Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Demanding Hatchling
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In any game, information about what drops in a specific dungeon is bound to be revealed after some time.
The game [Overlord] was no exception.
There were roughly 250 species of pets that could be obtained from Antiros's Laboratory.
Yet the creature that emerged from the egg was a pet that even Carlyle had never seen before.
Of course, that was only in the context of pets appearing in Antiros's Laboratory; there was no one who didn't recognize the creature that had hatched from the egg.
“Th-that’s…”
“Is this a dream?”
“What am I looking at…?”
Begman, Kudo, and Marder stared at the creature that had emerged from the egg, doubting their own eyes.
“A d…”
The cowardly Russell pointed at the creature, his breath catching in his throat.
“A dra… a dra…”
A trickle, and along with the pungent smell of urine, Russell’s already damp pants grew wetter.
“Grrrk!”
Suddenly, a crazed roar erupted from Russell’s mouth.
Seeing his bloodshot eyes, it seemed he had reflexively turned into a berserker the moment he wet himself.
“You cowardly fool!”
Begman yelped in surprise and grabbed hold of Russell.
While it would have been most welcome during battle, having him go berserk with no enemy to fight was extremely tiresome for everyone around.
Did it know this?
“Shaaa!”
*Smack!*
Russell’s pet, a Forest Fiend, swung its forepaw and struck him on the head.
One might think a blow from a mere weasel wouldn't hurt much, but the Forest Fiend's strength was beyond imagination.
*Thud!*
Russell collapsed.
He boasted a resilience that allowed him to withstand blows from even the strongest barbarians without flinching when he was a berserker, but the Forest Fiend’s punch was far more powerful.
Having knocked Russell out in a single blow, the Forest Fiend was clearly a possessor of monstrous strength that should never be underestimated, despite its small size.
Even as this small commotion unfolded, Carlyle couldn’t take his eyes off the creature that had hatched from the egg.
The creature had the unmistakable form of a hatchling dragon.
The only difference was that instead of sharp, metallic scales, it was covered in soft fur that resembled velvet or a cat’s coat.
*Ting!*
[???]
A hatchling of unknown identity.
Classification: Dragonkin
Grade: ★★★ (☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆)
What was remarkable was the hatchling’s grade.
Its current grade was three stars.
However, there were a staggering nine unachieved stars displayed next to them.
This meant it possessed the immense potential to grow up to a 12-star grade.
*Is this even possible?*
Carlyle had never heard of a pet with such a high grade.
Wasn't 12-star the highest grade in the world of [Overlord]?
*Is this my reward?*
Carlyle wondered if his string of bad luck had been a sacrifice to pull this 12-star hatchling.
Otherwise, there was no explaining the hellish luck he had suffered through until now.
Slowly, the hatchling raised its head and looked at Carlyle.
*Is this the imprinting?*
Carlyle grew slightly tense as he met the hatchling’s gaze.
As Carlyle’s purple eyes met the hatchling’s green ones, a connection formed.
“F…”
The hatchling opened its mouth.
“Foo…”
“…?”
“Food.”
“What did you say?”
“Give me food.”
“…”
“I’m hungry.”
Those were the hatchling’s first words upon meeting its master.
***
“What’s this little guy saying? It keeps crying.”
Begman asked Carlyle.
“Crying?”
“It’s meowing like a cat.”
It seemed the hatchling’s words sounded like a cat’s cry to Begman, not human language.
“Aren’t you going to feed me?”
“Huh?”
“I said, give me food.”
“Says who?”
As Carlyle asked back, dumbfounded, the hatchling replied.
“If you’re my butler, act like one.”
“What…?”
“Hand over the food before I report you for animal abuse. Don’t tell me you’re not going to feed a newborn hatchling?”
“…”
Setting aside the fact that there was no such thing as an animal protection act in this world, its shameless audacity to demand food right off the bat was truly something else.
*Is it ill-tempered because it’s a high-grade pet?*
With that thought, Carlyle took out a half-damp piece of jerky from his pocket and offered it to the hatchling.
It was a type of combat ration that soldiers carried to sate their hunger.
“You want me to eat this?”
“You don’t want it?”
“How could you give me something that looks like food waste? Are you even a butler?”
“…”
“Sigh. What a cruel fate I have.”
The hatchling let out a sharp sigh and started to grumble.
“Do you have anything else?”
“Rye br…”
“Not that.”
The hatchling frowned.
“Something like a sweet cake, or a steak grilled with plenty of good oil and savory butter. Cookies and tea would be nice too.”
“You think I have that?”
“Tch.”
The hatchling pouted and asked.
“Butler.”
“What.”
“Are you perhaps… poor?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I’m just worried you might be a butler who can’t even provide me with a proper meal. You know the type. A man with a handsome face but empty pockets.”
“…”
“That’s not you, is it?”
“Sorry, but no. I’m from a rather well-off family.”
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
The hatchling’s face relaxed as if it were genuinely relieved.
“All I have right now is hard rye bread and dried jerky, so either eat it or don’t.”
“Hmm…”
“Decide. Are you eating or not?”
“I guess I have no choice then. I’ll make a special exception, just this once.”
With those words, the hatchling took a bite of the jerky Carlyle offered.
“Ugh. This is disgusting. It stinks. What kind of meat is this even made of?”
“If you’re going to complain, don’t eat it.”
“N-No.”
The hatchling clung to the jerky.
