(Naomi's POV)
He just... shooed me away. After everything. After saving me from that nightmare, after healing me, after saying those blunt, strangely pragmatic things... he just dismissed me like a stray animal.
He's way too cold.
I walked towards the massive dragon curled up by the rocks, just like he told me to. The dragon looked scary, yes, huge and powerful and ancient, but after seeing what that man did to Myne without blinking... scary was relative. The dragon, at least, hadn't inflicted pain on anyone while I was watching.
I sank down near Ryu's curled form, keeping a respectful distance. He watched me with those glowing eyes, silent.
....
Now he's gone for about half an hour. Alone. In a forest. With a dragon. The silence felt vast after the chaos of the city, the terror of the hunt, the bewildering intensity of the man who saved me.
Come to think of it, this dragon is nice too. He hasn't tried to eat me. He just watches. And he talks.
I started talking to him, cautiously at first. Asking about the forest, about how long he'd been here. He responded with low rumbling sounds that somehow felt like words, like answers. He seemed... lonely.
And that man... Mr. No Name. He's a mystery. I mean, he is way too strong. Stronger than anyone I've ever seen. He knew my name, somehow. He saved me at the exact time, appearing from nowhere. And he's standing for me when the whole world is against me, when even the Queen wouldn't listen. Who is he?
Oh stranger, if only you were a bit nice... Come to think of it, I'm not used to this treatment. I'm not being arrogant, but I know I'm very beautiful. Men in the capital, adventurers, even nobles... they always looked at me. Always tried to get close. And still he... he just doesn't. He healed me. He offered clothes. He noticed I smelled. But he didn't look at me the way they did. He just looked. Like I was a problem to be solved, or a fact to be assessed. It was baffling. And... strangely... intriguing?
My stomach grumbled then, loud in the quiet clearing. A long, drawn-out sound of pure, desperate hunger. I hadn't eaten for... Days. It felt like a lifetime.
I looked at the dragon. He must've heard it. His head tilted slightly. But he didn't react visibly. Just watched.
Uhh, I'm hungry. So hungry. I should've asked him to bring some food. But asking favour from the person who has saved you... It felt wrong. Like being a burden. Other than this, I dunno whether he has money or not. And I'm completely broke. Destitute. A dependant again. The thought was bitter.
Suddenly, the dragon reacted. He shifted, a low rumble starting in his chest, louder this time.
"What happened?" I asked, wondering if something was wrong.
"Nothing," he rumbled back.
He was looking at me intently. Then, unexpectedly, he spoke in clearer, more deliberate words, though still deep and resonant. "Hey, how did you met him?" It was the first time he took the initiative to ask a question about the man.
"Well," I began, grateful for the distraction, for the chance to talk about the bewildering sequence of events that had led me here, to this forest, talking to a dragon. I told him how stranger saved me.
"Hahaha," the dragon rumbled, a sound that vibrated through the air. "He doesn't seem that kind of person." He was referring to the stranger.
"He isn't, he did it for me." I said.
I told him how stranger saved me.
"And then," I said, a flicker of awe returning to my voice as I remembered the impossible speed, the effortless power, "he just started beating him again!"
"Looks like you aren't scared of him now," a voice said. It was him. Mr. Stranger. He came back.
I turned my head, relief flooding me so strongly it almost made me lightheaded. He was standing there, watching us. He came back. He really came back.
"Oh! Mr. No Name!" I said, the stupid nickname slipping out before I could stop myself. I was going to keep calling him that until he himself tells me his name. It was... mine. A name only I used for him.
"You came back!" I said, genuinely happy. "And no," I looked back at Ryu, who gave another low rumble, a sound that felt like shared understanding, "this dragon... he seems scary, yes, but he isn't."
He walked closer. He was empty handed, of course. Guess i'll have to sleep without eating this night too. My heart sank slightly, the hunger pangs returning with renewed intensity. I hope not to collapse before tomorrow.
"Here," he said then, and my eyes widened. He reached into... A small bag? And he pulled out...
Food. And clothes. Real food.
Food!!!!!!
