I Became the Patron of Villains

132. Egg (2)

The black eyes floating in the air had not actually escaped from the otherworld.

They only appeared when Alon used magic.

Nevertheless, the dragon spirit could perceive the eyes because its level of existence was far superior to that of other creatures.

It was the same for the Shadow Dragon exposed to blood.

Even though it was called a Shadow Dragon, its essence was still that of a Dragon.

Therefore, the Shadow Dragon ended up confirming the eyes that should have been in the hidden world.

Having just been born, it hadn’t yet realized that it shouldn’t perceive such things.

Because of that.

Shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver────

The Shadow Dragon froze in place.

It instinctively realized.

The eyes it saw before it were fundamentally different from itself.

An existence so vast that it couldn’t be expressed as merely a difference in rank.

And that absurd difference in rank restored the wisdom and intelligence of the Dragon that had disappeared after consuming human blood.

Despite being newly born, the Shadow Dragon began to think for itself.

How to survive here.

In the situation where black shadows were dripping down, the first thing the Shadow Dragon thought of was ‘Should I fight?’

No matter how much wisdom and intelligence had returned, its violent nature was still intact.

But it soon abandoned that thought.

Even if it fought, if its master, who had imbued it with magic, possessed such a powerful being… there was no chance of winning.

The Shadow Dragon continued to think.

And it found the method with the highest probability of survival in the situation where it was being openly provoked.

That was submission.

As soon as the Shadow Dragon made its decision, it began to scan its master’s office.

Despite being newly born, it knew that to submit to an overwhelming power, it had to gain the favor of that power as much as possible.

The Shadow Dragon began to roll its dozens of red eyes.

Soon, in its sight, it saw a statue placed on one side of Alon’s bedroom desk.

The cat statue that Alon had received as a gift from the head of the Sorigirum merchant group earlier.

[…….]

The Shadow Dragon’s eyes gleamed.

And so, the next day.

“……?”

The first thing Alon saw when he woke up in the morning was a black cat sleeping on his body.

####

Some time later.

“So… that is a dragon…?”

“Yes.”

A cat – no, a shadow dragon – was wandering around the office with an intrigued expression.

“…That looks like a cat, though?”

“Indeed.”

“…How does that look like a dragon?”

Evan’s face was filled with doubt.

But only for a moment, as Evan noticed that the silhouette of the black cat was shimmering like a mirage.

“…It doesn’t look ordinary, but still, it looks more like a cat than a dragon. How is that a shadow dragon?”

“Because the egg disappeared.”

“…Egg?”

Evan now realized that the black egg behind Alon had completely vanished.

“Ah- I see.”

The shadow dragon, with its red eyes, wandered around, paying no mind to the two people.

“It really just looks like a cat.”

“It doesn’t look like an ordinary cat, though.”

“…That’s true. Its fur is fluttering like that.”

Alon, though expressionless, felt a strange sensation inside.

‘…It is definitely a shadow dragon.’

Alon was certain because of the cat’s red eyes.

But the reason for his doubt was the very nature of the ‘shadow dragon.’

‘…Even if it looks like a cat, it doesn’t seem particularly violent.’

As far as he knew, the shadow dragon would massacre all living beings around it with immense power the moment it was born.

But the shadow dragon in front of him showed no such signs. Rather, it was…

Tap, tap-!

The way it gently tapped the books on the floor with its front paw,

…looked more trivial than terrifying to anyone.

After pondering for a while, Alon slowly called out to the shadow dragon.

“……Kkamang.”

[Kyuu?]

As soon as Alon called, the shadow dragon turned around and came running, panting.

“……Kkamang?”

“It’s a name.”

Evan, thinking it was an unusually sweet name, looked at him anew.

“……Isn’t it a bit odd for a shadow dragon’s name? And besides, its cry… it’s not a cat.”

Evan felt somewhat uneasy, but the small shadow dragon, about the size of a kitten, reached Alon.

‘……It listens well.’

Alon looked at the shadow dragon with an even more peculiar expression.

No matter how he looked at it, this shadow dragon was showing a completely different appearance from the descriptions he had read about ‘dragon eggs’ or the information he had heard from Rine.

For a moment, he wondered if it was really a different being, as Evan had said, but soon shook his head.

This creature that looked like a cat was definitely a shadow dragon.

He could confirm its unusual, extraordinary nature right away.

“Hmm.”

Alon, who had been quietly watching the shadow dragon, lifted it by its armpits with both hands.

Then.

The cat’s body stretched.

“……What???”

Evan’s bewildered voice was heard.

It was natural.

Even though Alon had lifted it with his hands, the cat’s legs, which should have been off the ground, remained attached to the ground, and only its body lengthened.

In an instant, the shadow dragon grew from the size of a forearm to Alon’s waist.

The creature, noticing this, belatedly lifted its legs off the ground.

From noble mtl dot com

Swoosh.

……Thus, the shadow dragon was lifted into Alon’s hands a moment late.

When Alon put the shadow dragon back on the ground and lifted it again, its body stretched once more.

After repeating this several times, the small creature, gradually catching on, began to retract its body more quickly.

“……It is a shadow dragon, after all.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

The two were certain.

[Kyuu?]

