Chapter 8. What on earth are you?

‘As expected, I knew this would happen.’

The man who arrived in front of Rare was hiding behind a tree, watching Lucas.

The man was none other than Aman Tynor. He was a professor at the Academy, but in reality, he was a playful Blue Dragon named Amarok Tynor.

His first foray into play was a complete disaster. Not knowing how to mingle with humans, whom he considered insignificant, he ended up burning down an entire village.

After that play, his father, Hassel, banned him from going out for ten years.

However, thanks to the presence of this small human he found early in his new play, Aman was now ecstatic.

‘That cute thing…!’

By observing and following Lucas every day, he finally managed to uncover the true nature of this small human child, which made him incredibly happy.

A small, young human found during his play. He would finally be able to delve into the mind of this audacious child!

His excitement was so intense that his breathing became rough, and his nostrils repeatedly flared and contracted, but who cared about such trivial matters!

‘…The Lair of the Lord?’

But as Aman followed Lucas and used the transparency spell to realize where they were, his head began to throb with confusion.

The current Lord was his father, Hassel Tynor, but this place was undoubtedly the lair of the former Lord, Lanos Albrante, who had died over a decade ago.

‘…What the hell is going on?!”

Aman’s eyes quickly shifted from curiosity to shock.

Seeing Lucas loitering in front of the former Lord’s lair, Aman’s mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

‘What is that? It’s definitely a human, right?’

He couldn’t shake off the shock.

But as he watched the human stand at the bottom of the cliff for a long time, he recalled the moment they first met.

A small gemstone found in Sitata. The thought that this person, whom he initially thought was human, might be something else came to mind first.

‘They say gods sometimes come down to play… a god?’

But that assumption was quickly dismissed. He knew that Lucas was the son of the Rodrigo family, whom they had obtained with great difficulty.

There was no trace of adoption. Lucas’s face, which was a perfect blend of Duke Sivie and Lady Blaine, also confirmed this.

Of course, he could have used polymorph if he wanted, but there was no trace of any non-human aura.

If he were a dragon, Aman would have recognized him instantly, as dragons can sense each other’s presence with just a brush of their aura.

After a long while, as Lucas placed his hand on a small rock, Aman, who had been watching with curiosity, had no choice but to reveal himself.

Whatever Lucas did, it was none of his business, but this was a dragon’s lair. If he tampered with the barrier, the human’s life could be in danger.

If that happened, his curiosity and questions would never be resolved.

“What are you doing here? Our Lucas-kun.”

As Aman spoke, Lucas jumped up and turned to look at him.

“…Aman?”

“What should I call you now? Who are you?”

Although he didn’t know Lucas’s true identity, Aman’s heart was pounding with excitement, as if it might burst.

‘I really found something incredibly interesting, didn’t I?!’

***

Standing in front of his lair in human form, Lucas felt a strange sensation as he loitered in front of the entrance for a long time.

He repeatedly touched the wall and took deep breaths.

To human eyes, it was just a wall of stone, but beyond this wall was his home when he was Lanos Albrante, the dragon’s lair.

Hidden inside the mountain in case of emergencies, it was his home in his previous life. Although he could enter freely, the barrier made of dragon language was something a mere human couldn’t break.

Even if he knew the incantation, without the dragon language, it would never be broken. Thus, Lucas loitered in front of the cliff for a long time.

‘…Storage room!’

How long had he stood there? A fleeting thought crossed his mind, and Lucas moved to stop in front of a small rock.

Unlike the barrier surrounding the entire lair, the small, precious space he had created in his previous life might not have used dragon language.

Lucas gently placed his hand on the rock and slowly focused his mind.

Thanks to the concealment spell that surrounded the storage room, no one could find it unless they knew the exact location.

At the time, he had a small desire to keep the storage room to himself, even if he had to give up his home when he disappeared.

“What are you doing here? Our Lucas-kun.”

Startled by the voice from behind, Lucas jumped up and looked for the speaker.

“…Aman?”

“What should I call you now? Who are you?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Lucas’s heart began to race wildly.

“L-Lucas Rodrigo!”

He was furious. Why did he have to be caught by such a weird dragon?

Moreover, “Lucas Rodrigo!”? Lucas wanted to punch himself for his stupidity.

‘Why is that crazy dragon here?!’

The emotion he felt was more than just shock. He couldn’t think of a way to overcome this obstacle.

He wanted to slap the smirking face of the dragon, who seemed to find the situation incredibly amusing, but he knew he couldn’t defeat the dragon, even if he were reborn.

“…”

“Haha! I know that too. But how did our Lucas-kun, who can only use 1st Circle magic, suddenly become so advanced? Using teleportation, which requires at least 3rd Circle, so casually?”

The smirking dragon, who had been friendly and casual with him at the Academy, was now formally respectful.

