Chapter 25 : New Friend (2)

Hiban-deok!

“…What the.”

Rubbing my eyes, I looked outside the window.

It was incredibly dark.

I thought someone would wake me up when it was time to eat, but did they just let me sleep?

Turning my head, I looked at Mom and my older sister.

Dad wasn’t in the room, probably working late.

“…Mom…”

“Heh, hehe, my daughter.”

“…Are you really asleep?”

Mom and my sister were hugging each other and giggling.

…Is this what family affection is?

—Grrrrumble.

“…Traitors. I thought you’d wake me up.”

Pushing aside a little disappointment, I jumped off the bed.

“It’s fine, I’m not upset.”

Really.

…Really.

I have strong legs now, so even if no one takes care of me, I can get food on my own.

Yeah, I’m healthy now!

“Hehe.”

I couldn’t help but giggle, but quickly shut my mouth in case I woke up Mom and my sister.

‘I can’t wake them up.’

On tiptoes, I carefully walked toward the door and opened it.

“Where’s the kitchen?”

Come to think of it, I’ve never gone to the kitchen alone.

Last time, I just ended up there while following my sister, so I never really memorized the way.

‘…Whatever, I’ll find it as I go.’

Just like when my sister gave me a tour of the house,

I figured I’d see it eventually.

With that thought, I started running down the hallway.

—Chop chop chop chop chop.

My bare feet made a satisfying sound as they hit the floor.

“Shooooooooom.”

Before I realized it, a sound escaped my lips.

For a moment, I thought I might wake up the servants or the elderly grandparents in the house, so I toned it down.

“…Shoooom.”

But it was hard to hold back.

This was instinct, after all!

Anyway, as I wandered through the house…

“…Hiccup…”

I heard the sound of hiccups coming from the left hallway.

‘…What?’

Someone’s walking around?

At this hour?

That shouldn’t be possible.

Since my charm ability had cooled down, I decided that if it was someone dangerous, I’d take care of them.

I immediately turned left and ran toward the sound.

—Chop chop chop chop chop.

The moment I rounded the corner, I saw something flustered, scrambling to run away, wearing a robe.

‘…A thief?’

How bold, sneaking into this place to steal?

No, maybe… a spy?

That empire or whatever it was.

According to my sister, they were an evil organization conducting strange experiments.

“…I need to teach them a lesson.”

They dared to mess with my sister?

You’re done for.

With that thought, I sprinted after the fleeing figure in the robe.

‘They’re really slow.’

It didn’t seem like they were a spy after all.

Even though I kept chasing them, they were already panting heavily and struggling to run properly.

“I should just jump.”

Jumping ahead of them to block their path—

A perfect plan.

As soon as the idea hit me, I put it into action.

“Ta-da!”

If Mom or Dad had seen me, they would’ve teared up and applauded.

My movements were as flawless as a professional gymnast’s.

Now that I was right in front of them, the fleeing figure stopped and turned around, scanning the area as if trying to locate me.

‘It’d be nice to see their face.’

The moment I had that thought—

“…U-Uwaaaah!”

Their eyes met mine, and they let out a terrified scream before stumbling backward.

‘Huh? An elf?’

It was the elf I had rescued this morning.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

She looked absolutely terrified.

For a moment, I was about to get annoyed—I saved her, and now she’s being rude? But then—

‘Minho, think from the other person’s perspective. If you cooked for someone, and they made a face like they were eating garbage, would you like that?’

‘No, damn it, Sis, is this even a pancake or a lump of coal?!’

‘Eat it.’

I suddenly recalled advice my sister had given me back when I was in middle school.

Alright.

Think from the other person’s perspective.

She passed out and woke up in a strange room… and when she opened her eyes, she saw a dragon walking toward her with a blank expression.

‘Yeah, that’d be terrifying.’

But then, why did she leave the room?

Wouldn’t it have been safer to stay inside?

—Grrrrumble.

‘Ah, is she hungry?’

That made sense.

She hadn’t eaten anything since this morning.

Of course, she’d be starving by now.

With that realization, I looked at the trembling elf in front of me and walked toward her.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

She shouted, still shaking.

She must’ve been really scared.

But I figured hunger would make anyone irritable, especially at her age.

I reached out my hand to the frail girl who was trying to push me away.

“Get up, you dummy.”

“…? Baby?”

Hmm, well, technically, I was a baby.

People around me called me that.

And I did reincarnate, so that made me a baby, right?

I thought about it for three seconds and then replied.

“Yep. Haven’t you seen a baby before?”

—Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh.

I felt my tail wagging vigorously.

I wasn’t sure why, but I decided to just leave it be.

Maybe this was just another baby instinct.

“I saved you, so why are you acting like this? Are you hungry too?”

The elf, who had been staring blankly into space, suddenly flinched and replied.

“I-I’m not…!”

—Grrrrrrrrrrowl!!!!

