Chapter 8

Even after Kyle and the others left, Nectar tried to act as if nothing had changed.

The modern language classes in the morning and evening remained the same. The food provided by Kyle and the others made the daily meals a bit more luxurious and healthier.

Still, Nectar often fell into a daze, lost in thought, and at night, he would secretly slip out of the carriage, using the faint light of the light spirits to write down magical formulas with intense focus, studying them until just before dawn. I knew he had been doing this even before they arrived, but his enthusiasm had increased.

"If only I had a staff—"

Occasionally, he would mutter regretfully in modern language, biting his lip as if trying to hold back something, and continue moving the branch that served as a pen until just before dawn. His determined and intense demeanor made it difficult to speak to him, so I pretended to be asleep and watched over him. However, after a week, Nectar had developed dark circles under his eyes and was visibly lacking in energy.

I finally decided to try to stop him, but I didn't know how to approach the topic, so I ended up being straightforward.

"Hey, Nectar. Unlike me, you're a weak human. It's better to get a good night's rest.

I can almost see and hear everything around here, so it's impossible to do research without being noticed. If you don't want the content to be known, I can set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping and surveillance, so you can do it during the day."

Nectar's eyes widened, but he smiled wryly, as if he had given up.

"Of course, you knew. I'm sorry.

I have a habit of doing personal research at night, but it has no deeper meaning.

It's not something I can't show, and I've already completed the research. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Then, will you promise to get a good night's sleep tonight?"

Feeling that he was trying to evade the question, I pressed him, and his smile faded as he looked down.

"...When I try to sleep, thoughts of Kyle and the others come to mind.

While I am safe here, they are on the front lines as magicians, fighting monsters. Even though I once worked with them, I wonder what they are doing in the midst of the disaster I caused."

"Do you want to go and help them?"

Nectar, sitting with his knees hugged, unexpectedly shook his head.

"No. I don't have the right, and Kyle himself has refused."

After a moment of silence, Nectar spoke softly.

"I always thought I could just give up everything."

His sudden statement caught me off guard, but I listened quietly.

"In the country where I lived, most people who try to become magicians are poor farmers or commoners. If you have the aptitude, you can expect much better treatment than disposable soldiers. It was the only way to escape the bottom of society.

I was one of those who wanted it to survive.

Children who are deemed qualified in the magic aptitude tests held every few years in various regions are forced into a subordinate contract with the country before they even understand what it means.

After graduating from the training facility, I was integrated into the military as a magic soldier, but I was sent to battle more often than to fight monsters. The war with the neighboring country had just begun, and I went to the battlefield many times, killing people. I spent most of my teenage years on the battlefield. After that, I was ordered to suppress internal conflicts, where I encountered powerless civilians and people who questioned the country's system.

Even when I switched to a research position, I was only ordered to develop strategic magic for the war. I was still killing people, even if I couldn't see them or know their names.

But even if I questioned the country, or if my actions clearly worsened the situation, I was bound by curses and couldn't resist. Even the research I did to improve the stability of the land, which I hoped would be for peaceful use, caused many victims. I even laughed, thinking it would be better if I didn't exist.

When I was arrested as a criminal and sentenced to execution, I felt relieved. I wouldn't have to follow orders anymore. I wouldn't have to kill anyone. But..."

His lips curved into a self-deprecating smile, and Nectar was crying.

He didn't sob, but tears quietly fell.

"Thanks to my encounter with you, I was freed from the country, but when Kyle rejected me and told me not to get involved, I realized for the first time that giving up everything means giving up friends who have shared both good and bad times. Moreover, I can live in peace, having escaped the subordinate contract.

Kyle and his companions didn't say anything, but it was insensitive of me. I deserved to be rejected."

I didn't know any clever words to comfort Nectar, who was shedding tears of regret for treating his friend poorly.

But I understood that Kyle hadn't just rejected Nectar out of emotion.

I racked my brain to find a way to convey this.

"I don't think he disliked you."

Nectar, who had been wiping away his tears, looked up in surprise.

"...?"

"He seemed to have a good intuition. I think he realized something from my story.

Sealing a ley line is harder than creating a hole. Even Nectar couldn't develop a magic formula for it immediately, so it's unlikely that the 'bastards' could do it so easily."

Nectar's face was filled with question marks, so I continued.

