Chapter 1 Part 18: People Are The Enemy

“Then just one drink.”

“Good choice.”

Just then, the waiter arrived with the dish I had ordered.

As soon as the waiter placed it on the table, I immediately ordered a beer.

Since it was alcohol, not food, it didn’t take long.

The person cheered happily.

“Cheers―!”

The glasses clinked, and a little foam spilled over.

Oops, it’s overflowing.

I quickly brought the glass to my lips.

The moment the alcohol touched my tongue, a thrill ran through my entire body.

My Adam’s apple moved without stopping.

It was incomparable to drinking water.

Alcohol wasn’t called “alcohol” for nothing.

It goes down smoothly, that’s why it’s called “alcohol.”

Spouting this flawed logic, I wiped my mouth.

The person clapped their hands again.

“You drink well.”

“Thank you.”

Embarrassed by the compliment, I scratched my head for no reason.

As I moved the empty beer glass aside, the person pushed another glass towards me as if they’d been waiting.

“It’s on me.

Have one more.”

I was startled and waved my hands.

“No.

I have work tomorrow.”

“If you drink slowly, you won’t get drunk.”

No, that’s not the problem…

Looking at the beer glass with troubled eyes, I took money out of my wallet.

“Then let me buy yours.”

“Thank you.”

We clinked glasses once more.

The snacks were good, the atmosphere was good, the alcohol tasted good.

It would have been perfect if only the person sitting across from me wasn’t a complete stranger.

The world was too dangerous these days.

Thinking that, I readjusted my grip on my fork.

One bite of snack, one sip of beer.

As I endlessly repeated this sequence, the person suddenly asked.

“By the way, did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That when alcohol is involved, people become impossibly sincere.”

Wasn’t that obvious?

If you drink a lot, your judgment gets clouded, so it’s only natural.

It’s not for nothing that countless people ruin their lives because of alcohol.

The person smiled brightly.

“That’s why alcohol is indispensable for social gatherings.”

“You’re right.”

“Come on, drink up.

Drink.”

Under the table, the man’s hand briefly brushed my thigh.

“So we can get closer.”

I was lost in thought for a moment, then nodded.

We kept buying each other drinks and continued talking.

“Aack…!”

And a few hours later.

The person screamed and jumped up from their seat.

I, mid-sip of the beer the waiter had just brought, widened my eyes.

The face briefly revealed between the robes was flushed red like a tomato.

The person staggered and suddenly pointed a finger at me.

“This one’s a real monster…?!”

“Huh?”

“I thought I’d try to seduce him with that decent face, but I’ll die first!”

I stared at the person’s back as they ran out of the restaurant, then surveyed the table.

It was filled to the brim with empty beer glasses.

How much had I drunk?

I started counting on my fingers, then looked around.

Everyone was looking at me with pitying eyes.

“Oh no.

I think I got abandoned.”

“How pitiful.

Running away because someone can hold their liquor, how rude.”

Misunderstood, I scratched my head awkwardly.

“This is why I wanted to stay away from alcohol.”

Once I start drinking, I just keep going endlessly.

Thanks to it, I was loved by my seniors, though.

I called the waiter and asked them to clear the table.

Putting on my coat, I muttered.

“Well, it worked out anyway.”

Having drunk like that, they probably wouldn’t remember my face.

Ah, it’s cold.

I need to hurry home and get under the covers.

I rushed back home.

***

And in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

As a result of diligently commuting to the Magic Tower despite the hassle, my biorhythm had become roughly similar to what it was before I quit.

I was grateful that I could sleep normally without casting a sleep spell for intruders.

Waking up in the morning was still hard, but that was nothing.

Even before I quit, I had trouble opening my eyes in the morning, so it was fine.

More than anything, I had grown much closer to that child, the dragon hybrid.

The child no longer avoided me when he saw me.

Seeing how calm the child was even when we sat facing each other, I decided to try a few more things.

As usual, I held out a snack to the child and asked.

“What is this?”

The child only looked at the treat in my hand with sparkling eyes, saying nothing.

I had expected this much.

I pointed to the vase I had brought yesterday.

“What is that?”

“…”

Still no answer.

Finally, I pointed to myself.

“What am I?”

The child kept his mouth tightly shut, his gaze fixed solely on the snack.

He looked like he was about to start drooling any moment, so I quickly gave him the snack.

