Chapter 23
Humans often consider magic to be an all-powerful tool, but when you look closely, that’s not exactly the case.
The magic that mythical creatures seem to use freely without any price is, strictly speaking, closer to a ‘blessing.’
It is simply something they are born with. In human terms, it could be seen as a talent.
In Ivan’s case, it is ‘fire.’ A fitting blessing for him, a red dragon.
There is no particular problem in using magic within one’s blessed field, but other abilities are not the same.
For example, the act of turning back or rewinding time. Using such an ability requires a corresponding price.
The price and the side effects differ for each being.
However…….
‘He’s mindlessly chipping away at his lifespan? For a mere flower?’
Ivan scowled for all to see.
Even from his perspective, it was too much. This was magic that didn’t require reducing one’s lifespan.
‘There must be plenty of beings around who can handle plants.’
It was the most common blessing.
If you go deep into a forest, spirits are so plentiful they’re practically underfoot. Of course, it might take some time to find a decently useful one, but one could just use one of those.
But someone, he didn’t know who, had simply shoved their lifespan into it to forcefully make the flowers bloom.
To use an analogy, it was like buying land and starting to plant wheat instead of just walking to the bakery ten minutes away. And selling all one’s assets to do it.
Unless one was in an extreme hurry to make flowers bloom.
Of course, for beings like Ivan, the lifespan spent on making a flower bloom is but a fleeting moment by human standards, but even considering that, it was a radical method.
Thus, the conclusion Ivan reached was this:
“This guy is a complete lunatic, isn’t he? There are more moderate ways. Why would he squander magic in such a manner?”
“……There’s magic on the flowers?”
Leoni blinked her eyes rapidly. Her green eyes, colored with bewilderment, flickered. Then, she trailed off.
“Th-then……”
What would the woman who always talked back say? Ivan, filled with a subtle sense of anticipation, waited for Leoni’s next words.
Of course, even this kid would be flustered to hear such a thing…….
But Leoni’s reaction was beyond imagination.
“How expensive are these flowers?”
“……Is that what’s important right now?”
He was dumbfounded.
‘Why would a woman so obsessed with money refuse to take a gold coin bath with me?’
Whether she knew his thoughts or not, Leoni simply stared blankly at the tulips held in Ivan’s hand.
“Whatever, give me back the flowers.”
“Why?”
Leoni’s gaze remained fixed on the flowers. A moment ago she was going on about his shirt buttons, and now she wouldn’t even give him a glance.
Ivan felt a pointless surge of resentment.
‘What’s so special about this bouquet?’
Looking at the traces again, the energy infused in the flowers was also incredibly gloomy and sly.
The control was delicate, but intricately twisted, and it even employed a cheap trick to look simple on the surface. As if someone had played a prank in anticipation of being watched.
In a word.
‘I don’t like it.’
A flower from a guy like that. It seemed whatever had attached itself to the kid in front of him was seriously bad news.
As he was reading the traces of some scoundrel left on the flowers.
‘Look at this, will you?’
Ivan, struck by a sudden realization, looked back and forth between Leoni and the tulips.
“Who gave you this.”
“……”
But Leoni didn’t answer Ivan’s question.
“I asked who gave it to you.”
She simply kept her mouth stubbornly shut. It seemed she was rapidly running calculations in her head.
“Ha.”
It’s useless even if she doesn’t answer.
He wasn’t asking because he didn’t know the answer.
“The new guy who’s attached to you gave you this, didn’t he.”
“Why do you ask if you already know?”
“Wow, what… a strange one has attached himself to you. Kid, what are you always attracting and dragging around?”
Ivan gently pushed Leoni’s forehead with his finger.
The woman’s face, as she was pushed back helplessly with an “Ugh,” was filled with irritation.
He had pushed her lightly.
‘Damn it.’
Though he spoke with a relaxed smile, Ivan was also a little tense.
Since Barsil’s death, there was no being in the empire stronger than him.
Well, Weisse, one of the remaining dragons, was more interested in all sorts of strange things than fighting, so he was an exception.
There was also the fact that he was deliberately holding back, since a fight between beings on his level would be a disaster by human standards.
But what was this.
‘Is he stronger than me? Honestly, I’m not sure. I’d have to fight him once to know.’
It was a huge blow to his pride to admit, but they might be evenly matched.
While Ivan was imagining a fight with the unidentified being that could wipe the empire off the world map, Leoni continued to flail her arms.
“Good grief.”
Seeing the woman, a head shorter than him, fretting about was both funny and infuriating. He hadn’t even breathed fire, but his insides were burning.
What was most infuriating, however, was the fact that the bastard who touched this bouquet seemed to have already charmed Leoni to some extent.
Just seeing that cold woman fussing over a few flowers was proof enough.
‘And she gave me all sorts of excuses?’
That he had too many women, that he felt too dangerous. That he had no common sense about humans. That he might kill her.
For Leoni, these were half-joking, half-serious remarks, but Ivan hadn’t paid them any mind. He thought she was just making up whatever excuses she could.
Saying he might kill her. Then he just wouldn’t kill her. Common sense was made to be broken. And what was so important about the age difference? Besides, the women? He could just get rid of them.
‘She was cuter when she was little, though.’
He couldn’t gauge a person’s age, but he could distinguish their size.
The Leoni of back then smiled more.
When she was very little, she would even cling to him and chatter about all sorts of things. Ivan remembered the words chattered by that small life very clearly.
