“You dislike tedium, so allow me to speak on the main point at once.”
“Good, good. You remain as considerate as ever.”
Pasiyas detested idle formalities, so her sensibility was worthy of praise.
He was a crude sort, and even putting it kindly, he could not be called a patient type.
“First, a Black Dragon hatchling has been born.”
[What…!]
The Red Dragon raised his beam-thick neck and glared at Christina.
[You know what those words mean?]
“Of course. It was born about a month ago. You can likely guess what that signifies?”
A thunderous growl rumbled from Pasiyas’s throat.
[The nights of the world have grown longer. Though still exceedingly faint.]
“That’s right. From the day the Black Dragon was born, the hours of night have lengthened.”
Dragons were colossal masses of mana energy.
Their very births were regarded as aberrations, and the influence they exerted upon the world was so great that omens manifested across it.
About a month had passed since the hatchling of the Black Dragon, bearer of the deepest darkness, was born.
As the weight of the darkness attribute was added, omens began to appear in the world.
In such a situation, the fact that a Black Dragon hatchling—thought to be extinct—had been born could not be hidden indefinitely.
[Have you formally reported this to the Lord?]
“Not yet. But he may already know. Since there have been omens, this is not something that can be concealed forever.”
At Christina’s words, the golden beast’s pupils twitched vertically.
[Then why inform me first?]
This was the very question Christina had been waiting for.
“That child is still a hatchling and must grow more; it needs time to experience many things and develop its own sense of self. Therefore, I ask that you take our side, so that Lord Isha cannot interfere.”
[Hmph. Is this whelp worth such effort?]
At Pasiyas’s words, she wore a subtle smile and slyly raised her right hand near her chin.
“That child revived a phoenix egg not long ago.”
Pasiyas’s brow ridges twitched thickly.
He could not believe that an event had occurred which defied the existing law that only when the current generation’s phoenix died could a new one be born.
But it was Christina who said it.
She was one who, if dismissed as nonsense, could make even a mighty dragon like him suffer greatly.
Toward him, who regarded her with a fierce gaze as though he might devour her in a single bite, Christina tilted her head slightly and explained.
“If Lord Isha learns of this fact, is it not obvious how he will react?”
Red energy spread from Pasiyas’s body, and words poured out alongside a snarl.
[He’ll be brainwashed by that brazen Lord Isha and raised however he desires! And if he judges the child to be impossible or even slightly dangerous, he will kill it!]
Knowing that even the most fundamental principle—that a hatchling must be protected—could be cast aside, Pasiyas bared his teeth at that arrogance.
[The thought of controlling everything as he pleases is repulsive merely to imagine.]
Christina nodded.
“To him, who decides upon the sacrifice of cattle for the sake of the whole, the only child of the Black Dragon would be an existence he would desire to possess. There is already precedent.”
Pasiyas snorted and turned his head askew.
[An incomparably arrogant bastard! But even he cannot have everything his way forever!]
“I believe the same.”
Christina smiled softly.
There was none who could oppose the Dragon Lord.
But if there was a race that even the Lord found most troublesome, it was the Red Dragons.
Born with the nature of fire, their tempers too blazed like flames before quickly cooling.
At times beautiful, and at times boasting fearsome power, they were capricious beyond grasp.
Pure, the most self-centered, and possessed of the hottest blood.
They were the most difficult to handle and acted purely according to their emotions; even the Lord had a side that found them headache-inducing.
Christina pretended not to know and inquired again.
“By the way, how is Pel doing?”
Pasiyas’s pupils narrowed sharply into vertical slits.
[You mean my whelp?]
Christina nodded her head a couple of times.
[…Hmph.]
Pasiyas, massive in frame, raised his head and spread his wings.
[Do you think that whelp can be of help in this matter?]
A heated breath laden with negative emotions was exhaled roughly.
“He can.”
A determined yet smiling gaze was directed at Pasiyas.
