“Gasp. It hatched.”
Even though it was the first time Yellian had seen an egg hatch, they understood that this situation meant a new life was being born.
The creature inside the egg was curled up, covered by a thin membrane, making it difficult to discern its appearance right away.
It seemed to be struggling to break free from the membrane, so after some hesitation, Yellian pinched a corner of it and gently opened it, and from there, a tiny foot popped out.
After that, it was easy. The foot that had emerged wriggled and tore the membrane wide open. And finally, the revealed form was…….
[Kyuu.]
“Aaaah! It’s a dragon!”
It was a dragon with large emerald eyes and golden scales covering its entire body. Just moments ago, they had nearly died fighting a mountain-sized dragon, and now they were face-to-face with another dragon. Of course…… it was just a baby dragon.
“Yellian! Are you okay?”
“A dragon, you say? Are you alright?”
Leonard and Elton rushed over without giving Yellian a chance to explain. They didn’t even have time to clarify that the dragon they saw wasn’t the threatening, aggressive giant from before, but a tiny dragon just born from an egg.
“Where’s the dragon…….”
Naturally, Leonard was taken aback. Of course, Elton was too. Both of them fell silent upon seeing the golden baby dragon Yellian was looking at.
Though its appearance was unmistakably that of a dragon, it was the first time they had seen such a small one. Especially a dragon that had just hatched from an egg-something they had never encountered before. Dragons were inherently ferocious, but they took great care of their young. Around the time of hatching, they became even more sensitive and aggressive.
“It looks like the offspring of that dragon from earlier, doesn’t it……?”
Yellian broke the awkward silence. It was a thought all three of them shared simultaneously. But none of them dared to voice it, merely gauging each other’s reactions. If this dragon was indeed the offspring of the one they had killed, they had no idea what to do next.
“What do we do now……?”
Once again, Yellian voiced the question that all three of them were pondering at the same time.
Though Yellian didn’t know this information, Leonard and Elton did. Baby dragons couldn’t learn to hunt on their own. They only ate the food their mother brought them, and once they grew to a certain point, they received hunting training. Only after mastering hunting could they become independent.
In other words, without a mother to teach it how to hunt, this dragon would starve to death.
“……It’ll die.”
“What? It’ll die……?”
“Dragons can’t hunt on their own as babies. They only eat what their mother brings them. Once they fully learn how to hunt, they become independent. With the mother dragon dead in this situation, this little one has no way to survive.”
[Kyuuu.]
As Leonard spoke coldly but realistically, Yellian couldn’t find words to respond and fell silent. Meanwhile, the baby dragon shivered slightly and cried out while looking at Yellian. Perhaps because it was just a baby, even its cries were faint and fragile.
The baby dragon, seemingly unable to understand a single word of what Leonard had just said, merely tilted its tiny head this way and that, staring up at Yellian with its large eyes.
“But why is it staring at me like this? Am I imagining things……?”
When Yellian took a step to the left, the baby dragon also toddled to the left. Seeing this, Yellian’s expression hardened.
Thinking it might be a coincidence, Yellian moved a couple of steps to the right this time. Sure enough, the baby dragon hurriedly followed Yellian with its short legs. Its large eyes were the epitome of innocence, as if it knew nothing.
“L-Leonard! Did you see that? It’s definitely following me.”
“……We’re in trouble.”
At Yellian’s panicked cry, Leonard clutched his head and frowned. Sensing something ominous from his reaction, Yellian spoke in a trembling voice.
“What’s wrong? What’s the matter? Say something.”
“Yellian, did you watch the process of this egg hatching?”
“Yes……. I saw the egg crack open and it hatched. Was I not supposed to?”
Feeling something ominous in Leonard’s question, Yellian swallowed dryly.
In truth, Yellian hadn’t watched the hatching of a baby dragon on purpose. They didn’t even know this egg was a dragon’s egg, so how could they have intentionally witnessed a dragon’s hatching process?
