There was a time when I dreamt of a silver whale and told the sister about it.
The sister, listening to me with a refreshing smile, spoke slowly and warmly.
‘Perhaps there was a whale that wanted to fly in the sky. Maybe that whale's dream is connected to Yeon-woo?’
Maybe so, I vaguely thought as a child.
If I were a whale, I might want to fly in the sky.
‘If I could fly in the sky for the whale, would the whale be happy?’
The sister didn't answer. She just looked up at the starry sky and stroked my head. I sat by the window and swung my legs.
Happily, just happily.
* * *
Me? Magic?
Yeon-woo made a bewildered expression at the dragon's words. What should he answer? Does gaining magic power increase your lifespan? Why all of a sudden? What are you up to!?
Alkinea laughed, looking at Yeon-woo, who was making a sour expression.
『Is it too much after all? After trying so hard for 10 years, you want me to try one more time? My, I didn't know you'd make that face when I offered you what you wanted so much.』
"Ah, no, think about it. It's too out of the blue."
『You're being a pain even when I'm offering you a gift.』
A gift? Hearing the word "gift," Yeon-woo felt his eyes widen. A lucky chance! How much he had wished for it.
I ate a pill that popped out of a dungeon and my magic power doubled! I ate a screaming crazy ginseng and became super strong!
Then, wouldn't it be possible for him to have magic power too?
Except that never happened.
"...Uh, are there any conditions?"
『There are. However, I will not impose excessive conditions. I swear on my name.』
"What's your name…."
Come to think of it, they were having a conversation without even introducing each other. Of course, Alkinea knew through the power of the Dragon Heart, but there was no way Yeon-woo could know that.
"My name is Choi Yeon-woo, Dragon-nim. I'm the top output among the unfit individuals shining in the Hunter Ranking within the top 100,000."
Alkinea scoffed at his words and slightly moved her head, aiming her crown-like horns at Yeon-woo. Surprised by the sudden attack, Yeon-woo picked up his spear, but before he could do anything, a bright light filled the cave.
Ugh! The crazy dragon is shooting a destruction beam at me!
Am I going to die like this…?
He thought so, but there was no pain or anything. He carefully opened his eyes, and the dragon's enormous body was gone.
A woman was lying on a bed decorated with gold and jewels, in a seductive pose looking at him. A woman with long golden hair that reached the floor even while on the bed, reminiscent of the bed's canopy.
Her vertically split golden pupils harmonized so naturally that her violent beauty seemed to embody the act of inflicting one's presence on others.
A black, alluringly thin, dress-like nightgown fluttered like a flower.
Yeon-woo hurriedly turned his head away at the glimpse of her voluptuous silhouette. If he kept looking, he felt like he would become a criminal.
They say beauties are sleepyheads, so it might be natural for a sleepyhead dragon to be a beauty…. Although that deductive reasoning was completely wrong.
Yeon-woo carefully averted his gaze and decided to examine the bed instead. It looks super expensive….
Seeing his reddened face, Alkinea chuckled softly. A pleasant voice echoed.
"I am Alkinea. A Gold Dragon. The first and last of my kind to die a natural death."
"Alkinea-nim, it is. Please take care of me. By the way, natural death, do dragons have lifespans...?"
It was a curiosity that popped out unintentionally.
They seemed like living beings, yet they were also beings far removed from living creatures, which made it even more curious. In the first place, since the world had changed like this, there had only been one case of a dragon being subjugated. It was only natural that there was no information.
"Yes, mine is exceptionally long even among dragons."
"How long is your lifespan...?"
"Don't treat me like an old woman!!"
Pang! A magic sphere, rotating violently, struck Yeon-woo's head.
Even though he stopped after rolling about 5 meters, for some reason, there were no injuries on his head except for the abrasions from rolling.
‘The sister also told me not to ask a woman her age….’
Yeon-woo quietly got up and sat back down in his original spot, remembering the advice that came to him a bit too late. Alkinea had a sulky expression. If only he had remembered a little sooner.
"......Well, I don't know how long a dragon's lifespan is."
"You seemed to know exactly when you would die, though."
"What did you say?"
Her golden eyes glared at him, making him feel terrified. Yeon-woo silently lowered his head.
Alkinea, who had been looking at him with a rather displeased expression, let out a deep sigh.
"Shall we get back to the point? I can give you magic power. Will you accept it?"
"Yes."
"I know it's a difficult question to answer, but... Huh?"
Looking at Yeon-woo, who was surprised by his own immediate response, Alkinea was flustered but soon burst into laughter. What is this guy doing?
"Pfft, if that's the case, why did you hesitate when I first asked? You're just dragging out the conversation unnecessarily."
"Ah, no, I just answered without thinking. Should I think about it more?"
Seeing Yeon-woo, who had mostly shown a detached reaction since entering this nest, looking flustered, Alkinea's laughter grew louder. Who is this guy, really?
It is a natural human instinct to want to gain new opportunities.
That quick decision should be praised. Yes, you need that kind of boldness.
