Chapter 39: 30k miles to Find a Dragon (IV

While Louis glared at Jacob, the twins approached the six-winged blood demon. Taken aback, Jacob shouted frantically:

“Oh no, don’t touch it—it’s dangerous—”

Before he could finish his sentence, one of the twins patted the creature on its belly.

Jacob’s face turned pale.

Oh dear!

A tamed six-winged blood demon was fiercely loyal—but only to its master. To others, it displayed its inherent ferocity without restraint.

This is bad!

Panicked, Jacob rushed over to calm down the beast, but there was nothing to worry about.

“Skreeee…” The demon squawked like an annoyed puppy and took a step back. However, the twins weren’t going to let that slide.

“No way!”

“Come here!”

Trembling slightly, the demon obediently approached them at their command.

Khan and Kani giggled as they touched its feathers, even climbing on it like a slide.

“Huh…?” Jacob was dumbfounded by this sight.

A fully grown six-winged blood demon could easily devour orcs like peanuts. To such a creature, small children would be mere morsels, yet here it stood quietly while being treated as a toy for these tiny humans. No wonder Jacob couldn’t find words to describe what he was witnessing.

Louis watched all this unfold before approaching the twins and grabbing them both by their collars.

“You shouldn’t touch other people’s things.”

“Waaah…”

“Whimper…”

As Louis dragged away the crestfallen twins, his eyes met those of the six-winged blood demon.

…?!

Startled, the six-winged blood demon flapped its wings wide open with a loud fluttering noise.

“Danger!” Jacob cried out, mistaking the creature’s reaction as threatening, but what happened next left him speechless.

Whiiiine.

The six-winged blood demon whimpered like a puppy and flopped down at Louis’s feet, gently nuzzling his body for affection.

“What…what is this?!” Jacob’s jaw dropped.

He couldn’t wrap his head around seeing such a display of intimacy from the usually aloof demon. Regardless, Louis chuckled and stroked the creature’s head, unaffected by Jacob’s bewilderment.

“Aww, you’re so sweet.” Louis couldn’t help but smile.

It’s quite intelligent.

Instinctively, the six-winged blood demon recognized that Louis and the twins were apex predators capable of overpowering it at any moment.

The six-winged blood demon possessed superior instincts compared to humans, and Louis couldn’t help but smile at its intelligence.

With Louis’s permission, the twins cautiously approached the creature and started rolling around on its belly.

“It’s so soft!”

“It feels warm!”

Despite their rough play, the demon didn’t budge even slightly. In fact, it curled up its claws to prevent accidentally injuring them. Eventually, the twins fell asleep using the creature as a cozy blanket.

This time, Louis decided not to interfere. The ultimate predator had become nothing more than a bed for his children.

Watching the peacefully sleeping twins made Louis drowsy as well.

“Ahh…” He yawned deeply.

Yawning widely, Louis sent Pablo a message using holy magic.

“Keep him here.”

Rubbing his sleepy eyes slightly, he whispered softly:

“Fin, did you spread it well?”

“Yes!”

Earlier, while handling the six-winged blood demon, Louis had instructed Fin to do something specific: apply tracking substances on the creature.

I made these for the twins, but they’re useful in this situation too.

He’d developed the tracking substances just in case the unpredictable twins tried to escape. As long as the effect lasted, they could locate the six-winged blood demon even if it flew ten kilometers away. This would also help track its master, Jacob.

“Hmph!” With her tasks delegated, Louis climbed back onto the carriage.

It’s better to take things slowly rather than rush.

Whether he used coercion or some other tactic, Louis would get what he wanted.

Tak-tak!

In the darkness of night, the twins slept atop the six-winged blood demon while Louis rode away on his carriage. The crackling fire was the only sound echoing across the empty field as Jacob and Pablo sat frozen amidst this absurd situation.

“…”

“…”

The silence around the campfire lasted for quite some time until Jacob finally snapped out of it and turned to Pablo.

“So…who exactly are those kids?”

“Well…the thing is…”

“…”

“They’re my…nephews.” That was the best explanation Pablo could muster under these circumstances.

