyes.
It didn’t show on the outside, but it seemed quite surprised.
That’s also true, because in the midst of the illusion, Nagi was fighting like crazy with the white fox.
Bite, scratch, tear, break,
Because he threw away his rationality and ran wildly with the mind that he would only thoroughly trample it.
But what is this?
After a fight, my vision suddenly became blurry, and as if I had seen a mirage, the white fox disappeared everywhere.
Only Dante awkwardly waved his hand and said goodbye.
Nagi rubbed her eyes again and again with his paw.
… Am I… Dreaming…?
Has it turned around after all? I?
“[……Kreung.]”
Nagi vigorously shook her head.
–No, even if it’s a dream, it doesn’t matter.
It didn’t matter if he was possessed by a fox.
If only I could be by your side at this moment.
If only I could catch you.
──I don’t care what it is.──
To blame!
“…?!
Cudangtang!
“Oops!!”
Nagi, who transformed from a giant tiger to a human in an instant, tackled Dante like a cat attacking a mouse, knocking him to the ground.
Ignoring the frightened screams of the weak demon boy, Nagi quickly climbed on top of him and occupied the mount position. As if to relieve his resentment, Nagi slammed Dante’s chest with his fist.
No, can I say that I hit this? He’s punching his white shirt with enough force that it doesn’t crease at all. He was almost at the level of a cat.
This is the owner, so you can’t hit it, and you can’t even scratch it. But i’m angry
In the end, all Poor Nagi could do was swear. She was already very sad, but it was even more sad that she came out with a stutter.
“……You uh…You were bad…!”
I always see me, don’t follow me, wait alone…!
I said it would come soon but it didn’t come…! It just disappears…!
“I said I’d come…You didn’t…! I promised you I’d come soon…!!”
Liar. It was so bad!
Nagi frowned and patted Dante’s cheek with the palm of his hand. Apparently, it was an act of slapping someone else’s face.
“Why, why do you keep abandoning me…? Why do you want to abandon me…!? You… Don’t like me…?”
Ahahahaha, Yugi means Nagiya. I’m asking you to stop using such misunderstood words.
In the first place, ‘abandoned’ is a word applied to companion animals, and you are just a stray cat, no, a stray tiger. Strictly speaking, I released the ownerless tiger into the wild——no, this isn’t important right now.
“Because you hate me, you just… Threw me away… And tried to run away…!”
Because you want to separate me…!
“It’s not like that!!”
“Then…What the…!”
My God. Has Nagi ever shown his emotions so directly?
Frightened by the King of Beasts’ questioning, who was extremely sad and angry, Dante quickly explained what had happened by eating mustard while crying after wrapping his hands on the back of Nagi’s hand, who had grabbed him by the collar before he knew it.
Of course, Yeon-hwa’s story was overlooked.
Listen, Nagiya, the truth is that I planned to defect to an empire completely different from this one in terms of lifestyle and food and shelter. It’s an ignorant and stupid plan to go without any preparation, but I didn’t want to bring you in.
Aren’t you already going through all the hardships of being involved with me? Right now, Olivia, that crazy b*tch said that she had all the dragons with her to catch me,
What shame did I ask you to get me into exile safely through that perilous road? Didn’t you almost die fighting Olivia the other day?
“That…Was a draw…!”
“But he’s hurt.”
“Wow…”
How did you fight back without dying?
Hesitantly, Dante raised his upper body, patted Nagi on the shoulder, and continued.
“Anyway, it’s because I don’t want to harm you, not because I hate you. And in the end, what’s the reason I stay like this and tell you this?”
Leaving you behind…Because I didn’t think it was right either.
“I didn’t come right away… But since I’m back anyway, can’t I pretend I kept half of my promise? Nagiya?”
Seeing Dante’s awkward attitude as he twitched his fingers with a benign smile, Nagi, who had lost his strength involuntarily, let out a blank laugh.
……Is this correct?
Is this right…?
Nagi, his eyebrows drooping in the palm of his hand, tilted his head.
Sophistry. But it didn’t feel too bad. I knew it wasn’t bad intentions anyway.
…..Who cares about who? One.
Nagi let out a small sigh.
He is a very gentle and kind-hearted owner.
…However, one thing had to be made clear so that something like this would never happen again.
My young master didn’t seem to know much about the loyalty of the Thunder Tiger yet.
“Don’t be mistaken…”
“Yes, thank you… O, huh?”
Took.
After saying that, Nagi lowered his head and slowly touched Dante’s foreheads. Staring at him with sharp emerald-colored eyes from a close range that seemed to be breathing, Nagi drove Dante into a corner little by little.
“Me, Nagiya…?”
“Thank you for your concern…”
I’ll work harder so that you don’t worry in the future…
Become stronger… So that you can fully trust me.
“But for me…It’s useless…Consideration…”
“…….What?”
As if encouraging himself, Nagi threw a challenging gaze and said.
“It’s me…”
If you jump on your limbs, I will follow you without hesitation,
If you go to hell, I will be your watchman in hell.
If you want to walk through the thorns, I will gladly put you on my back and run until this leg breaks.
“My life…Is mine.”
Nagi continued in a slow voice.
“──So don’t judge me lightly.”
I have already decided to give you my all.
Worry and consideration are no longer yours.
“You just need to… Keep me by your side and use it.”
With a quiet laugh, Nagi grabbed Dante’s hand.
“Our Thunderbolt…I am, that’s why.”
‘Listen to me, Dante. That hoe you’re holding right now is cute only on the outside. It’s a monster.’
‘In your eyes, I’m going to look like a crazy b*tch f*cking with a cat, but I’m doing this for you. That bastard is a very dangerous bastard. It’s Dante.’
‘That’s a creature that shouldn’t exist in this world. It’s a ticking time bomb that you don’t know when it will explode. I’d rather get rid of it now.’
Why?
Why, right now, right now.
Does Olivia’s words come to mind?
And why am I?
Did you forget that her true identity is that of a lofty landlord who doesn’t listen to what others say?
To that blind loyalty, Dante couldn’t answer a word.