Chapter 23: The Apology Gift—Dragon Egg

Chapter 23: The Apology Gift—Dragon Egg

Thud… thud… thud…

The knocking was heavy, much like Dorothea’s pounding heartbeat.

She bit her lower lip, her face pale, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

Creak…

The door swung open on its own, without a breeze.

“What is it?”

A faint voice echoed from the depths of the grand hall.

Dorothea stared into the vast, pitch-black emptiness of the deserted hall and forced herself to steady her voice. “Grandfather sent me to deliver something.”

“Come in.”

Gritting her teeth, Dorothea stepped inside.

The hall was vast and empty, with nothing obstructing her view.

Whether it was her imagination or not, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her from the shadows.

Suppressing her unease, she walked to the end of the hall, glanced around, and then circled behind a screen wall.

Sure enough, she found a dark entrance to a basement on the floor behind the wall—its gaping maw like a beast waiting to devour its prey.

“M-Mr. Ajef… are you in the basement?” Dorothea asked nervously, standing at the entrance.

“Hmm.”

Hearing the response, she nearly burst into tears.

She hesitated for a long moment before finally steeling herself, summoning a sphere of Inch Light magic, and descending the spiral staircase.

As she wound her way down, step by step—

She froze.

None of the terrifying scenes she had imagined—pitch darkness, horrifying experiments, water dungeons, or caged magical beasts—were there.

Instead, she was met with an unexpectedly bright and orderly world!

The walls gleamed under the light, rows of glass containers stood neatly arranged, and overhead, Inch Light Magic Lamps illuminated the space as brightly as day.

Standing on the spiral staircase, Dorothea could see Ajef standing before one of the glass containers from her elevated position.

After a brief hesitation, she mustered her courage and approached.

“Mr. Ajef, I came today to apologize. I’m truly sorry for my behavior the other day—I lost my composure!” Dorothea blurted out the words she had rehearsed over and over.

With that, she took out a seed, channeled her magic into it, and activated it.

The seed fell to the ground, instantly taking root, sprouting, and blooming into a giant flower resembling a pitcher plant.

The flower writhed for a moment before spitting out an egg half the height of a person, covered in intricate Magic Runes.

Yu Sheng’an glanced at it—and then couldn’t look away.

“This Dragon Egg is an apology gift for you. I hope you can forgive my rudeness and not hold it against me,” Dorothea added, though a flicker of reluctance crossed her eyes as she looked at the egg.

Yu Sheng’an reached out and touched the Dragon Egg. “This is a dead egg. Though… there’s still a faint trace of life in it.”

Dorothea stiffened. This Ajef is truly extraordinary—he saw through the egg’s secret at a glance.

“Yes,” she admitted, not daring to explain further.

Had it not been a dead egg, her grandfather would have likely sacrificed her rather than part with it.

After all, the Dragon Clan was the most powerful magical beast race on the Azarea Continent—bar none.

Every adult dragon was born with innate Dragon Tongue Magic rivaling that of the God of Magic and a physique as formidable as a War God’s!

Beyond that, they also possessed extraordinarily long lifespans.

They were a supreme race capable of standing toe-to-toe with deities!

Their only flaw? Their abysmal reproductive rate.

On the Azarea Continent, any nation that could gain the protection of a dragon would almost guarantee millennia of prosperity and stability.

For example, the Edith Empire in the western part of the Azarea Continent was rumored to be a nation that had secured the patronage of a dragon.

From this, one could imagine the significance of a Dragon Egg.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Egg before Yu Sheng’an was practically dead, though it still clung to the faintest wisp of life.

But this sliver of vitality was likely nothing more than symbolic—like a patient kept alive by a ventilator.

Even so, the value of this Dragon Egg could not be denied.

In the hands of Dorothea’s grandfather, Doman, it might have already lost its worth. No doubt Doman had exhausted every possible method to revive it, only to fail in the end—which was why he had been willing to give it to Yu Sheng’an.

But if this Dragon Egg were to fall into the hands of the God of Life, one of the Five Great Righteous Gods, reviving it with an infusion of vitality would be effortless.

Alternatively, if it ended up with the God of Death, another of the Five Great Righteous Gods, it might very well be transformed into an Undead Dragon.

In short, in this world of magic, nothing was absolute.

"Your grandfather has better manners than you. I’ll take the egg. Go back and tell him I’m not a petty man… though when I do get petty, I stop being human."

Dorothea, who had been about to nod obediently like a good girl, nearly bit her tongue at the last sentence.

"Understood." She lowered her head with a strange expression, the weight in her chest finally lifting.

She watched as Yu Sheng’an stroked the Dragon Egg, then glanced around at the glass containers nearby, hesitating in place, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Something else?"

"N-no, nothing."

"Then go back."

"Oh."

Dorothea let out a hollow "Oh" and had no choice but to turn and leave.

Once she was gone, Yu Sheng’an’s previously composed expression instantly lit up with excitement.

He circled the Dragon Egg, muttering to himself.

"Struck gold! Struck gold!"

"This is a massive windfall!"

To think he’d actually gotten his hands on a Dragon Egg?

Holy shit, if I can hatch this thing and forge a contract with it, why would I ever fear the Five Great Righteous Gods again?

…Ahem, well, maybe I’d still be a little scared—after all, the dragon wouldn’t be fully grown yet, right?

Er, okay, even if it were fully grown, it might not be able to take on any one of them, but at least I’d have some self-defense, wouldn’t I?

The Dragon Clan’s reputation as beings on par with gods wasn’t just empty boasting!

Yu Sheng’an rubbed his hands together, then tapped the Dragon Egg with a knuckle.

"Hey? Can you hear me?"

The Dragon Egg remained silent.

"Fuck, is this really a dead egg?" Yu Sheng’an grew anxious. "That can’t be. That tiny bit of life might fool others, but it can’t fool my Divine Spark."

"But if it’s not even struggling for survival in the presence of a god, then even if it’s not completely dead, it’s probably close. Gotta act fast, or it might kick the bucket any second now."

Yu Sheng’an stroked his chin, deep in thought.

The biggest problem with this Dragon Egg was its lack of vitality.

Had it been abandoned by its mother due to some congenital deficiency?

Or had it suffered some other mishap—like falling into magma or an icy abyss—that drained its life force to the brink?

But regardless of which it was, to remedy the situation, it needed to be replenished with life force.

The spells capable of restoring life force—Doman had likely tried every feasible one.

Thus, to save this Dragon Egg, extraordinary measures were necessary.

Yu Sheng'an pondered briefly before spreading his right hand and pressing it against the Dragon Egg. Instantly, countless runes surged from his palm, flooding into the egg.

"Whether you live or die... that's up to you now. Otherwise, there's nothing more I can do."

After a long moment, Yu Sheng'an lowered his hand and murmured softly.

He was the God of Contracts, not the God of Life. The only power he could wield was that of contracts—so he had sent the Dragon Egg a single document: the Life-Sharing Contract.

If even a spark of life remained in the Dragon Egg, as long as it still held the will to survive, as long as it signed the contract... then even if it wished to die, doing so would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens!