The Dragon and Her Heart
The last weekend before we left for the school trip.
I was packing my suitcase in high spirits, already daydreaming about the fun waiting for us the next day…
"Shouldn't you finish all your work before you leave, Master?"
"Tsk…"
Happy times were nowhere near me.
Even as I diligently worked through the documents Rhea had handed me, I wore a thoroughly dissatisfied expression and turned to her.
"Rhea. Didn't you clearly tell me a few days ago that there wouldn't be much work left? You do know it's Sunday evening right now, right? And you know I've been stuck at the company all Saturday and Sunday without going on a single date?"
"Do you truly believe I lack eyes and ears, Master? I have been assisting you with every single thing you have done all weekend long, have I not?"
"Well, yeah, but that's completely different from what you told me a few days ago! You said there wouldn't be much work for a while!!"
"How am I supposed to control the fact that a war broke out overseas and turned the global financial markets into a complete mess? Ah—then perhaps you could use magic right this moment to stabilize the financial markets? You could stop everything you are currently doing at once."
"You're needling me on purpose, aren't you? That time I botched magic and made a total mess of things—you're bringing that up to dig at me right now, aren't you??"
"Oh my. What right would I possibly have to needle you, Master? I am simply informing you of the facts as they stand."
"Seriously… I can't even argue with you."
Rhea had definitely told me.
Right before the school trip there wouldn't be any work, so I should just plan the next day properly with Ha-yan.
But where was I now?
Not at Ha-yan's house, not in my own room—I was in my office at the company, still grinding through company work late into the evening.
Honestly, if it were up to me I would have said to hell with the work, teleported straight to Ha-yan's house, and stared my fill at the face of the girl who had only just fallen asleep. But just as Rhea said, that damned war had suddenly dumped a mountain of work on me, and I had nowhere left to complain.
After barely finishing about seventy percent of it, I blankly stared at the remaining stacks of documents still sitting in the corner of the desk when a single thought floated up, and I muttered it under my breath.
"Maybe I should just wipe the Middle East off the map…"
"What a terrifying thing to say. Do you wish to see the school trip canceled?"
"Ugh. Seriously. What a life. Who would look at me like this and call me a dragon?"
"Well, I have never seen any dragon other than you, Master, so I have nothing to say on the matter."
To my drained complaint, Rhea simply collected the reviewed documents and answered bluntly.
"Yeah. Neither of us has ever met another dragon. I should just get back to work…"
Grumbling further wasn't going to make the pile any smaller, so I reached for the remaining documents again.
Silence settled once more.
Then—how much time had passed?
Knock knock.
A knock sounded from the door of my office right in front of me, and from behind that door appeared Ha-yan, who should absolutely have been at home.
She peeked in.
"S-Siu? Are you still working?"
"…Why are you coming out from there?"
Before I left for the company I had clearly confirmed that Ha-yan had fallen asleep on her bed and only then stepped out of the house.
I shoved the documents I had been reviewing aside and hurriedly stood up from my seat.
Ha-yan smiled awkwardly as she came inside, then stared straight at me as I approached her with hurried steps.
Looking closely… her outfit right now was completely pajamas. Had she come all the way from home to the company dressed only in that?
The moment she saw my frantic expression, Ha-yan realized exactly what I was thinking. She waved both hands at me urgently.
"I-I didn't take the bus or a taxi dressed like this, so calm down!!"
"Ah… r-right, of course. I was just worried."
"I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm not the type to hop in a taxi in my pajamas just because Siu isn't around!"
"You do remember your childhood, though?"
"Ugh. I-I do remember even kindergarten! I came by teleport!"
Ha-yan pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, closed the office door, and carefully stepped inside.
She wore black dolphin shorts that matched her black hair, and on top an oversized T-shirt that came down to her thighs. Over that she had put on a hoodie zip-up, clearly conscious of going outside.
Once inside the office, Ha-yan naturally slipped into slippers and came toward me.
I was still staring at the suddenly appeared Ha-yan with wide eyes, documents shoved to the side.
She dragged a chair over and plopped down next to me where I had been working, eyes sparkling as if sleep had completely fled, alternating looks between me and the still-large stacks of documents.
"You're working until this hour? Tomorrow's the school trip."
"That's what I'm saying. I'm dying here too. It's all because of that one Homunculus sitting right in front of you that I'm like this."
"Wha-wha-what? Are you dragging me into this now? I merely gave Master work that was 'fair and square' suitable for him."
"Fair and square, my ass. Tsk."
Even as I said it, I couldn't take my eyes off the documents.
At minimum I had to finish reviewing everything here if the company was going to run normally while I was away on the school trip.
