/

Chapter 15




Christina used a teleportation spell to bring Ferdikion, Imugi, and the young chick to the room with the cradle, then went outside.
Left alone, Ferdikion cleared his throat.
“Hey.”
“Kuu?”
‘Just ‘hey’ out of the blue?’
Ferdikion suddenly grabbed Imugi’s cheek and started toying with it.
“Piyaaak!”
While Imugi was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude and atmosphere, the white chick, seemingly sensing Imugi’s discomfort, flew up to Ferdikion’s head and pecked at it.
“Move. Don’t get so cocky.”
Ferdikion, ignoring the chick, roughly swatted it away with one hand and then firmly pressed Imugi’s bun-like cheeks with both hands.
“Kuu. Nyeuk.”
‘Let go, you bastard.’
As Imugi wriggled, Ferdikion muttered in a low voice.
“This guy, you say, is the younger brother I’m supposed to lead from now on?”
‘Talking about a younger brother. And leading him, too?’
To treat a young life like this. Now that he thought about it, the act he put on in front of Christina was just pretense.
It was even questionable whether Ferdikion could teach anything to Imugi, who had inherited Christina’s knowledge and wisdom.
Unaware of this, Ferdikion, with a twitch of his cheek, said in a domineering tone.
“Follow me and trust me alone. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re young, so don’t even think about playing tricks.”
“Kyu.”
Imugi, with a dissatisfied expression, had his scales bristle in disbelief.
Sensing his mood, the white chick raised the black feathers on its crown and puffed out its bottom.
“Piyaaak!”
The white chick glared as if ready to charge and peck at any moment.
Ferdikion glared back at the chick and growled low.
“Don’t be so cocky to the one who will become the master of fire.”
Red flames rose in Ferdikion’s eyes, along with a hint of hostility.
Chapter 15: Was it a bit too much?
The flames licking his skin seemed threatening to the baby chick.
At that moment, Imugi extended his black front paw in front of the baby chick, shielding it like a shield.
“Zaaek!?”
The baby chick, thinking Imugi’s black front paw was about to be hurt, let out a sound close to a scream.
“What are you doing!”
Seeing the flames disappear instantly at Ferdikion’s shout, Imugi muttered to himself.
‘There’s no way it’s dangerous. If you have a head, you can’t harm me in Christina’s lair.’
Not just Ferdikion, but even a more formidable being would find it impossible to harm him under Christina’s protection in the gold dragon’s lair.
Christina, who appeared considerate and gentle, was the queen of the region as the Lord of Light and an elder of the gold dragons.
Attacking a hatchling and a divine beast she protected?
Not only would it be a declaration of expulsion, but it would also be impossible to avoid her wrath.
‘Christina is being kind… but this young one is acting recklessly and will end up with a big nose.’
He held the baby chick in his arms and glared at Ferdikion as a warning.
Ferdikion, without batting an eye, said to Imugi.
“Huh, so you’re taking care of a subordinate?”
“...”
Tsk, Imugi clicked his tongue in his mind.
‘This guy isn’t getting it. Where do I start with fixing this?’
It seemed Imugi would have to be the one to teach him.
Just thinking about it made him feel annoyed.
‘Should I just ignore it and go along with it?’
It could work. Since he was the successor of the fire clan, maintaining a decent relationship could be beneficial in the future.
‘No, I can’t do that.’
Thinking about knowing him for thousands of years, the idea of just going along with it vanished instantly.
It’s not like he would only see this lazy guy once in a while.
It would be much better to correct him while he was still young.
‘First, I need to set the hierarchy straight.’
Imugi looked at Ferdikion with a subtle aura of killing intent.
The heavy and oppressive presence, as if his nearly thousand-year existence was materializing, gradually intensified, making the temperature in the room feel suddenly cold.
Ferdikion, sensing the danger instinctively, tensed his body.
But then, he seemed to be angry with himself.
‘I’m… feeling pressure from a hatchling who’s not even a year old?’
Despite his anger, he felt suffocated by the sensation of being pressed down.
But then, the killing intent disappeared instantly.
“Huh!”
Ferdikion gasped for breath. He looked at Imugi, trying to catch his breath.
It was hard to believe that a hatchling not even a year old was ‘looking after’ him.
‘This should be enough.’
In front of the confused Ferdikion, Imugi calmly placed the baby chick on his shoulder.
Ferdikion felt a mix of anger and confusion, but the fact that he was intimidated by a hatchling who was only a month old was bewildering.
“You… what are you? How can you emit such an aura?”
“...Ku.”
To Imugi, it looked like a frightened animal barking to prevent being attacked.
With a clear look of wariness, Imugi shrugged and stroked the baby chick’s head with his front paw.
‘...Was it a bit too much?’
For someone who acted so arrogant, his mental strength was weak.
He wondered if he should have been more careful with the intensity.
‘Even though he’s younger than me, if he gets this intimidated, what will happen?’
It was a natural outcome.
Imugi had spent hundreds of years alone, training in a place where even the bravest would be wary.
His days of sincere dedication to ascension were never easy.
In other words, the density of Ferdikion’s life experience was much lighter compared to Imugi’s.
‘But, from the way he handles fire, he seems to have a good sense.’
