“Whatever na it is, Han Yujin would want to give it.”
“So just so advice, then.”
To free it from color and species.
“I’ve thought hard, but for a pink fairy dragon, nothing cos to mind beyond ‘Cherry.’ And I don’t really want a na that’s totally irrelevant. What else is there for ‘pink’ in foreign languages besides pink?”
“Rose, Rosa, Rosavi.”
“...Isn’t that just ‘rose’?”
“Yes. It ans ‘rosy-colored.’”
Roses are normally red, aren’t they?
“Evelyn nad her Pegasus sothing unrelated, though. ‘Bare.’”
“That’s mischievous.”
“...Pardon? I’m not blaming Evelyn, but...”
“You’re talking about Hunter Miller, not Han Yujin.”
Huh? Evelyn? What’s that supposed to an?
“She said it had no aning, but could it have a bad one? That na?”
“No—probably an anagram of Minerva.”
She kindly added that Minerva is the goddess Athena of wisdom and war. No aning, she said—but it’s actually well thought out.
“You can na it like that. It fits a companion Beastmaster, too....”
Naming it after a god seems fine. Co to think of it, when Yerim first chose an image, she went with Hers.
“Any gods that co to mind for pink?”
“Generally... Eros or Cupid.”
The baby angel with a bow. It fits, but the na feels off. anwhile, the helicopter landed at the Sesung Guild. The collapsed building had long since been cleared and was under reconstruction. The financial and operational losses must’ve been huge.
“Director Han~!”
Kang Soyeong, waiting on the rooftop helipad, waved both arms at . Her bright smile was dazzling.
“You brought your water dragon, right?”
Ignoring her guild leader, Soyeong asked .
“Yes. Yerim’s Beast.”
“You said you have eggs? Could they be dragon eggs?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can you hatch them? It’s not too hard to get eggs from a brood of broodmistress dragons. Baby dragons are rare, but eggs are less so—I even have so.”
“...What?”
“I bought them, and carried them along just in case. I’ve got one Thornwing Broodmother egg, one Parpala Plains Dragon egg, and a Sixwing Frostwyrm egg.”
Even if dragon eggs are more common than hatchlings, three dragon eggs? The broodmother and the other two must be A-Rank or higher.
“I haven’t tried hatching them. I don’t know how. Given my skill attributes, I doubt I could hatch them.”
Because keywords can’t apply to eggs. Hearing this, Soyeong looked so disappointed she seed about to cry.
“But if your skill grade increases, might you be able to hatch eggs then? Raise your grade!”
...It’s L-Rank. I tried to reassure her I’d still care for the eggs. What should I do—maybe brood them for her?
“I think I might have to hand the Sesung Guild leadership over to Han Yujin.”
Seong Hyunjae, pitiful as always, said this. Soyeong jumped back in alarm.
“What are you saying, Guild Leader!”
Even so, I guess she still trusts him as guild leader—
“If you hand it over, it should be to .”
—No?
“In about ten years. I plan to play for another decade.”
Soyeong laughed, saying she still loved her freedom. I suppose it ant she ultimately preferred Seong Hyunjae as leader for now.
“Anyway, Director Han, if you can hatch them, please take good care of my babies!”
“Yes, of course. But if there are three more, wouldn’t that be too many?”
“I’m capable of feeding that many!”
“Don’t worry,” Soyeong said confidently. Is she planning to form a dragon squad? With four dragons, she could clear S-Rank dungeons solo.
Soyeong bounced ahead, guiding down. I envied her excitent.
“It’s still autumn, so it might be a bit chilly for you in the garden. Be careful not to catch a cold. There’s an empty reception room, or a eting room.”
“Anywhere quiet will do.”
“For the quietest spot, it’d be my house. Shall I take you there?”
Seong Hyunjae nodded. I felt a bit guilty arriving empty-handed.
“This ti it’s not inside the guild building.”
Soyeong lowered her voice.
“It’s modest. Much smaller now.”
If it’s an external residence, is it a standalone house? Or a penthouse? There’s still a portal connection to the Sesung Guild. But unlike before, this ti we passed through three portals.
“Looks like it’s a bit far from Sesung.”
“Portal range is within one kiloter.”
“Even that makes it hard to find.”
They probably disguised it, and the area around Sesung Guild has many upscale residential districts—an S-Rank guild premium. Much has been rebuilt, too.
After the third portal, a wide foyer appeared.
“Excuse us~. Next ti I’ll bring toilet paper.”
From the entrance alone it didn’t seem modest, but I wanted to see how well it was maintained. We entered through the door. Through an unexpectedly ordinary corridor, we reached the living room...
“‘Modest,’ my foot.”
I froze at the threshold. What is this floor?
“Were you a fish in a past life? Maybe a rmaid?”
There’s no rule they were always human. I stared at the living room floor in disbelief.
The giant aquarium was gone. Instead, water filled the space beneath the floor, as if the house were built over a lake. The transparent barrier item that had ford the aquarium now covered the living room floor. Fish swam right below my feet.
“There wasn’t space for an aquarium in a small house.”
“Why not just remove it? And what’s that?”
One side of the spacious living room was glass, revealing a huge greenhouse. Another item, perhaps? The garden was entirely covered in glass to form a greenhouse.
“There wasn’t space for an indoor garden in a small house.”
“A garden and an aquarium aren’t necessities! Why did you bring everything?”
