Chapter 48 [Rip instead](1)
Smooth yet soft scales.
A sheath of feathers that oozes luster like high-quality silk.
A dainty foot that fits comfortably in one hand.
A cozy gray mane that runs from the back to the tip of the tail.
Maybe this is how a baby dragon just hatched from an egg looks like.
It’s cute.
Inexhaustible cute.
It’s so cute that it hurts your heart.
I finally understood why the parent dragon was so pampered that it was called overprotective of its offspring.
It sounds obvious, but I can’t believe this diabolical dragon had such a prickly period,
It was really hard to believe.
As he pricked the cheek of the small black dragon sitting coiled up in front of me with his finger, Dante’s eyes glowed with curiosity.
“Olivia, can I touch that foot just once?”
A very earnest tone.
Took.
Olivia wordlessly laid her paw on Dante’s palm.
“Thank you!”
Then, as if he had waited, Dante, with a bright smile on his lips, began to touch the black dragon’s feet here and there as if kneading rice cakes.
“Ohh…”
Then, I compared the size of which one was bigger by holding it against my palm, and pressed the soles of my feet to see if the toenails that popped out when I pressed down were strange.
The pure appearance of a young child in the world.
‘─If I knew you’d like it this much, I’d show it to you sooner.’
To the extent that I inadvertently thought that way.
Olivia had to calm down her dragon heart, which started to go crazy once more, seeing the boy’s innocent appearance that she could hardly see.
‘Noble. Noble.’
Pure white hair and round golden eyes.
There really was no other angel that came down to the world.
Of course, even if you reverse your position.
“You know what, Olivia?”
Fidgeting with her gray mane, Dante muttered with a philosophical expression.
“Now you’re just starting to look like an intelligent being—”
“A bastard!”
Puck!
“Kehyuk!?”
Kudangtang!
Dante screams and rolls out of bed in an instant.
It was because Olivia, who was upset, slapped Dante’s cheek with the sole of her dainty foot.
….The power wasn’t dainty at all.
◇
“Olivia-sama, have you ever heard of the ‘Familiar Horse Contest’?”
“Roughly.”
Dante said in a plain tone as he rubbed his red cheeks with an egg he didn’t know where he got it from.
Familiar Contest.
Other names, Summons fight.
It is literally a competition to determine the superiority by pitting each other’s familiars against each other.
If the Flying Dragon Race was a competition to compete for the flying ability of a flying dragon, the Summon Fight is a competition to compete for the fighting ability of a familiar horse.
Well, there were various evaluation criteria other than combat ability, such as efficiency and broad range.
Unlike the flying dragon races, which are held by hand, the Summon Fight was one of the universal entertainments that could be commonly seen in any empire.
Maybe that’s why there are many academies that specialize in teaching skills to handle familiars, that is, fostering Summoners.
Summoners were largely divided into two types depending on which realm the contracted familiar was in.
Tame Summoner, who signifies a contract with demons, phantom beasts, and spirits that coexist with humans in the underworld (human world),
Mist Summoner refers to a person who brought a familiar from the other world to the underworld and made a special contract with him.
Usually, the former occupied most of Summoner, though.
So why did I bring up this story?
“I heard by chance at a stall before that there is a familiar horse contest held by cadets in the academy arena at 5pm today.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Shrugging his shoulders at Olivia, who narrowed her red eyes, Dante said in a relaxed tone.
“I want to go there.”
“…..Even if it’s not possible, are you going to chew on my words anyway?”
“Why do you ask for the obvious?”
“…You are real.”
Tsk tsk, the black dragon clicked its tongue and glared at Dante with an expression of disapproval.
Then, Dante frowned and said,
“…Then shall I go alone?”
“Put on your clothes. Let’s go out.”
In the end, I’m going to go with you, but my temper is.
◇
──It was only about 20 minutes after he confidently left the inn.
I was on the verge of losing my mind.
Obviously everything was perfect.
How did this happen?
“f*ck.”
With a small curse, Dante covered his face with his hands.
Effortlessly ignoring the cheers of the citizens resounding in the central square.
I kicked the shin of the nasty black dragon that had started to split the threads close to my side.
‘……I’m about to commit suicide.’
Sincerely.
Everyone has a plausible plan.
Until Asa, who has lived without a single friend all her life, is surrounded by people on all sides and receives enough attention to knock her on the knee.
The whole story of the incident goes back 20 minutes from now.
◇
Lesta Imperial Port.
A deserted alleyway leading to the central plaza.
The brilliance of sunlight penetrating through the leaves was very beautiful.
Should I say it’s like a scene from a fairy tale?
Beat, beat, beat.
From noble mtl dot com
Towards the Colosseum where the Familiar Contest is being held, Olivia and Dante were walking slowly.
After all, the tournament started at 5 o’clock, and now it’s not even 4 o’clock, so there was no need to move in a hurry.
“Whoa…”
After carefully reading the festival guidebook provided by the inn, Dante spat out a small exclamation.
It was because the level of the academy cadets participating in the Familiar Contest was high enough to be called a professional summoner working in the guild.
In the guidebook, along with basic profiles including photos, names, and ages of the cadets, an introduction to their familiars was also attached.
It was thanks to this that Dante was able to evaluate the level of the cadets.
In addition to the rare Mist Tamer, there are numerous familiars that are at least B-class no matter how low they are.
Is it true that the stronger the economy, the more talented people are produced?