"Good. Let's make a contract. I like you. What about you?"
"Uh...? I think you're pretty."
That's not what I meant, geez. This guy doesn't understand a word I say.
‘But to find a decent guy at this age. It's a shame. If only you had come a thousand years earlier.’
It's a wish that can't be fulfilled now. Alkinea smiled bitterly and waved her hand in the air. Space distorted following her hand movement.
Like a zipper opening, an egg about half the size of an ostrich egg popped out of the black tear in the air. Alkinea received it as if embracing it.
"That is...?"
Yeon-woo asked. Alkinea answered with a slightly reddened face.
"My daughter."
"Huh?"
What, so this was a couple's nest? What happened to the husband? It's huge, but it doesn't seem like it could fit two dragons.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I'm unmarried. The Gold Scale tribe is special, we can have children even without a mate."
Yeon-woo was dumbfounded at her words.
What is that super hybrid creature? It can reproduce both sexually and asexually, what the heck is the ecology of a Gold Dragon?
"I will contract this child with you. Then you can get the magic power you desire."
"A dragon contract... is it? But entrusting me with a child, it's a bit overwhelming."
Honestly, it was a heart-pounding phrase.
Hunters not only rely on their own strength but also make contracts with beings such as gods and spirits. Among them, those who contracted with dragons were extremely rare.
Well, it's only natural since it's a contract that can only be made by meeting a dragon or wyvern somewhere and gaining their favor.
"Actually, I've never been outside before. I've lived here since I was a hatchling."
"......Huh?"
The exact lifespan of a dragon is unknown.
However, according to stories heard from various races, their lifespans are at least two thousand years.
She said she had been cooped up for thousands of years, but he didn't know she had never even been outside.
She couldn't go outside for that long? A dragon? Why?
"When I hatched from the egg, I was already in this cave. And my father and mother, the Gold Scale tribe, were lying dead."
Yeon-woo somehow felt like he knew what the next story would be.
"As you can see, there is nothing in this cave to obtain calories. There was nothing except my parents' corpses. I had no choice but to eat them. I had to survive."
It was a common occurrence in the wild. Eating the corpses of parents, or tearing and eating eggshells. But he had never thought about their feelings. That's just the way of the wild.
But what about a race that so easily realizes that those are their family? Would they accept it the same way as others?
That's why Alkinea's expression, speaking with a slightly bitter face, felt even more intense.
"Because we had Dragon Hearts, because we were dragons, we could perfectly convert the corpses of other dragons into calories. I would have died the same way, passing on my life to this child...."
Saying that, Alkinea caressed the egg she held tightly, as if a pregnant woman was stroking her belly.
A gentle touch filled with the feeling that I can't help but love it.
The rumor that dragons don't place much importance on blood relations was, in Yeon-woo's view, complete nonsense.
Because there's no way someone without maternal love could make that expression. It was the pained expression the sister often made when she looked at the sick children.
"But I didn't want my child to go through what I did. I apologize to you, but that's why I made a hole in the barrier of this nest."
Hoping that someday, someone I could trust with my child would come.
"You want to ask why I didn't go out? It's because I read it from my parents' memories. There's nothing outside. We shouldn't go out. That's what I learned."
Perhaps it was a foolish mistake that the wise dragon race could not help but make.
Are the words of parents so absolute?
Yeon-woo, who didn't even know his parents' faces, couldn't understand. But now, he felt like he could understand a little. If his parents suddenly appeared and told him not to do something, he would probably do as they said.
"I pitied you."
She said it as if that was no longer the case.
I felt a sense of kinship with you, who tried to overcome the wall of magic but ultimately fell.
I saw myself in you, a dragon trapped in a deep underground cave, unable to see the sky or spread my wings.
"But you are not someone to be pitied. You are someone this foolish old dragon should respect."
How beautiful it is, the sight of you struggling to fly with a body that cannot fly.
Even though you failed, your life is worthy of praise.
"That's why I want to ask you. Please... take this child out of this stifling world."
Large drops of tears flowed from Alkinea's eyes as she spoke. She brought her cheek close to the egg and rubbed it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
Even though the liquid, which would be worth a fortune if just a few drops were collected in a small glass bottle, was soaking the floor, Yeon-woo couldn't think of doing anything about it.
Despite the sister giving him plenty of affection.
A mother's unconditional love was captivating Yeon-woo's gaze to that extent. It felt like something deep within his chest was getting heated.
Her gaze turned to Yeon-woo. He felt like he should avoid her gaze. He wanted to.
"I will give you gifts without lacking. Please... would you grant my request?"
What started as a deal had turned into a request. She had become weak. He couldn't say what the cause was. Everything was the cause.
This cave, this life, his existence....
Everything was making her feel distressed between the sense of stability she had felt throughout her life and the thought of her child.
Even if, even if... that appearance was somehow an act to get the egg out and be reborn there, it wouldn't matter, because...
Choi Yeon-woo had become utterly captivated by the dragon before him.
