Chapter 249
Chapter 249
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 248
Chapter Title: Tragic Dragon Romances
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In truth, love between lower races and dragons has occurred far more frequently than one might think.
The hero who set out on an adventure to slay the demon dragon.
The saintess imprisoned by a tyrannical emperor.
The lofty scholar with noble aspirations, the confined prince, the innocent hunter, the devoted dragon shrine maiden, and so on.
Truly, countless humans have coupled with dragons. This is a clear fact recorded in legends, folklore, and history.
Thus, tales of humans bonding with dragons have been explored in every conceivable medium—novels, plays, musicals, and more. Of course, it's not commonplace, but precisely because it's rare, doesn't that make it all the more romantic?
And those stories...
Most of them are tragedies.
"Those girls..."
I had no choice but to let the F·D members go without protest. I'd caught on to their situation.
"My child..."
In the frozen time, Khan's murmured soliloquy made her meaning all too clear.
The one and only Chromatic Dragon in Dragonia—the Dragon Emperor Khan—was pregnant!
'Pregnant, huh.'
I wasn't surprised. I'd had plenty of time to think about it during our 14 nights and 15 days together.
But that didn't mean it wasn't unexpected.
'Why, though?'
I could control whether to pass on my genes or not, but once they were transferred, the changes that followed were determined by the recipient's deepest desires.
In fact, Flower had received my genes and become pregnant, while Hayes had gained a physical great vessel through hers.
'For the Dragon Emperor Khan, the pinnacle of dragonkind, to truly wish for a child.'
It was an absurd notion, and to explain why, I need to start with the reason why nearly all those tales of dragons and humans end in tragedy.
After dragons formed [civilizations], such pairings became rare, but in ancient times, dragons fell in love with humans more easily than you'd expect.
The Dragon God Clan, commonly called Eastern Dragons, had no choice but to interact frequently with lower races like humans during their millennia of accumulated merit or cultivation. The Dragon Emperor Clan, known as Western Dragons or simply dragons, could freely shift between dragon and human forms from birth.
To dragons, human appearances weren't particularly off-putting, and they were drawn to those with exceptional souls and spirits.
'The problem comes afterward.'
Many dragons and humans united. They loved each other and naturally bore fruit from that union.
That fruit being the Half-Dragon, or Dragonkin.
Commonly known as Drakan, Dragonian, or Draconian.
What people often call... the shame of dragonkind.
"I wouldn't know..."
In any case, the F·D girls had left. I harbored no resentment. It was a bit vexing that she hadn't given me a proper explanation before going, but given the circumstances, it couldn't be helped.
She was a transcendent among transcendents, having lived for hundreds of thousands of years. For me to force my way in and thwart her will would be arrogant beyond measure.
'Wonder how long the birth will take?'
For a dragonkin born of a human male and female dragon, it usually took decades—sometimes over a century. This was because the woefully insufficient genes of a lower race couldn't fully fill the vast vessel of a dragon.
Unless the human was a transcendent themselves, the dragon's beloved human would age and die, leaving only the dragonkin, whom dragons instinctively reviled.
But was I some ordinary human?
My body, having perfected the Extreme Will Physique, was hardly human anymore. In fact, our son Jisung had, upon birth from Flower and me, severed his own umbilical cord with his strength, stood on two legs, and even jumped right into my arms.
Moreover, the great vessel I harbored had solidified into something on par with a Dragon Heart—and now, I'd even completed it.
'The issue is... that the F·D leader is beyond even that.'
If I had transcended humanity, then Dragon Emperor Khan had transcended dragons.
The primordial dragon called the archetype of all chromatic dragons in the greater universe. A transcendent who had not only ascended to Emperor Class but reached its utmost pinnacle.
Given all that, I couldn't accurately gauge how long her gestation would take.
'Well, I'm a transcendent now too, so a few centuries won't be an issue.'
Even among transcendents, lifespans varied wildly based on innate nature, talents, and cultivated supernatural abilities. But in my case, death within the next millennium felt implausible.
I decided to take it slow.
[F·D's Sudden Return Declaration! What's the Real Reason?]
[A Dragonian battleship enters and exits the solar system. Chromatic!]
[Modern-Day Romeo and Juliet?]
[Han Jaeyeon Becomes Owner of Dragon Star?]
"Oh man..."
Returning to Earth brought the expected chaos, of course. No surprise there—even with Chromatic's advanced tech as a Terra-class battleship, slipping into the solar system undetected by the 34th Earth was impossible.
Plus, with space stars F·D ditching their concert and skipping interviews to leave the 34th Earth...
"Um, for our show, perhaps..."
"Hard pass."
"...Heh. Just as I figured. But our director approved up to 1.5 billion. Not exclusive—just be our first guest."
"Still a no."
As I cut him off firmly, Na Taeseok PD—no, more precisely, Cheda's tail synced with him—shot straight up.
