The Newcomer
The days of living at the highest point in the world had already stretched into a full month.
At first, every time I opened my eyes in the morning, it still felt unreal.
The cave ceiling, hardened like black glass.
The sea of clouds drifting slowly past the entrance.
The fine snow dust that had blown in overnight on the wind.
And right in the middle of the cave, curled up like a mountain and fast asleep—Alduin.
Whenever I saw that sight, the same thought always crossed my mind.
Ah.
I really am raising a dragon.
And not just any dragon, but right at the summit of the Cradle of the World.
But humans are creatures that adapt.
Romance lasts about three days.
Beautiful scenery doesn’t fill your stomach.
It doesn’t slow down how fast the food sack empties, either.
“……”
I squatted in front of the sack of dried meat and kept my mouth shut for a long time.
It had gone down.
It had definitely gone down.
It had decreased yesterday too, but today it was even less.
Inside the sack, only a thin layer of dried meat scraps remained scattered across the bottom.
When I first brought it from the cabin, it had been so heavy I made Alduin carry it.
Now it was so light it would crumple in one hand.
Being light was not a good thing.
At the peak of the Cradle of the World, a lighter food sack meant my own life had grown lighter too.
I slowly turned my head.
In the center of the cave.
A colossal black-scaled dragon.
The moment Alduin sensed my gaze, he lifted his head.
His golden eyes blinked.
“Grr?”
He was pretending to be innocent.
That was my judgment.
“It really wasn’t you?”
“Grrrrraaak!”
Alduin immediately protested.
The cry that burst from his throat echoed deeply off the cave walls.
I stood up, still holding the sack of dried meat.
“What kind of attitude is that? You pig-dragon!”
“Krrrk?!”
Alduin’s face froze solid.
His golden eyes widened in disbelief, his neck jerked back, and the scale-frills that looked like ears flattened slightly.
The tip of his tail twitched against the floor, unable to contain its sense of injustice.
Thud.
The cave floor gave a small rumble.
I immediately raised a finger.
“Tail.”
Alduin stopped his tail.
“And stop pretending to be wronged.”
“Grrrr……”
“Volume down.”
“Urr……”
Alduin let out a tiny whimper with the most pitiful face imaginable.
It would have been better if he’d cried like that from the start; the way he only became careful after getting scolded strangely scratched at my nerves.
I shook the sack of dried meat.
Rattle.
The few remaining pieces inside clacked weakly against each other.
“Look.”
Alduin looked at the sack.
“It’s less than yesterday, right?”
“Grr……”
“Less than the day before, too.”
“Grr.”
“I definitely counted it last night after dinner and it wasn’t this bad.”
Alduin looked at me.
Then at the sack.
Then back at me.
And very slowly, very carefully, he shook his head.
This time he was clearly trying not to shake his whole body.
The effects of training were showing.
It was so admirable that my heart almost softened for a second, but I felt the sack’s lightness again and quickly pulled myself together.
This was an investigation.
I couldn’t let emotion sway me.
Especially not when the suspect was cute, huge, and exceptionally good at making an aggrieved face.
“Alduin.”
“Grr……”
“Tell the truth.”
“Grr.”
“Did you go near the food pile last night?”
Alduin shook his head immediately.
“The night before?”
He shook his head again.
“Yesterday during the day?”
Alduin paused.
It was only for a split second.
Shorter than the time it took to blink, but I didn’t miss that tiny hesitation.
“You did, huh.”
“Grr!”
“You went over there.”
“Grrrr!”
“Why did you go?”
Alduin rolled his eyes.
Those huge golden pupils swept across the food pile, my face, the cave entrance, and back to the food pile.
Suspicious.
Extremely suspicious.
“Why are you looking at the entrance?”
“Grr.”
“Who were you about to blame just now?”
Alduin’s ear-frills twitched.
“Were you going to blame Transparency?”
Alduin’s eyes widened.
That reaction looked wronged too.
But the more wronged it looked, the more suspicious it became.
Transparency.
It wasn’t an official name.
It was just a temporary name I’d given a month ago after seeing footprints that kept appearing near the cave.
