The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 77

“Who… are you?”

The being before me was a mystery. There was no other word to describe it.

It was like a man and a woman, an adult and a child—a true contradiction. I couldn’t even imagine such conflicting existences coexisting so well. It was as if a figure born only of imagination had manifested in reality.

If it were just that, I would have been mildly surprised or in awe, but I wouldn’t have been overwhelmed by its presence as I was now.

‘A being like this… existed?’

Was this how a mouse felt when cornered by a cat? The fear of being devoured by the being before me, the pressure of not knowing what it would do. But what drove me the most insane was the helplessness of knowing that nothing I could do would work against it.

‘Have I ever felt like this before?’

I had encountered strong enemies many times. When I was still inexperienced, the countless monsters I faced during the autumn expedition. Duke Zeke when I tried to negotiate about the magic stone mine. And finally, the dragon I first encountered, who indiscriminately slaughtered my comrades, and whom I barely managed to survive by hiding underground.

Of course, I felt considerable pressure and fear at those times, but not as much as I did now, facing the being before me.

“Hmm. Such a reaction to just this much. To think that you smell like kin despite not being one, I wondered what kind of impertinent fellow you were, but were you just a lucky minnow?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to grasp the identity of the unidentified being in front of me, who was calmly saying whatever it wanted. The one word it kept uttering: “kin.”

The smell of kin that I exuded. Even a knight or mage of my teacher’s level could at least escape, yet I was immobilized by sheer presence. Considering all of this, there was only one being capable of such a feat.

‘But it’s on a different level from that guy.’

‘That guy’ I encountered after investing over a year in the Monster’s Land. Of course, I couldn’t deny that he was also a powerful enemy—probably the most powerful I had ever faced. Though he was now pushed to second place.

Anyway, that guy was also a dragon. If my prediction is correct, the being before me is also a dragon. No, since it said “kin,” it must be a dragon. But what is this overwhelming difference?

Just like not all dogs are the same, does that mean not all dragons are the same? Perhaps the first dragon I met was a half-wit. It said it was kin, so it must be the same species, but it was a mutant not worthy of being called a dragon. Otherwise, there was no way there could be such a difference.

“Hmph. But no matter how lucky you were, to give off such a strong scent, was there such a foolish one among our kin?”

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be able to read my mind. No matter what I was thinking, it just kept spouting whatever it wanted. But I still didn’t know what purpose this red-haired dragon had in finding me.

Was it trying to avenge its kin? If that was the purpose of its visit, I would die, 100%. I could say that with certainty.

I probably wouldn’t even be able to leave a scratch. Of course, I don’t know if the dragon would be able to safely escape from the capital, where security is tighter than ever and the Empire’s forces are concentrated—it probably could—but what does it matter? By then, I wouldn’t be alive.

Sniff, sniff.

Whether it knew my feelings or not, the male, or was it female? The being that I couldn’t tell whether it was an adult or a child slowly approached me, circling around me while closing its eyes, sniffing with its nose. Even with that bizarre behavior, it was a perfect opportunity to strike a surprise blow against an opponent who was clearly off guard, but I could only roll my eyes and barely follow its movements.

‘Move. Move!’

Starting with a finger, a toe, the stiffness gradually began to loosen. If I were in top condition, it would have been easier, but as I was not at my best, I had no choice but to do my best.

“It’s a scent I’ve smelled somewhere before… Have I lived too long? I can’t remember things like this very well. Hey.”

“Yes.”

“You seem to have roughly figured out who I am. Explain it. I’m curious to know what kind of foolish fellow is doing such ridiculous things.”

How should I respond? Should I tell the truth? Or should I keep my mouth shut? Or should I make up a lie that seems like the truth? The only fortunate thing is that it doesn’t seem to be planning to do anything to me right away. But who knows? If it finds out that I not only smell like its kin but also took its life, what will it do?

“……”

As I was watching its reaction, contemplating my choice, our eyes met—red eyes as red as its hair. At the same time, I realized that it would be no fun if I didn’t tell the truth, and that lying was definitely not a good option.

“It was… early this year.”

#

“That guy, was he still alive?”

After listening to my story, her first words, after taking some time to organize her thoughts, were as above. But I was too preoccupied with completely different thoughts to react to that answer.

‘Why isn’t anyone coming?’

