"What are you doing?"

I frowned as Cheonma suddenly leaned in, sniffing at me.

What the hell was she up to now? She had appeared out of nowhere and was now uncomfortably close.

I tried pushing her forehead away, but she didn’t budge.

"Agh! Why are you doing this?!"

"..."

Even as I complained in frustration, she didn’t back off.

Why the hell was she so strong?

After struggling for a while, I eventually gave up and relaxed.

Fine, whatever. Go ahead and sniff all you want.

I just let her do as she pleased, and she really kept at it—sniffing endlessly.

Time passed.

"Hmm."

Finally, as if satisfied, Cheonma stepped back.

I gave her an exasperated look and spoke.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Be honest. Whatever you were trying to check, you figured it out a while ago, didn’t you?"

"..."

There was no reason for her to sniff me for this long.

I had a feeling, so I asked, and sure enough—Cheonma’s expression shifted ever so slightly.

It was subtle, but since she was usually so expressionless, it was obvious.

That was the face of someone who had just been caught.

"You..."

"Ah... I'm sleepy. I'm leaving."

"You crazy..."

Without warning, she abruptly claimed she was tired and turned away.

What the hell was I supposed to do with this lunatic?

I didn’t even have time to say anything before she walked off.

Then—

She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Turning slightly, she glanced back at me.

What now?

Was she going to start something else?

I tensed slightly as I watched her, wary.

Then, with her violet eyes glowing faintly, she spoke.

"...Or I don’t like it."

"What?"

She tossed out those cryptic words and leaped away, disappearing into the distance.

I let out a deep sigh as I watched her go.

"What the hell was that about?"

She had been alone all day, and then she suddenly showed up and started acting like that?

While I stood there staring in the direction she had vanished—

Click, click...

Shin Noya, who had been watching, clicked his tongue.

"No matter how I think about it... this is just strange."

His voice carried a tone of complete bewilderment.

Hearing that, I turned to him.

"What is?"

"No matter how many times I see it—"

"Yeah?"

"You don’t have the kind of face that would be popular with women... so why do they keep gathering around you?"

"..."

Hearing that, my mood instantly soured.

I had heard plenty of jokes before, so I could normally ignore them, but...

'...That damn old man is serious.'

His expression showed genuine confusion.

That pissed me off even more.

'And besides, who is he to talk about someone’s face...'

I tried to push the thought away, but it only made me angrier.

I didn’t want to admit it, but Shin Noya was good-looking.

Even with the appearance of a man in his seventies, he still looked sharp.

Which meant he must have been ridiculously handsome in his youth.

That only made it worse.

"Why are we even talking about this?"

I let my irritation show in my voice, but Noya didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

"Well, the rarer something is, the higher the demand... I suppose that’s how I’ll have to understand it."

"...What?"

"Never mind. Let’s just leave it at that."

"Why are you suddenly coming to your own conclusion?"

"Yeah, we’ll go with that."

"What does that even mean? Have your ears stopped working because of old—"

CRASH—!!!

"Holy shit."

I twisted my body to avoid the sword strike.

It was just as fast as before.

If I had been even a little slower, my head would have been lopped off.

"...Hmm. So you can dodge this much now. How unfortunate."

"Noya... Have you completely lost your mind?"

"It’s a compliment. A compliment."

"Like hell it is."

Just as Noya said, before now, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge that.

Part of me felt satisfied knowing I had improved.

But another part of me was terrified—because the speed at which he had swung was completely natural for him.

"Haah..."

I let out a deep sigh and brushed off my clothes.

Seeing this, Noya spoke.

"Rest for now. We have time until sunrise."

Saying that, he began casually slicing away the weeds around us.

He used to carry a sickle around, but now he didn’t even need it.

Or maybe he never needed it to begin with—he had just been putting on a show.

'A guy who could cut through stone with his bare hands...'

If he just coated his hand with sword energy, weeds were nothing.

'...Is it really okay to use Sword and Body as One for farming?'

The ultimate dream of all swordsmen—the state of Sword and Body as One.

And here was Noya, casually using it for farmwork in the middle of the night.