"Monsters don't understand cooperation or control. So, they won't all come at once, but as long as the excessive supply of magic continues, more monsters will be born and many will try to enter human settlements.

Their country will send magicians and soldiers to protect the living areas. The magicians, bound by contracts, will continue to be sent to the front lines. But there are limits to the number of people who can fight, so the limit will be reached sooner or later. The monster extermination will be prolonged, and many of them will die."

"I know that much!! Then, they need more fighting power to survive, right!?

But he told me not to come!!"

In response to his scream-like cry, I tried to remain calm.

"The story starts from here. He must have known that waiting meant total annihilation. But at that time, he seemed prepared to die, but not to give up on life.

Most people I meet are prepared to die, so I know the look of despair and resignation well.

But he was different. He had a look of hope. So, I changed my perspective.

What would change if they went to a place of death and he wasn't there?

—You said earlier that you went to war with the neighboring country.

It seems they don't get along well. In this situation, it would be impossible to hide the movement of forces, no matter how much they try. If the neighboring country learned that the important force of magicians had left, would they leave the thinly guarded capital alone?"

"That...!!"

Nectar looked up at me in shock, having realized the possibility.

"I haven't seen the contract, so I don't know the details, but it's probably set up to be dissolved if the contractor is absent.

In this case, the contractor is likely the king or the state. If the state is destroyed before they die, the contract will be nullified, and they will be free. I think that's what they're betting on."

Of course, this was just my imagination.

But when Kyle asked me to take care of Nectar, his expression didn't seem desperate.

It was more like the intense will of someone who is about to make a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing decision.

Riglira had such a look when I first met her.

She had to fight a dragon due to a dispute with her kin, and the fiery passion in her eyes made her very beautiful, so I remember it well.

And there was one more thing.

"I peeked into his consciousness for a short time. Do you know what he was thinking when he was using the detection magic to find you?"

Nectar, caught off guard by the change of topic, hesitated before answering reluctantly.

"Um, something like 'Why the hell aren't you here?'?"

"...Well, I can't say that wasn't part of it. But more importantly, he wanted to confirm that you were alive. ——In other words, once he confirmed you were alive, he decided to leave you alone so you could live peacefully."

Nectar's sky-blue eyes widened in surprise.

"This is an extremely low-probability bet. Even if they win, the struggle with the monsters will continue as long as the flow of magic doesn't stop. They are only betting their own lives.

Your contract has been dissolved, and you are under the protection of a higher being like me. You are in the safest place possible, and you seem very happy. He probably didn't want to involve you.

Besides, I think you might be his insurance.

As an expert in the magic cycle, you might find a way to seal the ley line or, perhaps, a safer way to dissolve the contract. He probably hopes you will eventually come to help, even if he wants you to stay in a safe place.

That's why I think he referred to you as the hope of the magicians."

"......!!"

It was just a guess, but Nectar, who knew Kyle better, seemed to believe that he might think this way. Faced with Nectar's passionate reaction, I felt a slight regret.

He wasn't crying anymore.

With a determined look in his sky-blue eyes, Nectar pulled his chin up, and I could guess what he was about to say.

He would probably say something like this:

"Seal the hole in the ley line, or free my companions from the subordinate curse."

I was originally here to stabilize the magic cycle in this area.

It doesn't matter who caused the disruption; I have no objection to removing the clear cause of the disturbance.

I would only feel a little lonely about leaving this place earlier and losing my conversation partner.

However, the latter is a bit different.

Indeed, dissolving the contract is technically simple.

But the old man said:

Magic doesn't create something from nothing; it requires a corresponding price, whether you understand it or not. Magic that goes against reason can have a negative impact on the world, and relying on it to solve problems can only make things worse.

Therefore, those who wield power have the duty to discern this.

Even if I don't like it, it's not right for me, a dragon, to interfere with the principles set by humans. If they still want me to do it, I would have to demand a corresponding price for using magic.

In Nectar's case, it was almost accidental and beyond his control, so I didn't demand anything.

But in this case, I would be forcibly breaking someone else's contract.

I don't know how many people it involves, but if I have to pay for it myself, it would be an enormous price, one that I might not be able to pay with my life.

This would go against Kyle's will, and I would also hesitate to do it, so I would have to refuse.

But then,

"Rahwa, I have a request.

Can I have your permission to leave temporarily and a scale from you?"

Nectar's unexpected words made me blink in surprise.