novelraw Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Ch.103 Aria Just Smiles Sweetly…
Icira had returned from the dragon council.
Upon learning that the King of the Dead had returned, the Dragon Lord issued a decree: ‘Eradicate the undead and slay the King.’
Thus, she was now bound for the Old Continent.
‘I’ll likely be away from the lair for quite some time…’
She gazed at Aria, who slept soundly in the lair.
Tiny limbs, a delicate tail—and every so often, the tail twitched, as if she were dreaming something pleasant.
Icira fell deep in thought. ‘If I leave the lair… will she stay put?’
This mission could take years.
And her curious daughter? Absolutely not the type to sit quietly.
“What should I do?”
What if Aria ran away again—like last time—and got captured by humans?
The very thought was unbearable.
‘I wish I had a nanny…’
Before Aria received her name, Icira had crafted a golem nanny for her daughter—a companion to play with the young Hatchling.
But Aria had only shown interest in it briefly.
Over time, her fascination faded, and now the golem sat forgotten somewhere in the lair.
Who could she entrust Aria to?
Her entire dragon kin had been summoned by the Dragon Lord.
Then—someone came to mind.
“Ah… Hans, perhaps…”
After all, she and Hans were destined to meet again.
They had a promise between them.
‘Might as well reunite now—and ask him to look after Aria.’
Her daughter scratched her tiny belly with stubby arms.
Even the emotionless Icira had lost count of how many times she’d found Aria unbearably cute.
Surely, anyone would adore such a sweet, lovely child.
And if Hans refused? She had leverage.
‘If he won’t cooperate, I’ll just demand he return the spatial bag I gave him last time.’
Having made up her mind, Icira gently shook Aria awake.
“Wake up.”
—Prrr…
“Wake up.”
“Mmm…”
Blinking drowsily under her mother’s touch, Aria mumbled, “Whaaat…?”
The young Hatchling yawned widely.
“Haaaam!”
With tiny hands and snow-white skin, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“Why’d you wake me?”
The ice-cold beauty Icira stroked Aria’s forehead.
“Shall we visit Hans after so long?”
At her mother’s words, Aria’s ears perked up. She nodded eagerly, face brightening.
“Yes! Let’s go see Brother Hans!”
Watching her daughter beam, Icira sighed—half fond, half uneasy.
“You like him that much?”
“Yeah! Brother makes yummy food and plays with me!”
Looking at her daughter, Icira remembered her own youth.
‘Come to think of it… I was just like her once.’
Dragons lived for eons.
By the time they bore offspring—usually around 2,000 years old—their emotions had long worn thin.
Yet hatchlings remained pure.
So of course, Icira too had once been as lonely and affectionate as Aria.
‘Hmm… Aria will be heartbroken when Hans dies someday.’
Such was the dragon’s fate.
Granted immense power and longevity by the gods—but cursed with eternal solitude.
Icira’s body shimmered with light and shifted into human form.
“Alright, let’s go see Hans. You cast your spell too.”
She tried her best to sound gentle—but her expression remained so cold that no maternal warmth showed at all.
Perhaps it was just her nature.
“Okay! Wait a sec!”
Aria’s body glowed as well, transforming into a human girl.
Icira carefully scooped her up.
“Hmm… He’s in the Old Continent.”
She sensed Hans’s presence—conveniently located in the Old Continent.
‘Must be coincidence.’
She murmured softly: “Teleport.”
Blue light engulfed them—and they vanished.
***
Sensing Hans’s aura, Icira teleported with Aria directly to his estate in Pisa.
“Wow… Mama? There’s no snow here!”
Having known only snow her whole life, Aria marveled at Pisa’s warm, cozy climate.
“Stay close.”
Mother and daughter approached Hans’s mansion, some dozens of meters away.
“Mama! What’s that?!”
Aria spotted a butterfly with dazzling wings—her first ever.
Though slightly annoyed by her daughter’s excitement over a mere insect, Icira gently patted her head.
She set Aria down and said, “That’s a butterfly. Don’t look around too much.”
“Okaaay…”
Sensing her mother’s mood, Aria walked quietly, face downcast.
As Icira neared the mansion gate, a guard stared at her.
Such beauty was rare in these parts.
The guard, utterly entranced, scanned her up and down.
“Halt. This is the lord’s estate.”
“I see. I know someone here.”
The guards exchanged uneasy glances.
‘Is she nobility?’
‘Look at those clothes and jewels—definitely highborn.’
Erring on the side of caution, the guard asked politely: “Pardon me, but whom do you seek?”
“A man named Hans. He seems to be inside. Can you call him?”
Aria piped up: “Brother Hans! The one with black hair!”
Icira patted her head.
—Pat pat.
“Mama’s talking. Don’t interrupt when adults speak.”
