Chapter 7

I started by feeding Lycian.

Because the Korean in me insisted, ‘He’s suspicious, sure—but you can’t just let someone starve.’

For the record, the menu was boiled potatoes.

“Is it okay? There’s no salt or anything. Just plain boiled.”

“It’s good. Thank you.”

Once some food got into him, Lycian looked far more alive than before.

It was a little unnerving how he kept staring at me with those heavy, intense eyes, but…

‘His tastes seem pretty normal, at least….’

If he wasn’t human, then what exactly was he?

I racked my brain, digging through the original novel’s lore about other races.

First: spirits.

Pure spiritual entities born of nature, each with their own elemental attribute.

It was rare for spirits to take on a fully human appearance.

‘And then… elves.’

Elves looked much like humans and lived in villages deep in forests or mountain valleys.

Some lived among human society, and some even fell in love with humans and married them.

But Lycian wasn’t an elf. His ears weren’t pointed, the defining trait of the species.

‘Could he be half-elf?’

Or maybe a beastkin capable of complete human transformation.

And lastly… there were dragons.

‘But there’s no way he’s a dragon.’

What kind of dragon would be this frail? The odds of Lycian being a dragon were basically zero.

‘In the end, the only way to know his true identity is for him to get his memories back.’

By now, Lycian had cleaned his plate and was gazing at me quietly.

…There he goes again, looking at me like that. It’s suffocating.

I poured water into his empty cup and asked,

“Want some more food?”

“No, I’ve had enough.”

His gentle smile was so pretty it made me sigh in admiration. Wow—this face is criminal….

‘Whose kid is this, seriously….’

“Hey. You don’t remember anything at all? Even fragments?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

Lycian took a small sip of water, his eyes lowering slightly.

“Just… when I look at you….”

“…….”

“I feel like you’re my master.”

“…I’m not your master.”

“Even so…”

“You and I met for the first time today. And slavery was abolished thirty years ago!”

“Ah—was I a slave, then?”

“No, I’m telling you, slavery was abolished thirty years ago!”

To be fair, slavery still existed in the Kingdom of Roblet, but every other nation had outlawed it, so it was effectively abolished.

Even Roblet’s nobles avoided keeping slaves these days, mindful of foreign scrutiny.

‘Is this ‘master’ thing because of the Husbandry skill?’

It was a very reasonable guess. The problem was, I couldn’t exactly explain the system to him.

‘Agh… I’m losing my mind. What am I supposed to do with this?’

I clutched my head in anguish, but no easy answer came.

Meanwhile, Lycian was staring at me with moist, desperate eyes.

The moment our gazes met, he asked, almost pleading,

“Master… you won’t abandon me, right?”

“…….”

Damn it…. How am I supposed to say, ‘Yeah, I’m dumping you’ to that?

Letting someone with amnesia loose felt dangerous… so was temporarily taking him in my only option?

‘At least until he gets his memories back… no, at least until I find a way to cancel the Husbandry skill….’

In the end, I compromised. Letting out a deep sigh, I said,

“Fine…. I’ll be your master for now. Temporarily.”

“Does that mean… you’ll abandon me someday?”

“No—hey, don’t cry!”

The way Lysian’s tears fell made him look heartbreakingly pitiful.

Feeling like an animal abandoner, my conscience prickling, I shook my head and said firmly,

“I won’t abandon you. Okay?”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“Then please swear it.”

“…?”

Swear?

“Here.”

Lycian held out his pinky finger.

I thought he was asking for a childish pinky promise, but his demand was unexpectedly specific.

“Wrap one strand of your hair around my little finger, and promise that you’ll be my master forever.”

That sounded… extremely ritualistic.

If I actually did that, my life would probably get seriously screwed over….

‘Wait. Something’s off.’

Does this guy really have amnesia?

“Kyaaah! Y-you—y-you insane pervert! How dare you try to force a mate-bond oath on Master!?”

The spirit suddenly shrieked and went berserk. She was so furiously enraged that droplets of water sprayed everywhere.

“A bonding oath?”

“Yeees! A very, very dangerous oath! It binds your souls together for eternity! Even long-lived races don’t swear it lightly—and this mutt that crawled out of nowhere thinks he can—!!”

The dewdrop rice cake launched itself into Lycian with a flying body slam. What are you, a water Pokém*n?

“Um, excuse me, Ms. Dewdrop? That tickles….”

“My name isn’t Dewdrop, it’s Ninabel! You damn perverted con artist!”

