Chapter 87

This time it's a bit shorter.

"Quu?"

When the intense light subsided, a lizard about forty centimeters long was sitting on the cracked eggshell. Around the lizard, faint light, as if visualized magic, was still flickering.

"What was that light just now...?"

"I don't know either... Did Shiki do something?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything. ...Ah, no... I might have done something."

After saying that, I realized I had done something. I had just cast an Ex-Heal with all my might, infused with magic. But that was just a small wish for the dragon to be born healthy; I never expected the egg to glow and hatch because of it.

"Quu"

Looking at the still faintly glowing lizard, the lizard ignored the flustered me and Ruruka and just stared at Yuel. ...Then I noticed something. The lizard's silver-white scales seemed to resemble Yuel's hair color.

"It... it was born, right?"

Yuel muttered softly. Despite the confused atmosphere, she slowly extended her hands toward the lizard.

"Quu!"

The lizard jumped onto Yuel's hands and immediately rubbed its cheek against her fingers. The movement looked like a gesture of affection.

"Ah...!"

Seeing this, Yuel's expression brightened. Then she looked at me.

"Master, it was born! It was born healthy!"

Perhaps feeling the reality of touching the lizard, Yuel couldn't contain her excitement and reported to me multiple times.

"Ah, it's because Yuel worked hard to keep the egg warm. You did a great job."

"Y-Yes!"

When I praised her, Yuel's eyes welled up with tears, and she looked overwhelmed with emotion. She gently stroked the lizard's head.

"Hmm, but this one doesn't look like an Earth Dragon at all... It's glowing and silver..."

"Actually, I read in the holy book that ancient saints also had shining dragons as pets. ...But they weren't silver like this one."

Yuel said something interesting. Past saints also raised dragons. Well, the era of the holy book was a time of war, so the breeding of tactically useful magical creatures like dragons was probably more prevalent than it is now.

"Then, it's probably because of my magic."

The common trait of saints is their vast magic. Considering the Ex-Heal I cast just before, it's likely that my magic caused the dragon to mutate.

"But it's still strange that it wasn't an Earth Dragon even though it hatched from an Earth Dragon egg."

"Dragons are mysterious creatures. I've heard that they can sometimes grow into a different species from their parents. ...It was in a story I read before."

If it's rare, it might not just be the influence of magic, but some specific conditions. Maybe if exposed to a certain level of magic, it strongly takes on the characteristics of the magic source.

...It's a strange biology, but if we consider that the attributes of dragons like Earth and Fire are influenced by the magic environment during the egg stage, and that they are originally one species, the logic holds. Normally, the influence of the parent dragon should be the strongest, so it wouldn't easily become a different species unless it was near someone with extremely strong magic.

"But I've never seen a silver dragon before. It's pretty cool, and it's glowing."

"Maybe the silver color of this dragon's scales is because Yuel's magic mixed with mine."

When I said that, Yuel looked at me, asking for an explanation. Explaining all my speculations might confuse her, so I summarized it.

"Probably, the magic Yuel stored in the egg while warming it and the magic I poured in mixed, resulting in a dragon that inherited both Yuel's and my characteristics."

"Ahaha, it sounds like a child of Shiki and Yuel-chan."

Before Yuel could react, Ruruka said with a subtle smile. I thought it sounded like that for a moment, but I didn't want her to say it out loud. Yuel would start thinking about it.

"Y-Your child with Master...!"

As expected, Yuel's eyes widened, and she gently hugged the dragon. Even if Yuel and I had a child, it wouldn't look like a lizard, and it probably wouldn't glow.

"Hey, Yuel-chan, can I hold it too?"

Seeing Yuel's reaction, Ruruka reached out without waiting for her answer.

"Quu!?"

With a scream-like sound, the lizard escaped into Yuel's back... and her hair. ...It seems the lizard only gets close to Yuel. It was looking at Yuel right after hatching, so it's probably a case of imprinting.

"Wh-What? It's okay with Yuel-chan but not with me!?"

"Yuel has been warming the egg since the beginning, so it probably thinks of her as its parent. It must have recognized Yuel even inside the egg."

I didn't want to dampen Yuel's joy, so I exaggerated a bit. But since it's a creature that reacts to magic, it might really be true.

"It's fine, there will be plenty of chances to touch it... Anyway, Yuel-chan, can you take care of it? It seems to have bonded with you."

"Take care... Can I raise it...?"

"Yes. I doubt it would eat if I fed it. It would be a big help if you could raise it, Yuel-chan."

Right, dragons aren't mammals, so they don't feed on the mother dragon's milk; they need to be fed. And the only one who can do that is Yuel, who the baby dragon recognizes as its parent. It looks like Yuel will not only hatch the egg but also raise the dragon.

...I've been given another troublesome job by Ruruka.

But—

"Master, I'll take good care of it!"

Yuel said with a smile. Looking at her smile, I thought this dragon would be a good partner for Yuel. I had a feeling about it.

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