The dragonman carried me in his arms the rest of the way. He didn’t object or scold me, didn’t say something like “I told you so” or “That’s what you get” — he just walked silently, holding me gently in his arms like a baby.

When he returned to his hut, he gently lowered me onto the bed, washed my wound, and whispered some kind of a spell. I noticed how my wound suddenly began to heal slowly… though of course “quickly” would be a better word since even our medicines take days to fully heal such wounds, not just a few minutes.

His hand was… surprisingly pleasant to the touch. His scales were smooth and soft. So much that I felt as if my spirit was being healed too. I remember some scientists claiming that just the touch of a hand can sometimes heal a person — without any magic. I’d long thought it was something out of pseudo-science fiction or quackery, but… perhaps there was some truth to it?

“Well, good as new,” — he said and smiled. His smile was a little strained, but I couldn’t help but smile back.

After that, he took out his shirt preparing to mend himself. I looked away, feeling a rush of embarrassment, surprised that I still cared about that sort of stuff after everything that just happened.

I noticed there was another reason why I was nervous: I was probably going to have a tough conversation now. Truth be told… I didn’t want to go back. But I was no longer in a position to want anything, so I sat silently, waiting for the moment to finally come.

Out of nervousness, I wanted to prob my healed wound.

“Uh, You’d better not touch it, or it might open up again,” — he said. I looked at him and saw him trying to reach his back with his hand. The pretend calmness of his face changed to irritation, then anger, and then utter despondency.

“Damn… I’m not getting younger, am I…” — he said, sighing heavily.

‘Wait a minute…where’s my first aid kit!?’

I had to abandon my main bag to save my skin, but luckily I had foreseen this course of events, so I packed smaller bags with all sorts of useful little things. I rummaged through one of it and found a healing tonic and medical bandages.

“I-I can help you! I have wound spray and bandages! Although… unfortunately, it’s unlikely to have any immediate effect…”

“Eh, I’m in no hurry. And yes, your help would be greatly appreciated.”

“Okay… uh… I need somewhere to wash my hands.”

“Of course.”

After I did what I needed to do, I grabbed the necessary stuff and got down to business.

When he showed his back to me, I felt like I was somehow invading a private territory, and immediately felt even more guilty. But I already did it multiple times today anyway, so there is no way left for me to climb up.

He got hurt more than I did, so had to use up a pretty significant portion of my first-aid tonic, but I didn’t care at all.

In the same place, I also noticed other, much older marks…. scars?

“Can I…ask you something?”

“The scars? — He asked, and I immediately felt ashamed… for the second time that day at that, so I immediately changed the subject.

“Oh, no, not that… I was just wondering, can you guys heal wounds at, like, a distance?”

“Not me, sadly. Requires too high of a magical expertise level. Always been on more of a brawn side of the spectrum. Probably should have practice for times like this, heh.”

‘Poor dude…’ — I thought, — ‘so much trouble because of me…’

Somehow I managed to patch up the wounds on his huge body without him stopping me once or questioning my intentions.

“Well, it’s done! Although you will have to wait a few days to fully heal…”

“No problem, I’m in no hurry. I may be old, but I’m not old enough to fall to some little pest.”

‘If these monsters they have are considered small pests… I’m afraid to even imagine.’

After that, we sat next to each other, not saying a word. Apparently, neither of us knew how to continue the conversation, and I had to be brave enough to take the first step. I noticed that I was reluctant to give myself up again, but I didn’t have the right to choose. When I finally made up my mind, the scaly man was the first to break the awkward silence:

“So, uh, human? There is something I wanted to tell you…”

“I know”, — I prematurely replied, — “I’m ready for any punishment. My life is yours now.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited with bated breath for the verdict.

“Actually… I didn’t mean to and don’t want to punish you in any way… just, you know? I thought I’d teach you a lesson, in terms of… what’s the word I’m looking for…”

“Honesty?”