“It seems to have recognized you as its mother.”
“……As its mother?”
“Yes, as its mother.”
“……Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Unable to believe his words, Yellian asked again, but Leonard responded firmly, as if leaving no room for escape.
Now, Yellian had to accept it. The fact that the dragon had recognized them as its mother.
“S-So, what do I do now?”
“I don’t know either. I’ve never heard or seen a story of a baby dragon recognizing a human as its mother.”
“How can you be so irresponsible?!”
Yellian cried out in a voice filled with resentment. However, Leonard either didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation or pretended not to, merely shrugging his shoulders.
Yellian glanced at the baby dragon, who was staring intently at them with innocent eyes.
Though it wasn’t the right thing to say in this situation, the baby dragon was quite cute, perhaps because it was so young. Its emerald eyes were large, and though its body was small, it gave off a round, chubby impression. Its wings, still too small to fly, were tightly pressed against its body.
Moreover, unlike the large dragon they had fought earlier, this little dragon’s tail didn’t have a spike or anything like that attached to it.
“If we leave it behind…… w-will it die?”
“Most likely.”
At Leonard’s calm response, Yellian’s bluish eyes began to tremble greatly. They had hoped otherwise, but to think it would really die if left alone.
Yellian swallowed dryly. They didn’t want this small life to die. Of course, once it grew up, it would become as enormous as the dragon from earlier.
Even so, raising a dragon wasn’t an option. There were many reasons. First, the house Yellian currently lived in belonged to Leonard. In other words, Yellian was already freeloading at his place. They couldn’t possibly add another dependent.
Second, Yellian had never even raised a cat, let alone a dragon. Taking responsibility for a life was something that required great care. They weren’t confident they could raise a dragon properly.
And third, as they had seen earlier, dragons were incredibly ferocious. Yellian wasn’t sure if they could raise such a creature at home.
“Let’s just go.”
After much deliberation, Yellian spoke with a heavy heart. Of course, they knew objectively that they couldn’t raise a dragon, but turning away while knowing the baby dragon would die alone was far more painful than expected.
Nevertheless, Yellian decided it was better for both the dragon and themselves not to take on a responsibility they couldn’t handle.
“Alright.”
Leonard followed Yellian’s words without much comment. Come to think of it, in this situation, the person who would most want to abandon the baby dragon was likely Leonard. After all, if they took the dragon with them, it would have to be raised at the duke’s estate.
“Are we really just leaving……? If we go like this, it’ll die.”
The one to object was Elton. True to his nature, as someone who felt heartbroken at the sight of stray cats, he seemed to be swayed by the thought of this lone dragon.
Of course, Yellian’s heart was heavy too. But no matter how much they thought about it, raising a dragon was impossible. Thus, despite feeling guilty, Yellian decided to give up on the dragon.
“We don’t have a choice……. It’s not like we can raise a dragon.”
“If we raise it from a young age, just feeding it, it won’t target prey when it grows up.”
“But it might. What if it grows up and starts targeting people?”
“That’s…….”
“See, we can’t handle it.”
Elton trailed off, seemingly unable to argue further, while Yellian responded dejectedly.
In truth, though Yellian had said to leave it behind, their heart wasn’t at ease either.
If the mother dragon had attacked and eaten civilians, necessitating a hunt to prevent further harm, this baby dragon hadn’t done anything wrong. It had simply been born. Yet, the thought of it dying alone, starving without a mother, pained Yellian’s heart.
“Let’s go……. Leonard must be in pain too.”
Yellian, without realizing it, mixed informal and formal speech, their mind in disarray.
Normally, Leonard would have scolded them for it, but whether he understood Yellian’s complicated feelings or was too preoccupied with the pain from the wound on his back to care about anything else, he said nothing.
The three of them began to retrace their steps back the way they had come. Though panicked cries of ‘Kyuu! Kyuu!’ echoed behind them, they deliberately didn’t look back even once.
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