What Does That Evil Dragon Live For?

In fact, Rabes didn’t care much for St. Nicholas Day or the idea of humans exchanging gifts.

 

However, Elaine’s story that she had never received a present on St. Nicholas’ Day kept getting on Rabes’ nerves.

 

‘Why do I care about that? It’s ridiculous for me, the dragon, to celebrate human anniversaries.’ 

 

He thought so and tried to forget.

 

Then he changed his mind when he saw Elaine laughing happily at a few chocolates that she had ‘won’ from her cousins.

 

‘You’re so happy about just that? All right, then, let’s give her something even better than what she got from the humans, so she won’t think about betraying me.’ 

 

He was not willing to be betrayed again.

 

So it was important to establish a ‘close’ relationship so that Elaine wouldn’t do that.

 

500 years ago, they were more like partners than close and that was probably the cause of failure.

 

It’s, like, a trap to keep her under control, right? Yeah, that’s it!’ 

 

Rabes also made such excuses to himself and explored the concept of ‘gift’ a bit more.

 

‘it’s more effective to give the other person what they want, right? Then we need to know what Elaine wants most.…’ 

 

He pondered about what Elaine wanted, but even in this shitty situation, Elaine didn’t want much.

 

At best, she wanted to eat meat stew and white bread instead of hot soup and brown bread, and even then, she didn’t want to threaten anyone to get it.

 

As he racked his brain, St. Nicholas’s day was getting dark, and he became nervous.

 

Then, suddenly, he remembered the conversation he had with Elaine about ‘mother’.

 

‘Yes! She wanted to see her mother!’ 

 

When talking about her mother, Elaine always had a sad, wistful smile on her face. Rabes never knew exactly what she was feeling, but at least he knew Elaine wanted to see her mother.

 

‘Okay, let’s give her a big surprise.’ 

 

In fact, it was not an easy task to call the souls of the dead into the world of the living. Even Rabes’s magic core wasn’t perfect.

 

However, imagining Elaine smiling more brightly than when she had received the chocolates and candies made him excited.

 

‘I felt a little sad when L’Arch came and gave her a gift in a subtle atmosphere, but seeing that Elaine wasn’t happy about it, I was rather confident.’

 

And when he finally summoned Mariel’s soul, Rabes saw Elaine’s face filled with amazement and sadness, as well as joy and affection.

 

‘It was a more wonderful sight than the sunset seen from the top of Mount.’ 

 

‘The pain in my chest, which I had never felt before, was getting worse, perhaps because my magic core wasn’t perfect, but I was happy enough that I was willing to endure that much.’

 

Elaine even introduced Rabes to her mother as a ‘friend’.

 

As far as Rabes knew, Elaine had no friends, so he was probably her only friend.

 

‘I was surprised and a little excited about it, so I couldn’t control my expression for a moment.’

 

‘In addition, I found out how the reincarnation curse worked.’

 

That was an unexpected reward.

 

When Mariel said that she gave birth to Elaine after swallowing the dragon stone, Elaine didn’t understand what that meant, but Rabes understood it at once.

 

‘The dragon stone that was passed down as an heirloom in this house was my magic core where Lancer’s soul was sealed.’ 

 

Perhaps because of the reincarnation curse, Mariel felt compelled to swallow it and Lancer’s soul was born as a human through Mariel’s body.

 

He could understand why it was called the ‘unique’ Dragon Stone.

 

‘Since it’s a dragon stone mixed with human souls, it must have been different from other dragon stones in terms of color, magic power, and magic affinity with humans.’ 

 

It is unknown how it came to be passed down as an heirloom in the Newt family, but the former Count Newt seems to have recognized the value of the Dragon Stone.

 

That’s why he must have brought a witch who was weak enough to subdue him and let her borrow the power of the Dragon Magic Stone to use it.

 

‘Even a human named Mariel didn’t know exactly what happened, so he must have only vaguely told Elaine in fear of shocking her.’ 

 

When Mariel told Elaine, “You are my daughter, you are human” and “You may blame me when you find out everything, but don’t blame yourself”, Mariel was so sad that made Rabes’ heart ache.

 

‘I wanted to let them see each other a little longer if I could.’

 

However, it was impossible with limited magic power and an incomplete magic core.

 

When Mariel finally disappeared, tears welled up in Elaine’s eyes.

 

‘The sight of it broke my heart.’

