I Opened an Inn Next to a Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 169



Only Noblemtl

Episode 169

[Oh! Son! You’re here!]

“Oh, Father? You’re a little early. Didn’t you say you’d come tomorrow?”

[But you have to be able to endure it. There’s no difference between tomorrow and today, right? Anyway, come here. Let’s have a touching reunion between father and son after a long time. Hahaha!]

Flutter, flutter! The giant dragon flapped its wings vigorously. A tremendous strong wind accompanied it. The Dragon Lair of Carnius was so large and tall that it was possible to walk around in its original form without any problems.

[Son. Are you ready? Let’s go!]

“No, Father. The child is not ready yet… … Ugh!”

Karnius was startled. The huge body was pouring down. He quickly rolled over. Boom! Dust rose.

Carnius shook his messy hair. He narrowly escaped the attack. But it was too early to feel relieved.

Another dragon body slam was attempted. Carnius quickly used his flight magic and leaped high into the air. However, Sieghart suddenly changed direction as if he had been aiming for it.

[Son, you still haven’t practiced enough. Haven’t I told you over and over again that dodging into the air isn’t a good idea!]

Sieghardt charged into the air with his eyes shining. Carnius was still floating in the air. It seemed impossible for him to avoid that quick body slam in this state. This was checkmate!

But what happened? Carnius’ body suddenly snapped and sank to the floor.

[Oh. Our son, you’re quite the talent. Now you can use the verb weight so skillfully.]

“Of course. Little one, you are a full-fledged Jackie Chan now. You are not the hatchling you used to be… … .”

Phew!

“Cough!”

Carnius fell down, spitting blood and looking shabby. Eugene ran to Carnius in horror. What the hell. Is a father trying to kill his son!

Eugene tried to support Carnius, but Carnius shook his head.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing. It’s just my father’s way of greeting.”

“What? What, hello?”

“Yeah. It happens all the time.”

To Eugene, it was an absurd statement. What the heck? So, that was a greeting?

Soon Sieghardt’s large body was engulfed in light and shrunk to a human body. In an instant, Sieghardt, who had become a blond middle-aged man, approached.

“That’s great, son. You’ve improved a lot. I didn’t know you could dodge this much. Hahaha.”

“Of course. Ugh, this hurts so bad.”

Carnius jumped up and shook the dirt off his body. Thud! He also spat out bloody saliva.

“Yes. Just do that. Then you too will become a great dragon like your father.”

Sieghardt patted his son’s back as if he was proud… no, he hit him hard. It was almost like beating him. Isn’t he going to die like that?

“Ouch! Ouch! It hurts!”

“What makes you say it hurts?”

“What can I do if I say I’m sick?”

“This kid, you’re still being too harsh. I didn’t raise you like that. Are you really a man?”

“No, I said stop hitting me. Eww!”

As I watched the touching reunion between the rich brothers, I suddenly remembered my first meeting with Carnius.

The shocking behavior of Carnius, who tried to shoot his breath as soon as they met.

At that moment, I thought I knew why he did that.

‘It was because I took after my father.’

The saying that blood is thicker than water was indeed true.

* * *

What should parents do when they come to visit their independent son’s house?

Of course, it’s a house tour.

“Where. Let’s see how well our son is doing.”

Sieghart walked around the lair, looking around every nook and cranny, including the central space, which was the main living space, and even the various warehouses.

Carnius’s lair was a bit messy. There were things scattered all over the floor. But Sieghart didn’t really care about that.

“Your mother always tells you to clean up and live neatly. But I don’t think it’s necessary. As long as it doesn’t look dirty, that’s fine. Don’t you think so?”

“Of course. Father is right.”

“As expected, you know very well. It’s no use being a man and worrying about such trivial things. Yes. That’s true.”

Carnius nodded in agreement. That was why Carnius liked his father. Even if he was a little angry.

But his mother? She’s such a neat freak. She was the same when Karnius was a hatchling. She would nag him every day to clean his room, saying, “Is this a pigsty or a dragon lair?”

“I like my father the best. I think we’re a perfect match… … .”

“But.”

Sieghardt cut off Carnius.

“There is one thing I cannot tolerate.”

“Huh? Tolerance? What does that mean… … .”

“Why don’t you bring in the Guardian?”

Oops, Carnius clicked his tongue.

“Since ancient times, if a dragon has made a nest, it is essential to have a guardian to protect the nest. Why didn’t you bring in a guardian?”

“Oh, I see. That is… … .”

“Hasn’t this father repeatedly told you? A guardian is another class of dragon. Either very powerful, very pretty, very rare, or there are many of them. In any case, this father has repeatedly told you to bring in a great guardian for the past hundred years. Why didn’t you listen to this father?”

Eugene looked at Carnius who was constantly being scolded.

For some reason, the guy’s shoulders were slumped.

The guy glanced at Eugene.

Eugene turned away from her gaze and slowly walked away.

I didn’t want to get scolded by my friend’s dad either.

* * *

“No, but is it right to scold them like that? Eugene, what do you think?”

