Eli's True Identity
Ever since the cabin had become their hideout, no gathering had ever filled the room with so many people — yet never once had it been this quiet.
Human, demon, dragon. A three-way standoff. And so they faced each other, not quite confronting but not quite yielding, for what felt like a long while.
Bayul and his friends had poured nearly all their energy into simply accepting reality. Death, the demon, leaned alone against the wall, watching the situation unfold with detached indifference. And among the dragon party(?), Rayegar kept shooting expectant glances at the others, as if demanding they hurry up and say something.
Professor Serarika still radiated open hostility toward Death, who didn't seem remotely bothered by it. Eli, perhaps out of guilt, hadn't been able to meet his friends' eyes for some time now.
"Hey, so, uh…… Rai."
Aidan spoke up just as Rayegar was on the verge of squirming from boredom.
"I just remembered something……"
"...What is it?"
"You're really not human like me…… You're a dragon?"
Yeah, that's right. When Eli nodded and confirmed it, Aidan's expression hardened.
"I read something about that in a book once."
"A book?"
"Dragons absolutely love shiny, expensive things, right? Gold, jewels, that sort of stuff. I heard they hoard it in piles big as mountains."
"That's usually true, yes……"
"And obviously you're part of that 'usually,' aren't you?"
Nod.
"The flashy red outfits you wore every single day, all those accessories dangling from you everywhere. Now I see there was a reason for all of it. Right?"
Aidan's eyes narrowed more and more as he stared at Eli.
"So why'd you do it?"
"Do what?"
"If you're a normal dragon who loves shiny, expensive things, you've got to be sitting on piles of priceless treasure. Why did you pretend to be a poor student?"
"Ah, that's……"
"When you found out I didn't tell you I was a noble, you threw a fit for days. But you went and pretended to be a penniless orphan? At least I just didn't mention it — I didn't lie like you did!"
"Aidan, I had no other choice. Revealing my real identity would have been absolutely out of the question."
It wasn't as though he could write 'dragon' in the status section of his application when enrolling at the Academy. He was sorry for the deception, but Eli had his own legitimate reasons.
"Fine, okay, let's say that part checks out! Still, you could've at least pretended to be some rich family's son. Am I right, guys?"
Aidan's hot temper seemed to be slowly climbing to a boil. The fact that Eli had hidden being a dragon apparently stung less than the fact that he'd posed as a poor student.
"It — it was a character setting!"
"What did you just say?"
"A poor soul who has to work weekend jobs just to feed himself, but with skill and looks that outshine everyone — the model student. That's the setting I wrote up when I enrolled at the Academy!"
"...Is he seriously talking about a character setting right now?"
"Yes, a setting! Sure, there were a few dangerous moments, but I've been nothing but faithful to the character I created!"
"Whoa, you're using that as an excuse NOW?"
No one had heard anything more absurd in recent memory. Aidan was so flabbergasted he couldn't even find words, and that was when Logan cut in.
"I have a question of my own."
"What question?"
"Aren't dragons born knowing how to use magic? You'd already be a brilliant mage — so why bother enrolling in the Magic Department at all?"
"Because I was curious about human magic."
Eli answered with the tone of someone who couldn't believe anyone would ask something so simple and obvious. Now that his friends seemed to be accepting what he was, his heart felt lighter — he no longer cowered or apologized. He was back to his natural, self-assured self.
"I've been doing my own research into what differences exist between dragon magic, which works through Dragon Words, and human magic, which requires spell circles to activate."
"Must be nice having nothing better to do with your time."
"Can't you tell from the fact that I'm top of the department? I study incredibly hard. I'm doing an excellent job keeping up my model student character!"
"So you think you've done well, is that it? You've spouted every lie imaginable and apparently don't feel a shred of guilt?"
"...It wasn't ALL a lie."
Under Aidan's frost-chilled voice, Eli's tail quietly retreated between his legs. It was a familiar scene — nearly identical to when Aidan had been revealed as the second son of Count Leonett.
Bayul suddenly remembered how Eli had once raged, utterly beside himself, at the young master of a wealthy house for squandering his hard-earned money.
Had the guy really earned every last coin himself to cover it all?
A strange, unnecessary question took root in his mind.
"So faithful to your 'setting.' If it wasn't all lies, what was real?"
"...That I've been alone since the day I was born. That I was desperately, terribly lonely. That part was true."
He had lied about his identity, but at least he'd never fabricated his past. These were the first friends he'd ever made while living as a human. To them, and them alone, he had wanted to tell the truth.
"Oh, wow, so being pitiful is all it takes? Did you think I'd just go 'there, there' and let it slide?"
After a beat of hesitation, Aidan lunged at Eli. Then, as if taking revenge, he hammered down on the guy's head and body with both palms.
"Gah, this is infuriating! I got played by a fake character!"
"Hey, hey, that hurts! Stop it!"
"Aidan, hold it in! You're going to hurt yourself!"
Logan hastily grabbed Aidan's arms while Bayul moved to block Eli.
"Ugh, that hot-headed lunatic completely ruined my look."
"What was that? You haven't had enough, have you? Huh?"
As Eli grumbled and tried to straighten his disheveled hair and clothes, Aidan kicked wildly at the air while Logan held him back.
