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Children are said to grow up in the blink of an eye.

This saying is no exception when it comes to dragons.

“…Hey, is this thing really a week old?”

Even Ophelia, who had taken in the creature, was astounded by the dramatic growth of Black Dragon Blackie. It had already surpassed the size of an adult man, and now Wuzmund had effectively lost possession of his room. He was practically living as a tenant in Blackie’s space.

“I can’t live like this!”

Wuzmund looked ready to block the doorway, and I had to rush to reassure him, grabbing a bottle of alcohol from the storeroom.

“Do you know how insane it is to be pushed out of bed every night? At this rate, I might get eaten!”

“It won’t eat you.”

“I could die from rage!”

“Um….”

In any case, Blackie’s growth was sure to bring us nothing but disaster.

However, the little guy was clever.

He was thoroughly aware of the hierarchy.

[Kiing, kiing.]

“See? Blackie’s a good boy. Wuzmund, you’re being too harsh!”

Under the table, or rather, lifting up the table, Blackie was rubbing his forehead against Ophelia’s wrist, clearly grasping who wielded power aboard this vessel.

That attitude wasn’t lost on me either.

As I fixated my gaze on Blackie, the sly dragon approached and began cutely nuzzling against my leg.

Ophelia glared at me, clearly annoyed, but I gently stroked Blackie’s horn.

And he started purring, sounding as if he were a cat.

….

Seeing this, I began to understand Ophelia’s point a bit.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say he was cute, but the little one was surprisingly smart and endearing.

“…Well, for now, since he’s family, Wuzmund should be the one to give in.”

“Hero! You can’t…!”

Wuzmund shouted in betrayal, but Blackie roared even louder.

*

Hell Duke Derabilice had received word just minutes ago that Black Water Elgore had arrived at his castle.

This elusive pirate often changed his whereabouts as he pleased, making it difficult even for his subordinates to track him.

In the end, the Hell Duke’s demon minions were the first to take swift action to receive him.

“Elgore, why are you so far from the East?”

“Haha, you’ve really lost your touch, brother.”

“I’m not your brother. You’re not my little brother. That useless title holds no meaning between us.”

“That’s true. But aren’t we more closely bonded than that?”

Derabilice sighed.

It was pointless to reason with this idiot.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I heard the hero has emerged and came to check it out.”

“To fight?”

“Exactly.”

Elgore cracked his knuckles and grinned. Each impact sent shockwaves around the vicinity, rattling the furniture. The candlesticks and glass goblets rolled to the floor without resistance. I twitched my eyebrows in displeasure, but Elgore didn’t care at all.

“So, brother, where exactly is that guy? I was thinking of heading over to break his skull, but it appears he’s stranded on some isolated island.”

“Stranded?”

“Oh, would you like to hear the story?”

Elgore’s eyes lit up, as if he had finally remembered something.

He proceeded to tell how his pirate crew had shipwrecked on a peculiar island and encountered strange companions, even coming face to face with a Black Dragon.

At first, Derabilice listened with indifference, chuckling when Elgore mentioned the Black Dragon, but….

“So, what I’m saying is, that human woman is taming dragons. Isn’t that hilarious?”

“…Human woman?”

Upon hearing about the woman who tamed the dragon and that the knight guarding her wielded a golden sword, his thoughts took a different turn.

Derabilice grasped his trembling glass and asked,

“How many of those humans were there?”

“Ah… I can’t recall that.”

“No, was there a man with a tattoo on his cheek?”

“There was. A dainty guy with a needle-like sword.”

“…Was there an elf?”

“There was a strange elf girl. She was shooting arrows like she was going to lay eggs. Quite ridiculous.”

“Did the woman you mentioned wear white with golden embroidery?”

“Um, do you know her?”

“…Finally, did the knight with the golden sword have faded blonde hair?”

“That… sounds right?”

Seeing Elgore act confused, Derabilice hurled his glass against the opposite wall.

Crash. The glass shattered, scattering fragments around. But Derabilice was too furious to care about that dissonance.

Bang! He slammed the table and shouted.

“You idiot! You didn’t even realize you were looking at the hero’s party!”

“…Hero’s party?”

“Yes! The humans you met were the hero and his companions! Damn it! You brainless fool!”

Derabilice’s words made Elgore blink a few times, recalling that indeed, those humans hadn’t flinched at the sight of a demon like him.

At the same time, they showed no fear even when confronted by the Black Dragon.

“…Is that so?”

Elgore was staggered by feelings of betrayal.

At that moment, the table was turned over.

It was Elgore, not Derabilice, who did it.

“Those bastards! How dare they deceive me!”

It was a one-sided misunderstanding, but it was enough to ignite the fire within Elgore.

*

“Blackie, don’t you think your brother is the best?”

[Kiing.]

Blackie placed his huge claws on my knees and began to pout.

As I petted the swaying head of Blackie, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Back when I was on Earth, I had a pet.

It was a cat. To be honest, it was more accurate to say I rescued it. I found it dying in front of my tiny apartment during winter, took it in, gave it something to eat, and wrapped it warmly—it never left once spring came.