The prints in the snow were much smaller than Alduin’s, but still far from small.
Roughly the size of an elephant.
Steel-colored scales.
A strange dragon that left almost no scent, was rarely seen, and only occasionally produced a scraping sound of scales brushing together along with those huge footprints pressed into the snow.
By Alduin’s standards it looked small, but by normal human standards, Transparency was already a house-sized problem.
I looked down at the thin scratch left beside the food pile.
Several thread-thin lines remained on the floor that had hardened like black glass.
The trace of something sharp brushing past.
It wasn’t Alduin’s claw.
If Alduin had scratched it, it wouldn’t have ended with thin lines.
The floor would have split, stone chips would have flown, and I would never have been able to use that spot as a kitchen again.
But these were delicate.
Precise, sharp, like the mark left by the very tip of a blade passing lightly over the surface.
I touched the scratch with my fingertip.
My nail caught on it.
“……This.”
I lifted my head.
“Transparency’s claw?”
Alduin nodded immediately.
This time he nodded so fast it created a gust of wind.
“Slowly.”
“Grr.”
“Did you already know about this?”
Alduin hesitated a little.
Then nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Alduin stared at me blankly.
I fell silent for a moment.
“Ah.”
He can’t talk.
“Sorry about that.”
Alduin’s golden eyes seemed strangely moist.
There probably weren’t actual tears, but at least that was how it looked to my conscience.
I cleared my throat.
“Still, nothing’s confirmed yet.”
“Grr?!”
“We don’t have enough evidence.”
Wrongedness flooded Alduin’s face again.
“Investigations are supposed to be cold and logical.”
“Grrrr……”
“Besides, you have a criminal record.”
Alduin’s pupils trembled.
I folded my fingers one by one.
“First. The incident where you burned the whole plate of dried meat.”
“Grr……”
“Second. The incident where you said you hated bread but ate it all after I soaked it in water.”
“Grr……”
“Third. The incident where you open your mouth every time I eat something.”
Alduin clamped his jaws shut.
“Fourth. The incident where I told you to catch just one and you brought back a mountain-sized deer.”
“Grr!”
“That wasn’t a deer.”
“Grrrr!”
“Just because it has horns doesn’t mean it’s a deer.”
Alduin looked down at the floor.
He really looked both wronged and a little sulky.
I let out a sigh.
“Fine.”
I rearranged the sacks in front of the food pile.
“Then let’s confirm it properly.”
“Grr?”
“A trap.”
Alduin’s eyes sparkled instantly.
“No, not a fire-breathing trap.”
The sparkle dimmed.
This time I spoke while looking at the empty space near the cave entrance.
Just in case it was listening.
Silence.
Only the sound of the wind.
I placed the dried-meat sack in the middle, put the grain sack and smoked meat on either side, tied the mouth of each sack tightly, and wound a single strand of my silver hair around the knot.
My silver hair stood out even against the black cave floor.
I’d always thought my unnecessarily eye-catching body was a nuisance, but it came in handy here.
I drew a small line with charcoal near the knot.
If it was touched, the line would smudge or break.
Then I sprinkled a thin layer of flour across the floor.
It was a shame.
I could have made some tasteless bread with that flour.
But to catch the culprit, a sacrifice was necessary.
With the noble heart of someone protecting their food supply, I scattered the precious, tear-worthy flour across the black floor.
Alduin watched the scene from the side, barely daring to breathe.
“Breathe.”
Alduin breathed very carefully.
Whoosh.
The flour trembled slightly.
“No, gently!”
Alduin stopped breathing at once.
“You really look like you enjoy tampering with evidence.”
“Grr……”
“Don’t cry. Not that you were going to.”
I pointed at the area where I’d sprinkled the flour.
“If you step here, it’ll leave footprints.”
“Grr.”
“If it’s your feet, you’ll be caught immediately.”
Alduin looked down at his front paw.
No explanation was needed.
If Alduin stepped on it, it wouldn’t be a trap—it would be a crime-scene collapse.
“If it’s Transparency, it should leave elephant-sized dragon footprints.”