“That too, and also to show how dangerous our realm can be. And also… I don’t think so anymore, but when you lied to me about yourself, I thought it was for personal gain. I figured your moral compass was a little… crooked, so it was my job as an adult to set you on the right path. Well, of course, just to scare you off from doing something stupid in the future, but I didn’t want it to come to that… to get you hurt…”

“Me too…”

Finally letting my feelings out, I hugged him and burrowed my face in his scale.

“Me too, man! I didn’t mean to hurt you! I really, really I didn’t…”

“It’s alright,” — he said, giving me a light pat, “Don’t let it bother you. It was my fault as well.”

For a second, I thought I misheard something.

“What do you mean?…”

“I should have handled the situation differently, without getting too testy and scolding. It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve interacted with the younger generation, so I’ve forgotten how to treat you without unwittingly humiliating you. Besides, you had every right to self-defense, so it’s not your fault. I hold no hatred for you or your race.”

After a while, I finally calmed down.

“Thank you, really. I didn’t think you’d be so understanding. I’ve heard dragonkin can be cruel… uh, sorry if that offends you.”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s not entirely incorrect. After all, by your standards we are still stuck in… what was it called again… Middle Ages?”

I couldn’t resist the urge to think about other questions to ask on that topic, but he changed the subject before I could.

“…Anyways we will save it for later. For now — tell me, how are you feeling right now?”

“Oh me? Pretty great actually… I’m alive and even in one piece! And got a second chance at that… What more could I possibly ask for?”

“That’s good to know… are you still angry at me by chance?”

“What? Why?! You saved my hide today, how can I be mad at you?!”

Truth be told I was probably still a little salty, but I couldn’t let him know about it. Considering how much trouble I’d already caused him today, I didn’t have a right… not to mention my self-respect had already hit rock bottom, and I didn’t want to sink any deeper somehow.

“Well, feelings of resentment are sometimes hard to overcome, so if you feel that way, I thought you wanted to have revenge.”

“ ‘Revenge’?… seriously? How do you even imagine this?”

“You could give me a good punch for instance.”

I stood there for a couple of seconds without saying anything, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, but he had such a look on his face that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing against my better intentions.

“What?…” — he asked embarrassedly, making me want to laugh even harder.

“I’d sooner break my hand!” — I replied, trying to calm down.

“Well, then you can take something heavy like, I don’t know, my scythe, or one of your, uh, what are they called… guns? One of yours that stung me is still around here somewhere.”

“Dude, this won’t even be a punch anymore! Please, stop!”

I felt like a total scumbag, laughing in his face after all, but still I couldn’t stop. Luckily he didn’t mind at all, and after a while, he even started laughing with me. I suddenly felt so good and comfortable… as if nothing bad had happened to me that day.

“Seriously, come on…you’ve already done so much for me.”

“By your command, my lord.”

“Very funny.”

After we both calmed down he said:

“Well, since our first meeting was… a bit troublesome, how about we try again and start over?”

“Like a do-over you mean? Sure! I’m really good at that stuff actually. So! My name is Gran. Gran Bell. A self-styled… Well, I guess “wanna-be” adventurer would be more accurate to say. A man in the prime of life in my 19th year.”

“A ninth, you say?”

“Yeah? Wha?”

“Nothing. You just look like a teenage whelp to me rather than a “prime-life” man.”

“…is your offer of punching you still holding up by chance? I think I’m starting to have second thoughts..”

We laughed again.

“Sorry, it’s just that I don’t see a lot of humans. We dragonkin live twice as long as you do so… I couldn’t help myself.”

“I will forgive you… this time.”

“Well, my name is Grynoth and I’m… Well, nobody, really. Just a farmer, wasting my life here. It’s a bit of a long story to tell.”

“Well, nice to meet you then… Grisha.”

“All right. Anyway… if you need anything — just ask and I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you. In that case, since it’s late I… would like to stay for a night at your place. If you don’t mind that is. Also…”

I suddenly realized that after today I had no desire to travel anytime soon… and on top of that something else was pushing me to stay here.

“Look, I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but… how long can I stay at your place?”

“Do you promise you’ll obey me at everything?”

“Yes,” — I replied without hesitation.