“Given the circumstances, I’ll take them into consideration. Nom, nom. Nom, nom, nom.”
“Hah.”
Carlyle already felt a headache coming on.
The thought of having to live with this fussy creature was already causing him an immense amount of stress.
“It’s, uh, cute.”
Begman said, his face slightly flushed.
“Can I pet it?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
The moment Begman reached his hand toward the hatchling.
“Hiiiiisssss!!!”
The hatchling bared its sharp fangs and snarled.
“H-Huh?!”
Startled, Begman froze on the spot.
It wasn't a mere figure of speech; his body was literally paralyzed and unable to move.
“Butler.”
“Yeah?”
“How could you?”
“What?”
“You gave that smelly old man permission to touch me.”
“That’s…”
“No one but my butler is allowed, so remember that. Got it?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Nom, nom, nom.”
The hatchling buried its head back into the jerky.
***
The hatchling performed the impressive feat of devouring not only all of Carlyle’s jerky and bread but also everything the senior soldiers had.
“Yaaawn. I’m sleepy after eating. I’m going to take a nap.”
The hatchling let out a long yawn and, without permission, crawled right into Carlyle’s tunic.
“Wh-What in the world was that?”
Begman, finally free from his paralysis, asked Carlyle in utter disbelief.
“Is that thing a real dragon?”
“I wonder.”
Carlyle shrugged.
“Since it came from an egg made by Antiros, I doubt it’s a real dragon.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ve never seen a real dragon myself, so I can’t say for sure.”
Of course, the world of [Overlord] was one where dragons existed.
*You run into them if you’re unlucky enough.*
Carlyle recalled a time when he had encountered a dragon while playing [Overlord].
It was during a battle with another faction in a mountainous region.
He must have disturbed its nest, because a dragon appeared, and just like that, the game was over.
Not only Carlyle’s main character but also his allies and even the enemy forces had been completely annihilated.
“But… is it even possible for a human to tame a dragon?”
Kudo asked, a hint of unease on his face.
“It should be possible since it’s imprinted on me, right? Besides, it’s not a real dragon to begin with.”
“Hmm.”
“We’ll find out in due time.”
Carlyle shrugged and started walking.
“Let’s check the last room and then get going.”
The fifth room housed the masterpiece of the magician Antiros.
“That’s… a person, isn’t it?”
“Well. This is a bit embarrassing.”
“Is she dead?”
“Sh-She’s beautiful.”
The senior soldiers offered their own impressions.
What was preserved in the fifth room was a beautiful woman inside a cylindrical water tank.
“Shouldn’t we rescue her?”
“We’d all die if we did.”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying we’ll all die if we wake her up.”
“Gasp!”
Begman was horrified.
“What in the world is that woman that we’d die?”
“A monster.”
“A monster? Do you mean a demon?”
“Not quite.”
Carlyle shook his head at Kudo’s question.
“She’s a creation of Antiros, so she can’t be a demon. She’s just an incredibly dangerous being.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to dispose of her?”
A chilling glint of bloodlust flashed in Kudo’s perpetually smiling, slitted eyes.
“With our current strength, we could never kill her.”
“Even while she’s defenseless?”
“Yes.”
He recalled what had happened when he had woken [Beatrice] in his ignorant days.
He remembered how, every time he woke her, the screen would invariably turn gray, and a [GAME OVER] notification would pop up.
“To kill her, the knights from the main family would have to step in.”
“The knights from the main family…”
“Someone like Selena might be able to do it.”
Carlyle mentioned his older sister, Selena, as if she were a stranger.
“To the extent that Lady Selena would have to intervene?”
Kudo flinched in surprise.
There was likely no one in the world who didn’t know how strong a knight Selena was—a direct blood relative of the Sigmund family and the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Guntram, the family head.
“It’s just a manner of speaking. I don’t know the specifics either. So let’s not touch her and just go. We came here to see if she was here or not, not to wake her up or kill her.”
“Understood. There’s no need to stir up trouble.”
Kudo conceded to Carlyle’s point and slowly lowered the hand he had placed on the hilt of his sword.
“I think we’ve taken everything we need to, so we should be good to go.”
“Is that so? Then we should head back quickly.”
Begman decided to return and turned around.
“Woof!”
The silver wolf that had become Begman’s pet barked shortly and trotted ahead.
***
While Carlyle was talking with Kudo.
Slowly, the eyelids of the woman sleeping inside the cylindrical tank lifted.
But no one noticed.
Perhaps because the woman inside the tank was naked, it was too embarrassing to stare at her.
Slowly, her gaze turned toward Carlyle, who was conversing with Kudo.
*S…*
Her lips moved, mouthing silent words.
No one heard her voice.
Likely because she was inside the tank, the sound couldn't escape.
All the while, the woman’s red eyes were fixed intently on Carlyle.
Her lips continued to move, mouthing silent words.
*So… hand… some…*
It was undoubtedly a comment about Carlyle.
After all, Carlyle was, by anyone’s account, the most handsome man in the North, and perhaps even the most handsome man on the continent.
“It’ll probably be wake-up time by the time we get back.”
“I think so.”
“I wonder if they’ll let us take a nap.”
“Probably not, because of the magic stone mining.”
“Sigh.”
“The situation is what it is, so let’s just bear with it for a little while. It’s not like Sir Helen enjoys giving such orders.”
Unaware that someone was complimenting him, Carlyle left the room where the woman was stored, chatting idly with Kudo.