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Chapter – 49
In any game, it was only a matter of time before people figured out what could be found in a specific dungeon.
The same went for Overlord.
There were about 250 kinds of pets that could be obtained from [Antiros’s Laboratory].
But the creature that hatched from the egg was something even Carlisle had never seen before.
Of course, that was only within the context of pets from [Antiros’s Laboratory].
It wasn’t as if nobody knew what kind of creature it was in general.
“Th-that’s…”
“Is this… a dream?”
“What am I even looking at…?”
Begman, Kudo, and Marder stared at the creature that had emerged from the egg, doubting their own eyes.
“Y-y…”
The coward Russell pointed at the creature, barely managing to breathe.
“Yo… yo—”
A stinging stench filled the air as Russell’s already damp pants grew even wetter.
“Grrrr!”
Suddenly, a mad roar burst from Russell’s mouth.
His eyes turned bloodshot — apparently, the shock had triggered his berserker state the moment he wet himself.
“You damned coward!”
Begman flinched in surprise and grabbed Russell.
In battle, having a berserker on your side was great — but if there were no enemies around, having one go wild nearby was nothing but trouble.
Perhaps aware of that—
“Shaaa!”
Whack!
Russell’s pet, the Forest Madweasel, swung its paw and smacked him on the head.
It might’ve just been a weasel, but the Forest Madweasel’s strength was far from ordinary.
Thud!
Russell collapsed.
Normally, even blows from mighty barbarians couldn’t faze a berserker — yet this one punch had knocked him clean out.
That alone proved the Madweasel’s power — small as it was, it possessed terrifying strength.
While that small commotion unfolded, Carlisle’s eyes never left the creature that had emerged from the egg.
It clearly had the shape of a baby dragon.
The only difference was that instead of sharp metallic scales, its body was covered in soft fur — something like velvet or cat hair.
Ding!
[???]
An unidentified baby dragon.
Classification: Dragonkin
Grade: ★★★ (☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆)
The remarkable thing was its grade.
Its current rank was three stars.
But there were nine more dim stars beside them — meaning it could grow up to 12 stars.
That was an unimaginable level of potential.
‘Is that even possible?’
Carlisle had never heard of a pet with such a high potential rank before.
Twelve stars — that was the absolute highest grade in the entire Overlord universe.
‘Is this my compensation?’
Maybe, Carlisle thought, all his past bad luck had been the universe’s way of preparing him for this moment — to draw this 12-star baby dragon.
Otherwise, his hellish gacha misfortune would make no sense at all.
The baby dragon lifted its head and looked at him.
‘Is it time for imprinting?’
Carlisle tensed slightly, meeting the creature’s gaze.
His violet eyes met its green ones — and a wave of connection seemed to pass between them.
“B…”
The baby dragon opened its mouth.
“Ba…”
“…?”
“Give me food.”
“…What?”
“I said, give me food.”
“…”
“I’m hungry.”
That was the baby dragon’s first greeting to its new master.
“What’s it saying? It keeps whining.”
Begman looked at Carlisle.
“Whining?”
“Yeah — it’s meowing like a cat or something.”
Apparently, to Begman, the baby dragon’s words just sounded like mewling.
“You’re not giving me food?”
“Huh?”
“I said I want food.”
“…Are you serious?”
Carlisle frowned.
“As a proper servant, you should know your duties.”
“…What?”
“Feed me before I report you for animal abuse. You’re not seriously planning to let a newborn starve, are you?”
“…”
There was obviously no such thing as an animal protection law in this world — but its arrogance was infuriating nonetheless.
‘Maybe the higher the rank, the worse the attitude.’
Carlisle thought as he pulled a half-damp piece of jerky from his coat and held it out.
It was a kind of field ration — soldiers carried it for hunger during long campaigns.
“You expect me to eat this?”
“You don’t want it?”
“How could you give me this… garbage? Are you even my servant?”
“…”
“Ugh. What a miserable fate I have.”
The baby dragon sighed dramatically and complained,
“Don’t you have anything else?”
“Rye br—”
“Not that.”
It frowned.
“Something sweet. A nice steak cooked in good butter. Or cake. Or cookies with tea.”
“Do I look like I’d have that lying around?”
“Che.”
It pouted, then asked,
“Servant.”
“What now.”
“Are you poor?”
“…Why are you asking that?”
“I just wondered if my servant couldn’t even afford to feed me properly. You know, the type who looks fancy but has empty pockets.”
“…”
“You’re not one of those, right?”
“Sorry to disappoint, but no. I’m from a rather wealthy house.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
The baby dragon looked genuinely relieved.
“Right now, all we’ve got are hard rye bread and dried jerky, so take it or leave it.”
“Hmm…”
“Decide. Eat or don’t.”
