Chapter 8
A dragon’s egg…?
I stared at the big white lump in front of me.
That’s a huge egg… I wonder how many omelets you could make out of that.
At the temple, we weren’t allowed to eat meat, but when someone got sick and had to rest in bed, they were allowed to eat eggs.
They were so delicious that I actually tried to catch a cold on purpose once—by sleeping with the window wide open.
—Wait, no, that’s not what’s important right now!
“Master? You do realize that trading dragon eggs is strictly forbidden under the Monster Trade Law, don’t you?”
While I was lost in my egg-related thoughts, Stefan had already drawn his sword and was pointing the tip at the old man.
“I–I was just told to transport it! That’s all!”
I see…
So trading dragon eggs is illegal…
I suddenly felt embarrassed at how little I actually knew about the world outside the temple.
If buying and selling them is forbidden, does that mean eating them is too…?
The old man suddenly leapt up and tried to run.
Stefan stuck out his leg, tripping the man, then quickly pulled out a rope from somewhere and tied his hands behind his back.
“You’re under arrest for illegal activity. I’ll hand you over to the Guild.”
“Was the dragon chasing after the egg…?”
Raiga was holding the egg in both hands, staring at the fallen dragon lying on the ground.
“Most likely. There’s no other reason a Red Dragon would suddenly appear in a place like this.”
“If we return the egg, maybe it’ll go back to the mountains.”
Raiga gently carried the egg to the dragon’s side and placed it next to its body.
Then he looked at me.
“Hey, how long until it wakes up?”
“…I don’t know. It’s the first time I’ve ever used my magic on a real monster.”
Leaning on one of the soldiers for support, I somehow managed to sit up and shook my head.
“What—!? Seriously!?”
Raiga bared his fangs again, letting out a low growl.
Ugh… that face is really scary.
“You dragged us into your little experiment!?”
“B-but…!”
“No ‘but’! It’s pure luck that it worked out! If it hadn’t—”
Stefan patted the werewolf’s back lightly.
“Come on, Raiga. Thanks to her, we avoided a pointless fight. She even put out the fire for us.”
“Stefan…”
He really is a kind person.
Just as warmth spread through my chest at his gentle words—
The dragon that had been lying motionless suddenly sprang up.
“Whoa, it moved!!”
Raiga yelled and leapt back toward where we were standing.
Wow, that was an incredible jump.
…But now’s not the time to be impressed!
I quickly began preparing to pray again.
Would it work a second time…?
“—Wait.”
Stefan raised his hand to stop me.
GUWAAAAAAAH!!
The dragon let out a deafening roar, then wrapped its front claws protectively around the egg Raiga had set down.
With a powerful flap of its wings, it soared into the sky.
“—It’s flying away.”
Everyone looked up.
The red dragon disappeared beyond the mountains, still clutching its egg.
