“That’s… I’m sorry about that.”
Golden pupils, slit vertically like a snake’s, gazed at him.
Yeon-woo felt fear. A fear so immense, it was as if he had postponed all the fear he should have felt during the hundred or so times he had faced death.
What did Richard Owen, the man who named dinosaurs after fossils, see to give those mere bones the name of fearsome lizards? The true reptiles to be feared were right here.
Even facing it head-on, he couldn't grasp just how gigantic it was. Whatever its size, it could surely crush the orphanage with a single foot.
The orphanage, yes, he had to protect the orphanage.
Yeon-woo tried to stand up, grabbing the spear he had dropped, but his knees wouldn't obey.
He instinctively understood why the human body freezes before a predator. It was because everyone had tasted this sensation.
‘Fear…!!’
He slapped his trembling lower body.
Move, move! I can't die like this, no, even if I die, I have to do something!!
If the Gate ever explodes and its insides spill out into the world, the orphanage will be finished.
So he had to move.
But for some reason, the dragon showed no sign of moving.
Was it playing with him? Was it being careless, thinking he was just a mouthful anyway?
“…Ha, ha, ha.”
A slow, genderless laugh echoed powerfully in his head.
Yeon-woo raised his head. The enormous eyes, which seemed to belong to a different species altogether, were somehow curved in a gentle smile.
“You seem to have some interesting thoughts, so I let them be, but the word lizard is somewhat offensive. Please be careful. Otherwise…”
Crack, the enormous jaws opened slowly and closed with a thud right in front of him. The smell of fishy saliva and humid air rushed in belatedly, creating a turbulent air current.
“Even though I am a gentle soul, I might get angry.”
At those words, Yeon-woo closed his mouth.
Dragons can communicate with humans, it was a story that floated around as if it were obvious, but he never thought it would be true. Moreover, he never thought they could read minds.
Yeon-woo, with a confused mind, formed a question. In any case, this dragon didn't seem to want to eat him right away. If communication was possible, perhaps they could find common ground.
“Why aren't you killing me?”
The spear tucked under his arm was raised. So that he could attack at any moment, even if he were to be eaten.
And dragons don't like it when insects bare their teeth. The proof of that was the Ice Dragon living in the Himalayas and the dwarves who regularly offered it tributes.
If you don't show hostility and offer tributes, you might receive protection.
“I am old.”
“?”
“Why the surprised look? I am old. Do humans make those who are about to die work?”
If he want to, then yes? No, that's not it. So that means…
“So, you're saying you're too old to move?”
“That's right.”
A snort, "Hmph," came from the giant. Yeon-woo felt like he knew what kind of personality the dragon in front of him had.
“But even if you don't want to move, you still have to eat, don't you?”
“Look here, think carefully with that tiny brain of yours. Would the energy I use to open my mouth be greater, or the energy I gain from eating you? Moreover, I just opened and closed it once, so I'm at a double loss.”
He was certainly right about that. How much energy would it get from eating him? It would be a blessing if it could recover even half the energy he used to open and close those giant jaws.
“Instead of wasting energy needlessly, it's better to celebrate having a fun conversation partner. It's unfortunate for you, though.”
“No, well… isn't it fortunate that I'm not dead? …But why unfortunate?”
He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of foreboding in those words.
“Even though I don't have much time left, I don't want to die by your hand. But you have to kill me to get out, right? That's how Gates work. I won't resist because it's bothersome, but honestly, it's impossible for you to kill me with your skills.”
That was… certainly true.
…But didn't it say it didn't have much time left?
“Judging by the looks of it, it will take about a hundred years for me to die. Are humans a species that can endure that time without eating anything?”
That was… certainly an unfortunate situation, to say the least.
