The park at night, filled with the sounds of insects.

Dietrich sat on the bench illuminated only by the moonlight and muttered softly.

“…Lady Vivian.”

Vivian looked at him with worried eyes as he called her name plaintively.

‘Is there a problem?’

He had been silent the whole time, and now he was carefully addressing her in a way that was clearly different from usual, making Vivian feel uneasy for no reason.

Come to think of it, Dietrich had recently gone through many things, just like her.

Issues related to his parents, fighting demons while putting his life on the line, etc.

These were things he had hardly experienced until he met her, but recently they had all come at once.

‘Even if Dietrich doesn’t usually show it, he must have been troubled.’

Just when it seemed like the situation had finally settled down a bit, they had to prepare for another fight with demons, so it was natural to feel complicated.

‘Honestly, I’m also under a lot of pressure and worry.’

Vivian was actually scared to go to the Dragon Realm. It was because of the flow of time that was too different to handle.

‘No matter how quickly I return, the human world will have changed a lot in the meantime.’

Since the flow of time is different, what seems like a brief moment for me could be several months here.

During that long time, it worried her immensely not knowing what would happen here.

Also, she was afraid that those she cherished most would change into forms she couldn’t recognize.

‘But the scariest thing is… that someone might die without me even knowing.’

Although she didn’t show it outwardly, Vivian’s mind was actually filled with these thoughts.

‘Isn’t Dietrich the same as me?’

Seeing his serious expression, it seemed he was harboring similar concerns as her, even if he didn’t say it.

‘Dietrich has fought while risking his life every time. He might be even more deeply worried than me.’

Knowing that a dark future of demonic invasion lay ahead, it was obvious he agonized each time he took the lead in fighting.

He probably had no one to confide in either.

His relationship with Ruby was clearly good, but Dietrich wasn’t the type to reveal his inner thoughts to his younger sister in the first place.

Vivian examined Dietrich’s expression once again.

That hesitating look, as if he had something to say. She was certain.

He was clearly deliberating whether to bring up the story of his dark inner thoughts or not.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll speak first. Then Dietrich will open up too.’

“Actually…”

“What I want to say is…”

Their voices overlapped at the same time.

Vivian pointed at him in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You go first.”

“No, you talk first.”

Vivian hesitated for a moment, then began to candidly share her feelings of anxiety and worry.

For her, it was an action to create an atmosphere where Dietrich could talk comfortably.

However, this actually had the opposite effect.

As Dietrich quietly listened to her story, he suddenly realized how selfish his thoughts had been.

Vivian was suffering so much under the pressure of having to save humanity, yet he was agonizing over wanting to express his affection.

‘I must be crazy.’

He must have been possessed by something. He was pathetic for trying to pull off such an inconsiderate act.

Dietrich kept his mouth tightly shut and continued to listen to her story.

“Phew, I feel better after talking. Dietrich, don’t you have similar concerns?”

She lit up her eyes and waited for him to answer.

At that, Dietrich gave a faint smile.

It wasn’t that he had no worries like Vivian at all. But that was something he could sufficiently handle on his own.

All he wanted to convey to her was solely his affection, but today was not the right time.

‘I don’t want to burden her any further.’

When Dietrich didn’t give a proper answer, Vivian urged him.

“Now’s your chance! I’ll listen to anything!”

“It’s okay, Lady Vivian. I don’t have any worries.”

At his gentle refusal, she pouted slightly and asked again.

“Then what were you originally going to say?”

“…I forgot.”

“Eh? Don’t tell me you’re already getting amnesia at that age?”

At the absurd question, Dietrich involuntarily let out a small laugh. Even in this situation, Vivian was the same as always.

“No, it’s not that… Well, yeah. I’ll tell you when you come back, after you return safely.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That line sounds like a supporting character who dies in the next scene, you know?”

“Well, that doesn’t make sense, does it? Someone like me isn’t even the main character, let alone a supporting role. There’s no way that could happen.”

Dietrich deliberately cracked an exaggerated joke and laughed out loud.

With his forcibly contrived laughter, he hid his emotions. He forcibly swallowed this feeling he wanted to convey.

‘It’s not the right time yet. Let’s wait a little longer. It won’t be too late then.’

However, in the distant future, he would come to regret his current choice.

Because this moment was his last chance to convey his feelings.

As the sun rose, it was already dawn.

“Vivian, are you ready?”

I shook my head at Melphis’ question.

“Just a moment! I haven’t properly said goodbye to Ren.”

I hurriedly approached Ren and tapped his back.

