CHAPTER 79…………………………..
But still, no matter how unbelievably fat it was for a dragon, to treat a dragon like a fly—that was something worthy of admiration.
Esther reflected on herself, who had only avoided looking.
‘So I could see the dragon, huh.’
But Kaelos seemed completely unaware.
That could only mean the dragon had most likely cast some kind of magic under “specific conditions.”
‘…Probably made it so only those with demonic blood mixed in could see it.’
She’d heard that a very, very long time ago, dragons and demons had a fairly close relationship.
In particular, demons and black dragons were said to have an almost symbiotic bond, though demons were violent in temperament and black dragons were even more violent.
So they ended up killing each other off quickly. Esther had heard that among all dragons, the black dragon was the first to go extinct….
‘But wasn’t that one pitch-black?’
Dragons were often named according to their color.
Gold skin and scales meant “gold dragon,” red meant “red dragon,” and so on.
So if it was black, it was most likely a black dragon….
‘But then why is it a hatchling?’
Esther’s eyes trembled faintly.
Could it be that a black dragon had survived until now?
Even if that were true, could it still be strong enough to produce offspring?
Black dragons, for all their fierce temperaments, carried recessive genes—meaning unless two black dragons mated, a black dragon child wouldn’t be born.
If a red and a black dragon had a child, it was 99% certain to be red. Same for gold and black.
In other words, the appearance of a hatchling implied there had to be at least two adult black dragons somewhere……
Hmmm……!
‘Ugh, thinking too hard makes my blood sugar drop. I should just stop thinking!’
Suddenly, she was too lazy to care.
—“Yaaaargh!!”
At that moment, the tent flapped wildly as something shot inside with a shriek.
—“Whyyyy’d you hiiit meee!! Why! Did! You! Hiiit me!! It hurts!!”
The round, plump hatchling that had been chased out earlier was now sprawled on the ground, thrashing about like crazy.
Its four stubby legs, tail, and wings flailed in chaos.
Esther’s pupils shook violently.
When she glanced over, Freya showed no reaction at all.
Her gaze didn’t even land on it—so apparently it was invisible to her now as well.
Meaning, Esther had no choice but to face a fact she’d been wanting to avoid.
Whatever the reason, this black dragon’s purpose in coming here seemed to be her.
And honestly, Esther found it annoying.
—“You’re noisy. Quiet down.”
Esther frowned and spoke telepathically to the dragon.
As soon as she responded, the hatchling’s eyes lit up, and as though it had never been crying, it darted straight toward her.
—“Hey, I’m a genius! I’ll be really useful! C’mon, wouldn’t it be nice to have a cute little dragon at home?”
Don’t talk like you’re asking her to buy a stuffed toy.
—“No space at my place. It’s full. I live in a tiny one-room apartment.”
—“W-what’s a one-room?”
—“Smaller than this tent.”
The hatchling looked around the tent in surprise, then flapped closer toward Esther.
—“You okay? Master?”
—“…Who’s your master?”
So this little thing was trying to freeload.
Esther had grown up hearing endless stories of just how troublesome dragons were.
They did nothing but had refined palates, never eating just anything—only fine and expensive food. On top of that, they adored shiny things more than anything in the world, so they burned through money as soon as they got it.
There was even a tale in the demon realm, practically a fairy tale now, about a wealthy human who’d amassed riches like a rake and made a contract with a dragon for power—only to go bankrupt in a few years.
And Esther’s financial situation?
Utterly poor.
Well, not that poor, but definitely not wealthy enough to sustain a dragon’s extravagant tastes.
If her household went under because of this, what then?
Esther shook her head.
—“You live in a place this big?”
—“No, half this size.”
A lie, of course.
Her room was larger and far more luxurious than she claimed.
‘Speaking of which, I wonder if my room at the mansion is still there.’
She tilted her head.
—“Th-that’s fine! I’m a genius! I can expand the house any time! I can even give you a bigger one, so how about it? One dragon, please!”
Again, don’t talk like you’re selling dolls.
