Puberty Blues and Looming Departures

Five years had already passed since Theodore came to the mountain.

Sian felt a new wave of emotions.

He often thought about when Theodore had first come to the mountain.

In the meantime, Theodore had grown up quickly.

So much so that Sian’s worries had been for nothing.

He didn’t know if Carli’s herbs had helped him, or if the ancient artifact was blocking the demonic energy.

In any case, Theodore was growing up well without being affected by the dense demonic energy inside the mountain.

As Sian had expected, the Orta Empire was also quiet.

He was prepared to argue that they had broken the agreement first if they tried to make trouble about the incident, but the imperial family took no action.

He thought they would at least send a messenger to ask what had happened.

As a result, adventurers no longer gathered.

At first, they seemed enthusiastic about defeating the evil dragon, but was dragon subjugation a child’s play?

It was something that was only possible if the country took the lead and fought against it, but since the Orta Empire was staying still, they soon lost interest.

The S-class adventurers also lost interest in the mountain because the empire didn’t promise them rewards.

Sian was satisfied with everything he had learned from the Dark Elves.

The original story had tried to inflict pain on Theodore and make him the villain no matter what, but it had all failed.

Above all, Sian was satisfied with that.

However, there was only one problem.

It was a serious problem that had been causing Sian a headache every day.

Sian sighed deeply again today.

“Haa…”

“Why are you sighing again?”

Carli, who was next to him, asked with a puzzled tone.

Sian hesitated for a moment before speaking to Carli.

“I think… Theodore is going through puberty.”

“…….”

Carli frowned as he watched Sian mutter as if the world had collapsed.

Then, he tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“That kid, you mean?”

“Yes… I’m sure it’s puberty.”

“Huh…”

Sian had been showing signs of depression for the past few days.

Carli, who was always by his side, had noticed it sooner than anyone else.

But he didn’t know the reason, and it turned out it was because of that arrogant human.

Feeling displeased, Carli frowned even more.

“Why is that a problem?”

“Why? He doesn’t even make eye contact with me anymore, you know?”

“Really?”

There was no way that crazy kid would do that.

Carli thought back to Theodore’s recent behavior.

That little boy who had been blindly devoted to Sian since he was a child was still the same now that he had grown up.

He only listened to Sian and followed him around.

No matter how much he nagged, it didn’t work.

In fact, he had become so strong that Carli couldn’t say anything anymore.

He was cold to him and others, but he was as sweet as candy to Sian.

What could have happened?

Feeling puzzled, Carli asked.

“Did something happen?”

“Well…”

Sian opened his mouth as if he had been waiting for it.

As a supreme dragon, he didn’t have many people around him to confide in.

So, when Carli showed interest, he immediately began to pour out his words.

The problem was a week ago.

As a dragon, Sian didn’t really need to sleep.

But he was too bored at night, and because of his habits from when he was human, Sian was sleeping with the children every night.

However, he couldn’t sleep that day and tossed and turned until he woke up early in the morning.

[Theo……?]

[……!]

But Sian wasn’t the only one who woke up early that day.

The dim light of dawn was illuminating the hallway, but Sian could clearly see Theodore.

He was very surprised, probably because he didn’t expect to run into Sian at this time.

[Can’t you sleep?]

[Ah, well…]

[……?]

Theodore was visibly flustered as Sian approached.

Sian felt a sense of unease and moved closer to Theodore.

Then, Theodore stepped back in horror.

[……!]

Sian was surprised to see Theodore avoiding him.

Even if he was embarrassed to run into him in the early morning, he was avoiding him and stepping back.

Sian stopped in his tracks, feeling a great shock.

[Theo……?]

[I’m s-sorry, Master.]

[…….]

Theodore also stopped and apologized to Sian.

However, he didn’t look Sian in the eye.

Theodore’s ears, which were turned to the side, were bright red.

Sian didn’t see that and was only hurt by the fact that Theodore was avoiding and turning away from him.

