Flustered, Rus tilted her head this way and that before proudly lifting it.

“Th-Then you rich human, answer my question too! That’s only fair, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you have business sense. Alright, ask me anything.”

Allen smiled contentedly as he stroked Rus. Despite the gentle touch, Rus’s blazing eyes did not soften as she glared straight at Allen.

“When do you plan to find the male human Nigel is looking for!”

“Urk!”

Caught off guard, Allen flinched and backed away.

He had expected her to ask for chicken skewers or fine jewels he’d secretly bought for Nigel, but he had let his guard down due to her cute appearance.

“Rus! How underhanded of you to bring this up!”

Allen whispered, glancing around cautiously. But Noah and Zeronin’s gazes were already fixed on Allen.

Allen had chosen friendship with Nigel even when Noah half-threatened him, saying he’d help search if Allen would just tell him what kind of man they were looking for.

But Zeronin’s interested gaze, as Nigel’s family, was a bit harder to bear. No, to be honest, it was very much so.

“Th-There are plenty of other good things. Like, how about that jewel you were coveting?”

Rus’s eyes wavered momentarily at the mention of jewels, but quickly regained focus.

“No! Isn’t Nigel angry and collapsed because you rich human are too slow like a sloth to find one man?”

Listening quietly, Allen felt wronged and got heated in turn.

“How am I supposed to find someone with just a name!”

“Why can’t you find him! Didn’t you say with your own mouth that money can do anything!”

The words he’d used to entice Rus came back to bite him.

“Allen, if you’d tell me too, I could help search.”

As Allen was at a loss for words in frustration, Noah’s cold voice was heard.

Allen tried to hypnotize himself that he couldn’t hear it, and stared straight at Rus.

“Alright, if Rus tells me about Leparo first, I’ll do my best to search.”

“No! Don’t believe promises that are just words… I mean lies!”

“Who? Who said that?”

“Nigel said so! She said there are many backstabbing humans, so don’t just make verbal promises, but be sure to record promises on paper!”

As the two childishly bickered, Zeronin spoke up.

“Quiet. You’ll wake Nigel at this rate.”

At those words, Allen and Rus, who had been making a fuss about writing a contract, became mute as if they’d swallowed honey.

“And Allen, I need to see you for a moment. I’m curious about this man Nigel is looking for.”

“Ah, yes sir!”

Allen had no capacity to refuse this man who had an atmosphere similar to Nigel’s.

“Then, behave yourself and keep watch well.”

Zeronin smiled brightly at Noah, then put his arm around Allen’s shoulders and left the warehouse. On the surface, the two seemed to get along well, but Allen was trembling inside while forcing a smile.

Creak, as the door closed quietly, an awkward atmosphere settled in the warehouse.

Nigel was sound asleep, Noah held Nigel’s hand as if it were a lifeline, and Rus looked at Noah with displeasure.

“…Big human, as I said before, it’s only for today. I’m allowing you to hold that hand only for today.”

“Rus, didn’t you just tell Allen that promises in words alone are lies?”

Panic flashed in Rus’s fierce eyes.

“Th-That’s only for you humans! The great dragon Rus doesn’t need such things!”

“Ah, I see. Then the great dragon Rus must know everything?”

“Of course!”

As Noah, who had only been eyeing Nigel intently, unexpectedly praised her, Rus flew excitedly around above Noah.

“Then… Rus must know the name of the man Nigel is looking for?”

“Uh…?”

This time, Rus was caught in the knight’s sharp trap. Flustered, Rus flapped her wings rapidly.

“Wh-What are you suddenly talking about? Rus knows nothing about that.”

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

The moment she met eyes that looked at her like prey caught in a trap with nowhere to escape, Rus’s skin crawled.

“R-Rather, eavesdrop on the rich human!”

“I was going to, but Sir Zeronin seems to have used a sound-blocking magic tool, as I can’t sense anything at all.”

…What a terrifying human. Acting gentle and kind in front of Nigel, but scheming like this behind her back!

Rus’s face paled in shock, but when her eyes met Noah’s, she quickly erased her emotions and feigned nonchalance.

“I-I think I have to go now because I have something to do.”

“So you’re going to leave me alone with Nigel?”

“No?”

Rus, who had been slowly flying towards the warehouse door, quickly turned back and returned to Nigel’s side.