He used it for intimidation, but the flow of magic was surprisingly smooth and meticulous, contrary to his rough nature.
‘A timid lion, but he definitely has a good knack for handling power.’
Still lacking, but the more he thought about it, the better his potential seemed.
If he could fix his poor attitude, he could be a useful guy.
‘Now that I think about it, after his mother passed away, he only received education to become an elder from his father, right? Pasiyas didn’t seem to be a good father, and he probably didn’t have any proper emotional support from friends…’
Suddenly, Imugi realized the essence of the situation.
‘Ah, could this be Christina’s purpose?’
Creating a companion.
She must have had a similar thought as Imugi, so it made sense.
Thinking about it, the conditions for Ferdikion to have an equal companion were very strict.
‘Christina couldn’t be a friend. Given that Ferdikion came after visiting Pasiyas, it’s clear he had Pasiyas’s permission.’
It was a good method. From the way he reacted when petted by Christina, he was the type who, once won over, wouldn’t easily let go.
‘If things go well, there won’t be any conflict with the successor of the fire clan, which would be beneficial for me too.’
Since Christina was also a benefactor to Imugi, he decided to cooperate with her intention.
‘It’s awkward to suddenly tell him to relax. First, I need to lower his guard.’
Imugi put on a gentle face, held the baby chick with his front paw, and looked at Ferdikion.
The killing intent he emitted earlier was a reflex to protect his friend, the baby chick, and he emphasized that he was just a young hatchling by gently shaking his head.
It was as if he was asking not to touch his friend.
The image of the hatchling cherishing the small, white baby chick helped to dilute the earlier killing intent.
Ferdikion, seeing this, relaxed his guard a bit, looking puzzled.
‘Now, the problem is how to build a bond.’
The first idea that came to mind was to show his strength to establish a clear hierarchy and make him listen.
‘This won’t work.’
Imugi immediately rejected the idea in his mind.
He couldn’t explain his strength from his past life, so he would have to tell him about the inherited abilities and knowledge from Christina.
It was also a trump card for Imugi, and it wouldn’t fundamentally solve the issue of Ferdikion’s tendency to mistreat the weak.
‘It would just be a way to make him submit to a stronger one.’
He couldn’t turn him into a coward who submits to the stronger.
Watching Ferdikion start a serious staring contest with the baby chick, Imugi organized his thoughts.
‘The reason for his personality is likely the influence of a close elder. He was probably raised to mistreat the weak.’
Thinking about it, he might have a better nature than expected.
‘I’d like to give a good scolding and a solid punch to the one who raised him like this.’
Imugi sighed deeply in his mind.
While organizing his thoughts, Christina, who had left the room, returned using a teleportation spell.
“Kids, were you playing well?”
“Kuu.”
Imugi looked at her with an innocent expression.
“What’s that?”
Christina answered Ferdikion’s question.
“This is the food this child particularly enjoys. Why don’t you try it too?”
“...Thank you.”
Ferdikion, politely responding, saw that the basket contained crispy biscuits, a bottle of milk, honey, and cheese, simple snacks.
He noticed that these snacks were not ordinary.
“The food has magic...”
“You noticed. This child really likes this kind of food.”
“Food with magic?”
“Huh, isn’t it amazing? He always eats this.”
Ferdikion, feeling curious, looked at Imugi.
‘Eating magic-infused food every time?’
It was the first time he heard of a hatchling insisting on eating food with specific ingredients.
For a human, it would be like enjoying food with nutritional supplements or potion syrup.
For a dragon, who is born with abundant magic, it was unusual for a hatchling to crave magic-infused food without any specific purpose.
‘Could it be... the strong aura I felt earlier is because of this food?’
Ferdikion dismissed the idea.
‘No way. It wouldn’t happen unless he intentionally ate it.’
Unaware of Ferdikion’s thoughts, Imugi dipped a biscuit in honey and ate it in one bite.
“Kuu.”
‘It’s delicious, as expected.’
Crunch. Crunch.
Imugi, with his cheeks puffed out, chewed the biscuit calmly and then took another one, savoring it.
He then calmly took another biscuit from the basket, dipped it in honey, and offered it to Ferdikion, who hadn’t touched his.
“Ku!”
‘Don’t waste your effort and just eat it.’
Ferdikion looked at him offering the honey biscuit.
The act of offering a sweet, fragrant cookie was very cute and friendly, but it was confusing when combined with the killing intent he had shown earlier.
He couldn’t keep refusing in front of Christina.
Ferdikion, slightly narrowing his eyebrows, took the biscuit and put it in his mouth.
Crunch.
The moment it touched his tongue, Ferdikion’s expression stiffened subtly.
‘Is it... delicious?’
Crunch... Crunch!
He quickly chewed the biscuit.
Seeing this, Imugi took another biscuit, dipped it in honey, and offered it to Ferdikion.
After a moment of hesitation, Ferdikion took the biscuit and put it in his mouth.
Watching him accept and eat it, Imugi felt like taming a wild cat.
‘Ah, is this it?’
He felt he had found a way to refine the boy’s character.
It’s hard to dislike someone who gives you delicious food.
Especially the combination of sweets and tasty snacks usually has a positive effect on anyone who enjoys them.
If he could learn to