Sirab stood silently, then said, "Fine, I will kill the dragon."
Minzu's face lit up. "That's very great! I will free you as promised. And if you want anything from the king, he will give it to you."
Sirab shook his head. "I don't want anything from kings. I hate kings—and people who think they're better than others. God gave us life. He made us all the same. So why do some people act like they're more important?"
Minzu nodded. "You're right." He stood and added, "In this world, people make mistakes. And one mistake can destroy a kingdom, a family—everything. The mistake of the people in this city was choosing the wrong king."
Sirab lowered his head in thought. Minzu continued, "Come, we should go to my home. We can talk about the dragon there."
After some time, the two arrived at Minzu's home. Inside, Minzu turned to Sirab and said, "Show me your hands."
Sirab raised his chained hands. Minzu opened a box and took out a key. With a soft click, he unlocked the chains.
"You trust me so easily?" Sirab asked. "Now I could run, or destroy this whole place."
"If we want to help each other," Minzu said, "we have to trust each other."
Sirab smiled slightly. "Fair enough."
"Now," Minzu added, "I want to introduce you to my sister, Mizuchi. While you were unconscious, she took care of you."
Sirab's eyes narrowed. "Who changed my clothes?"
Minzu laughed. "That was me. Her job was to give you food and keep watch. She told me you were having bad dreams—sometimes you smiled, and sometimes you cried."
"It was a bad dream," Sirab said quietly.
Minzu led Sirab into the main hall of the home. They sat on the floor to eat. At that moment, a kind-looking sixteen-year-old girl entered with a warm smile.
"Welcome home, brother. And welcome, Mr. Sirab."
"My name is just Sirab," he said politely.
"I'm happy to meet you," she replied.
Minzu added, "She took great care of you while you were dreaming. Don't you think she deserves thanks?"
Sirab nodded. "Yes, she does." He raised his hand and whispered, "Magic of Creation—Ring of the Sun."
A small black ring formed in his palm. He handed it to Mizuchi. "This is a magical ring. It will create protection around you."
Mizuchi's eyes widened. She blushed and whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Sirab," before leaving the room.
Minzu leaned forward. "Now, let's talk about the White Dragon. I want you to listen carefully."
Sirab's eyes met his. "I'm listening."
"The White Dragon is over a thousand years old. He has many castles and his body holds dark, powerful energy. If he wanted to fight a god, he could stand against one—and if lucky, even win."
Sirab nodded. "I've always wanted to fight something like that. But do you have a strategy?"
"There is only one way," Minzu said. "Make you stronger. Last time, you lost because you didn't fully understand your magic. Now, I will teach you new spells and how to use all types of magic. If you can combine them, you'll be powerful—like a god."
Sirab stood up with excitement. "When do we start, Mr. Minzu? I'm ready."
"Not today. We'll begin tomorrow."
Just then, Mizuchi entered with a tray of food. Again, it was the same hard bread.
Sirab raised an eyebrow. "Can I change this food with my magic?"
"Go ahead," Minzu replied.
"Magic of Change," Sirab whispered, placing his hand over the bread. Instantly, the bread transformed into meat.
Minzu tasted it and smiled. "This is very good."
After eating, Minzu said, "Go to your room and rest."
Sirab obeyed and went to his room. About an hour later, someone entered quietly—it was Mizuchi.
"Can you do something for me?" she asked softly.
Sirab sat up. "What is it, Miss Mizuchi?"
"Can you make meat for the villagers too? They'll be so happy."
"Why not?" Sirab smiled.
They went outside. Sirab saw a large crowd gathered—men, women, and children. Many had cold beards and tired faces. They looked at him with quiet hope.
Sirab raised his hands and whispered his spell again. This time, he transformed piles of bread into warm, delicious meat. The smell filled the air.
The people cheered and began to eat. An old woman walked up to Sirab, her eyes wet with tears.
"We haven't eaten meat since the dragon attacked," she said. "Thank you, my son."
For the first time in a long while, Sirab felt something warm in his chest—happiness. This was the first place he had been where he could truly feel… at home.
Sirab became very happy after giving food to everyone. He told Mizuchi, "I want to do something for them."
She asked, "What?"
Sirab said, "I can make this place a hut—a home."
Mizuchi asked, "How would you like to help them?"
Sirab replied, "Let's see."
Sirab walked to the village hall and shouted, "Open the doors of the hill! Stone monsters!"
Suddenly, a lot of monsters made of stone rose from the earth. Sirab pointed and said, "My soldiers, clean the city from snow and help the people of the village."
The stone monsters started working, clearing snow and rolling it into big snowballs. After some time, the city was clean, but more snow kept falling from the sky.
Then, someone threw a small snowball and hit Sirab. When he turned around, he saw a small kid smiling at him.
Sirab looked angry at first, but then he picked up a snowball and hit the kid back. After that, all the people in the village started hitting each other with snowballs.
Mizuchi saw this and smiled with her big black eyes.
After playing, the villagers asked Sirab if he could make fire. Sirab said, "Fire, fire, open!"
A warm fire appeared, and every young boy and girl in the village started dancing around it. Some old people brought musical instruments and started playing music.
Sirab watched all of it and smiled.
Then Mizuchi came to him and asked, "Sirab, do you want to dance with me?"
Sirab replied, "I'm not a good dancer… but why not?"
They walked to the center of the ground and started dancing in the old village style, looking at each other.
After some time, the dance finished. Everyone said, "Thanks, Sirab," and returned to their homes.
From a distance, Minzu watched everything and said to himself, "Sirab has the heart of an angel. He is a good person. Now I must make him stronger."