Now, through Blackie, I was having a similar experience.

“Are you hungry?”

[Kiing.]

“Hmm.”

I tossed a large chunk of bread into Blackie’s mouth.

Even the way he ate was endearing.

Is this what it feels like to fall under a spell?

But soon Blackie was squirming around. One piece of bread was not going to fill him up.

While I glanced around for other food, I spotted Wuzmund.

“…Hey, aren’t you going to eat the Ear Demon?”

As soon as I said that, Blackie tilted his head.

I subtly cast a glance at Wuzmund, who then promptly left the room.

Just to clarify, Wuzmund’s bedroom had turned into a ship’s loft.

He had been completely robbed by Blackie.

“Hey.”

Meanwhile, Ophelia, sitting across the table and thoroughly clearing her plate, glared at me sharply.

“What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you tell me you were an Animal Hoarder?”

“It’s Animal Hoarder.”

“Anyway. Aren’t you now treating it like your own kid?”

“…Well, first of all, I took it in, so I’m responsible. I’m just cleaning up the mess you made by irresponsibly taking it.”

“I’m not irresponsible at all!”

Ophelia yelled back.

“I brought this kid in! So why does he like you more than me?”

Ophelia’s complaint was that fact.

Blackie was clearly more attached to me.

Even now, Blackie was lavishing affection on me, seemingly ignoring Ophelia completely.

“That’s because you’ve been stuck in your room, claiming seasickness.”

“That can’t be helped!”

“Others are avoiding Blackie because they’re scared, so in the end, I’m the one feeding him. That’s why I appear as his master in his eyes. You brought this upon yourself.”

As I said that, I tossed some bread from Ophelia’s plate to Blackie.

“That’s mine!”

“I also gave Blackie my share. If we’re going to call ourselves his masters, we ought to show that much commitment.”

I had come to understand that having a pet can be an effective way to teach a child responsibility.

Blackie was proving to be remarkably effective in instilling the value of life and the sense of responsibility in Ophelia.

“Ugh!”

Ophelia ground her teeth, and as if her seasickness was getting to her head, she shook it back and forth.

Then she stumbled over to me, pushed Blackie away, and sat on my lap.

“What’s wrong?”

“I want food too.”

“…Why are you doing things you’ve never done before?”

“Feed me.”

Suddenly, I wondered if this woman was feeling jealous of Blackie.

Thinking back, I hadn’t been able to pay attention to Ophelia while taking care of Blackie, who was suffering from seasickness.

“…Um, Ophelia, are you trying to treat me as your master?”

“Shut up!”

Before I could finish speaking, Ophelia’s head smacked my chin.

“Anyway! Since I can’t move because of my seasickness! Should I just throw up on your face?”

I absolutely refused, so I had to soothe Ophelia as if I were feeding a baby.

As we were doing so, we finally approached a trading route.

I finally realized we had entered the Ice Palace’s territory when I saw the massive chains visible above the ship.

“What is that?”

Ophelia, who was mumbling the soup I was feeding her, asked.

“I don’t know exactly, but it’s a defensive mechanism.”

“A defensive mechanism?”

“They lift those chains, and when there’s a pirate or enemy attack, the chains come down to block our passage.”

It was a historically rich analog defense system, used even during the Imjin War.

And the Ice Palace would be no exception.

Before long, we arrived at the maritime checkpoint.

“Once we pass here, we should see the Ice Palace.”

“Looks that way.”

As I listened to the navigator’s report, I gazed at the increasingly barren terrain.

Snow was sporadically piled on the peaks, and in the distance to the north, glaciers floated.

I could really feel that we had reached the north.

Naturally, with no fond memories of the north, my expression stiffened.

“…Should I get off?”

Ophelia seemed to look worried, but I wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Ugh.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just reminded of old memories.”

“…Is it about your time in the Mercenary Group?”

“Yes.”

“Was it tough?”

“I barely had time to even feel how tough it was.”

Both Laila and I trembled at the thought of the north.

In the end, due to a divine trickery, I had once again returned to the north.

Of course, I felt disgruntled.

“Stop there!”

Soon, the lights at the seaside checkpoint flickered on.

The soldier approaching us grimaced when he realized that elves were aboard the ship.

It was natural, considering elves belonged to the Great Forest, and now they were appearing on the eastern coast.

However, the soldier’s expression turned to one of horror when he discovered a more heinous entity.

“Dr, dr….”

“Dr?”

“DRAGONNNNN!”

With that, panic erupted at the checkpoint.

Soldiers dashed out wielding various cold weapons, and the balista positioned at the top of the checkpoint aimed directly at us.

And the enormous chains I mentioned earlier began slowly lowering towards us.

“…Elliot?”

I sighed and pinched Ophelia’s side, who was sitting on my lap.

“Didn’t I tell you if you couldn’t handle it, not to bring him along?”

[Kiing.]

At my feet, Blackie was crying out like a forlorn puppy.

Of course, it was a calculated cry that I knew all too well.

 

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