Chapter 42

"Are... Are you still alive?"

Emma, who had initially fled, came running over once she sensed the battle was over, and Yui walked over slowly. Emma, who had caught up, looked at the fallen small dragon and asked.

I crouched down and gently touched it. I could feel a heartbeat, and it was breathing.

It was unconscious and its breathing was shallow, but it wasn’t in a critical condition; it was just weak and stable.

"Yeah, it seems to be alive."

"Really... But, Sir Cyril, how did you do that just now?"

"It’s a bit of a trump card. I’ll tell you when we get back to the base."

"Yes, sir!"

Emma was satisfied.

I looked at the fallen small dragon. At first, I hadn’t paid much attention, but now that I could observe it calmly, I noticed something.

The one lying there had a completely unfamiliar appearance.

"What... kind of species is this?"

I observed it closely, searching my mind for any knowledge. But it was indeed a species I had never seen before.

"Emma, Yui, do you know anything about this?"

"I’m sorry, I don’t know either."

"Never seen it before."

Both of them answered almost immediately. It was a species they had never seen before.

I recalled the state of the "Chimera."

"…With the Chimera, all the parts were familiar."

"Um... Yes, that’s right."

Emma thought for a moment and nodded clearly.

"In other words, all the parts were taken from some species. But this one is different."

"Yes, it looks like a normal creature, but it’s a completely unknown species."

"..."

"What do you think, Sir Cyril?"

"Let’s keep this a secret. Yui, can you apply a disguise to this one? Just when someone is around."

"...Can I make it look like a familiar species?"

"Great, you’re amazing, Yui."

I patted Yui. The Garugui species' disguise ability makes things look normal even though they are visible.

Yui understood from our conversation that this one was "special" and suggested the best method.

A quiet but smart kid. I slightly revised my evaluation of Yui.

"What about the other dragons?"

"Others?"

"They’re weak, but they’re there. Now that the big Chimera is gone, I can sense them."

"!? Let’s find them."

I was surprised and decided to look for them first. With Yui’s help, we started searching for the other dragons in the ranch.

☆

In the town hall of Bovalcel.

I returned and was facing Rose alone.

"So, I rescued 31 people. I cremated those who were already too late on the spot."

"Good job, thank you."

Rose nodded and praised me after hearing my report.

"I left the rescued people with the town’s dragon doctor. The rest—"

"Ah, we’ll take care of it. Thanks for rescuing them."

"Only about half of them, though."

"Still, that’s impressive. You managed to resolve it alone, while Lintvurm’s team failed."

"..."

"They might be noisy for a while—"

"I don’t mind."

I held out my palm, shrugged, and joked.

"I’m already in a fight with Lintvurm."

"Got it. If they make unreasonable accusations, let me know. I’ll handle it."

"Thanks."

I thanked Rose.

"By the way—"

"Yes?"

"Is... Is there anything that concerns you?"

Rose asked, her eyes slightly darting, which was unusual.

I understood. Rose knew something and was probing me.

I could tell that "something" was quite serious.

And it was something I had anticipated.

That place wasn’t just a ranch; it might have been an experimental facility where they were creating Chimeras. It was full of secrets and shouldn’t be exposed.

I had anticipated this kind of questioning, so I kept a straight face and gave the prepared answer.

"I exterminated them. They were troublesome, so I burned them to ashes without leaving a trace."

"I see."

"To be honest, unless someone uses resurrection magic, they won’t come back. I killed them thoroughly."

I pushed the boundaries with my words. Given what I had done, it was "on the edge," but I thought I needed to go this far to avoid further questioning and to gain trust.

"Sorry, dealing with dragons—"

"Pay me the reward."

"Of course."

"Then, that’s fine."

I said that and stood up. I left the town hall without showing my inner thoughts, as I had anticipated the conversation.

☆

"So, I brought a new one."

In the dragon stable at the Persolon base, I, Chris, and the new small dragon we brought back were facing each other. Chris was as calm as usual, and the small dragon was sitting quietly with a serious expression.

After explaining the situation briefly, Chris smiled.

"Hahaha, as expected, my heart friend. Good judgment."

"Really?"

"Yes. If you had handed it over honestly, it would have been destroyed as evidence."

"Really?"

"Still, humans haven’t changed in hundreds of years. They’re still researching synthetic dragons."

"Synthetic dragons... Oh, you mean the Chimera."

"Yes. To my knowledge, there are two approaches: the patchwork approach you saw and the crossbreeding of different species. Neither has been successful."

"Is that what they were doing?"

"Hahaha, but this one is interesting."

"Interesting?"

"First, it’s a species I don’t know."

"Hmm."

I nodded slightly. If even Chris didn’t know, it was definitely a new species.

"And it’s not the patchwork type you saw."

"Right, it’s different."

I nodded clearly. I could tell at a glance that it was a completely different type from the patchwork Chimera. It looked like a single species and was very natural, not a synthetic or modified type, which anyone would agree with.

"It’s closer to the type that humans aim for, a crossbreed of different species."

"I see. How did it come to this?"

"If you allow my speculation—"

"Please."

"You killed the synthetic dragon and used my bone."

"Ah, yes."

The Phoenix Horn. It did indeed revive the dead Chimera.

"At that moment, six—no, seven souls mixed and were reborn."

"Is that possible?"

"It’s just my speculation."

"Ah..."

I remembered the story.

"Hahaha, well, it’s my bone. It’s not strange for it to cause such a miracle."

Chris laughed heartily. I agreed; it made sense.

The Phoenix Horn, a divine artifact of the son of a god. It wouldn’t be surprising if it caused a miracle or two.

"Well, what should we do?"

I looked at the new small dragon. It flinched.

"Don’t worry, I’ll protect you."

"Will... Will you protect me?"

"Yes."

"Will you do anything bad?"

"Bad? What do you mean?"

"I don’t know... But something painful and sad."

"…No, don’t worry."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

I approached and patted it. Despite its small dragon appearance and the aura of a newborn baby, it was the size of an adult human. It visibly relaxed.

"Making a contract would be good."

"Contract?"

"Hahaha, it will make you more committed to protecting it, right?"

"True."

I nodded. While a contract wouldn’t change much practically, it would raise my commitment from 95 out of 100 to 100.

Since feelings are important, I decided to do it.

"Hey, kid, make a contract with my heart friend."

"Contract?"

"Yes. Drop a drop of blood on this magic circle I’m showing you."

"Okay, I understand."

It nodded obediently. Maybe because it was of the same species or because of Chris, it didn’t question and immediately dropped blood on the contract magic circle Chris showed.

I also cut my finger and dropped blood on the magic circle as usual.

The blood mixed, turned into light, and was absorbed into me.

After the magic circle disappeared with a light, I stared at my hand.

"…This is—"

"How does the new contract power feel?"

"…Transformation."

I muttered. Instantly, more light emitted from my body. Then—

"Hmm?"

Chris made an interested sound. My appearance had changed.

I had a head, torso, and limbs, just like a normal human. However, horns grew on my head, wings sprouted from my back, and my nails were sharp.

Upon closer inspection, parts of my body were covered in scales.

I looked like a human, but with some dragon features.

"Hahaha, interesting. You could call it a dragon-human hybrid."

"Dragon-human hybrid..."

I looked at the young dragon I had just contracted, recalling its appearance a moment ago.

Chimera.

I, a human who had become part dragon, might be close to the Chimera.

"Interesting, as expected, my heart friend. Hahaha, so you’re a half-dragon, half-human hybrid. This is interesting."

While Chris laughed heartily, I confirmed that I could freely switch between my fully human and half-human, half-dragon forms.