Chapter 3 — Trust Me and Wait, Okay?
After parting ways with Iris, I headed straight home.
"I'm back, Mother."
"There you are, Leon."
"Welcome home. You're a bit late this time."
"The conversation ran a little long."
I gave my parents a few half-hearted answers and slipped into my room. Then I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling for a long while.
If I stay by Iris's side, I'll 'freeze to death'...
It still didn't feel real. No — I wanted it to be a lie. We'd been childhood friends for five years, and now, of all times, they wanted us to split apart?
"What a load of nonsense."
I reached my right hand up toward the ceiling.
"Huh? What's this?"
Looking closer, there was a mark etched onto the ring finger of my right hand.
"What is that? It wasn't there earlier today."
I leaned in and examined it carefully. It gave off a faint silver sheen — a rather intricate pattern, like the scales of a dragon.
"When did this even show up?"
Without thinking, I rubbed at the mark.
"Huh? It's gone."
Just like that, as if it had never existed, the mark vanished and nothing remained but plain white skin.
"Did I imagine it?"
Tilting my head, I inspected my ring finger over and over again.
"Leon! Dinner!"
"Coming, Mother!"
Even so, my mind stayed fixed on the mark as I left my room.
I'll just ask Iris about it when I see her tomorrow. She'll tell me.
I sat down at the table and ate the meat stew my mother had made.
"Leon, Rex called for you? What did he want?"
"He said he wanted to thank me."
I didn't mention the old man's request that I break things off with Iris.
"Really? That guy thanked you?"
"Is that so unusual?"
"You know he's a dragon, right? He's insanely strict about his pride. Even I had a hard time becoming friends with him — took forever."
"Come to think of it, how did you two meet in the first place?"
"Ah, that's a story. Listen up."
My father began to talk between spoonfuls of stew.
"I was twenty-one. That day I'd gone exploring in a snowy mountain range, but the blizzard got so bad I took shelter in a cave nearby. Only problem was — the place already had an owner."
"Don't tell me that owner was..."
"Yep. Rex himself. Except back then he was in his full dragon form, so you can imagine the fright. I still remember it like it was yesterday."
"And then? What happened?"
"I told him, 'I won't bother you — may I stay just until the storm passes?' And wouldn't you know it, he cleared out a space big enough for a human to lie down in."
"What about after that?"
"So I settled in there. But once I'd settled in, I was bored out of my mind. Figured I had plenty of time and nowhere to go anyway, so I thought I might as well strike up a conversation."
"What did you talk about?"
"This and that — nothing worth repeating. Wouldn't do you any good anyway."
Saying that, my father tore off a piece of meat with his teeth.
"So there we were, chatting away, when Rex suddenly asks me, 'Do you have a family?'"
"......"
"I answered that I had a pregnant wife waiting for me at home. And when he heard that, the man actually said, 'Once this snow stops, I'll fly you back.'"
"Wait — so you rode him home?"
"If I hadn't, your old dad would be buried under the snow right now. Either way, thanks to him I made it home in one piece."
"I see. So when did you meet after that?"
"I didn't."
"?"
I stared at my father, utterly bewildered.
"Well, 'didn't' isn't quite right — it's that I couldn't. I never saw him once after that day."
"What? That doesn't make sense. Weren't the two of you close all this time?"
"The next time I ran into Rex was four years after you were born. I'd stepped outside for a short walk when I spotted a place I'd never seen before. I headed over there, and there it was — a full-blown mansion. I got closer, the door swung open, and some man looks me dead in the eye and says, 'It's been a while, Bale.'"
"And that man was Rex."
"That's the one. Anyway, we got to talking at his mansion, and at some point he mentioned he had a daughter and showed her to me. And wouldn't you know it — she was exactly your age."
"Ah..."
"And that's how the two families ended up meeting like this."
After finishing the last of his stew, he turned to me.
"And that's the end of my story. What do you think?"
"I don't believe a single word of it."
"...Excuse me?"
