Chapter 185
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Black Hatchling
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Just moments ago, Arsha had been trembling in fear of this rift, but now she was urging me on like a puppy that had caught a scent.
"It's calling Arsha! Over there!"
The sight of her tapping my shoulder with her small, delicate hand from inside the rift, acting all spoiled, might seem foolish, but I actually felt relieved.
The more enthusiastic Arsha got about something, the more she pinned her hopes on it—the better off we'd be.
If there was any silver lining, it was that the monsters standing guard inside the rift, as if protecting something vital, weren't targeting us.
They had to focus on safeguarding the most important thing in this rift, so they were ignoring everything else.
When we reached a blank wall with nothing on it, Arsha tilted her head.
"Huh? Wh-what? It was definitely here..."
"Step back."
Luna clenched her fist and punched the wall without a second's hesitation.
It wasn't just about smashing it—it was an act of disrupting the flow of mana.
But doing something like that without any preparation was akin to punching straight through a wall with your bare hand.
Kwa-chang!!!
The solid wall warped at once, revealing a hidden passage.
Sure enough, the inside was empty.
"A sealing barrier."
"Sealing barrier? It's a bit of an unusual structure. What's its role?"
I needed to gauge the gap between what I knew and reality.
"It blocks anyone—ally or enemy—from entering."
Close enough.
But for something in a place like that to be calling Arsha...
The fact that it was singling her out might mean it was reacting to her contract sigil.
Arsha's sigil was the pinnacle one that covered both Beast Tamer and Magical Beast Handler.
After trudging deep inside for a while, we spotted numerous dragon statues positioned as if surrounding something.
"An egg?"
Atop a black cushion sat a black egg.
"Ah!"
Arsha wriggled in my arms, trying to leap toward the egg.
"No."
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't an ordinary egg. I knew Arsha had a contract sigil, but she still needed to choose her friends wisely.
What made me trust putting something near her that even the rift's monsters shied away from?
"N-no! It's a good kid! It's calling Arsha!"
Rather than just stopping her squirming, I decided to go check it out with her.
As we approached the egg, Arsha instinctively reached out with her sigil-marked hand.
That's when something wondrous began to happen.
"Oh, my god. A hatchling."
Luna let out an exclamation of surprise as well.
Black energy flowed from the egg's surface, and soon it started to crack.
From within popped out something tiny.
It was an adorably cute black creature—far too precious to call a dragon just yet.
"Whoa... whoaaa..."
With its big, round, sparkling eyes fixed on Arsha, the baby dragon rubbed its head against her hand.
The King of the Forbidden Realm had been quite fond of Arsha even after contracting, but this one treated her like a parent outright.
"So... so cute!"
True to her age, Arsha couldn't get enough of anything adorable and began petting it.
"B-big brother! Look! It's this cute!"
"Hmm... Can't tell if it harbors any malice."
"It's already contracted. A contract sigil doesn't connect if the entity intends harm to the contractor."
In that case, it wasn't bad.
There was no sinister aura from the little thing nuzzling into Arsha's arms.
"Arsha, you planning to take it and raise it?"
"It was... all alone. Still so young... It wants me."
Arsha wasn't exactly grown herself, but maybe that's why they understood each other—both abandoned alone.
"Can you take good care of it? Feed it, walk it, wash it?"
"Yes!"
Fine. If that's what she wants, we'll do it.
Nothing heals a person's painful memories quite like a pet.
Of course, calling a dragon a pet when it looks like one was debatable.
If it didn't listen, we'd just have to beat some discipline into it.
As if sensing my intentions, the creature shuddered at the sight of me, burrowed deeper into Arsha's arms, and let out a low growl.
It looked downright terrified.
"It's okay, not scary. Arsha will protect you."
-Grrr...
At Arsha's soothing words, it clung to her even more.
Arsha giggled as if it tickled and ruffled it roughly.
That's when a signal came from the undead I'd stationed with Melissa.
"Oh."
Luna and Arsha turned to me at my sudden reaction.
"Big brother, what's wrong?"
"Your sister's in a fight. Let's go watch."
The inside of the tent where representatives from each faction had gathered for talks was a powder keg ready to blow.
The atmosphere screamed imminent brawl—they must've started arguing and it had escalated to this.
"Calm down! We're not here to fight!"
Naturally, this expedition wasn't limited to kids under twenty, so the Bata royal official dispatched to mediate tried his best, but the mood wasn't cooling anytime soon.