"'Hard-earned money' this, 'worked for every coin' that — and it was all a lie? Do you know how sorry I felt for you, how grateful, all this time? You lying, con-artist dragon!"
"Aidan, isn't that going a bit far? Con artist? I just stuck to my setting, that's all!"
"Mention that damn setting one more time and I'll erase you from existence, I swear!"
"How exactly are you going to 'erase' me? You're a tiny little thing with nothing but a foul temper!"
"Rai!"
He had touched what must never be touched. The moment the words Aidan hated most came out of Eli's mouth, Bayul rushed to clamp a hand over his friend's lips.
"Aidan! Hold it in!"
Logan, bracing for Aidan to go berserk, tightened his grip on him as well.
"I'm — I'm sorry! I got a little carried away. I take back what I just said!"
It was only because Eli realized his mistake so quickly and apologized at once that Aidan's rampage(?) didn't drag on far longer than it had.
"What an amusing bunch you are."
Rayegar, who had been silently watching his son and his son's friends, suddenly burst out laughing. When the friends turned to look at him, he asked:
"Are none of you afraid?"
"Afraid? Of what?"
"Of us."
"...?"
"We've just revealed ourselves to be dragons, not human. Why does nobody look the least bit frightened?"
Aidan, who was busy shouting accusations at Eli, was one thing — but Bayul and Logan, who had mediated between them, were exactly as they'd been before learning the truth.
Perhaps less so than with demons, but dragons too had always been objects of terror to humankind. A scene like this fell so far outside Rayegar's expectations that it wasn't even close.
"Chairman, I think that's a strange question to ask. Is it just me?"
"No, I feel the same way."
For once, Aidan and Logan agreed.
"Rai is our friend. Chairman, does anyone find their friend frightening?"
"Well. I wouldn't know — I've never had any friends."
"Aren't dragons supposed to live forever? What have you been doing all those centuries without making a single friend? Sounds like you've wasted your life, sir."
"Aidan."
Bayul understood the guy's feelings, but there was no need to be quite so brazen. When Bayul shot him a look to cut it out, Aidan pouted his lips and jerked his head away.
"So the one over there is standing like that because he's not a friend, then."
Ian stood where Rayegar was pointing. A demon, and now a dragon. To be honest, he simply hadn't shown it outwardly — inside, his mind was a churning maelstrom of confusion.
Rayegar, whom he'd believed to be a high-ranking mage, was actually a dragon. How many chasers had they assigned to tail him over the years? It was, at last, perfectly clear why they'd been caught so hopelessly every single time.
"Now that you all know who we are, the only thing left is bringing Quinn back to life, no?"
"...!"
Death's words snapped Bayul wide awake. He'd blanked out for a moment. The reason they had all gathered here wasn't anything else — it was Quinn.
"That's right, Death. You said the Chairman glimpsed a future where Quinn is saved, didn't you? Can dragons really do something like that?"
"Bayul, I told you before, didn't I? Not even a dragon can raise the dead."
"But Death saw the future……"
"Are you seriously going to take a demon at his word? Demons are the least trustworthy creatures alive!"
"Hah, so Kilian does have a point now and then."
Professor Serarika smirked, arms crossed.
"Death……"
Bayul looked at Death as if to say, well? He had come all this way trusting only the man's word. As far as Bayul knew, Death was simply not the type to lie, ever.
"The little brat's right. However great a wellspring of magic dragons may be, they cannot bring back the dead. Truthfully, that kind of work is more our department anyway."
"There, see? He was just working you over on purpose……"
"But I clearly saw it. A future where the Chairman saves Quinn. Amon's foresight has never once been wrong."
Now it's your turn to speak.
Under Death's challenging gaze, Rayegar — silent until now — finally scratched his head and admitted it.
"I was holding my tongue because there's someone we're waiting for, but seeing as everyone's shooting their mouths off, I suppose I have no choice."
"...What? So that demon was telling the truth? You can really bring Quinn back?"
Eli stared at his adoptive father as if it were impossible. If Quinn could be saved, Eli would do anything. But no method existed — that much Eli knew better than anyone.
"To be precise, it isn't me."
"...?"
"This ring will save him."
Raising his hand, Rayegar waved it toward the friends. On his ring finger sat a ring of a familiar shape.
"Huh? That ring —!"
"Isn't that the Eye of the Ocean?"
"Chairman, how do you have Quinn's ring? Bayul, I thought that ring was with your father?"
Bayul had assumed the same thing until now. Why would his mother's keepsake be in the Chairman's possession?
"Judging by your shock, you all know exactly what this ring is."
"You didn't steal it from Quinn, did you?"
"So now you're calling my father a thief?"
It was asked half in jest — even Eli didn't really believe Rayegar would have done such a thing.
"But why are you wearing the same ring as Quinn? If it's not Quinn's, did you take it from Bayul's father or something?"
"Duke Randert is on his way here as we speak."
Rayegar toyed with the ring, turning it with his fingers.
"Pray that he brings the ring that matches this one. Only the Eye of the Ocean can save Quinn."
"...You can save Quinn with the Eye of the Ocean?"
"Is that true? Really, truly — that ring can save him?"
"Then save him right now! You said Quinn has one of those rings too!"
"One alone isn't enough."
"We know that. Quinn told us before — two of the rings have to come together to unleash their real power."
"No. Not two — three. The Eye of the Ocean was always a set of three."