105
Chapter 105
While we were all heading to the 2nd Floor.
The word orb popped out of the Giant Fist Lesser Panda's mouth.
At the same time, the Frog collapsed to the ground in despair.
The Red Panda, who had been staring blankly at the Frog, belatedly threw both arms in the air with a shocked expression.
"Gasp! I misspoke!"
"Yong-yong?"
Because it had been said so naturally, I thought it wasn't anything important.
However, it seemed like it was something that shouldn't have been mentioned.
Looking at the Frog's reaction, it wasn't just something that shouldn't be said—it seemed to be a Special Grade secret that must never be leaked.
The Red Panda looked back and forth between the Frog and us with a panicked face.
Then, it looked at the Little Yellow Dragon and pleaded.
"Please pretend you didn't hear what I just said!"
"How can I pretend not to hear it when I already did, yong."
"Just forget it! Forget it!"
"I have a good memory, so I can't forget even if I want to, yong."
"Squeak...! Stop acting so smart!"
"It's true that I'm smarter than you, yong."
What it meant to lay an orb.
Why it was asking for it.
And why the orb shouldn't have been mentioned.
Everything was full of questions.
We stared at the collapsed Frog with puzzled expressions.
With everyone's attention focused on it.
The Frog gauged the room before letting out a deep sigh.
"...Since it's come to this, I can't hide it anymore. Even if I make up an excuse now, it's a lie that will inevitably be exposed later anyway, ribbit."
"That's right! Don't hide it!"
"Woong!"
The Frog stood up from its spot.
Then, it glared at the Red Panda with an angry face.
"Gasp... S-sorry......."
"...Phew."
The Frog let out another sigh and looked away.
It continued to heave sighs, squeezed its eyes shut once, and eventually began to confess to us.
About what their true purpose was.
Saying that there was no point in hiding their intentions anymore now that the word orb had already slipped out.
***
A perfect Dragon species can lay a Dragon's Orb.
The Dragon's Orb is a substance imbued with the power to strengthen a specific species.
This specific species refers to those derived from a Dragon.
A true Dragon, not just a typical dragon.
In other words, a Mutant of a Mutant.
Among them, the Mutants belonging to the Dragon's subordinate species.
To put it simply.
Being derived from a Dragon, being similar to a Dragon... no, belonging to the Dragon Domain, and having a lower status than a Dragon—these are the conditions required to be able to use the Dragon's Orb.
Only monsters that meet all these conditions can embrace the Dragon's Orb and achieve Ascension.
Ascension refers to the species strengthening mentioned earlier.
Ascension generally aids in Limit Breakthrough and Special Evolution, and while it doesn't guarantee becoming a Dragon, there is a high probability of being reborn as a complete Dragon.
And,
The Master of the Lake, the Blue Titanoboa, and the Giant Fist Lesser Panda.
These three all met the conditions for Ascension.
If only they could embrace the Dragon's Orb, they could undergo Ascension at any time.
...That was everything.
That was the story the Frog had just told.
Finishing its explanation about the Dragon's Orb, the Frog immediately spoke again.
"I'm not certain, but your Dragon probably can't lay a Dragon's Orb yet. The Master of the Lake said that your Dragon likely needs to grow much more than it has now to lay an orb, ribbit."
Now everything made sense.
They had approached us from the start, aiming for the orb the Little Yellow Dragon would lay someday.
As expected, they wanted something from us.
Well, there was no way they would have bombarded us with gifts just because they wanted to be friends.
So.
The Master of the Lake wanted to gobble up the orb when the Little Yellow Dragon laid it later, which was why it had offered us such massive tributes until now. By doing so, it could win our favor and simultaneously help the Little Yellow Dragon grow rapidly with those tributes, killing two birds with one stone.
More than that, the reason wasn't as grand as I had thought.
Honestly, I thought they had some terrifying ulterior motive.
"Baby Frog. So you're saying you want the orb when our Dragon Baby lays it later, right? Then you should have just been honest from the very beginning. Why did you bother hiding it until now?"
Ailee, who had been listening and nodding, asked.
The Frog scratched its cheek before answering.
"...To be honest, it was so your Dragon would open its heart to us easily. If we revealed that we approached with a motive, no matter what gifts we gave, they wouldn't feel sincere, ribbit."
It was all to win the Little Yellow Dragon's heart.
At the Frog's words, Jjokkomi, who had been listening quietly, expressed her doubt.
"Kuooh? You went through all that trouble to win its heart? Didn't you think about taking it by force once it lays the orb?"
"We aren't bad guys like that, ribbit!"
"I'll burn you if you lie."
"......I'm sorry, ribbit. Actually, the Dragon's Orb can't be taken by force, ribbit."
"Kuooh? Why?"