Cheda's fur bristled.
"Jaeyeon turns down 1.5 billion...?!"
"No..."
Their reaction was like the sky had fallen, leaving me dumbfounded. Na Taeseok PD apologized.
"Sorry! My bad! I had no idea it was this serious... I was short-sighted."
"It's not that serious."
"They called it modern Romeo and Juliet..."
"No, it's not."
Whether I denied it or not, Na Taeseok PD kept apologizing and ended the call.
"Hmm. 1.5 billion."
Truth be told, it was tempting, but appearing on a variety show now was risky for many reasons. Talk about the F·D girls was inevitable.
'Sure, I could limit questions... but not for billions.'
Going on air and making veiled references to the "events" from the F·D girls or our 14 nights and 15 days would be in poor taste. And if questions about their departure came up, I'd inevitably have to [lie].
In the 34th Earth, with tens of thousands of Justice God's priests among viewers, that was far too dangerous.
'Though back in the day, I might've done it.'
Yeah, maybe. I used to be that serious about money.
But things were different now.
'No urgent need for cash anytime soon.'
With Allmaster updated, I wouldn't need stocks for a while. Sure, minor patches and updates might come up, but depleted stocks recovered over time anyway.
For now, I planned to focus on mastering Allmaster's applications.
'And side cash for gacha? Royalties cover that.'
I teleported across the now-empty Dragon Star, signed documents, and created a few files.
"Log in."
Into Ardenia.
Only 14 nights and 15 days had passed on Earth, but much time had flowed in Ardenia.
My one and only son, Jisung, had undergone his coming-of-age rite, entered management, and begun handling administrative duties. The dwarves had started full-scale production of supply Giggas.
Nearly fifty more players had reached Master realm. Red had completed 6th Circle.
And.
General Hayes Starlight had celebrated her birthday.
"Happy 60th!"
"Eek! Eek! I told you not to!"
"Disrespectful to the Emperor's birthday celebration? It's your 60th."
"Stop emphasizing the 60th!"
Watching Hayes yell with a flushed face, I thought:
'She looks downright young now.'
No joke—Hayes appeared to be in her early twenties.
Unlike Flower, who aged slowly despite all care, Hayes had stepped into immortality's domain thanks to her martial pinnacle and my bio-genes.
'Sproduce bio-genes? The output's too costly, and only once per person...'
The thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it. Humanity Empire's growth hadn't plateaued; no need to drain myself boosting forces.
"Anyway, you just reading novels all day lately?"
"Way behind."
And it wasn't a lie—the manuscripts piled up in Ardenia during my 14-night, 15-day trip were insane.
Even hand-picked ones numbered 1,800 volumes!
Nor was it just novels.
[Returning home all alone—]
[Walking by myself so lonely—]
[Better get used to it quick, or]
[I'll just waste time for nothing]
I gazed at Harmony on a city billboard.
'Ah, gotta transcribe the songs too... when'll I finish...'
Yes. Humanity Empire's culture was exploding daily. I'd worried war with aliens might stifle it, but no—its quantitative and qualitative expansion was staggering.
Composers and singers proliferated, especially Harmony's relentless activity.
Even cherry-picked, thousands of songs needed real-world porting.
"Log out."
Back to reality, continuing transcriptions. Massive workload, but unlike variety shows, I couldn't ignore this.
Pure profit for hard work—no risk. Why skip it?
The issue? It wasn't the only task.
[Hello, Director. Regarding final payments...]
[Oryongnet New Year's event...]
[Sponsor list...]
"Argh!"
With the F·D girls leaving the 34th Earth, their companies—all of them—fell to me. Oryongnet, Dragon Star, everything!
My emperor experience helped process it all, but days were hectic.
"Register Harmony and musicians as Dragon Star composers... and handle ads, endorsements..."
Sorting tasks, I missed Eoduksuni more. Barely saw her face, yet her workload was massive.
"Miss Eoduksuni..."
Her absence loomed large. Piles of novels and songs, plus all this admin.
"Just liquidate the companies? Too wasteful..."
Muttering, I patted Cheda's plump belly. Auto-farming ran regardless.
Then.
Cheda freaked, dodging my hand as I pressed.
"Yow?!"
"Huh?"
We paused.
'Smart pet dodging my hand on its own?'
Impossible. Not here in Dragon Star's core—equivalent to a fortress. Hacking at this level? Legion invasion?
But Cheda stared at me, shocked.
"Emperor? Wh-where am I? And this body... a cat!?"
Dumbfounded, Cheda looked around wildly.
What floored me? I knew the voice's owner. How could I not? I'd just heard her sing.
"...Harmony?"
"Y-yes, Your Majesty. Wh-what's going on..."
Yes. Out of nowhere... Harmony had possessed Cheda's body.