Magic Merchant Racial Anecdote

That night, after Alai and Ned said goodbye, they were in the living room of the castle.

Nino stood by the window inlaid with blue and gold, silently looking out at the dark night.

"They went back?" Weixi asked Nino.He picked up two cups of coffee and walked towards them, and looked out the window together with Nino. It was dark outside, and the clouds completely blocked the starlight.

"Yes." Nino replied.

The superior eyesight of the Dragon Clan allowed him to see clearly what the human named Alai said in the hover car that was slowly flying down the mountain, which made his dear brother's face reveal the A smile never seen before.

"Ned has changed." Weixi said with a sigh as he handed one of the cups of coffee to Nino.

He still remembered the first time he met Ned, the giant dragon flying in the sky, the sense of oppression that was even more terrifying than Nino, and the pair of inorganic golden vertical pupils that ignored everything.

"After the Dragon Clan finds a 'partner', there will be some changes." Nino took a sip of coffee, looked at Weixi in front of him, and replied almost resignedly.

"Do you think this change is good?" Wei Xi asked softly while looking at Nino.

"It's not up to me to decide... Whether it's good or bad depends on the choice of that 'human'." Nino looked back out of the window and replied in an unclear manner.

***

When Alai and Ned returned home from the 'door', the sky in the courtyard was already completely dark, the moon was faintly showing a little outline in the clouds, and the tea in the teapot on the table had already been completely cold.

He dragged his weary steps into the courtyard, and within two steps, he spread out on the chair closest to him like a boneless one, completely emptied himself.

The meal he just had with Nino and the others was definitely the most tiring meal in his life.For the first time, he felt that eating was hard work.

"It feels like today has exhausted the energy of a whole year." Alai murmured to himself while resting his chin on the table in front of him.

Ned followed Alai and sat down on another chair.He glanced at Alai who was about to fall asleep, took out an old magic teapot, and started to make tea.

He now has a little understanding of the concept of 'tired' in Alai's mouth.Unlike the dragon race, human beings are creatures that get tired easily, sometimes physically and sometimes mentally, and Alai is the part of the human race that is most likely to be 'tired'.

"Would you like a cup of hot tea?" Ned asked Alai.

"...Mmm." Alai lifted his half-closed eyelids, and he managed to pull himself together and nodded to Ned.

While making tea, Ned looked at Alai who was lying on the table in front of him. After a day of tossing, the soft hair ends were no longer as docile as when he just went out, and they were sticking playfully on the top of his head. He couldn't help rubbing I flicked my fingers.

"About what happened today, do you have anything you want to ask me?" Ned forced his gaze away from Alai's head, and asked Alai instead.

Alai stared at the teapot in Ned's hand in a daze. The hot water boiled, and the steam diffused from the spout, covering his expression.

What are you asking?Ah Lai thought to himself.

Vesey has made it very clear about the contract, and he has made up his mind to live with Ned as a 'partner' in the future.

But what did Ned think? ——If it wasn't him who accidentally broke into the cave that day and made the contract accidentally...what would Ned do?

No, what he really wants to ask is, can anyone do it?As long as a contract is made, it makes no difference to Ned?

Thinking of this, Alai slammed his forehead on the table.What is he hesitating about?It's not like him at all.

Besides, where did so many ifs come from in this world? Anyway, he is the one who signed the contract with Ned now. No matter what the answers to these questions are, they will not change this reality in the end.

but……

want to know.

He wanted to know what Ned was thinking.

"... I want to know, will it be resolved?" Alai raised his head slightly, and asked Ned in a low voice and vaguely.

"Huh? What?" The voice was so vague that Ned could only hear a few words from Alai.He leaned over the table and brought his face closer to Lai, trying to hear what he was saying.

The face that suddenly approached made Alai's already tangled mood even more ups and downs.He took a deep breath and sat up straight, and asked Ned who was opposite him in one breath: "I want to know, if the person who accidentally signed the contract with you was not me, would you still insist on not rescinding the contract? "

——!

Ned was taken aback by Alai's sudden raising of his head. He sat back in a panic and took a long time to understand what Alai had just asked.

"Hmm...Actually, I don't know either." Ned raised his head and thought for a while, then said to Ah Lai.

