First, Luce gently turned Mikhail’s head to help him breathe properly. Then he stepped aside slightly and patted Mikhail’s back a few times so he could more easily cough up the water.
Haa, haa.
Mikhail clamped his eyes shut as he gulped down oxygen, trying to regain his senses. When he opened them again after wiping his mouth with his sleeve, the red irises that hadn’t been visible for so long shone clearly once more. Luce only let out a deep sigh of relief after confirming that.
For a moment, he really thought Mikhail was dead. It wasn’t like he’d performed some advanced life-saving procedure. It had been a sloppy imitation at best… A bizarre turn of events that felt like fate toying with them.
“You okay? Any injuries?”
Luce decided to focus on the result rather than the process. He watched Mikhail’s complexion carefully as he asked.
Mikhail caught his breath and nodded a few times.
At that, Luce closed his eyes and lowered his head for a brief moment. A dragon’s anguish lasted only so long. Then, muttering like he was chewing the words, he spoke to Mikhail, who was still staring up at him.
“Alright then. Grit your teeth.”
“Huh?”
Thwack—Luce punched Mikhail across the face. The sharp crack echoed through the forest.
“Ugh…”
The moment he came to his senses, Mikhail clutched his slapped cheek and looked up. Luce’s punch had stung so much it left his jaw numb.
“…Why—”
Mikhail muttered, grimacing deeply. Luce, unfazed, flicked the hand he’d used to punch him a few times in the air before rising to his feet. Only then did they become aware of the refreshing breeze in the forest and the sound of the river flowing nearby.
It felt a little cathartic.
After worrying so damn much, it was infuriating to see Mikhail looking completely clueless. Luce answered him in an indifferent tone as Mikhail kept looking up at him.
“Get your head on straight.”
Mikhail furrowed his brow and brought the back of his hand to his jaw. He moved it a few times, then narrowed his eyes and glanced in the direction of the cliff they had fallen from. It looked like it was a fair distance away now—he thought to himself as he stood up.
“…Thanks. That definitely woke me up.”
Luce was combing his soaked, limp blonde hair back with his fingers when Mikhail’s cheeky response made his eyes flash sharply.
“Well, at least you’re talking fine. But seriously, you almost died just now.”
Luce remained standing, staring at Mikhail, who was now quietly watching him. Then he opened his mouth.
“I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully. It’s important.”
He rubbed his temple with his index finger, as if the whole situation was giving him a headache.
It seemed like he had no choice but to reveal a bit of the truth to this guy. Maybe if Mikhail had known earlier, he wouldn’t have done something so reckless.
Up until now, there had been revelations granted by Ordinas to the dragons about the future. Or perhaps it was that, as a great being, Ordinas had told the dragons in advance so they could deliver the message to Mikhail. Either way, even Luce—one of the noble dragons—couldn’t fully grasp Ordinas’s true intent.
“You’re carrying more on your shoulders than you realize.”
Hah. Luce let out a short sigh. Mikhail immediately asked back.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“Mikhail, try to take a step back and look at all this from a distance.”
Mikhail rubbed his still-stinging jaw with the back of his hand and lifted his gaze toward Luce.
“In the face of humanity’s impending extinction, with black mana erupting across the continent, you—of all people—managed to summon a dragon, something that might not happen even once in several centuries…”
Luce trailed off at the end and cast a sidelong glance at Mikhail. Still unsure of the dragon’s intentions, Mikhail frowned slightly as he met Luce’s eyes. Luce curled one corner of his lip and continued.
“And then there’s that Adrian Heather we’ve been looking for. Yeah, if what you said is true—if he really is a dragon… isn’t it awfully suspicious that a dragon was sharing a room with you at the academy and then suddenly vanished without a trace? Everything about his trail… it’s almost like it’s guiding us somewhere, isn’t it?”
Mikhail’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
It was because Luce had brought up Adrian first. He’d been pretending not to know all this time—was he finally about to admit he was Adrian himself?
