Chapter 334
Chapter 334
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 334
Chapter Title: Chapter 8-1. The Land of Dragonkin, Reillysa.
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Seeing her shoulders slump, Judah wondered for a brief moment if this was really something to be down about.
But no matter how he thought about it... why watch someone use the bathroom?
Judah grabbed Selion's hand, which was fidgeting on the table.
She widened her eyes in surprise and looked up at him.
"Ah."
"I'm grateful that you rely on me, but there will be times when I need to rely on you. So let's try putting a little distance between us, bit by bit, for when that happens."
"Are you abandoning me?"
"Abandoning? You sure know how to make this queen sound misunderstood."
Selion bowed her head sheepishly.
Judah didn't let go of her hand.
Just feeling the warmth of her hand seemed to lift her mood—her lips curved up even as her head stayed down.
He let out a small chuckle at the sight and continued.
"I'm not abandoning you. And I don't dislike it. I told you, right? There will be times when I need to rely on you. For example, say I get kidnapped by someone. What would you do?"
"Well, obviously..."
She would chase down the kidnapper, tear them limb from limb, and make them die in agony.
A flash of murderous intent flickered in Selion's eyes.
Judah squeezed her hand firmly.
"Obviously, you'd come to rescue me. But think about it. Like you said earlier, if you can't see me, you get anxious and scared. I'd be waiting for you to come save me, but if you're frozen in place, overcome by fear and anxiety... how do you think I'd feel?"
"...Disappointed."
"Right. If you overcame it in that moment and came to save me, it'd be a perfect happy ending. But reality doesn't always match our thoughts, does it? Honestly, I was surprised earlier. I never imagined someone who recognizes their own mental issues would admit it to others."
"......"
"Unfortunately, I'm incompetent..., so I can't cure it for you. Time and your own efforts will have to resolve it. All I can do is stay by your side until you overcome it. That's why we need to start getting used to a little distance, step by step."
"Ah..., but..."
"Of course, it would be too harsh to do it all at once. We'll take it slow. Things like washing up or using the bathroom... or sleeping. You do those alone. We'll get accustomed little by little."
Selion furrowed her brow.
Could she do it? That thought came first.
Just imagining being apart from Judah, even for a moment, sent tentacles of anxiety crawling up her legs from her toes.
"Change how you think about it. Even if you can't see me, I'm in the same place as you, the same space. Wouldn't that make it a little easier? I can hear you if you call out, come running if you shout... We can see each other if you open a door. We're in the same building, right?"
"...Yes."
"If being with me brings you comfort and stability, I can help with that. But Esther Selion, you were once a queen of the past, and now that you're back in Reillysa, there may come times when you need to meet privately with other dragonkin and talk."
"I can just refuse."
There's no need to meet them.
Meeting those who remember her would surely be joyful.
But she didn't want to be away from Judah's side, even for a moment.
She remembered ruling over countless dragonkin and other races, leading them, bravely driving off enemies, and wisely governing.
She remembered well that she was their queen.
When she met those who remembered her, they said she had changed.
They remembered her as a dignified queen standing tall alone, earning the respect of all.
But she didn't care if she had changed.
As long as she could stay by Judah's side, it was fine to seem this helpless.
Judah realized conversation wouldn't work like this.
After a brief silence to gather his thoughts, he continued.
"Alright, then think of it this way. I've sent you on an errand."
"Alone?"
"Yeah. Say I'm injured... no, too tired, so I asked you to go somewhere in my place. Could you do it then?"
"...No."
"Then how would I think of you? Let's think about it that way. I don't hate it when someone relies on me. But I really dislike it when they can't even do what they're capable of and just shove it off lazily. I like Selion, I really do. So I don't want a situation where I start to dislike you."
"I understand what you're trying to say."
She nodded, still slumped over.
"Little by little. If that's too harsh for you..., alright. Every time you endure it well, I'll give you a reward."
"A reward...?"