Alduin’s eyes sparkled again.
“I still don’t know for sure.”
“Grr……”
“Don’t look happy.”
I placed a separate piece of dried meat on a flat rock a little distance from the food pile.
It was a slightly larger piece than what I’d been leaving outside for Transparency.
Because the creature was bigger than I’d thought.
Something elephant-sized wouldn’t get full from one piece of dried meat.
But while I was a generous homeowner even in the middle of a food shortage, I wasn’t an idiot who would open the entire pantry.
“This is the bait.”
“Grr?”
“A thief always goes for the easy target first.”
Alduin stared at the dried meat with piercing eyes.
I narrowed my own.
“Don’t you eat it.”
Alduin jerked his head up.
“That expression won’t work.”
“Grr……”
“You go over there.”
I sent Alduin deeper into the cave.
“Farther.”
“Grr?”
“If you stay here, no one will come.”
Alduin looked at the cave entrance.
At the food pile.
At me.
He looked worried.
“It’s fine.”
“Grr……”
“If it’s not fine, I’ll call you.”
“Grr.”
“And no breath attacks until I call you.”
The faint red glow that had begun rising inside Alduin’s throat disappeared.
“Even if I scream, listen to me first.”
Alduin let out a low, dissatisfied rumble.
Grrrr.
“Volume down.”
“Kurr.”
“Good.”
Alduin reluctantly retreated deeper into the cave.
He lowered his massive body into the darkness inside.
Only his golden eyes remained visible.
Those eyes kept darting back and forth between the food pile and me.
I deliberately sat somewhere away from the food pile.
I poured water into the pot and added a few dried herb leaves.
As if nothing was happening.
As if I were simply preparing breakfast.
In truth, my ears were entirely focused on the food pile.
The cave was quiet.
Outside the entrance, the wind scraped across the snowfield.
Hoooooo.
Inside the cave, Alduin’s low breathing echoed.
Huuu.
Huuu.
I pretended to stir the pot with the spoon.
Clink.
Clink.
And then.
Scrape.
My hand stopped.
It was a very small sound.
Not the wind.
Not snow.
Not a rolling stone.
It sounded like metal pieces brushing against each other.
I only moved my eyes to look at the food pile.
Nothing was there.
The dried meat on the rock was untouched.
The flour looked undisturbed.
I stirred the pot again.
Clink.
Scrape.
This time it was a little closer.
In the darkness deeper inside the cave, Alduin’s golden eyes narrowed.
I raised my hand slightly to stop him.
Wait.
Alduin didn’t move.
He really was admirable.
So much so that I felt sorry for calling him a pig-dragon earlier.
I slowly let out a breath.
The dried meat on the rock moved.
Just a little.
It wasn’t pushed.
It was being pulled.
Toward empty air.
I gripped the spoon tightly.
The dried meat moved again.
Swoosh.
Then stopped.
As if someone were testing my reaction.
I didn’t turn around immediately.
“You can take it.”
My voice was quiet.
It echoed softly inside the cave.
“That’s bait, after all.”
The dried meat stopped.
Inside the cave, Alduin’s eyes widened.
He probably looked like someone hearing the word “bait” for the first time.
Sorry.
If I told you, it wouldn’t be a trap anymore.
“Instead.”
I slowly turned my head.
“Don’t touch the sacks.”
In front of the food pile where nothing should be.
A piece of dried meat floated lightly in the air.
More precisely, it looked like it was held in an invisible mouth.
The moment I saw it, I was certain.
“Got you.”
Shhh.
The air shimmered.
A small sound came from where nothing had been.
The sound of scales interlocking and flipping.
Sunlight slanted in from the cave entrance and brushed across that spot.
For a single instant.
Steel-colored light flashed.
A slender, agile silhouette that was by no means small.
Body the size of an elephant.
Folded wings.
A long, outstretched tail.
Claws as thin and sharp as blades.
And layer upon layer of steel-colored scales.
All those scales flipped at once, losing their color.
Light flowed through the body as if passing through it, and the steel-colored outline vanished back into the air.
Only the dried meat remained.