‘Right. I remember.’
She seemed to have forgotten all of it. A wave of irritation washed over him.
“Should I give them back?”
Ivan twisted his lips into a sneer and dangled the bouquet in the air.
“If you play with me, I might give them back.”
“I refuse! You’re just going to ask me to take a bath anyway!”
“How’d you know.”
Seeing Leoni shrieking and glaring at him finally put Ivan’s mind at ease.
So what if she refuses. He was just playing with her gently for now, but in the end, he was the stronger one.
It was then.
Crackle!
A small spark of lightning.
No, it was too small to be called lightning, and there was almost no pain. But it was enough to make Ivan’s grip loosen.
“……!”
“My money!”
While he was startled, Leoni swiftly snatched the bouquet he had dropped.
He was momentarily surprised by the unfamiliar application of magic. How uncool.
Ivan shook his tingling hand and turned his head to see just which bastard had dared.
“Where did you learn to put your paws on things without permission.”
A cocky voice tinged with laughter.
As some lanky-looking fellow strode over, Leoni quickly ran towards him.
“Sir Claude!”
Her expression was one of complete salvation. Rushing over so happily.
Though he was seething with rage, Ivan pretended to be fine and gave a slight smile. It was never cool to lose a battle of wills like this.
Anyway.
“It’s this guy?”
That lunatic?
There was no need to ask. It was written all over his face that he was a madman. The gloomy energy left on the flowers and the aura he himself exuded were a perfect match.
The time for blatant assessment had come. Ivan’s gaze swept up and down. Well, he’s just a bit handsome.
Claude paid not a single speck of attention to Ivan’s disdainful gaze and turned his head to Leoni.
“They were being a nuisance, making me sign all sorts of documents. Leoni, is it long until you get off work?”
“Umm. Not yet.”
“Then I’ll wait. What should we have for dinner?”
“Meat?”
“Shall we? We could stop by a restaurant on the way back.”
The sight of him fixing Leoni’s hair as he spoke was absurd. It was so blatant that it was obviously for his benefit.
These two…….
“I’m still here, you know?”
As if just realizing it, Claude shamelessly straightened his neck. Leoni, whose eyes were darting all over, reluctantly made the introduction.
“Sir, this is Sir Ivan. He’s……”
“I see. I was wondering what kind of lizard was putting its paws on my partner.”
Claude tilted his head annoyingly.
“What? Partner?”
The word Ivan reacted to, just as he was about to spew a curse, was neither ‘paws’ nor ‘lizard.’
Partner? What kind of talk is this, like a dragon donating its treasure.
The speed at which Leoni’s eyes darted around increased.
‘What’s wrong with Sir Ivan?’
She thought his pride might be hurt from being rejected, but he had plenty of women.
Even when he picked a fight whenever they met, it was only for a moment; eventually, he would leave, grumbling.
But now, he was trembling as if he’d been betrayed, like the tragic hero of a play.
“What, what in the world……”
“Pardon?”
“How is he any different from me. No, I mean, he is different, but.”
Different? Leoni tilted her head.
“Partner? He’s a partner, so why am I…”
“Um, Sir Ivan. It’s not really meant as partner.”
“You, with me, a bath…”
That damned bath. Ivan only continued to say what he wanted.
Leoni let out a long sigh internally.
‘Ah, I want to go home.’
She had expected the position of a dragon’s officer-in-charge to be difficult, but she hadn’t expected to have to handle a world-summit-level affair on the very first day.
She was already tired from smiling at the bigwigs of the political world. But if she glossed over this now, she could clearly see a future where Ivan would persistently pester her.
‘It seems a simple answer won’t do.’
She had tried rejecting him with various reasons before, but all had failed. And seeing Ivan today, she felt a strong determination to settle things once and for all.
How on earth could she turn down such an Ivan gracefully?
After a moment’s thought, Leoni opened her mouth.
“Sir Ivan, you’re not my type.”
“……What did you say?”
Was that the right answer? Ivan looked as if his lair had just collapsed.
“I said, you’re not my type.”
“How can I not be someone’s type?”
“Sir Ivan, you don’t collect all treasures just because they are treasures, do you.”
Leoni subtly added the meaning that ‘you are indeed a treasure,’ making sure not to hurt the dragon’s feelings as much as possible.
Claude, who had been quietly watching the situation from the side, muttered, “You really are good with flattery.”
“……”
Ivan’s expression upon hearing that was a sight to behold.
He let out strange groans like “Heo, ha, heu,” then his face contorted. That dragon had probably never in his life heard that he wasn’t someone’s type.
“Kid. There’s a limit to having no aesthetic sense. If this face isn’t your type, then what the hell is.”
It was time to deliver the final blow.
It was a bit embarrassing, but it would be a very effective method.
Leoni gently pulled the arm of Claude, who was standing still, to her side.
“I prefer a face like this. The kind with delicate lines and a graceful, slender build.”
“……”
Leoni could feel Claude flinch at her action.
When she squeezed his hand to mean ‘stay quiet,’ he linked arms with her, grinning as if nothing had happened.
“She said so, didn’t she?”
Hey, I didn’t mean for you to get this close.
As she shot a look at the smiling Claude, Ivan clutched his chest.
“Kid, when you were little……”
With a look of profound shock and a voice filled to the brim with indignation, he said.
“You said you’d marry me when you grew up.”
