Chapter 26 : The Third Girl (1)

The next morning, the cave was filled with energy.

Sori woke up early as usual and was doing the ‘exercise’ I had taught her.

Push-ups, squats, running.

At first, she struggled, but now her form was pretty solid.

Thanks to consistent training, her movements looked much more polished than before.

Liset, upon opening her eyes, immediately checked her palms.

As if not wanting to forget the feeling of magic overnight, she began practicing concentrating mana again.

She was still clumsy, but she was handling the particles of light much more steadily than yesterday.

“Hmph, did you even get proper sleep? You’ll collapse at this rate.”

Mir grumbled as she groggily woke up and scolded Lisette.

But there was an odd hint of concern in her voice.

“I’m fine! Thanks to the food you gave me yesterday, I’m full of energy!”

Lisette answered with a bright smile.

Mir clicked her tongue again at her response, but a faint smile tugged at her lips.

I prepared the leftover stew and some fruits for breakfast.

The children still devoured the mandragora stew in the blink of an eye.

Especially Lisette, who seemed conscious of the mana recovery effects, ate more eagerly than the others.

After finishing the meal, Mir started supervising Lisette’s magic training again.

Just as she had announced yesterday, it was practice to transform the shape of light.

“Alright, draw the shape you want vividly in your mind! Very specifically! Then project that image onto your mana.”

Lisette closed her eyes and focused.

The orb of light floating above her palm began to slowly change shape.

At first, it was just a distorted blob, but after a few tries… maybe Lisette had imagined a flower?

A faintly flower-like shape appeared.

“Wow! Lisette, it’s a flower!”

Sori shouted from the side.

Lisette tried to refine the shape even further, but unfortunately, the light soon dispersed.

“Ah…!”

“You’re lacking focus. Maintaining mana in a desired shape requires much more delicate control than you think. Try again.”

At Mir’s comment, Lisette took a deep breath and gathered mana once more.

This time, she seemed to try creating the shape of a small bird.

The light fluttered like a bird’s wings, but once again faded weakly.

The training continued like that.

Repeating success and failure, Lisette gradually improved her mana control skills.

Mir constantly nagged but also guided Lisette with precise advice.

Sori, who might have gotten bored, sincerely cheered Lisette on.

I watched the children and kept an eye on the entrance of the cave.

It wasn’t that I sensed any immediate threat.

Even the wolves hadn’t come near the cave lately.

Was it because of my presence, or was there some other reason?

But… for some reason, something was bothering me today.

The sky outside the cave was clear as usual.

Even the sound of the wind was gentle.

Yet something felt subtly off, like a discordant note.

It was like… an unpleasant feeling, as if something was writhing beneath the calm surface.

‘…Is it just my imagination?’

A dragon’s senses are much sharper than a human’s.

Even slight changes or threats can be detected.

However, what I felt now wasn’t a tangible threat but more like a vague unease.

Like the calm before a storm, where something ominous is brewing in the stillness.

I approached the cave entrance and looked outside.

The dense forest still looked peaceful.

The distant ridgeline of the mountains remained unchanged.

What exactly was the source of this uneasiness?

“What’s wrong? Is there something outside?”

Mir paused the training and asked me.

Did he sense something too?

‘No, there’s nothing visible. It’s just… a feeling.’

“A feeling?”

Mir frowned.

‘I feel something bad in the air… very faintly, but it’s there.’

Hearing that, Mir stared into the air, trying to sense it too.

“Well… I don’t feel anything. Maybe you’re just being overly sensitive? Or maybe the humans are up to something foolish again.”

Mir said it casually, but her last comment struck a nerve.

The foolishness of humans.

The ritual sacrifices, the traditions they don’t even know the origin of — that’s what ultimately brought Sori and Lisette to my cave.

No matter how much I warn or threaten them, that deep-rooted superstition and fear won’t disappear easily.

Am I really stronger than humans?

Even looking at young Sori, I could instinctively tell that humans in this world were quite formidable.

Still, this unease felt like a primal warning of that dreadful act beginning again.

“Dragon? Is something wrong?”

Sori approached me with a worried face and asked.

I shook my head.

[It’s nothing. Continue your training.]

There was no need to make the children anxious.

Even if something did happen, I could handle it.

I returned to the inside of the cave and watched over the children’s training.

Lisette had somehow managed to form a rather convincing butterfly shape out of light.

The shimmering wings of light were adorable.

Having succeeded in shape transformation for the first time, Lisette couldn’t hide her joy and cheered.

“I did it! I made it!”

“Oh! Lisette, you’re really pretty!”

Sori was also delighted together.

Mir, still with her arms crossed, spoke gruffly.

