Chapter 16

"Is that so? From what I can see, this child seems to like you, Ferdikion."

At Christina's smiling words, Ferdikion looked at the black hatchling who was holding out a bottle of milk to him with a stern expression.

"Ku!"

The almond-shaped, jewel-like red eyes of the hatchling sparkled transparently, and he was a cute and appropriately plump young hatchling, someone easy to take a liking to.

Moreover, with his innocent and unselfish smile.

Ferdikion began to think that Imugi might really like him.

"Well... I'll take it."

His voice had softened considerably. Imugi, feeling satisfied inside, smiled more innocently.

‘At least this appearance is finally useful.’

Imugi, who had benefited from his appearance, felt it was commendable for the first time.

He had been wondering how to deal with the tensionless appearance and crying sounds.

Now, it had excellently helped lower Ferdikion's guard.

It was almost as wise as the warm sunlight that made the traveler take off his coat, rather than a fierce storm.

‘Maybe I should give him a chance. Of course, if he still doesn’t change, there’s nothing I can do.’

It was a pretty good investment. If Ferdikion repented and became a proper adult, he might become an ally.

In a sense, a transformation for the better!

Imugi checked the necessary conditions one by one.

‘Change in the surrounding environment... This is already satisfied.’

Since the main place where he would see Ferdikion was Christina's lair, the basic environment had already been set up.

There were no environmental variables that could become negative factors, as it was a situation where external factors were unlikely to interfere.

‘Next, the beings around him.’

This was also not a problem. Christina was a good helper, and although there might be occasional friction with the young bird that sometimes followed Imugi, he could control it with Imugi around.

“Piyak!”

“Kyu?”

The white bird chirped clearly and flapped its wings, as if asking for some too.

When Imugi held out broken biscuit pieces in one hand, the bird happily pecked at them, its eyes sparkling.

It still looked at him with shining eyes, as if it wanted more.

After giving the bird another biscuit, Imugi looked at Ferdikion, who was now emptying the biscuit basket with him.

‘This feels familiar. Maybe it’s because it’s similar to something I did to accumulate virtue.’

In his previous life, when humans sent as offerings occasionally reached the island, he helped them grow stronger, each with their own stories.

He couldn’t keep them on the island for life, nor could he let them starve to death, so he did this. But as a result, he could also accumulate the virtue needed to ascend, making it a win-win situation.

‘This is the last biscuit.’

Imugi waited for Ferdikion to pick up the last remaining biscuit.

As soon as he did, Imugi grabbed his hand on top of the basket.

“Ku.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

Imugi glanced at Ferdikion, who replied with a complaint, and then pointed to the young bird looking at the biscuit pieces.

“Kuu.”

“...You want me to give this to that bird... No, the bird?”

“Ku. Kuu.”

Seeing Imugi nod, Ferdikion's brows twitched slightly.

He glanced at the bird and then broke the biscuit into small pieces that the bird could peck.

‘Good, that’s how you deal with someone younger than you.’

Unaware of Imugi’s intentions, Ferdikion placed the broken pieces on his palm and carefully extended it to the baby bird.

The white bird looked back and forth between the biscuit and Ferdikion, and then at Imugi.

Imugi gave the bird a nod.

‘Hey, eat it.’

“Pii?”

‘Eat it.’

He gently pushed Ferdikion’s wrist forward, as if controlling him.

The white bird, which had initially looked at Imugi as if it was going to ignore him, moved its beak as if it was doing him a favor.

“Piyak!”

Peck, peck. The bird’s beak touched Ferdikion’s palm, making small pecking sounds.

When Imugi stroked the young bird’s head, it seemed even more delighted and pecked at the biscuit more energetically.

At that moment, Ferdikion, who had been stiff, looked around awkwardly, and Christina said:

“Already the children are following you well. That’s good, Ferdikion.”

‘Good. This is a nice supporting act.’

Imugi also clapped his hands lightly in praise, in response to Christina’s encouragement.

“It’s nothing much.”

Despite his gruff words, Ferdikion’s eyes had definitely changed, influenced by the positive reactions around him.

The fact that Christina, the owner of the lair, and the others around him were smiling and showing affection towards him, and that the threatening young bird was now pecking at the snack in his hand without hesitation, made him feel a ticklish embarrassment.

Under normal circumstances, he would have thrown the snack away, telling the bird to go away, but he didn’t want to do that now.

Ferdikion was somehow immersed in this peaceful feeling.

‘This is... the first time.’

The fact that a one-month-old hatchling was teaching him how to deal with the young and weak made him feel a bit strange.

With a mix of wanting to escape from this gentle atmosphere and wanting to stay a bit longer, Ferdikion said somewhat bewilderedly:

“Just... it seems they have eyes to see me.”

There was a faint tremor in Ferdikion’s voice.

After a moment, he continued as if it was nothing:

“My father said this one has the potential to be an elder of the Black Dragons and that I should help him fulfill his role as an elder of the Dark Clan. So, can I come back tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“Then... I came today just to greet you. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you off.”

Christina moved, and Imugi was instantly transported to the place where he first saw Ferdikion.

Before leaving, Ferdikion looked at the black hatchling, who was perched on his knee, with a white, round bird on its head, and said:

“See you tomorrow.”

It was still a somewhat stiff greeting, but the sharpness from the beginning was mostly gone.

“Kuu.”

“Pii!”

Imugi waved goodbye, and Ferdikion’s figure disappeared through the warp hole.