This overwhelming presence, even the immense magic power… Even now, quite some time has passed, and not a single person has noticed anything strange and come to find me in this magic tower, where only those who are best at handling magic power in the Empire gather. I’m still feeling numb in my hands and feet from facing her.

Of course, it wouldn’t help even if they came, but it was definitely strange that no one had noticed this being yet. But that curiosity didn’t last long.

“Are you waiting for someone to help you?”

“!”

“If that’s the case, you should give up. At least while I’m here, no one will be able to find this place.”

“What… do you intend to do with me?”

“Well. What should I do?”

Silence fell in the room, which was probably rigged with some kind of trick. Being in a position of complete inferiority, I felt the sorrow of being led around by the superior, having lost control of the situation.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Why do you think so?”

“Didn’t I kill your kin? Aren’t you here to avenge him?”

That guy’s scales were also red like her hair and eyes, although there was a bit more black mixed in. If her current appearance is a polymorphed form [a magical transformation into another shape], there is a high probability that she is of the same lineage beyond just being the same kin, so wouldn’t that be reason enough to kill me?

Thump-

“Ugh.”

But as soon as I finished speaking, the energy pressing down on my body became even heavier. I didn’t see any particular signs, but just feeling bad was enough to cause this much pressure. Not acting rashly was the best choice.

“To treat me the same as that half-wit, I would like to make you pay for your sins with death, but… Since you erased a disgrace to the clan, I will show you mercy for once.”

At the same time, the pressure that had been pressing down on my body as if gravity had increased was also relieved. So, he was a disgrace to the clan. Well, that makes sense. Otherwise, this difference couldn’t be explained.

“Thank you.”

“You seem to think that I came to find you to avenge that guy, but rest assured. I have never considered such a guy as part of the clan, and I have no intention of avenging him. Rather, if it weren’t for your useless words just now, I might have even given you a word of praise.”

She sat down on the chair and took out something that looked like a bottle of alcohol from the gap in the space and poured it into her mouth. I don’t like alcohol, but just from the faint smell of alcohol filling the room, I could tell that the alcohol she was drinking like water was very strong, but also very good.

“Actually, I was going to take care of that guy. Born into a great race, yet unable to handle magic properly, he was nothing short of a disgrace to the clan. But the old folks wouldn’t let me touch him because he was the same clan, so I couldn’t help it. Good job! At least let me tell you that I won’t harm you because you killed that guy.”

Whew, that’s a relief. At least I was able to avoid the worst-case scenario. At the same time, I was able to figure out the identity of the difference between that guy and her. Why he insisted on melee combat without using magic, and yet was able to spew out a breath that was nothing short of a flood of immense magic power. But I realized that I had sighed in relief too early at her next words.

“But you should be nervous. I won’t lay a hand on you, but there are those who consider even such a guy as part of the same clan. You should be grateful that it was me who came to smell your scent today. If it were someone else, their hands would have gone out before they even said a word.”

That’s a terrifying story. If that guy wasn’t particularly weak and she wasn’t particularly strong, does that mean that strong individuals of a similar level are hostile to me?

If I’m lucky, it’s like she didn’t specifically target me and come to find me, and like she wasn’t sure that guy was dead until she met me, so if I don’t get caught, I should be okay?

‘It’s literally a stroke of good luck in a misfortune.’

The place with the highest population density is probably right here. Nevertheless, she came straight to me as soon as she smelled the scent. I wasn’t foolish enough not to know what this meant.

“But the more I think about it, the less I understand. That guy was an idiot and a fool, a pathetic guy who was a disgrace to the same clan, but he shouldn’t have been weak enough to be killed by a human?”

Whether I was thinking that or not, her gaze, who was just saying whatever she wanted, turned to me, looking at me from top to bottom, from head to toe, with a questioning look. At the same time, her gaze stopped at one place. Following her gaze, I saw the [Claw] that was on my desk, drawn from subspace [a dimension beyond normal space].

“Hmm, is that yours?”

“Yes, but…”

“Bring it here.”

Snatching the [Claw] from me as if she was robbing it, she stared at the claw for a long time, muttering “I see,” or “Tsk,” as if she was lost in her own world, and then turned her gaze back to me.

“You, what are you?”

Baron’s Second Son – Episode 77 – End