9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 17 - White Raven Order ― Oscar (3)

Oscar recalled the Silver Dragon that had shone with dazzling light.

Sonya had been guarding the estate long before Oscar was even born.

A female Silver Dragon who would gaze at people with eyes as clear and clean as blue jade from one corner of the vast garden.

Oscar’s oldest memory was also related to Sonya.

Held in his father’s arms, he had felt awe toward the massive creature he was seeing for the first time.

When he reached out his hand, Sonya gently brought her face forward, and when he stroked her smooth scales, she made a pleased sound.

Those gentle yet brilliantly shining blue eyes, caring for a human child hundreds of times smaller than herself.

In that moment, Oscar fell in love with dragons.

***

“How wonderful! So you’ve been friends with Sonya since you were very young?”

“Exactly!”

“And a Silver Dragon at that—second only to Gold Dragons in rarity. You’re quite lucky!”

“Once you fall for the charm of those scales, no one can escape.”

“Yes! I think the same way. I first saw a dragon when I was fifteen…”

‘Seems like he likes dragons more than people. Well, looking at it now, they are pretty magnificent creatures.’

Unlike me, who only had that level of appreciation, the air force officer—the pilot who was the owner of the dragon named Elizabeth—seemed quite moved.

Oscar’s eyes sparkled as he talked about ‘Sonya,’ and the pilot received it all with enthusiasm.

Something about shimmering scales, something about strong claws—I could only nod with an awkward smile as they created their own world that I somehow couldn’t enter.

“Oh right, we haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Ian Keller. Rank is Second Lieutenant. Don’t call me Lieutenant Keller so formally—just call me Ian.”

“I’m Oscar Fisher.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Lucas Redan.”

I could finally speak when Ian came to his senses and initiated proper introductions.

“I told you to speak casually. But what were we talking about? Oh right, so your family’s dragon Sonya is currently serving in the air force with your older brother? What’s your older brother’s name?”

“Maximilian Fisher, by any chance?”

“Oh, Lieutenant Fisher! Not in our squadron, but I’ve run into him a few times. Well, this world is pretty small after all. There are fewer than 500 people nationwide who own dragons. Ah, you probably know that too?”

“Of course I do. I even saw that Sonya bears the number 385.”

“Ah, right. Don’t worry about Sonya. From what I saw during joint training, she seemed to be doing well. I haven’t heard any rumors about Lieutenant Fisher failing dragon health checkups or capability assessments, so that means Sonya is at least healthy.”

Oscar’s face brightened noticeably even under the dim moonlight.

“Thank you! Really, thank you!”

“It’s nothing. But since we’ve met like this, how about having a drink together? Over there at the banquet hall. The factory manager has already passed out and everyone’s in the middle of a wild party.”

It was a sudden proposal. This pilot Ian Keller seemed to be just as talkative, spontaneous, and sociable as Oscar.

“I appreciate the invitation, but…”

I glanced at Oscar.

***

“Why did you refuse?”

The streetcar rattled and shook.

The magic lamp hanging from the ceiling swayed dimly, and the interior of the car—made of solid steel, square and hard—was bleak.

Outside the window, the night view of the city full of lights passed by, and the people sitting or standing holding the handrails were drowsily dozing.

The scene was no different from Korea’s subway, and I was suddenly overcome with nostalgia.

“Because I have to keep watch over you.”

Oscar, sitting next to me, answered briefly. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Keep watch? Keep watch, he says. Still, it would have been better to go. Opportunities to meet air force officers are rare.”

“That’s why I got his contact information.”

“That was me who got it.”

Before parting with the regretful Ian, I had politely asked for his contact information.

He might have wanted a date or something, but no. I just thought it might be useful later.

Anyway, Ian readily gave me his home address and phone number.

“Let’s have an in-depth discussion about dragons next time we meet!”

He seemed to mistake me for a dragon enthusiast too. I shuddered slightly with a chill.

“Ahem, anyway, one more thing I’m curious about.”

