Chapter 3 Part 1: Growth Promotion

“Yeah, I met with Ruth the other day.

“Ruth, ……?　Oh, a friend of your’s grandfather?”

“We’re , close friends”

The old man smiled.

Ruth Bell Wolfe.

He is the former head of the Marquess Wolfe family, an elderly man of the same age as my grandfather.

My grandfather often talks about old man Ruth.

As my grandpa said so himself, they probably have a long history together.

“What? did something happen to Mr. Ruth?

“Mmmh. after I met him, and I bragged to him about Matteo.

“You bragged about me?”

“Yes. My grandson is a wise boy who could already read by the time he was two years old. Now when he’s six  he’s going to read every book in the mansion.

I thought to myself, “Oh, …….”

This is just like a grandfather bragging about his grandchild.

I smiled, but I felt a little embarrassed when he boasted about me.

“That’s embarrassing, Grandpa.”

“What’s even there to be embarrassed about? Being able to read right from the age of two is a sign of genius.

He was not two years old, he was zero – he had been able to read since the day he was abandoned. I wanted to shout this but could not muster the courage to do so!!

“Mateo is undoubtedly a genius, and when i told him that, his face became as red as a lobster and he was vexed to death.

“…..”

“Hmm. He was disappointed .” “Well, most of his – or any nobleman’s – small children never read any books.”

What a shame..

There are so many books out there, so much knowledge out there, a treasure trove of knowledge that can be assimilated into your own arsenal with a little effort on your part, it’s such a waste to not read them.

So this is the race called the aristocratic race huh..

Oh,I almost forgot, I have something for you today.”

Grandpa clapped his hands and said as if he remembered something important.

I chuckled in my mind.

I thought he meant “today too” not just “today”

Yes, every time he comes to this estate, he brings me many gifts.

Most of the time it’s books, but sometimes he brings me sweets , snacks or other really expensive looking artifacts

I put on an expectant expression.

“Really? What kind of souvenirs?”

I said, making a childish expression that was befitting of  my physical age.

It was one of my childish ways of getting by.

When I receive something from my grandfather, if I express my happiness properly, he becomes happy.

You have to show your happiness through your attitude, but I feel that people can understand it even if you don’t show it openly

 But when I’m happy, I show my happiness. That’s probably my way to live life.

As expected, the old man broke into a grin when he saw that I was just plain happy at the prospect of getting another gift.

“Well, it’s not here. Come along  with me for a moment.”

“Come with me?”

“Mm.”

“Okay.”

I closed the book I was reading and put it on a nearby bookshelf.

I followed my grandfather out of the library.

I walked down the corridor with him, and he led me out of the house and into the garden.

There were a dozen or so guards under my grandfather’s direct command.

The guards were armed, and they were carefully guarding a chest.

It looked like a treasure chest, or a fancy box – a box so big that I, a six-year-old, could fit inside it and use it as a hiding place for hide and seek.

Apparently, this was the gift that was arranged for me.

“This is the gift?”

“Yes, it is.. Hey.!”

Grandpa waved towards the guards.

Then the two guards on either side of the chest opened the lid.

While doing so they were very careful with their hands

They were very careful, as if they were handling fragile glass art.

The lid of the box was opened and an egg was seen inside.

It was an egg but roughly about the size of a six-year-old.

it seemed to fit the box perfectly.　

“What is this?”

“Well, it’s a red dragon egg.”

“Well, it’s a Red Dragon egg,” he said with a proud look on his face.

“That’s a red dragon, ……?”

“hah, as expected , you know about it Mateo?”

“Yes.?

I nodded in agreement..

I’ve read a lot of books, so I know things that most six-year-olds wouldn’t know.

I’ve noticed that my grandfather gets very happy when I use the knowledge I gain from books to answer his question, “Do you know, Mateo?”

Even now, when I hear the word “red dragon,” I pulled it out of my memory.

“It’s a Legendary dragon, isn’t it? It’s the highest of the dragon species, and it’s power and magic are so great that even one of them is as powerful as an entire army of a nation.”

“humu.”

“And they also boast …… deep wisdom and intelligence as well”

“Ohh!”

I wondered why my grandfather suddenly raised his voice.

“What’s the matter?

“You’re right. Mateo is very wise after all.”

I wondered what was going on, but it was just the usual old man praising me.

“This is the egg of the Red Dragon.”

“It’s real?”

I sure was surprised this time.

I hadn’t thought much of it at first but when I heard the term “red dragon egg”, and recalled it’s traits, the pleasant feeling about owning such a thing came later

“No doubt about it. It was offered to the Emperor from a certain someone but later I later took it from him.”

“What?　Are you sure about that?”

You’re saying some crazy things gramps…

“It is no problem. It doesn’t matter at all. Even if that little emperor had the Red Dragon egg, it would be nothing but a useless treasure. It’s best that I take it and put it to use.”

The old man said something even more outrageous.

No, I’m not talking about utilizing it or anything, I’m simply saying that it would be a bad idea to take it away from the emperor to present it to your grandson……

In addition to that, calling the emperor a “brat” …… is bad enough to get you cited for lese-majesty. 

(TL Notes : the insulting of a monarch or other ruler; treason)

But he didn’t seem to spare two thoughts about such trivial things

If that’s the case, then maybe I shouldn’t worry much about it either.

Since I don’t want to go bald from worrying about it too much.

“well anyway , what is  grandfather even going to do with it?”

“umm, what do you mean? , it’s a gift for Mateo after all”

“……, come again?”

After a full three seconds of pondering, I was surprised enough to squeal loudly.

“A present for me?”

“Yes? , didn’t i state that already”

“Why?”