"Well, like holding your hand like this, or petting your head... If you want something material, I'll get it for you if I can. Of course, it'll be proportional to the difficulty. I can't buy you something expensive just for going to the bathroom alone."
When he was a kid, the dentist was terrifying.
Sitting in the waiting room, reading comics prepared for children, he had to feel that fear.
Yes, just like Selion now.
Staring at the treatment room was scary, and he envied the kids who came out crying. At least they were done.
Then, entering the room and sitting in the chair as it reclined back filled him with dread.
When the whining, roaring drill entered his mouth and pressed against his teeth, he burst into tears for reasons he couldn't even explain.
Yet he couldn't bite down, because the dentist warned it could hurt, so he instinctively kept his mouth open and endured.
Every visit ended in tears, so his mom promised a gift if he didn't cry and endured well next time.
For that gift, he didn't cry on the next visit.
And after that, he never feared the dentist again.
Wouldn't Selion endure for rewards, just like he did? She'd get used to it little by little.
"Let's start with something light. Go into your room alone, wash up, then come back for a light rest. How's that?"
"Mm, alright."
Selion nodded.
Judah released her hand and stroked her head.
He couldn't ruffle it much because of her two horns, but he could pet it gently.
She beamed happily.
"Go on."
Judah stood and escorted her to the door.
He waved as she entered the bathroom.
Once the bathroom door closed, he left the door open and returned to the room.
"You're still here?"
As he spoke, he activated .
A blue dot was right beside him.
While talking to Selion, he'd sensed a faint presence and checked , finding Iris hiding in the room.
Looking toward her direction, the furniture's shadow stretched long, and a black silhouette rose from it.
Iris appeared: long black hair, obsidian-black eyes, a beautiful face.
She extended her legs gracefully and walked over, writing in her notepad.
-You're handling her skillfully. She was a queen... of an entire nation, an empire even.
"Strangely, she acts like a child around me."
Judah shrugged.
He didn't think he was handling it well. Selion just listened well.
Judah sat back at the table.
He'd planned to wash up right away, but with a guest, he should ask what she wanted.
Iris slipped into the shadows with a swish of fabric, then emerged from the opposite chair—the one Selion had sat in—and sat down.
Judah picked up the glass he'd set down earlier and looked at her.
He drained it and sipped the drops left at the bottom before speaking.
"Don't you wash up, Iris? I'm about to. You didn't come to wash together, I hope."
-Treat me the same as that queen? Please don't.
Judah gave a wry smile at her furrowed brow.
But soon, she smiled like an older woman, wrote in her notepad, and showed it with a seductive gaze.
-But if you want, I could wash with you. Of course, if you give me that fruit wine again.
"No thanks. I need to save the fruit wine. But since you liked it, let's share some next time something good happens."
-Looking forward to it.
"So, why'd you come into the room?"
-Nothing much. I saw you two come in together and got curious what was happening.
Iris wrote more and showed it.
-Now I'll go wash up. See you later.
She smiled brightly and vanished from sight—back to her room, presumably.
Judah glanced at the active ; the blue dot had moved from the room to hers.
She usually walked fine, so it was odd seeing her use her ability.
Judah undressed to wash up himself.
Opening the closed door in the spacious room revealed a large bathroom attached.
It felt like a hotel.
The bathroom was excessively large and luxurious.
Judah turned the faucet on the tub.
Hot water gushed from four large holes in the tub.
Steam rose as it filled quickly.
Judah hung his clothes on one side, opened the wall cabinet.
It was stocked with towels and various washing tools.
This world really had everything except the impossible.
No computers or smartphones, but settling here permanently didn't seem so bad.
He missed his family, but he'd grown somewhat accustomed.
'I'm collecting fragments one by one, thinking I'll see the end if I keep at it...'
Lost in such thoughts, Judah eyed the half-full tub and stripped.
He tossed his clothes near the door, grabbed shampoo and body wash from the cabinet, set them by the tub, and stepped in.