“What? Ah, don’t ask.”

Oscar frowned slightly, as if he had a premonition of what I was about to say.

“Why is the son of a family wealthy enough to own a dragon working at a factory?”

No answer came. Oscar kept his mouth firmly shut as if he absolutely wouldn’t speak.

“Hmm, did you get upset because your older brother monopolized Sonya just for being the eldest son, fight about it, and then run away from home unable to bear it?”

“H-how did you know?”

Oscar asked urgently with a dumbfounded expression, genuinely surprised. I smiled faintly.

“Well, it’s pretty obvious. You love dragons—no, Sonya—that much, so it must be related to that. And you’re curious about her well-being but can’t directly visit your older brother to ask, so if I speculate about what circumstances might prevent that, there’s only one conclusion.”

“Wow, you’re… amazing.”

Oscar seemed genuinely amazed, his mouth hanging open.

“You got it right. I can’t go into details, but it’s true that I fought with my brother. And it’s also true that I left home because of that. You could be a detective.”

“You flatter me. Actually, I didn’t think of it at first. Fisher—it’s not a traditional noble surname or a wealthy family name. Who would have thought it was a family that owns a dragon?”

“Just from the name, it sounds like an old fisherman living by the sea, right?”

A sneer crossed Oscar’s face.

“Our family was nouveau riche who bought their noble status with money. I heard such things often happened during chaotic times, and like other families, we couldn’t change our surname either. We faced constant interference from established blue-bloods. No matter how much money we made, merchants were still merchants. Both they and our family were equally foolish.”

I looked at him quietly.

‘So that’s what he was thinking. Maybe he’s not just a complete airhead after all.’

I revised my assessment of Oscar slightly. He smiled awkwardly and tilted his head with an elegant gesture.

“Ha, I never thought I’d end up telling you such stories.”

“I knew you would. Since I decided to recruit you, you were bound to tell me eventually. There’s no one easier than you in the White Raven Order.”

“What?”

“We’re here. Let’s get off.”

“Wait, hold on, what did you just say?”

Ignoring him, I stepped off the streetcar and said casually:

“Your place is in the opposite direction, right? It’s late, so just sleep over.”

“No, that’s a bit…”

“That’s a bit what? After mooching breakfast off Mrs. Schmidt.”

“I’m only that shameless to that extent.”

“Shut up and just follow me.”

It’s your loss if you don’t come. I walked while muttering to myself. The autumn night air was refreshing.

***

One morning, Oscar suddenly thought something seemed wrong.

He was in the middle of deliciously chewing fried eggs and pickled pork.

Across from him, Lucas had returned from a walk and was absentmindedly throwing pieces of sausage to Colin one by one with a weary expression, and Daniel, sitting next to him, was clicking his pen while writing a commissioned article with materials spread all over the dining table.

“Daniel, you should focus only on food during meal time. Look there, egg splattered on your paper.”

Mrs. Schmidt, who had been nagging, turned to Oscar and smiled warmly.

“Do you need anything, Oscar?”

“Oh, no, Mrs. Schmidt. The pork is really delicious.”

“That’s a relief.”

After rolling words around in his mouth for a while, Oscar carefully asked Mrs. Schmidt,

“Um, Mrs. Schmidt. How many days have I been staying at your place as of today?”

The lady shook her abundant permed hair, tilted her head, and looked at the calendar on the wall.

“Let’s see, you came last Monday, so it’s exactly been a week.”

“I see. I’m sorry. I feel like I should give you lodging fees.”

When Oscar smiled awkwardly, Mrs. Schmidt waved her hand.

“Oh my, lodging fees? This isn’t an inn. You’re Daniel and Lucas’s friend.”

“Ooh! I’m moved, ma’am!”

When he hugged the lady and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, she smiled bashfully with a good-natured laugh.

Oscar also grinned, then turned around and sighed.

A whole week!

On the day he had successfully infiltrated the factory, unable to resist Lucas’s insistence that it was late so he should sleep over, he had slept on the sofa in this boarding house’s living room.

