Mirien, wasn’t it?

Yujin was fully aware that the elf and scout of the party he had joined had been quietly keeping an eye on him.

His heightened senses made it impossible for him not to notice her gaze, laden with suspicion and wariness.

He had anticipated that, given the chance, she might try to question him when they were alone…

But—

‘I didn’t expect her to draw a knife on me so suddenly.’

Even with the rest of the party still in the tent behind them, she hadn’t hesitated to point a dagger at him.

Of course, Yujin wasn’t particularly fazed. To him, that dagger was no more dangerous than a child’s toy.

That was precisely why he hadn’t stopped her when he sensed her reaching for the blade. After all, who would overreact to a child waving a toy around?

So, he had allowed her to hold the blade to his neck. He had even gone a step further, isolating her and himself in a separate space to prevent the rest of the party from witnessing her actions.

Now, whatever happened between them would remain a secret known only to the two of them.

In this perfect closed room, created with the power of Dragon Speech, Yujin decided to turn the tables on Mirien, pressuring her in return—adding a bit of "playfulness" to the mix.

"Tell me who I am. You already know the answer, don’t you?"

The Fear, one of the dragon's innate powers.

When a dragon reveals its true presence, any living creature perceiving it is overcome with primal terror, losing their reason and capacity for thought.

Indeed, Mirien’s body trembled like a leaf, her complexion pale to the point of being ghostly.

Tears streamed from her eyes, and froth began forming at the corners of her mouth, as if she were on the verge of losing consciousness.

Yet, even in her state of overwhelming fear, her lips moved as though compelled to answer Yujin’s question.

"You... you... you are..."

"Yes. What am I?"

It was as if the very fabric of her existence demanded she respond to the question of this overwhelming presence. She struggled to force out an answer.

"You... are...!"

Her eyes began to roll back, her body teetering on the edge of shock.

"Oops, I might have overdone it," Yujin remarked lightly.

He withdrew the Fear just as her condition reached its breaking point. The oppressive energy dissipated, and the suffocating pressure lifted.

"Cough! Gasp! Hahh...!"

Finally able to breathe again, Mirien gasped and coughed violently, collapsing to her knees as she struggled to recover.

As she sat there, panting heavily, she raised her head to look at Yujin.

Still smiling, Yujin spoke in a calm tone.

"My apologies. I might have taken the joke too far. But... you did point a knife at me first, so shall we call it even?"

"......"

Mirien stared at him with trembling eyes before lowering her head, unable to muster the courage to meet his gaze again.

Yujin observed her for a moment before kneeling to her level, gently lifting her chin with his hand to make her look at him.

"...!"

"Mirien, but before that..."

Holding her gaze with his, he asked,

"Can you tell me who I am now?"

"Hic...!"

"Hahaha, I’m kidding. It seems I scared you a bit too much," Yujin said, laughing softly.

Seeing her still pale face, he raised a hand, pressing a finger to his lips in a gesture of secrecy.

"But you mustn’t let anyone else see you like this, okay? Let’s keep what happened tonight just between us."

"......"

"Do you understand?"

Still trembling, Mirien nodded. Satisfied, Yujin smiled and nodded in return.

"Good. Then, let’s get back to our watch."

With that, Yujin snapped his fingers.

Flash!

The pitch-black space dissolved, and the two of them returned to the campfire at their party’s campsite.

Yujin stood and took a seat on the folding chair by the fire, while Mirien remained on the ground for a while before shakily rising and sitting beside him.

For the rest of their watch, neither of them exchanged a single word. Of course, the silence was only between Yujin and Mirien.

『That felt a bit excessive, don’t you think? There was no need to press her that hard,』 Tiamat’s voice echoed in Yujin’s mind.

Unlike other transcendent beings who looked down on mortals as insignificant, Tiamat had a gentle and nurturing nature. She seemed to think Yujin had gone too far.

'Is that so?'

『I think that girl will never forget this. You might have tried to tone down the Fear, but the power of a dragon is not so easily controlled. She’ll probably carry the trauma for the rest of her life.』

'Hmm...'

