“Whew~”

Near the Palatio Marquisate, a young girl entered a hidden shelter, letting out a relaxed sigh as she sat down. Shortly afterward, someone approached her.

“You’re back, Yuna.”

“Yes.”

It was Hidan who spoke.

“Is everything going well?”

“Per Silver Moon’s orders, I’ve been keeping an eye on Alexion, but it seems like he won’t be causing any more trouble.”

In response to Hidan’s question, Yuna, a golden-haired girl, stretched out her legs as if exercising while seated and asked in return.

“And you?”

“I’m following Red Moon’s instructions for now.”

“Must be keeping you busy.”

“I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

Yuna nodded with a hum and a smile spread across her lips as she spoke.

“So, when’s our meeting?”

“Meeting?”

“Yes, Silver Moon told me to attend the upcoming meeting and give a report about the territory matters.”

“…You seem quite excited.”

“Of course!”

Yuna beamed brightly, already brimming with anticipation.

“It’s a meeting with the higher-ups! Plus, I’ll get to see Red Moon and Gold Moon! I’ve missed seeing them since it’s been so long. And I’m curious to see how meetings among the higher-ups work!”

Her lively voice contrasted with Hidan’s slightly awkward expression as he listened.

“The atmosphere…”

He appeared a bit conflicted.

“What’s wrong?”

Yuna looked puzzled, prompting Hidan to ponder for a moment before replying.

“…No, it’s nothing. It’s just that… never mind.”

He decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

“Huh? Why’d you stop halfway?”

“…You’ll understand once you actually attend the meeting.”

Recalling the meetings he’d witnessed before, Hidan chose to let Yuna keep her hopeful expectations a little longer.

***

Exactly half a year had passed since Alon successfully fended off Duke Komalon.

At this point, Alon’s mana addiction had greatly improved, allowing him to use magic again as he had before. Thus, he was now capable of moving toward the border. However, he remained where he was.

To be more precise, he was unable to move.

“Thank you very much! I look forward to working with you!”

“The pleasure is mine.”

“No, truly! Ah, and here’s a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, it’s a sculpture crafted by an artisan from the Fombashi estate.”

“I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

The reason for his current immobility was the endless stream of people flocking to the Marquis.

Watching the head of a merchant guild bow at a perfect right angle while handing over a finely carved cat statue, Alon sighed softly.

“Evan.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How many more are left?”

“Congratulations, my lord. After this, your schedule is finally cleared.”

“That’s a relief.”

Nodding a couple of times, Alon leaned back in his chair.

It had been a month since Alon told Duke Zenonia that he wouldn’t refuse her assistance. Within that time, Alon had virtually secured success for his auction business. However, he was careful not to claim success prematurely. After all, a business, even one that seemed to be going well, could unexpectedly crash due to unforeseen circumstances.

Having worked at numerous “startup hell” companies in his previous world, Alon understood this better than anyone else. This was also why he remained overly cautious when it came to business.

Yet, even Alon couldn’t help but feel that they had not only recovered the initial investment but were also on track for stable growth. After all, what they had gained in just one month was significant.

Of course, most of those gains came to him voluntarily rather than being actively pursued by Alon.

“My lord, regardless, the business appears to be a success.”

“Is that how it seems?”

“Yes. Five estates have entrusted their highest-quality specialties to be auctioned here. With that alone, merchants will undoubtedly continue to flock to us. Moreover, we’ve established numerous agreements.”

“But we’ve only succeeded in attracting them, haven’t we?”

“Hmm, true, but it’s almost as if the necessary conditions have already been swiftly met. I believe there’s little lacking for us to rise as a hub for tourism and trade.”

At Evan’s words, Alon nodded. He shared a similar sentiment.

As Alon casually reviewed the documents once again, he suddenly voiced a question prompted by rising curiosity.

“Evan.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“I’ve been too busy to think about it until now, but… why are so many merchants and nearby lords flocking to us like this?”

Of course, Alon knew that Duke Zenonia must have pulled some strings behind the scenes. However, even so, wasn’t it strange for nobles and merchants to gather of their own accord to this extent?

“…My lord.”

“What is it?”

“I sometimes feel that you underestimate yourself more than you should.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. It’s obvious that most of those nobles are here to build connections with you. Some of them are even nobles aligned with the Aristocratic and Royalist factions.”

At that moment, Alon let out a low sigh, as if realizing something.

“…Bribes to curry favor, something along those lines?”

“Most likely. It could even be a subtle sign that they want to join Kalpha.”

“…I see.”

“You… weren’t unaware of this, were you?”

“…Hmm.”

Rather than being completely unaware, it was more accurate to say that he hadn’t given much thought to that aspect. Since Alon didn’t respond directly, Evan gave him a curious look.

“We’ve spent a long time together, but sometimes you surprise me, my lord.”

“How so?”

“It’s like… you seem to be doing something, but at the same time, it feels like you’re not doing anything.”

“That’s why I’m working right now, isn’t it?”

“…That’s not what I mean. How should I put this… It’s like you don’t really concern yourself with what’s going on around you… No, that’s not quite it either—”

As Evan struggled to find the right words, something else seemed to come to mind, and his eyes widened slightly.

“Oh, right. I meant to tell you earlier—there’s a letter from Rine.”

“A letter?”

“Yes. It looks like a reply to the letter you sent her last time.”

“Now that you mention it…”

Alon recalled how, about a month ago, he had contacted Rine regarding the dragon egg. Originally, he had planned to visit her directly after his magic had fully recovered, but due to recent changes in the egg, he had hastily sent a letter instead.

