I Raised A Black Dragon

Muell blinked his round red eyes once, and immediately, the apple Adrian had tossed in the air was engulfed in black flames.

“Oh… Oh, no.” The ashes of the apple pitifully trickled on Adrian’s palm. The child chomped on his apple as he watched the man shake the dust off his hand in dismay. Soon, the red fruit disappeared into the boy’s mouth.

Adrian was surprisingly nervous as he looked at the little devil who had burned his apple. The ashes that fell on his palm still felt hot. He had only blinked once, but when his eyes fluttered open, the apple had already become dust. Had the child’s aim been slightly off, it might have been his head that would become ashes.

The child’s dark red eyes, which glistened like a star whenever he sees Park Noah, was surprisingly dull. It was a look that seemed uninterested — an expression that didn’t fit the young age of curiosity. He also resembled Park Noah to the extent that any stranger would assume he was indeed her child. 

The young dragon sucks in all the knowledge around it like a sponge. In particular, it most often resembles the disposition of the imprinted master. Muell was in the midst of growing into the most relaxed, optimistic, otherwise, lazy dragon to ever set foot in their world. Still, his defenses were as fast as a hedgehog’s spines, but only when Park Noah was involved. 

“The apple is delicious. I’m sure you’ll want to make it a little more expensive-“

A bicycle carrying bottles of milk almost accidentally crashed into Park Noah. The boy who rode it stopped his bicycle in a hurry and ran to her.

“Sorry, madam! Forgive me!”

“Uh… No, it’s okay.”

“Sorry!”

Park Noah was surprised but shook her hands nonetheless, and the biker proceeded with his errands. Adrian, however, saw Muell’s hardened expression. At a distance, bottles of milk floated midair.

“Oh, should I buy milk?” Park Noah pondered, pausing in her steps. The bottles of milk, which were on the verge of colliding against each other, froze in the air.

She tilted her head and muttered, “Yes… By the way, I should warm Mu’s milk and add sugar… Excuse me!”

As soon as she turned around, the bottles of milk quickly fell into place. At the same moment, Adrian caught a glimpse of Muell, who wore a frown on his face, which said, ‘If I get caught, I’ll be dead.’

A hint of curiosity sparked in the man’s green orbs while simultaneously sensing a premonition of trouble from the young child. The golden watch in his pocket rang again, but the call for Adrian Rossinell was ignored this time as well.

*

They spent two more days in Battuanu. At first, she planned to go to the capital as quickly as possible, but she delayed her schedule for half a day, stuck in a seemingly endless dilemma between getting up or staying in bed.

“I heard the ship departs at noon. Let’s sleep for two more hours before we pack.”

Six hours later…

“We’re late anyway, so maybe we can take another day off…”

Another six hours later…

“No, we should go to Tezeba. We need to find Lenia…”

And about a day later…

“Wouldn’t it be better to take a rest and replenish our energies instead of rushing around looking for Lenia? Also, I took care of the trash. What do you think, Mu?”

At this point, the ferry seemed not to be the threat, but her unwillingness to move.  Park Noah shot Muell a look, hoping that the child would agree to her suggestions, and as expected, he nodded his head enthusiastically. To him, Park Noah was the light, the truth, and the center of the universe.

However, after another day, they still couldn’t go. Unfortunately, Park Noah’s cold worsened, resulting in a flu. 

– Hurt? She did say she had a cold a few days ago. She didn’t get better?

“Yes…”

– Don’t cry.

A sigh resounded from the handset. Tears brimmed in Muell’s eyes as he clutched the telephone handset tightly with both his hands. Upon seeing Park Noah, who struggled to walk upright, he hastily went outside to find a telephone booth.

Just like what she did last time, Muell dialed the same number and the call was unexpectedly connected. As soon as he heard a familiar voice, the child burst into tears.

“When are you coming? When Noah dies, I will kill you too.”

– Why am I involved? It is you, not me, who makes Noah sick.

“Uh…” Unable to deny the fact, the poor boy could only sob. Kyle Leonard immediately changed his words. 

– No, it’s not your fault, so don’t cry. Didn’t Noah tell you that a good kid doesn’t cry?

“She did…” 

– Yeah, that’s right. Don’t cry, just let Noah sleep tight. I’ll arrive sometime tomorrow. Do you understand, Mu?

Muell mumbled a soft ‘yes’, rubbing his swollen eyes with his other hand. On the other side, Kyle Leonard muttered to himself, wondering why he had to worry over a crying dragon. Then, he told Muell to be on Park Noah’s side, and soon after, the call ended. 

The child placed the handset back to its place and left the booth in low spirits. He trudged towards the hotel with his sunken shoulders.