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Vladforen let out a slow breath.

“…You say you were a common birth. Are you telling me that in your previous life, there were many humans who possessed such knowledge and thought in this way?”
“Yes, indeed. What I just spoke of was nothing more than what anyone with even a slight interest in such matters would have known.”

In a world where it isn’t rare for people to be unable to read or write, it really would be astonishing for everyone to have knowledge like that. Once again, compulsory education and the internet society are incredible.
Well, the reason I knew about Snowball Earth was because I’d seen a documentary on the national broadcaster. Television is incredible too.
And the idea that humanity isn’t anything particularly great, basically on the same level as photosynthetic bacteria—that’s just my personal view.

Then—
Meeting Ekaterina’s eyes, Vladforen smiled faintly.

Eek!
Ekaterina hurriedly looked away. His smile is a dangerous object! Disaster-level!

Seeing Ekaterina’s flustered, darting gaze, Vladforen laughed.
Then he reached out and touched Ekaterina’s cheek.

“When the god of death and his consort spoke to me about you, it seems they had another scheme in mind, besides having you protected in the imperial capital.”

Startled by those words, Ekaterina accidentally met Vladforen’s eyes head-on.

In this world, eye colors are far more varied than in her previous life. Even so, she had never seen anyone else with red eyes. In her previous life, she once had a cosplay-loving friend who wore red contact lenses—but…

This was completely different.

Vladforen’s eyes—his irises—contained a mixture of many shades of red, flickering like flames. Red, crimson, scarlet, vermilion, cinnabar, deep crimson… and bordering the iris, darker hues of maroon, sappanwood, blackened scarlet.

There was a word for it: crimson flame. Flames erupting from the sun—solar prominences.
She was drawn in, unable to look away.
They were the complete opposite of, yet somehow shared something with, those neon-blue eyes that seemed to emit light themselves…

The image of her brother Aleksei flashed through her mind, and Ekaterina snapped back to her senses.
Reflexively, she grabbed the hand touching her cheek and tugged it away.

“P-please be mindful of propriety and custom!”
“Ah.”

As Ekaterina shouted, tripping over her words, Vladforen laughed in amusement.

“You’re fine. Your stories of another world are interesting—but that is not all. Until now, I have never known a human who spoke of their own kind without either needlessly glorifying or belittling them, the way you do. …I want to hear more of what you have to say.”
“I-I am honored.”

That aside—

Why are you sitting next to me!?
You’re too close! Too close, too close, too close!

It was fine when I’m desperately thinking about how to explain my previous life, but otherwise, having that face so close is dangerous. No—it’s not just the face. That absurdly handsome aura, the whole package, is hazardous material.
Handling hazardous materials requires a national qualification. The national qualification I had in my previous life was an Information Technology Engineer—hazardous materials are not my field!
Waaah, don’t look at me—!

“U-um! Earlier, you were saying something about the god of death and Lady Selene, were you not?”
“That’s right. His consort took quite a liking to you. She was pleased that you did not fear her, and that your offering was not given in pursuit of something, but purely out of consideration. She said it reminded her, for the first time in a long while, of a friend she once had in the distant past.”
“Oh my…”

I see. Offerings to gods usually come paired with wishes. For Selene, who was once human, that must be a little sad.
It was something I did on a whim, but if it made her that happy, I’m glad I gave her that gift.
…She said she was happy, but even if you’re together with someone you love, having not a single friend must be lonely.

“I am honored. If it would please her, I would love to speak with her again.”

I wonder if the Maiden of Death can change clothes. If she wore something cute instead of that bloodstained burial shroud, people might not be so afraid of her. Leaving aside how others see her, I want her to enjoy dressing up. Maybe next time, I could give her that kind of present.

“The god of death desires the same. He wishes to grant her anything that would bring her joy. —However, human lifespans are short. Even if it brings momentary happiness, when it is lost, it would become a great sorrow. That was what he feared.”
“That is… not something easily resolved.”

When your sense of existence is measured in millennia—one thousand, two thousand years—that’s only natural.
They say that when you keep small animals like hamsters, their short lifespans tear at your heart. Maybe it’s something like that… complicated, really.

“That is why he spoke to me about you.”

No, that doesn’t connect at all.
As Ekaterina tilted her head in confusion, Vladforen grinned.

“If you were to join with me, you would become a being that does not age, and would not die even from some injuries. Even if you are of a different species, I can share a dragon’s life with you.”

Join with…?
EEEEEHHHH!?

“I do not much like humans. Many of them are frail, yet arrogant enough to think themselves special. But on very rare occasions—”

Vladforen paused, then fixed Ekaterina with those crimson-flame eyes.

“…on very rare occasions, there are humans like you. Humans whose words I cannot help but listen to, whose presence I cannot help but follow with my eyes. Even if you were not someone from another world, even if you did not speak of a world unknown to me, I would still have taken a liking to you. You are wise, and kind…”

Tilting his head as if searching for the right words, Vladforen smiled.

“You know the vastness of the world, and your own smallness within it. And you possess a spirit broad enough to embrace even that vast world.”

Ekaterina could only feel bewildered.

“I… merely possess knowledge from another world. Where I came from, these were things anyone would know.”
“I do not know that other world. But in this world, those who think as you do are truly rare. And I find your way of thinking pleasing. Ekaterina Jurnova.”

Vladforen took Ekaterina’s hand.

“Would you consider becoming the companion of this Demon Dragon King?”