The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 69

Chapter 10: Hatching: Fusion of the Bastard

An unintended devoted fan was born.

Or should I call her a leech?

Sasha continued to rub against me in my arms for a long time, smelling me.

“A lady shouldn’t cling to just anyone. You must behave properly.”

It was only after Zion pulled Sasha away that she finally let go.

Even after the distance increased, she looked at me with eyes full of regret.

I had an idea why she was showing me such excessive interest.

‘High elves are beings who strongly communicate with nature.’

Just looking at Henon’s biological mother, who became an oak tree itself after death, you can see how great the high elves’ natural empathy is.

To such a high elf, a druid like Henon would feel closer than a childhood friend.

Above all, I currently have two golden branches, fragments of the World Tree, and dragon blood in my body.

Not only that.

Henon is half human, but the other half is of high elf blood, so in a way, he is a distant cousin to Sasha, who is a pure-blooded high elf.

Adding to this is Sasha’s unstable psychology as a loner who has been chased out of her tribe and has nowhere to go and no one to rely on, resulting in a one-sided affection offensive towards me.

As evidence, when Tom, Zion, or Campbell spoke, she would make a blank expression and not even answer, but when she faced me, her eyes sparkled particularly brightly.

“Uncle, I’ll help too.”

Sasha suddenly said she would help me.

“With what?”

“There’s an enemy to get rid of, right?”

“You’re going to help me catch Greed?”

“Yes.”

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

I’m taking the other slaves because they have a firm sense of purpose to kill Greed, but I felt uncomfortable taking a young girl who simply volunteered because she wanted to look good to me to a combat zone.

“I thought about it before I spoke. I want to help you, and I’ve lived long enough to make this kind of judgment myself.”

While I was slightly conflicted, Tom, who had been watching from the side, opened his mouth.

“Henon, I don’t want this either, but in the current situation, taking that child is the best option.”

“That’s right. I don’t want to be left here alone. I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

In the end, I decided to take Sasha with me.

She seemed happy just by the fact that she could be with me.

But there’s something that’s been bothering me since earlier.

“By the way, Sasha.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you call me uncle? The age difference between you and me isn’t that great.”

In reality, Henon’s age, whom I possessed, is roughly around adulthood.

If Sasha was a child, it would be understandable, but in Korea, it would only be a three or four-year difference at most.

Upon hearing my question, the Heavenly Demon sneered in my mind.

-From the moment you asked that question, you become an uncle.

Zion also looks at me with rarely seen disappointed eyes.

“Then did you want her to call you ‘oppa’ [an affectionate Korean term used by younger women to address older men]? It’s like seeing the young master from the old days before he changed after a long time.”

On the other hand, Sasha tilts her head.

“No. You’re an uncle. You’re much older than me, right?”

“It’s only about three or four years.”

“No. Not three or four years.”

The high elf scrutinized me with her unique silver eyes.

It felt like I was being stripped naked.

I had a feeling.

Could it be that Sasha is focusing on my essence possessed inside, not Henon’s outward appearance?

I really thought that might be the case.

After looking for a while, she smiles brightly.

“Yes! You’re an uncle!”

“Damn it. I get it. Stop saying it.”

* * *

Before departing to catch Greed.

I took time to inspect the items brought from the auction house.

There were so many precious and good items, but the best among them were the mermaid’s tears and the heart of a low-grade demon, which were difficult to obtain.

As soon as I put the heart of the low-grade demon on the desk, the sub-dimensional gourd hanging on my waist shook.

“Just hold on a little longer.”

It couldn’t stay still for a moment, like a puppy with a snack in front of it.

The dragon egg, which came out of the sub-dimensional gourd on its own, expressed its joy with its whole body by bouncing around.

“Huh? Vice-Captain. What’s that?”

Campbell happened to enter the room. Seeing the dragon egg for the first time, he looked at the egg with curious eyes. The egg was so cute that he stroked it with unexpectedly gentle hands.

There are originally guys like that. Men who are huge but don’t know what to do when they see a puppy or a cat. Is Campbell that type too?

“Slurp! There’s such a big egg. How many fried eggs would come out if you boiled this?”

He wasn’t curious, but drooling.

For reference, this little guy inside the dragon egg is quite smart. It understands almost everything we say outside.

The dragon egg, realizing that it was being targeted as food, was startled and jumped up, hitting Campbell’s lower jaw.

Thwack!

“Ouch! This guy has good strength. If you boil it, it’ll be very nutritious.”

Rather than having a fundamental question about why the egg is moving, I was newly impressed by Campbell’s way of thinking, which calculates the nutritional value when consumed based on its active activity.

“You’re really something. You can’t eat that.”

“Vice-Captain, think about it. When else in our lives would we have the chance to eat an egg this big? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Even though his lower jaw was clearly red from being hit, he didn’t care and tried to grab the dragon egg with both hands.

I was about to stop him, thinking that the hatchling inside might have a seizure, when,

Pajijijijijik!!!

Sparkling electricity flowed out of the egg, covering Campbell.

“Aaaaaaaah!!!”

Campbell, who was electrocuted, trembled all over like a lightning-struck rat. The electricity struck from the inside of Campbell, so even he, who was known for his toughness, took a hit.

On the other hand, I was surprised.

Electricity was coming out of the egg.

Since there were no formulas engraved on the eggshell, it was right to see this as an ability manifested by the hatchling inside.

A creature that emits lightning is not easy to find even on the Arnia continent.

It hasn’t hatched yet, but I think that guy will be quite useful when he comes out into the world.

