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Chapter 185
Just a moment ago, Arsha had been trembling in fear of the rift, but now she was pestering me like a dog that caught a scent, as if nothing had happened.
“It's calling Arsha! Over there!”
From within the rift, she tapped my shoulder with her small, delicate hand like a spoiled child. It might’ve seemed foolish, but I was actually relieved.
The more Arsha found motivation or hope in something, the better the situation became.
Thankfully, the monsters standing within the rift, as if guarding something, weren’t targeting us.
It probably meant they were too focused on protecting the most important thing in this rift to bother with anything else.
When we reached a plain wall, Arsha tilted her head.
“Huh? Huhhh? I’m sure it was right here…”
“Step aside.”
Without hesitation, Luna clenched her fist and punched the wall.
Rather than just smashing it, it was more like she was affecting the flow of mana.
Still, doing something like that without any preparation was like punching through a wall with bare hands.
Crash!
The solid wall distorted, and a hidden path began to reveal itself.
As expected, there was nothing inside.
“A sealing formation.”
“A sealing formation? That’s an interesting structure. What’s it for?”
I needed to understand the gap between what I knew and what was real.
“It blocks anyone, ally or enemy, from stepping inside.”
Close enough.
But something inside such a place calling for Arsha…?
If it’s calling only for Arsha, maybe it’s reacting to the seal she carries.
Arsha possesses the highest-ranking seal of both Beast Tamer and Monster Trainer.
After walking in for a while, we came across numerous dragon statues, arranged as if surrounding something.
“An egg?”
Placed on a black cushion was an egg, gleaming with a black sheen.
“Ah!”
Arsha wriggled free and leapt from my arms, trying to run toward the egg.
“No.”
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn’t a normal egg.
I get that the seal responds to her, but she needs to be more careful about who she befriends.
How could I trust something that even the rift’s monsters hesitated to approach to stay by Arsha’s side?
“N-No! It's a good one! It’s calling for Arsha!”
Instead of stopping the wriggling Arsha, I decided to go with her.
When she got close to the egg, Arsha unconsciously reached out with the hand bearing the seal.
That’s when something amazing started to happen.
“Oh, wow. A hatchling.”
Even Luna let out an awed gasp.
A black current began to flow from the surface of the egg, and then it started to crack.
And from within popped out something tiny.
It was a black creature, so small and adorable it was hard to even call it a dragon.
“W-Wow…”
The baby dragon, undeniably cute at first glance, stared wide-eyed at Arsha, then began rubbing its head against her hand.
Maybe it was because of the contract with the King of the Forbidden Realm, but the creature seemed overwhelmingly affectionate toward Arsha—as if it saw her as its mother.
“So, so cute!”
Just like any child, Arsha couldn’t resist something that cute and began petting it enthusiastically.
“B-Brother! Look! Isn’t it so cute?”
“Hmm… I can’t tell if it’s malevolent or not.”
“It’s already in a contract. A seal wouldn’t form with a being that had any intent to harm the contractor.”
Then it should be fine.
The creature snuggled into Arsha’s arms, showing no signs of any evil intent.
“Arsha, are you planning to take it with you?”
“It was… all alone. It’s still just a baby… It wants to be with me.”
If we’re talking about being young, Arsha’s not much different.
Maybe they understand each other because they’ve both been abandoned.
“Can you take good care of it? Feed it, walk it, bathe it?”
“Yes!”
Alright, if you want it, let’s do it.
There’s nothing quite like a pet to heal a person’s pain.
Although… can you really call a dragon a pet?
If it acts up, we’ll just have to train it the hard way.
Maybe it sensed my intent.
The creature flinched at the sight of me and burrowed deeper into Arsha’s arms, letting out a low growl.
It looked genuinely scared.
“It’s okay, don’t be scared. Arsha will protect you.”
– Grrr…
Reassured by Arsha’s gentle voice, it clung to her even tighter.
Arsha giggled at the ticklish feeling and stroked the little one playfully.
That’s when a signal came from the undead I had attached to Melissa.
“Oh.”
My sudden reaction drew the attention of both Luna and Arsha.
“Brother, what is it?”
“Your sister got into a fight. Let’s go watch.”
* * *
Inside the tent where the factions had gathered to negotiate, the atmosphere was so tense it could snap at any moment.
Judging by the hostility, things had already gone south during the discussion.
“Please, calm down! We didn’t gather here to fight!”
Of course, not everyone who joined this expedition was under twenty, and an official dispatched from the Bata royal family tried to mediate, but the situation wasn’t going to cool off easily.
“If you retreat now, we’ll pretend this never happened. Being reckless only shortens your life.”
A boy in a military uniform at the head of the Coral faction smirked as he provoked Melissa, who didn’t back down.
“What’s with the fancy Coral military dog wagging his tongue so much? Are you scared or something?”
“You filthy bitch… Do you even know who I am?”