"What do you mean I don't know? Didn't you ask me to ask?" After finally asking the question, I got such an answer.Alai stared straight at Ned, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Ned didn't avoid Alai's gaze, he raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head, trying to explain his thoughts to Alai. "Because, this kind of thing can only be known at the moment of encounter? No matter who it is, if I don't try it, I don't know."

"—Huh?" What kind of fairy scumbag is speaking?Doesn't this mean that no matter who it is, you will know if you try it first?

Ned ignored Alai's shocked and speechless eyes, and was still trying to organize his words: "I mean, for our Dragon Clan, there is no such 'if'. How should I put it, um...you have already You are my 'partner', right? This is a fact that will not change. In my opinion, the moment you became my 'partner', I knew you would be my 'partner'." Ni When De said this, he couldn't help frowning embarrassingly because of his poor expressive ability.

It was only recently that he realized that things that he could understand for granted in his eyes were hard to understand in Alai's eyes.For human beings, the contract cannot allow them to feel their hearts instantly. They need to spend more time to understand, communicate, and get along with each other before they can finally determine their own ideas.

How to express it?How should I explain it so that Alai can understand his intentions?Ned grabbed his hair annoyed.The short hair, which was fairly neat before, was instantly messed up by him three or two times.

He probably understands a little bit now how he felt when Alai and him couldn't explain it clearly a few days ago.How did he... that's right!It was because of the contract, he remembered, at that time it was because of the contract that he felt Alai's mood, even if he couldn't understand it, as long as he could convey his heart.

Thinking of this, Ned looked up at Alai who was also frowning and trying to understand his thoughts.He got up slowly, walked around the round table in front of him, and squatted down in front of Alai.

"Ned?" Alai looked at Ned who came over without saying a word, and called out in doubt.

Ned didn't reply him right away, he just watched Alai quietly and earnestly, then slowly stretched out his arms, wrapping his 'partner' in front of his chest.

"What... what? Ned? What are you doing?" Suddenly being hugged, Alai struggled subconsciously. His head was pressed against Ned's chest, and his eyes fell into darkness.

After the vision was deprived, other senses were magnified. A cool smell of smoke after the mint was burnt wrapped him up, and he could feel the soft silk shirt on Ned's body.

Ned tightened his arms in silence.

A heartbeat much slower than that of a human came from Alai's ear. It was Ned's heartbeat. His heartbeat was speeding up, and so was his own.Then, an unprecedented emotion flooded in.

At the beginning, it was indifferent indifference, boredom, occasional excitement and hunger, followed by large swaths of pure joy, and after that, anxiety, worry, doubt... All kinds of emotions came one after another, like rising A Lai was submerged like a sea wave.

After a while, the emotions began to fade.Ned let go of Alai, and maintained a half-squat position waiting for him to recover.

"Just now, was that...you?" Alai asked blankly.

Ned looked at him and nodded.

So this is how Ned feels, what has he been struggling with all this time.A Lai rubbed his forehead and smiled wryly.When he was entangled and troubled, Ned's thoughts did not change from the beginning to the end.

"Hey, Ned. Let me ask you...are you happy after becoming a 'partner' with me?" Alai asked Ned, who was squatting in front of him.

"Of course! After becoming a 'partner' with you, I am happy every day." Ned replied without thinking.

"That's enough." Ali said.He just needs to know that.

"——ha." Alai, who was relieved, couldn't help yawning a long time.He was already exhausted enough, but he talked about such a deep topic before he knew it, and now he really couldn't keep his eyes open.

Thinking of this, Alai stood up and walked towards his room.

"Wait... Huh? Alai?" Ned couldn't help but stop Alai who had stood up and was about to go back to his room to sleep.

What happened just now?Did Ah Lai understand what he was going to say?Are they all right?Is this the end?

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention. Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock, we will go to the third district to register the company. Don't wake me up early this time, my 'partner'." A Lai turned his head After speaking to Ned, he went back to the room on his own.

Ned was left alone, squatting in the courtyard, staring at the brewed black tea in a daze.

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Put up my WB "[-] Years of Famine", occasionally post food and short stories, welcome to chat with me.