“You said it’s best if it’s put to better use right?.　There’s no better way than  to give it to Mateo. Wouldn’t you like that?

“Um, hmm, …… yes??

I was still too surprised to know how to react, so I nodded in agreement, but still did not feel satisfied.

“I’m not sure how to react to that.”

“wait until it hatches …….”

At then I realized.

I remembered what I knew about red dragons, or dragons in general.

I remembered what I knew about red dragons, or dragons in general. “When a dragon hatches from an egg, it thinks of the first person it sees as its parent, right?

That’s what it said.

I remembered my knowledge of dragons in general.

“If Mateo keeps it until it hatches, the hatched red dragon will think of you as its parent , and would forever remain loyal to you”

I understood where he was coming from.

I had read in a book that it was good for children’s education to have a dog when they were born and let it grow up with them.

When they are toddlers, they make good playmates.

When they grow up a little more, they become good companions.

And after the dog grows old , the children could be taught the truth of life through death. So That’s what my grandfather is trying to do to me with the dragon.

“I see. ……”

“That makes it even more of a waste to leave  it to that brat, doesn’t it? The emperor will have plenty of lackeys around him anyway.”

I understood his intentions now, but I chuckled at the thought that he should be a little more careful with his words.

I regained my composure and decided to thank him.

“Thank you, Grandfather”

“I’m so glad you’re happy.”

How long do I even  hold this egg?　

“How long do I have to keep this egg in my hand like a bird’s egg?”

I searched through my knowledge of books I had read, but found nothing related to that.

How to hatch a dragon egg, well…, I guess it’s still unknown territory to me.

“ Oh, You don’t need to do that. You don’t even need to keep an eye on it”

“Is that so?”

“Hmm. I had the court magicians to check it out. They said that it would hatch in about seven days, judging by the wavelength of it’s magic”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

“Dragons are very powerful naturally,  in human terms they are in the belly. Dragons are so powerful that we can hear the heartbeat with some skills.”

“Oh, so that’s how it works.”

That’s interesting, I learned a lot today.

If that’s the case, I guess I should carefully store the eggs somewhere for six days.

I’m not sure what to do now.

I approached the egg carefully.

The guard guarding it reacted.

I’m not sure if I should stop or go forth, and then looked at my grandfather asking for instructions.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s a gift for Mateo. Let him do what he wants.”

When he said that, the guard stopped his attempt to stop me, meanwhile i felt a little relieved.

I know how you feel.

It’s a better to get authorization first from your superiors to do something you weren’t instructed to do.

It happens a lot in the corporate world.

While thinking this , I touched the egg carefully

I was curious about the so called  “heartbeat”  of a dragon as my grandfather just called it.

So I touched it, but of course I couldn’t hear the heartbeat.

Instead, something worse happened

the egg started to glow with a bright light.

“What?!”

“What is happening?!”

(TL NOTES : The previous chap did get updated on nu but it seems like the reader’s were not notified .. anyway click down below to make sure you read the 2nd chap first uwu)

Chapter 3 Part 2 : Growth Promotion

I was in a panic and while gramps was startled.

Meanwhile , the light grew brighter and more intense.

I tried to retract my hand back, but it was stuck to the surface of the egg and wouldn’t budge.

” Are you alright, Mateo??

“Uh, yeah. My hand is stuck to the egg.

“What? Hey! Break the damn egg.”

After less than a second of thinking, the grandfather ordered the guard beside him.

I was astonished.

“What the heck? Wait a second Grandpa, this  is the precious red dragon egg, isn’t it?

“I don’t give a damn, I can’t risk Matteo’s safety!”

He said decisively.

“Do it!”

“ Ha!”

I’m not sure what to think, but I think it’s a good idea.

As it was, they struck the egg.

The tip of the spear, unfortunately, did not reach the egg.

The light became like an opaque wall, blocking everyone’s spears.

The guards shouted, ” Hai! ” Yah!” The guards thrust again and again, but there was no sign that their attacks would reach the egg.

“ Ugh…. Give it to me, I’ll..”

The old man snatched the spear from one of the guards and prepared to break the egg himself.

In the next moment, the situation took a further turn.

Until then, only the egg had been glowing.

But now even my body began to glow.

“Mateo!”

The old man was flabbergasted.

“Are you okay, Mateo?”

“Yeah, I guess so. No, I’m fine. It’s …… nothing.”

I looked at my hand.

I looked at my hand, the one that was not stuck to the egg.

It was glowing, but there was nothing special about it.

It’s just my hand – my body – that’s glowing.

Gradually, the light shifted from my body to the egg.

It’s as if it’s being drawn in.

 “???”

“What?

What’s wrong?

There was a sound.

A sound?

–Doc-doc.

“I heard it again–a heartbeat?

I mumbled and looked at the egg.

The heartbeat I’ve been hearing since the light was swallowed up.

I kept calm and listened intently.

Then I realized that the sound wasn’t coming from my ears, but from my palms.

It was a strange phenomenon.

It’s very difficult to explain how it sounds, but I can clearly tell that it’s coming from the palm of my hand.

I’m sure of it.

The next moment, the egg lit up with a flash.

It had been glowing faintly until then, but then the light diffused explosively.

I’m not stuck to it anymore.

I covered my face with my other unattached hand and turned my head away.

“Mateo!

I could hear my grandfather shouting as the light gradually subsided.

Eventually, the light settled down completely – right after that.

“Kryuu!

Something jumped at me.

I fell backwards and landed on my butt on the spot.

I fell backwards and landed on my ass on the spot, and something tackled me and landed on my stomach.

And then it licked my face!

“Kryuu, Kryuuu!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a small creature on top of me, licking my face.

This became my first ever encounter with the legendary Red Dragon.