Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Black Dragon Hatches
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102
4
“……”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my face dry.
When I cautiously opened them again, there was a dragon inside the incubator.
“It’s not a dream….”
The shattered eggshell and the dragon trying to open the incubator—none of it was a dream.
I’d even wondered if this was all Crovanni’s hallucination… but no, that couldn’t be.
A real dragon had hatched from a real egg.
The possibility I’d hoped would never happen—the one I’d thought impossible—left my mind reeling.
Dragons were the rarest race on the continent.
They lived for ten thousand years, existing in realms beyond mortal comprehension.
Every existing dragon was a force so powerful that its mere existence bordered on catastrophe.
Of course they were. In this world, dragons were on par with holy swords or demonic blades—or even stronger—the pinnacle of power.
If dragons ever decided to conquer this world, they would have done so long ago.
That’s how mighty they were… but there was one catch that made calling them a single “race” dubious.
In Broken World, every dragon had scales of different colors.
Each color came with unique traits, purposes in life, and wildly varying personalities—so disparate that it was hard to believe they were the same species.
Among them, I didn’t remember any black-scaled black dragons.
That meant I had no idea what abilities or personality this tiny black dragon in the incubator possessed.
*Click.* Somehow, the dragon had opened the incubator and crawled out.
Given the egg’s massive size, even as a hatchling, the dragon was fairly large.
About the size of a small dog, maybe.
Its legs were still short for a newborn, but standing on its hind legs, it would probably reach my knee.
-Kyu?
The dragon stared at me with its pitch-black eyes.
Meeting that gaze, I felt my shoulders tense involuntarily.
I knew exactly how powerful dragons were.
The overwhelming strength that left you praying for survival upon encounter was like a natural disaster.
Even as a hatchling, this one had to be formidable.
If it decided to attack me right here…
-Kyu!
The dragon flapped its stubby wings and leaped.
Before I could react, it dove headfirst into my arms.
“…Huh?”
It wasn’t just clinging—it was nuzzling its head against me like a puppy begging for affection.
Dragons were supposed to be arrogant creatures.
As transcendent beings, it was inevitable.
Even the white dragon Dresia I’d met before had looked down on us without a hint of humility.
I’d expected this hatchling to have some pride, at least.
Ah, could it be?
I still had the scale Dresia gave me tucked in my uniform’s inner pocket.
She’d said it would earn me goodwill from all dragons….
I hadn’t expected *this* much affection, though.
At least I didn’t have to worry about it biting me.
“What am I going to do with you?”
I gently stroked the head of the dragon burrowing happily into my chest.
Its scales were smooth and cool to the touch—surprisingly pleasant.
The real issue was what to do next.
Releasing it into the wild seemed too risky.
As a dragon, it could probably survive anything, but absolutes didn’t exist in this world.
Which left raising it myself.
But raising a dragon? I could already sense the headaches piling up.
Once it outgrew the dorm room, I’d be out of options.
Announce I was raising a dragon, and I’d get assassinated in secret, losing both it and my life—or at the very least, swarmed by people begging for a single scale.
Dragons drew too much attention.
“…No.”
Dragons lived about ten thousand years.
If its growth scaled accordingly, it might stay this size until I died of old age.
It probably wouldn’t outgrow the dorm before I graduated from Esterro Academy.
If I could keep it in my room, hiding it would be easy.
The best method would be constant dimensional magic to conceal its very existence.
Mana consumption made that impractical… but if I tried, I could manage.
Besides, it refused to leave my arms—what could I do?
I was the one who brought the egg, the one who put it in the incubator.
Taking responsibility was only right.
“Well, maybe I’ll get to ride it someday.”
Save on travel costs, at least.
Whatever abilities this black dragon had, as a dragon, it was bound to be powerful.
Keeping it close meant unmatched security for my peaceful life.
“Choco, looks like you’ve got a little sibling now.”
Choco wore a sullen, almost resentful expression.
I didn’t love the sudden roommate either, but circumstances were what they were.
Now, this was the biggest problem.
How exactly do you raise a dragon…?
5
*Blech.* The dragon tasted the formula and spat it out in a dribbling mess.
The soulless look on its face said formula was a no-go.
“How about this?”
I offered Choco’s food bowl.
The black dragon sniffed it, recoiled in disgust, and batted the bowl away with its tail.
Choco freaked out at the sight of its bowl flying and clenched its fists.
“Choco, I get that you’re upset, but bear with it, okay?”
It had been born less than ten minutes ago.
Choco seemed to understand it was too young to know better and turned away with a grumpy huff.
“I’ll buy you ice cream later.”
With a grumble, Choco leaned against me.
At least it was over that.
Neither kibble nor formula worked.
I tried raw meat I’d bought for cooking, but it wouldn’t even sniff it.
“Not carnivorous? Then what does it eat? Sword, any ideas?”
-I wouldn’t know. Dragon diets aren’t my concern.
“Fair enough….”
The demonic sword wasn’t the only one clueless about dragons.
No setting in Broken World covered dragon rearing or childcare—not even in Minenbar Library or the forbidden archives.
-If you’re so curious, just ask.
“A newborn fluent in human speech? Yeah, right.”
What could a ten-minute-old know?
It was obvious from the constant *kyu-kyu* noises.
-Forget the hatchling. You know a full-grown white dragon.
“You mean Dresia?”
Dresia could definitely fill in the blanks.
