Rescues, Regrets, and Reassurances

What was that sound?

Sian frowned as he looked in the direction of the sound.

Even though a dragon’s eyes had the appearance of a human’s, their eyesight was far superior.

“That’s…”

Someone was struggling in the water not far away.

Judging by the direction, it was the place where Theodore had just changed the waterway.

Perhaps the water level on the other side had risen because the waterway had been suddenly changed with the spirit.

Sian was about to run to the person who had fallen into the water.

“I’ll go, Master.”

“Uh…”

However, Theodore, who had finished speaking before Sian could even answer, turned around.

Then, he flew towards the person who had fallen into the water while riding on Endairon.

Sian blankly stared at Theodore, who was quickly moving away.

Theodore, who had flown away without giving him a chance to say anything, was skillfully rescuing the person who had fallen into the water.

Sian belatedly followed him.

“Theo…!”

“Master…”

“……!”

In front of Theodore was someone lying completely soaked in water.

Looking closely, it was a small girl.

Perhaps her age was similar to Theodore’s.

He didn’t know why a young girl was alone in a place like this, when it was quite far from the village.

“Uh…”

Now what should he do.

Theodore had taken the girl out of the water, but the unconscious girl was lying still without moving.

She had probably gone into shock after falling into the water and had lost consciousness after drinking a lot of water at once.

Using healing magic would be useless in this case.

Did he have to do CPR to get the water out?

He hadn’t even done it once when he was human.

Could he do it well…?

It was when Sian was having such thoughts in a short amount of time.

“Ugh…!”

“……?”

The girl, who had been still, suddenly spat out water.

Sian, who hadn’t done anything in particular, was startled by the sudden event and stepped back in surprise.

Then, something popped out of the girl’s mouth as she started coughing.

“Undine…?”

[……!]

Undine, with a triumphant expression, puffed out her chest as if saying, “I did a good job, right?”

Sian looked back at Theodore, who was next to him.

“Did you do it?”

“Yes, I used Undine to get the water out.”

“Okay, good job.”

“…….”

Theodore gave an embarrassed expression at Sian’s praise.

But Theodore had really done a great job this time.

Even Sian had been momentarily flustered and didn’t know what to do, but he had calmly thought of using spirits to get the water out.

Sian felt proud as he looked at Theodore, who had grown up properly.

“Cough, cough…”

“Are you, okay…”

“Are you alright?”

The girl, who had been spitting out water and coughing violently, finally regained consciousness and raised her head.

Sian was about to approach the girl first, but Theodore stepped forward as if blocking him and asked.

Sian widened his eyes at Theodore’s proactive behavior.

As expected of the protagonist.

He couldn’t just pass by someone in trouble.

Sian thought of Theodore’s actions that way and nodded to himself.

“Ah, um…”

“……?”

“Th, thank you for saving me…”

The girl, who had looked at Theodore, bowed her head shyly.

The girl’s reddened face was clearly visible to Sian, who was standing behind her.

Although his hair color had become dull because he had dyed it again, Theodore’s appearance hadn’t faded at all.

Perhaps it was because his looks were so outstanding, but he had the feeling of a nobleman even with ordinary brown hair.

Sian, who felt a sense of pride for no reason, smiled to himself.

“Can you stand up?”

“Ah, well…”

The girl was embarrassed at Theodore’s question.

She seemed to be exhausted because she had been swept away by the suddenly fierce waterway.

It would probably be difficult for her to go to the village alone.

“Take my hand and get up.”

“Th, thank you…”

Although his tone was blunt, Theodore’s actions were quite kind.

The girl, whose face was completely red, took Theodore’s outstretched hand and barely stood up.

Seeing them like this, Theodore and the girl looked quite good together.

They seemed to be about the same age, and the girl also had a cute face, so they looked like they were drawn in a picture when they stood side by side.

Besides, this was like a fateful encounter that would appear in a novel.

‘Well, Theodore is at an age where he’s interested in the opposite s*x…’

Sian was constantly glancing at Theodore’s back with such thoughts.

Although he still looked like a boy, Theodore, who was in his growing period, would soon grow up even more.

Of course, he was already impressive compared to his age.

It was because Sian had put his heart and soul into feeding and training him well.

Theodore must want to look cool in front of a girl because he’s at that age.

