Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Guardian Dragon's Nest (3)
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「……I’ve never heard of a proposal like this. Is this some kind of trend in the human world these days?」
How amusing. Hahaha.
Lordbrok’s light laughter echoed like a reverberation.
「It seems my charm doesn’t discriminate between races, past or present. Being this popular is such a hassle……」
Lordbrok chuckled lightly, trying to dismiss Theo’s words as a joke.
But Theo curled the corner of his mouth and shook his head.
“There’s no such trend. And this isn’t a joke.”
Lordbrok’s laughter cut off abruptly.
Her settled gaze fixed straight on Theo.
A chill!
For a moment, Theo felt a shiver run down his spine.
‘As expected of a dragon. Her dragon fear is overwhelmingly intense.’
Even as he subtly released his lesser drake fear to counter the pressure, it was utterly futile.
It was unavoidable.
Dragons were instinctively subservient to higher beings.
Ku ku ku……!
Still, Theo endured somehow.
He couldn’t afford to lose his momentum here if he wanted to get what he desired.
Drip!
A bead of cold sweat trickled down his cheek and fell to the ground.
「Do you truly want me?」
“Yes.”
「Are you playing word games to steal all the treasures here? And take my knowledge as a bonus?」
Theo simply smiled silently, offering no reply.
Right now, he had to let her ‘figure it out’ on her own.
「Impossible.」
Lordbrok glared at Theo for a long while before shaking her head.
“Impossible? Didn’t you say it yourself? Any treasure in this nest is fair game.”
「But I’m not included in that.」
“Isn’t the guardian dragon of Ragnar a ‘treasure’ then? What else would you call it?”
「I’m a dragon. The gatekeeper of this place and the sentinel guarding the Winter Mountains. Not some mere treasure……!」
“Didn’t you specify a definition of ‘treasure’ beforehand?”
「……!」
In that instant, Lordbrok’s words jammed to a halt.
“So, it seems to me that it’s up to the one receiving the reward to decide what counts as treasure or not.”
「……」
“Give me Lordbrok. You promised it with your word of honor.”
Ku rurur—
Lordbrok’s eyes twisted in fury.
The gaze that had been filled with fondness toward Theo just moments ago now brimmed with irritation.
‘She’s thoroughly pissed off.’
Theo swallowed dryly.
Given her renowned pride as an ancient dragon, his words must have felt like an insult.
He’d vaguely heard that some ancient dragons viewed humans as mere insects.
It wouldn’t be strange if she unleashed a torrent of flames right here.
‘But this gamble is absolutely necessary.’
Even so, Theo didn’t retract his words.
He knew full well his argument was sophistry.
But for a being like an ancient dragon bound by word of honor, it would weigh heavily.
And the reason he clung to it relentlessly.
‘If I can make her bite on this, I might get something even bigger in exchange.’
Theo didn’t naively believe he could actually take Lordbrok as his ‘reward.’
She wouldn’t leave the nest no matter what.
With her duty to protect the Winter Mountains from the demon sea, how could she offer herself as a prize?
Even aside from that, submitting to Theo, a descendant of her old comrade, was utterly impossible.
It would shatter an ancient dragon’s pride.
So, Lordbrok would try to negotiate a deal somehow.
She’d offer something of equivalent value in her place.
‘I don’t have time to rummage through treasures one by one. The best move is to make Lordbrok bring me the most valuable item herself.’
Theo bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.
To steady his dizzying mind.
And then.
Fwoosh—
The dragon’s pressure vanished as if it had been a lie.
「……I see. So you’re rolling the dice with clever tricks like that?」
Lordbrok suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
‘She saw through my intent.’
Theo merely bowed his head slightly without a word.
Yet his eyes never left her.
Silently urging her to respond.
「Fine. Very well.」
“Yes. Very…… What?”
Theo jerked his head up, wondering if he’d misheard.
And beheld it.
Lordbrok’s eyes, now brimming with mischief.
‘No way……?’
「Why so surprised? I can’t break a promise bound by word of honor anyway, so I’ll honor it.」
Lordbrok’s eyes curved even more playfully.
「My new mate.」
“……!”
Whoooosh—
In that instant, a fierce gale swirled around Lordbrok’s massive form.
A wind so intense Theo could barely keep his eyes open.
When he forced his head up, a dazzling blaze of light filled the cavern.
Flash!
And in the spot where the ancient dragon had been, a woman appeared.
Shorter than Theo, her dark blue bob cut framed a face with sharp yet playful eyes.
Clear golden irises like mirrors.
A tall stature around 175 centimeters.
Clad in vibrant silks draped like a shawl around her neck, her appearance made Theo flinch involuntarily.
