The black dragon's attack enraged Mayuna. Even after all this time, Mers had not changed at all; he still cared nothing for the lives of others. Under Mayuna's control, a gigantic earthen hand clenched into a fist and struck with all its might, sending the black dragon flying hundreds of meters away. His tumbling body plowed through the trees and gouged a deep trench into the ground. To Ruben, it looked just like a disaster movie from Earth's tokusatsu shows.
"Mers, even if Ruben and I have some special relationship, it is none of your business."
Even though the black dragon had misunderstood their relationship, Mayuna had no intention of explaining anything to him. She had never regarded Mers as one of her own. With a cold expression, she snapped at him, and as though reflecting her mood, dark clouds drifting in from nowhere covered the previously clear sky.
"But..."
More than the pain in his body, Mers was hurt by Mayuna rejecting him again. Her earlier attack had shown no mercy, and it made him understand that Ruben held a far more important place in her heart than he did.
"I told you before, we have no relationship whatsoever. I do not want to see you again tomorrow."
Ignoring the pitiful look in the black dragon's eyes, Mayuna grabbed Ruben and pulled him back into their little wooden house. Before being dragged away, Ruben clearly saw the glimmering tears in the rejected black dragon's eyes.
"Wasn't that a little too harsh? He's still a child."
"You almost died just now, and you can still say something like that?"
Mayuna raised her head as if she had seen a ghost. No, ghosts in this world were nothing more than undead creatures, and they were hardly rare. She looked at Ruben with an expression even stranger than if she had seen the God of Light descend before her and asked him.
"It is raining outside. Let him come inside."
The basement's soundproofing was not particularly good, and Ruben could hear raindrops striking the ground above them. He could not help but try to persuade her.
"Hah... Ruben, look at me. Do I look like the kind of woman who goes with the flow?"
Mayuna sighed and slapped both hands against Ruben's cheeks with a sharp smack. She was not angrily hitting him, but holding his face between her hands. Her beautiful ruby-like eyes stared intently into his as she asked seriously. Faced with that question, Ruben decisively shook his head.
"Because you persuaded me, because you feel sorry for him, I should let someone I hate into my home?"
Mayuna continued. Yura had never intended to raise her into a disciple without her own opinions. She knew that she would one day have to leave Mayuna, and if Mayuna could not think for herself by then, without a firm stance and a strong heart, her power would only become the fuse for human wars. Fortunately, Mayuna had not disappointed her. Perhaps she was somewhat weaker when facing Ruben, but when it came to matters that touched her bottom line, she could be as hard-hearted as stone.
"Meeting you was my good fortune, but meeting me was yours as well. The world is not as gentle as you are."
Mayuna released Ruben. Her good fortune was meeting Ruben, who had prolonged her life, while Ruben's good fortune was that Mayuna would always protect him. Mayuna knew very well what value the things in Ruben's hands possessed. Those things called technology could completely overturn this world.
But the world was not gentle. If Ruben had encountered a villain with evil intentions, he would most likely have been captured and ordered to develop tools that could bring them profit day and night. Mayuna did not want to see such a thing happen, and with her around, it never would.
"It is not as if dragons have only started treating all things as ants recently. What I hate is how they act. Like just now—if I had not been there, you would already be dead. That black dragon would not even think he had done anything excessive. I cannot live alongside creatures like that."
"And have you ever considered what kind of treatment I would receive if I were not an Archmage, but merely an ordinary girl? I would not be able to protect you, nor would I be able to escape being taken away. Him deciding things on his own without caring about other people's wishes is what I find most unacceptable."
What Mayuna said was naturally hypothetical. If she had not been an Archmage, she would not have defeated Mers either. She probably would have met the same fate as her unicorn and died in a dragon's jaws.
"It seems the first impression really is important when pursuing a girl."
There was no point in Ruben saying anything more. Once a woman hardened her heart, she truly could not be swayed. That young black dragon could only consider himself unlucky. After all, he had eaten Mayuna's unicorn.
At midnight, Mayuna had finished her pudding and contentedly fallen asleep. As for the black dragon being drenched outside, it was not worth worrying about to her. Ruben was still busy in the kitchen. The lower tier of a double-layered lunchbox on the table was already filled with high-calorie foods such as candy and pudding. Then Ruben placed the cake he had made onto a plate, put it into the upper tier, and closed the lid.
The instant Ruben stepped outside, he felt an indescribable sensation. The black dragon was lying at his doorstep, his two enormous eyes emitting a dim glow like light bulbs, the only source of light in the night. Judging by the mist continuously billowing from his nostrils, the dragon had suffered no harm from the heavy rain, and his body temperature remained normal. What Ruben felt was the killing intent Mers was directing at him.
"Turn back into a human and eat. No matter how powerful a creature is, going hungry does not feel good."
A low growl kept rumbling from the black dragon's throat, warning the human that if he took even one more step forward, he would kill him. Yet Ruben remained unmoved. Holding the umbrella Dragon had transformed into, he walked up to the black dragon and set down the lunchbox. The food he had prepared was nowhere near enough for a dragon to feast on.
Mers watched Ruben's retreating figure and raised one of his front claws. If he brought it down, this human would surely be reduced to ashes. But when he looked at the lunchbox before him, he gave up. Killing Ruben would not benefit him in the slightest; it would only make Mayuna angry.
"Human boy, why do all these unnecessary things? Dragons would be fine even if they went a year without food or water, and he would not like you just because you did those things."
Only after Ruben returned to the house did Dragon open the eye on the umbrella handle and ask seriously, a rare occurrence for him. If that black dragon had truly attacked just now, he naturally would not have stood by and watched.
"Because I wanted to."
"Like a fool."
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