Carnius kept grumbling.

The reason was because he was angry at his father.

“Guardians? Of course they’re important. But, it’s not like things will be a big deal if there aren’t any Guardians, right? Right?”

“Huh? That’s true.”

“It’s not that I didn’t try to save you. I tried to save this body too. But what can I do if there’s no guardian I like?”

Carnius’s grumbling did not stop.

Sieghart has not yet gone. But the reason why Carnius can grumble is because he is not here now. It is said that even the king curses in places where he is not present.

“Whew. Eugene, it would be nice to have a guardian like you.”

Carnius, who had been lamenting, looked at Eugene blankly.

“While you’re at it, won’t you be the guardian of this body?”

“no.”

“I guess so. I was just joking.”

I guess it wasn’t a joke… … .

I didn’t necessarily say those words out loud.

At that moment, Sieghardt came walking from the corner of the room. He was on his way back from the warehouse, saying he was going to give his son a present.

“I put some pocket money in there, so go check it out later.”

“Pocket money?”

“Yeah! You little punk! Do you really want to live like that after becoming a dragon?”

“What are you talking about? I have a lot of money.”

“I don’t have much money. I only have enough to fill one warehouse. I need to fill at least ten warehouses so I can say, ‘Oh, at least I won’t starve.’ Do you understand?”

“yes.”

“Why are there so few answers?”

“yes!”

Sieghard nodded in satisfaction at Carnius’s loud answer.

And only then did he turn his gaze to Eugene.

“By the way, did you say your name was Eugene?”

“yes.”

“Let’s meet up sometime.”

Tingle! A sharp gaze was fixed on Eugene. Eugene did not avoid the gaze. He accepted it calmly.

It was quiet. However, an invisible mana storm was sweeping the scene.

We exchanged glances like that for about 3 minutes.

“That’s great.”

Sieghardt’s eyes, which had been as blazing as the sun, began to dim.

“A human who can match a dragon. A human who our son would consider a friend. I’ve heard countless stories about you from my wife, but honestly, I didn’t believe it. Not just me, but no dragon would trust you either.”

“… … .”

“But now that I look at it, I see. It was real. I will believe it. You are a strong person.”

Sieghardt extended his hand. Eugene took it and shook it. At the same time, a single voice pierced his mind.

– I salute you. You are a human who has reached the highest level.

Eugene flinched. Sieghardt was looking at him with a smiling face.

-Now I see, it wasn’t my son playing with you, it was you playing with my son.

Sieghart flicked his hand. Mana came out of his hand and seeped into Eugene’s chest.

-It’s my gift. It’s a kind of sign that you’re a friend of dragons. Even if another dragon who doesn’t know you encounters you, they will never be hostile to you.

Sieghardt’s kindness was felt. Eugene smiled and nodded in return.

* * *

“Let’s get to the point. I heard you have an item imbued with the power of a demon.”

“yes.”

“Can I see it just once? I want to see it.”

“yes.”

There was no way it wouldn’t work. Eugene took a dark gray bottle out of his bosom.

More than two weeks had passed, but there had been no response. This meant that the owner of the traces was still in the incubation period.

Sieghardt received the bottle and examined it carefully. His eyes sparkled. In fact, the main reason he came to see his son today was to see this.

“At first glance, it looks exactly like Magi. But, it’s different. Not completely different, but subtly different. Hmm… … . It’s interesting. Eugene, can I open this?”

“It doesn’t matter if you open it, it will disperse soon.”

“Other than that, is there anything in particular I should be careful about?”

“yes.”

“To that extent, there is no problem.”

Sieghardt flicked his hand. A translucent balloon-like thing appeared in the air. The balloon wrapped around the surrounding area like a curtain.

Then he opened the bottle cap. As the cap opened, the dark-gray aura trapped inside began to leak out. It looked like a house on fire. Pitch-black smoke billowing out of a house on fire.

The smoke spread in all directions and tried to fly away. However, it was not able to achieve its purpose. Sieghart had already taken measures to prevent it from escaping.

“Hmm. I guess this is enough.”

When he was halfway through, Sieghardt closed the cap. The dark gray color in the bottle had faded considerably, and the surrounding area was thick with smoke that had not escaped.

Sieghardt flicked his hand again. Then the balloon-like thing surrounding him slowly compressed and decreased in size.

The balloon kept shrinking and shrinking until it became the size of a fist.

It took the shape of a dark gray water balloon.

“Can I take this?”

“I don’t care, but what are you trying to do?”

“I intend to study it. The unknown monster that has never appeared on the continent before and the unknown power it wields. I can’t help but study it. Right?”

“That’s true. If that’s the case, you can do that.”

“Thank you.”

Sieghardt smiled. His eyes were filled with intense curiosity.

“I’ll take it and study it hard, and let you know when I get some results.”

“Yes. I’ll look forward to it.”

“I agree. I’m looking forward to it. Hehe.”

They say that among dragons, gold dragons are particularly curious, and it seems that is true.

Sieghardt looked really excited, like a child who got a toy.