“Then on an indefinite basis.”

To be honest, I still couldn’t believe that the Great Goddess took such pity on me, going as far as sending such a gift of unprecedented generosity… I’m naive, of course, but even I couldn’t believe that life could be just like those trashy novels where some girl (or boy… depending on the target audience…) are teleported to the netherworld where they are incredibly lucky to meet some kind of himbo in a variety of manifestations who just takes them under their wing to take care of them and love them forever. Subconsciously I felt that I didn’t deserve such a gift, so I was still expecting some kind of trick. Despite still being willing to give up on my life, I wasn’t willing to let him use me against other people… which would be a big problem if I allowed that to happen.

And yet it didn’t seem like he had any evil intentions. He was too… sincere, maybe even… trusty himself? But since he didn’t look like that at least from the first impression to me, I still decided to take a little test.

I rummaged in one of my pockets and found a device called a “lie detector” — a miracle of the modern invention that allowed me to determine the intentions of an interlocutor with almost a hundred per cent probability. It was a pity that I couldn’t tell if it worked against someone who wasn’t human. But it was worth a try.

“I really appreciate your help, but, uh…”

“You want to see if I can be trusted?” — he guessed.

I blushed and, not wanting to hide anything else, pulled the gadget out of my pocket.

“Yes. Some people have already been trying to trick me on my journey. Not all of them, but some. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” — he said, — “Believe it or not, our realm has its share of scumbags, so if you need to test me, do as you see fit.”

Somehow, it suddenly seemed to me that no more was needed by now, and yet I couldn’t let the random impulse overwhelm me.

“Alright then... Why are you so kind to me?” — I asked the first question and immediately felt guilty for doubting him so much after everything.

“Why should there be a reason?” — he asked a counter-question, stumping me. Come to think of it, the lie detector wouldn’t recognize such answers, because technically they weren’t… Well, answers. Funny how I couldn’t think of that.

“Well, during our conversation… um… two conversations, you repeatedly alluded to how cruel your people are. So I’m surprised you’re so honorable.”

“Understandable. It’s true, by your human standards we’re really stuck in the Middle Ages… with all that that entails. But even we have people who go against the law of the jungle, believing in goodness and justice. So far there are… well, I can’t account for how many there are considering how easily the boundary between good and evil can be blurred… but hopefully, I can be considered as one of them”.

The detector light flashes green. So he was telling the truth.

“So you’re driven by those ideals, right? Not some kind of selfish motive?”

“I don’t need anything from people, I already have what I need.”

Grynoth paused but then continued.

“I…want to believe that I am driven by…so-called “kindness” if such a concept exists in its purest form. After all, it is the duty of the older generation to instruct and guide the younger. But…”

He stopped again, and I could see the look of guilt and regret on his face. I realized that he clearly had something to say… probably that he, too, had done something bad in his life, but maybe he was afraid that it would scare me off… or that I would be disgusted that he was doing it out of guilt… that his intentions weren’t sincere enough.

I suddenly felt even more ashamed somehow. How long can you torture a man? No matter how scary he is, I refuse to see him as a monster.

As I turned off my device, tucking it back in my pocket, Grynoth said.

“Look, Gran, I really want to help you. But if you still don’t believe me, then… shit I don’t even know how to convince you anymore”.

“Wait!” — I stopped him, — “I believe you”.

He was silent for a moment, then he looked at me a little incredulously.

“Honestly?”

“Honestly! It’s just… this is the first time I’ve ever seen a dragonkin. Of course, I’m doubtful on an instinct… especially when you’re the one who scares me about you all being so big and scary… but I don’t think you’d risk yourself like that for personal gain.”

Grynoth thought for a moment, then smiled awkwardly again.

“Understandable. Hopefully I will be able to prove myself to you If you still have doubts. But for now…”

Suddenly he held out his hand to me instead, and damn it was gigantic like a boxer’s paw.

“…peace?”

“Yes.”

I was a little embarrassed that my palm had completely fallen through his fist but immediately forgot about it the next moment.

“Yes!”