"Honestly, I'm just amazed you of all people managed to befriend him."
"Hey now, I can make friends just fine, you know."
"Then name one friend of yours who isn't Rex."
"Uh... well... that is... you see..."
"*Sigh*. Mother, thank you for the meal."
I let out a deep breath, handed my empty bowl to my mother, and headed back to my room. Then I looked at my right hand again.
"Yep, it's gone. So I really did imagine it?"
I rubbed my ring finger again and again, until finally I decided to just go to sleep.
Starting tomorrow, Iris and I need to talk about our future.
But what Rex had said that morning still wouldn't leave my head.
There has to be a way. I'll find it, no matter what it takes — for my sake... and for my childhood friend's.
With that resolve, I pulled the blanket over myself and closed my eyes.
And someone was watching me as I did...
"Ahh... Leon."
It was Iris, clinging to the window of Leon's room, watching him as he slept.
"I'll work as hard as I have to, so that you can stay by my side. And when that day comes..."
With that, Iris licked a doll that looked just like Leon, gazed at him for a long moment, and then flew off toward the mansion.
The next morning, I stretched awake under the rays of the sun.
"Haaah... still tired. All that stuff yesterday kept me up."
I reached for the window frame beside my bed to open it.
"What the—? Why won't this open?"
No matter how many times I pushed it sideways, it simply wouldn't budge.
"Seriously, why won't it open?"
I leaned in close to get a better look.
"...What is this?"
There was frost on the window frame.
"It's not even winter — how is there frost on this?"
I left the window alone for now, got changed, and stepped out of my room. My parents were already seated at the table.
"Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?"
"Sleep well, Leon? Any good dreams?"
"Mother, I'm not a little kid anymore."
"In my eyes you're still my little baby."
"Moooom!"
"Heheh. Now sit down at the table. Your mother made something absolutely delicious for you."
"Really? What is it?"
Looking at her like this, I really can't argue that she still treats me like a kid.
"Tomato stew and garlic bread, that's what."
"Whoa, tomato stew!"
Tomato stew was my favorite food in the world.
"Nom nom!"
"Hey, slow down. Nobody's going to steal it from you."
"Look at him, shoveling it in the second his favorite shows up on the table."
My father let out a hearty laugh at the sight of me.
Just as I was working my way through my second bowl of tomato stew, a voice came from outside.
"Leon!"
"Hm? Who could that be at this hour?"
Mother rose from the table and opened the front door. I followed her outside.
"Iris?"
"Oh my, if it isn't Iris. What brings you by at this hour?"
There stood Iris, a smile on her face as she looked at me.
"Good morning, ma'am. I came to see Leon."
"To see me?"
"Yeah..."
The moment our eyes met, Iris squirmed a little as she spoke. Looking closely, her face had turned a shade pinker, too.
Watching her, my mother seemed to catch on to something.
"Oh, Iris, dear. Just wait a moment — Leon will be right out."
"Mother, I wasn't planning on going out right now—"
"Leon. Your childhood friend came all the way to our house first thing in the morning to see you, and you're going to turn her away?"
"Well..."
"You're actually debating this. Out you go, now."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Quit pushing."
Under my mother's hands, I reluctantly stepped outside.
"...Hey, Iris."
"Hey, Leon..."
We stood there in silence for a moment, then both spoke at once.
"Um..."
"So..."
"......"
"......"
Silence. Utter, crushing silence.
Deciding this couldn't go on, I broke the ice first.
"So... how long have you been standing out here?"
"Not that long."
"Right. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
"Yeah."
"...When exactly did you eat, that you're already done?"
"I always wake up an hour before you do."
"Ah, an hour earl—"
The words died in my throat. With a sound like rusty hinges, I turned to look at Iris's face.
"What... did you just say?"
She simply repeated it with a bright, guileless smile.
"I said I always wake up an hour before you do."
"......"
Cold sweat broke out down my back. I could feel my shirt sticking to my spine.
"How do you know when I wake up?"
"...Ah."
Her eyes went wide.