“Hmph, what’s the big fuss over a single butterfly? There’s still a long way to go.”

But there was definitely a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Lisette’s growth seemed to bring new stimulation and joy even to Mir.

It might be the sense of fulfillment from teaching and guiding someone, something she had forgotten during a thousand years of solitude.

The children’s laughter echoed through the cave.

It was a peaceful and warm sight.

But the uneasiness in a corner of my heart did not easily fade.

Rather, the louder the children’s laughter grew, the darker the shadow of lurking darkness seemed to feel.

…Please, let nothing happen.

I looked once more toward the entrance of the cave.

I still saw nothing, but the ominous feeling grew stronger.

As if… like the moment the sea holds its breath before a great wave crashes in.

Several more days passed.

Time inside the cave seemed to flow at a different pace from the outside world.

Lisette’s magic improved rapidly day by day.

Now, she could create rather complex forms of light and even maintain them for a while.

The sight of butterflies made of light fluttering inside the cave, or small sparkling stars hanging from the ceiling and then disappearing, was quite a sight to see.

Every time that happened, Lisette was overjoyed as if she had the whole world, and Sori cheered as if it were her own achievement.

Mir scolded them not to be happy over such trivial matters but showed considerable enthusiasm in teaching Lisette.

Sometimes she explained magical theories in lengthy detail, and other times she demonstrated subtle differences in mana control herself.

Every time Lisette succeeded in a new magic, she would say, “Hmph, that’s the least you should do,” but the pride in her eyes was unmistakable.

Maybe that guy… actually has a talent for teaching.

Sori also continued to devote herself to her training.

Now she could do basic exercises like push-ups and squats with her eyes closed, and her running speed and endurance had improved dramatically.

She moved with a newfound confidence in every action, as if assured of her own strength.

Sometimes she volunteered to help Lisette’s magic training by acting as a moving target, but Lisette’s light magic often couldn’t keep up with Sori’s quick movements and ended in failure.

Whenever that happened, the two of them bickered but burst into laughter together.

Watching the children grow was… surprisingly not bad.

Of course, there were still many annoying parts, and the noisy chatter sometimes disturbed my naps, but that liveliness made the air inside the cave feel alive.

The once empty and vast space now seemed to carry a warmth similar to a ‘home.’

But the uneasiness weighing down a corner of my heart still hadn’t disappeared.

Rather, the deeper the peace inside the cave became, the darker the shadow seemed to grow.

The ominous energy from outside was still unclear but continued to linger around the cave.

Like a predator lurking quietly, holding its breath while waiting for the right moment.

‘…What could it be?’

I lay at the cave entrance, sharpening my senses and scanning the outside.

The dragon’s keen senses kept sending out warning signals.

The scent carried by the wind, the subtle tremors of the earth, the flow of mana drifting through the air… all of it felt different from usual.

A foreboding premonition that something was going wrong.

“Is there something out there again?”

Mir approached me and asked.

It seemed she too had sensed something.

[…I’m not sure yet, but the energy has definitely grown much stronger than before.]

“Is it the humans?”

[Most likely.]

Humans.

Those foolish and cruel beings.

Is their madness rearing its head again, the same madness that once sacrificed Sori and Lisette?

Just the thought of it filled me with disgust and rage.

“Hmph, ignore it. It has nothing to do with us.”

Mir said gruffly and turned away.

But even from her back, a subtle tension could be felt.

Even the thousand-year-old Imugi must be wary of the unpredictable foolishness of humans and the disastrous consequences it could bring.

A few days later, the true form of that energy finally began to reveal itself.

Beyond the forest outside the cave, the presence of numerous humans approaching could be sensed.

At first, I thought they might simply be hunters or woodcutters.

But the energy from their procession was different from that of ordinary humans.

Heavy, stagnant, mixed with deep fear and an unnaturally refined, alien energy.

‘…No way.’

My heart began to beat ominously.

Both the direction they were headed and the atmosphere of the procession pointed toward our cave.

Are they sending a sacrifice again?

‘…Again!’

A low growl of anger began to boil up from deep within me.

Are they sending another child?

I was boiling with fury at the foolish choices of the humans.

By keeping Sori and Lisette, I thought they would stop offering sacrifices.

But those foolish humans either didn’t understand my intentions or, even understanding them, let fear blind them into repeating the same mistake!

Sori’s terrified eyes, Lisette’s despairing screams vividly flashed before my eyes.

They were trying to force the pain and fear those children had suffered onto someone else.

It was unforgivable.

The cowardice, cruelty, and blind superstition of the humans made my blood boil.

‘This time… I will root it out completely.’