"The Dragon's Orb has something called ownership. Naturally, the Dragon that laid the orb holds the ownership. And in order to have that ownership transferred, one must win the Dragon's favor, ribbit."
"Ownership? You can just threaten it to hand it over."
"Extortion is impossible. It cannot be obtained through such violent methods. For a Dragon to transfer its orb to another being, the intention to directly hand over the ownership isn't what's important. Ownership can only be transferred to someone with whom they've built a deep bond or someone they truly believe they owe a massive debt of gratitude, largely regardless of their own will. That is why it's absolutely impossible to take it by force, ribbit."
Hmm, hmm.
One more question that had been puzzling me until now was resolved.
These guys had been trying to make our Little Yellow Dragon owe them a massive debt of gratitude.
So that was why they said they wouldn't accept any gifts.
"But now everything is ruined. We chose the method of making it owe us and bombarded it with gifts until now, but with one slip of the tongue from the Little Master, all our efforts up to this point have gone down the drain. Since it's been exposed that we were trying to get close with the purpose of obtaining the Dragon's Orb, it won't be easy for your Dragon to open its heart to us anymore, ribbit......."
"Squeak... I'm sorry......."
The Frog's words weren't wrong, though.
If you find out that someone is approaching you not with pure intentions, but with an ulterior motive, it wouldn't be easy to open your heart. That's just how the heart works.
"Then you should have just hidden it until the end! Why did you confess on your own! You idiot!"
The Fox spoke as if she found it pathetic.
The Frog looked at the Fox even more pathetically and replied.
"Originally, the plan was to keep it a secret until the very end. Until your Dragon voluntarily transferred the orb to the Master of the Lake. But the moment the word orb came out, that plan was as good as ruined."
"Hoeh?"
"Think about it. What if we had made excuses about the orb today or shamelessly continued to feign ignorance? Later, when you found out about the substance known as the Dragon's Orb, you would realize you had been deceived by us in the past and feel betrayed. Then the trust would be completely broken. Whether it's gratitude or a bond, everything would vanish, ribbit."
Hmm.
They are slightly overestimating us.
I feel like we would just forget about the orb story we talked about today in the future.
...Or not? The Little Yellow Dragon said it had a good memory, so maybe it would remember.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for deceiving you all this time, ribbit...."
The Frog bowed its head to us and apologized.
It doesn't really seem like something to apologize for, though.
"I am truly sorry."
It bowed its head even more politely to the Little Yellow Dragon.
"Yooong... It doesn't really matter, yong. In fact, I'm thankful you told the truth even now, yong."
"Ribbit......."
The Little Yellow Dragon, who coolly forgave them with an expression that showed it didn't mind at all.
While the Frog was looking at it as if looking at a saint.
"Woong, woong, wooong? Woooooong, woooooong?"
This time, Tosuni threw a question at the Frog.
So have you given up on that plan now?
Can't you just give up on the method of making it owe you, and choose the method of building a deep bond starting from now?
It was a question like this.
"If you guys allow it, I'd love to do just that... but realistically, I feel it might be difficult."
"Woong?"
"In order to do that, your Dragon needs to meet our Master of the Lake frequently from now on. You can make someone owe you from afar, but to build a bond, you have to meet in person, ribbit."
The Frog shifted its gaze to me.
And continued speaking.
"But since you guys have no intention of coming to our Lake at all, isn't the method of building a bond practically impossible too, ribbit...."
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
"R-ribbit?!"
"Gom-gom-gom-gom, gom-gom."
"Is that true?"
"Gom-gom."
The Frog's expression, which had been full of despair, was colored with joy as if it had never been sad.
It was because I said I didn't entirely lack the intention to visit the Lake.
Recently, I had changed my mind and was thinking about visiting with Tosun's Mom.
Of course, that is if Tosun's Mom willingly accompanies me.
I even added that if I got to meet the Master of the Lake in person and judged it to be a decent guy, I'd be open to building a deep bond.
"Thank you so much, ribbit!!!"
"Gom-gom."
If you're thankful, you can just offer up more Mana Stones in the future.
Now that I know your purpose, I'm really going to accept your gifts freely without any burden.
Just so you know, if you stop the gift offensive just because you gave up on the method of making us owe you, our relationship will be cut off that very day.
***
With considerably brightened expressions, the Frog and the Red Panda returned to the Lake.
Not long after they left like that.
"Papa."
"Gom?"
The Little Yellow Dragon quietly approached and spoke to me.
"About the Dragon's Orb you mentioned earlier, yong."
"Gom."
"Didn't they say that someone at my level definitely can't lay one yet, yong?"
"Gom-gom."
"Yooong... Then I guess not...."
"Gom-gom?"
What's wrong.
What do you mean you guess not.
"Ah, well... actually... I'm not certain, but I think I might have laid something like a Dragon's Orb last night, yong."