“Coo. Coo.”
“Chirp!”
He nodded his head, took a few waddling steps, and then flapped his small wings, lifting his body.
He was curious. He wondered about the other hatchlings.
‘If I understand the level of a hatchling that lived for 745 years, I can gauge the level of a regular hatchling.’
Christina overlooked it, thinking he was just a genius, but a long tail tends to get stepped on.
It was time to find a standard to move appropriately in this world.
“Shall we go?”
“Coo.”
“Cheeeep!”
The little chick spread its wings and crowed triumphantly.
Christina’s teleportation magic was cast, and their figures vanished.
While going to meet Ferdinand, the Imoogi examined the powers he had obtained through Christina’s succession.
Understanding the magic and knowledge of this world and the species called dragons, he realized there was a power that only he could use.
A world full of swords and magic, humans, monsters, demonic tribes, heavenly tribes, and beast tribes.
It was a world filled with things that didn’t exist where he came from.
‘On the contrary, there are also useless things that exist unnecessarily.’
Exclusions, conflicts, wars, discrimination, etc.
Concepts that inevitably existed wherever living creatures lived.
‘Actually, the most surprising thing was Christina.’
The Imoogi looked at Christina.
Name: Christina
Race: Gold Dragon
Attribute: Light (Blessing, protection)
Age: 3345 years old
Special notes: Elder of Gold Dragons. Candidate for the Lord.
Owner of Dungeon ???.
Interfered in the human world, which suffered the most damage, to fulfill her duty as a balancer during the Heavenly Demon War. Contributed to recovery.
(omitted)
‘I suspected she was strong, but she’s an elder of the Gold Dragons, over 3000 years old, and owns a dungeon.’
It was merely a question of why someone like her happened to be with him.
As the teleportation magic ended, an unfamiliar person was standing in the room.
“Thank you for coming a long way. It’s been a while, Ferdinand.”
“It’s been a while. Elder Christina of the Gold Dragons.”
A sagacious voice came from a young boy with slicked-back red hair.
He wore simplified uniform-like clothes, the black and red suited his red eyes well.
It was no coincidence that the black, reminiscent of darkness, matched the red eyes that the Imoogi had.
A formal expression and emotionless red eyes.
One could understand why he was called a cold flame.
“Is this the Black Dragon hatchling born this time?”
“Yes. Though still young, he is very smart.”
The Imoogi, prompted by Christina’s glance, extended his right hand.
“Coo!”
‘Nice to meet you.’
At that moment, Ferdinand’s red eyes flashed with a spark-like light, but the hostility was clearly detectable for a moment.
‘Hostility?’
Ferdinand looked at the Imoogi still extending his hand and slowly grasped it.
The unpleasant hostility had already disappeared.
But his gaze still burned with intensity that was not typical for a first greeting.
‘Strange.’
The Imoogi squinted his eyes and then returned to his original look.
‘What reason is there to look at a hatchling that’s barely been born with such eyes? Those eyes… it’s as if he were seeing an enemy with a sword.’
If it weren’t for the Imoogi’s resilience, seeing such a gaze would have made any real young hatchling burst into tears.
He wanted to know why there was such disrespectful focus, but before he could figure it out, the little chick flared its wings and opened its beak combatively.
“Chirpy!”
The white chick, previously quiet on the Imoogi’s head, raised its black crest and made a sound, drawing Ferdinand’s gaze.
“What is this trivial thing…”
It was a very faint mumble, almost like a breath, that only the nearby Imoogi could hear.
For a moment, Ferdinand had a regretful face, but then he quickly composed himself and spoke to Christina.
“What sort of bird is this? It doesn’t seem like an ordinary bird, but it’s quite small because it’s still young…”
“Right? This bird is a baby phoenix.”
“A baby phoenix?”
Unlike his initial cold demeanor, his expression changed to genuine surprise.
“But isn’t the previous phoenix still alive?”
“I’m experiencing this for the first time as well, but an anomaly has occurred. Since it hasn’t fully awakened as a complete phoenix, we’re monitoring it. Even Pasias is aware of it.”
Ferdinand seemed to want to say something but closed his mouth as soon as Pasias was mentioned.
It seemed he decided not to interfere, thinking it was already being discussed by Christina, the elder of the Gold Dragons, and Pasias, the elder of the Red Dragons.
“…I see. Understood.”
“Hoho. Anyway, thank you for coming, Ferdinand.”
Christina reached out and lightly patted Ferdinand’s head.
‘I thought he would dislike it. Surprisingly, he stayed still.’
As she thought it was unexpected for someone who acted very grown-up, Christina spoke to Ferdinand.
“Please be a good elder brother to this child.”
“Understood.”
As some strands of hair fell on his forehead, Christina withdrew her hand.
Feeling akin to satisfaction as her patting hand left, Ferdinand looked slightly disappointed.
‘So, kids are still kids after all.’
The Imoogi flapped his wings and floated in the air, looking at Ferdinand.
The Imoogi, who had lived for nearly a thousand years in his previous life, still considered him a child.
He initially planned to play along just enough to live as a hatchling, but he recalled Ferdinand’s strange gaze earlier.
‘Though he hid it well, that peculiar look earlier sticks in my mind.’