The child immediately devoured it with ferocious speed.

Watching him, I finally concluded.

“As I thought, this child.”

He can’t speak.

He can only understand.

For a whole week, I had diligently asked him questions, trying to elicit a response, but he never answered.

He only made growling sounds similar to a beast’s.

It was truly baffling—he wasn’t completely ignorant of language, yet he couldn’t speak.

Maybe dragon hybrids have a different vocal cord structure from humans?

Yes, if the vocal cords are different, you might understand but be unable to speak.

But dragons themselves, even without transforming into human form, that is, in their original form, spoke perfectly well.

I recalled the dragons who had visited the Magic Tower seeking Lady Enencia’s advice.

Unlike their massive size, they spoke softly and clearly, just pleasant to listen to, which had amazed the mages.

It wasn’t for nothing that people called dragons sacred creatures.

“Maybe this child just…”

Simply doesn’t know how to speak.

I’d heard that dragons, upon hatching from their eggs, receive knowledge from the existing dragons.

But this child was a hybrid, a being hated by both dragons and humans.

Lady Enencia had said it clearly.

Because he was a being that violated order, the dragons tried to eliminate him.

If not for Lady Enencia’s whim, this child would have died.

Being so hated, it was highly likely he never received that knowledge transfer.

If so, then,

“I’ll just teach him myself.”

It’s okay.

Life is ultimately lived alone anyway.

Even family are ultimately strangers.

Taking care of this child was my job.

Education was part of taking care.

I took a book out of my bag.

It was a speech practice book I had bought during my lunch break yesterday.

Since it was a necessary item for the child, I could charge it to the Magic Tower’s budget.

“And this.”

The child crunched on cookies, watching what I was doing.

Following the speech practice book, what I took out next was a parchment tied with a ribbon.

“I thought hard about it because I wanted to give you a name.”

Thud.

The cookie fell from the child’s mouth.

As if asking if it was true, I nodded firmly.

“You can’t just go without a name forever.”

The child folded his hands neatly.

Kneeling and looking up at me, he struck the classic pose of a devout believer before a priest.

No, don’t do that.

I’m just giving you a name.

Moved too much, I felt embarrassed instead and turned my eyes to the parchment.

“I’ll read each name out one by one.

Pick whichever one you like.”

The child nodded.

I began listing the names I had carefully chosen.

“Dreodolli, Dreusooni, Dreukkomi, Dreyongi…”

Was it my imagination?

The more names I listed, the more the life seemed to drain from the child’s eyes.

I stopped listing names.

When I asked if something was wrong, the child shook his head.

What, so it was my imagination after all?

Just as I was about to list the names again, the child pointed a finger at the paper.

“You want this?

You already like a name?”

I immediately held out the parchment to the child.

I wondered which name he would choose.

I kind of hoped it would be Dreodolli.

Clam said it was the worst, but I liked it because it felt endearing.

Thinking that, I was secretly looking forward to it when the child folded the paper in half.

And then…

―Rip.

His jagged teeth mercilessly tore through the paper.

Aack, my sweat and tears…!

Horrified, I tried to stop him, but it was too late.

The child crumpled the paper into his mouth.

He might get a stomach ache…!

“Spit it out.

Go ‘ptooey.’

‘Eptooey’!”

The child covered his mouth with both palms.

Was he that disgusted by the names I came up with?!

Wasn’t it better than being called a beast…?!

Just then, the child’s red eyes looked straight at me.

His two eyes seemed to say this:

‘Just call me a beast instead.’

This was the first time I’d seen such firm resolve in the child’s eyes.

My shoulders slumped.

“…I’ll go ask others what would be a good name for you.”

Only then did the child get up and spit the paper into the trash can.

He was rendering me completely incapable.

I’m sorry my taste is so terrible.

I weakly got up from my seat.

***

“Puhaha!

I had a feeling, but you actually tried to name that kid?!”

“You, whose naming sense converges to zero and plunges into negative, did that?!”

There was no need to laugh so blatantly.

I silently looked at the mages rolling on the floor with laughter.

Since I had already promised the child I would ask others, I had to keep that promise.

So I went to the labs of the seniors who were relatively free.

Yes, the same seniors who had bet on how long I’d work last time.

I had expected to be insulted, but surprisingly, the seniors accepted me like before.

That wasn’t all.