"N-no, wait — that's not what I meant..."
She fumbled for a long moment before finally opening her mouth.
"Forget what I just said."
"What?"
"Forget it."
Her voice was dead serious.
"How am I supposed to forget something you've already sa—"
"For. Get. It."
"...Yes, ma'am."
Under that oppressive voice, I had no choice but to consign it to oblivion.
"Anyway — what are we doing now?"
"I-I've been thinking more about that way of controlling the cold you told me about. And then it hit me — there was this old book I read once."
"An old book? What's that?"
"Just think of it as, well, a really old book. Anyway, I found my answer in it."
"You found an answer?"
"Mm-hm. According to that book, somewhere in these forests and plains there's a Hidden Labyrinth. And at the very end of it, there's a pendant that lets you control frost."
"A pendant? And there's a labyrinth somewhere around here?"
A labyrinth. In other words, a dungeon. They said that anyone who lost their way inside would wander it for eternity. I'd heard enough from my father to know exactly what that meant.
"Iris, you're saying the two of us are going there?"
"Nope. I'm going alone."
"What?"
"I'm going by myself. You're just an ordinary human — how am I supposed to bring you somewhere like that, not knowing what might happen to you?"
I stared at her, my soul leaving my body. She had a point — a labyrinth was no place for an ordinary person, let alone a kid who was barely ten years old.
"Iris, are you serious?"
"I'm completely serious."
"Are you kidding me? What if you go in there and can't come back out? Have you thought about your parents, waiting for you forever?"
"......"
"And what about me?"
"Huh?"
"You want me to sit here waiting for you for the rest of my life?!"
"Waiting... for me... forever..."
"Iris?"
"Hehehe..."
Is she... smiling?
A chill ran down my spine. The corners of her mouth were curling upward into a smile.
"Iris."
"Yeah? What?"
Her voice had climbed a notch higher.
"Are you... happy right now?"
She tilted her head at me.
"Why would you ask something so obvious?"
"Because we were having a serious conversation a second ago! Why are you smiling like that?"
"Leon."
Now her voice dropped a notch lower.
"You don't trust me?"
"Wha— where's this coming from..."
"Do you trust me, or don't you?"
"That's not what this is about—"
"Then I'll prove it."
"What?"
"I'll prove it. I'll conquer the labyrinth all by myself and bring back that pendant."
"Hey, I'm really not in the mood for jokes right now."
"A joke?"
She took a step toward me.
"You just called this a joke?"
"......"
Another step.
"Answer me."
"...I didn't mean it."
Another step. Each time she advanced, I backed away — until my spine bumped against a tree.
"Listen carefully, Leon. I don't do jokes. I only ever speak the truth. Always."
"What's gotten into you, Iris?"
"You don't believe what I say — how do you think that makes me feel? Good, or bad?"
"No, that's not what I—"
"Then what is it?!"
Cheep — cheep-cheep —
At her shout, the sparrows perched in the tree scattered into the sky.
"Let me ask you again, Leon. Do you trust me, or not?"
"......"
I said nothing.
So she drove her fist into the air beside me.
Crack — crunch.
A strange sound came from the tree, and I turned to look. Where Iris's fist had landed, the bark was sheathed in frost.
"I'll ask once more. This is your last chance. If you can't even answer this, I can't promise what I'll do after."
"......"
"Do you trust me, or not."
"...I trust you."
The moment the words left my mouth, she smiled as if none of it had ever happened. Then she caressed my cheeks with both hands — and suddenly yanked my face toward hers. Looking me dead in the eyes, she said:
"There. See how easy that was? Was that so hard?"
"I'm sorry..."
At my apology, she pulled my head toward her chest.
"Good. That's all I needed. All you have to do is give me the answers I want."
And then she whispered into my ear.
"You're mine, Leon. If it means making you mine, there's nothing I wouldn't do. So trust me — and wait for me, okay?"
With that, she unfurled her wings and flew away.
I knew, from that day on, I would never forget the words she whispered into my ear.