I Couldn't Become a Knight, But for Some Reason, I'm Beloved by Dragons - Chapter 35: Old man

Chapter 35: Old man

“Thief!”

That was the voice I heard in the morning as I was heading towards the castle. 

Right after the voice echoed as “thief”, for some reason, my attention sharply turned towards the origin of the voice, and simultaneously, I heard the hurried footsteps approaching.

(…What is this feeling?)

It wasn’t just footsteps, but even the sound of the person’s breathing reached my ears. 

I saw a man running through the market from where I was looking, and he twisted his face upon seeing me standing in front of him.

(…I sense malice from him, from his gaze.)

He was probably the culprit being called a thief. 

He was running with a small bag in his hand, and several knights were chasing after him, so it was almost certain. 

He was a bigger man than me… but I was not scared at all.

“You better back off!!”

With a loud voice, he swung his fist and charged at me. 

As I stared at the man, it was as if the world had slowed down, and his movements seemed to be in slow motion to me. I lowered my upper body to match his movements, crossed my fists, and swung my fist with all my might, aiming directly at his chin from below.

“Gah!?”

My punch landed much cleaner than I had expected. 

With just one hit, the man in front of me fell to the ground, and he was restrained by the knights who were chasing after him. 

The incident was resolved. I was just thanked by the knights, including the person, who had their small bag stolen.

“Looks like nothing happened, right?”

“Huh!?”

When I was being praised by the people around me, someone hugged me from behind. 

Well, I knew who it was just by her voice and atmosphere, of course, it was Runa in human form, and she whispered in my ear.

“If you had even one scratch on your body, it would have been a big problem. Well, since you have taken something of mine, I don’t think there would be any mishaps.”

It seemed like she had responded to the malice that was approaching me. 

She probably transformed into a human in the dragon world and rushed here with magic. 

I was happy that she was thinking of me that much, but I didn’t want to think about what would happen if something did happen to me…. Probably this whole area would turn into a sea of fire.

“Good morning, Runa.”

“Yep. Good morning, Xeno.”

I always think that when a beautiful woman with such otherworldly beauty like her appears, it causes a different kind of commotion. 

However, today she was wearing a hooded garment that hides her face, so the sacred atmosphere was certainly not hidden, but since she was not attracting much attention, this appearance must be the right choice.

“…But, is it really okay to leave like that?”

“It’s fine. Nobody can complain about what I do. Besides, I’m not causing any trouble for anyone.”

“True.”

“Now then, shall we go to that place we haven’t been in a while? We haven’t gone there since people started to recognize us.”

“Oh…yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Certainly, we no longer need to meet at that spring. That place is a place of memories for Runa and me, so let’s spend time there today.

“Oh, by the way, Runa, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

I wanted Runa to meet someone. Well, to be more precise, it was an old man, but he’s like a father figure to me, so I wanted her to meet him at least once. 

When I told her that, she nodded happily, and we started walking back along the road we came from.

“Oh, perfect timing.”

“It seems so.”

We found the old man cleaning in front of the inn. When he saw me return with Runa, he tilted his head in confusion, and his expression grew even more bewildered when he saw her.

“Hey, old man!”

“Xeno, weren’t you supposed to be at work…?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to introduce you to someone.”

As I said that, Runa stepped forward. She gracefully removed her hood, revealing her hidden beauty.

“Hey, hey, what is this?”

“Nice to meet you. I heard that you’ve been taking care of him here for a long time. Indeed, you seem to be a kind-hearted person.”

With Runa’s words, the old man looked to me for help. 

Her words were certainly not ordinary, and even someone other than the old man would be confused if she said something like that. 

I chuckled awkwardly and embraced Runa, standing next to her as I explained:

“She’s Runa, the woman I’m going to marry. We met a while back, and we went through a lot together and became close enough to cherish each other.”

“Heheh…”

With a smile, I leaned in towards Runa who seemed happy and continued speaking.

“Well… Old man here is like a father figure to me. He’s been taking care of me since I got here, so I feel bad for not letting him know beforehand, but I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce him to someone important to me.”

“Xeno… you…”

For a while, the old man was at a loss for words, but tears gradually filled his eyes and he started crying while hiding his face with his big arms.

I didn’t expect him to cry, so I panicked, but Runa continued to smile.

Her smile was like that of a loving mother, fitting for Runa who was both a queen and like a mother to the dragons.

“I see… I heard about her yesterday, but she’s such a beautiful person. That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

The old man laughed and approached me, patting my shoulder from behind. 

He looked at Runa and placed his hand on my head as he said the following.

“So you’re Runa. I’m not exactly his dad or anything… but in a way, I thought of him as a son. I can guarantee that he’s a really good guy. So, Runa, please support him.”

Upon hearing this, Runa took the old man’s hand. 

Although she generally didn’t touch anyone other than me, Runa nodded with a gentle gaze.

“Of course. If anything, I think I’m the one who needs support more, but we vow to love each other as irreplaceable beings.”

…As I watched them, I felt somewhat embarrassed. 

But more than that, I was happy. 

If the old man wasn’t sobbing like a mess, I might have been the one to cry.