“An egg that makes me want to challenge it. Boiling or frying it is good, but grilling it wouldn’t be bad either.”

“No. Just go back.”

I forcibly pushed Campbell, who was burning his fighting spirit in a strange place, out of the room.

Even after Campbell left, the dragon egg kept shaking left and right, and I could easily guess that it was very angry even though it couldn’t speak.

“I’m sorry. You have to bear with it. You knew he was like that from the start.”

Pajik! Pajik! Pajijijik!!

It expresses its displeasure by sparking electricity around the eggshell. To soothe this feeling, I put the demon’s heart nearby.

“Eat this and calm down.”

As expected, a snack is a special medicine.

As soon as it saw the heart of the low-grade demon, the dragon egg bounced over and began to absorb its energy.

The demon’s heart gradually became smaller, and each time, the energy flowing out of the dragon egg became clearer.

[Dragon Egg Hatching Rate – 50%]

It was 30% after absorbing Dantaleon last time, but it went up 20% from there to 50%.

Now, if I absorb about half of the remaining magic, I can see the guy inside the egg.

Still, since I’ve been with it for quite a long time since I met it in the lair, I’ve built up a sense of intimacy, so I’m really looking forward to the moment when I face it.

The egg, which had absorbed the demon’s heart, seemed to be in a good mood and jumped into my arms.

The way it swayed left and right on my chest was just like a puppy eating a snack and blinking its eyes because it was sleepy.

“Are you sleepy? Go inside and sleep.”

Even though I recommended it to sleep, the dragon egg kept dawdling, but as soon as I heard someone outside, it finally went into the sub-dimensional gourd.

Knock knock

“Young Master, are you busy?”

It wasn’t Campbell, it was Zion.

“Come in.”

Zion, who came in with her hands gathered in a modest posture, reported.

“Preparations for departure are complete. I have finished explaining the situation to the slaves rescued from the Full Moon Market. I told them to run away if necessary, but I don’t know if they will follow because of their animosity towards Greed.”

“Sasha is the top priority for protection throughout the operation. You know that, right?”

“Of course. I will stay with that unique child and escort her.”

“Good.”

While loosening my fingers, I tried to calm my mind before meeting Greed. But Zion doesn’t leave and keeps hesitating. Does she have any business left?

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Her appearance of slurring her words and twisting her body left and right makes me wonder if she needs to take a dump.

“Why.”

“Young Master…”

Did you perhaps…forget something?

I brought the sub-dimensional gourd.

I fed the demon’s heart.

The Heavenly Demon Sword is well on my waist.

I checked the condition of the group.

What else is left?

“That’s a strange question. I don’t think I forgot anything. Even if there is, isn’t it your job as a maid who serves me to take care of it?”

Zion lowered her head at my words.

“I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”

Now that I’ve spent quite a long time with her, I can roughly guess the psychology hidden in her expressionless face.

She is currently very disappointed.

But why was she disappointed?

-You stupid bastard. Just looking at you makes my blood boil. You don’t know women at all, tsk tsk!

The voice of the Heavenly Demon heard in my mind.

“What do you mean?”

-Don’t you remember what you said to the maid?

“I didn’t say anything personal other than work-related instructions.”

-Don’t just talk to each other, but think carefully about what you said at the auction house.

Since the Heavenly Demon said this much, I had a rough idea.

“Are you talking about the mermaid’s tears?”

-Yes. Didn’t you openly call the maid your fiancée in front of everyone and say you would give her a precious item?

“It was just a temporary excuse to replenish my internal energy.”

-Hehehe, you fool. If I weren’t trapped in the sword, I would have hit you in the back of the head a long time ago.

Since the Heavenly Demon said this much, it seems that Zion is really expecting the mermaid’s tears.

-Absorb the internal energy contained in the mermaid’s tears and then give it to the maid. Wouldn’t that be okay?

“That’s a great idea.”

I decided to follow the Heavenly Demon’s words.

I slightly touched the sub-dimensional gourd and placed the mermaid’s tears, which I had taken out from the auction house, on the desk.

It is still a beautiful jewel.

The good-looking gloss filled the room and showed itself off.

I wondered if it was an ancient relic, so I looked to see if the system window would appear, but it didn’t.

It was clear that it was the tears shed by a mermaid living somewhere on the continent.

“But are there really mermaids?”

I know that various races live on the Arnia continent, which is the background of , so the list of bosses that the main character Zion has to defeat is also varied.

I remember beings like demons, elves, orcs, and ogres, but I honestly don’t know about mermaids.

“I hope I have a chance to meet you later.”

Hoping for that day.

As soon as I touched the mermaid’s tears, cool mana poured endlessly into my lower abdomen.

The nature of the mana obtained through normal breathing was slightly different.

Currently, two energies were twisting around each other in a braid shape in my dantian [a traditional Chinese term referring to a center of energy located in the abdomen],

One is silver dragon blood.

The other is green mana.

Dragon blood is overflowing with energy and has a combative nature, while mana is calm and inclusive.

The mermaid’s tears that came in between were blue, had a strong refreshing feeling, and above all, were cool.

This mana, which had a clearly different nature from the existing two landlords, penetrated between the silver dragon blood and green mana, which had opposing tendencies, and sought harmony.

Saaaaaaa

The storm that was erupting from within swept through the room.

My mana, which had not been completely mixed due to the mixture of dragon blood and mana and had a silver-green color, naturally fused into one color when the blue color was mixed in.

It was a mysteriously sparkling emerald green.