 

‘If she cries after receiving a gift, doesn’t that mean she doesn’t like it?’ 

 

In his nervousness, he tried to add an excuse. It was true that summoning the soul of the dead was not an easy task, and in fact, his magic core was almost empty.

 

However, Elaine smiled as if to calm his anxiety.

 

“It’s the best gift of my life.”

 

‘The joy of the moment when I heard that!’

 

Rabes forgot that he was a dragon and smiled broadly.

 

‘Isn’t a gift supposed to make the recipient feel better? But why do I feel good?’ 

 

His concept of a gift was a little shaky, but for now, it was good.

 

The most important was the fact that Elaine was happy and he had defeated L’Arch.

 

While Rabes was so triumphant, Elaine pouted and wiggled her fingers.

 

“I never expected to receive such a wonderful gift. I wish I could give you a gift as wonderful as this….”

 

[How can a human being give a gift as wonderful as a dragon? Don’t worry because I don’t expect it.] 

 

Rabes tried to relieve Elaine’s burden by condescending like a joke.

 

But Elaine hesitated, pulling something out from under the pillow on her bed.

 

“I’m sorry I can only give you this. However, you also said that you had never received a gift before.…So I really wanted to give it to you too.”

 

[What? What the hell kind of gift would you give a dragon…] 

 

“I told you. Until Rabes meets his mother, I will love him instead.”

 

[I told you it was arrogant] 

 

Rabes grumbled, but he didn’t refuse the gift Elaine offered him.

 

“Actually, it may be unnecessary for Lord Rabes, but…”

 

Elaine seemed nervous, fearing that Rabes might not like her gift.

 

And the gift she gave, along with some chocolates she had ‘snapped’ from her cousin, was a strange one: pine cones were attached to an old cork, small red berries were fixed on it, and yellow leaves were cut into a star shape at the top.

 

[Sorry, can you explain what this is?] 

 

“Ah, I made a tree ornament usually installed on St. Nicholas Day with pine cones. Nobles have various trees in their houses and decorate them with shiny things.”

 

But commoners didn’t have the money for that, so they tended to buy cheap decorations and hang them in their houses, and even that was enough to make a house a pretty good place to live.

 

Most of the children who come to the temple to learn how to read were from families that couldn’t afford it, and the temple would make pine cone decorations for them for St. Nicholas Day.

 

The children waited for St. Nicholas’ Day with excitement, even if it was just a simple ornament.

 

“It’s ugly, but in my current situation, I can only make something like this,…”

 

[Is this what you’ve been doing outside without me these past few days, making this?]

 

Elaine blushed and nodded.

 

She felt a bit skeptical as she searched around the garden for pine cones, red fruits, and bright yellow leaves in the cold wind, unnoticed by her cousin and servants.

 

‘I wondered what the hell would be the use of it for Rabes, the dragon if I made something like this for him.’

 

‘But I don’t have any other talent.’ 

 

‘It was a bittersweet moment, but I consoled myself that it was a fitting gift for St. Nicholas’ Day.’

 

‘Without the glue I got from Emily, it would have been difficult, but I did my best, and it turned out prettier than the ones I used to make for the children at the temple.’

 

But it must have been meaningless to Rabes, who didn’t even know what a St. Nicholas Day tree decoration was.

 

“Sorry. If I get out of here later, I’ll be—”

 

[That’s great]

 

“yes? What?”

 

[I mean this. it’s a ‘tree’ made of fruit that fell from a big tree, and when it grows up, it goes back to the beginning again, so this little pine cone has a deep meaning!] 

 

“That has such a deep meaning…”

 

[You! Unlike other humans, you served nature. I like it. That’s my contractor.] 

 

Rabes grinned.

 

Elaine tilted her head and smiled, not knowing whether Rabes was joking or being serious.

 

Rabes floated a small pine cone decoration in the air and his eyes sparkled.

 

Silver powder glistened around the pine cone, creating a beautiful sight.

 

“Wow…!”

 

[It’s Wonderful Saint Natholis Day.] 

 

“Not Natholis.…hahaha!”

 

Rabes and Elaine forgot a few chocolates they had won from Martin’s gang, watching the light powder scattering and the pine cone decorations spinning inside them for a long time.

 

It was the warmest and most beautiful Saint Nicholas’s day in Elaine’s life.

 

* * *