Chapter 84. < 34. Giving Sickness and Then Medicine >
The golden parrot that had followed Lumian from the Kalad territory.
The creature had been repeating a pattern—sleeping in the quarters from evening until dawn, then going outside through the window during the day.
Lumian didn't know what exactly it did outside, but he didn't particularly care. If anything, he found it convenient not to have to feed it or clean up after it.
Smart, entertaining to watch, and doesn't bother its owner—the perfect pet!
That was what he had thought.
Until just now.
'This crazy thing, why is it acting like this all of a sudden?'
But now the situation had changed.
The creature had broken their promise.
The word 'sex' was definitely supposed to be used only when the two of them were together. Being generous, it was a word permitted only when Morgan was present.
But the person in the room right now was Tania Eloyse.
Lumian glared at the parrot with raised eyes.
-Sex! Sex!
The parrot avoided his gaze.
Lumian was certain. That bastard was doing this on purpose.
He wanted to strangle its neck and shut its mouth right this moment.
But salvaging the situation came first. Lumian glanced at Tania, wondering how to make his excuse.
However.
"What is this? This bird... do you keep it as a pet?"
"Huh? Ah, yes... um, this right now is..."
"Hahaha, that's funny. Wow, it talks really well."
Once again, Tania's reaction wasn't bad.
She extended her hand toward the parrot and spoke to Lumian.
"But out of all the words it could say, it says this kind of thing. Such a lewd creature... maybe the owner is a pervert?"
"No, this is just... friends were playing around and it ended up like this."
"The voice sounds exactly like yours though? Are you selling out your friends?"
"Well, I did participate too..."
-Sex! Sex!
"Pffft! Ah, really what is this. It's totally Lumian Junior."
It sounded like slander at first glance, but judging by her tone full of laughter, it seemed to be a joke.
Lumian breathed an internal sigh of relief.
Once again, he felt grateful toward her.
'She's letting this slide too. She's really a great senior.'
For a moment, he wondered if perhaps she had interest in that kind of thing as well, but he quickly shook his head.
As he had thought earlier, the current situation had nothing to do with that. The fact that she didn't put on an act and make a stern face was reason enough to bow to Tania multiple times.
But this wasn't the end.
Just when Lumian had completely let his guard down.
The parrot, watching the situation unfold, launched another attack.
-Ah! A healthy man's XX has entered my @@!
"......."
"......."
Silence flowed.
At the same time, the atmosphere grew heavy.
This time was different. Even Tania's expression had frozen stiff.
Sensing that, Lumian glared at the parrot as if to kill it.
'No, why does it keep doing that!'
Had it lost its mind?
He couldn't understand.
This time was unforgivable. Lumian tried to reach out to twist the golden parrot's neck.
But Tania's words were faster.
She looked at Lumian and murmured.
"Lumian? This is..."
"No, that's... this is also from playing around with friends..."
"...But, that's a woman's voice?"
Tania's voice trembled. Her eyes were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.
Of course, the same was true for Lumian.
But it was so unjust.
He desperately began making excuses.
"Th-there's this friend in the territory, well, more like an uncle I'm friends with... and that uncle's specialty is imitating women's voices... so he taught this creature all sorts of strange things... ah, really... I'm not lying..."
'Morgan, you bastard!'
Lumian made an expression like he was about to cry.
He hated his stepbrother as much as the parrot. If he were next to him right now, he wanted to smack the back of his head hard.
But the one with him wasn't Morgan—it was Tania Eloyse.
She nodded with a heavy expression.
"R-right. I'll believe you. Because Lumian isn't someone who would... do that with another woman..."
"Yes. I'm not that kind of guy."
"Right? Really...?"
"Yes! Really."
"......."
"......."
'Damn it!'
The conversation cut off and silence returned.
It was uncomfortable. Felt like he couldn't breathe.
Just moments ago, they had been having such a pleasant and enjoyable conversation.
It was completely ruined. Because of that damn golden parrot.
"W-well. I can't skip any more classes now... so I'll be going!"
"Ah, yes..."
"See you next time! Bye!"
Rush.
