Chapter 1 Part 13: People Are The Enemy

I disposed of the empty bottle and asked.

“Ms. Hilipa, why did you come here?

Were you worried about me?”

“That too, but Lady Enencia has returned.”

Lady Enencia?

I turned my head so fast it almost made a whistling sound.

“She said the conversation ended earlier than expected.

You want to talk to her, right?”

That went without saying.

No matter how timid I was, I had to confront this issue.

This was practically a fraudulent contract.

Of course, Lady Enencia had no intention of deceiving me, but still!

When I said I wanted to meet her without hesitation, Ms. Hilipa pointed to the elevator.

We got on.

“I have things to take care of, so go on ahead.”

“Yes.

Thank you.”

I knocked on the door.

Inside, I simulated what I would say.

Someone as timid as me even had to think about what to say beforehand when ordering at a restaurant, so how much more now?

My mind was racing faster than ever.

‘Lady Enencia.

No matter how great an Archmage you are, isn’t this too much?

You said it was a docile rare animal, so I was secretly looking forward to it.

I even imagined playing with a soft, fluffy, cute animal.

Not that that child isn’t cute, but still.

You should have clearly told me from the start that he was a dragon hybrid.

Then I could have at least prepared myself mentally.

You should be grateful I didn’t run away after hearing it from Ms. Hilipa.

In that sense, couldn’t you raise my salary just a little bit more?’

No.

I had unconsciously ended up back at the salary issue.

If I said that, I’d be marked as an impertinent subordinate.

It’s not like Lady Enencia was my friend.

How could I politely yet clearly convey my purpose?

“Alice?”

But wasn’t this a situation where asking for a raise was justified?

It’s a dragon hybrid, of all things.

My current salary was plenty, but I was human, and greed crept in.

The more money, the better.

I recalled the tent I’d set up in the yard.

Okay, I definitely had to ask for a raise…

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Hoo, someone blew a breath of air into my ear.

Goosebumps erupted.

I let out a strange shriek and jumped back.

I hadn’t even noticed the door was open while I was agonizing.

Lady Enencia was leaning against the doorframe, her eyes curving into crescents.

“Hi?”

“Ah, hello.”

“Come in.”

Lady Enencia crooked her finger.

True to the fact that she had just returned from her outing, her hair was loosely braided, unlike usual.

A purple ribbon was tied at the end of the braid.

And her attire… she was only wearing a thin robe.

It covered everything necessary, but it was still an embarrassing outfit.

I didn’t know where to look.

Lady Enencia flipped her braid over her shoulder and asked in a languid tone.

“Want some tea?”

“No, I’m fine.

I just drank an energy potion.”

Lady Enencia opened a box on the table.

It was full of snacks in shapes I’d never seen before.

“Then eat this.

It’s a very rare snack a king gifted me.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.

Just take the whole box.

I don’t really like sweets anyway.”

Lady Enencia plopped down on the sofa.

“I don’t know why they have to summon people back and forth for such trivial matters.

Such a bother.”

This request must not have been very interesting either.

Lady Enencia crossed one leg.

The hem of her robe rode up, revealing her smooth leg completely.

I coughed dryly.

“Um, couldn’t you adjust your clothes a bit?”

“Why?”

Lady Enencia even lifted the hem of her robe with her hand and asked.

“Doesn’t it look good?”

I answered in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“No, not really…”

When I trailed off, lacking the courage to say more, a heavy silence descended.

Lady Enencia lowered the hem of her robe.

It was probably time to get to the point.

“Lady Enencia.

I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“Well, about that rare animal you mentioned.”

Lady Enencia flopped back onto the sofa.

Hugging a cushion, she said brightly.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”

“…Yes, he is cute, but.”

My chest was already getting tight.

Should I just declare I was quitting, money be damned?

“Why didn’t you tell me he was a dragon hybrid?”

“Was there a need to say it?

You said yourself you weren’t in a position to be picky.”

I couldn’t refute that.

Even knowing the truth, I hadn’t quit in the end.

But I persisted.

“It would have been better if you’d told me in advance.”

Lady Enencia tilted her head.

“Why would knowing that make it better?”

“Because I could have prepared myself mentally.”

“Why prepare mentally?”

The fact that she genuinely seemed not to understand, with no intention of mocking me, made me even angrier.

