The North Wind and the Sun
The spirit, with food dangled right before its eyes, shuffled hesitantly toward the bars. 'M-milk... just one sip...' The moment of near-drooling over the pure, creamy liquid passed quickly. The spirit suddenly jolted, shaking its head violently. '...No, no! I am a great dragon! I cannot simply bow down to a mere human like this...!'
Yes! If it threatened him in the name of a great dragon, wouldn't this human be terrified and offer up the food? 'Y-yeah. If I threaten him, he might just give it to me!' The spirit cleared its throat, puffed out its chest, and put on a show of bravado.
"H-how dare you lock up a great dragon! Do you think you'll get away with this, human!" The spirit shouted, tapping the bars with its short front paws. "M-my kin will come looking for me soon! When they do, you'll all be drowned in a sea of water!!"
H-how’s that... scary, right? You want to offer me the milk now, don't you? The spirit peeked through one eye, gauging the human's reaction. But the human didn't even change his expression. Instead, he curled his lips into a smirk and crossed his legs with effortless grace.
"...Very well."
'...Huh?'
The human leaned deep into his chair, resting his chin on his hand. "Let’s hear it, then."
Slide. The human picked up the carton of milk and, right in front of the spirit, popped the lid open. Glug. A rich, sweet aroma instantly wafted into the cage. 'M-milk smell...!' *Gulp.* The sound of the spirit swallowing its saliva echoed loudly in the cell.
"Those great kin of yours. Just how many are there? And when, or where, are they coming from?" The human slowly brought the opened milk to his own lips and added in a low voice, "There’s no rush, so take your time and tell me."
'H-how many...?!' The spirit’s round eyes darted frantically. 'W-what do I do! The truth is, there were never any kin to begin with! I just lived alone in a cave!'
"T-that is...! W-well, you see... I... from the southern sea... n-no, from the eastern lake...!" The spirit’s eyes rolled wildly as it struggled to concoct a lie. *Drip.* Before it even realized it, a trail of saliva flowed from the tip of its short snout. 'T-tasty... no, I have to stay focused...!'
Kailan looked down at the spirit in the cage. It was trembling, yet its pupils were darting everywhere as it scrambled to weave a lie. 'You have to know who you're threatening.' It seemed this creature’s reflex was to threaten anyone the moment it saw food.
Kailan casually adjusted his legs and opened his mouth. "It’s no use hiding it. I knew what you were from the start, which is why I caught you."
Indeed. Kailan had suspected the creature's true nature from the beginning.
"I... I am a great dragon..."
The identity of the self-proclaimed "Great Water Dragon" that appeared at the hot spring. It was simply a spirit of the hot springs. In the original story, Eleanor and Kailan would accidentally dig up the hot spring and enjoy a moment of rest. Of course, they hadn't launched a massive business like this; it was just a passing event.
Eleanor would eventually form a contract with the hot spring spirit. At first, it was just a mascot that loved to eat, but as it consistently absorbed the magic of the spring water and occasionally snacked on rare magic stones, it grew in power. By the end, it boasted a presence that rivaled a true water dragon and secured a significant place for itself.
'It wasn't this stubborn in the original.' It was completely different from when it first revealed itself to Eleanor in the novel. Whether human or spirit, a small turning point could change one's life. Regardless, he had to fix that arrogant attitude first. Only then could he put it to work.
"I-I am truly a great dragon!" The spirit shrieked, as if aggrieved. Kailan stood up without hesitation.
"Eek...!" The spirit flinched, hunching its shoulders. Kailan turned his back on it.
"...?" The spirit stared blankly at the retreating back. Just then, a servant followed behind him, carrying a basket of food.
"Aah...!" The spirit’s pupils shook violently.
"I can't give delicious milk to a liar. You can just starve until your kin come to save you."
"N-no...!" *Click. Slam.* Kailan left the prison coldly without even looking back.
"Aah...! W-wait a minute...!" The hot spring spirit was left all alone. Soon, there was no sound at all.
Half a day passed. *Click.* The tightly shut door of the underground prison opened once more.
"..." Kailan sat on the chair with an indifferent expression. He pulled a banana milk from his pocket and swished it around for the spirit to see. "Are you ready to tell the truth now?"
Perhaps it wasn't hungry enough, or perhaps a shred of pride remained. "H-hem! D-don't make me angry! If my kin swarm here all at once, this tiny little castle will be..." Its voice was weaker than before, but it was still posturing.
Kailan had no intention of listening to the spirit's clumsy lies to the end. It was a waste of time. "It seems you're still not hungry enough."
*Bang!* Kailan closed the prison door without looking back. "A-aah...! I haven't finished talking yet...!" The spirit clung to the bars, calling out to Kailan desperately, but the cold iron door never opened again.
The underground prison was dark and cold. Left alone, the spirit paced inside the steel cage. "S-so mean! I'm not scared! I'm not scared at all!" But in the empty prison, only its own voice echoed back.
"...I'm... not scared..." The voice, which had been growing smaller, eventually faded away.
*Gurgle.* Hunger arrived with the night. It felt as if someone had punched it in the stomach. What a heartless, demonic creature. Was he really planning to starve it to death?
"Cold... hungry..."
...How much time had passed? Tears like large drops of rain began to fall from the eyes of the spirit, which had been shivering from hunger. "Sob... I'm a fool... I should have just begged for the milk..." The spirit wiped its tears with its short front paws.