And as if bewitched, he had been repeating such a life.

Wake up in the morning, follow Lucas around on a walk, eat breakfast, watch Lucas head to the office for work, then work diligently at the factory and return to the boarding house with Lucas to sleep on the sofa.

That had already been going on for a week.

Time had passed in an instant without him even knowing how it was flowing.

Oscar earnestly pondered what exactly the problem was.

Was it because his personality was too soft?

‘No. This is because of Lucas.’

Lucas had no complaints about him following around. Rather, he waited in front of the factory as if it were natural.

Every day, without fail.

After ‘monitoring’ his way home from work like that, Lucas, Daniel, or Mrs. Schmidt would invariably offer the kindness of letting him sleep over.

Naturally, he accepted because it was convenient for ‘monitoring.’

To be honest, it was quite fun.

Daniel was the leader of the White Raven Order and a trustworthy friend, so meeting him every night was welcome too.

It became easier to discuss White Raven Order operations and important matters.

The surprising one was Lucas.

He knew he was good at talking, but he never imagined it would be to this extent. With his rather nasty-looking impression and constant sarcasm, he thought that was all there was to him.

But a few days ago, when we had drinks in the boarding house kitchen with Daniel and Lucas, Lucas was so good with words that he often found myself listening as if entranced before he knew it.

He was also good at cheeky jokes, making him laugh until he nearly choked several times.

On top of that, he even spent hours talking with him about dragons, saying he had read books about them.

This was enough for Oscar to completely forget his hostility toward him.

‘Could this all have been intentional?’

A sudden realization hit him like a blow to the back of the head, making everything flash before his eyes.

Come to think of it, every time Lucas finished a conversation, he would become surprisingly quiet.

Wasn’t it that his personality wasn’t naturally cheerful, but he was pretending to be cheerful in front of him?

Oscar tapped Lucas during a moment when Mrs. Schmidt had stepped away.

“Hey, Lucas. Something’s strange. I can’t tell who’s monitoring whom. I feel like I’m being monitored rather than monitoring right now. Did you plan this? No way, right?”

Suddenly, Daniel, who had been seriously writing next to them, made a strange snorting sound.

And Lucas folded the newspaper he was reading and curled the corner of his lips.

“You only figured that out now, you idiot.”

Clear mockery. Daniel patted Oscar’s shoulder consolingly.

“I really like that about you, Oscar.”

“The fact that he’s slow-witted.”

When Lucas deliberately added that comment, Oscar’s face turned bright red.

“Y-you bastards! You two conspired to trick me! To make me trust Lucas!”

“Well, to be precise, Lucas proposed it and I just went along.”

“How could you…!”

“So?”

Lucas finished a glass of milk, stood up, and said indifferently.

“What are you going to do? Aren’t we already friends?”

“Friends… you say.”

Oscar muttered in bewilderment. Then he met eyes with Daniel, who was wearing an apologetic smile.

He was the first friend Oscar had made since coming to the city, and the most trustworthy person.

He thought of the White Raven Order.

The countless nights and days spent together in anguish.

Creating secret codes without being caught by anyone else, putting their heads together to create the most appealing phrases, swearing to protect each other.

It had been enjoyable and rewarding.

Looking at it coldly, it was nothing more or less than youngsters playing at being pioneers, just as Lucas had mocked.

But Oscar believed that he had changed through that time.

Even if it was just a delusion.

“I definitely gained friends.”

Oscar nodded as if convinced.

“And the more friends you have, the better. Hey, Lucas! I’ll forgive you. But you also—”

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to work?”

Lucas was already opening the front door. Oscar hurriedly grabbed his coat and followed him.

“I forgive—”

“Ah, I heard, I heard. Thanks. But from today on, I probably can’t come pick you up, so find your way there yourself.”

“Huh?”

It would take Oscar a bit more time to realize that Lucas was moving carefully and deliberately to win over the members who hadn’t accepted him yet, one by one, and that he was the first target.