The creature, lifted up, tilted its head cutely.

Alon, who had been quietly watching, soon put it down and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d read the letter once more, just in case. I pondered over it for a long time after yesterday’s contents and then fell asleep. I’ll fetch the letter, so keep an eye on things.”

“Yes.”

Tap, tap-

[Kyuu?]

####

After Alon left.

Evan looked at the cat, or rather, the creature Alon called Kkamang, with a peculiar expression.

As soon as Alon disappeared, Kkamang’s red eyes began to wander around, occasionally tapping interesting objects with its front paw, which even caught the attention of Evan, who was usually indifferent to pets.

In fact, Kkamang’s appearance was somewhat suspicious for a cat, but even considering that, it was quite cute.

So, Evan, like Alon, lifted Kkamang up.

“Oh.”

He couldn’t help but marvel as Kkamang’s body stretched out. It seemed to stretch endlessly, almost twice as long as when Alon had lifted it earlier.

Though it was a bit strange, the cute, wide-eyed gaze made him purely admire it.

“…Huh?”

Evan saw it.

Swish-!

Where there had been nothing before, red eyes began to appear all over the long body.

And that wasn’t all.

In the middle of the long body with dozens of eyes, a huge mouth with sharp teeth appeared.

Kreeeeeee-!

Evan, staring blankly at Kkamang, who was making a bizarre sound with its mouth wide open towards him, quietly lowered his body and placed Kkamang on the floor.

Pitter-patter-

As if nothing had happened, Kkamang began to scan the surroundings with bright, alert eyes.

And then, immediately after.

“……Why are you doing that?”

Returning to his office, Alon petted Kkamang, who had come to rub its head against his feet, while looking puzzled at Evan, who remained kneeling.

Evan spoke.

“My lord.”

“?”

“……It seems that it really is a Shadow Dragon.”

“……Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s, quite, terrifying.”

He answered in a daze.

Alon, wondering what he was talking about, looked at Kkamang.

[Kyuu?]

Kkamang tilted its head, looking at Alon with eyes slightly larger than those of other cats.

####

Some time later.

Alon decided to defer Kkamang’s disposal.

There were two reasons for this: the first was that Kkamang was unexpectedly gentle and followed Alon well.

Of course, Evan seemed to avoid approaching Kkamang from a certain point onward.

And the second reason was a letter from Rine, which mentioned that if they succeeded in subduing the Shadow Dragon and forming a bond, there would be no need to dispose of it.

“……”

Alon looked down at Kkamang, who was napping on his lap, and then at the small mark drawn on his right wrist.

A mark that hadn’t existed before the Shadow Dragon was born.

This mark, which appeared right after Kkamang was born, was undoubtedly a subjugation seal.

In other words, the probability of Kkamang being a threat to Alon had disappeared.

However.

‘……When did this happen?’

Alon couldn’t figure out when the seal had appeared.

Whether from his prior game knowledge or the magical knowledge he had learned in this world, he knew that some preparation was always necessary for a subjugation seal.

However, Alon soon pushed that worry to a familiar corner.

After all, the point was that Kkamangi was no longer a threat to him.

As for the engraving, there was nothing he could find out by thinking about it anyway.

‘…I should ask Rine when I stop by the border.’

Having organized his thoughts, Alon said,

“Evan.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“Let’s move now.”

“Ah, to the border?”

“Yes. Since all the work is done.”

He spoke to Evan.

“That’s true. But didn’t you say you wanted to research the Shadow Dragon a bit more? The magic, I mean.”

“I can look into it while we move.”

“Then I will prepare.”

Watching Evan leave the room, Alon lowered his gaze.

Kkamangi was still sleeping.

‘…Union of Shadows, huh. What could it be?’

Alon quietly pondered the phrase written when he obtained the dragon egg, finding it intriguing.

When Alon was about to leave for the border,

Yuna, who had finally been invited to the long-dreamed-of Blue Moon meeting, suddenly thought of Hidan.

To be precise, she recalled the words of her inseparable friend and comrade, who had been active with her as a Blue Moon for over ten years: ‘Don’t get your hopes up too much.’

‘…What?’

Surely, Hidan had been full of admiration at first. Hadn’t he boasted excitedly about being able to attend the meeting?

But the memory of Hidan’s worn-out eyes from last time was fleeting.

Yuna entered the meeting on time.

There, the five moons, whom anyone affiliated with the Blue Moon would admire, were all sitting loftily.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Yuna, feeling tense, bowed her head as she sensed the atmosphere of the meeting she had secretly envisioned.

‘Why did they tell me not to expect anything? It’s exactly as I imagined.’

She glanced at Hidan, who was sitting in a corner with a calm expression, and felt puzzled.

For about 30 minutes.

[……Dismissed, we can’t erect the statue.]

[Why not?]

[If it had saved us from a crisis like in the Merkiland territory, maybe, but if we erect it recklessly, it will be noticeable, won’t it?]

[So, if we are saved by the Great Moon during a crisis like in the Merkiland territory, it’s fine. Hidan, how many abyssal bodies have we retrieved?]

[What are you planning?]

[First, we’ll hold onto them for a while to create plausibility-]

Watching Jawol nonchalantly spout strange words.

[……??]

She realized that something was off.