A piercing gaze directed at a child couldn’t be brushed off easily.
The Imoogi pondered for a moment.
‘Should I test him a little?’
After a bit of thought, he extended his short arm and patted Ferdinand’s head as Christina did.
Even a touch of the coat of someone you dislike would be irksome, yet he was having his head touched and patted, so surely there would be a reaction.
‘This level can be passed off as a child mimicking an adult. Let’s see what he does.’
Ferdinand, with widened eyes, tilted his head, and the Imoogi blinked innocently.
“What, what’s this.”
“Coo?”
As he put on a sly expression, observing the other’s reaction, Ferdinand’s calm demeanor began to crack.
‘Look at that.’
Instead of the earlier solemnity and politeness, Ferdinand’s ears turned red, and his hair was disheveled from the Imoogi’s clumsy petting.
The Imoogi found himself confused at the reaction.
‘This is… the complete opposite of what I expected.’
While the Imoogi paused, Ferdinand quickly pulled his head away.
“Don’t do that.”
In truth, Ferdinand came following the instruction of Pasias that he must firmly establish his dominance over the young heir of darkness.
He even found the Imoogi disagreeable from the moment they met, believing Christina’s comment of being acknowledged as a genius.
‘He’s not afraid of me? He should be terrified. Why act like this?’
Normally, showing hostility should have instilled fear, making others unwilling to even meet his gaze.
Even if brilliant, he was merely a newborn hatchling.
He expected the hatchling to be terrified and whimper, feeling satisfied telling Pasias about it.
However, this small creature was friendly and welcoming instead.
It just looked at him quietly, actually patting his head to show affection.
‘A young life not fearing me?’
He couldn’t tell if it was remarkably brave or merely extremely docile.
Only the Imoogi, oblivious to the situation, wagged his tail and tilted his head in doubt.
‘Is it just my feeling? He surely emitted a hostile aura. Should I test it again?’
With a grin inside, the Imoogi smiled broadly and flew to Ferdinand.
He then tousled Ferdinand’s red hair.
“Coo!”
‘You can’t spit on a smiling face. However, to those harboring ill feelings, any gesture would seem repugnant. Detecting hostile intent is no hard task for me.’
Hiding a sly smile, the Imoogi turned Ferdinand’s soft red hair into a bird’s nest.
“You…!”
Snap!
Ferdinand grasped the Imoogi’s chubby hand and pulled his head away.
He looked furious, with a clenched jaw and furrowed brows, but the Imoogi saw it clearly.
‘What? Rather than malice, he’s blushing shyly.’
It was certain.
Confusion blended with a reddish hue on his earlobes.
Grimace that looked fierce, merely an awkward expression of feelings.
‘He’s just unable to honestly express himself, but why?’
Even as a hatchling, if he lived this long, he should be able to express his emotions honestly.
Having gotten a grasp on the other, the Imoogi decided on a different approach.
‘…Come to think of it, I have a guess. Not sure if it’s right, though.’
Verification later through Christina was an option. The Imoogi obediently withdrew his hand.
Only then did Ferdinand speak.
“You… might not know because you’re young, but you shouldn’t do this to me.”
“Coo?”
Feigning ignorance, the Imoogi tilted his head.
Despite his curiosity, he refrained from any more sudden actions, considering Christina’s guest.
However, Ferdinand, looking displeased, made a request.
“Christina, may I hold this guy for a moment?”
“Sure. He extended his hand first, after all.”
Christina nodded in approval.
‘What is he thinking now?’
He felt very awkward.
Nevertheless, rejecting outright was not an option.
‘No need to make things awkward by refusing.’
Though slightly embarrassed, this was someone affiliated with Christina.
Not elated, but willing to go along appropriately.
‘Fine. Hugging like a child is too much, offering my hand should suffice.’
“Coo.”
As the Imoogi extended his hand, Ferdinand, intending to hug, reached out but ended up holding the Imoogi’s small hand with one hand.
‘Alright. Be content with that.’
Holding the small hatchling’s hand, Ferdinand shook it gently up and down with a peculiar expression.
‘What’s this…feels like he’s seeing something magical.’
Not understanding why it should be remarkable, he tried to pull his hand back, spotting Ferdinand’s look of regret.
Undeterred, the Imoogi pulled back his hand.
Flap, flap.
Fluttering his small wings, he floated closer to Ferdinand.
Again, Ferdinand’s face became stern and businesslike.
“Indeed, he’s very small.”
“You had that phase too. Although you were a bit bigger.”
“Really? Hard to imagine.”
“It was a long time ago, understandable. I didn’t see much of your childhood, but you were very cute.”
Then, a rumbling sound came from the Imoogi’s stomach.
Among the suddenly quiet trio, the Imoogi moved first.
Placing a hand on his belly with a hungry expression, he rubbed it.
“Cooo…”
‘It couldn’t be helped as I still needed to recover my magic.’
Embarrassed by his stomach signaling hunger, not realizing he was still low on energy despite eating so much.
‘Yet, even after all that, I remain unsatisfied.’
Seeing the Imoogi rubbing his belly with drooped shoulders, Christina chuckled softly.
“If you play, I’ll bring something to eat.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Ferdinand responded maturely.