No—the dried meat soon disappeared too.
Into empty air.
I slowly stood up.
“It was you.”
Silence.
“Transparency.”
At that name, a single footprint appeared on the flour.
Thump.
It wasn’t small.
A footprint much larger than a human head.
It carried the weight of an elephant’s tread, yet its shape was unmistakably that of a dragon.
Four long claws stretching forward.
A round, pressed sole.
A thin line dragged behind by the tail.
It was true that it was much smaller than Alduin, but by ordinary creature standards it was a sufficiently huge and dangerous mark.
I stared at the footprint in the flour and pressed my lips together.
Then I slowly turned my head.
Alduin was looking at me.
His golden eyes were very quiet.
Not anger.
Not triumph.
Just.
Wrongedness.
So wronged that he didn’t even feel like protesting anymore.
I avoided his gaze.
“……”
Alduin let out a low cry.
“Grr……”
Ah.
This hurts.
I immediately raised my hand.
“Sorry.”
Alduin’s ear-frills twitched.
“I’m really sorry.”
Alduin kept staring at me.
“I’m sorry for calling you a pig-dragon too.”
From somewhere in the transparent air came a very small sound.
Scrape.
It sounded like someone holding back laughter.
I immediately glared toward the food pile.
“Did you just laugh?”
No answer.
“Because of you, he got unfairly called a pig-dragon.”
Another footprint appeared in the flour.
Thump.
I couldn’t tell if it was an answer, an apology, or preparation to run.
I put my hands on my hips.
“You touched the sacks.”
Silence.
“The dried meat.”
Silence.
“The smoked meat.”
Silence.
“Even the bread.”
Silence.
I narrowed my eyes.
“……You really ate the bread too?”
My special, rock-destroying bread from last time…
The footprint in the flour took a tiny step backward.
Thump.
“Even though it tastes bad?”
Another step back.
Thump.
I pressed my forehead.
“Well, if you’re hungry, I guess you can eat it.”
Alduin let out a low growl from deeper in the cave.
“Grrrr……”
There was anger mixed into that rumble.
Anger directed at the transparent being.
Not because it had stolen his food, but because it had made me suspect him.
A thin red light began to rise inside Alduin’s throat.
I turned around immediately.
“Don’t breathe fire.”
Alduin stopped.
“I mean it.”
“Grrrr……”
“I know. I know you’re wronged.”
I walked over to Alduin.
His huge face lowered gently.
Those eyes were still sulking.
I reached out and stroked the bridge of his nose.
It was hot and hard.
“I’m sorry.”
“Grr……”
“I wrongly suspected you.”
Alduin half-closed his eyes.
He wasn’t completely mollified.
Of course not.
I had called him a pig-dragon just moments ago.
I stroked the bridge of his nose a few more times.
“You didn’t steal anything.”
Alduin’s eyes opened a little more.
“You were really wronged.”
Grr.
A very small rumble came out.
“Yes. You were wronged.”
Grr.
“The bad one is that guy over there.”
I only turned my head to look at the food pile.
“Thief dragon.”
The footprints in the flour stopped.
Transparency was still there.
It hadn’t run away.
That was strange.
Normally it would have disappeared right away, but even after eating one piece of dried meat it remained in place.
Or maybe it couldn’t move because of Alduin’s breath threat.
Or maybe it was watching me get angry.
I slowly took my hand off Alduin and walked toward the food pile.
Alduin immediately tried to follow.
“Wait.”
Alduin stopped.
“If you come, you’ll destroy all the flour.”
Alduin looked down at his own feet and stopped.
I crouched in front of the flour.
The huge footprints were clear.
The weight an elephant-sized creature would leave.
Yet they were a dragon’s claw marks.
Not a small monster, but a transparent large predator.
I realized it again.
Because it was next to Alduin, I had thought of Transparency as small.
This one was plenty terrifying on its own.
An invisible, elephant-sized dragon had been coming right up to the food pile, using blade-like claws and teeth to tear open sacks and steal food.
When I thought about it, a chill ran down my spine.
“Hey.”
Silence.
“Were you hungry?”
