Chapter 82: The Child in the Dream

That child called him Ian, and he held the child’s hand as they ran through the dense forest, laughing and talking joyfully like a real child.

But soon after, the dream suddenly faded. The warm feeling vanished, leaving behind a pain in his chest with no clear cause.

Kang Ian raised a hand to his chest, furrowing his brows.

"I don’t know, I don’t remember anymore."

"You don’t remember?" Moon So Yeon asked again.

"Yeah."

He looked toward Kei, his gaze lingering on the boy’s face longer than usual. The soft, flushed face of the child in the dream seemed to overlap with the beautiful face of the teenager before him, making Kang Ian’s heart ache faintly once more.

"It was just a strange dream."

Kang Ian clicked his tongue and brushed the matter aside, but Kei blankly pointed at the corner of his eye.

"But you were crying."

Kang Ian touched his face again, as if he still didn’t believe it. It must have just been a bit of physiological tears.

"Maybe because the dream was too vivid, I got a little emotional. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to doze off at all."

Even if it was only because he was so exhausted that he fell asleep.

"What did you see in the dream?"

Sora asked curiously.

Kang Ian turned to look at her. His expression immediately returned to its familiar gloomy look, along with a sharp glare for Moon So Yeon.

"None of your business."

Sora pouted.

"I was just asking. You’re crying one moment and acting all cold the next, Council President Kang Ian, that’s really unbecoming. People will end up disliking you."

"You want me to keep crying for you to watch?"

"No need, once is rare enough."

Moon So Yeon gently rubbed her brow.

"Alright, stop teasing the council president, Sora-ssi."

She looked at Kang Ian, her worry still not gone.

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Headache, dizziness, or your ability losing control? Was there anything off about you suddenly collapsing like that?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kang Ian answered quickly, then looked down at his hand. That hand had just held Kei’s small hand in the dream, so warm and soft that he didn’t want to let go.

Could that soft, warm sensation really be felt in a dream?

He unconsciously turned to look at Kei again.

Kei was using his sleeve to wipe away the remaining traces of tears on Kang Ian’s face. The motion was so natural that Kang Ian couldn’t stop him in time, and Kei didn’t seem to find anything wrong with it either.

"What are you doing?"

Kang Ian raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Just wiping your tears."

"I can do it myself."

Kei chuckled, and once the tear stains on Kang Ian’s face were dry, he withdrew his hand.

"I know, but you just woke up and you’re still dazed."

Kang Ian looked at him, a strange feeling suddenly rising in his heart. Kei’s face at this moment overlapped with the face of the child in the dream, so similar that it made his heart tremble slightly again.

He didn’t know why he had dreamed of Kei as a child, nor did he understand why he had cried.

But Kang Ian truly wanted to doze off one more time. To return to that forest, find that small wooden cabin, and hold that child’s warm hand again.

Kang Ian quietly lowered his eyes, hiding the emotion that flickered through his gaze.

"Kei."

"Huh?"

"Next time, if I fall asleep next to you..."

He hesitated for a moment, as if even he felt the words he was about to say were somewhat strange.

"Don’t wake me up. I want to sleep a little longer."

Kei looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"You were already asleep, I wasn’t planning on waking you anyway. You woke up on your own just now, didn’t you?"

"Then that’s good."

After saying that, Kang Ian lay back down, this time naturally resting his head on Kei’s lap once more, ignoring the presence of the others.

Kei was stunned.

Moon So Yeon’s mouth fell open, while Sora immediately burst into laughter. But Kang Ian had already closed his eyes, completely ignoring everyone’s reactions.

"Keep it down a little."

He murmured.

"I want to try finding that dream again. I feel like it’s very important to me..."

However, Kang Ian probably could only sleep for that short while, because at that very moment, the entire sky suddenly turned pitch black without a trace of light. The scene was strangely familiar.

Kim Sora gasped, and after letting out a small cry, she blurted out:

"The enormous black dragon!"

BOOM!The windows and walls of the room shattered.

"Ah!!! What the hell is that!!? Save me!"

Kim Sora screamed, and then she was grabbed by Moon So Yeon next to her and pulled to the side before the floor beneath her feet collapsed.

As for Kei, he had already been carried by a princess held by Kang Ian, floating above the spot where the floor had collapsed. Although this posture was truly embarrassing, Kei could only hold tightly onto Kang Ian’s neck to keep herself from falling.

"Hmm..."

Kang Ian’s hand lightly patted Kei’s plump butt, and he wore a sly smile on his lips.

"What’s this, looking so skinny but turns out you’ve got a bit of meat here, pretty soft."

Kei’s cheeks flushed red, and he refused to respond to Kang Ian’s lewd teasing.

What Kei was more concerned about right now was what on earth had happened to turn the newly built building of Guild Crying Ghost into such a mess.

"What happened? Did someone attack this place?"

Kei whispered.

Kang Ian smiled faintly, his gaze looking outside toward where a tall figure was charging straight here at a terrifying speed.

"It’s nothing."

He sighed.

"There’s just a big lizard that’s a bit angry."

The attacker drew closer, and Kei’s eyes widened. It turned out to be Kai, and the black dragon of hers was the creature that had turned the building of Guild Crying Ghost into a pile of rubble!

"Why... Kei! Give Kei back!"

The moment Kai flew to the headquarters of Guild Crying Ghost, he saw Kei held in the arms of some other bastard, and his eyes immediately turned red. The anger surged in his heart, causing layers of black scales to faintly appear on his neck.