As I watched the sword energy flicker on his hand, I swallowed dryly.

'That’s terrifying.'

The stronger I became, the more I could see the true depths of skill.

I now understood just how sharp that tiny wisp of sword energy on Noya’s fingertips really was.

"What are you staring at? What? You want to help?"

"...Help with what? Farming?"

"Forget it. If you try, you’ll just burn the whole field down."

"...I wasn’t planning to help anyway."

I shook my head and sat down on a nearby rock.

Swish.

Swish.

The sound of Noya cutting grass continued in the background.

As I listened, I lifted my head and stared into the sky.

In Mount Hua, there had only ever been one moon.

But I knew that if I left this place, it wouldn’t be like that.

"..."

I recalled everything that had happened today.

So much had passed like a storm.

Even now, I had no idea what to make of my current situation.

I thought about it for a moment before closing my eyes.

'Ah. My head is spinning.'

Everything was too complicated.

So I just shut my eyes.

With them closed, my thoughts quieted slightly.

And over them, a face appeared.

The one I always thought of when I was struggling.

As I exhaled, I thought of her.

I wanted to see her.

More than anything else—the thoughts, the worries, the things I needed to figure out—

At that moment, that was all I wanted.

********

The morning had arrived.

As the sky slowly regained its color and the air subtly shifted—

I opened my eyes.

Ssshhh—!

As soon as I did, the energy circulating in my body stirred slightly, causing a faint wind to rise.

I had spent the entire night testing my body’s condition, using my energy.

'Hmm.'

Just as I was about to smack my lips, sensing my energy return—

Saaaah.

"Huh?"

I suddenly felt something change in my body.

The lightness I had felt all day vanished.

My ears and tail began moving on their own.

Just as I wondered what the hell was happening—

"What the—?"

My eyes widened.

The ears and tail that had been attached to me just a moment ago were gone.

My body had become heavier.

No—rather than becoming heavier—

'It returned to normal.'

My body had returned to its previous state before I became a member of the Moonlit Night Tribe.

The sensation of being a dragon had returned.

Before I could even process my confusion, I looked up at the sky.

The sun had risen.

The moon had completely disappeared.

Could it be—

"...Do I turn into a member of the Moonlit Night Tribe only when the moon is out?"

It was a reasonable suspicion.

There was no other explanation for what was happening.

'...This is ridiculous.'

A dragon during the day and something else at night?

Could a body be this bizarre?

I let out a small, incredulous laugh.

"...What the hell."

Noya, who had approached me, had the same expression as I did.

"So you've gone back to normal?"

"Yeah. Seems like it. It must be because the sun came up."

"Huh..."

"I don’t understand it either."

I spoke as I got up from the rock I had been sitting on.

At the same time, I twisted my body, testing my muscles.

'Completely healed.'

My body had reverted to how it was before any internal or external injuries.

My regeneration was overwhelming.

"Seeing that mess, we really do need to see the old turtle."

"Can we go now?"

Now that the sun was up, could we go?

I asked, and Noya responded.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

At my words, Noya started walking.

Seeing this, I asked—

"Huh? You're coming too, Noya?"

Wasn’t I supposed to go alone?

Without stopping, Noya replied.

"Yeah, I have something to take care of anyway."

He turned his head slightly and shot me a glance.

"And I have something to say to you too."

"..."

Hearing that, my expression stiffened.

There was something uncertain in Noya’s eyes as he said that.

*******

I shook my head and sat down on a nearby rock.

Swish.

Swish.

The sound of Noya cutting grass continued in the background.

As I listened, I lifted my head and stared into the sky.

In Mount Hua, there had only ever been one moon.

But I knew that if I left this place, it wouldn’t be like that.

"..."

I recalled everything that had happened today.

So much had passed like a storm.

Even now, I had no idea what to make of my current situation.

I thought about it for a moment before closing my eyes.

'Ah. My head is spinning.'

Everything was too complicated.

So I just shut my eyes.

With them closed, my thoughts quieted slightly.

And over them, a face appeared.

The one I always thought of when I was struggling.