And what about the transparent floor? It’s too clear—I felt uneasy underfoot. I hurried to sit on the sofa. Seong Hyunjae placed the Pegasus contract, given by Soyeong, on the table. The basic terms matched those for Cot.
“A Pegasus’s price was always considerable. Even an untrainable young one would cost over one billion, and a tad adult mid-level was several tens of billions.”
Billions sounds like a lot, but compared to racehorses costing tens to hundreds of billions, it’s not that outrageous. A winged horse is popular but rare—often unavailable to buy even with money.
“Let’s consider it A-Rank for now, with an additional fee if it grows to S-Rank. How does that sound?”
“That’s reasonable.”
“I’m really giving you a great deal. Appreciate the partner you’ve got.”
Even if you have the money, you can’t get one. Grinning, I signed the contract. I really am soft-hearted.
“If you want a na related to its color and species, how about整理ing how you think about changelings first?”
Under my na Seong Hyunjae said, “整理 how you feel.”
“How do I feel? Honestly, I feel sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Yes. I feel like I brought it into existence for my own desires.”
That was the original purpose. It was even a tool to apply the Last Repaynt. I once hoped it’d resemble Diarma.
“You an, for the finale.”
Double power, thanks to the Transcendent’s magic stone. If it bore great strength, it could stop the Root from devouring the world and help find Yoo Hyun.
“The finale, huh.”
“Although a fragnt of Seong Hyunjae was in it, the main stone was Diarma’s—Transcendent’s. I thought if used well, it could end everything.”
I couldn’t share the full backstory. Saying it out loud made my chest heavy. Ultimately, I had planned to kill the changeling. For my sister. Though the damned lizard hatchling murdered her, the changeling was innocent.
“Yet the changeling helped . If it weren’t for it, I couldn’t have stopped the King of the Harmless. It seed to know my thoughts.”
I recalled the snow-touched tree. The place I was ant to reach last.
“For Han Yujin, the changeling was the finale.”
“The finale... yes. It could’ve been.”
It was born to help achieve my desired ending. But I chose to keep living. Instead of finishing with my sister, I continued as is.
“‘Continuity,’ then.”
What I desire is—
“It’d be Han Gyul.”
All as one forever. No one left behind, to the very end.
“So, ‘Seong Han-gyul.’”
Seong Hyunjae said shalessly. My neck stiffened in disbelief.
“My share is next to nothing, so don’t try to claim it. It’s just ‘Han-gyul.’”
Exactly!
A voice echoed. The pink fairy dragon—Han-gyul—circled my neck, settled on my shoulder, and shouted.
Dad, why are you with that thing again!
The changeling glared, tail flicking angrily. Seong Hyunjae reached out to it. His round golden eyes narrowed, and the pink shimr of his scales drained. Like a skin-color change. The changeling bit Seong Hyunjae’s hand.
I hate you!
The tallic-silver hatchling nagged at his hand, mumbling. Seong Hyunjae gently shook his hand, checking if it hurt. It was said to have no attack power.
“Don’t bully the child.”
“It’s just pretending to be young.”
“It’s not even a year old! Co here, Gyul.”
The changeling growled and returned to my arms. Its scales turned pink again. ...Does it really think I like pink? Diarma, lizard species, Seong Hyunjae—none wore pink.
Let’s go ho, Dad!
“All right, all right. Let’s go. Are you done sleeping?”
Not yet. But you nad yourself, so.
That makes things easier. I should’ve nad it sooner... though it would’ve been ‘Pinkie.’ Actually, Pinkie wouldn’t be bad.
Go away!
Han-gyul trembled his wings like an angry kitten, glaring at Seong Hyunjae. Why did he hate him so much?
“Don’t be so harsh, Gyul. He’s not so bad. He’s much better these days.”
No, Dad! You just don’t know!
“What? What do I not know?”
That... well...!
Gyul faltered mid-sentence, then pressed his little forepaw over his mouth.
Better not say.
“What is it? It’s okay, you can tell .”
No. Dad, watch out for him. He’s... really dangerous to you. Let’s go to Uncle instead!
The changeling tapped my shoulder and arm, urging on.
“I can’t handle him. We should head back now.”
“Leaving so soon after arriving? How disappointing.”
“My ho isn’t going anywhere. Next ti I’ll bring a housewarming gift—”
No!
Should I sneak away?
“This place is cramped; I recomnd coming alone next ti.”
No, Dad!
“All right, all right.”
I soothed Gyul as we moved toward the entrance. Watching Seong Hyunjae following us, Gyul narrowed his eyes.
Dad, he’s following.
“Han Yujin’s stat is F, Seong Han-gyul.”
It’s just Han-gyul!
“That ans I have to protect you.”
At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Gyul’s wings fluttered in frustration. The changeling has no real power to protect . Boosting my stats would be too burdenso.
...I really don’t like him.
He reminded of my forr self. Even without shared blood, he’s got ‘Dad’ written all over him.
Back at Sesung Guild, Soyeong’s eyes widened in delight.
“There’s that fairy dragon! Hi, I’m Kang Soyeong.”
Hello, I’m Han-gyul.
“Seriously! So cute! Director Han! Can’t you stay ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a bit longer?”
Unlike on the helipad, Soyeong now trailed , eager to move to the breeding house. Since she intended to see the water dragon anyway, we returned together. At the breeding house, Seok Simyeong awaited .
Now to na the breeding house.
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