The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 17: Back to Cyrus City

I jumped out of my bed and carefully rummaged through my robe to find the jewel that Silvana had entrusted to me.

"H-haha.Geez.." I sighed as I fell back, staring at what used to be a rainbow-colored gem.

"Kyu~!"

The stone is not a jewel…

It was an egg!

And what was once an egg is now something I can't express with a single word.

The first thing that comes to mind is that it is a dragon. It looked like a dragon to me, but at the same time, no. Everything black. It kind of reminds me of a little kitten but with scales. It sat on all fours, watching me with its head tilted to one side. The sclera that is usually white in the human eye is black, like Grandpa Victor when he uses both shapes, except the irises are bright red instead of yellow. Her pupils were sharp slits that usually made her look menacing, but with a body similar to a small cat animal, it only looked adorable. The most striking difference between a dragon like Silvana and this little creature is that it has two horns on its head. The horn looked identical to the illusion Silvana had before she revealed to me that she was a dragon. It curved outward around its head and then, sharpened to a point in front.

The head is shaped like a cat but the muzzle is slightly more pointed, if not the same. However, its tail looked exactly like Silvana's tail. It was a reptilian tail that had two red spikes at the end. Along the spine of this hatchling there are also small red nails that match the color of his eyes. It had no wings but where the wings were supposed to be, instead, two small protrusions.

I could see that his stomach had no scales; it looked a bit rough.

The newly hatched creature suddenly evaporated without teeth, falling upside down after losing balance.

And in response, I was inundated with an overwhelming urge to hug this creature.

"Kyu?" It locked its sharp eyes on me with an intelligence that did not match its appearance.

"H-hai little buddy, I'm White." I reached out my hand towards him as if it was a dog that needed to know my scent.

"KYU!" It jumped off the chair and into my lap, staring at me.

I could feel my hand twitching as I suppressed the urge to squeeze it. In contrast to the majesty and fear that Silvana possessed, this creature was dangerous in a different sense.

Unable to resist the urge, I carefully stroked the adorable threat. The scales turned out to be very soft and the red thorns that ran through his back felt like rubber.I guess young animals, whether humans or monsters were all slippery and soft. It started snoring, closing its eyes.

I could feel the tension on my face melting as I laughed softly. "Hehe…"

It rolled onto his back, asking for a more thorough rub. The stomach feels like very soft skin, making it very smooth to rub. I took a closer look at his claws and found it interesting that he looked closer to his claws than his actual claws. The only difficult thing was the horn, which turned out to be very sharp as well. Inevitably I compare it to the beak that a bird uses to break its own shell.

"Aren't you just a cute little friend?" My smile widened as I stroked this adorable newborn, to the point of looking intoxicating.

After a while, I couldn't help but think about what I should name, which made me realize that I didn't even know the gender of this mysterious creature.

"Kyu~!" Suddenly the newborn stuck out his tongue and licked the bottom of my left arm.

"Aah!" I reflexively tried to move my arm back from the hot sensation, but before I could, a glowing black light began to envelop my arm.

The stabbing pain subsided quite quickly so I just waited. The creature pulled its tongue back, revealing a black mark on my forearm.

It looked very similar to the tribal mark that covered Silvana before he gave his will to me, but the shape of this pattern was wings. Only one wing was open, but it consisted of several sharp lines and curves branching out, making it look extremely complicated and mysterious.

I was only eight years old but I already had a tattoo. I'm like a rebel.

'…Mama~?'

The creature looked at me with its mouth closed.

Whahuh? I clearly heard a voice just now.

'Mama?' This time I heard it clearly in my head.

Is this ... telepathy?

Shaking my head helplessly, I replied in a voice, "I think I'm your mother. But I'm a man so you have to call me papa."

'Father!' Suddenly jumped up and licked my nose.

I'm a rebel with tattoos and a kid.

After communicating with the creature for a while, I realized a few things. I guess after the mark appeared on my arm, some kind of telepathic connection was made. The voice I heard in my head from the creature sounded like a female voice so I decided to name it Eve with.

"Eve?" he replied with his head tilted.

Lifting her up and bringing her close to my face, I smiled at her, "That's right! Your name is Eve."

He stuck his nose to my nose while closing his sharp eyes.

The other thing I realized was that Eve had quite high intelligence for a newborn. He seems to already have the mental capacity of a 2-3 year old. When we communicated telepathically, I knew he didn't always speak to me in English, but I just understood him that way. It was a very strange feeling, not knowing the actual words he was saying but knowing what he meant. Other than simple words like "Papa", most of the thoughts he communicated with me appeared as emotions. I can get the gist of what he means by his feelings.

"OK Eve! I need to shower now. Will you come with me?" I said while lowering it.

"Kyu?" She tilted her head again while looking at me. I felt like she was asking me what "Wash" was so I just laughed and took it with me.

Getting into the bathroom, she seemed to be shouting 'NOOOOO' while wailing "KYUU!" shrill.