No answer.
“If you were hungry, you should have said something.”
After I spoke, I closed my mouth.
It can’t talk.
Why are all these dragons like this?
I sighed.
“Fine. Even if you can’t speak, you can still signal, right?”
The footprint in the flour moved very slightly.
Thump.
“You’ve been around here for a month.”
Thump.
“Have you been stealing our food from the beginning?”
Silence.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Answer with footprints.”
The silence continued.
Then one footprint was placed very carefully.
Thump.
“So you did.”
I pressed my forehead.
Alduin growled lowly behind me.
“Grrrr……”
“Alduin, hold it in.”
“Grr……”
“Good boy.”
Transparency didn’t move on the flour.
I looked at the tooth marks left on the rock.
They were incredibly sharp.
The place where the dried meat had been torn wasn’t messy—it was cut cleanly.
The teeth had gone in like a blade.
There were also faint scratches near the mouth of the sack.
It had probably used its claws or scales to tamper with the knot.
This guy hadn’t simply stolen food.
It had approached silently, touched the knot, opened the sack, and taken the food out.
And in the process it had left almost no scent.
That was why, no matter how wronged Alduin felt, there had been no way to prove it.
I glared at the empty air where Transparency was hiding.
“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you.”
No answer.
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
The footprint retreated just a little.
“When you steal cleverly, it makes it even more infuriating.”
Scrape.
The sound of scales.
It seemed Transparency had flinched a little.
I placed a new piece of dried meat on the rock.
This time it wasn’t bait.
“It’s okay to eat.”
I felt Alduin’s eyes widen behind me.
I quickly added.
“It’s not okay to eat secretly.”
Alduin’s presence calmed down a bit.
I tapped the rock a little distance from the food pile with my finger.
“If you want to eat, only what I put here.”
Silence.
“Don’t touch the sacks.”
Silence.
“Don’t make Alduin feel wronged.”
This time a small footprint appeared in the flour.
Thump.
I took it as an answer.
“And that’s it for today.”
The air where Transparency was grew quiet.
The piece of dried meat stayed where it was.
It still hadn’t taken it.
I didn’t step any closer.
I didn’t reach out to grab it.
I didn’t tell it to show itself.
I simply stood there.
“If you don’t want to be seen, you don’t have to show yourself.”
Scrape.
The scales brushed together very softly.
“But don’t steal.”
Silence.
“If you secretly eat again next time, I’ll really scold you then.”
Alduin let out a low cry behind me.
“Grr.”
Transparency didn’t answer.
Instead, one large footprint remained in the flour.
Thump.
And the piece of dried meat began to move slowly.
This time not toward the food sacks, but only on the rock I had pointed to.
An invisible mouth carefully picked it up, then very slowly retreated.
Shhh.
Steel-colored scales flashed for a moment in the sunlight.
The faint outline of an elephant-sized dragon appeared.
A long neck.
Folded wings.
Claws sharp as blades.
A slender tail.
And then the body disappeared back into the air.
I swallowed as I watched the sight.
“……So you’re a dragon too.”
There was no answer.
Inside the cave, only the sound of wind and Alduin’s low breathing remained.
On the flour were large dragon footprints, and on the rock only the empty spot where the dried meat had been.
Alduin was still staring at the place where Transparency had been.
I stood between them and retied the sack of dried meat.
The culprit had been caught.
Alduin had truly been wronged.
And Transparency was not yet family.
It was simply.
The first invisible guest that had been lingering around our house all this time.
“Alduin.”
“Grr?”
“I’ll apologize to you properly later.”
“Grr……”
“Double the head pats.”
Alduin’s eyes softened a little.
Grr.
“But for now, let’s count the food again.”
Alduin’s eyes went dead again.
From somewhere in the air, a very small scraping sound was heard.
I immediately turned my head.
“Did you just laugh?”
Silence.
“No snacks for you.”
A footprint hurriedly appeared in the flour.
Thump.
I looked at that footprint and sighed.
I really shouldn’t keep bringing in anything that looks cute…
It seems like the me of the future is going to end up commanding something like a dragon army.