“…Oh, was that thunder?”

“……”

She had said something, but her stomach growled so loudly that I couldn’t hear her.

Seeing her reaction, I grinned.

“C-Can you turn away? It’s embarrassing.”

“No.”

“You’re so mean…”

Her ears turned red as she covered her face with both hands.

She actually looked pretty cute.

“I was on my way to get food. Wanna come?”

“C-Can I?”

“Yeah.”

“Th-Then… let’s go together.”

She hesitated for a moment but then pulled down her hood, stood up confidently, and took my hand.

When I looked at her with a what-are-you-doing expression, the elf flinched and quickly apologized.

“M-Mi, sorry.”

“It’s fine, you just got startled.”

“R-Really?”

Her ears twitched excitedly as if she were happy, and then she grabbed my hand.

“What’s your name?”

“Minho.”

“Minho?”

“Yeah.”

“How old are you?”

Should I count my past life too?

I hesitated for a moment but decided not to.

Besides, out of my thirty years, I probably wasted a third of them doing nothing.

“One.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was born not long ago.”

“Then I’m your older sister?”

“Wow. How old are you?”

“Thirty!”

Big sister?

Wow, the way she puffed up her chest and proudly declared she was thirty—

She said it as confidently as a young adult bragging about their youth.

Thirty?

But she looks, at best, like a middle schooler.

I guess long-lived races really are different.

“What’s your name, big sis?”

“I’m Ramir.”

“I see.”

Ramir.

That’s a nice name.

“It’s pretty.”

“…Yeah, my mom gave it to me. It’s really special to me.”

“I see.”

It seemed like a precious name, but her expression didn’t look good.

There was probably a heavy story behind it, but I decided to let it be.

I wasn’t the type of person to dig into someone’s painful past unnecessarily.

As we chatted about this and that, we made our way to the kitchen.

Since I was hungry, my sense of smell was sharper than usual, so it wasn’t too hard to find the way.

“…Your Highness?”

I spotted the head maid stuffing food into her mouth.

“…Pig?”

“I-I am NOT a pig!!”

The word pig slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

I gasped and covered my mouth, but it was too late—she had already heard it.

“P-Princess, that’s not it! His Highness gave me permission! I’m absolutely, absolutely NOT stealing food!”

“…Dad gave you permission?”

“Yes! I got caught eating before—No, wait, that’s not what I meant! I mean, since we’ve known each other for a long time…”

Oh right, wasn’t she the younger sister of the captain of the royal guards?

And since my uncle, the captain, was my dad’s closest friend, it made sense that the head maid was also close with him.

“Well then, Head Maid, can you make something for us to eat?”

“Huh? The person beside you is… from earlier…?”

Us…?

“Yes, she’s my friend.”

“I see.”

The maid’s flustered, cute expression quickly disappeared, replaced by her usual blank, professional face and monotone voice.

I wished she would be a bit more friendly, but it felt awkward to say it outright.

So instead, I just held Ramir’s hand and led her to a chair, seating her next to me.

“Ramir, where did you come from?”

“…T-The Empire…”

“The Empire?!”

My eyebrows twitched at the word.

“…Y-Yeah, the Empire.”

Seeing my reaction, Ramir’s face darkened.

“…I hate it too. Being from the Empire.”

She bit her lower lip tightly.

“You’re going to make yourself bleed.”

“…Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

She quickly loosened her lip and looked at me with a small, hesitant smile.

“…I came to the Dragon Kingdom to study abroad.”

“Study abroad?”

“Yeah, at Flare Academy.”

“So, you were going to be a future junior?”

Hearing the name of the academy, the maid’s tail swayed gently from side to side.

“Are you an academy graduate too?”

“Of course! Though I enrolled after His Highness and my older brother graduated—about 200 years later. There’s a 195-year gap between us.”

“?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

The way she said 200 years like it was just 2 years…

So this is a dragon? Respect.

“Is that considered a small age gap?”

“?… Of course not. It’s a huge difference.”

“Then why do you talk so casually about it?”

“What’s the big deal about age?”

Ah.

I forgot again.

For dragons, age really is just a number.

“How long do elves usually live?”

“Uh, huh?!”

Ramir, who had been quietly sneaking a cabbage into her spatial storage, flinched when she got caught.

The maid and I both narrowed our eyes at her at the same time.

“Take it out.”

“Hand it over.”

“…I’m sorry…”

Stealing so openly—what is this?

“I-I was just too hungry! Ahaha…”

“If you’re hungry, just let us know anytime. You’re a guest, after all.”

“G-Guest? Me?”

“Yes. Aren’t you the princess’s friend?”

Ramir blinked at me.

I didn’t say anything, just gave her a small smile.

“F-Friend! That’s right! We’re friends!”

If I added my past life’s age, we’d be about the same age, so it wasn’t technically wrong.

Ramir grinned widely, waiting excitedly for the food to be ready.