“Then I suppose I’ll make an exception, just this once.”
It grabbed the jerky and took a bite.
“Ugh. Disgusting. What meat is this?”
“If you’re gonna complain, don’t eat it.”
“N-no, I’ll eat it.”
It clung to the jerky.
“Given the circumstances, I’ll be lenient. Nom, nom, nom.”
Carlisle could only sigh.
The thought of living with this picky creature already gave him a headache.
“So… cute,” Begman said, face slightly red.
“Can I pet it?”
“Go ahead.”
Begman reached out his hand—
“Hisssss!!!”
The baby dragon bared its fangs and snarled.
“Ugh!”
Begman froze on the spot.
Literally froze — his body locked up completely.
“Servant.”
“Huh?”
“How could you.”
“What?”
“You let that smelly old man touch me.”
“That’s…”
“No one but you gets to touch me. Got it?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Nom, nom, nom.”
It went back to its jerky.
The baby dragon devoured not only Carlisle’s rations but also all the food the senior soldiers had brought.
“Haaa… I’m sleepy now. I’ll nap.”
It yawned hugely, then slipped right into Carlisle’s arms without even asking.
“W-what the hell is that thing?”
Begman, finally freed from paralysis, gaped in disbelief.
“Is that… really a dragon?”
“Who knows.”
Carlisle shrugged.
“It hatched from Antiros’s egg, so I doubt it’s a real dragon.”
“Hmm.”
“I’ve never seen a real one myself, so I can’t say for sure.”
Of course, dragons did exist in the Overlord universe.
‘If you’re unlucky enough, you meet one.’
Carlisle remembered when he’d encountered one while playing the game — fighting another faction in the mountains.
He must’ve disturbed its nest, because a dragon appeared… and that was that.
Game over.
His character, allies, and even enemies were all wiped out in an instant.
“Still… is it really possible for a human to tame a dragon?”
Kudo sounded uneasy.
“It imprinted on me, so I think it’s fine. And it’s not a real one, anyway.”
“Hmm.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Carlisle shrugged and moved on.
“Let’s check the last room and head back.”
The fifth chamber contained Antiros’s masterpiece.
“That’s… a person?”
“Hmm. Awkward.”
“Is she dead?”
“She’s… beautiful.”
The senior soldiers voiced their thoughts.
Inside the fifth chamber was a cylindrical tank holding a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
“Shouldn’t we rescue her?”
“If we do, we’ll all die.”
“What?”
“If we wake her, we die.”
“Wha—!”
Begman jumped in alarm.
“What the hell is she?”
“A monster.”
“A demon, then?”
“No.”
Carlisle shook his head.
“She’s Antiros’s creation, not a demon — just… incredibly dangerous.”
“Then shouldn’t we destroy her?”
Kudo’s usually smiling eyes glinted with killing intent.
“We couldn’t kill her even now, not in this state.”
“Even when she’s defenseless?”
“Yeah.”
Carlisle remembered the past — back when he’d foolishly awakened [Beatrice].
Every time, the screen had gone gray, and a [GAME OVER] message had appeared.
“To kill her, the family knights would have to get involved.”
“The family knights…”
“Maybe Selena could handle it.”
Carlisle mentioned his sister, Selena, as if she were a stranger.
“Lady Selena herself?!”
Kudo flinched.
Everyone knew how powerful Selena, eldest daughter of Duke Guntram of the House of Sigmund, truly was.
“I’m just saying — I don’t know for sure. But we’re not here to wake or kill her. Just to confirm if she’s here. So let’s leave it.”
“Understood. No need to stir up trouble.”
Kudo nodded and slowly removed his hand from his sword hilt.
“We’ve got what we came for. Let’s go.”
“Right. Time to head back.”
Begman turned around.
“Woof!”
His silver wolf, his pet, barked once and trotted ahead.
While Carlisle and Kudo talked—
Swish.
The woman in the cylindrical tank slowly opened her eyes.
No one noticed.
Maybe because she was completely naked — no one dared to stare too closely.
Her gaze drifted toward Carlisle.
‘Ha…’
Her lips moved silently, forming words no one could hear.
The glass muffled her voice completely.
Yet her crimson eyes never left Carlisle.
Her lips kept moving—
‘So… hand… some…’
She was clearly talking about him.
After all, Carlisle wasn’t just the most handsome man in the North — possibly in the entire continent.
“When we get back, it’ll probably be morning.”
“Seems like it.”
“Think they’ll let us nap a bit?”
“Doubt it. There’s the mana-stone mining work.”
“Ha…”
“Well, circumstances being what they are, please be patient. Sir Helen isn’t giving these orders for fun.”
Carlisle, oblivious to the silent praise behind him, continued chatting with Kudo as they left the chamber.
