The clear, cold sound of standard Draconic reached the ears of the two juvenile dragons.
Both juvenile dragons froze at the same time.
Irene looked up at Mother Dragon, seeing only cold indifference on her face.
It was as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
Having lived here for four years, it would be a lie to say she felt absolutely no affection.
The human part of her soul still cared somewhat about Mother Dragon.
Unfortunately, Mother Dragon was different from her.
Chromatic dragons possessed very weak familial bonds. Seeing that the two juvenile dragons now had the ability to survive on their own, Mother Dragon only wanted to kick them out as quickly as possible.
That way, no other dragons would disturb her sleep.
“Mom! I can't bear to leave you!”
Daviel wailed dramatically, throwing himself toward the pile of gold coins he had just put down.
But before he could even touch the gold, a thick tail whipped over and sent him flying with a loud bang.
He landed right next to Irene.
His head was buried deep in the soft dirt.
“Leave. Get out of my territory and go establish your own.”
Mother Dragon delivered her final ultimatum. Having spoken, she curled back down onto her mountain of treasure.
She closed her eyes.
Around her, a magic barrier materialized out of thin air.
It enveloped the adult black dragon and her treasure, shielding them from the outside.
In the mind of a chromatic dragon, once a hatchling was kicked out of the nest, they became a stranger.
Whether they lived or died was no longer the mother dragon's concern.
Since they were now strangers, it was only natural to guard against them.
“Mom! I don't want to go! I want to live and die with you!”
Daviel pulled his head out of the dirt and continued to wail.
I think you just want to live and die with the gold coins, Irene grumbled in her mind.
Dragging Daviel by his tail, she headed out of the cave.
She had long anticipated this day, though she hadn't expected it to come quite so soon.
“Noooo!”
Daviel wailed, his face and claws plowing a long trench into the ground as he was dragged.
After the two juvenile dragons left the lair, Mother Dragon Sylvely opened her eyes a crack.
She cast a barrier spell to seal off the entire dragon nest.
Only then did she close her eyes and drift back to sleep.
...
Outside the dragon nest.
Irene spread her wings and burst out of the swamp, tossing Daviel onto the shore.
Without looking back, she flew toward the spot where she had buried the space gems.
Although they had been siblings who faced life and death together just moments ago,
for chromatic dragons, that relationship ended the moment they left the nest.
If they met again in the future, they might very well be enemies.
From now on, she had to strike out on her own.
The items inside those space gems would be her starting capital to build everything from scratch.
Her dragon wings cut through the night air, producing a soft whistling sound.
Irene quickly arrived at the area where the gems were buried.
Looking down from above, this lifeless basin amidst the dense forest was far too conspicuous.
After landing, Irene expertly located the burial spot.
She dug up her three space gems.
She left Daviel's alone.
It only contained some gold coins and useless materials anyway.
There was no need to make an enemy of an evil dragon so early on for such things.
That would seriously hinder her early-stage development.
Popping the three gems into her mouth and tucking them under her tongue, Irene looked out over the Great Gana Forest, which was shrouded in the night sky.
“It's time to leave this place.”
Although this forest was rich in food, it was too close to the human kingdoms to the east, carrying the risk of adventurers tracking them down.
Just because they had successfully turned the tables on the adventurers this time didn't mean they would be so lucky in the future.
They couldn't rely on luck every single time.
Without Mother Dragon's protection, a single mistake would cost them their lives.
It would be best to find a place with no powerful magical beasts and where human adventurers rarely set foot, and lay low for a few decades.
She would only emerge once she was strong enough.
Irene began to carefully consider her options based on the geographical information recorded in her Draconic Inheritance.
The human kingdoms to the east of the Great Gana Forest were the first to be ruled out.
Going there would be like walking straight into a trap. If she wasn't slain, she would be broken and trained as a mount.
To the south lay the territory of a mature green dragon.
If she were discovered, the worst outcome would be enslavement.
To the north, across the San Pedro Mountains, was dwarf territory.
Those guys spent their lives forging and mining, building bodies of pure muscle. It was best not to provoke them.
Finally, Irene turned her gaze to the west.
To the west of the Great Gana Forest lay the desolate God-Forsaken Land.
Back when the beastkin ruled the continent, that region had been the seat of the prosperous Beastkin Royal Court.
However, after the divine war ten thousand years ago, the overlords of the continent shifted from the beastkin to humans.
Now, nothing but a vast desert remained.
The God-Forsaken Land was incredibly vast, yet only a few scattered tribes of beastkin and half-beastkin lived there. It was virtually uninhabited.
“Though it's a bit desolate, it's safe enough. Perfect for laying low and growing in secret.”
Irene finalized her destination.
An endless desert was an absolute forbidden zone for other creatures; without food or water, it was a death sentence.
But for top-tier magical creatures like dragons, it wasn't much of an issue.
If they couldn't find food, they could just eat dirt and still survive perfectly fine.
With that in mind, the little dragon girl was just about to spread her wings when a familiar voice suddenly called out from above.
“Sis, wait up!”
Irene looked up and saw Daviel flapping his wings, panting as he caught up to her.
“Hmm?”
Before Irene could speak, Daviel dove down and landed on the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
He immediately began coughing violently from the dust he had kicked up.
“Cough, cough, cough...”
Irene spread her wings and flapped them a few times, blowing the dust away.
She stared at the little black dragon before her with a wary gaze.
Chromatic dragons possessed weak emotions. Now that they had been kicked out of the nest by Mother Dragon, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she and her brother were now enemies.
She couldn't afford not to be cautious.
After coughing for a while, Daviel noticed Irene's impatient glare and quickly waved his claws to show he meant no harm.
Fidgeting nervously, he said,
“Dearest sister, can you take me with you?”
Irene narrowed her eyes slightly, sizing up her younger brother.
It was not easy for a dragon hatchling kicked out of the nest to survive.
Especially during the juvenile dragon stage.
This stage was between the hatchling phase, when they were protected by their mother, and the adolescent phase, when they possessed decent combat capabilities.
It was the time when they were most vulnerable to dying from various accidents.
One could say it was the age bracket with the highest mortality rate for dragons.
Banding together was indeed a great way to stay safe.
Especially since they were hatched from the same clutch of eggs, meaning they understood each other better.
Staying together would allow them to act like a wolf pack, gaining greater strength and increasing their chances of survival.
Though Daviel was usually a bit of a goofball, he was still a true dragon and possessed decent combat power.
Add to that the slight bond they had built over the past four years...
After weighing the pros and cons in her mind, Irene spoke under Daviel's expectant gaze:
“I can, but you must submit to me and surrender everything you have.”
“Huh?”
Daviel was clearly taken aback.
After hesitating for half a second, he reluctantly removed the panties, stockings, and bra from his head and presented them with both claws.
Irene: “...”
Rate on N.U.