“You did well. How was it? Ferdikion?”

‘Are you asking because you don’t know? Even if you don’t know who raised me, I was terrible at raising children.’

Imugi couldn’t say what he was thinking, so he replied differently:

[Polite, but a liar.]

“Oh my.”

Christina sighed lightly and looked at Imugi, who also looked back at her.

[He pretends to be angry when he’s scared, and acts like he hates it when he likes it. A strange kid.]

“Is that so? I can see why.”

Christina smiled softly, as if she understood.

He would frown like a volcano about to erupt and then treat others coldly.

He was used to belittling and treating those weaker than himself, and even though his emotions were clear, he tried to hide any weakness.

Watching this somewhat restrained kid made Imugi feel stifled.

Perhaps sensing something from Imugi’s words, Christina spoke:

“Maybe it’s because Ferdikion wasn’t allowed to live a life other than that of an elder.”

[Life of an elder?]

A bitter smile appeared on Christina’s face, a mix of pity and helplessness.

“Ferdikion’s father, Phasias, is a Red Dragon elder who has led the Clan of Fire for a long time. He educated Ferdikion to be his successor, to inherit his life and status.”

[Did Ferdikion want to?]

Christina gently shook her head.

“I’m not sure. Of course, the child has made a lot of effort to become an elder leading the Clan of Fire. But... he doesn’t know how to speak his mind honestly. I think it’s because he had to ignore what his heart was saying to endure the cruel and harsh training as a successor.”

[So that’s it.]

Imugi clicked his tongue.

He had guessed it might be a life in a mold, but according to Christina, Ferdikion had spent his time as a tool to become an elder.

When a powerful being is trapped in a mold that doesn’t fit, problems don’t surface as long as they are controlled, but eventually, the suppressed original desires will burst out all at once.

‘Either the inherent nature rots away, or when a trigger appears, it bursts out in an unreasonable way. Extreme situations are bound to arise.’

Christina looked at him with a gentle smile.

“Nothing grand is needed. I just want Ferdikion to experience a different way of life, not just as an elder. Like you.”

[Like me?]

“Yes.”

Christina smiled, and Imugi shrugged and nodded.

“Thank you. If there’s anything I can help with, let me know.”

She seemed concerned about Ferdikion, who had nothing left if the title of elder was taken away.

‘A life of Ferdikion, not as an elder. By changing the environment, I’ve already given him a chance, but it would be nice to give him some more direct help. For example... a proper friend?’

He looked at Christina, who was watching him with hopeful eyes, and came to a conclusion.

‘That’s my role.’

Chapter 17: First Lesson

Imugi, who had unexpectedly become the friend of the young Fire Dragon, held the white bird perched on his head with both hands and said:

[There’s something I need to ask first.]

The bird in his hands blinked curiously.

[Ferdikion threatened this one with a fire imbued with mana. Do you know about it?]

It was part of his background check on the kid he would be dealing with.

“Ferdikion did?”

Christina tilted her head slightly.

“It’s a bit of a surprising story. Because he suppressed his emotions, he sometimes became aggressive when expressing them. But he has never harmed the young and weak.”

‘Well, if he had that kind of nature, we wouldn’t have left him alone with us.’

Christina, lost in thought, seemed to recall something and spoke.

“I’m not sure, but one thing comes to mind.”

[What is it?]

“This bird has the same fire attribute as Ferdikion. But since it’s not part of his clan and follows you, it might have been awkward for him.”

[He said he wouldn’t harm the young and weak, right?]

“It’s a phoenix chick. This bird isn’t as young and weak as you think. It once showed me a defensive stance, though I didn’t tell you.”

‘Now that I think about it, I did stop it in its sleep, but it was trying to use force against Christina.’

He remembered calming it down when he felt a burning aura of fire while sleeping.

Christina continued:

“Just in terms of latent abilities, it’s on par with a dragon. Talented beings often have instincts. Perhaps Ferdikion felt that this bird had enough power to be wary of.”

She looked at the baby bird with one hand, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Ferdikion is a child with abilities that could be called genius. Even if the standard is unknown, it’s not strange that he felt something indescribable.”

Imugi, who was a divine beast in his previous life, found this a reasonable explanation.

‘A valid point. Among those with special abilities, there are often those who can sense fate.’

There is such a thing as a premonition.

From those who can intuitively sense the strength of their opponent, to the flow of the world, and those who instinctively feel whether someone will be an ally or an enemy.

“It might be a bit difficult for you to understand now.”

Christina, thinking that the young Imugi might not fully understand her words, gently stroked his shiny scales.

“You’ll naturally understand as time goes on. For now, help him practice accepting his emotions honestly, whether he wants to laugh, feel sad, angry, unhappy, or happy.”

“Kyu.”

Imugi nodded. He finally had a vague idea of why he had received an unpleasant gaze from the beginning.

‘Maybe from the first time he saw me, his instinct sensed my power, making him act arrogantly.’

To her, this young hatchling was seriously pondering about another hatchling, despite the age gap.

It looked so pure that Christina felt her heart cleanse.

Unaware of her pleased gaze, Imugi began to roughly plan how to become a friend.

‘He said he would come to help as an elder of the Dark Clan. So, the main place I’ll see him is this lair.’

It seemed fine. The forest of the basin and Christina’s lair, filled with light mana, were basically places that brought peace of mind.

Just changing the surrounding scenery would be enough to help.