chapter 21
Episode 21 [Sorry for not knowing](1)
Anyway, Dante somehow managed to get the damn dragon scale necklace.
Even though I feel like I’ve lost something precious, I’ve put an end to worrying about body odor with this!
Goodbye, obsession. Adios!
Ah, what a beautiful morning.
Birds sing, flowers bloom,
On days like this—-
His golden eyes narrowed sharply, and Dante plunged his arms vigorously from top to bottom.
Tak!!
“──I have to hang the laundry.”
As he shakes off the towel with a refreshing expression, he has a small smile on his lips.
He hangs the freshly washed clothes one after another on a clothesline woven from two birch trees.
The skilful skill of folding the cloth without wrinkles seemed unusual.
“Fu, this is the end.”
Dante muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
“[You’ve worked hard since morning. Dante.]”
At that time, he shrugged his shoulders as he turned his head at the kind voice coming from behind.
“Well, this is my job.”
A pure white fox walks lightly across the green lawn.
In order to meet his eyes, Yeon-hwa jumped up on top of his shoulder, bent on one knee, and settled down. She touched Dante’s cheek with her front paw and said,
“[Sure, then what other chores do you have left? I wish I could help in my spare time.]”
“Ahahahaha, I’ll take your heart.”
As a slave, how could I ask the god of an empire to help me with such trivial chores? Nonsense.
“Besides, today I just need to take care of the flower beds. Don’t worry, it’s not hard work.”
“[No, it goes against the principles of food and soul to ignore the master’s hard work as a servant.]”
Yeonhwa said in a sensitive voice.
“[Or, if your refusal is just because you are a god, then it doesn’t matter at all, so don’t worry about it. I’m your familiar before the guardian of the empire.]”
──Please, don’t be afraid of distance.
With a slightly disappointed look on her face, she whimpered and let out a thin cry as she rubbed her face against the scruff of Dante’s neck.
Perhaps it was because he was stabbed in the right direction, but Dante’s heart weakened in the end, and he had no choice but to voice his permission.
“Then… May I ask you a favor?”
◇
Red, blue, green, yellow, white… All sorts of different colors.
In the backyard of the castle, there was a colorful flower garden.
Because Dante liked flowers so much, she got Olivia’s permission right after she came to live in the Devil’s Castle, and she was his precious treasure that he had cherished for a long time.
Dante rolled up her sleeves.
“Now, shall we begin?”
“[Ah.]”
Pull out weeds, trim twigs, and fix vines to iron rods to prevent them from growing staggeredly.
In high places where Dante’s hands can’t reach easily, Yeon-hwa climbs up easily with the leaping power of a fox and lends her hand by weaving her ropes.
Fit breathing.
Finally, Dante and Yeon-hwa took their seats under the cool shade of a tree as they turned on the wheeling sprinklers and watched the water spray all over her.
“Whoa…”
Dante exhales a long, hot breath.
Seeing that she was under the scorching sunlight, her body seemed to have heated up a lot as she grabbed the hem of my clothes and fluttered and slowly closed her eyes.
Yeon-hwa, who was watching him closely, put his chin on her front paw and narrowed her purple eyes.
“[Come to think of it, dear, it’s a necklace I haven’t seen before.]”
“Oh, this?”
Dante smiled bitterly as he lifted the black scales hanging from the end of the string.
“It was made by Olivia-sama from your scales. Well, to be precise, I asked for it first…”
He explained everything.
“I don’t know why, but Olivia-sama really hates the smell of someone else on my body. So I had no choice but to be careful about meeting or coming into contact with other people.”
“But these days, it’s gotten too bad, so I’m going to do this as a temporary measure.”
He waved the scales.
“Should I say it’s a substitute for deodorant…? Dragon scales contain magical powers unique to them, so it helps to cover up other body scents on my body.”
“[…It seems that the black dragon likes you a lot more than I thought.]”
“Do you…Do you like me? Me…? Poo, pooh!”
With a chuckle, Dante wiped the tears from his eyes.
“It’s because Yeonhwa-nim doesn’t know Olivia-nim! That black dragon, who’s dark not only in appearance but also in speed, doesn’t like me, he just likes to tease me. Besides, I’m her ‘slave (possession)’, so of course it’s his own. I just hate leaving traces of others.”
As is well known in the world, dragons are very obsessed with their possessions.
“[Hmm.. I don’t think that black dragon’s feelings are simple possessiveness…]”
───Well, it doesn’t matter.
Because it’s more comfortable not knowing.
“Yes?”
“[No, nothing.]”
Yeon-hwa shook her head, muttering so quietly that Dante couldn’t hear it.
“[Then, Dante, refrain from changing into human form from now on inside the castle. I won’t trouble you.]”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Bowing his head slightly, he let out a sigh of relief.
If Olivia-sama sees Yeon-hwa-nim in human form with me… Uh-huh, I hate to imagine…!
A (*dragon swearing full of rage) who dares to get his hands on my things will run wild while saying blah blah.
Of course, I don’t think Yeon-hwa, who has lived her entire life as the god of the empire, will lose easily even if she falls, but… Who will bear the aftermath of the damage and who will restore it?
People have said since ancient times that the best way to prevent disasters is prevention.
Is there anything wrong with blocking it in advance?
As I stared blankly at the empty space, immersed in such thoughts, I suddenly felt a warm feeling on my cheek.
“Heh?”
I was startled and let out a dazed sound when I suddenly came to my senses, and Yeon-hwa put her hand on my cheek with the blue kimono she was wearing halfway down her shoulder.
“…..Didn’t you just say you refrain from turning into a human!?”
Dante is restless with anxious eyes, wondering if Olivia is around.
She chuckled and tugged at his cheek.
“Yes, I promised that I would not change ‘inside the castle’.”
“Ha!?”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ve made sure there aren’t any other people around here.”
“….It’s always cloudy and it’s cloudy…(Don’t be alarmed, really)”
“I already know what you’re worried about. He probably hopes that you and the black dragon won’t run into each other.”
Because of what he said, it was Yeon-hwa who noticed Olivia’s personality to some extent.
“But think about it, Dante. Didn’t there be a saying like this in the world?”
Staring at Dante’s golden eyes, Yeon-hwa pursed her red lips.
“──If you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime.”
No, what is this crazy fox talking about? Now.