* * *

“That guy came back.”

He placed a hand on Cadel’s back and felt a small flinch as he spoke. The arm around his flat stomach tightened, but Cadel jerked his head away. His eyes narrowed, taking in Kunra through his upside-down vision.

“Yes. He’s back in the Knight Order.”

“Look straight ahead, halfling.”

“I thought it was a pipe dream, but then he said he’d be Shin Yeohwan’s knight, not Cadel Lytos’ knight…….”

“Well, that’s a surprise.”

Cadel, who tilted his head back and leaned his head on Kunra’s shoulder, began to chatter with excitement.

“You know what? Van broke the barrier. He went above and beyond the system’s rating! He’s really incredible, isn’t he?”

“The system is not omnipotent.”

“That’s right. Now Van’s favorability…… I told you this before, right? The system gives me a numerical representation of how much someone favors me, but now I can’t see Van’s favorability. I’m not sure why, but it’s nice to see that the system is failing to measure it.”

Kunra deftly maneuvered through Cadel’s tangle, which was like an unruly animal, and matched Cadel’s giggles with his own.

“The berserker has definitely gotten stronger. The energy I feel is different.”

“It’s a shame I didn’t get to see Van breakthrough. Kunra, I wish you were there to do something about it. Come to think of it, you’re only there when you need to be.”

“Are you suddenly turning your arrows on this one?”

“Is the barrier work finished? I have to go to the Empire in a couple of days, the Emperor has called me. I think he’s calling me because he’s almost finished with the search for the great magic circle, and he wants me to come back. So give me your power.”

“I’ll be able to give it to you by then.”

Kunra, who had successfully finished dealing with the wriggling Cadel, clicked his tongue and pulled his hand out from under Cadel’s clothes.

“You’re acting more and more like a daredevil, and I told you to stay still when I’m trying to infuse you with my energy.”

“You were the one who spoke first.”

“Then just move your mouth, not your body.”

“When did I move my body? How can I move my body when you’re holding it so tightly in the first place? You’re always nitpicking.”

Cadel grunted as he patted the hard forearms around his waist, and after spitting out a laugh, Kunra pushed himself to his feet. Cadel’s legs flailed wildly in the air, but Kunra ignored his ticklish squirming and continued on his way out of the cave.

“What, you’re going to throw me down?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Why is your personality so mean?”

“These days, someone is seriously criticizing the nature of this one. For someone as small as a mouse, he is incredibly brave.”

Was Kunra really trying to throw him down? As Cadel glanced at the cliff spread out in front of him with a slightly tired face, he heard an unexpected story.

“The barrier work is slowly coming to an end, so I’ll give you a few tips before you leave. Halfling, you need to utilize the power of this one properly.”

“This one’s power can be divided into three main types: shields, fire magic, and pure mana. Human strength can only handle so much of all three, and since you halfling’s magical abilities are quite capable, you’re better off focusing on defense.”

Currently, Cadel is being tutored by Kunra. He didn’t particularly want to be taught by Kunra, but he knew it was better to rely on the Scarlet Dragon’s knowledge than on his own pouty rebelliousness.

“Halfling, are you not paying attention?”

“I’m doing that.”

“Then cover this rock wall with a protective shield. I’ll share the power.”

Spinning around, Kunra stood behind Cadel and clapped him on the back. Cadel looked up at the rock wall in front of him, feeling the hot energy rush through him.

The first time he’d fallen off the cliff, he’d thought the crazed Scarlet Dragon was genuinely trying to kill him, and he’d cursed at him for it. But Kunra hadn’t let his age fool him, judging by the way he’d put up with the insults and helped him train.

“Completely exclude your mana. You are creating a protective shield solely with the power of this one.”

With a small nod, Cadel placed his fingertips on the solid rock, took a deep breath, and the next moment.

Fwoosh!

The scales spread out from his fingertips, quickly covering the vaguely tall rock wall. Cadel followed the movement of the scales with a keen gaze, and only when he was certain that the veil of scales had completely covered the cliff did he slowly remove his hand.

“That’s it, right?”

“…….”

“Is that it? …… Why is there no answer?”

Cadel thought he had done a good job. He wondered what else Kunra didn’t like that he was trying to nitpick. Turning around disgruntled, he saw Kunra’s face, looking strangely dumbfounded. Cadel waved his hand in front of his eyes to get his attention, and Kunra’s gaze shifted.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

“……No. Good job.”

“Really? Then why are you making that face?”

It was too good to be true. Kunra squinted at the curtain of scales that had swallowed the entire cliff.

‘Talent is talent.’

Although it was given voluntarily, this was the Scarlet Dragon’s power. It had clear limits for humans to handle and required a great deal of practice.