I couldn’t exactly flip the table.

I composed myself once more.

“Well, anyone would be surprised to see a dragon hybrid…”

“I wasn’t surprised.”

“I was.”

“Ah, really?”

I’d finally made her understand.

Lady Enencia apologized sincerely.

“Sorry.

For surprising you.”

“Next time, please don’t just vaguely call it a rare animal.

Tell me clearly.”

“Got it.

My conscience doesn’t feel great about this.”

Lady Enencia, still lying down, wiggled her feet and then smiled brightly.

“Want me to give you more money as a sign of apology?”

I thought I saw a halo behind Lady Enencia.

My anger melted away like ice cream.

Right, people can sometimes fail to consider others’ perspectives.

As long as they paid well, it was fine.

I immediately wagged my invisible tail.

“Oh my, you really don’t have to do that.”

“No, it’s because my conscience is uneasy.”

“If you insist, I’ll gratefully accept.”

I might actually be able to study freely without worrying about money.

Delighted, I popped a snack into my mouth.

I thought it would be a hard cookie, but the moment I bit into it, it melted softly.

This was really delicious.

On top of delicious snacks, giving money made someone the best person in the world.

Therefore, Lady Enencia was the best person in the world.

Without changing my expression, I performed this miraculous logic while munching on snacks.

“How was it with that child?”

Lady Enencia, who had been watching me with her chin propped on her hand, suddenly asked.

I quickly swallowed what was in my mouth and answered.

“Contrary to my worries, nothing much happened.”

“Really?

I thought you seemed too intact, unlike the other mages.”

Lady Enencia nodded, as if she finally understood.

“You, as expected, didn’t touch that child, did you.”

My hand, reaching for another snack, stopped.

Don’t tell me I’d made another mistake.

An ominous feeling crawled up my back.

I put down the snack and asked in a trembling voice.

“Didn’t you say I just had to care for and observe him?”

“Right.

But you’re the only one who followed that order.”

“What do you mean…?”

Lady Enencia shrugged, as if asking why I was stating the obvious.

“The other mages weren’t satisfied with just observation.”

The image of the child, overly nervous in front of the mages, flashed before my eyes.

Lady Enencia counted on her fingers.

“But they didn’t touch him much.

Just things like removing some scales from his body, collecting his clipped nails, taking the shed skin from his tail.”

That’s plenty of touching…?!

I had expected it, but it still gave me goosebumps.

It was no wonder the child was wary of the mages.

So this was the hidden truth.

“But recently, we haven’t been able to conduct any research at all.

Because he’s been rampaging like a beast.

The mages’ complaints probably exploded largely because of that.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just fidgeted with the hem of my robe.

If they hadn’t just suppressed him with force, but asked for permission first, the child might not have become so fierce.

“So, as a favor, get him to cooperate with the research a bit.

You’re really good at that kind of thing.”

My mouth went dry.

I had braced myself, but this was much worse than I’d thought.

I forced my stiff lips to move.

“There’s no need to call me in for that…”

Lady Enencia quickly cut me off.

“Of course there is.”

Lady Enencia half-rose and grabbed my robe.

The star brooch fastening the robe sparkled under the light.

“We are seekers of knowledge.

Isn’t it stranger not to research something that good?”

I couldn’t argue.

These people would use even their own bodies as test subjects if necessary.

I just bit my poor lip.

Just look at Clam, injecting poison into his own arm to test if an antidote worked properly.

Aslan, repeating self-harm and then casting healing spells, saying he needed to become proficient in recovery magic.

Strength flowed into my hands.

“But still, this is a bit…”

My mouth stiffened again.

No matter how hard I tried to speak, it was useless.

I looked up, dreading what I might see.

“Why do you keep being stubborn?”

Lady Enencia’s yellow eyes were shining intensely.

It wasn’t for nothing that people praised those eyes as being like stars.

Lady Enencia’s eyes were not only beautiful but also possessed the power to overwhelm others.

Now, not only my mouth but my whole body wouldn’t move.

Lady Enencia’s hand stroked my cheek.

“You know by now, don’t you?”

Her hand was as cold as ever.

After caressing my cheek a few times, Lady Enencia whispered.

“That here, you are the strange one.”

Alice.

Lady Enencia pronounced my name and smiled.

Lazily, like a snake that had just swallowed its prey whole.