Chapter 119
“Are you really going to raise that thing?”
Tae-chang asked, staring at the little dragon nestled in Dong-hee’s arms, his lips jutting out in disbelief. The young dragon, with sleek navy-blue scales gleaming under the light, sat obediently on Dong-hee’s lap like a plush toy.
“Yup. I’m going to raise it.”
Just half a day ago, that creature had tried to kill her—yet here she was, cuddling it like a baby and smiling with delight. Tae-chang was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even be angry.
“It tried to kill you, you know?” he asked, incredulous.
“Well, it lost its home, so of course it was mad. I’d be upset too. I get it. I mean, what else could drive such a cute little thing to do something like that? Humans have done a lot of bad things to nature. I didn’t want to be one of them, but… I guess I have some reflecting to do.”
Dong-hee spoke with a contrite look that made Tae-chang let out a half-exasperated laugh. Whatever. She was utterly smitten. Hugging the little dragon on her lap, she beamed like a child with a new toy.
All her life, she’d been too busy just trying to survive to even keep a hamster.
But now—a dragon? It felt like she’d won the lottery. It understood speech, could even talk back, and was unbearably cute on top of it. What better companion could there be?
Right now, holding the little dragon in her arms, Dong-hee felt almost as happy as the day she’d first been granted the territory of Borimdang.
“You’re not gonna do that bad thing anymore, right?”
Dong-hee lifted the little creature high like a baby and asked in a lisping tone. The young dragon drooped its wings sadly and nodded weakly. Its neck was so short that the nod was barely visible, but to Dong-hee, even that was heartbreakingly adorable.
Still, unlike her, the baby dragon looked utterly drained.
“You don’t like living with me? The alternative was getting sucked into that scary blue system window and vanishing, you know.”
The dragon drooped its head lower and shook it side to side, lips jutting out further.
“Then why so down? Don’t tell me it’s because of your name?”
Dong-hee thought of the 500 points she’d gotten after naming it—far short of the 2000-point “hidden reward” she could’ve earned if the name had been better received.
The little dragon nodded miserably, tears welling under its pink eyes. Its dislike must have been serious—one teardrop finally slid down its cheek and rolled across Dong-hee’s lap, crystallizing into a magic stone.
Oh my gosh! Even its tears are beautiful!
Dong-hee snatched up the gem before it could roll away and quickly tucked it into her sleeve. Unlike the magic stones she’d mined before, this one gleamed brilliantly—round as a pearl, sparkling like a diamond, and a deep navy blue.
This baby dragon was clearly more than just cute—it was valuable. There was no way she’d let it go now.
“Do you want me to change your name to something prettier?”
The dragon’s head snapped up, nodding eagerly, eyes now glowing with hope instead of tears. It was so adorable that Dong-hee couldn’t possibly refuse.
“Alright then. What name do you want?” she asked, gently stroking its round head. Its scales were so smooth and soft—like silk.
“Really? You’ll change it?”
“Of course.”
As Dong-hee smiled warmly, the dragon flapped its tiny wings in excitement. The little wings were barely the size of her palms, and their frantic fluttering made her want to scream from cuteness overload.
After a moment of deep thought, the dragon puffed out its chest and declared proudly:
“Then I’ll be called Varia-ssibella Dugoran Ginear, descendant of the great dragons!”
“Varia… what?”
“Varia-ssibella Dugoran Ginear!”
The baby dragon wagged its stubby tail as it recited its grand new name. Dong-hee calmly patted its head and murmured kindly, “I don’t know how great this ancestor of yours was, but that name sure is ridiculously long.”
“Alright.”
“Really?”
The dragon’s pink eyes sparkled with joy.
“But it’s too long, so let’s shorten it a bit. We’ll keep the noble meaning intact, okay?”
“Okay! Okay!”
The dragon nodded enthusiastically.
“It’s a wonderful name, so how about we just take the first letters from each word?”
“Sounds good!”
The dragon’s eyes shone with anticipation.
“So—Ba from Varia-ssibella, Du from Dugoran, and Gi from Ginear. Together, that makes Badugi! What do you think?”
“Ba… Badugi?”
The dragon paused, sensing something odd about it but not quite knowing what.
“Dragon, Badugi… dragon, Badugi…”
After mumbling both names a few times, the little dragon finally said in a solemn voice, “I think I like Badugi better.”
“Good choice. My Badugi. You’ll behave and listen to me from now on, right?”