As I exhaled, I thought of her.

I wanted to see her.

More than anything else—the thoughts, the worries, the things I needed to figure out—

At that moment, that was all I wanted.

The morning had arrived.

As the sky slowly regained its color and the air subtly shifted—

I opened my eyes.

Ssshhh—!

As soon as I did, the energy circulating in my body stirred slightly, causing a faint wind to rise.

I had spent the entire night testing my body’s condition, using my energy.

'Hmm.'

Just as I was about to smack my lips, sensing my energy return—

Saaaah.

"Huh?"

I suddenly felt something change in my body.

The lightness I had felt all day vanished.

My ears and tail began moving on their own.

Just as I wondered what the hell was happening—

"What the—?"

My eyes widened.

The ears and tail that had been attached to me just a moment ago were gone.

My body had become heavier.

No—rather than becoming heavier—

'It returned to normal.'

My body had returned to its previous state before I became a member of the Moonlit Night Tribe.

The sensation of being a dragon had returned.

Before I could even process my confusion, I looked up at the sky.

The sun had risen.

The moon had completely disappeared.

Could it be—

"...Do I turn into a member of the Moonlit Night Tribe only when the moon is out?"

It was a reasonable suspicion.

There was no other explanation for what was happening.

'...This is ridiculous.'

A dragon during the day and something else at night?

Could a body be this bizarre?

I let out a small, incredulous laugh.

"...What the hell."

Noya, who had approached me, had the same expression as I did.

"So you've gone back to normal?"

"Yeah. Seems like it. It must be because the sun came up."

"Huh..."

"I don’t understand it either."

I spoke as I got up from the rock I had been sitting on.

At the same time, I twisted my body, testing my muscles.

'Completely healed.'

My body had reverted to how it was before any internal or external injuries.

My regeneration was overwhelming.

"Seeing that mess, we really do need to see the old turtle."

"Can we go now?"

Now that the sun was up, could we go?

I asked, and Noya responded.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

At my words, Noya started walking.

Seeing this, I asked—

"Huh? You're coming too, Noya?"

Wasn’t I supposed to go alone?

Without stopping, Noya replied.

"Yeah, I have something to take care of anyway."

He turned his head slightly and shot me a glance.

"And I have something to say to you too."

"..."

Hearing that, my expression stiffened.

There was something uncertain in Noya’s eyes as he said that.

The moment we arrived at the tea house, the old turtle opened the door.

He had the face of someone who already knew we were coming.

"...Seeing these annoying faces first thing in the morning."

"Good morning."

"Have you been well?"

"It’s neither a good morning nor have I been well."

"Noya, let’s go inside. He’s greeting us so warmly."

"See? I told you. No one welcomes us like he does."

"...You damned bastards."

Ignoring the turtle’s reaction, we walked inside.

The funny thing was—

"What’s this? You already set up tea for us?"

There were already three cups of tea on a table inside the tea house.

Seeing this, Noya let out a chuckle.

"Heh. As stingy as ever."

"...Just shut up and sit down."

At his words, we immediately sat down at the table.

Judging by the scent, the tea was plum tea.

Just as I carefully lifted my cup to take a sip—

"Last night’s incident. It was you, wasn’t it?"

The turtle spoke to me.

What incident?

I thought about it for a moment, but before I could respond, Noya answered for me.

"Yeah, it was this guy. Was the barrier alright?"

"Alright? I had to fix it first thing in the morning. It was a pain in the ass."

"I figured as much. Heh."

Hearing the word ‘barrier,’ I pieced it together.

'Last night, when I arrived...'

Remembering how Shin Noya had suddenly attacked me—

It seemed like just stepping into Mount Hua had caused a problem.

"What exactly happened?"

The turtle asked.

Noya gave a simple explanation.

Even though ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) he spoke briefly, he included all the important details.

"A tree and a fruit, huh..."

After hearing that, the turtle—

"...You."

His gaze sharpened as he spoke to me.

"You ate a Divine Fruit from the Divine Tree of the Ruler, didn’t you?"

Divine Fruit.

At those words, my ears perked up.