Little Pink Starfish

The house, which Eira had visited several times, was as cold and empty as ever. Since Janus had only gotten it as a place to sleep, the furniture was sparse—just an old bed, an uneven table, and two rickety chairs. As Eira set the food on the table and shivered from the chill, Janus casually tossed a mana stone into the rarely used fireplace and another into the brazier.

“It snowed yesterday, and the streets were icy. The weather’s getting too cold.”

“Really? I find it nice and cool. Then again, you are weaker than most people.”

While Janus effortlessly ignited the stones, Eira discreetly sprinkled an unidentifiable powder over the venison dish. By the time Janus turned around, he was innocently slicing the food into bite-sized pieces. The powder was colorless and odorless, but Janus’s nose twitched slightly, making Eira tense for a moment.

“Looks good. Didn’t know there was a place around here that sold something like this.”

“I got it from the castle kitchen. Do you like venison? The smoked chicken’s good too.”

Keeping a straight face, Eira placed a piece of venison and a chicken leg onto Janus’s plate. After taking a bite of each, Janus devoured the rest in no time, licking his plate clean with a satisfied expression. No surprise there—good food was hard to come by in this town. As Janus cleared the dishes, Eira quickly pulled out a small notebook from his spatial pocket and scribbled something down.

After the meal, it was only natural to move to the bed. Eira lay down beside Janus, resting his head against his chest, stretching his limbs comfortably. The steady thump, thump of Janus’s heartbeat beneath his ear made him yawn. A dragon’s heart sounded no different from a human’s. The warmth from the fire, the peaceful atmosphere, and Janus’s body heat were incredibly soothing.

If only this man wasn’t planning to destroy Solar, it would have been a perfect moment. Lately, Eira barely got three hours of sleep a night, and he was about to drift off when he forced himself to stay awake.

“Janus, I have a question.”

“What is it?” Janus lazily kissed Eira’s cheek, brushing back the strands of hair that had fallen over his forehead. Warm lips grazed down his face, stopping at his earlobe, where they lingered teasingly. A wet sound followed as Janus sucked lightly on the sensitive skin. Eira shuddered.

“What’s your ideal type?”

No matter how he looked at it, the only way to stop Janus from destroying Solar was to help him find his fated partner. It wasn’t just a myth—Nilma Argan had mistakenly thought Eira was a dragon’s lover and had gone out of his way to curry favor. After all, once a dragon found their mate, they no longer engaged in senseless massacres. Convincing Janus’s partner was the only logical way to change his mind.

The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. For a fleeting moment, he imagined himself as Janus’s mate. Then, he quickly erased the idea. It was best not to entertain such foolish hopes.

“Hm, my ideal type…” Janus lazily ran his large hand over Eira’s chest before furrowing his brows as if deep in thought.

“First, a beautiful person.”

A beautiful person. So, he was the type to value looks. Well, that explained why he had so easily started dating Eira. It made sense.

“Fair skin, silver hair, gray eyes.”

Eira tilted his head. Fair skin, silver hair, gray eyes—those were common traits among the people of Solar. But the description felt oddly specific.

“Smart, good at magic, obsessed with magical beasts.”

Eira’s lips parted slightly before pressing into a tight line. Wow. How many times has he used this line before?

Hearing such sugar-coated words felt good, but also strangely irritating. Had he said the same thing to his past lovers?

Shaking off the thought, he moved on to what he truly wanted to know. “How do dragons choose their mates? Is there a specific criterion? Or do you just… fall in love all of a sudden?”

Eira had always been curious about dragon mates. Without exception, every dragon that found its partner immediately ceased all meaningless slaughter. They never abandoned or betrayed them, staying together until the very end. In fact, there were even rare cases where the human had betrayed the dragon instead. Every record, every legend, and every story spoke of an eternal, fated love—one absolute, singular person for a dragon.

“Mates, huh. That’s what humans call them, isn’t it?”

Janus’s hand stilled. His tone suggested that, to dragons, it wasn’t quite the romantic concept humans made it out to be. His red eyes drifted, as if chasing a distant memory.

“There’s no specific standard. It’s determined at birth. No matter how much you struggle, you can’t escape or change it. It’s not some romantic fate—it’s absolute.”

Eira listened intently, his heart pounding with excitement at hearing firsthand knowledge about dragons. Just as he was about to ask more, Janus suddenly smirked and sat up.

“But I don’t really feel like talking about mates when I have my dear lover right in front of me.”

The bed creaked softly, and before Eira could react, Janus had flipped him over. His muscular arms, far tougher than any human’s, caged Eira in as he loomed over him, eyes dark with anticipation.

“You’re still cold. Want me to warm you up?”

