As he was finished eating, I tucked Albert back into the covers, snugly wrapping the quilt around him. He was still trembling slightly.
“You’re still cold, so you should warm up.”
“…What are you doing?”
“This is what people call the kimbap strategy. It’s what I also do whenever I get sick. Do you still feel cold?”
Hearing the concern in my voice, Albert pouted.
“I’m cold right now because someone had the gall to save me. If you hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t be sick.
“You’re saying thank you, right? For saving you. Oh, our handsome Albert.”
Smiling, I stroked Albert’s head. He was so much smaller than me right now, and he was just so cute.
His now-dry hair became disheveled in the meantime, but he still looked cute.
I thought that he’d tell me to quit touching him right away, but he remained silent. He was just holding onto the edge of the blanket I wrapped him in.
Faintly recalling how Albert also patted my head before, it felt strange.
“…Who are you?”
As Albert raised his gaze, he made direct eye contact with me.
His red eyes twinkled like the sunset. Still, I hesitated to answer.
Considering what the future Albert told me before, the young Albert and I would soon separate.
It looked like I came back to the past as part of Blanc’s ordeal for him to become an adult dragon.
Albert said that I had erased his memories of this time, and that I had hid my name from him so he couldn’t remember.
Now I know why I did that.
I knew how much I’d mean to a child who yearned and was hungry for love.
I hadn’t spent much time with him here, but I could already imagine how much he would depend on me.
If I were to tell him my name, he would continue to reflect on the memories he had with me even after I would disappear.
It wouldn’t be good for him to just live in the past. I didn’t want that for him.
I didn’t tell him my name.
Instead, I smiled brightly.
“I’m the one who came to save you.”
“……”
“I want to show you that it’s worth living in this world—much more than you think.”
Albert chewed on his lips. I could see hope glimmering in his eyes.
Over the shadow that had fallen upon him, light was cast. I looked into his eyes for a moment then hugged him tightly.
Albert awkwardly put a hand on my back then gave a sullen answer.
“If you’re really here to save me, of course you’d say that.”
“If you want to cry more, you can cry.”
“Who are you calling a crybaby.”
It’s not wrong to cry if you want to cry. I knew how important it was for a child to stay as a child.
“Whenever you want to cry, you have to cry. That’s how you can get rid of all your unpleasant feelings.”
“I’m not gonna cry.”
Albert remained resolute. It seemed to me like he wanted to pretend to be tough in front of me.
As Albert was still tightly in my embrace, he soon fell asleep.
Later, Greten came in and changed Albert’s towel once more while he was still sleeping. And, she left a simple piece of bread on the bedside table.
Listening to Albert’s even breaths, Greten murmured.
“You’ll need to go to the festival soon though… What do we do.”
She was more annoyed than worried about Albert. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but scoff.
I couldn’t believe that no one really knew Albert better than I did.
That time, I listened meekly to Greten and left Albert’s room when he had been sick. I still resent my own actions from then.
Now, I also understood why Albert was upset with me before.
Greten stoked the fire and put more firewood before going out again. I glared at her the entire time, then I looked out the window.
Snow was falling gently from the night sky, which was completely covered by darkness. Perhaps because I was in the state of a soul, but I wasn’t feeling sleepy.
Finally, it’s time for me to take a breather, too. Lost in thought, I sat next to Albert.
[ Blanc, can you hear me? ]
I sent another message to Blanc again, but I couldn’t hear anything back. With this, I could only think that the telepathic connection between dragon and contractor had been cut.
I need to reconsider the current situation.
Blanc and I went to the Dragon’s Nest. There, Blanc said that his ordeal to become an adult dragon was beginning sooner than expected.
At this point, I was also sure that I had come back to the past as part of my ordeal.
The only aspect of this that I wasn’t certain about was the fact that I was in a spectral state, unlike how most contractors would be when they’d go through their ordeals.
The reason Albert could see me now must be because he put a spell in the bracelet. And he’s the only one who could see me.
If I had been my original self, I’d have suffered through physical pain as I should have. If not that, I would have fallen back to the past where no one knew me, and my condition would have been much worse than I was now.
Either suffering in a place where no one knew me, or directly suffering through pain that would feel like my body was being ripped apart.
The only reason my ordeal had become so easy was because I was in the state of a soul right now.
Rosé Artius’s conspiracy inadvertently helped me with my contract with Blanc. The world was truly mysterious.
Letting out a hum as I wrestled with my thoughts, I lowered my gaze. Then, I saw a lock of white hair again, flowing down from behind my ear. I realized that I never got the chance to look into a mirror yet.
“…Just what do I look like right now?”
Though I said this, I really didn’t know what to expect.
I rose to my feet and looked into a mirror.
“…It’s me.”