Besides, it was huge. She’d never even seen a plump hatchling before.
Esther schemed.
She had to get rid of this damn dragon somehow.
—“I’ve got no money. At best I can feed you hard bread three times a day.”
—“Whoa……. Are you… a beggar?”
The dragon asked with such pitiful, concerned eyes that Esther was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was the reaction she wanted, yet somehow it didn’t feel very good.
—“Y-yeah…….”
Sure, people did sometimes call that being a beggar….
—“Actually, I don’t even have a house. I live in a cardboard box. And I can’t eat three meals a day—sometimes I have to split one piece of bread into three meals.”
Esther piled lie upon lie, exaggerating her plight.
The dragon floated silently for a while, flitting about, before suddenly popping back in front of her.
—“I’ve got it!”
—“Huh?”
—“Hey, beggar! I know how you can get rich!”
Why did it keep calling her “hey” and “beggar”…?
…Beggar?
Sure, she had said it herself, but hearing it repeated made her feel really, really bad.
Esther clamped her mouth shut.
—“While I was waiting for you, I looked around and found a place full of shiny things!”
—“You were waiting for me?”
—“Yeah! Not too long ago, I felt you getting stronger, so I started slowly making my way to you. There was so much delicious food on the way that I kept stopping to eat!”
So that’s why it looked like a ball.
Esther squinted but didn’t say it aloud.
—“I was hurrying, but then I felt your poor beggar energy nearby. So instead of flying past, I came here.”
Not too long ago?
‘Not too long ago, I was probably just sleeping.’
Esther asked suspiciously:
—“When exactly is ‘not too long ago’?”
—“Umm… not too long ago is not too long ago!”
—“In human time?”
—“Hmm. Human time doesn’t mean much to me….”
Still, the hatchling furrowed its stubby claws, as if counting.
—“I think five winters have passed.”
Five winters?
That meant five years.
And that’s what it called “not too long ago”…?
She knew dragons had a warped sense of time, but taking five years just to come to her?
—“So you’ve been looking for me for five years?”
—“Yup! I took naps when I got tired, picked fruit when I was hungry, and went hunting when I found something tastier!”
—“That’s not traveling, that’s vacationing.”
—“Beggar, your energy had sunk deep and you stayed in one place, so I figured you were in a growth stage!”
Would it stop with the “beggar” thing already?
Sure, she’d started it, but the more she heard it, the less pleasant it felt.
—“Well, you’re not wrong.”
She had been growing, after all.
So even young, a dragon was still a dragon. Surprisingly, it had decent situational awareness.
—“So, beggar! I’ll show you where the shiny stuff is! Adopt me!”
Now it wanted to be adopted.
—“Humans keep lots of pets, right? I heard they like cute and charming creatures like me! And I’m a genius, too! For a beggar like you, this is a rare chance!”
—“I don’t really want that chance.”
—“…Huh?”
The hatchling rolled around in the air like a ball, then froze mid-spin.
Its wings had stopped flapping, yet it still floated.
‘…If it can fly, why flap its wings at all?’
Was there a reason?
—“Aren’t I… cute?”
—“Hmm.”
Esther gazed at the hatchling.
Its round face, beady little eyes, stubby arms and legs, droopy ears and tail, and for some reason those constantly flapping wings.
—“Yeah, you’re cute.”
She admitted readily.
Objectively speaking, the hatchling was cute.
—“Then why not keep me? Beggar, this is a rare bond, you know? I don’t just go to anyone.”
—“Hmm.”
—“I’m not some common pet you can find anywhere, beggar! Humans have a word for this… what was it…”
The hatchling clutched its head with its short forelegs, still floating.
—“Uh… Limited edition!”
—“…Limited edition?”
—“No, wait. Rare… pet?”
—“…Rare pet?”
—“Yeah, that’s it! That’s what I am! Beggar, don’t you want me? You can’t just get a treasure like me anywhere!”
The chubby hatchling puffed out its chest and snorted proudly.