"I don't think you like water very much, do you, Eve?" I chuckled, lowering her from the bathroom.

Silvana wagged herself like a wet dog and dropped down on the floor next to the shower, her tail wagging, watching me as I finished my bath.

His behavior kind of reminds me of the mix between dogs and cats. I would never imagine his bloodline like a mighty dragon. Of course, this was assuming that he was really Silvana's son.

It made me think.

Is Eve really a dragon? He really looks like a baby dragon…

Why is he completely black when Silvana is pure white? What puzzled me the most was the fact that Eve had horns that were so similar to the illusion of the horned demon king that Silvana was at first as well as the demons that faced her.

I came out of the bathroom and dried myself. There is no point in thinking about all this now; how am I going to explain this to Grandpa and Thania?

As I came out of the bathroom, Eve walked behind me, 'kyu'ing me not to leave her.

I collected the pieces of the shell that Eve came out of and put them aside. Then I wrapped the feather wrapping the stone around my arm to cover the mark left over from Eve.

Four months. In four months, I'll be able to see my parents. I wonder if they still recognize me.

Eve must have felt the emotions of my parents' yearning because she curled up near my face and licked my cheek.

"Thank you, little Eve." Rubbing his horned head, I fell asleep.

____________________________________________

"YYYAAAAA!"

"What's wrong? What the hell's going on? Who's in there?" I jumped onto my bed, using my pillow as a makeshift sword, the hair of the bed was on fire.

"God! What animal is this? so cute! Kyaa!"

I turned my attention to Thania who was holding onto the writhing Eve.

"Kye!!" She cried. 'Papa, help!'

Exhaling a defeated breath, I fell back onto the bed.

Come back to my beautiful sleep…

"His name is Eve and she just hatched from her shell yesterday. But you have to let go. It seems like he doesn't like to be strangled," I muffled through the pillow that covered my head.

It's too early.

"Grrrr ..." Eve let out a high-pitched growl.

"Don't worry Eve, she's a friend" I said as I stroked her head, giving up on going back to sleep.

"He's adorable!" Tess was actually drooling because of my son who hatched carefully. I could see hearts coming out of his eyes as he inched closer to us, his hands twitching lewd like predators.

"OK, now you just look scary, Thania. Get out of my room so I can change clothes," I ordered as I pushed the perverted princess out of my room.

I changed into a loose robe and pants. As I put on my shoes, Eve jumped into my head and leaned back, hitching a ride for herself.

"Kye!" He must sound happy.

I walked downstairs, saying good morning to the confused and surprised waitress who couldn't take her eyes off the top of my head.

They all ended up having the same expression as Thania. I finally had to speed up my pace as I started to fear for our safety.

"Grandfather! We're here!" I shouted at Grandpa Victor who was sipping tea while reading something.

Turning his head, he smiled, "Ah! You're right here! Why is Thania fussing over some kind of pet …"

His cup fell when he saw the horned black lump sitting on my head.

"I-it ..." She kept stuttering something incomprehensible.

"What's that?" He finally managed to ask, his eyes never coming off the top of my head.

"Er.. I think he's like a dragon, although I'm not entirely sure myself" I replied in no confidence.

"Kyu?" I know Sylvie was careful about Victor through our mental connection.

Thania came through the door to the courtyard, practically bouncing up and down.

"You said it was a dragon? But it's so funny! Whites! Can I carry it? May it? Can I?" he begged, his eyes twinkling.

"Grr~" Eve began hissing at her nemesis as her claws began to pierce my scalp.

"O OW OW OWOW! Eve's claw!" I tried to get it out of my head but he wouldn't budge.

Grandfather Victor, who was half in a daze, still trying to understand the creature in my head, finally spoke up. "If it really is a dragon, how can you find an egg? How can you hide it?"

"The dragon that left me will entrust me with a stone that I thought was only a precious jewel. I didn't even realize what it was until it hatched. What do you mean by making it hatch?" I'm confused too now.

“Should have been, a dragon egg, assuming it was really one, could not only hatch just like that as time went on. It is said that the dragon inside must feel something capable of protecting and loving it is nearby in order to hatch. There must be a very close bond between them" he explained.

Trying to think of what might trigger the hatching, I immediately came to a conclusion.

"Activating the will, Grandpa! I think that's what got him out!" myrag.

He scratched his chin, slowly nodding. "That's a reasonable explanation. Draconic races have not been seen for hundreds of years, with only limited records of them so I cannot say for sure. There is no point in thinking about it now! Be sure to keep it.hatching close at all times. Although it looks very like a creature of the draconic race, I will be the only one who can make that connection. Most people would not know that the creature was a dragon, so it would be fine to just pretend as some sort of rare animal."

After the matter was resolved, I placed Eve on the ground beside me as I began to practice. The next step in my training over the next four months was to learn to utilize the strength of Silvana's will that he left behind for me, as well as condensing my mana core into the next stage.

