Chapter 146
The man, who had been laughing excitedly for a good while, soon noticed my serious face and wiped away his laughter completely.
“Ah, that wasn’t a joke either? This is really confusing, seriously.”
What kind of jokes had the original Black Flame Dragon usually gone around making? I was starting to feel a little scared.
“This is disappointing. We’ve met again after so long, and yet you’re treating me like someone who commits drug crimes.”
Says the one who kidnapped an innocent person. The man, who had been grumbling as if he had been wronged, picked up the spoon and swallowed a mouthful of soup. Then he opened his mouth with an ah, showing me that it was cleanly empty.
“Is that enough now? You won’t suspect me, right?”
Since he had gone that far, it felt awkward to refuse, so I reluctantly picked at the spoon. But as soon as I put it in my mouth, it tasted just as good as its mouthwatering smell, so I marveled inwardly.
I didn’t know what had been put into it, but the cream-white soup had just the right thickness, and the seasoning was perfect too. On top of that, the savory taste that lingered in my mouth and the richness circling the tip of my tongue were moving enough to be impressive.
“It’s the mushroom soup you liked. Do you remember this?”
Just as I was pushing the soup into my mouth, I looked up at the man with wide eyes.
“Looks like you don’t. So it’s true that you lost your memories.”
I put down the spoon and carefully examined the man. Unlike our first meeting, when he had been soaked through and a mess of mud, he was now clean and neat.
His exceptionally red hair stood out. In contrast, his eyes, black as ebony, sparkled with life.
“Then I’ll introduce myself again, as if we’re meeting for the first time. My name is Sal, and I was your one and only best friend. We spent quite a long time together.”
I had hoped we were only light acquaintances, but it seemed our relationship had been much deeper than I had thought. I became certain when I saw the many emotions swirling in his eyes.
I had already met people who knew Lysian several times, but this was my first time meeting someone who knew the Black Flame Dragon’s distant past. So I was nervous, and there were also many things I wanted to ask.
“Ah, and I’ll tell you in advance in case you’re worried. The hero’s party is safe. At least, they were until the last time I checked.”
Come to think of it, he had said those guys had fallen into a trap. I belatedly grew worried about Kyle, but even so, I figured he would be handling himself better than me, the one who had been kidnapped.
Those guys were the hero’s party that had overcome countless dangers, after all.
“Let’s talk about us first. There are a lot of things I want to ask.”
“I’m sure there are. What do you want to ask first?”
Sal took the bowl from my lap and held out a cup of water. He seemed used to taking care of me attentively.
“Do you know that I was the Great Sage?”
“Of course. I remember when you suddenly said you had to go to the humans too. Thinking back on it, you started acting strangely from then on.”
“I started acting strange?”
It didn’t seem like he meant it in a good way, but it felt like it might become an important clue.
“Yes, you said there was something the Dark God had ordered you to do. You said you had to accomplish it no matter what. It was the first time I’d ever seen you speak so desperately.”
I remembered the Dark God’s voice I had heard in the monastery. If the conversation I had then wasn’t an illusion, then what he had ordered was probably to gather the sacred relics.
Had the Black Flame Dragon really gathered sacred relics to resurrect the Dark God?
While I was lost in thought, I suddenly noticed the hand placed on Sal’s knee. Perhaps he was anxious, because his hand was fidgeting, and the bumpy scar stood out clearly on the back of it.
“That thing on the back of your hand, did I do that?”
Sal smiled bitterly and lifted the back of his hand to show me.
“Yes, you said it was something like an obedience spell. I think you said it was supposed to maximize that obedience ability you have.”
Come to think of it, Larry had said I had some kind of obedience ability. If that was maximized, then did that mean it made people obey even more strongly?
“Why did you accept something like that?”
“Because you were the one giving it to me.”
At the absurd answer, a short sigh escaped me without my realizing it.
“That’s the reason?”
“Of course. If it’s something you give me, I can accept anything, and if it’s something you want, I can do anything. That’s why I believed you when you told me to wait here, and I obediently waited like this. Believing only in the promise you made, that you would come back someday.”
According to those words, Lysian had left Sal here and gone away after only telling him that he would come back. I thought that perhaps my coming here might not have been a simple coincidence.
“Then do you not know what I was doing while wandering around the human world?”
It would be exhausting to even explain how many incidents I had caused while wandering around the human world. Sal seemed completely unaware.
“I don’t know what you were doing while wandering around. But I remember what you said about the sacred relics before. Don’t tell me you’re still looking for those?”
He knew about the sacred relics too. Maybe he knew much more than I had thought. On top of that, it also seemed inevitable that he was near the place where the last sacred relic remained.
“Then do you perhaps know anything about Adrianna’s Scepter, which is said to be in the ruins of the fallen kingdom?”
