What Does That Evil Dragon Live For?

“Oh, it’s been a while.”

 

“It’s been a while, Elaine. By the way, were you interested in a paladin?”

 

“Huh…?Oh, not, that’s not it…”

 

Elaine quickly hid the book behind her back as if she had been caught doing something shameful, but that only piqued Sergey’s curiosity further.

 

Sergey approached slowly and reached behind Elaine’s back, and without much effort, he reached behind Elaine’s back.

 

He took the book out of Elaine’s hands.

 

“The story of the great Paladins….”

 

Serge quickly flipped through the pages of the book with a bored face.

 

“All the Paladins are bad boys…”

 

‘I know. That’s why I wanted to look at that book.’

 

Elaine shook her head with an embarrassed smile, quite different from the answer she had thought to herself.

 

“Those who dedicated their bodies to God are running around making trouble everywhere. They’re no different from a group of thugs with divine powers.”

 

“They are Paladins, so no way…”

 

“They say that innocent girls like you are their prey. They say they have a mission from God but in the end,…”

 

Sergey was about to go into detail about how the paladin lured innocent country girls into his bed but then stopped short.

 

‘I had heard from Hubert that there were women who liked ‘bad boys’,’

 

So Sergey thought it would be more troublesome for Elaine to be interested in such undesirable males.

 

“Anyway, it’s better not to read books like this.”

 

Sergey said, putting the book back in the place from which it had been pulled out.

 

But Elaine wasn’t too disappointed.

 

Because she was happy to meet Sergey, whom she met after a long time, much more than a book she had read several times.

 

“How have you been?”

 

Sergey looked at Elaine and smirked at the belated question.

 

“I was busy.”

 

After those words, the two just stared at each other.

 

Elaine knew that the situation was very strange. Although Sergey was her friend, they were not very close, but strangely, she did not feel awkward or embarrassed to look at Sergey.

 

It just felt good. If there was a pink ‘heart’ inside her ribs, it felt fuzzy and warm.

 

“We can’t have long chats in the library.…Shall we go out?”

 

“Yes.”

 

It was also nice that Sergey was the first to suggest, “Let’s go out and talk.”

 

Because it was still difficult for Elaine to talk to Sergey first.

 

No matter who suggested it first, they walked side by side and headed under the oak tree in the cemetery.

 

“Oh my god!”

 

“Over there, Count Lindell’s son!”

 

As the two of them passed by, they could vaguely hear the wide-eyed saints whispering among themselves.

 

Among them were Lorina and her friends.

 

“Oh my god! Why is she with Sergey?”

 

“Oh my goodness, he’s really handsome when you look at him up close.”

 

A mixture of curiosity, jealousy, and admiration silently gazed at Elaine and Sergey’s backs.

 

Elaine was unconsciously paying attention to those gazes and whispers, but Sergey was extremely calm as if he heard nothing.

 

The two people sitting under a tree in the cemetery enjoyed the peaceful scenery without saying a word, feeling the cool breeze.

 

“How is temple life?”

 

It was Sergey who spoke first.

 

“It’s not bad. No, it’s a lot better than when I lived in Newt.”

 

“What, that…A day of service? I heard you were given some tough work there.”

 

“Huh? How does Sergey know that?”

 

“You’re my friend. I care about your news.”

 

At the word ‘friend’, Elaine simply laughed, not even suspecting where Sergey had heard such a rumor.

 

“I ended up helping out at a soup kitchen. It was a bit of a tough job, but it seems like some nobleman donated a lot of money to the soup kitchen. Thanks to that, things have become a lot easier.”

 

“What do you do there?”

 

“Washing dishes or something like that.”

 

Sergey’s gaze turned to Elaine’s hand.

 

Although there wasn’t any major damage, it felt like it had become rougher than before.

 

Serge coughed awkwardly for no reason, then took something out of his pocket and handed it to Elaine.

 

“Take this.”

 

“What is this?”

 

“I don’t know. It was among the things my father sent me, but I didn’t need it. It’s better for you to use it than to let it rot.”

 

Elaine took the square, flat box he handed her and opened the lid.

 

Inside the box was something like a porcelain cream jar.

 

“A cream…?”

 

“Ah, what did they say, that it’s good to apply it on your hands? I don’t know for sure.”

 

As she looked at the box again, the writing on the side caught her eye.

 

“Cream for hands…?”

 

“Ahem! They say it’s good to apply it generously before going to bed. They say it’s even better if you apply it and wear thin gloves while going to bed.”

 

Contrary to what he said about not knowing much, Sergey kindly explained how to use it.

 

Only then did Elaine realize that Sergey knew everything.