“Mm-hm!”
Pleased, Dong-hee hugged the dragon tight. Badugi, emboldened by affection, puffed out his chest and gave Tae-chang a smug look. The fearful trembling from earlier was completely gone.
Now that he had a master, not even a great mage like Tae-chang could harm him. And his master was no ordinary human—she was the chosen one, capable of controlling even the great mage himself. There was nothing to fear anymore.
Badugi straightened up and looked down at Tae-chang with the air of a superior addressing an underling.
Tae-chang, irritated by the baby dragon’s sudden arrogance, marched forward and tried to flick him on the head. But Dong-hee quickly shielded the dragon, and the attempt failed.
Peeking from her arms, Badugi stuck his tongue out at Tae-chang in triumph.
Then Dong-hee suddenly remembered why she’d been looking for Tae-chang in the first place.
“Thanks for saving me. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
“Bit late for that thank-you.”
Grumbling, Tae-chang didn’t miss the chance—he reached out and thwack!—smacked Badugi on the head.
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”
Badugi clutched his forehead with both hands and glared furiously. His pink eyes flashed red for an instant—but the color faded quickly, along with his courage. He ducked back into Dong-hee’s arms for safety.
Dong-hee stroked the baby dragon’s neck and back soothingly, like comforting a puppy, and said to Tae-chang,
“If it weren’t for you, I’d have died—several times. Really, thank you.”
“At least you know it,” Tae-chang muttered, still sulky.
Then, as if embarrassed, he disappeared into the blue system window.
—Tae-chang is embarrassed. For making the world’s most shameless man blush, the user receives 100 Hidden Points. His childish attempt to pick a fight out of embarrassment—
Bzzt!
The text on the system window fizzled and vanished mid-sentence.
“What on earth is going on in there?” Dong-hee muttered, staring into the blue window. No matter how hard she squinted, all she could see was an endless sea of blue.
* * *
“Isn’t that… Quilen?”
“What?”
“The thing on the lord’s shoulder!”
When the lord appeared at the construction site where restoration work was still underway, the townspeople of Morta gasped in shock. Following the cry, everyone turned toward Dong-hee.
Badugi puffed out his tiny chest under all those eyes.
“They gaze upon me in awe of my greatness! Very well! I, the generous and magnificent Badugi, shall allow them to admire me freely. To witness my splendor is a story worthy of passing down for generations!”
With his short arms crossed proudly, he spoke grandly. Dong-hee couldn’t help but laugh. But the villagers didn’t share her amusement.
Their eyes, fixed on the little creature perched on her shoulder, were filled with fear.
After all, they’d only recently survived Quilen’s devastating attack. The mere sight of a dragon was enough to bring back those nightmares.
Before Dong-hee could reassure them, someone screamed, “R-run!”
A few bolted in panic, but most froze in place. Fear and worry lingered, but their trust in their lord was stronger.
“But she’s with it! Maybe the lord tamed it!” someone said, grabbing the arm of a man who’d been about to flee.
“Oh… yeah, maybe?”
Gradually, people calmed down, peering curiously at the strange creature perched quietly on Dong-hee’s shoulder. It wasn’t restrained by chains or ropes, yet it sat there obediently—that alone eased their nerves.
And when they looked closer, they realized it didn’t quite resemble Quilen after all.
“That’s not a Quilen.”
“Yeah, it looks different. Different color too. What is it?”
“Could it be… a dragon?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Dragons disappeared ages ago!”
The murmuring crowd couldn’t help their growing curiosity. Whatever that creature was, it was clearly no ordinary beast—and if their trusted lord commanded it, it must be something extraordinary.
They stopped their work entirely, staring at Dong-hee with reverent awe.
Seeing their lingering fear, Dong-hee spoke gently, her voice calm and assuring.
“There’s no need to worry. This one belongs to me. It will never harm anyone in the village.”
Her words soothed them somewhat, but curiosity remained. Someone finally gathered the courage to ask,
“My lord, w-what is that creature?”
“It’s a dragon,” Dong-hee said matter-of-factly.
Everyone froze, unable to believe their ears. As they stared blankly at her, Dong-hee continued her explanation.
“A great and noble dragon named Ba… uh, Si—”
She suddenly drew a blank, remembering only “Badugi,” while the rest of the name sounded suspiciously like a curse word.
From her shoulder, the dragon hurriedly whispered,
“Varia-ssibella Dugoran Ginear!”