He hadn’t expected Lordbrok to polymorph into human form.
But more than that, it was her figure visible through the gaps in her attire.
“Hehe! You’re completely entranced by my human form. But don’t even dream of it. This body has lived over two thousand years—you’re just a newborn babe in my eyes, little baby.”
Lordbrok’s teasing fell on deaf ears.
「……Guardian Dragon, your chest.」
“Oh, this?”
Lordbrok casually lifted the shawl aside as if it were nothing.
Revealing a head-sized hole in her left breast.
Indeed.
She had no heart.
“An old wound. It’s been killing me bit by bit ever since.”
Theo’s body jolted.
“You mean……?”
“Why so shocked? That I’m dying?”
Hehe.
Lordbrok laughed leisurely.
“It’s true. I lost my dragon heart—the most vital mana organ for any dragon—fifty years ago. I’ve lost most of my powers and magic.”
“……!”
“I’m holding on with the mana left in my body for now.”
Lordbrok caressed her hollow chest with her fingertips.
“But soon, I’ll return to nature’s embrace. Two years? Three? Just like my kin who left this world long ago. That’s how it’ll be.”
「……」
“That’s why I kept asking you. Aren’t you going to change your reward?”
Theo pressed his lips tight.
“Even knowing this, will you still take me as your reward?”
Lordbrok was smiling.
Theo knew it was her way of showing consideration.
But.
He couldn’t tear his gaze from the bitterness pooling in her golden eyes.
They were so like the look he’d worn in his final life.
Under a waterfall of arrows raining down.
Despair.
Frustration.
Gloom.
Sorrow.
「……How did that happen?」
“Hm? Haven’t you already used up your three permitted questions?”
「……」
“Fine. Your face is so serious, I can’t even joke around. What fun is it if the final chosen one for this guardian dragon turns out to be such a blockhead?”
Lordbrok grumbled and tossed out the answer.
“Kyle.”
But that single word struck the back of Theo’s head like a hammer.
“Probably your grandfather or great-grandfather, right?”
「……He’s my father.」
“What? Ha! A human over seventy popping out another whelp? He said he’d sire as many as possible to revive the family—tch! Males are all the same; as long as they can cross the threshold, they’ll……”
Theo didn’t hear Lordbrok’s words.
His ears were ringing fiercely.
‘Father did this?’
Why?
To the family’s guardian dragon, of all things?
The Kyle Theo knew was a man of immense pride in Ragnar.
He’d striven for the highest seat above all others, creating the family’s greatest golden age amid countless heirs.
Conflicts and grudges arose along the way.
But he ignored them entirely.
Kyle’s eyes were always fixed on the heights.
No time to bother with those below.
If such a Kyle met the guardian dragon, he’d surely try to incorporate her into the family’s forces.
So why try to kill her?
For what reason?
“Was Father a chosen one too?”
“That half-breed? Ridiculous.”
Half-breed?
What did that mean?
“You’re asking if your father attacked me to monopolize the relics, right?”
“Yes.”
“Wrong. To begin with, your father wasn’t eligible for the relics’ selection. He lacked the talent for it.”
Talent.
The word stabbed sharply into Theo’s ears.
It made no sense.
Father, lacking talent?
“And yet he shattered every shackle to claim the family head’s seat—one of the few transcendent talents. The bastard who did this to me…… Well, his abilities and will are worth respecting.”
「……」
“So as a human, you can be proud of your father. He’s…… right. A human in body, yet not human. The most human-like monster gazing toward divine realm.”
Ineligible for relic selection.
Lacking talent.
Yet became family head.
Defeated the guardian dragon, now even peering into divine realm.
A monster in human skin.
‘Father said he overthrew Grandfather, the previous head, to take the seat. Is this related?’
In this moment.
Father suddenly felt immensely vast to Theo.
“I’ll ask again. Even now, will you take me with you?”
Lordbrok cut through Theo’s thoughts.
Her gaze, now covering her left breast with the lowered shawl, bored into him.
Theo met it and swallowed dryly.
A being with little life left.
At most two or three years—what real help could she be?
No, if Kyle found out, even Theo’s life might be at risk.
The Kyle he knew left no embers that could harm him.
Lordbrok was asking with all that in mind.
If he could handle her.
So take a proper treasure and leave, without pointless words.
“I could even recommend the treasure that seems most useful to you right now.”
Finally, the response Theo had originally aimed for emerged.
He knew it was her final act of consideration.
Thoughts raced through Theo’s mind.
“I……”
Just as he made his final choice and opened his mouth.
Boom!
The cavern shook violently, as if struck by a massive impact.
Rumble……!
Theo and Lordbrok’s gazes snapped toward the entrance in unison.