Bang!
Tania exited quickly as if fleeing, carrying the sandwich basket.
Lumian stared blankly at the space where she had disappeared.
It felt like his soul was flowing out of his open mouth.
'Did the excuse... work?'
He didn't know. He couldn't be certain.
The only fortunate thing was that Tania had said "see you next time."
Of course, that wasn't much comfort.
Lumian roared like a wounded beast.
"Kraaaaaah! Come here!"
The game of tag between Lumian and the parrot began.
And at that time, Tania had quickly escaped the boys' dormitory and was calming her startled heart.
'What do I do, I ran out like I was fleeing!'
It was fine up until the parrot suddenly came in and said "sex." Making lewd jokes with a parrot was understandable enough.
From the beginning, she liked Lumian knowing full well he was a pervert.
Unlike other women who only knew Lumian as the swordsmanship tournament champion and model student, she liked even his true self. In vulgar terms, she was completely smitten.
But even for Tania, the last line was hard to bear.
Above all, the fact that the line came out in a woman's voice was shocking.
'Did Lumian have another woman besides Leyton Wino?'
That was the most worrying part. Honestly, she didn't care much about the rest.
She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. And she racked her brain to determine whether Lumian's words were truth or lies.
Fortunately, the weight tilted toward the former.
Not because she believed Lumian's words.
It was because she believed what his friends had said.
'He said that before meeting Leyton Wino, he had never been close with a woman.'
That was definitely true. It was something that came from Theolo Suttegarn's mouth.
If it had been Boomer Simpson's words, she wouldn't have trusted them, but Theolo was trustworthy.
Having thought this far, Tania was finally able to regain her relaxed expression.
"Phew, thank goodness..."
Her heart had sunk at the thought of losing Lumian again, but that wasn't the case.
She opened her eyes and walked with a faint smile.
'Still... I won't be able to see his face for a while.'
Tania blushed.
Even if it was a joke, the parrot's lines were quite intense.
She wasn't confident she could manage her expression in front of Lumian right now. She needed a little time.
For now, let's focus on the classes she had been neglecting. And when her heart settles, she'll go see him again.
Having made up her mind, Tania moved quickly to return to class.
***
"......."
"......."
Around the time Tania had returned to her outdoor class and was swinging her sword enthusiastically.
Lumian and the golden parrot were looking at each other in silence.
No, to be precise, it wasn't a golden parrot.
The moment Lumian grabbed the parrot and applied pressure.
With a pop, the creature transformed into something completely different.
A lizard-like form with bat wings attached, yet still giving a cute impression due to its round face.
Looking at the creature about the size of a pony, Lumian thought of something.
'A dragon!'
A legendary animal that only appears in novels.
A supreme spirit creature that loves nature, known to be so massive that when it spreads its wings, even broad daylight feels like night.
'This one isn't very big though.'
It was barely large enough for one person to ride.
Of course, size wasn't important.
Whether it was a real dragon or not.
Whether it could speak or not.
And why on earth it did what it just did.
These were what mattered.
Lumian decided to ask one by one.
"Are you a dragon?"
".Yes."
"Really?"
"Really."
At least it could speak.
But he still couldn't be certain it was a real dragon.
Lumian asked another question.
"Then why is your body so small? Are you lying?"
"I'm not lying! It's because I haven't been born for long!"
"How old are you?"
"Ten."
"Ha, a mere ten-year-old spouting such lewd words endlessly... Do your parents know you go around like this?"
"I don't have parents."
"Uh..."
Lumian wore a flustered expression.
He had inadvertently hurt the young dragon.
With an apologetic face, he offered comfort.
"Um... I'm sorry. I didn't know they had passed away."
"That's not it. I never had them to begin with."
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Dragons don't have those."
Lumian looked at the creature with questioning eyes. The dragon, rolling its round eyes, opened its mouth.
"Dragons just come into being. Will is born from the mana flowing through the world, a vessel forms, and it is reborn as flesh."
The creature usually spoke in a childish tone, but when explaining its essence, it sounded almost philosophical.
However, Lumian didn't focus on that.