The heat in Janus’s gaze alone sent a tingle down Eira’s spine. He knew exactly how overwhelming the dragon’s touch could be. Their encounter in the dark alleys of Volni flashed through his mind—how frustrating it had been when they were interrupted.

Janus’s warm palm slid beneath Eira’s clothes, tracing along his waist. Eira hesitated. What do I do? I have so much work today. I barely managed to squeeze in time for this visit…

Ever since the quarry project started, administrative work had piled up. But there were only so many officials, so once again, Eira had been grinding away at paperwork alongside Ginas. He was already physically exhausted.

But what if rejecting him lowers his affection level?

Now that he knew Janus was a dragon, affection points weren’t just a matter of pride. His current score was already at 4—dangerously low. If it dropped further and they broke up, he would lose the one advantage that kept Solar from being destroyed.

His fingertips went cold. The words ‘Not now’ were on the tip of his tongue, but instead, he forced a smile and wrapped his arms around Janus.

Lips trailed down his neck, teeth gently nipping before sucking on the sensitive skin. His clothes were already half undone, and Janus’s hands explored his bare skin. But as his touch slowed, his movements became more deliberate.

Janus suddenly sat up, then, without warning, hooked his arms under Eira’s and lifted him effortlessly. Startled, Eira instinctively clutched his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re overworking yourself. You’ve lost weight. Look, you’re much lighter now.”

Janus let his hands roam from Eira’s underarms down to his hips, making him flinch at the ticklish sensation. He tensed immediately. Janus had a habit of getting ideas from the smallest things.

“I’ve been busy with work. Can’t be helped, right? A new lord came in, so there’s a lot to do.”

Janus’s smile twisted slightly. “Forcing someone to work this hard… Sounds like a pretty awful lord.”

Eira broke into a cold sweat. Janus didn’t seem pleased that his ‘lover’ was being worked to the bone. Quickly, he changed tactics.

“What do you mean, awful? Our lord is wonderful. He’s young, handsome, and incredibly competent. He even sent Volni’s army away with a single commanding statement. He’s efficient, quick to solve problems, and treats me with kindness. A truly remarkable man.”

Eira continued, singing his own praises under the guise of Solar’s lord. But as he spoke, he noticed something odd—Janus’s expression had gone completely blank.

Then, suddenly, a notification popped up.

[Janus Lehzadeth’s affection level has decreased by 3.]
[Current affection score recalculating…]

Eira’s breath caught. Wait… what?!

Eira stiffened, staring at the floating notification. Why did his affection drop? He had been trying to improve Janus’s impression of Solar’s lord, but somehow, it had backfired.

Meanwhile, Janus’s expression remained unreadable as he slowly tilted his head. “You really admire this lord of yours, huh?”

Eira hesitated. Something about Janus’s tone felt… off. “Well, of course. He’s an amazing leader.”

“Mm.” Janus’s eyes flickered with something unreadable before his lips curled into a faint smile. “Then maybe I should meet him sometime.”

Eira choked. “Huh?”

“You make him sound so impressive. If he’s really that good, maybe he’ll come up with a way to stop me from destroying Solar.”

Shit.

Eira forced a chuckle. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. He’s incredibly busy. No time to meet random visitors.”

Janus’s gaze lingered on him for a long moment before he hummed in amusement. “Really? That’s a shame.”

A sinking feeling settled in Eira’s stomach. Janus knew. Maybe not everything, but he was suspicious. Had he pieced it together?

The conversation was going in a dangerous direction, so Eira quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, what have you been up to lately? You’ve been staying in this house more.”

Janus stretched his arms above his head. “Not much. Just wandering around, gambling a little.”

“…Still losing?”

Janus smirked. “Oh, I always lose. But watching the other players squirm when they’re about to go broke? That’s fun.”

Yep. Definitely a dragon.

Eira sighed and decided to let it go. At least if Janus was busy with trivial things like gambling, he wasn’t burning cities down.

But still—why had his affection dropped? Eira racked his brain for answers. Was it because he praised himself too much? No, that couldn’t be it. He had been careful not to make it obvious. Then… was it possible Janus didn’t like hearing him praise another man?

…Wait.

Could it be—he’s jealous?

Eira nearly laughed out loud. But before he could dwell on it further, Janus suddenly grabbed his wrist and tugged him closer.

“Enough talk.” His voice dropped to a low murmur. “You came all this way, let’s make it worthwhile.”

Eira opened his mouth to protest—he still had work to do!—but Janus was already kissing him, and he was too distracted by the warm, heady sensation to stop him.

His last coherent thought before his mind went blank was—At least his affection won’t drop further.