Even before that, Theodore didn’t hug him as readily as he used to, and he would avoid his touch when he tried to pat his head to praise him.

Theodore was no longer a child.

Sian was clearly aware of that.

He knew in his head that Theodore wasn’t avoiding him because he hated him, but he couldn’t help but feel sad.

Sian’s shoulders drooped.

[I’ll go back to my room now.]

[O-okay…….]

In the end, he couldn’t say anything and sent Theodore back.

After that, Sian couldn’t bear his depression.

Eventually, he confided in Carli after suffering alone.

“Hmm…”

Carli hummed and stroked his chin after hearing Sian’s words.

Then, he nodded and said.

“It certainly sounds like puberty. He’s at that age.”

“Right?”

Sian sighed at Carli’s calm words.

Children really grow up fast.

Theodore, who was 10 years old when he first met him, was already 15 years old.

He didn’t realize that five years would pass so quickly.

Sian, who was still unable to escape the shock of that morning, could only sigh.

Then, he opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“What if he doesn’t want to eat with me anymore?”

“Pardon?”

“Does Theodore find me disgusting?”

“…….”

Carli barely stopped himself from asking what kind of nonsense he was talking about.

He had to find out why Sian was having such strange thoughts in the first place.

Carli asked with a tired voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“But, it’s like, that’s how it is…”

Sian continued, almost crying.

He firmly believed that Theodore was avoiding him because of puberty.

That was half right and half wrong.

In any case, Sian had never thought of Theodore as just a disciple.

He had lived with him in the same house since he was a child and taught him everything.

It was like he had raised Theodore like a parent.

His memories of being human were a little hazy, but he had also gone through puberty.

He remembered fighting a lot with his parents during that turbulent time.

He used to hug and act cute with his parents without hesitation, but at some point, he became distant from them and spoke less.

It wasn’t that he suddenly hated them, but he just felt like it back then.

In particular, his father had a hard time when his younger sister was going through puberty.

He didn’t mind when he was being indifferent, but he was hurt when his daughter treated him as if he were disgusting.

Ironically, Sian felt like he could finally understand his father’s feelings.

“What should I do now? Huh? Carli…”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Don’t just stand there, help me!”

“Haa…”

Carli pressed his throbbing head with his hand.

What did he care if that nasty human was going through puberty or not?

Honestly, Carli didn’t want to get involved in Sian’s worries anymore.

And he didn’t really sympathize with him.

Dark Elves went through adolescence fairly quickly.

They maintained their childhood appearance and then suddenly grew all at once.

They had evolved that way because they had to grow up quickly in a harsh environment.

As a result, Carli didn’t really go through puberty.

Besides, the person he served was so clumsy that his way of thinking quickly changed to be more adult-like as he chased after him and took care of him.

Carli’s face was indifferent as he listened to Sian’s whining.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, yes. I’m listening.”

“What should I do…”

“…….”

He wanted to tell him to just kick him out, but he knew Sian would foam at the mouth if he did, so Carli just kept his mouth shut.

He didn’t know what was so good about that kid that Sian was so desperate.

“It’ll pass soon anyway, won’t it?”

“What?”

“I read in a book that human puberty passes in the blink of an eye from our perspective. So don’t worry too much.”

“Well, that’s true…”

Carli was right.

Five years had really passed quickly.

Sian felt that way even more because he had transmigrated and his sense of time had changed like a dragon’s.

If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to spend over 200 years after transmigrating with his sanity intact.

But that wasn’t the problem.
Sian would have thought like Carli if Theodore was going to become an adult here.
But Theodore had to leave the mountain soon.

“That… has there still been no contact from the Dane Merchant Guild?”

“No, but… why?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

According to the original story, the Dane Merchant Guild, where the female lead Yurina was, was supposed to be returning from the desert soon.

He didn’t expect that the Dane Merchant Guild, which had left for the desert, would have no news even after 5 years.

Still, they had to come back soon for the original story to begin.

The time for Theodore to leave the mountain was approaching.