Mikhail pressed his lips tightly together and waited quietly, expecting Luce to come clean on his own. But Luce had no intention of revealing his identity. It was easier to grant Mikhail’s wish while he still believed Adrian was some other dragon. So far, the only clue linking Adrian to a dragon had been Mirkint. Up to this point, Luce could flip the narrative however he pleased.
“You never once thought it was strange? Everything fits too perfectly. To the point it’s unnatural.”
With a meaningful expression, Luce flicked his thumb and forefinger together—snap, snap—with each word he uttered.
That sound made something shift in Mikhail’s eyes as he stared at Luce’s lips. His words weren’t offering a solution to their current predicament, nor were they clarifying anything about Adrian. Mikhail frowned and muttered,
“And what does any of that have to do with me—”
“You’re asking what it has to do with you? Hah, that’s such a narrow human way of thinking. Stop obsessing over every little detail. Look at the bigger picture—way bigger.”
Luce shrugged and spoke lightly. Sure, if you traced every piece, there’d be a reason behind each one. But what they were facing wasn’t a single outcome—it was a destiny forged from thousands, tens of thousands of intertwined causes and effects.
“You’re not like the average humans, Mikhail. All of this is pointing toward one undeniable truth.”
Mikhail raised an eyebrow at the phrase “average humans.” He’d heard it plenty, being born into royalty—but somehow, when a dragon said it, it hit differently.
Luce, wearing an expression as if it were no big deal, looked Mikhail square in the eye.
“Within a few years, you’ll become the hero who saves the world.”
“…”
The sound of the river between them filled the silence for a moment.
Hero? Mikhail didn’t respond. The word had popped out so suddenly it barely registered.
“You look like you don’t believe me.”
“…No one would, hearing something like that.”
“I don’t care whether you believe me. That’s not what matters. Just remember this—your life is tied to the fate of the entire world.”
“…”
“You’re not meant to die here, choking on river water. Got it?”
Luce’s eyes narrowed into curved slits, scanning Mikhail’s face as if to read every twitch.
“…Yes.”
“Good. Glad you’re catching on quicker than I expected.”
Their talk had reached its natural end. It was time to leave—they’d lingered too long in one spot for people on the run.
“Then what’s your role in all this?”
Hm? Luce turned his head at Mikhail’s question.
“If I was born to be the hero who saves the world… then what about you?”
“…”
One side of Mikhail’s face was still red from the punch earlier. Luce glanced at it, then opened his mouth. There was only one reason he existed in this place—no matter how he looked at it.
“Obviously, I’m the one who helps the hero.”
“Ah, like how you helped the first king, Carlo de Inehart?”
Mikhail shot the question back without hesitation. Luce slowly tilted his head. It was a question he’d heard countless times during his interactions with humans.
“Well… is that what you want me to be?”
“No.”
The answer matched the one he’d given at the palace. Mikhail’s crimson eyes flared as they locked onto Luce—his gaze one of rebuke, as if calling out a dragon for trying to test him.
“Not once have I wished for someone else to take on my fate.”
Tch. Luce scoffed through his nose, as if to say look at this kid. Even when he’d been granted a wish, Mikhail hadn’t been swayed by any fleeting desires.
“…Well, if that’s your choice, I’ll respect it.”
That much was worth admiring. Perhaps this time, Ordinas had truly made the right choice. Luce stared at Mikhail for a brief moment, just about to shift the topic. But then, he suddenly raised an arm in front of Mikhail to stop him and spoke.
“Wait.”
Something was coming. At the same time, the forest branches and undergrowth all bent in the same direction. Both Luce and Mikhail turned toward the depths of the forest.
It looked like a field of reeds and grass swaying together under a powerful wind—but this wasn’t some random gust of nature. This was a deliberate force sweeping through the woods in a single, targeted path.
The wind passed directly through them.
Luce bit his lip briefly, then muttered with clear irritation in his voice.
“…Looks like the mage using the tracking spell finally decided to show up. Subtle as a landslide.”
It was a showy spell—intentionally exaggerated so the ones being chased would feel the threat behind it. A silent message of intimidation.