Dante, who was looking around the various familiars like that, glanced at the black dragon with ferocious eyes, who had a cigarette in her mouth before he knew it.
She was muttering something and talking to herself, and although she could see the tears welling up in her eyes, it was clear that she was wasting her emotions on useless imagination.
Fishik.
Dante laughed involuntarily and immediately looked away, wondering if Olivia would notice her gaze.
That’s why I laughed at myself at the thought that no matter how rare or well-known a familiar would be, it would only be a dragon that lives and breathes right in front of me.
It was at that time that a citizen raised his voice in a hurry, raising his finger at them who had completely left the side road with such nonsensical thoughts.
“Uh!! Uh uh…!”
For a moment, the buzz in the plaza subsides, and dozens or hundreds of pupils begin to gather in one place in the quiet silence.
Men and women, adults and children alike, their eyes were fixed on a boy.
‘What, what crazy.’
Baffled Dante hesitated and covered her face with her wrists.
“──I am a jet-black lion!!!”
“Really!? Really!”
“Where where!?”
“A jet-black lion!?”
With this as a catalyst, citizens who rushed in with loud cheers began to surround Dante in all directions.
No more than that.
Chi, jet-black…What?
◇
And the point of view is back to the present.
“Last race, it was great!”
“Your flying skills were amazing at such a young age!”
“I’ve never seen a black drake in my life! Thank you for showing me a good game!”
“Why did you reject the Academy Dean’s invitation? Why did you not attend the awards ceremony?”
“Hey, why don’t you join our party? You could be an A-class adventurer!”
A non-stop stream of compliments and questions.
As he constantly shook hands with those he saw for the first time, Dante gave a commercial smile that came from his past meal.
‘─Will it bounce? Just pop it out?’
Of course, the inside was rotting every moment.
‘Why didn’t I think of this?’
He quietly bit his lip.
Since it is the largest race in the empire, I am complacent without thinking that the aftermath of the winner will be great.
It wouldn’t have mattered if only the name was known,
On that day, it was natural for those who watched the game through the crystal ball to remember the appearance of Dante, the winner.
In addition, a winner who threw away the awards ceremony would have been even more impressive.
Even that can be interpreted arbitrarily as the strong man’s composure or something.
Dante spurred on in order to escape the crowd as soon as possible, receiving attention that made him want to die because of the burden.
“Wow, a jet-black lion! It’s a jet-black lion!!”
And who the heck came up with that beggarly title!!!
A jet-black lion, what kind of fantasy novel hero are you!!?
I can roughly guess why it was built that way! At least, couldn’t it have been a little more normal!?
Anger, feeling the heat rising on his face, Dante lowered his head.
I haven’t seen Olivia since a while ago, whether she left earlier or where she went.
Anyway, the envoy is the one that gets more attention than this, so I have to go to the Colosseum soon——
Gasp.
“…….?”
Wrinkling his one eye, Dante turned his head away.
It was because someone grabbed the hem of my clothes.
What came into my field of vision was a petite young girl with bobbed brown hair.
The girl held onto Dante’s hem, and before he could speak, she shouted in a high-pitched voice.
“Yongyongyi and sipper!”
“……. Huh?”
The girl smiled wide and pursed her small lips.
“The black dragon saw and sipper!”
When I looked around, it became quiet all of a sudden, as if I agreed with the girl’s words, as if I was waiting for someone to say them.
I could feel that everyone in the square was staring at me with expectant eyes.
…..What is this subtle pressure…!
This is the ‘You’re not going to refuse a child’s request, are you?’ !?
If you do something wrong, you will be socially buried!
Kuh, conscience, you bastard…!
But I don’t want my name to be on people’s lips anymore, and above all, Olivia-sama isn’t here…
Here, I have no choice but to refuse so that the child will not get hurt.
Bent on one knee and leveled his gaze with the child, Dante said in a sweet voice.
“Hey kid, what’s my kid’s name?”
“Asha!”
“Yes Asha, does Asha like dragons and dragons?”
“Yeah! Yongyong is really good!”
Asha’s brightly smiling expression gave Dante a sad smile and said in a pitiful tone.
“But what should I do with this? I can’t come out because Yongyong has to be asleep right now.”
“Yongyong…Should be…?”
“Yeah. I have a fever and I’m really sick, so I guess I’ll have to rest at home today—”
“[──f*ck.]”
Thump!!
The ground cracked into many branches because it couldn’t withstand the force of hitting it.
Blowing away the dust that covered the surroundings with a single flap of its wings, the black dragon descended from the sky and looked down loftily.
“[You dare to make someone a patient. Search.]”
“Ugh…”
Ugh, the playful black dragon’s voice echoed in my head.
Red eyes and golden eyes full of bewilderment cross each other at the same time.
Silently blocking Dante’s way, the black dragon raised the corner of his mouth.
Like a child discovering a new toy.
This situation sounds like a lot of fun.
“──I thought I should take a good rest, but I guess Yongyong has gotten better.”
Hiding the little girl behind himself, Dante raised his middle finger at Olivia.
‘Jet-black… Puff! Say..! Heap..!!’
‘Don’t call me that!!!!’
That’s never going to retaliate.
Dante really wanted to cry.
◇
Same time.
“[Hey. Ong.]”
Looking down at the boy who was in a tense confrontation with the black dragon in the plaza on the roof of a tall building, Nagi cried for a long time.
There was no need to be impatient.
Because I’ve already decided where to stay.
There is only one thing left.
─It just proves its worth.