Chapter 1 Part 20: People Are The Enemy

“It’s time for the mission, what are you doing?”

I stepped back, afraid of another scene, but surprisingly, Aslan didn’t even glance my way.

What a relief.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Clam’s eyes sparkled.

He waved the parchment.

“Ah, Senior Aslan!

Just in time!”

“Huh?”

“We were discussing what to name that dragon pup.

You should give your opinion too.

Unlike your appearance, you have great taste, Senior.”

Aslan’s eyes narrowed as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’

Clam held out the parchment.

Aslan scanned it up and down.

I was worried he might tear it out of spite, but just as I was feeling anxious,

Aslan tossed the parchment back.

I hurriedly caught it.

“No.

Why would I?”

“Don’t be like that~.”

“Shut up and come on.”

Aslan grabbed Clam by the scruff of his neck.

Clam’s legs dangled in the air.

That was actually surprisingly stable.

I knew from experience.

Clam kept blowing me kisses.

“Well then, Senior, see you after the mission.

Don’t cry missing me in the meantime.”

“Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

“Take care~.”

The two of them disappeared.

As I saw them off, I paused, feeling warmth at my fingertips.

The parchment was partially burned.

No!

Everyone’s precious opinions…!

Just as I thought that, the flames subsided.

The scorched mark revealed a single name.

[Asher].

What was this name?

I stared blankly at the name, then cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted.

“Thanks, Aslan!”

Aslan didn’t look back even once.

But that was enough.

Surely among these, there was a name the child would like.

I was glad everyone had been so cooperative.

People who usually didn’t care whether others struggled, focused only on their own work—what had gotten into them?

I clutched the parchment tightly and returned to the child’s floor.

“I’m back!”

The tail that had been thumping against the floor stopped.

The child, sitting in the middle of the room, looked at me with eyes mixed with expectation and distrust.

You don’t have to look at me like that.

I really didn’t interfere at all in naming him.

I held out the parchment.

“How about this?”

Life gradually returned to the child’s eyes.

It seemed there was a name he liked.

What a relief.

Sitting down in front of him, I said jokingly.

“But I still think Dreodolli is cute.”

The child’s face turned serious.

“Not cute at all.”

“Okay, sorry.

I won’t do that again…

Wait, did you just speak?!”

For a whole week, no matter what I tried, he hadn’t said a single word!

Just how much did he hate that name…!

My body trembled with a mix of betrayal and self-loathing.

“Ruby.”

“No.”

“Black.”

“No.”

“Dren.”

“No.”

His tone was straightforward to the point of being utterly firm.

I stopped reciting names.

The child’s gently swaying tail stopped.

The child, who had been sitting on my lap looking at the parchment with me, looked up.

“Why?”

I thought it might be better for him to choose not just by looking, but by considering how it felt when someone else called the name.

So I was deliberately pronouncing each name the mages had suggested.

Whenever I called a name, the child expressed his opinion concisely but accurately.

If he could do this so well, why hadn’t he spoken until now?

My body trembled again with that sense of betrayal, but I forced myself to stay calm and made an excuse.

“…No, I was just thinking you speak very well.”

He didn’t reply, but he seemed pleased.

His tail wagged more vigorously.

I continued reciting the names.

“Lucas.”

“No.”

“Floen.”

“No.”

That left only one name.

His expression had definitely brightened when he saw this one earlier.

Actually, even someone with no taste like me thought it was okay.

I pointed to the last name.

“Asher.”

The child’s tail shot up like an exclamation mark.

He nodded more vigorously than ever before.

“As expected, this is the one I like.”

And so, the child’s name was decided as “Asher.”

I was newly impressed by Aslan’s taste.

How did someone who only did three things all day—exercise, research, study—manage to hone such good taste?

Coming up with a name like this in just a few seconds—wasn’t he a genius?

No matter how hard I racked my brain, I could only come up with names like “Dreodolli.”

The child tugged at my clothes.

“Call my name one more time.”

“Asher.”

“One more time.”

“Asher.”

“Just one last time.”

You like it that much?

I smiled warmly.

“Asher.”

Asher sprang to his feet.

Ah, I was used to this situation by now.

Before he could bump into something, I quickly grabbed his arm.

“It’s okay to hide, but you shouldn’t bump into things again.

You don’t like being hurt either, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Asher affirmed softly.

Asher sat back down in front of me.

His actions were utterly childlike, but when he spoke, he was surprisingly calm.

Sitting across from Asher, I asked.

“You could speak all along?”

