“Nice greeting.”
...This bastard?
“Sorry, sorry. Don't glare at me like you're going to kill me. It was a joke! A joke! Hey!”
When Yeon-woo grabbed a wooden spear and rushed at him as if to strike, the guy ran away with a mysterious footwork technique and then spread his wings and soared into the sky. That, that, cowardly bastard! Don't run away to the sky!! Humans have always fought you from a disadvantageous position!!
Naturally, after chasing and being chased for a while, both Namgung Seong and I ended up sprawled on the ground. Of course, it was a bit much to use magic power for such a prank.
Jegal Seongryong, who had been calmly watching the scene, spoke with an utterly pathetic expression,
“You two get along well. Should I congratulate ‘Young Master’ Namgung on finally making a true friend?”
“What, man? Call me 'great warrior.' Are you sulking because you weren't included?”
“He's sulking. This guy's sulking, dude.”
Namgung Seong and Yeon-woo started giggling while facing each other. As if to break the mood, Jegal Seongryong sighed softly and said,
“If I stay among such foolish people, I'll become a fool myself. Let's get down to business. Choi Yeon-woo, you.”
“What, secret talk? Should I leave for a moment?”
Namgung Seong, who had been gauging the mood from the side, said that.
Where was he supposed to go after leaving his family's private training room? Jegal Seongryong looked at Yeon-woo with a gaze that said he would withhold judgment. Yeon-woo thought for a moment and shook his head.
It would become known soon anyway. The upcoming curriculum included sparring and gate field exploration.
Honestly, he thought it would be revealed within a month. It would be strange if it wasn't. There were so many skilled teachers here.
Of course, he had prepared excuses to use until then, but if they directly asked about the dragon heart, he couldn't give a perfectly convincing explanation.
“Well, honestly, I know it might sound crazy... but I feel a sense of kinship with you. I don't even know what I'm talking about. Did you perhaps eat something like a dragon's inner core?”
As expected of the Jegal family. He came up with the closest answer to the truth, even if it was wrong. That was the excuse he had prepared.
The problem was that once Shar hatched, he would have to carry her around openly, and he was a bit worried about that time.
He was also worried about what would happen if the truth came out later and they accused him of lying, but... it was also true that he had to hide it. It was a cowardly thing to say, but he just hoped his friends would understand why he had hidden it.
“When I was young, I accidentally ate the crystal of a lesser dragon-type monster. Maybe that's why?”
Seongryong nodded, half-believing and half-doubting, as if he thought it was possible.
Like Sigurd from Norse mythology who ate the heart of a dragon and gained immense power, wasn't it a common theme in myths and legends?
Moreover, crystals and inner cores were formed within the hearts of monsters, so their rarity was beyond words. That's because it was extremely difficult to kill powerful monsters like lesser dragon-types without exploiting their weaknesses.
Of course, it wasn't that there were no consumers at all, but it wasn't something you would come across often, so even if Seongryong was curious, he couldn't say for sure that it wasn't true.
“Oh, that's a stroke of luck. How did you...?”
“I happened to find a corpse once. It's a bit hard to say more than that.”
“...Hmm, I see. Honestly, my curiosity isn't completely satisfied, but I understand to some extent. Thank you.”
“I've never eaten one either. What does it taste like?”
“You're curious about the taste? It tasted like chewing on rocks, why?”
When Yeon-woo said that in disbelief, Namgung Seong laughed heartily. He didn't feel guilty since it wasn't a complete lie. Of course, Jegal Seongryong was still looking at Yeon-woo as if he hadn't completely dispelled his doubts.
‘I ate one in my past life. It didn't give me any magic power.’
[Dad is a liar. He must have lied to me too.]
‘N-no way, I would never do that, right? Should we have chicken today?’
[You're so suspicious!]
He laughed off Shar's suspicions.
In the end, being a dragon contractor, which was excessively unique, attracted attention. Attention only brought benefits when you were strong enough, and for him now, such attention was nothing but poison.
It was no different from pouring a bowl of insults on Shar.
That's why he would reveal it someday, but not now. Seongryong and Namgung Seong's half-believing, half-doubting attitude was probably because they guessed as much.
“Then my business here is done, but if it's alright, can I observe your sparring? I'd like to see the skills of a student who has consumed a dragon's crystal.”
Jegal Seongryong said that while opening and closing his folding fan. It was a bit strange how he spoke as if it was already decided that Yeon-woo would spar with someone.
However, when he thought about it carefully, it was literally a decided matter. Wasn't Namgung Seong like that in his past life as well? A typical martial artist. A crazy suicidal bird who was eager to compare his skills with others.
“Then is it my turn?”
Praying that the words he was thinking wouldn't come out of his mouth, Yeon-woo nodded.
“What is it.”
“Are you, like, strong?”
Saying that, Namgung Seong curved the corners of his eyes pleasantly like crescents.
...Was it okay for the young master of the Namgung family to act so thuggish?
