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Chapter 46
Like a cat in a very bad mood.
“Waaaaargh…!”
Nibellia let out an incomprehensible babble from her mouth and arched her back into a tight curve.
Her silvery hair, like white cotton candy, somehow looked spikier than usual.
Then, suddenly, Nibellia lunged at a small kitten.
“Go away!”
It was a reckless charge, as if even a wild boar would bounce off her.
The startled kitten darted away in a flash, disappearing into the bushes at the edge of the forest where it had come from.
Still unsatisfied, Nibellia chased after the kitten’s retreating figure, growling continuously.
“Haaah! Haaak!”
“Nini!”
Soles, frozen in shock, finally regained his senses and tried to grab Nibellia.
But a highly excited Nibellia shook off her brother’s hands.
“This is Nini’s territory! Stay away!”
“Nini! Technically, this is the Dayamor family’s territory.”
Even in the midst of chaos, Soles corrected her factual mistake.
“Get lost! If I see you again, I’ll tear your throat out…!”
“Uwaaah! Nini!”
Soles’ scream echoed deep into the forest.
“……”
“……”
Kaleo and Seletina, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, were left speechless.
The first thing that caught their eyes was their youngest daughter Nibellia, panting and clearly angry.
Nibellia, who rarely lost her temper, was now furious enough to make her hair stand on end.
“Aref! You shouldn’t do that!”
“……”
“Your cat is Nini! How could you reach out to another cat? You can’t!”
“Ah… I can’t…?”
“Then why did you reach out?”
Nibellia, after driving away the cat that had invaded her territory, scolded Aref until he nearly cried.
Aref, for his part, was confused, not understanding why he was being punished.
Meanwhile, Soles was stunned by the ferocity of his little sister’s words, which he had always assumed were simply cute and whimsical.
Still in shock, Soles clutched Ardore and fretted repeatedly.
“Grandfather, Nini is using such harsh words…!”
“I… see…”
“Shouldn’t she go to kindergarten? Where did she learn such cruel and terrifying words…?”
“No, it’s not the kindergarten’s fault.”
It was actually my fault.
Ardores reflected on his own coarse habits from his days as a paladin—something he only realized now, as an elderly grandfather.
“Ugh, hehe…!”
“Hahaha…!”
The witches clutched their stomachs, trying to suppress their laughter.
“Waaaah! Waaah!”
Even Azel began to cry.
It was truly a scene born of utter chaos.
Amidst it, Muniel stood alone, silently gazing at the entrance of the forest where the kitten had vanished.
“Mother.”
Kaleo approached and asked,
“What happened?”
“……”
“…Mother?”
Worried, Kaleo called several times to the unresponsive Muniel. No answer came, and his heart sank.
“Oh my…!”
“Quiet.”
A wrinkled hand covered Kaleo’s mouth.
“I’m thinking. Be quiet.”
Muniel was simply deep in thought.
Relieved, Kaleo exchanged a glance with Seletina. She, too, visibly relaxed.
Both of them turned their gaze toward where Muniel was looking.
“Mother, what’s there?”
“The cat Nini chased away.”
Or rather, something pretending to be a cat.
“Ah…”
Only then did Seletina understand the source of the chaos.
“Nini has never liked other cats.”
Even though she herself claimed to be a cat, she had never been fond of real cats.
Back when she was younger, just beginning to crawl, the maids once showed the baby Nibellia a kitten they had secretly raised in the stables.
“Haaah!”
Nibellia hissed and flailed as if ready to strike.
Eventually, the stable keeper adopted the kitten and took it home.
After that, no cats were allowed in the Dayamor mansion.
“Cats are territorial,” Muniel said, turning away from the forest.
“They don’t like having another cat in their territory.”
“Sounds like a gangster.”
“Kaleo.”
Calling your daughter a gangster… Seletina sternly warned him to watch his words.
Embarrassed, Kaleo apologized to Seletina. Still, her expression didn’t soften.