"If you back off now, I can pretend it never happened. Blind bravado leads to early graves."
The boy in military uniform at the head of the Coral group sneered provocatively at Melissa, who fired right back without flinching.
"Why's a Coral military mutt's tongue so loose? Scared already?"
"You damn bitch... Do you know who I am?"
"We don't care who you are, but if you're a brainless noble who can't even show basic respect to foreign nobility, you're no better than a wild animal."
Answering in Melissa's stead was the girl standing beside her.
Linne Robel.
The daughter of the Robel Marquisate, rumored to have contracted a healing spirit through some childhood encounter.
She was listed on the Bata princess's roster as a highly promising talent with unexpectedly strong affinity.
At Linne Robel's provocation, the Coral military boy flushed red and reached for his sword hilt, looking ready to draw.
Sensing a duel about to erupt, I watched with keen interest.
Gordon Rosbel, the Coral boy glaring daggers at Melissa, suddenly smirked as if struck by a thought.
"By the way, I heard your brother was supposed to come on this expedition, not you."
"Why bring up Leon big brother?"
As Melissa narrowed her eyes suspiciously, he shrugged.
"No reason. Just curious since rumors have been flying lately. But seeing you here alone, looks like rumors aren't reliable after all. Haha! Hey, Karim. What was it you said?"
"Stood out in the Kraken subjugation, and the Sword Saint's desperate to take him as a disciple—a real prodigy."
"Hahahahaha!!!"
He burst into laughter as if it was the funniest thing, and Parel lunged forward in rage.
Gordon ignored him and kept provoking Melissa.
"Makes sense. A backwater like Bata needs tall tales like that just to tip the scales."
"These bastards, the more I see 'em..."
Parel's outburst halted abruptly.
His gaze shifted to me, quietly munching popcorn in the corner.
"Bro?"
All eyes followed his to me—holding Arsha, casually eating popcorn.
They shot me a puzzled look, then did a double-take at Luna, who'd tossed off her mask in the heat, revealing her bare face.
"Ah, and it was just getting good."
The tent fell silent like I'd doused it with cold water. As I scanned the room, Luna tossed her popcorn into her subspace with a deflated sigh.
"Steam's gone. Fun show's ruined. Arsha, let's head back for ice cream."
"H-huh? Luna sis? Big brother and sis are..."
"It's fine."
With that, she scooped up Arsha and left.
She said that, but it was probably to keep me from causing trouble or shield Arsha from the scene.
A thoughtful gesture, though I had no plans to do anything here right now.
I'd brought Melissa here to let her gain all the experience, not to rampage myself.
So I wasn't planning to intervene.
Still, letting it end like this would waste a good opportunity, so I figured I'd stir the pot a little.
"You Leon Cascadia?"
"Lucky us. We both hate each other's guts, right?"
My casual tone drew displeased looks from the Coral group.
"Here's the deal. We fight one round—loser shuts up and leaves."
Truth be told, there was no real reason to stick with these guys anyway.
Parel jumped in shock.
"Leon bro?! What're you—"
Yeah, understandable. Objectively speaking, Bata's side had Parel at around four-circle level at best.
The other girl was the Robel marquis's daughter, known for commanding a minor healing spirit.
The remaining two were experts, but barely a year past the threshold.
Coral's side, meanwhile, had those two in uniforms who were closing in on expert mid-tier.
And the East Continent boy and girl watching with arms crossed, looking all worldly... They seemed on par with Coral's pair outwardly, but they were hiding more.
The East Continent really had refined their power-concealment techniques—impressive.
"Big brother, when did you get here?"
"Right when it looked like collars were about to fly."
Since it was a formal setting, she didn't use my name, but Melissa eyed me with a slightly tense expression.
Thinking about it, she'd been pummeled by Luna in training and pushed to her limits by me, so lacking confidence was natural.
"Leon Cascadia, huh. Good that you didn't run off fearing the rumors might prove true..."
Gordon, adjusting his uniform, let out a mocking chuckle.
"But with such a feeble amount of aura, you're just another nobody."
At that, the East Continent girl darkened her expression and stood.
The silent East Continent boy called out to her.
"Hwaryeong, where to?"
"As I said, I have business elsewhere."
"...Go, then."
She left, and he watched me with a complicated look before closing his eyes in silence.
"So, you in or what?"
"Big brother, can you decide that on your own?"
"The princess gave me full authority, so like it or not, I'm the one calling the shots here."
In other words, everyone present had to follow my lead.