C 21
"Hmm, I don't want to hear that."
"There are times when even a mage will fight a swordsman someday. It's good to learn just in case."
"I don't know! Why should I learn? Those stupid pigs over there..."
Richard Collin raised his voice.
The moment the little hand clumsily snapped its fingers, magical energy ignited.
Shwaaa-
A blazing fireball was created. The moment the fireball began to move, it split in two instantly and disappeared into the air.
Albion had a sword in his hand before I realized it.
"Magic isn't done inside a building. If you mess up, everyone will die."
"I don't want to learn!"
"You must learn not to die."
"...I won't die!"
"Death doesn't come when you want it to."
Wow, Albion really speaks well.
It occurred to him that he had managed to run an orphanage.
"Because this place itself was a space of atonement for Albion."
It was clear that he was making an effort in his own way to reduce the number of children who died helplessly.
"What does the director know?"
Richard Collin, full of rebellion, turned around. And I, who had been neglected for a moment, flew through the air.
"Ah!"
Bam.
I hastily put force into my feet, but I felt something warm and soft.
Turning my head, I saw bright green eyes.
"Kwu-wook!"
A cry came out without my knowledge.
"...A lizard?"
Albion reached out and grabbed me.
I frowned as I struggled against his rough grip.
"Are you Rich's pet? I told him that pets aren't allowed."
"Are you going to kick me out like this?"
Absolutely not!
As I struggled and shook my head, Albion hesitated.
"It's like... you seem to be able to understand what I'm saying."
He let out a defeated sigh, probably realizing it was amusing even after saying that.
I quickly escaped from his grasp, climbed up his arm, and sat on his shoulder.
Fortunately, Albion didn't stop me.
"Rich has talent for magic. However, even if he's a talented mage, young mages are bought and sold as slaves."
"Now that I think about it, the scenario was that Albion saved Richard Collin from being bought and sold by a slave trader, right?"
"However, I don't know. Some kindness to ease my guilt... maybe it's out of reach."
"Oh, right. This person had low self-esteem..."
Albion has a personality that digs to the bottom when he gets depressed.
For example, let's say the ground shakes slightly.
Albion worries about this, thinking, "Is there an earthquake?" And then it extends to the thought, "Wouldn't everyone die?"
So in the end... he has the personality to dig a tunnel to the innermost core of the underground.
When I saw Albion about to dig a hole, I quickly lifted my front paw and put my chin on his cheek.
Chak-
"Don't say that, I know how hard you work."
He tightly pressed his lips, but his voice didn't come out.
I had no choice but to shake my head and stroke Albion's cheek again as if to encourage him.
"...Are you starting a fight with me now?"
Haha, you shouldn't pat people's cheeks to calm them down!
Albion's shoulders shrugged very slightly when I quickly withdrew my front paw and touched his shoulder again.
Albion worked hard.
Albion obviously had little to do with <Adopted>, but I could still see how hard he lived.
Even now, he used to visit and subdue slave traders and places that organize human trafficking.
That's not all; he used to give everything he had to wayward children or children who had nowhere to go, investing money in the orphanage.
Even if he had to do hard mercenary work late at night, he fought to somehow feed the orphanage.
"Even Richard Collin likes Albion."
From time to time, descriptions of secretly leaving flowers on Teacher's Day surfaced very sporadically.
"...We have to find Rich."
Albion said briefly and left the orphanage.
"That's right, but..."
Should I go too?
Albion ran with me on his shoulder.
He was literally as fast as a fighter jet.
I had to desperately cling to Albion, raising my claws I thought were lost, so as not to fall from the incredible speed that seemed inhuman.
"But does this Albion person really know where that Richard Collin went?"
Albion stopped on top of a tall tree as I pounded his shoulder in agony.
"There's only one village in the direction Rich ran."
I see.
It seems like he was watching surprisingly closely.
I nodded, and he jumped off the tree as if he had been waiting for me.
"From here on, we'll have to search separately."
He lifted me up to the tree with a serious expression.
"Can you find him?"
"Are you serious?"
Am I really a lizard now?
"If you find him, just smell me and come find me."
"...Did this hero guy really lose his mind a bit from rolling too much on the battlefield?"
Or has he been dealing with so many alien species that he actually knows nothing about regular lizards?
But did lizards have a good sense of smell?
Albion took me in his arms and held me close to his chest.
"Now, smell."
"..."
Is this how I smell... Oh? I think I can sense something.
As I sniffed, Albion let me go against the wall. Then he pulled out a piece of cloth and handed it to me.
"This is Rich's scent."
I involuntarily sniffed and then stopped.
"I... I'm not a dog..."
Do I really have to do this?!
"But I think I can smell it a bit."
That made me feel more miserable.
Albion patted my head with an expression as if he had found a very good scent-detecting dog.
"Be careful because you might get stepped on, so just walk along the walls."
As ordered, he turned away.
"He won't leave me like this, will he?"
After hesitating for a moment, I finally moved my feet cautiously.
"Because he even needs me like this."
That's why I couldn't help but move.
And fortunately, I was able to find Richard Collins in no time.
He was sitting helplessly on a bench in the middle of a crowded park.
I slowly approached the boy with his head down.
Tak, tak.
Thick drops of water fell onto Richard Collin's outstretched palms.
"...Is he really crying? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
"I'm sorry... Bam Bam."
"Bam Bam?"
"Is he referring to me? Why?"
"I accidentally dropped you, and then the cart..."
My scales stood on end at the creepy sound.
When I climbed onto the bench and took a look, I found a shapeless corpse in Richard Collin's palm.
It was crushed and hard to discern what shape it had.
With a shy expression, I quickly climbed onto Richard Collin's body and touched his cheek.
Tears moistened his cheeks and touched his palms.
Choo, chop-!
After a few more slaps, Richard Collin's head turned as if he had only just felt me.
"...Bam, bam?"
"Kyauk."
"Bam Bam!"
Richard Collin threw away what he had in his hand and hugged me.
"...I'm drowning."
I just hope Richard Collin realizes as soon as possible that my body is the size of his palm.
"I thought you were dead. I turned around and couldn't find you... I came back to look for you, but I heard your cries."
Could it be another lizard?
"So I saw you where the cart's wheels passed by..."
So that wasn't me.
"Thank God. I haven't studied undead magic yet."
Wasn't that forbidden dark magic?
"I saved you, so don't die on your own."
I looked at Richard Collin in amazement.
Richard held me in his hand, turned his head, and opened his eyes wide as if he had discovered something.
The boy stared ahead for a long time as if he had no words.
"What?"
I couldn't contain my curiosity and slowly followed his gaze.
