Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Dragon King's Daughter
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"Heaven itself stepping in? If this goes well, could we be witnessing the birth of a earthly dragon legend?"
The day heaven parted and blessed the potential of one being, giving birth to the world's one and only black imoogi.
The Dragon King, who noticed this anomaly before anyone else, appeared unusually joyful every single day from then on.
The sight of him gazing at the sky while tilting his cup was the same as always.
But his face bore an even deeper smile.
"What's got you so happy?"
"Hm? What brings you here?"
She rarely visited, claiming she hated the smell of alcohol.
At the Dragon King's words, she frowned and got straight to the point of her visit.
The woman with hair like the Dragon King's and eyes that mirrored his opened her mouth.
She said it was finally time for her to receive her Yeouiju.
That the moment for her to become an imoogi had arrived.
"It's still too early."
"Too early? Then how long do I have to wait?!"
She had long passed the age of adulthood.
It was a simple matter of handing over one Yeouiju, yet he kept delaying, and now she hadn't even become a spirit beast.
If she had become an imoogi by now, she might have already prepared to ascend the Dragon Gate!
Just when would he give her the Yeouiju?
Already, those around her—even the young ones who could be called juniors—had received theirs and become imoogis.
Yet she, the Dragon King's own daughter, still hadn't.
How ridiculous was that? Thinking of the recent whispers and slander behind her back made her want to claim a Yeouiju right then and there.
"Ahem. Sorry, but I've already given away the last remaining Yeouiju. Making another one will take some time, so just bear with it a little longer."
It was a lie.
A Yeouiju? To the Dragon King, wasn't it something he could make with a flick of his finger?
He was just euphemistically refusing.
With an utterly absurd excuse, no less.
"Given it away?"
"Yes. The other day, the Wind Spirit King came to me with a request. He had his eye on a certain snake and wanted to give it the chance to become a dragon via a Yeouiju."
And recently, that snake had become an imoogi through it.
Mentioning this heaven-celebrated oddity, the Dragon King looked upon his daughter.
She wasn't born a dragon, yet she had lived diligently for her parents' sake.
How could he, as her father, not know of her efforts?
But even so, he couldn't give her the Yeouiju.
As her parent, he couldn't extend his hand toward a danger that might lead to her death.
Grip.
"Daughter. Just wait a little longer."
"Again? I've waited this long already, and you want me to wait more? Why not just tell me to make my own Yeouiju instead."
She had waited plenty already.
At those words, the Dragon King couldn't bring himself to speak, and seeing that, she concluded things had gone exactly as expected. She decided to take matters into her own hands.
If he had no intention of giving her one, she could just steal one from someone else.
A Yeouiju fully imprinted on its owner couldn't be taken and simply reassigned.
Special conditions had to be met. Those conditions were as follows.
One. Must share the same bloodline as the Yeouiju's creator.
This was easily cleared, as evidenced by her being the Dragon King's daughter.
Two. The original owner's death, or complete transfer of ownership.
This wasn't a concern either.
She wasn't an imoogi yet, but she was a spirit beast—and one inheriting the Dragon King's blood, no less. She was on a different level from ordinary spirit beasts.
Some earthly snake. Ah, it had gotten a Yeouiju, so it was probably an imoogi now? In any case, even as an imoogi, it wouldn't last long. She could surely deal with it easily.
Of course, if it handed it over willingly, there'd be no need for that.
Three. Must be from an imoogi that has not yet become a dragon.
She wouldn't even consider fighting if it were already a dragon, so this condition could be ignored.
Satisfy these three, and she could seize the Yeouiju.
So why hadn't she used this method until now?
The reason was simple.
"Stealing my possession! I'll go get it back!"
"Wh-what? Wait a moment!"
This was the Dragon King's domain.
No matter that she was his daughter, committing such an act here could bring unknown punishment.
So she needed to claim a Yeouiju outside his domain.
But imoogis didn't exist in such places to begin with.
Since imoogis were created by the Dragon King, the possibility was effectively zero, leaving her no choice but to keep waiting for him to give her one. But now, an opportunity had arisen.
Hadn't the Dragon King just said it?
He'd given a Yeouiju to an earthly snake.
If they fought, she—with her long years as a spirit beast and accumulated experience—would surely win.
She held this conviction until departing for the surface. No, until she actually met the creature.
-Keruk.
-Kreuruk.
-Je... je... nzaaang.
The foes sprawled on the ground, groaning.
They were so disappointingly weak, it made one question if they were really spirits.
Even Silpi alone could have beaten those three without much trouble.
[I overestimated you lot.]
Of course, I wasn't entirely unscathed.
Their sharply launched winds had scratched my scales, after all.
But that was the extent of it; they never drew my blood beyond that.
'Probably thanks to the metal (金) energy.'
This power fundamentally strengthened the body in a major way.
Cheong's absurd physique and recovery were surely due to it as well.
'But... what about that one?'
As the fight with the spirits ended, a mysterious woman appeared as if she'd been waiting.
With striking blue hair and green eyes, she startled at the sight of me and froze in place.
Since she was frozen like that, she probably wasn't here to target me like those spirits.
[Who are you?]
"H-how insolent! Address me with respect!"
What? Was she some high nobility or something?
She certainly looked the part.
But in these times, was there anyone with that much influence?
"Heh. You certainly seem worthy of Father's—no, my father's—possession."
[I see. So you're the Dragon King's daughter.]
"H-how did you know that?!"
Well, the only noteworthy thing I'd received was the Yeouiju.
And the one who makes Yeouijus is naturally the Dragon King.
Plus, she just called him "Dad," so she had to be his child.
[So. What brings the Dragon King's daughter here?]
"To take back the Yeouiju that you stole, of course!"
[My Yeouiju?]
Why?
The Yeouiju I received came via the Wind Spirit King.
No way he'd stolen it; he must have traded fairly for it. And now she was here to reclaim it?
Something was off.
Sensing the incongruity, I assessed her power.
She was a spirit beast, but not an imoogi like me, and certainly not a dragon like the Dragon King.
[So, you're here for my Yeouiju?]
Hum.
I first summoned the Yeouiju.
It emerged before me, iridescent with ever-cycling radiant beauty.
Gulp.
"Th-the Yeouiju!"
I could hear her swallow from here.
But it really was suspicious.
The Dragon King's daughter reacting like that to a Yeouiju?
Her confident demeanor and actions didn't suggest any rift with him.
'And she definitely said she came to take back my Yeouiju.'
Right. So that's how it was.
[Did you run away from home without a word to get a Yeouiju?]
"No! I told Dad before leaving, so it wasn't without a word... Oops."
So my guess was spot on.
This one came to steal mine because the Dragon King wouldn't give her one.
"Y-you... How did you...?"
[Figured it out from your words and actions.]
Still, she was impressive in her own way.
To track me down here for such a reason.
And I wondered what the Dragon King's intentions were.
A guy who could make Yeouijus easily, yet hadn't given one to his own daughter until now.
"...Huh?"
While I inferred his intentions and her past actions from her behavior, she—who had been examining my Yeouiju—noticed something odd and squinted.
"But your Yeouiju... Why does it look so small?"
Twitch.
It's not that it looked small.
It is small.
Right, no way the Dragon King's daughter wouldn't notice.
The flaw in my Yeouiju.
Compared to a normal one, its size was conspicuously tiny.
And because of that size, the amount of power it could store was reduced.
Of course, the total maximum power it could hold decreased accordingly, but its stability when handling the Yeouiju was incomparably improved.
To the point where—if I allowed it—someone else could wield it right away?