Yujin briefly glanced to the side. As soon as his gaze landed on her, Mirien flinched and let her long ears droop.

Her eyes were unmistakably filled with terror. Her body trembled, and she was doing her best to hold it together.

『That shows she has some strong resolve. Of course, your control over the Fear played a big role, but most mortals hit directly by it either go insane with fear or die from shock.』

'I see.'

『...Is that all?』

'Regardless, she was the one who drew a weapon on me.'

To Yujin, it had been a situation that felt more like a childish game, but she had genuinely threatened him.

She had pointed the dagger at his neck, acting as if she would slit it at the slightest provocation. Whether it was a real threat or not, the fact remained that she had initiated it.

Had Yujin harbored ill intent or actually harmed anyone in the party, it would be a different story. But no, she had simply threatened him out of her own personal wariness.

In that case, she had to face the consequences. That was only fair.

『......』

'Tiamat, you may think that I lack the grandeur expected of a transcendent being. But I truly have no personal feelings toward Mirien.'

This was sincere. Yujin had felt no particular animosity when she had pointed the dagger at him.

『You have no personal feelings, and yet you did that?』

'Yes. That’s why I ended it by simply scaring her.'

『......』

Tiamat’s response seemed to be puzzled by the contradiction, but Yujin’s answer was clear.

Yujin continued.

'Tiamat, intimidating someone who threatened you isn’t an act of cruelty. If someone harbors true malice, they wouldn’t just stop at scaring them; they would break their limbs or even destroy their ability to harm others. That’s what true power looks like.'

『I understand that... but calling your actions merciful doesn’t quite seem right...』

'Tiamat, I’m not saying that I showed mercy because I just scared her. I simply want you to understand that mortals are weak and cowardly. They have to learn from their mistakes by facing the consequences, or they’ll never improve.'

『......』

'Of course, I could have shown mercy after demonstrating the full power of a transcendent. But mortals should never be allowed to pass on their mistakes to the mercy of the strong. Mercy only prevents them from learning, making them incapable of growing.'

『So you’re saying...』

'What if I had shown her mercy, and then we encountered the same situation again? Would she turn to the stronger one again, begging for mercy? How could she know if that stronger being would tolerate her insolence?'

『......』

'It may seem like a leap in logic, but my view hasn’t changed. She made a rash move and must face the consequences to learn. Mortals are weak, and only by facing their mistakes can they survive and grow.'

Yujin said this with a bitter smile.

'And, as I said earlier, I have no personal feelings toward Mirien. That’s why I only warned her not to put herself in danger with such reckless behavior.'

『...I see.』

'Haha, I might have gone too far with the joke, though. It seems I overdid it. But as you said, Tiamat, she does seem quite resilient. I’m sure she’ll recover soon enough.'

Tiamat paused for a moment, reflecting. She had come to realize that showing boundless mercy to the weak was not always the right thing to do.

In this regard, Yujin had a better understanding than Tiamat. Perhaps it was because he himself was a mortal, and thus understood weakness and growth far better.

For Tiamat, born a being of power, understanding this concept had been difficult until now.

After a brief silence, Mirien, clearly uncomfortable, stood up from her chair.

"Well, then... It’s getting late, so I’ll...!"

She spoke in a trembling voice and hurried into the tent.

Yujin, being the one who would be on watch next, simply sat quietly and waited.

As he waited...

"Hmm... Thank you for your hard work, Yujin."

"Haha, welcome, Hans."

The party’s porter, Hans, came out and greeted him. Then, as if noticing something, he asked.

"By the way, what happened between you and Mirien? She seemed kind of... uneasy."

"Well, I suppose I told her a scary story to pass the time."

"Ah... I see. I didn’t expect Mirien to be so shaken by a scary story."

Hans scratched his head and glanced around the tent. He didn’t seem to suspect anything.

"Would you like me to tell you one too?"

"Uh... No, I’m good. I have a feeling your stories are going to be quite scary."

"Haha, that’s a shame."

With that, the two of them continued their watch.

How much time passed, Yujin wasn’t sure.

Soon, the sun began to rise.

And...

"We’ll be departing soon!"

The journey into the labyrinth resumed.