“I’ll be back! Don’t get hurt and take care while I’m gone.”

“Lady Vivian…”

There were dark clouds on Ren’s face. He still seemed anxious about sending me off alone.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll go and come back safely.”

Seeing him nod his head with difficulty made my heart ache for no reason.

“What if you miss me so much that you die while I’m gone for a long time, Ren? Won’t you die from longing for me?”

I intentionally cracked a joke to try to lighten the gloomy mood. But an unexpected reaction came back from Ren.

He stared straight at me and answered firmly.

“You’re right, I might die from missing you, Lady Vivian. I might wither away from worrying about your well-being every single day.”

“…”

“But I’ll wait here believing that you’ll be fine. Because this is your choice, Lady Vivian.”

Finally, a smile spread across his face that had been only dark. Thanks to that, I could relax a little now.

At that moment, Melphis approached from behind.

“Still saying your farewells?”

“Sorry, did you wait long? I’m done now! Let’s go!”

I followed Melphis closely and glanced back slightly.

Then I silently bid farewell to Ren one last time with the shape of my mouth.

‘I’ll be back!’

Ren waved his hand in response.

Soon, Melphis suddenly held out his hand to me who was only looking back.

“Take my hand.”

“Okay.”

The moment I took his hand, the scenery in front of me was turned upside down.

“…Where are we?”

Fresh air filled my lungs. I sniffed and asked, liking the smell of the refreshing wind.

“We’re in a nearby mountain where there are few people. To open the gate to the Dragon Realm, I need to change my appearance.”

“Can’t a dragon just open the gate normally?”

“No, that’s only possible in our original form.”

Does that mean he’s going to turn into a dragon right here? I turned to look at him as I was taking in the view of the mountain.

When I stared at him with eyes full of curiosity, he let out a chuckle.

“Are you curious about my true appearance? As I thought, even if you don’t show it, you have quite a bit of interest in me, Vivian. I’m a little touched.”

“No, I was just amazed because you said you’re going to transform into a dragon…”

However, Melphis was already rejoicing without even listening to my words.

‘Yeah… Think and interpret as you like.’

He’s not sincere with me anyway. It’s just that his innate nature is frivolous, that’s all.

Melphis looked around here and there and found an empty space.

“Are you going to transform now?”

I was still waiting for his appearance to change, but he covered his cheeks as if embarrassed.

“Receiving such intense interest from Vivian. Ah, I want to savor this moment.”

I still couldn’t quite believe that Melphis, who spouts nonsense every time he opens his mouth, is a noble dragon. Well, it will be revealed whether it’s true or not now.

Melphis smiled confidently. And at that very moment, his body began to grow larger and larger.

Scales mixed with purple and blue colors sprouted all over his body, and the shape of his body changed.

Watching that process, I gaped my mouth wide open.

My impression after seeing his appearance completely transformed into a dragon was this:

‘I shouldn’t mess with Melphis from now on!’

Some might say it’s a ludicrous impression, but anyone who has faced a real dragon would surely have the same thought as me.

His enormous size was comparable to that of a hill.

If Melphis just huffed and puffed, I would probably fly around like dust in the air.

‘He’s so huge, and he can even freely control all the magic in the world.’

I newly thought it was fortunate that the beings targeting the human world were demons, not dragons.

There may be ways to kill demons, but if dragons made up their minds, it seemed they could annihilate humanity with ease.

“Vivian, how is it? Is it similar to what you imagined?”

Melphis’ head, larger than my body, approached me.

I firmly fixed my feet to the ground, fearing I might be blown away by the wind pressure.

“It’s far more magnificent than I imagined!”

“No, who on earth uses the expression ‘magnificent’ for a living being?”

Although Melphis looked dumbfounded, his expression revealed that he was secretly satisfied.

“Anyway, climb up on my back. We need to depart now.”

“Should I take off my shoes before climbing up?”

Even though it was covered with rough scales, I asked in all seriousness because it felt wrong to step on someone’s body with shoes on, but Melphis burst into laughter again.

“Kuk kuk. No, it’s okay. Keep your shoes on so you don’t hurt your feet. And I’ll just lift you up.”

I felt a sensation as if something was enveloping my body.

Before I knew it, I was sitting on Melphis’ back.

“Then I’ll open the gate now.”

Melphis slashed through the air with his claws raised.

Then, as space tore apart, a black crack formed between them.

“Hold your breath for a moment.”

I closed my mouth tightly, and he pushed his body through the crack in space.

And so, my journey with him began.