My heart soared. He wasn't empty handed! He knew I was hungry! He brought food! And clothes! He's an angel, although with a rotten personality. Kind, in the most unexpected way. Blunt, but kind.
I wanted to hug him badly!! To thank him properly! To bury my face in his chest and cry out all the fear and relief! But he'll be angry. He'll tell me to move away. So I can't. I suppressed the urge, clenching my hands at my sides.
Come to think of it, how did he found out I was hungry? My stomach grumbled just now, but was it loud enough for him to hear from... wherever he was? Maybe the dragon told him? He brought clothes too, and they look... Expensive. Sturdy. Not ripped rags.
But, he would've heard those rumours about me when he was buying these stuffs. In the capital. Everyone knew. Everyone whispered. I wonder whether he would've heard those rumours about me or not. Whether they would have changed his mind.
Despite thinking all this, I didn't let him know and kept a cheerful expression. The food was right there. Hope was right here. He was right here.
"Hey," I asked, trying to sound just hungry, not desperate, "Can I eat first?"
"Yeah." He said, his voice flat. No permission needed. Just stating the obvious.
I grabbed the food. The rations. Opened them with trembling hands. The smell. Oh, the smell! I started eating. Wolfing it down at first, then slowing down, savoring the taste, the texture. The sheer, simple relief of not being hungry anymore.
Come to think of it, I don't know what I'll do if he decided to leave me. If he disappears again, and doesn't come back. I should become strong. He said he'd help me. Strong so that i won't have to depend on anyone. But... Even if I became strong, I want to keep depending on him. On his strength. On his presence. And I want him to depend on me too. To need me. To rely on me. The thought surfaced, strong and clear.
"I'm going somewhere right now, and will probably return by tomorrow, so I hope you'll-" he said, interrupting my thoughts about mutual dependence. He was leaving again.
"I won't ask where are you going, since you'll get mad," i said quickly, remembering his blunt refusal to tell me before, a broody expression probably settling on my face.
"But... but can you try to come back sooner as possible?" I asked, the genuine plea escaping before I could stop it.
"Yeah," he agreed, short and simple.
My heart lifted. He would come back. Sooner if possible. He wasn't abandoning me. Not yet.
"Yeah..." he said again, and then his voice changed, becoming serious. Abrupt. "But before that, I want to hear exactly what happened between Myne and you inside the inn."
The question hit me unexpectedly. The inn? That night? With Myne? All of it? The facade I had put on, the cheerful hunger, the casual conversation... it wavered.
So he wants to know about that huh. The full story. The ugliest part.
Well, its normal for boys, they like pure girls. They want to know if you're... clean. If you haven't been... touched. And if you have, they leave you. It's just how it is.
And I managed to stay pure. By jumping. By running. By being found by him.
I wonder if he would've left me if I were impure. If he would just walk away, like everyone else did when they saw the Shield.
If that were the case, I would've lied. I would have told him I was still pure, unspoiled, just so that he won't leave me. Just so I could keep this fragile lifeline.
But I don't have to worry, because I won't have to lie. I am pure. Physically. I managed to escape that.
"You... want to know whether I'm pure or not right?" I said, my voice small, anticipating the real question behind his words. I wanted to get it over with. To tell him the truth, the important truth, the one that might make him leave. "Then hear it, I'm fully pure, I managed to."
He looked at me, his eyes unwavering, serious.
"What i asked you is... What happened that night?" he said, cutting through my assumption. His voice was flat, devoid of judgment, devoid of the expected male reaction. "I don't care whether you're virgin or not. And about why I want to know that, you'll know about that by tomorrow."
He doesn't care whether I'm pure or not? The thought echoed in my head, confusing and utterly unexpected. Boys cared. Men cared. It was the first thing they wanted to know. The line between acceptable and discarded. And he... he didn't care?
I dunno whether i should be happy or sad. Happy that it doesn't matter to him? Sad that... Leave it.
The food in my hand felt heavy. My world, which had just started to make sense again, tilted on its axis. He wanted the story. The real story. Not the purity test.
Okay. I could tell him that. The story of what Myne did. The story of that night. The story that explained why I was here, hungry and hiding in a forest, talking to a dragon and a man who didn't care if I was pure.