The guards looked at each other, confused.
“The black-haired Hans… you mean the lord himself?”
“I don’t know if he’s a lord. I only know his name is Hans.”
That struck them as odd.
‘Is there another black-haired Hans in this estate besides the lord?’
‘There are a few Hanses… but only the lord has black hair.’
Clearly, this woman didn’t know Hans was the Baron of Pisa—a basic fact anyone familiar with him would know.
Suspicious, the senior guard decided to turn her away.
“I’m sorry, but you seem suspicious. You can’t enter.”
Icira’s delicate eyebrows twitched.
“What? Are you… a mere human… daring to defy my command?”
The guards froze—chilled to the bone by the dragon’s icy wrath.
Among all races, dragons reigned supreme.
Even her mere presence made ordinary humans tremble in fear.
“S-still! You can’t enter!”
They stood their ground, duty-bound.
And that…
“You truly need a lesson to come to your senses.”
Blue energy gathered in Icira’s palm.
“M-mama?!”
Alarmed, Aria tried to stop her—just as a clear voice rang out: “What’s going on?!”
Mia and Nekhuf’s group, strolling in the garden, had sensed the ominous magic and rushed to the gate.
‘The spirits are terrified of her emotions.’
‘Wait—what kind of magic is that? So menacing!’
As a High Elf attuned to spirits, and a prodigy in magic detection, Mia and Nekhuf instantly recognized: this woman was no ordinary being.
“Oh! Lady Mia. This woman claims to know Lord Hans, but she doesn’t even know he’s Baron of Pisa—so we’re sending her away.”
In this land, nobles held fiefdoms.
Anyone who knew Hans would surely know he was Baron—and Lord—of Pisa.
But Mia didn’t hear the guard’s explanation.
‘Only a dragon could cause this phenomenon.’
‘Magic is resonating with her—only legendary dragons can do that.’
Both recalled Hans’s past tale of rescuing a young Hatchling.
They realized at once: this woman was a dragon.
“Oh? A Sand Elf from the New Continent… and…”
Icira studied Mia with interest.
“It’s been ages since I’ve seen a noble High Elf. Are you his friends?”
Mia replied calmly: “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Mia.”
“Good. Is Hans inside? I heard he became a noble.”
Icira glanced toward the mansion.
“Yes. The Sage is inside.”
Icira sized Mia up.
Though a dragon, she appeared as a woman.
Noting that Hans—barely a year after parting ways with Leah—was already with a High Elf, she drew a swift conclusion.
‘He really is a womanizer. Already taken in a new girl—and a High Elf, no less. He’s lost his mind.’
Elves cherished pure, eternal love.
That Hans had seduced one of their noblest kind made Icira click her tongue in disapproval.
Just then, Aria beside her brightened and asked: “Is Sister Leah here too?”
Icira gave Mia a cold, appraising look.
“She’s probably not. That man’s a womanizer, after all.”
“Mama, what’s a womanizer?”
Aria repeated the unfamiliar word.
But that wasn’t what stunned the others.
A dragon calling Hans a womanizer?
Everyone knew of Hans’s legendary romantic exploits: flirting with the entire Hero Party, nearly dating Selena less than a year after the Demon King’s fall…
And now—a dragon’s loaded remark…
‘Sage… did you really seduce a dragon who already has a child?’
‘Brother… no way…’
‘He’s insane! What kind of man chases a married woman with a kid?!’
The three stared at Aria in horror.
‘Could she… be Hans’s daughter?’
‘Brother… you have a child?!’
‘Wow, you trash… that means you knocked someone up at least ten years ago!’
Of course, it was absurd.
Hans was in his twenties—there was no way he fathered a ten-year-old half-Hatchling.
But given his reputation…
Logically impossible—yet the doubt crept in: ‘But… if it’s him…?’
‘It can’t be… it can’t be… but if it is…’
Even Mia—wise, calm, and experienced from centuries of life—had never heard of anything rivaling Hans’s ‘achievements.’
Trusting Hans despite everything, Mia asked carefully: “P-pardon me… but what is your relationship to the Sage?”
Annoyed by their reaction, Icira’s brow furrowed.
“He’s a Sage? Fine. Since you’re clearly mistaken, I’ll clarify: he’s…”
She stroked Aria’s head with a blank expression.
“…the one who made a promise with my daughter.”
To humans, it sounded like a casual ‘let’s meet again.’
But to a dragon, a promise was worth more than life itself.
So though Icira spoke dismissively…it only deepened their misunderstanding.
The three gaped, then slowly turned to stare at Aria.
‘S-so it’s… this one?!’
‘Brother?! Not this!’
‘T-tongue… Sage! Have you truly become such a degenerate that you abandoned your humanity?!’
Their horror only grew.
And amidst it all—Aria just smiled sweetly…
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