Chapter 32: A Dragon Hatchling is Still a Dragon (2)

Upon spotting the pure-white tree, Louis raised his hands triumphantly.

“Yes! There it is!”

He immediately recognized it as the Grow Forte tree he had been searching for due to its two bone-like fruits hanging amidst the snow-white leaves.

Louis dashed toward the tree—dodododo!—unfazed by the slippery ice beneath him, excitement written all over his face.

However, his enthusiasm quickly faded once he reached it.

“What? Why are they so small?” The reason was that the fruits on the tree were disappointingly tiny, less than half the size described in his mythical creature field guide.

“They must not be fully grown yet…” Disappointment clouded Louis’s expression. His hopes of finding a miraculous elixir to help his future self grow even just one centimeter were dashed.

Louis pouted. “Who would even bother with this…?”

If he consumed it now, forget about any medicinal effects; he couldn’t expect much from its Attribute Power either.

“Ohhh… What should I do?” Louis agonized over his dilemma before hitting upon an idea.

“Yes! Since it’s not fully grown yet, all I have to do is wait until it matures!”

After all, time was one thing Louis had plenty of. As a dragon, taking a short nap could easily result in waking up after a hundred years had passed.

“Let me see… Based on its size, it seems like it’s just starting to grow… It might take around 200 years for it to reach full maturity?”

For the promise of gaining that extra centimeter in height, waiting the estimated 200 years mentioned in the guidebook seemed entirely worthwhile.

“Great! Then I’ll simply wait!” But as soon as he made this decision, another problem arose.

Louis’s expression hardened. “What if someone else finds it before I return…?”

After all this effort to discover it, he didn’t want anyone else claiming it first. Louis began casting every holy spell he knew around the tree: warping space, reversing gravity, manipulating time, inducing insanity, and more. He layered over ten spells on the area surrounding the tree.

“Should keep them out for at least three hundred years.”

Having exhausted his abilities, Louis paused just as he was about to exit the cavern. He paced back and forth near Grow Furter.

“It still feels like something is missing…” Still uneasy, he retrieved a signboard from another dimension and firmly planted it in the middle of the passageway. Then, he diligently started writing on it…

No Entry

Louis’s territory. Touch and you’ll regret it for nine generations.

Louis scratched his head as he studied the sign with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm… It sounds too weak.”

He decided to revise it and added another sentence.

Sh-sh-shk.

The sign now read:

DO NOT ENTER

Louis Louis.

Mess with me and ruin nine generations of my family! I’ll make your life miserable if you dare touch this gate! If you’re not scared of facing consequences, go ahead and try!

“All done!” Louis dusted off his hands after firmly planting the sign and headed back down the corridor, but he still looked troubled.

“Oh man, that might not be enough…” His mind raced with negative thoughts.

What if someone came by and took it? What if some animal unable to read the warning signs ate them?

I can’t monitor this place twenty-four seven…

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, lightning struck above him.

Monitor? Hmm. Guardianship magic perhaps?

The corners of Louis’s lips curled up slightly at the idea, and he sprinted toward the entrance.

Pablo greeted Louis as he rushed over, somewhat breathless.

“You’re here again?”

“Yes!”

“What do you need…?”

“They aren’t ripe yet, so I was thinking…”

“D-do you require something else?”

“Let me borrow your subordinates for a bit.”

“Excuse me? Why would you need our men?”

“Heh-heh-heh.”

Puzzled by this unexpected request, Pablo probed further, but Louis simply smirked at him.

Why waste perfectly good manpower? I need to put them to use somehow!

Of course, there were many issues with using these current members of the stealth unit as they stood, but those could be resolved easily enough.

I’m more than willing to invest time for future gains!

Louis wasn’t sure how long it would take to fix their problems, but he was confident it wouldn’t require much effort or time.

“Heh-heh. Their short-term attribute will skyrocket.”

“…?”

The Bloodaxe Guild’s stealth unit had been a thorn in his side due to its unwieldy size and difficulty managing on raids. But once Louis figured out how best to utilize them, hell broke loose.

Later that day…

“Brrr… It’s cold.”

“Y-yeah, especially today.” The bandit No. 1 and other stealth unit members waiting anxiously for their chief shivered from an inexplicable chill.

That evening, three hundred men gathered and stood at attention in one location.

Gulp.

They nervously stared straight ahead.

In front of them, Louis paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. The stealth unit kept their eyes glued to every single movement he made. To anyone unaware of the situation, it would have been quite absurd seeing over three hundred grown men on edge because of a child barely half their height.

However, those in the stealth unit knew better.

B-but how could that monster…?!

Why did they summon us here?

I-I’m scared.

Despite appearing as an adorable kid, they were fully aware of just how terrifying Louis was—the same monster who had effortlessly slain the Frost Monarch with a grin on his face.

If the twin sister by his side drew her sword and charged at them now, they would all be slaughtered instantly.

What exactly is he?!

Though no one knew who these kids were, there was one thing that was clear: Something significant was about to go down.

“Ahem.” Louis paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him before stopping abruptly and clearing his throat. “Greetings, dear members of the Bloodaxe Stealth Unit.”

His voice echoed loudly across the open field using holy magic. The stealth unit members straightened up stiffly and focused their attention on Louis.