"Sweet banana milk... fluffy bread... I want to eat it... *sniff*... waaaah..." Was it really going to starve to death in this cold cage? Just as its sorrow reached its peak, *creak—* the iron door opened cautiously.
"Hic!" The spirit jolted, lifting its head in surprise. It thought that devilish man had returned.
"Shh...!" With a soft whisper, a woman with dazzling platinum blonde hair approached, her index finger pressed to her lips. The woman whom that cold, icy man treated with such tenderness. What was it... Eleanor, was it?
She held a steaming banana milk in one hand and fluffy bread that radiated the scent of fresh butter in the other. "You must be very hungry. I brought this secretly."
The woman whispered, carefully opening the lock on the cage. Then, she gently scooped up the spirit, which had been curled up on the cold floor, and pulled it into her arms. "Poor thing. You must have been so cold."
The warm solar magic flowing from Eleanor’s fingertips wrapped around the spirit’s frozen body. Spring had arrived in the cold prison. 'An a-angel...! An angel has appeared...!!' The spirit looked up at the woman with wide eyes. It was the first time it had felt the warmth of a mother since it was born.
Posturing? Pride? The dignity of a great dragon? Such things often lost their meaning in front of a kind woman.
"Here, eat slowly. No one is going to take it from you." As Eleanor brought the bread and milk to its mouth, the spirit snatched them up and began to inhale them like a madman. "Nom nom nom! *Gulp! Gulp!* Munch munch! *Ahhh!*"
The spirit, having finished three pieces of bread and downed the banana milk in one go, gasped for air. "Fufu. Eat slowly. You'll get indigestion." Eleanor smiled kindly and gently wiped the spirit’s mouth, which was covered in breadcrumbs. At that warm touch, the sorrow the spirit had been holding back finally exploded.
"Waaaaah! Thank you...! Thank you so much...!" The spirit buried its face in Eleanor’s arms and began to cry. "Actually, I... no, I... I'm not a dragon...! It's all a lie...! There are no kin... I'm all alone...!"
Munching on the tear-soaked bread, the spirit began to spill the truth without being asked. The false image it had built up with bravado crumbled away along with its tears. Eleanor nodded as if she felt pity and patted the spirit’s back. "I see. How lonely and scared you must have been, all by yourself. You poor thing."
The spirit was already munching on a second piece of bread in her arms. Watching it, Eleanor opened her mouth in a gentle voice. "Wouldn't you like to eat warm bread and sweet banana milk like this every single day?"
"E-every day!? I want to! Every day! I want to eat it forever!"
"Then, will you sign a contract with me? If you help me and the Duke, I’ll feed you delicious food in a warm room every day instead of this cold, dark prison."
The spirit nodded vigorously without a moment’s hesitation. It even gripped her sleeve tightly, afraid that Eleanor might change her mind. "I'll sign! I'll do anything!"
The moment they reached an agreement, a magical contract circle appeared on Eleanor’s snowy white hand and the spirit’s round forehead. A thin line of light connected the two, then seeped into their skin. It was the moment the hot spring spirit formed a soul contract with Eleanor.
'Fufu. It went just as the Duke said.' Stroking the spirit, which was rubbing its face against her in gratitude, Eleanor smiled craftily. In truth, this was all Kailan’s script. To break the pride of an arrogant spirit, the whip alone was 2% short. At the moment of peak hunger and fear, Eleanor would appear like a saint, offering a sweet carrot—or rather, banana milk. The so-called "North Wind and the Sun" strategy. It was a plan perfectly suited for the Northern Duke Kailan and the Sun of the North, Eleanor.
The next morning. *Thump, thump.* Kailan opened the door to the underground prison and stepped inside. It had been about 48 hours since he’d locked the hot spring spirit away. Had the "North Wind and the Sun" strategy worked well...
"...Hick!"
As soon as Kailan crossed the threshold, the spirit stood up straight and pressed its front paw firmly against its head. "Salute!" It was a booming salute. He didn't know where it had learned it, but the angle was as perfect as any knight of the Northern Defense Force.
"I greet the Great Duke of Wintervalt! I will serve you with loyalty until my bones break!!"
Seeing the spirit, which had become a disciplined private overnight, Kailan nodded with a satisfied expression. 'Yes. If you want to earn your keep under me, you need to know how to handle social life at least this well.' The arrogant appearance of talking about being a "great dragon" or having "kin" was gone.
'The North Wind and the Sun strategy, a huge success.' Now, only one thing remained: what mission to give this tamed subordinate and how to put it to work.
"It seems you’ve finally grasped reality." Kailan approached slowly and stood in front of the spirit. "I am a person who provides certain rewards to those who prove their value through loyalty to me."
Kailan pulled something from his pocket and held it out to the spirit.
"T-this is...!" The spirit’s round eyes widened as if they would pop out at the sight of the jewel. A blue gem the size of its own head, radiating spiritual magic. It was a fragment of a King Slime's magic stone.
Kailan’s lips curled up slightly. The secret to how that spirit in the original story gained a presence rivaling a water dragon by the end. It was none other than gluttony. It grew its power by turning everything it could get its hands on into nutrients. The reason it was called the "Hot Spring Spirit" after drinking the magic of the spring water its whole life was, when it came down to it, thanks to that endless gluttony.
'With bait like this...' That gluttonous spirit would serve as a faithful subordinate. Forever.