“Here it is.”

With the conversation topic abruptly shifting, Alon took the letter from Evan while glancing at the dragon egg. The egg had grown slightly larger than before, and ever since the previous month, it had stopped absorbing Alon’s magic altogether. That was the reason he had sent the letter in the first place.

Alon quickly unfolded the letter and began reading. The opening lines were simple greetings. The middle part consisted of updates about Rine’s recent activities and news about what was happening in Lartania.

“Hmm…”

The next page was more of the same.

And the next one too.

“…?”

“…?”

With a puzzled expression, Alon finally checked the total number of pages.

“…Twelve pages?”

“Wow, that’s quite a lot. I did notice the envelope felt rather thick.”

A letter spanning a full twelve pages. A tinge of guilt crept into Alon’s heart.

‘I… only barely managed to fill one page when I sent mine.’

Since he had already planned to visit her in person, he resolved to bring a small gift for Rine when he did. For now, Alon continued reading the letter. Around the fifth page, he finally found the information regarding the dragon egg. After finishing the entire letter, his expression turned serious.

‘This might be dangerous.’

He turned his gaze toward the dragon egg.

The letter contained a lot of detailed information, but it could be summarized into three key points:

1. Information about dragon eggs is extremely limited.

2. Among the known facts, a dragon egg—literally an egg with a “spirit dragon” inside—can, under specific conditions, hatch into a being with power comparable to that of a dragon, according to ancient records.

3. However, if a dragon egg still in its embryonic state comes into contact with human blood, it must be immediately disposed of by casting it into the ocean beyond the continent, specifically into the waters of ‘Pamilon.’ The reason is that a blood-exposed dragon will hatch in a state far stronger than a regular dragon but with a high likelihood of becoming uncontrollably violent due to madness.

The way to tell if a dragon has been exposed to blood is by its eye color. If its eyes are red instead of blue upon hatching, it means the dragon is already in a maddened state.

Alon alternated his gaze between the letter and the egg.

‘So, this could really be dangerous.’

The reason Alon had been regularly supplying magic to the egg until now was that he believed it hadn’t absorbed any blood.

Since the dragon egg had been far from the dead wizard’s corpse, Alon had initially assumed it hadn’t been exposed to blood. However, if it was a matter of blood being present during the ritual itself, the story changed entirely.

In Alon’s memory, the dragon egg he possessed had indeed been exposed to the blood of a dead wizard during the ritual conducted by Theon.

Thus…

“…Hmm.”

Although Alon’s expression remained indifferent, he regarded the egg with a hint of seriousness.

‘…Should I get rid of it?’

He began to deliberate.

***

That night.

While Alon had yet to decide what to do with the egg and had fallen asleep, an event occurred.

Crack-crack-crack~!

The egg, which had remained perfectly still until now, began to emit faint tremors before the shell started breaking apart. Or rather, it didn’t exactly break apart—fragments of the black shell turned into a dark, viscous liquid and were reabsorbed into the black egg.

It wasn’t a typical hatching; instead, the egg itself seemed to be undergoing a complete transformation.

Soon, with a low grinding sound, something emerged.

[—!]

It was a monster, drooling profusely, with glowing red eyes.

Though it retained a vague resemblance to a dragon as its name, “dragon egg,” suggested, its appearance was far too grotesque and hideous to be called a dragon.

The black, amorphous being moved like a formless shadow, constantly shifting and reshaping itself. Even the dragon-like head it faintly mimicked was unstable, morphing erratically.

Squelch!

Dozens of eyes clustered grotesquely atop its black head.

As it scanned its surroundings with those eerie eyes, it climbed down from its spot. At the same time, a surge of destructive instinct erupted wildly in its mind.

Unlike a typical spirit dragon, this creature could grow stronger by absorbing the flesh and blood of its enemies. Despite being newly hatched, the mind of the Shadow Spirit Dragon (Sa-Yeong-Ryong) was already consumed with a desire for destruction and slaughter.

Yet, even as those urges surged within it, the Shadow Spirit Dragon suppressed its instincts and moved toward the one who had supplied it with enough magic to be born: Alon.

Its body instantly transformed into mist, swallowing even the pale blue moonlight as it flew out through the window and into the night sky.

Moments later, it descended into Alon’s bedroom, dripping black saliva that was quickly absorbed into the floor, and approached the sleeping figure on the bed.

Its intention, of course, was to kill Alon.

Even though it had become a Shadow Spirit Dragon by absorbing blood, its fundamental nature as a spirit dragon hadn’t changed. Thus, it felt a degree of restraint toward the person who had supplied it with magic. For that reason, the dragon intended to kill Alon before it could grow any larger and risk being bound by him.

There was no other reason for it to seek Alon out.

With its goal clear, the Shadow Spirit Dragon opened its mouth wide as it neared its target.

Schlick~!

Its mouth, which should have only been as large as a big dog’s, expanded to an unimaginable size, as though it could devour the entire room in one gulp. The enormous maw stretched to encompass the entire area where Alon lay.

At the very moment that massive mouth was about to close—

Thunk!

The Shadow Spirit Dragon’s mouth stopped.

As if time had frozen.

And then—

Shudder-shudder-shudder-shudder-shudder!

!!

The dragon closed its mouth instinctively and began trembling uncontrollably, as though it had been struck by sheer terror.

The reason?

Squelch!

A single eye.

A black eye, coldly watching the Shadow Spirit Dragon as it opened its maw toward Alon.