“The reason Pablo and I have gathered you here today is…” Louis paused dramatically before dropping a bombshell.

“As of today, Bloodaxe’s stealth unit is disbanded.”

“…?!”

The room was engulfed by shock and erupted with murmurs that quickly turned into angry outbursts.

“What right do you have to—”

“You think you’re hot stuff just because you’ve got some skills, don’t you, you little punk?!”

Louis smirked at their collective defiance.

Bandit No. 1 roared, “Enough!”

His booming voice silenced everyone. He glowered at Pablo as he asked, “Chief… Did Chief agree to this?”

“That’s correct,” replied Pablo.

This only intensified the uproar.

“How could you?!”

“Are you abandoning us?!”

Despite his subordinates’ protests, Pablo remained tight-lipped.

Instead, Louis stepped forward. “Twins.”

“Yes!”

“Yeah!”

“Begin.”

“Yes!” “Yes, sir!”

At Louis’s short command, the twins rushed forward with their clubs raised high. They swung them lightning-fast amidst the group of three hundred.

Whack.

“What?!”

Thwak.

“Ack!”

Krak.

“Ugh!”

Louis clapped enthusiastically as he cheered on the twins’ clubbing spree.

“Well done, my dear twins! Yes, aim for his head! And there, go for the stomach!”

Seeing how Louis was not only failing to stop but actively encouraging the twins, Pablo discreetly turned away. He couldn’t bear to watch what was happening to his subordinates out of pity.

Crack!

“Ouch, my head!”

Snap!

“My…my back!”

Crack! Crack!

“W-wh-why twice…ugh!”

Crunch—snap!

“N-nooooooo!”

Men started collapsing and foaming at the mouth all around them. Despite their numbers, the Bloodaxe stealth unit lacked any real skill or strength. Pablo, the only truly capable member, surrendered without putting up a fight, while the mid-level officers managed to resist briefly before succumbing after one or two blows. It didn’t take long for all three hundred guild members to fall.

The twins’ breathing hadn’t changed as they scampered over to Louis.

“It’s done, Louis!”

“Oh boy! Good job, good job.”

“Heh-heh.” Louis stroked their soft hair, making them wag their figurative tails like puppies.

After petting them for quite some time, Louis turned away from his siblings.

“Ahhhhh…”

“Graaaaaah…”

Groans echoed throughout the room as three hundred men lay strewn across the floor. Due to the twins’ relentless onslaught, no one could easily get back on their feet.

Louis calmly addressed them. “Did you see that? This is your reality. You can’t even handle a couple of kids…”

One of the bandits regained enough presence of mind to shout, “They’re not just any ki—!” but Louis ignored him.

“To think you’ve been lining your pockets with this measly skill… It’s lucky you haven’t gotten killed yet by someone wielding a blade. The fact that none of you have died so far means…this operation must be fairly new.”

“…” Pablo flinched at Louis’s words because they were true.

Most members of the Blood Axe gang were orphans recruited by Pablo. They had been abandoned due to poverty and hunger or left alone after monster attacks. As he took them under his wing and raised them, it became increasingly difficult for him to make ends meet selling handcrafted goods. Eventually, he turned to thievery as a way to earn money quickly.

This was all relatively recent, too. However, even stealing required some level of skill.

Currently, the Blood Axe stealth unit’s skills were no better than those of ordinary people wielding knives. Louis clicked his tongue at this fact well known to him.

“Tsk, tsk. Seriously, how do you plan on robbing anyone with these skills? Even a slime passing by would laugh at you.”

“…”

“And what kind of name is Bloodaxe?! It sounds so tacky!”

The harsh words echoed loudly inside their heads, causing physical as well as mental anguish for the fallen guild members.

A brief silence fell over the clearing before Louis broke it with a shout, grinning from ear to ear.

“But don’t worry! You can change!”

“…?” The dazed thieves looked up at Louis quizzically.

“You’ll change your damn ways of trying to freeload off others!”

“…”

“And hone those mediocre skills!”

“…?”

“Transform from bandits into mercenaries!”

“M-mercenaries?”

The word mercenaries elicited puzzled looks from all present.

Seeing their innocent faces made Louis’s grin even wider, his dazzling white teeth shining brightly.

“If you trust and follow my lead…changing our line of work won’t be difficult at all.”

“…?!”

Caught by surprise, Bandit No. 2 forgot about his pain for a moment and sprang up, yelling, “Who do you think you ar—?!”

Bam! He was knocked unconscious again by some invisible force.

Ignoring his protests, Louis flicked his finger again. “Disciplined Drill Sergeants, forward!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Aye, sir!”

Tmp.

In no time at all, the twins stood beside Louis.

“Trust your drill sergeant and assistant drill sergeants. No matter how hard it gets to make ends meet, we’ll eradicate any rotten thoughts of stealing from others for survival!”

“B-but we’re—”

“Well then, let’s begin.”

“Heh-heh!”

“Ha-ha!”

The white-haired hellion instructor and silver-haired demons sprang into action.

“W-wait! This isn’t—!”

And so began Bloodaxe Bandits’ career change project under the guidance of Louis and the twins, whether they liked it or not…