Chapter 179
Egg Crest
Translator : PolterGlast
Bane was in
the mansion's great hall, seemingly in the middle of some work, but the moment
he saw me, he stopped his hands and bowed deeply. His reaction is always over
the top, but what scares me a little is that lately, I’m finding myself getting
used to this kind of treatment.
"Graham-sama!
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to come here! What brings you to us
this time?"
"I have
something I wanted you to take a look at, Bane, so I came to visit. It’s
about the egg Yoru is holding; can you figure anything out about
it?"
"Ooh. That is quite a large egg
...I see. A somewhat special magic has been cast upon it."
"Magic has been
cast on it? I don't sense any magic power at all, though."
"Because a
crest is inscribed on the inside, the magic is set to activate the moment the
egg cracks. Therefore, you will not feel any magic power until it breaks."
It wasn't the answer
I was looking for, but apparently, a crest was inscribed inside this egg. I
don't know how Bane noticed
it, but his knowledge of magic runs deeper than mine.
My magic usage is
largely based on instinct. In addition to his long years of experience, Bane's
knowledge of magic deepened instantly after undergoing racial evolution.
Basically, I can trust what Bane says.
"There's magic
like that? I've never even heard of it."
"In the human
world, it seems to be used frequently as a Slave Crest. It causes magic
to activate in response to a specific action."
"I see. So this
time, the mechanism is set so the magic activates upon the action of the egg
cracking?"
"Rather than
that, it activates if the crest is physically broken—that is the trigger. I
believe this usage of the crest is only possible because it is a breakable
egg."
It was quite
intriguing and I wanted to hear more details, but since we didn't have the
luxury of chatting in front of an egg that looked like it could crack at any
moment, I decided to move the conversation forward.
"Magic really
is profound. So, what happens when this magic activates?"
"I won't know
the specifics without seeing the actual crest, but it is likely set to
detonate. I believe the intention was to kill the parent along with this
egg."
Detonate... huh. In
other words, whoever turned the Red Wyvern into a Dragon Zombie
originally planned to dispose of the Dragon Zombie as well.
Thinking about it
that way, it seems better to assume the plague in Klingark was
accidental rather than intentional. They simply turned it into a Dragon
Zombie for some experiment, and that Dragon Zombie just happened to
spread a plague to Klingark.
This line of
thinking is reasonable given the high probability that the Dragon Zombie—the
root cause—would have died even if we hadn't defeated it. It also fits with the
fact that no traces of the culprit remained and their intent was entirely
unclear. ...Although, utilizing the Red Wyvern's instinct to protect its
child even after zombification in order to dispose of it—even if it is a
monster—leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
"Everything
makes sense now. By the way, it looks like it's about to hatch soon; will it be
okay?"
"No problem.
Even if it detonates, I can contain the explosion, and I can also dispel the
crest. ...Do you have a desire to save it, Graham-sama?"
Considering the Dragon
Zombie's feelings, I feel like I want to protect the child, but what's
being born is a Red Wyvern. It might be fine while it's small, but
there's a possibility I'll have to subjugate the born Red Wyvern later,
just as the parent became a target for subjugation.
Thinking logically,
crushing it while it's in the egg is probably the correct answer... But
emotionally, the desire to protect the child has grown strong.
"If it is born,
can you look after it, Bane?"
"Yes. If it is
your order, Graham-sama, it is possible for me to take care of it. No one inhabits the Northern
Mountains, so it could even be a candidate for a new leader there."
"Then, please
dispel the crest. And I want to leave the born Red Wyvern to you, Bane."
"As you wish.
However, if I cannot control it... I may have to dispose of it."
"Yeah. I don't
mind."
After bowing to me, Bane
held his hand out toward the black egg and chanted a spell. I didn't know what
spell he cast, but it seemed the dispelling was finished in less than a few
seconds.
"It is done.
Now we just wait for it to be born... but it seems it's coming out now."
"Yeah. The
crack in the egg is getting bigger."
As the four of
us—me, Bane, Yoru, and Aka—watched over it, the egg
cracked open with a snap. Considering the timing, if I had stopped in Biodasdal,
it would have detonated, which sends a chill down my spine.
What emerged from
the egg was... a small black dragon. Because the egg was large, its body was
already reasonably big, but it waddled around and had a very adorable face.
"Is this
monster a Red Wyvern? It looks black to me."
"Since it was
just born, it's not strange for it to be dark... but it does seem black for a Red
Wyvern."
"Well, I guess
we just have to wait for it to grow."
The baby dragon
walked over to me and rubbed its body against mine. Perhaps it mistook me for
its parent; the behavior was extremely cute.
I instinctively wanted to give it a name, but fearing what might happen if I named a dragon, I held back and resolved not to name it. After watching the dragon child for a while, I left its care to Bane and the others, and decided to return to Biodasdal.
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