I have to somehow get this child something to eat and drink.
And… if possible, I must find a way to return the child to where she came from.
I can’t keep her in my cave forever.
The problem was how.
I looked back and forth between the child’s ghost-pale face and my massive front paw.
Taking care of such a small child with this huge body felt like an enormous challenge.
‘…Let’s just try to find something for now.’
I resolved to lift my heavy body.
The child would be frightened again, but there was no helping it.
I had to do something.
I slowly, as silently as I could, placed my four feet on the ground and stood up.
Crack.
With the sound of bones aligning, a massive shadow fell over the child.
As I raised my massive body, the pressure in the cave seemed to drop, pressing down on the girl.
It was just as I expected.
The girl gasped and stiffened completely again.
Even if I had no intention to threaten her, the sight of a giant shadow swallowing her small frame must’ve been sheer terror.
‘I’m sorry… but there’s no other way.’
I apologized silently and took my first step.
Creak, thud! The sound of my massive body moving after such a long slumber echoed through the cave.
With each step, faint vibrations could be felt, and dust trickled down from the ceiling.
It was a heavy, destructive movement, entirely different from the light footsteps I had as a human.
‘Careful, careful…’
I was on edge, worried I might accidentally bump a rock near the girl or startle her into falling from the vibrations of my steps.
Each step was taken with caution.
It felt like I had become a giant walking on a sheet of thin ice.
I still wasn’t used to balancing this body, so I wobbled slightly.
I slowly moved toward a corner of the cave where the sound of water was coming from.
The sound I had last heard when I looked around before falling asleep.
A sound of life that must’ve flowed unchanged through the cave for ages.
With each step, the scenery of the cave coming into view felt new.
It was different from what I had vaguely sensed in my sleep.
The strange patterns on the walls, the bizarre shadows formed by stalactites and stalagmites, the texture of the scattered stones on the ground.
My massive eyes could clearly capture outlines in the darkness.
It felt like I was seeing the world in a way different from human eyes.
I didn’t look back, but I could clearly feel the gaze of the small human on my back.
Even unable to make a sound out of fear, she must’ve been desperately tracking where I was going and what I was doing.
That gaze burned into my back.
The sound of water grew closer.
Cool, fresh moisture began to fill the air.
Finally, I arrived at the source of the sound.
From a crack in the cave wall, groundwater was bubbling up, forming a small pool and flowing gently downward.
The water was startlingly clear, and moss that glowed faintly blue grew on the surrounding rocks.
Because of the moss, this area felt a little brighter than the rest.
‘There really is water.’
Thank goodness.
At least the problem of drinking water seemed solvable.
I lowered my massive head and dipped my snout into the pool.
I could feel the cold, fresh sensation of water through the tip of my nose.
It was the first time in centuries I had felt the sensation of liquid.
I didn’t feel particularly thirsty, but I instinctively drank a little.
The cool sensation slid down my throat and spread through my huge body.
‘Now… how do I carry this back?’
That was the issue.
I had no tools to carry water.
No hands, no bowl.
I couldn’t scoop it with two hands like a human could.
Should I carry it in my mouth and spit it out? Just imagining it was horrifying.
The girl might drop dead on the spot.
She might think I was breathing fire or poison.
That was absolutely not an option.
Then… my front paw? My front paws were big and sturdy, but they didn’t seem suitable for delicately holding water.
The sharp claws only looked more threatening.
But no other ideas came to mind.
‘Just a little… Let’s try to carry just a tiny bit.’
I very carefully dipped one front paw into the pool.
The cold water wrapped around my ankle.
I tried to use the gaps between my claws and the concave parts of my paw to hold a bit of water.
It wasn’t easy.
Even the slightest movement made the water trickle through my claws.
After several attempts, I finally managed to gather just a mouthful or two of water in my paw.
‘I hope this is enough.’
It wasn’t much, but it was the best I could do for now.
Balancing carefully so the water wouldn’t spill, I slowly turned my body.
I had to return to where the girl was.
The way back was even more cautious than before.
I was worried I’d spill the little water I had in my paw, and I feared the girl might again feel overwhelming fear at my approach.
Every step became even slower.
The act of moving this giant body must have been terrifying to her.
Finally, the girl came into view.
She was curled up in the same spot where I had first found her.
I could sense her body stiffen again as she saw me approaching.
I stopped a few steps away from her.
Any closer and she might go into panic.
Very slowly and carefully, I extended my paw holding the water toward her.
“……
I didn’t say anything.
No, I couldn’t.
I simply showed it through my actions.
“This is water, it’s for you, it won’t harm you, please just drink it!”
