Having observed his feigned expressions for several days, I had naturally come to understand them better.

“Huh?”

The corner of his mouth lifted, but his eyes were slightly trembling.

He was flustered, he was definitely flustered.

“What are you going to do if you keep losing things at 11?”

I shook my head disapprovingly.

“It’s terribly careless.”

How could he, older than me at 4, lose things more easily?

Sure, I’m a bit different than the average 4yearold, but still. Clearly, he was still very young.

“Don’t forget next time.”
Sitting on the floor, I dusted off my bottom and stood up. In fact, I already knew where the lost brooch he spoke of was.

I had picked it up last night when I briefly left the room and saw it lying in the hallway.

“Is this it?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Clemens took it with a nervous expression.

“How did you have this?”

“Picked it up yesterday.”

“Ah, I see. Thanks, in return…”

I saw Clemens fumbling something out of his pocket.

I shook my head to refuse.

“No, I won’t take it anymore.”

At my words, even the forced expression on Clemens’s face disappeared.

I was confused by his suddenly stiffened appearance as if he had heard a bolt from the blue.

‘Why is he like this?’

In fact, the things he gave were all very expensive.

That’s why I felt it was better not to accept any more.

Although Clemens’s surprised face was a bit awkward.

‘Anything excessive is worse than none at all.’

I knew too well that being greedy would not yield any benefits.

Even with what I had already received, my living expenses for several months would be more than sufficient.

‘If I leave now, I could probably live for two years while eating cookies.’

With a sense of satisfaction, I moved with light steps.

Completely unaware of the misfortune I would soon face in my room.

When I returned, there was no one in the room.

So perhaps that’s why the silver snake, which usually hid under the bed or in the blankets, was unusually in the middle of the room, revealing itself.

“Silver snake, what are you doing alone?”

I was in a buoyant mood as I had been counting how much emergency money I had.

So, for once, I spoke kindly to the silver snake, my biggest recent worry.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

When I followed the gaze of the silver snake to the open book, I couldn’t help but stiffen.

What the silver snake was looking at was the second volume of the book ‘About Dragons in Legends.’ The largest sentence caught my eye.

’10 Ways to Seal a Divine Beast.’

To pique the reader’s interest, that part was written in bold letters.

‘Why is that there?’

I had hidden it well inside my bag.

I had put it in a different pocket inside my bag, a space that the silver snake didn’t enter.

Flustered, I looked at the silver snake who narrowed its eyes.

[Isn’t this the book you were looking for last time?]

“Uh, uh? Did, did I?”

[Don’t play dumb! I pulled it out of the bag myself; it’s the book you took from the library that day!]

The silver snake hissed threateningly.

Fearing it might bite my hand any moment, I wondered whether the divine snake had poisonous fangs.

‘Do divine beasts have poisonous fangs?’

Carefully gauging the silver snake’s mood, I nudged the book away with my foot.

“Seems I took it by mistake.”

[…….]

“Ah, or maybe Delma made the mistake……”

[…….]

“I’ll have to tell Delma to put it back later!”

So flustered, I didn’t even know what I was muttering. The silver snake didn’t say anything.

It just stared at me intently.

‘If you’re going to keep staring, give me a clue!’

If it argued, I’d have something to counter with.

‘I keep annoying someone who said they won’t contract, so that’s it.’

When my thoughts reached there, I realized I didn’t need to be so downtrodden.

“So, who keeps forcing the issue? I’ve told you clearly, I won’t make a contract with you. Look for another contractor,”

As I lifted my head, my eyes met those of the silver snake. Upon seeing the silver snake, I couldn’t continue my words.

[Bad, you’re so bad….]

Tears started to form in the eyes of the silver snake that was opening and closing its mouth.

At that sight, I found myself at a loss for words.
[Still, still asking me to form a pact with you… I’ve always asked that… Wretched…]

The silver snake lowered its head. Glistening droplets of water fell, drip by drip.

“Are you crying?”

I found myself asking aloud. Just then, the silver snake lunged at me with an incredible speed.

[You wicked creature!]

‘Ah, it must be spraying water!’

Startled, I covered my head with both hands. But I felt no pain. Soon after, I heard the silver snake’s voice from the open window.

[How could you do this to me!]

In an instant, the silver snake had climbed to the windowsill and hurled its body outside. Startled, I rushed toward the window.

“Silver snake!”

But all I saw was a vast garden and servants wandering aimlessly in it. Nowhere was the silver snake to be found.