That was why Kunra often focused his attention on Cadel and watched him fight. It would be difficult for Cadel to wield this power alone, so when he needed help, Kunra would step in and provide it.

But it seemed he was not the chosen soul of the Otherworld for nothing. Cadel had mastered his powers with little explanation, harnessing them effortlessly, a fact that excited Kunra greatly.

“Change of plans.”

“What?”

“You’ll also learn fire magic and mana management.”

“All of a sudden? You said it’s not humanly possible to do all three.”

Kunra said happily, ruffling Cadel’s hair as he looked at him curiously.

“You have become prettier.”

“Pardon……? This is very off-putting.”

Cadel tried to move away from Kunra, faking a frown, but it was only mild annoyance in the eyes of Kunra, who had found an intelligent being worthy of teaching after so long.

He grabbed Cadel as he tried to run away and continued to pour knowledge into him. From Cadel’s point of view, it was just bullying in the guise of teaching, but the excited Scarlet Dragon could not fathom the mind of a mere mortal.

* * *

He was supposed to be traveling to the Empire in a few days. Kunra didn’t seem to care about human schedules, and pestered Cadel day and night until just before he left.

Objectively speaking, of course, he was pouring his enthusiasm into the human, making him stronger. The problem was that it was too much. Asking him to focus on learning with minimal sleep and food was too much.

When Cadel couldn’t sleep easily due to the rigors of his training, Kunra would come over and smack him on the nape of the neck to wake him up. When he complained of a lack of appetite, Kunra would force his mouth open and inject a mysterious substance into his mouth. The food gave him strength, but it was salty and unpleasant, to say the least, and if he got angry with Kunra, Kunra would get angry back.

/“Halfling. I didn’t realize it until now, but you’re quite the adorable type. Lark……. Mmm, yeah. You’re like a skylark when you find something pleasant to say.”/

He must have gone out of his mind due to the stress of working on the barrier.

‘Gosh, crazy bastard. ……Oh gosh!’

His stomach burned with anger at Kunra, but he couldn’t show it. Cadel crossed the hall in silence, feeling eyes on him from all sides.

‘……I feel like every time I visit the castle, the number of people spying on me increases.’

On days like today, when he came to the castle for a meeting with the Emperor, people would flock to the castle, curious to see the long-missing Knight Order Commander. Cadel understood their interest. While the armies of the Empire and the world were busy searching for the great magic circle, the elite Knight Order of the Empire had completely disappeared, and they must have wondered what he was up to.

He’d come up with a few excuses, but no one had ever questioned Cadel directly. Instead, they just stared at him from a distance. Sometimes they whispered in groups, other times they peeked in real close. At first, Cadel didn’t mind, but as time went on, the growing crowd became a little overwhelming.

‘I’d rather them ask me outright. I want them to spread the word about my excuses.’

With a quick glance at a servant who happened to catch his eye, Cadel hurried to his appointment, and the corridors he passed were echoed with low shrieks and gasps from the scattered masses.

“Did, did you see it? Did he just smile at me? Did you see that?”

“I don’t know about you, but I saw him smiling. How can he smile so beautifully? You don’t need flowers, you just need to plant one Sir Cadel in the garden.”

“I really want to hold on to him so he can’t go anywhere and see him whenever he’s having a hard time…….”

As more and more eyes turned to Cadel within the castle, it wasn’t just because of his mysterious whereabouts; some simply sought to soothe the weariness of their labor by admiring his striking appearance.

“Alas, in the end, I couldn’t show him this time either. I really wanted to show Sir Cadel this new technique.”

“Oh, you fool, don’t say that in front of the kids running right now. How could you lose this precious opportunity just because you’re embarrassed.”

“However, if he finds it annoying to talk to…….”

“Then you have to kneel down and beg to get a chance! And Sir Cadel is kind to everyone, so you won’t get criticized for asking him to see a technique.”

There were also people who admired the genius magician and were eager to seize the opportunity to learn.

“It looks like he came alone today too, right? Where does he leave the other members?”

“As rumored, I guess they are training at a closed facility. Damn, how much stronger have they become? I’m dying of curiosity.”

“Want to sneak a peek?”

“What and how do you ask? What if we accidentally make a wrong move and get dragged away and have a sparring match with him? At that time, we will just look like Nefelie. It’s impossible to recover.”

Some wondered at the accomplishments of the quiet Scarlet Scales Knight Order and compared them to their own growth.

The more time they spent in the Mountains of Silence, the more questions were raised about the Knight Order, which had always had little interaction with the outside world.

More recently, rumors had even spread that they had ties to the Scarlet Dragon, and their status within the castle had increased with each passing day. Of course, as the distance between them and the rest of the world grew, there was no way Cadel would ever find out.