Conveying that meaning, I quietly held out my front paw.
The girl didn’t move.
Her large eyes shifted between the water in my paw and my massive face.
Along with fear, deep suspicion and doubt filled the child’s eyes.
Is it okay to drink the water offered by that giant monster? Could it be poison? Could it be a trick to eat me after making me feel safe?
Her mind must have been full of all kinds of terrible thoughts.
But at the same time, I saw the girl’s dry lips part slightly and then close again.
She must have been thirsty.
She had been trembling in fear and crying for a long time, so thirst was inevitable.
It seemed that the instinct for survival and the fear of death were fiercely battling within the child.
I just waited silently.
I neither urged her nor moved closer.
The choice was entirely up to that tiny human.
Would she accept my clumsy kindness, or reject it in fear?
Time seemed to flow as if frozen.
In the cave, only the breathing of the girl and me, and the faint sound of water from afar, could be heard.
The girl’s small shoulders trembled slightly.
In the eyes of the girl, who kept looking back and forth between the water in my paw and me, I could see intense inner conflict.
Fear.
Thirst.
Distrust.
Survival instinct.
How many thoughts must be passing through that little head?
I just waited silently.
My massive body didn’t budge, and my red eyes stared at the girl, suppressing emotion as much as possible.
That was all I could do.
How much time passed?
The girl’s dry lips quivered.
And then very slowly, unbelievably slowly, she began to move her stiff body.
It was more like crawling.
Using her small hands and knees, one span at a time.
The girl never took her eyes off me.
As if she was prepared to either flee or freeze the moment I made even the slightest move.
That sight was both pitiful and frustrating.
“It’s just water. I didn’t poison it or anything.”
I wanted to shout that inside, but I knew if I opened my mouth, the girl would faint or panic again.
All I could do was watch patiently.
It felt like an eternity before the girl reached near my front paw.
Finally, she stopped just in front of my enormous claw.
The distance between us was now only a step or two.
If I wanted to… No, I shouldn’t think like that.
The girl extended a trembling hand.
That tiny hand brushed against the hard scales on my front paw.
She flinched at the cold texture, but didn’t withdraw her hand.
Instead, very carefully, as if handling a fragile treasure, the girl cupped her small hands and gently scooped up the water from my paw.
Splash.
With a small sound, clear water filled the girl’s palm.
She quickly brought the water to her mouth.
Sip, sip.
The sound of a small bird drinking echoed faintly in the cave.
The girl scooped and drank water a few more times.
As if the burning thirst was finally eased, the frown on her face seemed to relax ever so slightly.
But only for a moment.
After finishing the water, the girl seemed to suddenly realize the situation she was in, and her face turned pale.
Then, as if being chased, she hurriedly crawled backward to where she had been.
Curling up again, she stared at me with deeply wary eyes.
Sigh…
I let out a sigh inwardly and quietly withdrew my front paw.
At least I managed to get her to drink the water.
A very small step forward, but perhaps it held some meaning.
Maybe.
The girl was still extremely cautious of me.
She drank the water, but that didn’t mean her fear of me had vanished.
She might be thinking something like, “So this monster won’t eat me immediately, maybe it just wants to play before devouring me.”
…
“I’m so tired.”
The only thing I’ve done since waking up after hundreds of years is worry over one little human child.
There was no dignity left as a dragon.
I lay my heavy body down on the ground again.
I thought maybe I could lessen the sense of intimidation a bit.
Curling my massive body and burying my head between my front paws, my line of sight dropped slightly.
I quietly observed the girl.
Maybe because she drank some water, her complexion looked a little better than before, but she still looked very exhausted.
And… she was thin.
Her limbs, visible between her ragged clothes, were scrawny, and there was hardly any flesh on her face.
Had she not eaten properly even before being offered as a sacrifice? Or did she starve while coming here?
“…She must be hungry.”
After thirst comes hunger, of course.
How long could she endure with such a small body?
She couldn’t survive on just water.
I had to get her food.
The problem was, once again, “how.”
What should I feed her? What do humans eat again? Grains? Vegetables? Meat?
There was nothing resembling a plant in this cave except moss.
To find grains or vegetables, I’d have to go outside the cave…
“Hunting, then.”
The most realistic method would be hunting.
There must be large and small animals living in the forest nearby.
With my massive body and strength, hunting wouldn’t be difficult.
The problem was what came next.
Imagine me returning to the cave holding a bloody animal carcass.
What kind of reaction would the girl have upon seeing that?
She might scream in terror, faint again, or despair thinking, “I’m next, aren’t I?”