Monsters Wag Their Tails Only at Me

Varen glared at Morpha with blazing eyes.

But Morpha looked completely unbothered. They finished the remaining tea and set the empty teacup down with a soft clatter.

Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, Morpha reminded us of the operation’s other objective.

“We didn’t run into anything dangerous at sea, did we?”

"Ah, right. Things worked out with the spirit. What about your side?"

“The lord of the forest proved more difficult than expected. It seems they took issue with Lord Varen burning down the forest twice.”

“......”

“Since the matter was resolved successfully, there’s no need to concern yourself.”

Our dependable problem-solver waved a hand dismissively as they spoke. Even though Morpha said not to worry about it, Varen’s blue eyes rolled restlessly.

Then he muttered in a shrinking voice,

“No magical creatures... died.”

“Instead, the magical creatures lost their home.”

“...The trees grow back.”

That was not something I could defend him for this time.

I quietly shifted away and put a little distance between myself and Varen.

Rather than speaking, Morpha simply stared at him sharply.

Varen avoided their gaze this way and that before finally confessing his crime.

“I won’t burn down the forest again.”

“You’d better not. Becoming enemies with a forest spirit is an enormous headache.”

“I was wrong.”

At the sight of Varen actually reflecting on his actions, Morpha let out a faint snort of laughter.

No matter how sternly they scolded him, I could tell they were fond of Varen too.

The scene was strangely heartwarming, and I found myself smiling as well. A lot had happened, but it seemed this operation had ended in success.

“Ah, right. The sea spirit gave us a shell.”

The moment I mentioned it, Varen immediately pulled it out of his pocket. It was a white conch shell emitting a faint glow.

Morpha naturally accepted the item and examined it from several angles. Then their brows lifted in surprise.

“This is an item that allows direct communication with the lord of the sea. To receive something this valuable... you did well.”

At Morpha’s simple praise, my shoulders straightened unconsciously.

Varen, who had looked sullen until now, brightened instantly as well.

After exchanging glances with me, he began recounting our adventure in an excited voice.

“It was a nasty creature. It stirred up a storm and tried to throw us into the sea.”

“My. That must have been dangerous, yet you returned safely.”

“And even if it’s only once, it promised to help me whenever I want.”

“Oh? It must have taken a liking to you, Lord Varen.”

“No. More than me, it liked Ceryl.”

The arrow suddenly turned toward me.

I widened my eyes at him, but Varen kept talking.

“The spirit said this. It told the new Dravergh and the Lavier to bring forth peace in the new era.”

Silence spread through the massive estate.

Theo tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the meaning, while Morpha stared at me with sunken eyes.

Now that all attention had shifted onto me, I let out a deep sigh.

My head was a mess trying to decide where to even begin explaining this.

When I failed to speak easily, Morpha asked first.

“Isn’t your name Ceryl Aylos?”

“...Half right, half wrong.”

There was no reason to hide the truth anymore, so I steeled myself and gave the conclusion first.

“My real name is Ceryl Lavier. Aylos was an alias I used to infiltrate the magical creature management facility.”

Heavy silence fell once more.

Theo repeated my words to himself several times before finally shooting to his feet from the sofa with his mouth hanging open.

“W-What? Ceryl, you’re a Lavier?!”

“Is that really such a shocking thing?”

“Of course it is! You... do you even know what kind of family the Laviers are?”

“I do. It’s my bloodline.”

I forced myself to remain calm as I stared down at my palm.

I still didn’t know whether I could truly call the blood flowing through this body mine.

But at the very least, I understood that I had to carry the weight of the life Ceryl had left behind.

Unlike Theo, who was practically hyperventilating, Morpha merely watched me silently.

After a while, they broke the silence.

“So it’s true, Ceryl. You were a Lavier.”

“Sorry for hiding it this whole time. Though honestly, I only found out recently myself.”

“It’s fine. I already knew you weren’t an ordinary human.”

Morpha tapped a finger lightly as though organizing their thoughts.

For some reason, nervousness crept over me, and I wiped the sweat gathering in my palms against my pants.

Their final words bothered me strangely.

I couldn’t use remarkable magic, and I couldn’t wield a sword either.

What exactly about me made them think I wasn’t ordinary?

At that moment, Morpha’s voice echoed directly inside my head.