“…She’s changed.”
Muniel muttered something during the brief pause, but no one heard her.
“Oh, our Nini.”
Shall we let her calm down?
Muniel lifted Nibellia in her arms to soothe her.
Ultimately, Nibellia, shouting “I need to mark my territory!” hugged Aref tightly.
The kitten chased away by Nibellia ran frantically through the forest.
Along the way, it spotted wild animals—boars, weasels, raccoons.
The animals glanced at the rapidly running kitten but quickly looked away.
Only after reaching deep into the forest did the kitten stop to pant.
“What the… brat!”
A very low, eerie voice came from the kitten.
The previously fluffy black fur instantly became smooth scales.
Its short tail grew longer, and its four stubby legs became five times their original size.
A dark, winged lizard-like creature squeaked like a chick.
Yet the deep, thick voice sounded as if it echoed from a cavern’s depths.
“Me? Guard that cursed thing? I almost got my throat ripped out! That tiny little brat tried to kill me!”
The evil dragon Ather had been in an egg the whole time.
It could have hatched long ago, but it stayed asleep in the egg because it hated where it was.
A dragon of the world.
The last remaining great dragon.
The thought of hatching in the sweaty, muscular arms of a mercenary was horrifying.
Better to remain asleep, thinking it might as well die than be born in such a place.
Resolutely, it vowed never to hatch in a rough mercenary’s chest.
Suddenly, consciousness returned.
Something was holding it.
“Wow, is this really a dragon’s egg?”
It seemed the mercenary king’s selection contest had finally ended.
“It just looks like a shiny rock. Hey, you’re not cheating, right?”
“No! It’s really the egg of the evil dragon Ather!”
“Whatever. I don’t care. I didn’t win this to use it anyway. Just go bring the box.”
The mercenary king was a young woman.
Her red hair was striking, and one eye bore a scar from a sword, though her sight was fine.
“Dragon or not, I don’t care.”
She whispered to the dragon egg.
“I have a little niece. Her birthday is coming soon, so you’re for her. Go, protect Nini.”
The dragon egg was delivered to the Dayamor mansion long after Nibellia’s birthday.
However, the box was empty.
Ather had broken free during transport.
Even though free, Ather stayed at the Dayamor mansion.
Still an evil dragon, it couldn’t entirely ignore the mercenary king’s request to escape the cruel mercenaries.
So it observed Nini.
Nini, the small girl, was Nibellia Dayamor.
A four-year-old resembling the saint Muniel.
And a strange being who remembered her past life.
Actually, remembering a past life wasn’t unusual.
Even dragons remembered their past lives, or more precisely, inherited the knowledge and lives of their predecessors like a legacy.
When Ather first gained consciousness, it recalled how the previous evil dragon had cursed a human 180 years ago.
But that wasn’t important.
Something sinister lurked around Nibellia.
Something that seemed ready to destroy and devour the world was targeting her.
Not just Nibellia.
Looking carefully, one could see that this grotesque presence spread across the Dayamor mansion, the capital, and the entire Drameno Empire.
Even the world’s evil dragon was chilled by it. It wasn’t of this world.
“……”
The thoughtful evil dragon Ather shivered.
Then it looked up at the sky.
The forest where the witches stayed was unusually dense. Lush branches weaved together, covering the blue sky.
A single sunbeam pierced through the leaves and touched the dragon’s forehead.
The dragon curled up, closed its eyes, and enjoyed the warm sunlight.
“What happened while I was asleep…?”
“Clearly, something terrible is happening.”
Ather slightly opened its eyes.
Glancing sideways, it saw a large stag leading a herd of deer.
“When did the evil dragon wake?”
The stag approached and nudged its head toward the dragon.
The dragon stared indifferently, then rubbed its head lightly in response.
“Not long. What’s going on with the great spirit of the forest?”
“The daughters of the earth have returned.”
So we simply returned to our places.
The great spirit of the forest answered with a quiet smile.
