Dragon Egg
“You said I need to give the egg mana, but I can’t stay here until it hatches.”
“You may take it to the place where you live. Also, even after I reincarnate, take care of me for a while.”
Is that... already decided?
I can’t say no… can I?
When I looked at Brother Chris and Brother Gerald, they nodded.
So I answered, “Understood.”
“Then I leave it to you,” said the White Dragon as its body began to collapse. Its scales overlapped and formed the shell of an egg, which then floated in the hot spring.
Brother Chris used wind magic to bring the egg to the edge of the spring, and Captain Kyle picked it up.
It was a pure white egg, about 50 to 60 cm in diameter, and its shell gleamed.
“Hardt, try giving this egg some mana,” said Brother Chris.
I held my hand over the egg and infused it with mana.
It started draining my mana at an incredible speed.
That’s too much, I thought angrily—then it stopped.
Wait, did it just respond to my thoughts? No way...
“Young master Chrisford, it seems there are White Dragon scales at the bottom of the hot spring,” reported Captain Kyle.
“The dragon said it was Hardt’s reward for raising it, so let’s take them.”
That’s not right. It’s the reward for helping lift the curse, Brother Chris.
“How are we supposed to carry such a big dragon egg back?”
“Can’t you fit it into Atre’s baby sling?”
“Brother Gerald, the egg is bigger than the sling.”
“I don’t mind carrying it myself, but… will that work?”
When Brother Gerald took it from me, he said it was heavy. He asked how I had carried it so easily.
When I took it back from him and passed it to Brother Chris, he also said it was heavy.
Others tried holding it too, but they all said it was barely manageable and not something they could walk around carrying.
Captain Kyle also commented it felt heavier than when he held it earlier.
Why?
“Maybe the White Dragon did something so only Hardt can carry it,” Brother Chris suggested.
“I think you’re right,” said Brother Gerald. “Hardt, you’ve got to take responsibility and carry it back to the mansion.”
No waaaay...
Why does the youngest one here always get the hardest job?
Since carrying it by hand would be too difficult, I cut up a sheet, wrapped the dragon egg in it, tied the ends together, and made a sling to wear diagonally over my shoulder.
While we were struggling with the dragon egg, the fluffballs were relaxing and enjoying the hot spring.
We made our way back to the shallow clearing via the World Tree.
There, we said goodbye to Ripka and Bianca’s families. Since they’d helped us again, I asked Atre to find out what they wanted as thanks. They asked for a new curry dish.
By “new dish,” did they mean curry rice?
So we agreed to bring a new dish during our next World Tree visit.
How did they even know about curry rice? The monster network is terrifying!
Ripka and Bianca’s families specifically requested curry rice.
We’ll need polished rice, so I’ll have to ask Maria for a rice polisher. Ah, but I should check with the family first, or rather, ask them for help.
When I asked Raul about the rice crop, he said it was growing well.
He told me they had planted everything we brought.
If we want to serve rice before our next visit with Ripka and Bianca’s families, I’ll have to accelerate the growth of some fields with my blessing as the Plant God and harvest them early… or we won’t make it in time.
Back at the mansion, Brother Chris reported to Father in his study.
“So this is the dragon egg and its scales,” Father murmured.
Only one scale and the egg had been placed on the table. A single scale was about the same size as the egg itself.
“When will the dragon reincarnate?”
“That’s unknown. However, it said it needed Hardt’s mana. It gave the scales as compensation.”
“Brother Chris, it was for lifting the curse.”
“The curse was lifted thanks to your power. And helping the dragon reincarnate is also your duty, so it’s not wrong.”
“Fifteen dragon scales, huh. What should we do with them?”
“We brothers will each get one, and my school friends each get one. One for the beastkin, and three for the knights—ten in total. The question is what to do with the remaining five.”
“Isn’t one scale for the beastkin a bit stingy?” asked Brother Gerald.
“They’re also getting all the magic stones from the trolls they defeated. Those alone should fetch a considerable sum. If we give too much, they might feel uncomfortable accepting it.”
“Your plan sounds reasonable. As for the Knights Order, we’ll exchange the three dragon scales for funds and rebuild the knight barracks. Naturally, the members will also get bonuses. Three scales to the royal family, and the remaining two to the Westland family.”
“Will your friends’ families be okay? They all bought that recovery potion last time. Won’t people get noisy again now that they’re getting dragon scales?”
“They joined us in the depths of the Great Forest knowing the risks. Compensation is necessary. And this is a good chance to involve them and reduce the pressure on our family.”
Ahh, so that’s what this is about—gaining more allies for our family.
What do you think about this chapter?