As he was finished eating, I tucked Albert back into the covers, snugly wrapping the quilt around him. He was still trembling slightly.
“You’re still cold, so you should warm up.”
“…What are you doing?”
“This is what people call the kimbap strategy. It’s what I also do whenever I get sick. Do you still feel cold?”
Hearing the concern in my voice, Albert pouted.
“I’m cold right now because someone had the gall to save me. If you hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t be sick.
“You’re saying thank you, right? For saving you. Oh, our handsome Albert.”
Smiling, I stroked Albert’s head. He was so much smaller than me right now, and he was just so cute.
His now-dry hair became disheveled in the meantime, but he still looked cute.
I thought that he’d tell me to quit touching him right away, but he remained silent. He was just holding onto the edge of the blanket I wrapped him in.
Faintly recalling how Albert also patted my head before, it felt strange.
“…Who are you?”
As Albert raised his gaze, he made direct eye contact with me.
His red eyes twinkled like the sunset. Still, I hesitated to answer.
Considering what the future Albert told me before, the young Albert and I would soon separate.
It looked like I came back to the past as part of Blanc’s ordeal for him to become an adult dragon.
Albert said that I had erased his memories of this time, and that I had hid my name from him so he couldn’t remember.
Now I know why I did that.
I knew how much I’d mean to a child who yearned and was hungry for love.
I hadn’t spent much time with him here, but I could already imagine how much he would depend on me.
If I were to tell him my name, he would continue to reflect on the memories he had with me even after I would disappear.
It wouldn’t be good for him to just live in the past. I didn’t want that for him.
I didn’t tell him my name.
Instead, I smiled brightly.
“I’m the one who came to save you.”
“……”
“I want to show you that it’s worth living in this world—much more than you think.”
Albert chewed on his lips. I could see hope glimmering in his eyes.
Over the shadow that had fallen upon him, light was cast. I looked into his eyes for a moment then hugged him tightly.
Albert awkwardly put a hand on my back then gave a sullen answer.
“If you’re really here to save me, of course you’d say that.”
“If you want to cry more, you can cry.”
“Who are you calling a crybaby.”
It’s not wrong to cry if you want to cry. I knew how important it was for a child to stay as a child.
“Whenever you want to cry, you have to cry. That’s how you can get rid of all your unpleasant feelings.”
“I’m not gonna cry.”
Albert remained resolute. It seemed to me like he wanted to pretend to be tough in front of me.
As Albert was still tightly in my embrace, he soon fell asleep.
Later, Greten came in and changed Albert’s towel once more while he was still sleeping. And, she left a simple piece of bread on the bedside table.
Listening to Albert’s even breaths, Greten murmured.
“You’ll need to go to the festival soon though… What do we do.”
She was more annoyed than worried about Albert. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but scoff.
I couldn’t believe that no one really knew Albert better than I did.
That time, I listened meekly to Greten and left Albert’s room when he had been sick. I still resent my own actions from then.
Now, I also understood why Albert was upset with me before.
Greten stoked the fire and put more firewood before going out again. I glared at her the entire time, then I looked out the window.
Snow was falling gently from the night sky, which was completely covered by darkness. Perhaps because I was in the state of a soul, but I wasn’t feeling sleepy.
Finally, it’s time for me to take a breather, too. Lost in thought, I sat next to Albert.
[ Blanc, can you hear me? ]
I sent another message to Blanc again, but I couldn’t hear anything back. With this, I could only think that the telepathic connection between dragon and contractor had been cut.
I need to reconsider the current situation.
Blanc and I went to the Dragon’s Nest. There, Blanc said that his ordeal to become an adult dragon was beginning sooner than expected.
At this point, I was also sure that I had come back to the past as part of my ordeal.
The only aspect of this that I wasn’t certain about was the fact that I was in a spectral state, unlike how most contractors would be when they’d go through their ordeals.
The reason Albert could see me now must be because he put a spell in the bracelet. And he’s the only one who could see me.
If I had been my original self, I’d have suffered through physical pain as I should have. If not that, I would have fallen back to the past where no one knew me, and my condition would have been much worse than I was now.
Either suffering in a place where no one knew me, or directly suffering through pain that would feel like my body was being ripped apart.
The only reason my ordeal had become so easy was because I was in the state of a soul right now.
Rosé Artius’s conspiracy inadvertently helped me with my contract with Blanc. The world was truly mysterious.
Letting out a hum as I wrestled with my thoughts, I lowered my gaze. Then, I saw a lock of white hair again, flowing down from behind my ear. I realized that I never got the chance to look into a mirror yet.
“…Just what do I look like right now?”
Though I said this, I really didn’t know what to expect.
I rose to my feet and looked into a mirror.
“…It’s me.”