“Ordinary humans cannot hear a dragon’s true speech.”

I flinched violently at those words.

After confirming my reaction, Morpha spoke aloud this time.

“It is said that among humans, only the Lavier family can hear a dragon’s true speech.”

“Ah....”

“That’s why I became suspicious after seeing Ceryl hear my voice. Though the Laviers vanished long ago, so I couldn’t be certain.”

I remembered my first meeting with Varen long ago.

The underground prison of the magical creature management facility.

Even Varen had been surprised that I could communicate with him while he was in his dragon form.

Back then, I had simply assumed it was some transmigration benefit.

I had never imagined it was an innate ability belonging to Ceryl Lavier.

As I slowly nodded, Morpha added another reason they had suspected me.

“And there’s one more thing. Ceryl possesses a special talent.”

“...Me?”

“Humans, magical creatures, dragons alike. No matter how hostile they are toward you, in the end you always draw them onto your side.”

They called it a special talent, but honestly it just sounded like embarrassingly excessive praise.

I waved my hands at them jokingly.

“Come on, that’s not a talent.”

But Morpha didn’t respond.

The growing silence became awkward, so I kept rambling pointlessly.

“Haha, well... maybe I’m just good at talking.”

“......”

“Or maybe... I have a good personality?”

“You seriously think you have a good personality?”

Theo abruptly cut in.

He stared at me with utter disbelief written across his face.

“Did you forget that the first thing you did was point a sword at me?”

“...I did that?”

“You kept hitting the back of my neck trying to knock me unconscious! I seriously thought you were insane!”

I could only smack my lips awkwardly.

Well.

Because of this awful fucking personality of mine, I had nearly died several times already.

Even as a joke, I couldn’t honestly claim I had a good personality.

“That is the instinct of a Lavier.”

Morpha pulled the wandering conversation back on track.

Everyone gathered in the reception room focused on them at once.

“The Lavier family has stood beside the Dravergh since ancient times, maintaining the balance of the world.”

“The balance of the world?”

“Yes. And the reason they could do so lies in the abilities possessed by the Lavier family.”

Morpha seemed to know more about the Laviers than I did.

And then words I could barely handle began spilling from their mouth.

“The surname Lavier means ‘one who hears the truth of the world.’ They can hear the voices of nature and the voices of all living things.”

“......”

“I once read a passage long ago. It said: the Dravergh protect the world, and the Laviers hear the truth of the world.”

Neither Ceryl’s memories nor Phiren’s memories had told me this.

My lips parted without me realizing.

Instinctively, I wanted to run from this entire situation.

I had only just resolved myself to carry the life of Ceryl Lavier.

Yet if possible, I wanted to throw away that name and return to being Aylos instead.

Honestly, being pointed at and condemned as the original dragon hunter would have been a hundred times easier.

“Ah... ahaha, uh, right.”

The only response I managed was an awkward laugh.

My face had gone stiff as I twitched my cheek.

“W-Wow. That’s... kind of incredible. Oh... incredible.”

I raised both hands as though this had nothing to do with me.

My reaction was so thoroughly broken that even Morpha looked dumbfounded.

Still seeming to have more thoughts to sort through, they pressed a hand against their forehead and continued.

“Now I understand what the sea spirit meant.”

“......”

“Once King Laskar is overthrown, someone must sit upon the vacant human throne. If that person were a Lavier, there could be no better choice.”

My survival instincts desperately pretended not to understand what Morpha had just said.

I forcibly shut off the quick-thinking part of my brain and refused to process it.

But my body responded honestly anyway.

Cold sweat trickled steadily down my forehead.

Meanwhile, Morpha continued speaking without hesitation.

“Ceryl, are there any other living Laviers at present?”

“...I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

Even without a dragon’s heightened sense of smell, anyone looking at me right now would immediately know I was lying.

And despite knowing that, I had no choice but to lie.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I know nothing about it.”

“Hm....”

This time, the one beside me reacted with a low murmur.

Varen’s gaze landed directly on the side of my face.

Sweat dripped down me as I silently counted numbers in my head.

Phiren was dead.

That meant there were only two living Laviers left.

Me and Days.

“...Fuck....”

A curse escaped my mouth like a groan.

I felt like I was finally beginning to understand why Ceryl had cried at Phiren’s death.

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