In Noah’s eyes, which were full of pretense, there was a deeper greed for Nigel than the sea. Even Rus’s instinct to stay close and protect Nigel, her contractor, wasn’t as tenacious as this human’s.

Though he was hiding it now, Noah’s strong obsession would someday burst out and eventually break Nigel’s strong arms and legs, preventing her from flying freely.

Only Rus knew this fact, so only she could protect Nigel.

Moreover, Noah was a detestable human who had almost killed Nigel by feeding her Leparo, misunderstanding her magic addiction as magic deficiency.

Rus took a defensive posture as if protecting Nigel.

Just in case, she secretly set up ten layers of barriers on Nigel’s body that humans couldn’t notice.

“Hmm… Then can’t you give even a small hint about that man?”

“No! I made a promise with Nigel! I said I wouldn’t talk about it to you, big human! She said that’s necessary to fulfill the annoying fiancée’s duty!”

“Ah, is that so?”

Noah said, holding back laughter.

He had always thought he was the one hung up on the engagement, but it was an unexpectedly big harvest to learn that Nigel was mindful of a fiancée’s duty.

“Stop laughing annoyingly! As soon as Nigel wakes up, I’ll spill all your dark intentions.”

“Nigel already knows to some extent, so it’s fine.”

Rus’s body trembled with rising irritation at the calm response to her carefully chosen words.

“Ugh! Then you won’t know this! The male human Nigel is looking for seems to be her benefactor! She said she’ll definitely repay him when they meet. Once Nigel finds that human, she won’t care about you big human any more than an ant on the street!”

As he listened to Rus’s words that painfully dug deep into his heart, Noah slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

Thinking about it again, the time he had been apart from Nigel was too long.

During that long time, Noah had missed and pined for Nigel every single day without exception, to the point of pitifully being jealous of even women close to her, yet someone had penetrated that time gap and become her precious benefactor. Time felt so cruel.

If he had stayed by Nigel’s side all along, he would have become her best friend, benefactor, and lover all in one. Noah suppressed his boiling jealousy.

But that silence rather excited Rus’s emotions. As her words meant to provoke the other party continued to have no effect, Rus puffed up her body greatly and spoke with her face all scrunched up.

“S-Surely Nigel will like that benefactor more than you big human! She said he’s a precious childhood friend she met briefly in her hometown, so that human is a benefactor and friend to Rus too! When Rus meets that human, unlike you, I’ll treat him ve~ry! Very well!”

Noah, who had been listening to Rus’s words silently, opened his eyes wide.

‘No way.’

A friend she met briefly in her hometown.

An implausible hypothesis formed in his mind. Extreme excitement sent chills from his toes up to his fists, and at that moment, Noah clenched his fists tightly. Just like Nigel had done when she steeled her resolve after hesitating.

“…Could that friend’s name be Nix?”

“Yes, that’s right! That human’s name is Nix! Once she finds that human, you big human will be treated like cold soup… oh no…”

Rus’s movements slowed as she rattled on excitedly, belatedly realizing her mistake.

“Please don’t tell Nigel. …Please.”

Even Rus herself thought it was pathetic, but it was better to secretly lie with this human than to betray her contractor’s trust.

Realizing his hypothesis was correct from Rus’s desperate attitude, Noah burst out laughing for a moment. Startled, Rus unknowingly lowered herself to Noah’s knee level.

“Human…? Have you lost your mind? You can’t tell Nigel that I told you!”

After laughing for a while, Noah stopped and gently stroked Rus.

In an instant, the jealousy that had been piled up as high as the tower reaching the clouds in that old fairy tale melted away. He had secretly felt jealous of Yenika embracing Nigel and young Jack treating Nigel casually, but it was the first time he had been jealous of himself, and his young self at that.

It felt quite petty, like badmouthing oneself in the mirror, but it also felt pretty good.

“Of course. I’ll definitely keep the promise, Rus. Ah, should we write a contract?”

“N-No need! Just cross your fingers!”

Rus held out her small foot. Noah quickly hooked his hand on that foot and shook it up and down.

He was excited. To see how Rus would treat him knowing the truth, and how Nigel would react.

He hoped she would smile.

Unable to hide his overwhelmed feelings, Noah kissed Nigel’s forehead.

Despite Rus’s angry voice and the commotion of Zeronin and Allen who had just entered, Noah paid no heed and murmured a prayer.

Wake up soon, safely.