“S-Scroll!!”

Among the thousands of excuses that flashed through his mind, the one that seemed most plausible came out in a rush.

“Haha, you used a scroll to get here? To this barren cliff?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right. I used a scroll.”

“Hmm… Is that so…?”

In his five thousand years of life, he had never experienced such a shocking situation. Pride and everything else aside, his priority was to get out of this situation.

If his true identity were revealed to this nosy dragon, he would have to give up on living a peaceful life.

If this story reached the dragons who had ill feelings towards him, who knew what terrible things they might do.

Thinking this, Lucas nodded vigorously.

“I-I found it!”

“Ho… Where?”

“That… That’s…”

As Lucas hesitated, Aman tilted his head and spoke.

“Magic scrolls are very precious. Where did you find such a precious thing… and did our Lucas-kun use it without knowing where it would take him, tearing it straight through to get here?”

Aman took a step closer to Lucas, miming the act of tearing a scroll with both hands.

Aman was not stupid. Although the properties of scrolls and teleportation were the same, it would be difficult to determine which was used if he tried to trace it.

But Aman, who had been following Lucas from the beginning, knew for sure that it was teleportation, not a scroll.

‘What should I do? Just let it go?’

Aman found the current situation incredibly amusing. This was the most enjoyable part of his play.

Even when he had gone to war and tricked humans, or when he had stolen his father’s artifact to manipulate time, he had never been this entertained.

He was happily struggling with how to enjoy the pleasure this small human was giving him.

Taking a step closer to Lucas, Aman placed his index finger beside his temple and pretended to think.

“Hmm~”

‘That little brat!!!’

Seeing this, Lucas almost gathered mana at his fingertips and shot it at him.

“Hmm~”

After pretending to think with his hands, Aman finally lowered his hand and bent down to be at eye level with Lucas.

“Lucas-kun. Next time, bring such scrolls to me. It’s dangerous to come to such a place alone. Understand?”

Lucas swallowed hard.

‘…Is he letting it go?’

Seeing this, Aman smiled widely, his eyes twinkling.

“Come, let’s go back, shall we?”

As Aman gently grabbed Lucas’s hand, the scene changed. They were back at the Academy.

***

After arriving at the Academy, Aman playfully waved at Lucas.

His act was playful, but it made Lucas shudder.

After imagining cutting off the dragon’s head a thousand times, his anger subsided a bit.

‘I don’t know what that cunning dragon is thinking, so I should be careful for now.’

It was impossible for Aman to believe Lucas’s ridiculous excuse.

‘What should I do from now on… how…’

As he walked down the corridor, his head began to throb.

After observing for over a decade, he realized that the Rodrigo family, where he was born, was gradually becoming poorer.

When they were first exiled to Sitata, they still had some resources, but maintaining the old mansion and keeping the servants employed, out of loyalty, was a problem.

Their salaries, the cost of maintaining the old mansion, and the expenses for food and clothing were all about money.

As a result, the family’s finances were dwindling.

His enrollment in the Academy made things even more difficult.

Because of this, Lucas wanted to help the family in any way he could and decided not to go home during the holidays.

‘That pitiful home…’

As he entered the dormitory, a letter on the door caught his eye.

The family sent a letter at least once or twice a week. The content was always similar, but the love of the duke and duchess was always evident.

Opening the letter, he found the same content as usual.

-How are you doing? The weather is starting to warm up, so it won’t snow in Sitata anymore.

The roads will soon be less slippery. How is it there? Is spring coming to your heart too?

I miss you. Your mother.-

A faint smile spread across Lucas’s lips as he closed the letter.

“Hmph… What spring…”

Although his words were cold, reading the letter helped clear his mind.

‘Right. No matter what that ridiculous hatchling says, I will finish this life well.’

Putting the letter on his desk, Lucas left the room and headed to the library.

He wanted to do something rather than just idling until he found a place.

As he entered the library, Brandy greeted him warmly.

“Oh, Lucas-kun!”

Lucas smiled in return, noticing the unusually excited look on Brandy’s face.

“Yes. Is there something good?”

“Hehe, no. What good thing could happen to this old man?”

“I see.”

Brandy guided Lucas to the book he had asked for earlier.

Sitting across from Brandy as usual, Lucas’s eyes caught a piece of paper with a spell written on it.

‘What’s this…?’

Lucas’s eyes turned sharp, and Brandy quickly put the paper back between the pages of the book.

“It’s nothing.”

Despite his awkward smile, Lucas’s expression hardened.

It was clearly a spell related to a curse. Although Brandy had dedicated his life to magic research, he was only seventy years old.

Unlike Aman, who had lived for five thousand years, Brandy might not know what this spell was.

The spell, which seemed to be written by a skilled magician, contained enough power to lead a human to ruin.

‘What’s this annoying piece of paper?!’