Chapter 50

The original child's gaze shifted between me and Louise, then settled on me.

Instead of Louise, it stared intently at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Could you be... Dad?"

"Huh? No, I'm just a human—"

"Why are you in human form, Dad? You looked different just now."

"---Hmm?"

I was about to say, "I'm just a human, so I'm not your dad," but I paused, tilting my head as I looked back at the original child, caught by its words.

"Just now..."

"Maybe it's the form you take when you transform, Master."

"Oh... transform."

I muttered and transformed into a dragon person.

The original child exclaimed, "I knew it!" and jumped at me.

"Whoa!"

It tackled me, and I hurriedly held it in my arms.

"It's Dad!"

"Hmm"

"Oops, you're back in human form again."

I had switched back to human form almost instantly because of the energy consumption, and the original child seemed a bit disappointed.

"---Oh well."

It made a thoughtful face for a moment but quickly accepted it with a carefree attitude, as if to say, "It's fine, don't worry about the details."

"What's going on?"

"Probably because it's the first dragon-like being it's ever seen."

"What do you mean, Louise?"

"I heard from another kid that the originals, unlike us, aren't born from human hands. They seem to imprint on the first dragon they see after birth."

"---Imprinting, huh."

"Maybe when Master saved it, it saw you in your dragon person form."

"I see."

I nodded slightly.

It's not uncommon for this to happen with other animals, so I accepted it easily.

"But... that's amazing, Master. For an original to become attached to a human, something extraordinary must have happened. And for it to happen so quickly..."

"Yeah... I guess so..."

It's true that originals don't usually become attached to humans.

That's why the profession of Dragon Knight appeared after modified dragons were introduced.

Until the first successful breeding of dragons, they lived in a completely different world from humans.

Back then, dragons were what we now call "originals," so it's natural that they didn't become attached to humans.

I was lucky.

I could transform into a dragon person and appeared in that form before the original child for the first time.

That's why I became the "first dragon (or dragon-like being)" it saw.

Satisfied, I put the original child down, and it pressed its body against my leg.

The affectionate gesture was adorable, like a puppy.

"Hey, Master, where do you think this kid was born?"

"Hmm?"

"Are there others?"

"---I see!"

Louise's words made me realize something.

I hadn't thought about it, but it was indeed a possibility.

I squatted down to be at eye level with the original child.

"Hey, where were you born?"

"Where?"

"Where were you when you first realized you existed?"

"Over there!"

It said and suddenly took off.

"Pretty fast---wow, super fast!!"

While I was amazed, the original child accelerated rapidly.

It ran incredibly fast, almost like it was skimming the ground. I'd say it was about three times as fast as a horse.

"Huff... huff... so fast..."

Louise, who was chasing after it, was already out of breath.

Balaurs have stamina, but they're not good at short distances.

"It's good that it can run, but why is it so fast?"

"The original kids are good at short distances, unlike us."

"Really?"

"That's not useful for humans, so we were modified to be better at other things."

"..."

The word "modified" caught my attention.

"More importantly, Master, chase it. We might lose it."

"Got it, Louise, you rest."

"Okay!"

"Transform."

I transformed into a dragon person.

My abilities skyrocketed with the transformation.

I sprinted at full speed, chasing the original child.

Even with the enhanced speed of a dragon person, it was almost the same, just enough to keep up.

We entered the forest.

This wasn't good.

Louise said Balaurs and originals are good at short distances, but in a way, I'm also limited to short distances.

I didn't know how far I needed to follow, and I might run out of energy and fall behind.

I was about to call it back when—

The view opened up.

We had reached a valley surrounded by cliffs, with sunlight pouring down from above.

It was like a bowl-shaped terrain.

In the middle of this terrain, the original child had stopped and turned to face me.

"Here, Dad."

"I see."

I was relieved.

I hadn't run out of energy.

I transformed back into a human and slowly approached.

Then, I stood next to the original child.

"Ah..."

Looking down, I understood.

There was a cracked eggshell on the ground, slightly smaller than the child.

"Did you come out of this?"

"Yeah. Dad wasn't there, so I went looking for you."

"I see."

I looked around the egg.

I wondered if there were any clues about the child or other eggs.

I searched the area.

Then, I found something that looked like a claw.

I picked it up and examined it closely.

"This is... Ah, I see."

I glanced at the original child.

It had the same shape as the child's foot claws, but the size was different. It was probably dropped by the child's real parent.

"Hey, where's the girl?"

"Oh, you were too fast, so she's resting on the way back."

"Really!? What should I do? I'm sorry, girl!"

The original child said and took off even faster than before, heading back.

It quickly left the valley.

"Should I chase it?"

I didn't have much energy left, but I wasn't completely drained.

If something happened, it would be bad, so I decided to chase it and keep it in sight.

I muttered, "Transform."

I transformed back into a dragon person—right then.

The dragon claw I was holding glowed, then melted and gathered at my feet.

My dragon person feet, which had relatively sharp claws, now had claws in the same shape as the original child's, thanks to the melted original claw.

"What's going on... Hmm?"

I had a hunch and kicked off the ground, sprinting.

"---!"

I was shocked.

I immediately understood.

With the original claw integrated into my feet, I could run at twice the speed I could before!