Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 104

“A present?”

Ayra, who had been saddling her horse, perked up and turned around. It seemed Janus had brought her a gift after returning from Bolni.

Now that I think of it, my birthday’s coming up soon, isn’t it?

Eyes sparkling with curiosity, Ayra [N O V E L I G H T] looked over expectantly, only for Janus to mount his horse without giving her anything. He gestured for her to follow, then galloped ahead. Ayra hurried to climb on and chased after him. Since they’d just eaten breakfast, moving around so suddenly made her stomach ache a bit, but the brisk morning wind and the rhythm of galloping soon made her feel lighter, even cheerful.

“What’s the present?”

Ayra raised her voice to be heard over the loud rush of wind. Janus glanced back and slowed his horse, flashing a bright grin.

“You’re gonna love it. I put in a lot of effort. Couldn’t bring it with me ‘cause it’s a bit big, but you’ll like it.”

“Really?”

What could it be? If it was too big to carry, then it couldn’t be just an object. Land, maybe? A newly discovered mine? Maybe he brought back a chunk of territory from Bolni? Ayra let her thoughts wander, happily imagining all kinds of possibilities—especially given how well her luck had been lately.

But as time passed, an increasingly familiar landscape began to unfold before her eyes. After riding for some time, the outline of a mountain range she knew all too well came into view, and the smile on Ayra’s face began to slowly fade.

No way... it can’t be... right?

When they reached the foothills, where horses had trouble climbing, Janus lightly dismounted. He began humming a tune—completely out of key and off rhythm, but clearly in a great mood—while a cold sweat crept down Ayra’s spine.

No way. It can’t be, right...?

She didn’t want to get off the horse, but the dragon, so full of cheer, sweetly lifted her down himself as a service for his beloved. Not only that, he carried her in his arms up the mountain, saying it was too steep and that she must’ve been tired from the last few days. His steps through the snow were light and springy.

“We’re almost there. Get ready to be amazed.”

Janus sounded genuinely excited. Ayra forced a smile, trying to look eager, but the scenery—so painfully familiar—felt like a weight dropping straight onto her chest. Her heart thudded anxiously, fully aware of what was coming.

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And finally, Janus stepped onto the familiar path and climbed the cliff she already knew all too well. Ayra instinctively shut her eyes tight.

“...Hm?”

After setting her down, Janus looked over the edge and tilted his head. The humming that had been buzzing in Ayra’s ears fell silent. Ayra, pretending to be oblivious, stood beside him and looked down as well.

The massive pit that had once been swarming with ma-beasts—where Ayra had brought Bloom and Hera just days ago—was now empty and desolate. Nervously wondering if Janus might’ve noticed something, she kept an eye on him as he finally spoke, feigning casualness.

“It’s... a very big and impressive pit.”

There was no choice now. At this point, Ayra had to play dumb.

The pit, which had once been packed with all kinds of ma-beasts, now held only a few rabbit- or squirrel-sized critters squirming around. Ayra bit her lip. I didn’t know. I mean, how could I possibly have known? How could she have guessed that the incredible beast party had been something Janus prepared... as her present?

“Wow. Not even a trace left.”

His voice was so nonchalant that Ayra wondered if maybe he wasn’t mad. She glanced at him, unsure—just in time to see Janus start to laugh.

He went from a light chuckle—“Kuh, heh heh”—to a full-on cackle. At first, Ayra wondered if maybe he wasn’t upset, but no. There was nothing remotely funny about this barren pit. The louder he laughed, the more pale Ayra’s face became. When she glanced at her hand, the Pebble was gone—no longer snoozing in its usual spot. The little bastard had slinked off to hide where it wouldn’t be seen...

“Ah... wow. Haven’t laughed that hard in a while.”

Janus wiped at his eyes, pretending he’d teared up. But his eyes weren’t watery at all—just dry, blood-red irises glinting sharply.

In other words, he was pissed.

“Ayra, do you know what I prepared here?”

“...What did you have ready?”

Screaming inside, Ayra answered with feigned innocence. Trying not to give herself away, she even looked back down into the pit as if genuinely curious. Meanwhile, her brain—still fond of beasts—was thinking, That really was fun. I’d like to do that again sometime...

“I spent several days busting my ass to fill this whole place with ma-beasts.”

Janus gave a casual kick to a rock, sending it tumbling down the sheer cliff.

“I figured you’d be thrilled when you saw it. Thought you’d totally lose your mind.”

She had, actually. If it hadn’t been for Hera and Bloom, she might’ve sat there for a month, observing the creatures until her eyes went red. Janus grinned and muttered under his breath.

“Who the hell fucked up my plans, I wonder...”

Woof...

For once, Ayra genuinely felt guilty. She’d never dreamed that her sweet but often coldhearted lover would go to such lengths to prepare something so extravagant just for her.

...Wait. Was it really just for her?

“So you’re saying... all the beasts that were in this pit were meant for me?”

