A Name and a Promise

Sian was at a loss, flustered. Theodore flinched and wiped his eyes with his hand.

He seemed more surprised by the water on his fingers.

“See? That human is crying because the burnt soup tasted bad.”

“What? Is that true?”

Sian was shocked by Carly’s words as she clicked her tongue from behind. It seemed okay when I tasted it.

But Sian knew that his sense of taste had changed slightly since becoming a dragon, so he couldn’t be sure.

“Are… Theodore, are you okay?”

“……”

“If it’s hard, you don’t have to eat it. I’ll give you something else.”

Sian reached out, embarrassed. It was to take the soup bowl that Theodore was holding.

However, Theodore shook his head and clutched the soup bowl tightly with both hands.

“No. I’ll just eat this.”

“What? But….”

“I didn’t cry because it tasted bad. Really.”

“……?”

Then why did he cry? Sian stared at Theodore with a bewildered look.

Theodore bowed his head and said, so that Sian couldn’t say anything more.

“I’ll eat well.”

“Oh, alright….”

In the end, Sian awkwardly withdrew his hand. And he watched Theodore eating the soup, feeling anxious.

“Hmph, you picked up a dying guy and even treated him, so why are you taking such good care of him?”

“I have to take care of him, of course.”

“……Aren’t you going to keep that human around?”

“Uh….”

Sian hesitated at Carly’s question and fell into thought.

The original novel starts properly after Theodore runs away from Drake.

The first part is about Theodore’s adventures and growth in Outchamber, unable to return to the empire, and the second part is about returning to Inchamber, becoming emperor, and then executing Drake.

Theodore is about 10 years old now, and he was about 15 years old when he ran away from Drake.

Originally, Theodore should be captured and abused by Drake for about five years.

Of course, Sian had no intention of abusing Theodore.

If he accumulated karma like Drake, the ending of the original would come.

So, he hadn’t even thought about ignoring Theodore in the first place.

But in the end, he couldn’t bear to leave the crying child and brought him here, so he had to start thinking about what to do next.

‘Raising him here… it won’t work, anyway.’

This place wasn’t called the Mountain of Death for nothing.

The black dragon’s magic was spread across the mountain, and ordinary plants and animals couldn’t grow and would often die quickly.

All that existed on this mountain were monsters and poisonous herbs.

Carly’s success in cultivating medicinal herbs by chance was close to a miracle.

That was because the medicinal herbs had components that could withstand the magic.

Carly was now trying to plant more plants on this mountain using those medicinal herbs. But that wasn’t an easy task either.

Even so, to send Theodore, who was still young, away right now…

Sending him back to Inchamber would mean death by his uncle, Kasar, and living in Outchamber wasn’t easy either.

‘Ah, right. The female lead!’

Sian thought of the female lead, who would be Theodore’s most reliable supporter and companion.

Yurina Dane. The only daughter of the Dane Merchant, and the female lead who would later marry Theodore and become the Empress of the Kailos Empire.

She was the first kind person Theodore met after he came down from the Mountain of Death.

If it was Yurina and her merchant group, they would take responsibility for and take care of young Theodore.

‘But… how do I find them?’

Sian was troubled again. In the original, Theodore met the Dane Merchant group five years from now, because he coincidentally met them as they passed by the foot of the mountain.

They would probably be somewhere else now. They wander around Outchamber doing merchant work.

It seemed that it would take quite some time to find out where the people of the Dane Merchant group were currently.

“I… I finished eating.”

“Huh? You finished already?”

“Yes.”

Theodore had cleaned the bowl and his plate. Sian confirmed that Theodore had finished eating and said.

“Okay. I’ll clear the dishes, so you rest a bit more.”

“Yes… but, you know.”

“Hmm?”

As Sian was about to take the dishes and plates, Theodore lay down on the bed again.

And he looked up at Sian with brighter eyes than before and asked.

“How do you know my name?”

“……What?”

Sian’s body stiffened at the child’s sharp question. Sian was familiar with Theodore’s name, of course, because he was a reader.

However, Theodore was a stranger from Sian’s point of view.

A complete stranger naturally calls him by name.

It was a situation where he had no words to say even if he was suspected of being a stalker.

“That’s… you said it last night.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I know you don’t remember, but you woke up briefly at night.”

“Ah… I see.”

It wasn’t a lie that Theodore had woken up briefly at night. Of course, he didn’t say his name at the time.

Still, the child seemed to believe those words. It was fortunate that the protagonist, who had a sharp sense, was still young.

“Um, but….”

“Again, again, what?”

Sian, who was about to go out holding the tray and the bowl, turned his head, startled.