He only cared that dragons had no reproductive process.
'So basically, it means it's impotent.'
Lumian looked at the creature with pitying eyes.
Seeming to sense this, the baby dragon made a sulky expression.
"What, what!"
"Nothing. I just found it fascinating."
It was true.
Dragons were creatures that appeared in history books only from a thousand years ago, and even their very existence remained unproven.
Such an esteemed being had revealed itself before him.
But it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
'The golden parrot that could manipulate mana was already an impossible existence to begin with.'
Rather, it made sense now.
It was a creature like a dragon, so of course such things were possible.
'Wait, that's not what's important right now.'
Lumian hardened his expression.
Somehow it had turned into a friendly Q&A session, but that shouldn't have happened. This was supposed to be an interrogation.
Confront, scold, and extract an apology! That was what needed to happen. He couldn't let himself go soft because of its cute and round appearance.
Having made his decision, he put on an even angrier expression.
"Never mind that. Why did you do it?"
"W-what?"
"You know what I'm asking! Why did you suddenly come in and say those strange things!"
"They're not strange things! Those are words Lumian taught me!"
"Is that what's important right now? We made a promise last time. Not to say 'sex' unless it's just the two of us!"
"......."
The dragon closed its mouth.
Well, it had no choice. It knew it was unilaterally in the wrong.
Lumian, emboldened, pressed the dragon further.
"Speak. Why did you do it."
"......."
"There must be a reason. Don't just keep your mouth shut—tell me properly."
"......."
The creature didn't speak for a long while.
But that didn't mean it could avoid the situation.
Lumian right now was in a state with no mental leeway due to extreme stress. The discomfort from this became a sharp spearhead piercing toward the dragon.
Finally unable to endure, the creature spoke with teary eyes.
"......Lumian was too busy playing with a woman to train."
"Huh?"
What was this saying? Lumian wore a bewildered expression.
The reason for breaking the atmosphere was because he hadn't trained?
What on earth did that mean?
He was so dumbfounded he couldn't think of what to say, but the dragon's words continued.
"Lumian, Lumian needs to get stronger quickly... but he keeps not working hard and playing with women... not training because of that... so I did that..."
"No, no. Wait."
Lumian cut off the dragon's words. Then organized his thoughts for a moment.
The first thought that came to mind was 'why does it want to make me stronger?'
The dragon and he had no relationship whatsoever. Nevertheless, the creature had helped with his training from their first meeting until now.
As if it were its own matter. The reason was extremely curious.
But the feeling of injustice that followed covered up his curiosity.
He asked as if demanding an answer.
"What does it matter to you whether I play or not? And how much did I even play? I did everything I was supposed to!"
It was true.
Even recently when he made the excuse of being sick to skip classes, he never missed his aura cultivation.
Even when he was completely absorbed with Leyton Wino. Though he had fallen in love, he was a knight, so he had no intention of neglecting the basics.
"You know too. I diligently cultivated for hours every dawn."
Lumian said with a confident attitude.
It was only natural since he had nothing to be guilty about.
However, the baby dragon thought differently.
The creature muttered with a sulken expression.
"But, but... when a human man and woman stick together, they become that kind of relationship... and when they become that kind of relationship, then..."
"And then?"
"It said they become bodies that can't think of anything but sex..."
"......."
Lumian froze like a stone statue.
It was absurd. The shock was so great he felt like cracking sounds were coming from his body.
The dragon didn't stop. It continued speaking.
"If that happens... you won't train and will just do sex every day... then you can't train... and won't get stronger... then... then it's bad... so..."
"Wait."
Lumian cut off the words.
He had a rough sense of it. He asked a question.
"Where did you hear such nonsense... perhaps..."
"Yeah, the books Lumian usually reads. It was written there!"
After finishing speaking, the baby dragon let out a spirited cry.
Then with a pop, its body shrank.
Shuffle shuffle.
It went under the bed and brought something out.
It was a lewd book. The cover featuring two naked men and women entangled together was quite impressive.
The dragon, raising the book like an explorer who found treasure, shouted loudly.
"The people in here said so!"