Asher glanced at me, then hung his head.

“…Sorry.”

“No, no, nothing to be sorry about.

I absolutely didn’t ask to blame you.”

I was just curious.

Asher fidgeted with his clawed arms, then confessed the reason.

“I’m not good at it, so I didn’t really want to.”

“You’re not good at speaking?”

“I’m not.”

His pronunciation was a little unstable, but it wasn’t hard to understand.

Asher’s head drooped lower and lower.

“I didn’t have many chances to speak.”

Suddenly, my eyes welled up.

Yeah, of course you didn’t have chances to speak.

Surrounded by strangers who only wanted to research you, when would you have the presence of mind to talk?

I probably wouldn’t have had the presence of mind to talk either, just scream.

“Before I came here, I promised my mom.

To only speak when it was a life-or-death matter.”

“Ah, you promised that…

Wait a minute.”

So my naming sense was a life-or-death matter for this child.

I should do as Aslan said and never go around offering to name things again.

“I’m really not good at speaking, am I?

I even practiced before you came.”

“Practiced?”

“Yeah.”

The child’s finger pointed at the speech practice book.

It was worth buying it.

I quickly shook my head.

“Should I practice more so it’s less noticeable?”

“No.

You’re good enough.”

And it’s natural for children to be clumsy with words.

I left the rest unsaid and patted Asher’s head.

Even I, when I was very young, was slow to speak, and the neighborhood grandmothers whispered that I must be a problem child.

And that problem child later became a mage of the Magic Tower.

My expression turned wistful.

Heh heh, being slow to speak wasn’t a problem at all…

Asher probably became timid because of remarks like that too.

People really need to mind their own business.

Asher quietly received my touch, then suddenly said.

“Can you keep it a secret from the other mages that I can speak?”

“Huh?”

“Please keep it a secret.”

That made sense.

Their curiosity about the dragon hybrid was already at its peak.

If they found out about this, they’d probably lose their minds again.

I nodded.

“Don’t worry.

I’ll keep it a secret.”

“And don’t write it in that weird notebook either.”

So he knew I was writing an observation log.

I hadn’t meant to hide it, but I felt a pang of guilt.

I nodded once more to indicate I understood.

“You’re a good human.

I’m glad, that I met you.”

Asher’s expression relaxed considerably.

He bent his knees.

“The other mages were all scary.

They’d come in groups without warning and shout.

So I just shouted back with them, but that just made me seem more violent.”

My guess was correct.

Asher wasn’t inherently violent; he was just shouting back in self-defense.

After a week of gentle treatment without a single shout, Asher’s temper had calmed down too.

Asher looked at me cautiously.

“You’re a good human, so you’ll keep the secret, right?

I told you because I thought you would.”

“And conveniently reject the names I came up with too?”

“Yeah.”

Not a single moment’s hesitation.

Why did that make me feel sad again?

I forced a smile and reassured Asher.

“Don’t worry.

So speak comfortably in front of me.

How did you manage to hold it in all this time?

You’re very admirable.”

Asher scratched his head shyly.

I clapped my hands together.

“Right, is there anything you want to say to me?

Any mistakes I’ve made this past week, or anything you need.

You can say anything.”

Asher’s eyes sparkled.

It seemed there was something he’d been wanting to say.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Asher immediately held out both hands.

“Give me snacks.”

I immediately refused.

“Sorry, no.”

You already ate earlier.

I stood up.

Asher didn’t give up and grabbed my clothes.

It was useless to hang on, I was absolutely not giving him snacks.

With Asher clinging to me, I laboriously walked.

He spoke calmly, but his actions were utterly childlike—that was Asher.

***

Thanks to the speech practice book, I learned that items for the child could be purchased with the Magic Tower’s budget.

While making a list of necessary items for the child, I glanced back at him.

He was swinging his legs and muttering something.

“What are you muttering about?”

“The book I read earlier.

I want to become as good at speaking as Alice.”

After sharing our secret, Asher and I had grown much closer rapidly.

Asher seemed to fully trust me now.

Which was good for me.

Anyway, wanting to become as good at speaking as me…

My nose tingled.

How could he say things so sweetly?

Rubbing my nose, I suggested.

“Want me to buy you a few more books?”

Asher nodded eagerly.

Good, then add that here…

I added books to the list.

Would he need writing supplies too?

I glanced at the child’s hand.

If he couldn’t even hold a fork or spoon, there was no way he could hold a writing tool and write.

So how did that child write?

I was inwardly curious.