But after I pulled the holy sword, who knew if she’d still be in that cave.
Finding the cave would take a weekend at least.
I couldn’t starve the little guy that long.
At least it didn’t reject my touch.
I picked up the black dragon and headed to the kitchen.
As I pulled out food, it started sniffing.
It reacted to apples, bananas, potatoes, and yogurt.
Not carnivorous, not herbivorous—it drank water but spat out yogurt and other liquids immediately.
No clue what it ate.
After much trial and error, it paused at the pudding.
Summer was ending, so ice cream was scarce.
Instead, I’d stocked custard pudding for sugar fixes. The black dragon poked it with its nose.
Fascinated by the jiggly texture, its black eyes sparkled as it swallowed the whole thing in one bite.
-Kyuu!
Its body shivered.
From its gaping mouth, it seemed pretty satisfied.
“Found it!”
Finally!
-Is pudding dragon-appropriate…?
As if I’d know.
Was it weird for a dragon to eat pudding?
As always, common sense didn’t apply.
“Doesn’t matter. We found something.”
Pudding was easy to get.
Whether it was nutritionally sound for a dragon… who knew.
Maybe I really should ask Dresia.
-Before that, you’re in for a rough ride.
“What’re you talking about?”
-See for yourself if you have eyes.
I looked up at the sword’s words.
While I’d been lost in thought with my head down, the black dragon had ransacked the entire kitchen in search of more pudding.
Spotting me, it tilted its head cutely with a *kyu?*
I’d underestimated a dragon’s energy.
Turning the kitchen upside down in that short time.
Once was one thing, but daily chaos like this? Cleaning would take all day.
“Lots to teach it.”
How do you even train a dragon…?
Before that, one lesson came first.
“Here, boy.”
It seemed to recognize its call, trotting over eagerly.
I scooped it up under its armpits.
Matching its eye level, it giggled happily.
Yeah, keep smiling.
“From today, your name is Pudding.”
-Lame.
Shut it—naming pets after food makes them long-lived.
Look, Pudding’s smiling; it likes it.
-Do what you want.
I ignored the sword’s quiet sigh.
I set Pudding back down.
Name given, next step was clear.
“For now… should I stock up on pudding?”
6
“Dangerous….”
A stroll down the academy path drew a natural sigh from me.
Had I underestimated dragons too much?
I’d left Pudding with Choco and bought a hundred puddings from the shopping district to stockpile.
Hauling them was backbreaking, but avoiding prying eyes was the real ordeal.
Those puddings… vanished into Pudding’s belly before I could store them.
And that was only because we ran out—it clearly wasn’t full.
“Dangerous in every way….”
The Agrit Count Family’s wealth meant money for pudding wasn’t an issue.
But buying a hundred daily? Rumors would spread.
I had to solve this, but I couldn’t focus solely on Pudding.
-Kyu?
It tilted its head, as if knowing we were talking about it.
I quickly checked for bystanders, then glanced into my chest.
Pudding blinked up at me from inside my uniform, giggling.
“Shh, quiet now….”
I pressed a finger to my lips.
Pudding just kept giggling, of course.
I hadn’t planned to bring Pudding outside.
But it got sulky when I left it behind to shop, clinging to me like a leech ever since.
Dragon strength made prying it off impossible.
So here I was, hiding it in my uniform en route to our meetup.
Just a quick chat today—if Pudding stayed quiet, we’d be fine….
“Who are you talking to?”
Kyriakos’s sudden voice from behind made me flinch.
“Nothing, Senior.”
“I see.”
I hastily straightened my collar and turned.
Bandages off, Kyriakos blinked his inscrutable violet eyes, staring silently.
-Kyu….
Pudding whined softly, probably uncomfortable inside my clothes.
Should’ve used sound-blocking dimensional magic.
As I regretted internally, Kyriakos tilted his head slightly.
“A pet?”
“Yeah, well… wasn’t planning to bring it, but it won’t let go.”
“You can take it out.”
“No, it’s shy—better kept inside.”
Kyriakos stared piercingly.
His subtly suspicious gaze had me sweating bullets.
“I see. Why did you summon me?”
*Phew,* dodged that somehow.
I wiped imaginary sweat and got to the point before more issues arose.
“Time to fulfill our promise.”
“Promise?”
Even without details, he zeroed in with a sharp tone.
I nodded and continued.
“I’m taking down Wyfera.”
“How?”
“I’ve got it covered. Hard to explain right now.”
Couldn’t elaborate with this one in my pocket—needed to drop it at the dorm first.
As I trailed off, Kyriakos’s expression darkened.
“…Something bothering you?”
“Yes. You plan to fight too?”
“Depending on the situation.”
“I’d prefer you stay out of it.”
“Huh?”
What was this now?
I reflexively questioned, and he lowered his gaze, replying quietly.
“For revenge, I’ll do anything—even stain these hands with blood and fall into the abyss. But I refuse to let innocents get hurt in my vengeance again.”
The rabid dog worrying about me? That was a new feeling.
Never imagined those words from Kyriakos.
Must’ve been from fighting alongside Louis.
“No need to worry. I hate getting hurt too. No odds, no fight.”
“Understood. If you say so, I’ll trust you for now.”
Satisfied with my reassurance, he nodded.
Honestly, part of me fantasized about getting injured, retiring to house arrest at the Agrit mansion…. But angering Bellisa terrified me, so best avoided if possible.