“Because he is a child born with a pure flame that does not waver even before the Lord, and who has experienced from you the life of an elder and the love of a mate embraced in nature’s bosom.”
[You overestimate that lacking whelp, Christina.]
Pasiyas’s cold, scornful assessment followed.
“I should like to hear why you think so, Pasiyas.”
[Ha! Because despite being my child, he is a completely useless wretch!]
In Christina’s calmly resonating voice, a warmth and depth could be felt.
But in Pasiyas’s answering words, an arrogance that could laughably burn away her encompassing warmth was revealed without restraint.
[It’s to the point that the time I invested to make him useful—when he couldn’t even come to his senses after his mother’s death—is regrettable. I raised him so that he could stand at once as an elder of the Red Dragons, not a hatchling, yet he is a whelp so shameful I cannot even acknowledge him as my successor; he is incomparably disappointing.]
[It is foolish to place hope in a good-for-nothing like him.]
Christina was not agitated. She was not the one who would prove Pasiyas wrong.
“That is not necessarily so.”
A soft answer began to envelop the ferocity.
“There are flames that scorch the earth and mountain ranges with massive conflagration, but there are also flames that warm the hearts of many with the warmth of a single candle.”
A life lived as an elder of the Red Dragons, but that was merely the life of an elder suited to Pasiyas.
Moreover, his discipline had been too oppressive and harsh.
It was not a method of rearing suited for a being with an instinct to live more independently than any other.
“Even among the same flames, the temperature and color all differ, Pasiyas. Not everything a child becomes comes solely from what they receive from their parents.”
A powerful flame that burns and destroys everything is not the only kind of fire.
There is no law saying it must be so.
A gentle yet steadfast blue gaze quietly looked at Pasiyas.
[Keuk, keuk… Hahahaha!]
Pasiyas’s red membrane was revealed, and the laughter resonating from deep within his throat grew louder and louder.
The laughter that made the air of the cave tremble gradually subsided, and Pasiyas snorted.
[Consistent as always. Such is the ideal befitting an elder of the Gold Dragons.]
Having already clashed with Christina several times over such matters, she swallowed a sigh inwardly.
Pasiyas likewise had no intention of clashing over this matter.
[Well, very well. If it is the sole child of the Black Dragon, it will grow to become a great pillar supporting the night. I shall provide assistance.]
He was not one to show mercy to those who contradicted him.
However, Christina, who had delivered the news of the Dark Clan’s birth to him rather than to the Lord, had been quite satisfactory, so he decided to show generosity.
[Keuk. Clever. The more I think about it, the cleverer you are, Christina! You knew I would not refuse this proposal, didn’t you?]
Pasiyas moved his body lightly.
Even without spreading his wings, the movement of his massive frame alone filled the field of vision.
“I merely believed you would make a wise choice.”
Christina smiled gently.
[Of course. Especially, informing me first was a wise move.]
While praising her, Pasiyas snorted inwardly.
Episode 11
He just swallowed this?
‘Christina. You’ve struck it fortunate thanks to your master-disciple bond with the Black Dragon elder. I knew you were safeguarding the only remaining egg of the darkness-attribute clan, but…’
Even if it was the sole hatchling of the vacant darkness-attribute clan, it was merely a newly born young creature.
Having obtained an opportunity to build a rapport with a young successor who knew not the world, he smacked his lips with greedy desire.
‘Had I known that egg would hatch, I would have gone to any lengths to obtain it with my own hands. It is regrettable that I cannot act directly.’
In any case, Pasiyas had secured a good opportunity to take measures concerning the child before the Dragon Lord Isha.
The calculation finished, Pasiyas nodded once.
[Very well. That child is of the only Black Dragon clan, so it will grow to become an elder leading the darkness. It would be good for my whelp, who will become the elder of the Fire Clan, to become acquainted with it in advance.]
“I thought the same. The two will become good influences on each other.”
At those words, the great red dragon let out a heated snort.