"Wait a second, though. If something really urgent comes up, couldn't I just teleport from Jeju Island to the company for a bit? There's no need to process next week's work right now!"
As I looked through the papers and noticed some that didn't necessarily need handling immediately, the thought struck me and I asked Rhea.
To my protest she gave something close to a snort.
"If you would permit me to interrupt at any time with no warning whatsoever while you are enjoying a 'pleasant time' with Miss Ha-yan, then you may stop working this very moment."
"Ah…"
"That black bikini of Miss Ha-yan's, and the warm yet cool pool, the perfect service… would it be acceptable for you to enjoy those and then come straight to the company? Leaving the young lady there al.o.ne, that is?"
"…Tsk."
I had nothing left to say.
"H-how does Rhea know I wore a bikini?"
But Ha-yan seemed more shocked that her swimsuit had come out of Rhea's mouth at all. She immediately turned her eyes and began glaring at me slightly—yet on this point I had something solid to say.
"It wasn't me! I don't tell Rhea those kinds of detailed things! Anyway, I always have a few Homunculi follow us around under invisibility magic, so she must have found out from there!"
"That is reasonably accurate."
"Uuu… even Rhea knows everything. I'm so embarrassed I can't hold my head up anymore…"
Ha-yan couldn't meet Rhea's eyes and hung her head low again with a reddened face.
Rhea spoke as if it were nothing.
"Please do not worry. Thanks to that, I too was able to take in Miss Ha-yan's fantastic figure with my own two eyes. I absolutely did not leave behind a single photograph, so you need not concern yourself on that point."
"…Really?"
"Of course."
"Th-then that's a relief."
At the words that no photos had been left, Ha-yan relaxed again and snuggled even closer to my side. But was that statement truly the truth?
Even while the two of them conversed, I remained completely absorbed in reviewing documents.
For a while after that, Ha-yan sipped the warm tea Rhea had brought and quietly watched me work.
The time she had opened my office door and come in was around eleven o'clock.
And about an hour after that—
Nodding… nodding…
Ha-yan, covered in the blanket Rhea had brought her on the chair next to me, began nodding off.
She usually fell asleep before eleven, so of course she was sleepy.
The work was almost finished, but I still needed about thirty more minutes.
I briefly shifted my chair and gently stroked Ha-yan's head.
"If you're sleepy, go in and sleep. Or go upstairs and sleep. Why are you dozing off sitting like this so uncomfortably?"
"Mm? N-no… even the day before we go play you're working alone… I should at least be by your side… I'm your wife…"
"…Wife?"
"Mm… wife… your woman… my person… beloved husband…"
"…Whoa."
Incredible things were spilling from the mouth of Ha-yan, already drunk on sleep.
I quickly pulled a recorder from the drawer and switched it on.
"Good grief… what a lovesick fool…"
Seeing that, Rhea looked at me with thoroughly pitying eyes, but I already had eyes for nothing else.
I could have used voice-recording magic, but a recorder like this had better sound quality than magic. Science really was the best after all.
I carefully drew Ha-yan into my arms and asked her again.
Half asleep, half speaking, the moment she was in my embrace Ha-yan began nuzzling her face against me like a cat and whining.
I shoved the work and everything else aside, pulled her fully into my arms, and whispered to the girl who had not yet completely fallen under.
"My Ha-yan. Do you like me that much?"
If I had asked such a question normally, Ha-yan would have glared at me with a reddened face—or if she thought I was teasing too much, she would have checked the surroundings and launched flames. But with reason gone and only instinct remaining, Ha-yan answered my question with complete sincerity.
"Like you… hehe. I like you so much… I don't know what to do… mnya…"
"…Whew. That hits different."
Hearing her words, I too almost momentarily lost my mind.
I truly didn't understand how such a cute and lovable creature could exist among female humans.
"Tsk. Today's work is shot. I was going to finish a bit more and go."
Confirming that I could hear nothing but Ha-yan's voice, Rhea began organizing the document stacks on my desk.
I held Ha-yan tightly and kept throwing questions at her that I normally would never have dared—embarrassing ones.
"Do you love me?"
"…Mm. Of course…"
"How much?"
"Enough that if I didn't have to worry about other people's eyes, I'd always be holding you…"
"And?"
"I always like you… like you so much… hehe. I love youuu…. zzz…"
Leaving me with those final words of love, Ha-yan ultimately couldn't overcome sleep. She pushed her head further into my embrace and slipped into dreamland.
I carefully lifted her while wearing a thoroughly satisfied expression and pressed the stop button on the recorder.
Then I spoke to Rhea via mana voice.
Document work. That's enough, right? I'm heading in now too.
And without listening to whatever Rhea said next, I teleported back to my room.
Yeah.
That was one of the biggest mistakes I had made recently.