Ayra tested the waters. Janus kicked another rock down and said:

“Well, yeah. I figured you’d pick a few as your present, and then I’d put the rest to use.”

Use them for what, exactly? Like, preparing an attack on my territory? Raising a beast army to wipe out Solar? Something like that?

...It really seemed like that was it.

I’m not the damn dog—you are!

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense, and the back of her head started to tingle. Her guilt vanished without a trace. Setting aside his personal love for monsters, hadn’t she rushed here with Bloom and Hera because ma-beasts were the number one cause of territorial collapse and destruction? When a swarm of beasts showed up near a territory, the only proper response was immediate action.

Janus kicked another rock down, clearly trying to swallow his irritation. He made a sound—half sigh, half groan—and then, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, asked:

“So, how long do you think I have to wait?”

“Huh?”

“How long before you finally leave Solar and move somewhere else? I’m getting a little tired of waiting.”

It was clearly a continuation of their earlier conversation back in Bolni, and a chill ran down Ayra’s spine. She’d hoped that Janus, just lazing around in that old, tiny house of his, might have forgotten—but clearly, he hadn’t.

There were about 140 days left on the territory collapse countdown, right?

Ayra hurriedly checked the territory window. 135 days remained. Just over four months. Depending on how you looked at it, both a short and a long time. Weighing her options in silence, she tried to answer carefully while standing face to face with a pissed-off dragon.

“Maybe... about half a year?”

“Mm... no. Too long.”

Trying to buy more time didn’t work. She hesitantly offered, “Five months?”—but met his eyes and quickly amended, “Four and a half?” Janus smirked. He leaned slightly over the cliff edge, just enough to look like he might fall, then turned only his glowing red eyes to look at her.

“Your heart’s been beating fast for a while now.”

Ayra flinched. It was true—she’d been tense, and her palms were sweating inside her gloves.

“Are you scared of me? Don’t be. Even if I kill every other human alive, I’d never kill my lover.”

The way he said it—so smooth, so sweet, like any normal boyfriend—made it feel all the more inhuman. It wasn’t that he was trying to scare her. In fact, it felt oddly sincere, like he genuinely wanted to soothe her. Sometimes, when Janus acted overly gentle like this, Ayra felt like she was dealing with a really well-programmed robot dragon.

“Well, anyway. So that’s roughly how long I have to wait, huh? Got it.”

With a casual tone, Janus said he was going to check something and slightly bent his knees—then leapt straight off the cliff.

A few seconds later, a loud thud echoed up as Janus hit the ground below.

Ayra, whose heart had leapt for entirely different reasons, rushed to the edge to look down. He was limping slightly, suggesting that even a dragon took some damage falling from that height. She frowned. Figures, she thought—but before long, he was walking normally again.

Too scared he might hear her with his keen hearing, Ayra cursed him silently in her head while watching closely. Janus dug around the ground, picked something up and tossed it away, lay flat to sniff the earth, and even stared blankly into the pit before scooping up a handful of dirt and putting it in his mouth. Ayra watched carefully—Do dragons eat dirt?—but then he immediately spat it out, face contorted.

“Disgusting...”

She muttered it without thinking—and Janus glanced up. Shit—did he hear me? She flinched, but it seemed he was just starting to return. Janus sprinted toward the cliff, kicked the ground once, kicked off the wall twice—and scaled the whole thing with ease. It took only minutes to climb the vertical cliff. Truly terrifying stamina.

“Do you know who did it?”

Ayra, jittery for several reasons, asked cautiously. Janus brushed dirt off his hands and shrugged.

“No idea. But when I catch the bastard, I’ll grind them slowly into the rock—starting with their fingertips and toes.”

He smiled faintly, but there wasn’t a hint of a joke in his voice. Her own fingers and toes tingled just hearing it. Judging by his increasingly foul mood, the empty pit had only made things worse. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to suspect Ayra at all. And since she’d eaten the Red Bloom, she probably hadn’t left much scent behind.

Standing at the cliff’s edge, Janus narrowed his sharp eyes at the pit below. After a moment of thought, he sighed roughly and muttered,

“Well, nothing left to do here. Let’s head back.”

“...Yeah.”

Ayra, completely drained by anxiety, replied in a flat voice. The bright mood she’d had that morning had vanished without a trace. Janus, watching her, seemed to think she was disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to see the ma-beasts. He patted her on the shoulder, saying he’d prepare another batch next time if he had time—which set off an inner battle between her instincts screaming Yes! and her reason screaming Absolutely not!

I need to clear the main quest ASAP.

As Janus carried her down the mountain, Ayra buried her face in his shoulder, pretending to shield against the cold wind. A painful sense of reality settled in her chest. Caught up in her daily chaos managing the territory and swept up in a romance with a dragon, she’d nearly forgotten her most important mission.

Her true goal wasn’t to rebuild the territory—it was to prevent its destruction.