 

He knew she was washing dishes with her bare hands, which is why he had prepared this gift.

 

‘Did he come to the temple to give me this?’

 

Elaine thought they met by chance, but the fact that Sergey brought her that gift means that their meeting was definitely not a coincidence.

 

Elaine’s heart was pounding.

 

“Thank you, Sergey…”

 

“I don’t need it, so I’m just giving it to you.”

 

Sergey, who had been idly joking, glanced at Elaine as she continued to fiddle with the cream jar, then spoke up.

 

“Want to try it now?”

 

“Huh? Should I?”

 

Elaine’s cheeks flushed slightly and she carefully opened the cream jar.

 

The white cream inside the jar also smelled good.

 

She had never used such a luxurious cream before, so she felt it was a waste to just touch it.

 

As Elaine hesitated, staring at the flat surface of the cream, Sergey sat up straight, looking at Elaine with a look of frustration.

 

“What are you waiting for? I will apply the cream on your hand.”

 

Sergey scooped up a generous amount of white cream, then took one of Elaine’s hands and spread it gently.

 

Sergey’s hand, which was touching Elaine’s cold hand, was just warm enough, so Elaine was a little confused as to whether it was the cream or Sergey’s warmth that made her hand soft.

 

‘I feel a little strange.’

 

Sergey was just applying cream, but Elaine’s earlobes turned redder because she felt ashamed of herself for thinking like that.

 

Sergey’s earlobe, which was being applied with cream without saying a word, was also dyed a similar color.

 

“Wow, it’s so soft! It’s so moist! This is my first time using something like this.”

 

Elaine frowned and quickly pulled her hand out of Sergey’s grasp, fearing her face would turn bright red.

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“Yes! Thank you so much, Sergey. This is…It seems expensive…”

 

“As I said before, I’m just giving it to you because I don’t use it. It didn’t cost me any money, so don’t worry about it.”

 

But Elaine knew for sure that was a lie.

 

Why else would Count Lindell send a gift of feminine cream to his son, who never dipped his hands in water?

 

‘Even if by chance there were items that Sergey needed, instead of sending them from abroad, Sergey could have bought them here and used them. This cream has been quite popular in the empire recently…’

 

“I’ll use it sparingly.”

 

“Don’t use it sparingly, I’ll buy you more when it runs out.”

 

“I thought you said you didn’t need it, so you just gave it to me.”

 

“Don’t ….argue.”

 

Elaine smirked at the sight of Sergey, who seemed mature yet childish.

 

She felt like she knew someone like that, but she couldn’t quite remember who it was.

 

Meanwhile, Sergey, who had successfully delivered the gift to Elaine, scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

 

‘I bought it after listening to that guy Hubert, so I’m sure Elaine really likes it.’

 

Hubert knew a lot because he had lived in the human world for a long time.

 

“What if her hands, which should be softer than flower petals, become rough from washing dishes? There’s a cream you can put on your hands for that….”

 

“Humans create all sorts of things.”

 

“Is that all you can think about?”

 

“Then? What do you want me to do?”

 

“I told you to buy it and give it to Miss Elaine as a present. The master never understands indirect speech.”

 

‘I didn’t like his cocky attitude, but Hubert assured me that Elaine would love it, so I bought her a cream jar.’

 

‘I bought it because it was the most popular and expensive in the empire, but Elaine couldn’t even touch it after opening the lid, so I applied it to her myself.’

 

Elaine had touched and hugged him many times, but Sergey had never held her hand before.

 

The cream was slippery and tangled with Elaine’s fingers, which felt very strange.

 

‘Why do people put stuff like this on? Ugh, it feels weird.’

 

Rather than feeling bad, Sergey’s stomach was itching as if his whole body was going to explode.

 

Fortunately, thanks to Elaine’s removal of her hand, Sergey was able to come to his senses.

 

Even though he had only applied a small amount of cream, Elaine held up her two hands and her eyes and cheeks sparkled.

 

It was so cute that Sergey immediately wanted to go out and buy several more tubs of that cream.

 

Then his eyes went to Elaine’s two hands.

 

‘Small. With those small, thin hands, she mops, sweeps, and wash the dishes?’

 

Elaine, who had been working as a maid since in Newt, came to mind.

 

‘Why didn’t I think of Elaine’s small hands back then?’

 

“If you have any difficulties, just tell me.”

 

Sergey said, holding Elaine’s small hand still.

 

“Hehe, there’s nothing difficult about it.”

 

Elaine answered, but Sergey held Elaine’s trembling hand tighter.

 

“Well, I can take care of it before it gets difficult for you.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

Sergey smiled softly, controlling Elaine’s mind as it continued linking him with Rabes.

 

* * *