‘For a newborn bloodling to become a good influence on my whelp. Your words are slick indeed.’
She had already guessed Pasiyas’s thoughts, but she did not bother to voice them and prick his pride.
At least outwardly, she elegantly supported his choice and showed a gentle smile.
To such Christina, Pasiyas revealed his ferocious teeth.
[I shall verify the matter regarding the phoenix further. And, before long, my son will visit the lair. I shall instruct him to teach that child what he has learned as successor to the elder.]
“I am grateful for your kindness, Elder Pasiyas.”
Christina finished her farewells to a degree that did not breach etiquette and rose from her seat.
[I look forward to the expression on that insolent one’s face when he realizes there is something that will not go his way.]
At those words, seemingly spoken for him to hear, Christina lightly shook her head.
‘That not everything goes your way applies to you as well, does it not, Pasiyas.’
His excessive honesty notwithstanding, his greedy and violent temperament did not suit Christina.
The business was concluded. Christina exchanged farewells and exited the cave via flight magic.
She passed the cave entrance and turned around.
A lair narrow compared to his massive body. And a small entrance was visible.
Pasiyas, who had originally lived in a lair within a vast volcanic region, had promptly passed the lair down to Perdikion, still a hatchling, and wished to remain in what had been his deceased mate’s lair.
Both Christina and Lord Isha knew this, but they did not mention it, having no intention of deliberately touching his fiery temperament.
‘A meeting with one who has escaped the shadow of the Red Dragon clan and its backer, Pasiyas… will surely be of help to Perdikion as well.’
Christina thought this meeting was necessary not only for the Black Dragon’s child but also for the young Perdikion.
Rumble!
The moment the cave entrance closed, an intense wave resounded in Christina’s head.
Zing.
“Uht. Rai?”
In an instant, Christina’s expression hardened stiffly.
“Could it be.”
‘An emergency?’
Christina’s figure immediately vanished in midair.
Swish.
“Everyone!”
Having returned in haste, she gulped at the sight before her.
The place where Rai should have been was, of course, inside the lair, yet instead there was a forest lush with grass and trees.
“Peep! Peep peep peep!”
[;ㅁ;!]
“! Why are you all outside the lair…? Just what happened?”
She instantly moved to the side of her spirit, Rai, and gasped upon seeing the collapsed hatchling.
‘The child…!’
“Kyu, kyuu. Euuk.”
The Imugi sat with its back against a tree, drenched in cold sweat, barely catching its breath.
The white baby bird was bathed in tears, hiccupping between the hatchling’s legs, at a loss and crying out with peeping sounds, while Rai wore a tearful expression and circled around her.
[ ㅠxㅠ! ]
Rai, wearing an expression, projected a picture with light.
Following a pantomime of eating something wrong, her face paled at the last light-drawn shape.
[ㅇ<-<]
At the same time, she repeated the will of ‘sorry’ that could only be felt by her contractor, Christina.
‘Rai. What happened?’
At her question, the spirit’s buzzing grew even louder.
Examining the light-drawn picture of a screaming medicinal herb closely, she furrowed her brow.
“Mandragora…?”
Having approached the Imugi to check its condition, Christina picked up a half-torn mandragora nearby.
The mandragora, which should have been letting out an ear-splitting scream, was already dead.
‘He just swallowed this?’
Literally, it was a spine-chilling feeling.
Mandragoras were dangerous plants by nature.
Moreover, the mandragoras here grew imbued with dragon mana, making them overwhelmingly more potent as both medicinal herbs and poisonous plants than ordinary ones.
Yet, the fact that a child barely over a month old had swallowed a centuries-old mandragora was absurd, and the fact that it was not in a more serious condition after eating it was a miracle.
It would not have been strange for the child to die on the spot or be crippled.
Questions led to more questions, but Christina examined the hatchling’s condition first, as it was the most important.
‘What is the child’s condition?’
She was examining the Imugi when she noticed something and sniffed near the nose.