No matter how hard Ninabel rammed into him, Lycian took zero damage.

Naturally. Ninabel was, at best, just a dewdrop rice cake that could wiggle some water around….

I grabbed Ninabel and hugged her tight. When she went wild like this, it was the most effective method.

“Waaah, Master~! Kick that bastard out! Right now!”

“O-okay, calm down first….”

While roughly patting the dewdrop rice cake, I pressed Lycian.

“You said you lost your memory. Then how do you know about something like a bonding oath?”

Lycian smiled softly, his answer flowing out with ease.

“It just came to me all of a sudden. Maybe it was important information to me?”

“You’re suspicious. Why were you trying to make me swear something like that?”

“I just like you so much, Master….”

“Stop calling me ‘Master’! Just use my name!”

“How could I dare address my master so casually?”

Th-this guy. We’re not communicating at all. He’s completely on his own wavelength.

‘In cases like this….’

I guess I had to throw my weight around.

I flung the dewdrop rice cake aside, straightened my posture, and crossed my arms.

Then I looked down at Lycian with a stern glare and demanded in a deliberately authoritarian voice,

“Thinking of deceiving me any further? I’m not an idiot.”

At my words, Lycian’s golden eyes flashed sharply for a split second.

Sensing danger on instinct, I flinched and stepped back.

“Haha….”

A low chuckle slipped from his lips, which curved into a gentle smile.

His eyes arced like crescent moons as he spoke in a perfectly kind tone,

“Let me correct that. It’s not that I remember nothing.”

“Hey! Then—”

“Who I am, where I came from, what I used to do.”

“…….”

“I can’t remember any of that. It’s like my mind’s been wiped blank.”

“…….”

Sounds like bullshit.

I narrowed my eyes and shot him a suspicious look. Something about this felt off.

The problem was, I had no grounds to kick him out.

I was the one who’d used the Husbandry skill and tamed him without permission…!

‘But that wasn’t my intention! Damn it—this is driving me crazy!’

What kind of lunatic system lets you go around taming dangerous, suspicious strangers without consent?!

Ding!

“…….”

Just tell me whether it’s negative or not. Please.

“Anyway, you’re my lifesaver.”

At some point, Lycian had risen from the bed and was slowly approaching me as he spoke.

I instinctively shuffled backward, eyes wide as I looked up at him.

‘Wow… now that he’s standing….’

He’s really tall.

Around 190 cm? Maybe more?

‘I think he’s even taller than Raul.’

That height, that build, and that bright, beautiful face—this guy is a total cheat character.

Before I knew it, the wall blocked my back, and Lycian gently took my hand.

I flinched, and then he lowered his head and softly kissed the back of my hand.

The gesture was so reverent it was absurd—for a moment, it felt like we weren’t in a shabby cabin, but in a grand cathedral wrapped in stained glass.

Lycian lifted his lips from my hand and smiled.

‘His face is unreal….’

I was momentarily entranced—then snapped back to my senses at the sheer nonsense that followed.

“I’m offering to repay my savior with my body… is that a problem?”

Wh-what the hell are you saying, you crazy bastard?!

I hurriedly tried to clarify terminology.

“By ‘repayment with your body,’ you mean labor, right?”

“If you’d like something other than labor, that’s fine too.”

“N-no, that’s fine! Labor is good! Just labor!”

“In that case… well….”

Smiling softly, Lycian slowly let go of my hand. As he did, he lightly scratched my palm with his fingernail.

“…!”

A strange sensation ran through me, making me flinch—and right on cue, the dewdrop rice cake flew in and smacked Lycian across the cheek.

“You perverted bastard! How dare you try pulling moves like that?!”

Smack! Smack! As the spirit launched a flurry of noisy attacks, Lycian casually grabbed her with one hand.

“Come to think of it… is this cutely-acting dewdrop perhaps a spirit?”

“When did I ever act cute—! Nini is just naturally cute, idiot!”

“I don’t see a single thing to find cute, honestly.”

“At least I’m cuter than you! You oversized male!”

…Watching these two idiots bicker like children gave me a headache.

I pressed a hand to my forehead, then finally snapped.

“Both of you—stop it! Attention!”

“…!”

Their movements froze instantly. The noisy argument cut off at once.

Lycian, in particular, reacted with startling speed.

As if it hadn’t been his own will at all, he stared back at me with wide eyes, clearly flustered.

Seeing that expression, a single thought flickered through my mind.

…Wait. Don’t tell me?