Did I make another slip of the tongue besides the name? Sian hurriedly recalled his memory.

“I don’t know… your name, benefactor….”

“……!”

Theodore, stammering, said in a small voice. Sian felt like lightning struck his head at that sight.

‘What is this, this cute little thing?’

Theodore’s cheeks, speaking as he saw Sian’s reaction, were a soft pink like peach blossoms.

His shiny, golden eyes glanced shyly at Sian, and when they met, he pretended not to see and quickly turned his gaze away.

Sian couldn’t focus on the young Theodore, who was behaving like a small animal.

Of course, this child will grow up to be the terrifying male protagonist who might kill him…

‘But… he’s cute!’

Sian, who shouted inwardly, cleared his throat and opened his mouth again.

“My name is Sian.”

“Sian?”

“Yes.”

“Look at this… You dare to recklessly call Sir Sian’s name…!”

Sian elbowed Carly, who had burst out in anger. Theodore glanced at Carly and said again.

“Sir Sian.”

“Yes, call me as you like.”

“Yes….”

Sian nodded and went out of the room. Carly followed after him in a hurry and chattered.

“Sir Sian! Are you really thinking about keeping that strange human around?”

“What can I do? He doesn’t seem to have anywhere to go.”

“That guy’s energy is too ominous!”

“Hmm….”

Carly’s words had some merit. The Kailos Empire, where Theodore was born, believed in and followed the God of Light.

The hair color of the imperial family, who are born in the imperial family regardless of what bloodline they mixed with, is always gold because the God of Light blessed them.

The protagonist, Theodore, had a special blessing from the God of Light that was more special than other imperial families, so his hair, as well as his eyes, were gold.

The gold hair and golden eyes were proof that Theodore was receiving special love from God.

That’s why his uncle, Kasar, considered Theodore more of an eyesore.

“Indeed, it will be hard for that child to stay here.”

“I think we have different concerns, but I won’t say anything if you kick him out.”

“Hmm… But to kick him out right away is a bit… The human villages are also quite far from here.”

“What does that have to do with us?”

“Uhm.”

When they arrived in the kitchen, Carly snatched the tray and the bowl that Sian was holding.

Seeing Carly, who was constantly grumbling, Sian opened his mouth again.

“Carly, can you find out where the Dane Merchant group is now?”

“Yes? The merchant group?”

“Yes.”

“The human merchant group?”

“Yes.”

Carly doubted her ears. She looked at Sian in horror.

“Are you planning on getting involved with the humans again?”

“No. It’s for a different reason this time.”

“Sir Sian!”

“……”

Sian ignored Carly, who was about to have a seizure. Sian knew the reason why Carly was so averse.

It would be worrying to suddenly ask for the location of a human merchant group. Sian recalled the past, which was quite a while ago.

When he first transmigrated, Sian had to clean up the huge mess Drake had made. It was a war with the humans. Sian’s head throbbed just thinking about that time.

About 200 years ago, various races in Outchamber fought a war for hegemony over the continent. Surprisingly, the cause was Drake.

Drake lived up to his title of Evil Dragon, causing chaos here and there.

The human kingdom that he provoked because he didn’t like it was going to be the great empire that would later take the most land in Outchamber.

If it was the original Drake, he would have blown the human army away every time they fought without batting an eye, but unfortunately, Sian transmigrated right before that. Sian had to fight the human army that invaded the Mountain of Death as soon as he transmigrated.

Of course, even if it was the kingdom that would later become the great empire, it was impossible to occupy the Mountain of Death.

Even if Sian, who hadn’t properly adapted to the dragon’s body, was weak, the monsters that gathered on the mountain, attracted by magic, were enough to stop them.

The problem was when Sian, exhausted by the continuous battles, tried to communicate directly with the humans.

Sian was truly naive at the time.

He thought he could solve the problem through conversation with those who were desperate to kill him.

He didn’t even know how much the villain in the novel was hated by those around him.

“It’s okay. Nothing will happen.”

“Really? Can I trust you?”

“That’s right.”

Carly asked several times anxiously. Carly was much younger than now when she was fighting with the kingdom, which is now the great empire Orta, but because the Dark Elf village almost burned down in the war with humans, Carly distrusted and hated humans more than anyone else.

Even though it wasn’t something he did, Sian always felt sorry for the damage done to the Dark Elves who lived near the mountain. So he was especially soft on Carly.

“……Alright. I’ll try to find them.”

“Okay, please.”

Anyway, for now, he had to find the Dane Merchant group and entrust Theodore to them.

Then the story would progress a little earlier than the original… but there probably wouldn’t be any big problems.

Sian’s mind began to be at ease for the first time.