Chapter 2 — 3류 각본

“Well, considering how ridiculous everything we ‘knew’ about dragons has been, I guess this is only natural….”

A thousand years ago, after dragons went extinct, people began studying their ecology.

They hoped that by understanding the progenitors of magic, they could gain knowledge and inspiration in the many fields that remained unknown.

And.

For centuries, an avalanche of theories and papers had poured out.

The problem was, most of them were glorified folklore.

There were a few models considered orthodox… but this incident had just shattered them.

One man had advanced the field by decades.

Tasha was certain.

If these reports were submitted to the academies, the world would be turned upside down all over again.

The Imperial Family’s reaction was what she was most curious about.

They’d always claimed divine protection from dragons, claimed to be chosen by dragons, and used that to justify their rule.

So what would they do when they learned Elric was raising dragons?

After all, the reason Lord Elric had written these reports at all was because of the dragonlings.

Tasha pictured Elric, probably tearing his hair out right now tending to the hatchlings.

And yet he’s really warm at heart. So different from what Sean told me.

Since Elric was close with her younger brother, she’d heard a lot about him.

Back then he wasn’t famous, and she hadn’t cared.

Even so, the Elric she dimly remembered and the Elric of now felt like two different people.

I thought he’d be selfish or capricious… but he’s pouring himself into taking responsibility for the lives he took in. That’s amazing.

Tasha was thinking things that would have made Sean blow his top.

But Elric really had been researching around the clock for the hatchlings’ sake.

It wasn’t so much a misunderstanding as a positive prejudice—and not an unreasonable one.

Ah… I want to finish up and go see the babies already.

Of course, the main reason for that prejudice was that Tasha’s affection for baby dragons was off the charts.

“Oh, right. Didn’t a letter come from the family?”

She recalled a report another subordinate had given her that morning.

Hanabi’s expression hardened.

“Yes. Here it is.”

Tasha took the rolled letter and unfurled it.

And then—

Her face, too, slowly turned rigid.

“The Crown Prince… Jeraits is dead?”

* * *

For the last three days, the hatchlings had done nothing but sleep, barely opening their eyes at all.

Even when they did wake, they were active for twenty minutes at most.

Add it up, and it didn’t even make an hour.

That wasn’t particularly fun for Tasha.

For Elric, it was, honestly, a massive relief.

“Haa….”

Elric watched the sleeping dragonlings with a sigh.

When they slept, they looked like little angels.

But the moment they woke, they turned unbearably whiny.

“Is taking care of kids always this hard?”

‘Hmph. Even if you asked this king, you think I could answer that?’

“Well, fair point….”

Demons were phenomena born of the unknown. Of course they knew nothing of normal parent-child relations.

‘Why not use this chance to get rid of those eyesores? Even as hatchlings, dragon bodies are worth harvesting.’

“If you’re going to spew garbage, take it to the moon.”

‘A pity.’

“Not even a little.”

Mephisto, the only one Elric thought he could bounce childcare woes off, had nothing to offer but schemes to dispose of the dragons at every turn.

The three days since the dragons woke had been hell for Elric.

He’d never raised a child, and now he had to deal with baby dragons he’d never asked for.

Worse, all the information on raising dragons was wrong.

There was one especially big problem.

“What on earth am I supposed to feed you?”

The hatchlings hadn’t eaten a single meal since they’d hatched.

Give them meat and they’d chew once and spit it out.

Try lamb or beef in case they were picky, and they’d spit that out too.

Then they’d sulk because they weren’t getting what they wanted and go back to sleep.

- Because dragons have to maintain their massive bodies, they must have consumed enormous quantities of meat.

One of the academic presumptions about dragons.

Even Elric had believed it was the accepted truth.

“It was garbage.”

Not even close.

- Even if dragons manipulate magic, as hatchlings they would be unable to handle mana properly.

Another near-orthodox assumption.

“Who’d have thought they’d shoot breaths for fun.”

Breath—commonly called a dragon’s breath—was condensed mana itself.

They’d been firing it off at random, and his hair had nearly burned off several times.

These dragons commanded mana innately.

The magi scholars Tasha had assigned were thrown for a loop.

But the seasoned hands Neresta had sent proved their worth, taking it as a boon and observing the hatchlings around the clock, compiling fresh notes on their habits.

