Chapter : 43
Chase had moved away from where the people were and was staring intently at a group of ice monkeys.
“Kki kki?”
The ice monkeys, too, looked uncomfortable under Chase’s focused attention.
“Something’s definitely suspicious. Lulu, I have to uncover Chase’s secret.”
She lifted her binoculars again with a determined gaze.
Thud!
Suddenly, Chase made an incredible leap and charged toward the group of monkeys.
“Uh… kki kki?!”
His target was the leader monkey guarding the group.
Chase was flying through the air—!
Startled, Lulu dropped her binoculars.
On the outskirts of the Shadow Forest.
With no adults around, a battle of the century was taking place.
The fight between Chase and the leader ice monkey!
“Huff, huff…”
Rushing forward, Lulu realized that the two were engaging in a serious showdown.
Across the wide field, Chase and the lead monkey stared each other down, engaged in a tense standoff.
“Chase… a villain?!”
Why was he picking a fight with a group of monkeys that had been quiet until now?
But the other monkeys were also solemnly watching the duel.
Lulu realized.
This… this is a real fight!
“Kki kki? Ukki kki?”
“I want to watch too!”
Deciding to be a spectator, Lulu quietly slipped among the group of watching ice monkeys.
“Ushik…”
The monkeys bared their teeth at the intruder, but then…
“Do not be wary, but show reverence. Lowly yet precious beings.”
The jewel hanging around Lulu’s neck roared, and the startled monkeys bowed their heads and sat down.
“Chase, win!”
Of course, Lulu didn’t know that, and was just cheering enthusiastically.
The duel began.
“Ukki ya!”
The furious leader ice monkey roared and charged at Chase.
Ice monkeys, when fully grown, could reach 100 cm, making them formidable creatures.
Roughly the same height as Chase.
“But Chase won’t lose!”
The boy tracked the monkey’s movements closely, dodged a blow, and swung his arm.
“Huh? A blue fist?!”
Blue energy burst from his hand as it struck the monkey’s nape—magic energy in physical form.
Chase, with his abnormally large amount of mana, could use magic physically without artifacts or incantations.
Of course, Lulu had no idea.
Then it happened.
“Ukkik!”
The leader ice monkey fell after being struck on the back of its neck.
The battle ended abruptly.
Chase had won!
The leader collapsed, unconscious.
“Ukki? Ukki kki kki…”
The other monkeys, murmuring seriously, nodded in determination.
Soon, the monkeys circled Chase and knelt.
“U. kki.”
Yes. A new leader had been born.
“…Huh?!”
“…Chase… became the leader.”
Lulu’s mouth formed a triangle in astonishment.
“What should I do? Should I kneel too?”
She hesitated for a moment, but as the commander of the Black Lake Squad, she couldn’t bow.
The baby dragon kept her pride intact, choosing not to kneel.
Clap clap clap!
Instead, she sincerely congratulated the victor.
After all, that was a true hero!
Then, at that moment…
“Lulu, look at this.”
“Uh?”
Chase approached Lulu holding the hand of one of the surrounding monkeys.
“I completed nineteen items on my bucket list, including making an animal friend.”
The paper he showed had all nineteen items checked off.
“The last, twentieth item is to die by your side.”
Already?!
All those suspicious actions over the past few days… were they all for the bucket list?
“Chase can’t go to the sky yet!”
Lulu, though her friend didn’t listen to her, felt a cold sweat run down her forehead at the thought of him dying.
She tried to act unaware, rolling her large eyes nervously.
“So, there’s one thing I want to do before I die.”
An unexpected answer!
Surprised, Lulu stopped fiddling and stared at Chase.
“Wh-what is it?!”
“Before I die—.”
Chase had realized something after visiting the small city of Leighton.
The same sort of mark drawn on the arms of the Third Knights’ families was also on his own arms.
Though the symbols were different, it resembled what they called “black magic.”
Then…
“Maybe the reason I can’t feel taste or pain is because of this mark.”
At first, he considered asking a dragon to erase the mark, but something struck his heart.
The fear he felt when his hand touched the dragon rose again.
“Why?”
His heartbeat quickened as he looked at his arm.
Because the mark was partially erased, maybe he could feel some emotions and pain.
Then what if the mark was completely removed?
How much more would it hurt?
From that moment, Chase neither touched food nor spoke to the dragon.
Yes. He would complete his bucket list quickly and then have himself killed.
Chase worked diligently toward his goal.
He squeezed himself into flashy clothes, twirled around, and even called his half-sister “mom.”
He even went to ridiculous lengths to accomplish “Make friends with an animal.”
He stayed in a temporary tent all day, reading only books about monsters.
Among them, the one that seemed okay was the “ice monkey.”
“They live in groups and always obey the leader, no matter what.”
Chase decided to become the new leader of the ice monkeys.
Some days he read books; other days, he ran through the forest training.
When he finally knocked out the leader and gained the monkeys’ obedience, he felt a satisfying sense of accomplishment knowing Lulu had secretly watched.
Satisfaction. One of the emotions he felt after the mark was partially erased.
He approached the baby dragon holding the paper.
“I completed nineteen items on my bucket list, including making an animal friend.”
And then he was ready to say the words he had been waiting for.
“The last, twentieth item is to die by your side.”
Their eyes met, and something came to mind.
The dragon that had trembled in the Entrant guild.
“Sir, stop it!”
You had only been hiding in the forest, so why did you burst into tears back then?
Was it just fear of the staff?
No.
Chase knew the expression of someone feeling helpless and scared, unable to flee or resist.
The dragon surely had worn a similar expression then.
“So, there’s one thing I want to do before I die.”
The words slipped out unconsciously.
It wasn’t planned, but the moment their round eyes met again, he realized.
“Before I die… the original bucket list. Eat five fried eggs stacked together.”
“Hmm? Fried eggs?”
“Yes. Are they tastier than cookies?”
He wanted to know why you were so bright and cheerful.
“Emergency! Emergency!”
Back in the tower, Lulu was rummaging through the messy kitchen.
“Oh, wait! Lulu can’t cook!”
Emergency, more emergency!
She had to ask Ungni!
Rushing up to the fourth floor, Angela, in the workshop, stood up from her chair.
“What’s the matter, Salamander?”
“Hii-hu, hii-hu.”
Lulu, panting, pleaded desperately.
“Ungni, can you make five fried eggs for me?!”
“Now? Isn’t it a bit early for dinner?”
“Uuuh, but it’s an emergency! I need five fried eggs to save my friend!”
“Liar. You’re going to eat them all yourself, right?”
Lulu, the shepherd girl?!
“No! It’s for Chase!”
At the mention of Chase, Angela finally relented.
“Really? He hasn’t eaten much lately… he wants this?”
Lulu nodded eagerly.
Luckily, her sister went down to the kitchen and cooked five golden fried eggs.
All soft-boiled!
“As expected of an amazing mage!”
“Thanks!”
“Right. I need to go back to the fourth floor, so tell him to eat quickly.”
“Uuuh!”
But before inviting Chase, there was one more thing to do.
Dress the eggs!
“This fried friend will be red~.”
Standing on tiptoe, Lulu found the ketchup bottle and scooped a handful onto the egg.
Then she combined it with the other eggs.
Yes. It was an egg fried sandwich! But Lulu’s sandwich was special.
She had layered five fried eggs, each with ketchup in between!