“We don’t care who you are. But if you’re someone who can’t even show basic courtesy to a noble from another country, then you’re no better than a beast.”
It wasn’t Melissa who responded—it was a girl standing by her side.
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Rinne Lobel.
The young lady of the Marquisate of Lobel, rumored to have contracted with a spirit possessing healing powers through some mysterious encounter in her childhood.
According to the list provided by Princess Bata, she was a highly evaluated individual due to her potential and unexpectedly strong affinity.
Provoked by Rinne Lobel's words, the boy in the Coral military uniform flushed and gripped the hilt of his sword, looking as if he might draw it any moment.
Seeing a duel about to break out, I watched the situation unfold with interest.
Apparently displeased, the boy from Coral, Gordon Roswell, who had been glaring at Melissa, suddenly smirked as if something came to mind and said mockingly,
“But I heard your brother was supposed to come on this expedition, not you.”
“Why are you asking about Brother Leon?”
Melissa narrowed her eyes, asking suspiciously, to which he shrugged.
“Well, the rumors going around lately piqued my curiosity. But seeing as he hasn't shown up, I guess you can’t believe everything you hear. Ha! Hey, Karim. What was it again?”
“They said he contributed greatly to the Kraken subjugation and that a Sword Saint is desperate to take him on as a disciple.”
“Hahahahaha!!!”
Laughing as if he found it all extremely amusing, Gordon Roswell continued provoking Melissa, even as Farrell tried to lunge at him in anger.
But regardless of Farrell’s reaction, Gordon didn’t stop his taunting.
“Well, I suppose if you're from a backwater like Bata, you need to make up lies like that just to level the playing field, don’t you?”
“These bastards... I’ve had enough—”
Just as Farrell was about to yell back, he stopped abruptly.
His gaze turned to me, sitting quietly off to the side eating popcorn.
“Brother?”
Everyone else followed his gaze to me.
They saw me calmly munching on popcorn with Arsha in my arms, and then showed visible surprise again at the sight of Luna—who, complaining about the heat, had tossed aside her mask and revealed her face.
“Aw, and it was just getting good.”
As I silently looked around the now awkwardly quiet hall, Luna, clearly disappointed, tossed her popcorn into her subspace pocket.
“Buzzkill. The fun's over. Arsha, let’s go get some ice cream.”
“Huh? Luna, wait—Brother and you are...?”
“It’s fine.”
Without another word, she picked up Arsha and left.
She may have acted indifferent, but I knew she did it to keep Arsha from seeing something she shouldn't, in case I lost my temper and caused a scene.
I appreciated the consideration, but I had no plans to act up right now.
I brought Melissa here so she could gain experience—not so I could go wild.
So no, I wasn’t planning to do anything.
But if I left things like this, we’d miss out on a good opportunity—so I decided to step in, just a little.
“You’re Leon Cascadia?”
“Perfect. We both find each other unpleasant, don’t we?”
My casual tone clearly didn’t sit well with the Coral representatives, as their faces twisted in displeasure.
“Let’s settle it like this: we fight, one-on-one. Loser shuts up and leaves.”
When you think about it, there’s no real reason for us to team up anyway.
At my words, Farrell flinched.
“Brother Leon?! What are you—”
Yeah, it was a surprise.
Realistically speaking, among the people from Bata, Farrell was the only one around 4th-circle level.
The girl from the Marquisate of Lobel had some minor healing abilities via her spirit.
The other two were barely beginners, having only recently surpassed the Expert threshold.
On the other hand, Coral’s military boys were near mid-tier Experts.
And then there were those two kids from the Eastern Continent—standing quietly with their arms crossed, acting all enlightened.
At first glance, they seemed on par with Coral's boys, but something was hidden beneath.
The Eastern Continent is known for its efforts to conceal strength.
It was fascinating.
“When did you arrive, Brother?”
“Since things looked like they were about to get ugly.”
It was a formal occasion, so Melissa didn’t call me by name, but she gave me a slightly stiff look.
Come to think of it, she’d been beaten down by Luna in training and had been through all sorts of harsh treatment from me too.
It made sense that she lacked confidence.
“So you’re Leon Cascadia. Well, at least you didn’t run away in fear of the rumors being disproven…”
Gordon Roswell, adjusting his military uniform, sneered.
“Judging by that pitiful aura, you’re clearly nothing special.”
Just then, the girl from the Eastern Continent’s pair darkened her expression and stood up.
The boy who had remained silently beside her called out,
“Hwayoung, where are you going?”
“I told you. The girl has something else to attend to.”
“...Very well.”
He looked at me with a complicated expression, then closed his eyes in silence.
“So? Are we doing this or not?”
“Brother, are you allowed to make that kind of call on your own?”
“I’ve been given full authority by Her Highness the Princess. Like it or not, I’m the one in charge.”
Which meant, even though many people were here, everyone had to follow my decisions.
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