Sian was pleased with Theodore’s actions, which he interpreted as helping the girl by stepping in front of him and thought to himself.

‘Ah, but there’s definitely a female lead…’

Sian recalled the existence of the female lead, which he had forgotten.

Originally, the first time Theodore had any interest in the opposite s*x was Yurina, the female lead.

She was the first kind person Theodore had met as a boy and was an attractive woman.

Although she was somewhat prickly, Theodore couldn’t help but feel fond of Yurina, who treated him well.

Besides, Yurina had been prickly at the beginning because she felt attracted to Theodore and was embarrassed.

After learning that Theodore, who had only been abused by Drake in the mountains, knew nothing like a fool, she used that as an excuse to tease him more mischievously.

Of course, that was also one of Yurina’s expressions of affection.

In any case, with such a destined partner alive and well, was it okay to just watch this scene?

Sian seriously wondered.

“Marie! Marie, where are you!”

“Mother…!”

“Marie…!”

At that moment, a middle-aged woman who had popped out of the bushes saw the girl and widened her eyes.

The girl also saw the woman and shouted at her.

Soon, the two hugged each other tightly.

“Are you okay? Huh? Are you really okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay…”

“Ah, really… if even you were hurt, I…”

The middle-aged woman, who seemed to be Marie’s mother, hugged the girl named Marie and burst into tears.

Sian was somewhat familiar with her appearance.

It was only natural.

These were residents of Ador Village.

He was familiar with the woman he had encountered while coming and going to the village, but he seemed to not have seen the girl often because she didn’t come to work very often.

Most of the immigrants in Ador Village were the elderly, women, and young children.

They had brought back some soldiers who had been conscripted, but the number of young men was woefully insufficient.

The children who had been as young as Theodore back then seemed to have grown as much as the girl over time.

“Thank you so much… Dragon-nim…”

The woman belatedly discovered Sian and bowed.

Sian shook his head at the woman who was mistaken and said.

“I didn’t save the child. My disciple, Theodore, did.”

“Yes…?”

The woman, who blinked in confusion, turned her head.

Then, she seemed to recognize Theodore and widened her eyes.

“Ah, this person is…”

“You’ve seen him in the village a few times, right? It seems that the child was swept away because he changed the waterway for the valley that the village chief asked for this time.”

“I-is that so.”

“Didn’t you hear from the village chief? He should have told you not to approach the valley today as much as possible.”

“I was too busy with work to hear it well, I’m sorry…”

“Hmm, it’s okay. Be careful next time.”

“Yes, Dragon-nim.”

The woman, who was bowing repeatedly as if she was feeling grateful, took care of the girl and returned to the village.

However, the girl, who couldn’t let go of her attachment, kept glancing back.

Although Theodore didn’t even look at her with a sullen face, her gaze was quite ardent.

It seemed that the girl had fallen in love with Theodore because of this incident.

Well, as soon as she regained consciousness, she saw a beautiful boy who made her eyes sparkle, and that boy even saved her.

How could she not fall in love?

The problem was Theodore.

Theodore was now at an age where he was interested in the opposite s*x, so it couldn’t be helped if he was drawn to that cute girl.

Rather, Sian wanted Theodore to have various experiences.

However, he was concerned about the female lead.

As a guardian, should he approve of this meeting, or should he oppose it?

His ego as a reader kept clashing within him, and Sian felt distressed.

It was when Sian was groaning with such a great worry.

“Master… I’m sorry…”

“Huh?”

“…….”

Sian was surprised by Theodore’s words as he suddenly drooped his shoulders.

Theodore, who had become inexplicably dejected, was suddenly apologizing to Sian.

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“I… almost hurt someone because I was unskilled.”

“What?”

“Were you… disappointed in me?”

“……!”

He never thought Theodore would think like this.

Sian, who had only admired his ability to respond, was taken aback by the unexpected words.

Sian urgently reached out his hand and said.

“That’s not true, Theo. It’s not your fault.”

“But…”

“You saved a person, didn’t you? Master is proud of you.”

“……!”

Theodore widened his eyes at the words that were said while gently stroking his hair.

His eyes were filled with Sian, who was smiling kindly.

“Is that… really?”

“Of course.”

Sian nodded repeatedly and stroked Theodore’s hair even more gently.

Theodore’s face flushed at the touch.