Even so, nothing truly helpful had come out of it.

“This is driving me nuts….”

Kkyuuuu.

Gold woke, purring with pleasure as Elric scratched its neck.

Red and Black soon roused as well, biting each other’s wings before flopping onto their backs.

Kkyeeeng, kkyeeeeng.

They laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Elric’s face, however, remained unimpressed.

“What do you even live on? Aren’t you hungry?”

Kkyuu?

Gold tilted its head at Elric’s question.

“Gem dragons and guardian dragons can talk just fine—why can’t you? Say something so I can take care of you.”

Gold blinked and tilted its head the other way.

Kkyuuu?

“Is ‘kkyuu’ really the only word you know?”

Flap flap!

Kkyuu!

Maybe it understood, maybe it didn’t—its wings just flapped.

“Yeah, yeah….”

Frustration welled up from somewhere deep, but it wasn’t all bad.

In fact, if you thought about it, it was good for him; there was no downside.

Lately, rumors that Elric was raising dragon hatchlings were spreading like wildfire.

Just keeping them around was enough to ride a wave of fame—a net gain.

Word had it that, true to the Merbinger name, he’d resurrected dragons and started raising them.

These little ones would be the key to the house’s revival.

If they became the Merbinger family’s mascots, they might reclaim their former glory in no time.

And once these hatchlings grew up…

He could become a Dragon Rider…!

“Ehehe…!”

Elric let out a lecherous little chuckle, recalling the dragon knights he’d read about as a kid.

Mephisto watched him, caught his sleazy little daydream, and blew his top.

‘…There it is again. That pervert grin. Why does the world keep falling for it?’

Grumbling, Mephisto looked at the hatchlings with a conflicted gaze.

Demons and dragons were natural enemies.

And Mephisto was the most exalted among demons—a Demon King.

From his perspective, sitting still while the hatchlings of an extinct foe frolicked in front of him was torture.

But he had an even bigger problem.

Kkyuuuu!

At some point, Gold peeled off from Elric, flapped over, and landed in Mephisto’s arms.

‘W-What…!’

Mephisto flailed, appalled to find the creature snuggling against him.

Kkyuu! Kkyuuu!!

It even begged for affection.

“Every time I see it, it’s just absurd.”

Elric knew because he was spiritually linked to the hatchlings.

They liked Mephisto.

‘Do these things have no draconic instinct at all! Why are you clinging to me! Off!’

Mephisto recoiled, thrashing in terror, the hair on his head practically standing on end.

Red and Black, arriving late, thought it was great fun and latched onto his head and shoulders.

‘Damn it! Do something about these…! I said get off!’

He looked like a fruit tree swaying in a gale.

“Looks good to me. Please keep them entertained.”

‘What? Did you just—Aagh! What are you doing on the king’s head? Stop! That’s not a bathroom! Stop… Aaaaaagh!’

While Mephisto writhed in agony,

Elric, relieved of fatherly duties for the moment, sank back into thought.

I really can’t keep starving them any longer….

If you think about it, the idea that dragons love meat is kind of ridiculous.

If the legions of dragons in the past had eaten meat every meal to fill their bellies, they’d have driven themselves extinct from famine.

If it’s not direct consumption, then what… Ah!

A thought flashed through Elric’s mind.

“Progenitors of magic, immense mana….”

He muttered, following the thread.

They can’t live without mana—what if they consume things that contain mana?

If so—

What materials are associated with mana and rich in it?

“Things mages commonly use for research…?”

He trailed off, suddenly reaching up to touch the arcane necklace at his throat.

A cross with four gems set at each arm.

High-purity gems were precious to mages too.

Not for luxury.

Because they held an abundance of mana elements.

If that’s the case…?

No, come on, surely not….

Elric tried to brush the hunch aside.

Even if it were true, he had to ignore it. If it proved real, Merbinger would be bankrupt in no time.

He was about to turn away when—

Kkyuuuu!

Gold stopped playing with Mephisto and fixed its slit-pupiled gaze on Elric, eyes sparkling.

No—on the arcane necklace in Elric’s hand.

Sparkle. Sparkle.

The look of a predator eyeing a delicious treat.

Slurp. Its mouth even watered.

Elric knew, then and there, exactly what Gold wanted.

The Mage Who Devoured Talent