“Accessing the first phase is simple, but it may take a lifetime if the understanding of your savage beast does not come naturally. While your mana core was only deep red, your body should now have already surpassed that of a dark orange stage mage. After that ceremony, you should feel a small area within the core where you are that holds the will power. That's where your animal will is stored. Accessing the Acquiring stage should occur through your own learning, not through teaching. Through my experience, the best way to trigger your beast desire is to be constantly in battle.

"It makes sense to me" I replied, already stretching my body.

"Good! Let's fight!" he instructed with a confident grin on his face.

The days passed quickly for me because I was completely immersed in training. I can access my first phase but I won't be able to use it in actual combat until I gain more control over it. Victor also taught me how to hide my beast's will so that other witches couldn't notice it. After assimilation, my mana cultivation speed increased tremendously.

During this time, there seemed to be no change to Eve unless she became a little more intelligent. His vocabulary was still limited but it was much easier for us to understand each other. I go out with Thania a lot. He had dragged me out with him every spare moment we had, trying to make as many memories as possible before I left. Like that, the four months that felt so far away had now passed.

Wearing simple olive green long sleeves and black pants with fur wrapped around my forearm, I walked out of my room.

"White! Remember to be careful! We'll find a way to contact you somehow and see you. Bring this so you can navigate through the Elshira Forest if you have ever been in the area. Or maybe you can find another princess to lead you back." He blinked his eyes while handing over a small silver oval compass.

"Uuu... Grandpa!!!"

"Ouch! Little guy! That's joke!" Grandpa Victor shouted while rubbing his side.

"While Aldin and Maria will take separate trains as the heads of this kingdom, Thania and I will not leave. This will be the last time we meet for now. Until next time, White!" He hugged me firmly, almost knocking Eve out of my head.

"I'll miss you White! Remember to come visit again! Uu~ don't chase human girls okay? Promise me, okay?" He sobbed, tears flooding his eyes.

I hugged my best friend and patted her head as well. "We'll meet again! You better be stronger than me when we meet next time! With Grandpa teaching you, you have no reason!"

He gave me a weak nod, unable to form words due to sobbing constantly.

I waved at the two of them and followed behind Maria and Aldin after they gave me a sympathetic smile. I didn't really get the chance to spend a lot of time with the King and Queen, but we're more comfortable with each other now. I hope that next time, I will be able to grow closer to them.

I boarded the carriage that was carried by the representatives of the elves, while the king and queen were escorted to a separate carriage.

"Well, look who it is! If not that human boy! Did the royal family finally expel you from the Kingdom?" An elf boy wearing a purple robe heavily decorated with grin.

"Eh... I'm sorry but do I know you?" I felt like I knew who this elf was, but I couldn't put my finger where we met. Meanwhile, Eve growled, pointing her horns at him.

"I am the noble that you attacked mercilessly while defying dueling habits!" He shot away furiously, pointing fingers accusing me.

Suddenly clicked. "You are the insect I sent down!" I screamed in consciousness, a little louder than I meant.

"You dare…!?" His face turned bright pink as his ears twitched furiously while the few elves at the back desperately tried to cover up their laughter.

"Aha sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to say that. I never knew your name," I chuckled, reaching out to her.

His face was still red, trying to maintain as much small dignity as he left behind, he rejected my handshake and declared in an arrogant tone, "My name is Fryrath Ivsair III, a descendant of the Ivsair noble family! those two kids, but if we duel again, I'll win easily."

A young elf girl who looked several years older than Fryrath interrupted, saying, "You can call her Fayfay like us."

"Don't tell him that!" His face turned a darker red, Fayfay turned his face away from me and sat down.

I sat down next to Fayfay and gave him a sympathetic pat on his shoulder that had slumped in defeat.

As we train we go to the teleportation gate we are greeted by a now familiar sensation of being in the middle of a fast-forward movie.

"We have arrived in Cyrus!" Driver announced.

Peering for a moment, I noticed we were surrounded by a parade of people who were all clapping politely at our entrance. This tournament was supposed to be one of the biggest turning points in the entire continent. It not only gathered all the talented youths, but also built a future where they could also study under one roof. It was an interesting undertaking taken by the leaders of the continent, but also a frightening one that would also, no doubt, be filled with strife and hostility.

The driver pulled the train close to a small gap between the two buildings after passing through the crowd and signaled to me behind that this would be the best time to go unnoticed.

I say goodbye to Fayfay and the other representatives and wish them luck. Fayfay just shook his head but also made a slight waving gesture. Jumping off the train with Eve still in my head, I walked through the alley as I tried to remember the house where my parents lived.

After about an hour driving around, I finally managed to find the mansion that was supposed to be where my parents lived.

"We're going home Eve. We're finally home" I muttered softly.

"Kyu?" he said as if to say, 'I guess we've been home before.'

I'm a little nervous right now.

I took careful steps up the stairs and took one deep breath. Cleaning my clothes and pants, I knocked on the giant double door.

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