As the night wore on…

“Mmm…”

“Hmm…”

Louis woke up feeling something squishy clinging to him. Rubbing his eyes with tiny hands, he looked down sleepily at the twins curled up next to him.

“When did these two crawl in here…?”

He’d made sure they were asleep on top of the six-winged blood demon before going to bed, but somehow, they had joined him during the night.

Leaving the still-slumbering pair behind, Louis stepped out of the carriage.

“What?” His eyes widened as he scanned their surroundings.

The six-winged blood demon and Jacob were nowhere to be seen.

Just then, Pablo emerged from his tent to greet Louis.

“You’re awake.”

“…Where’s Jacob?”

“He left.”

“They left? But I ordered them to stay!” Louis scowled deeply.

The enraged hatchling’s outburst prompted Pablo to hastily wave his hands and shout back, “I-I told them to wait until morning at least, but they said t-they had urgent business to attend to!”

“…Did you get their last wills?”

“What?! Y-yes, though I know where they went!”

Pablo’s frantic explanation seemed to appease Louis, whose expression softened.

“Oh really? Where did they go?”

“When I spoke with them yesterday, they mentioned the Cash Tower.”

“The Cash Tower?”

Why would anyone bother going there now that it was abandoned? And coincidentally, it happened to be their destination as well.

“…Is that so?” Something struck Louis, prompting him to urge Pablo along. “What’re you waiting for? Let’s move out!”

He urged Pablo to hurry up. “What’re you waiting for?! Let’s move out!”

“N-now?”

“Yes!”

”…Understood.”

At Louis’ prodding, Pablo began hastily packing their camping gear. Soon after…

“Yeehaw!”

A snowcat started heading westward.

Three days later, late in the evening, they arrived near the entrance of the Cash Tower.

“There it is.”

The tracking drug indicated a light ahead, signaling someone was camping there. As they approached, Jacob and his giant bird came into view.

Jacob’s eyes widened at the sight of the approaching carriage.

“Huh?”

“Hyung-nim! Long time no see!”

“Pablo? Is that you?”

Although they had only spent one night together, Jacob welcomed Pablo back warmly.

“Come over here with your kids!”

Previously, Louis’s group had shared their fire with Jacob, but now it was the other way around. The twins rushed to bury themselves within the warm feathers of the six-winged blood demon while Louis and Pablo gathered near Jacob.

“Hello.”

“Haha, long time no see.” Jacob happily returned Louis’ greeting.

They exchanged brief pleasantries about how they’d spent the past three days. It didn’t take long since it hadn’t been much time between their last meeting.

Jacob then asked, “So what brings you all here? Weren’t you heading to Luft Hagenn? You’ll have to make quite a detour if going that way…”

“Oh… Well, you see… I took a wrong turn…”

“Oh dear…” Jacob smiled sympathetically at Pablo’s lame excuse, but it was understandable. Who would’ve thought that someone with three kids to look after would chase them down, especially toward Cash Tower Mountain, which is known for its harsh terrain and numerous monsters?

An awkward silence fell over them until Louis broke it with a question.

“So where are you headed, mister?”

“Me? This is my destination.” Jacob gazed off in one direction.

“What’s there?”

“The Cash Tower mountain range.”

“But why go there?”

“I have my reasons for going there.”

“What kind of reasons?”

Despite Louis’s relentless questioning, Jacob remained patient and didn’t show any irritation. He simply considered it as a child’s natural curiosity. In fact, he found Louis adorable for showing interest and asking questions, which brought a slight smile to his face.

“My dream lies up there.”

“Dream?”

Louis tilted his head quizzically.

Huh? Out of nowhere, why is he talking about dreams now?

Seeing Louis’s puzzled expression made Jacob’s smile widen unintentionally. Louis unwittingly dismantled Jacob’s psychological defenses with his cuteness, leading him to reveal his purpose, something he hadn’t even shared with Pablo.

“It’s not confirmed yet, but I believe there is something at that location that will bring me one step closer to fulfilling my dream. And I’m going after it.”

“What’s your dream, Mr. Jacob?”

“My dream is…”

As Jacob paused briefly, Louis pondered his words.

Wait a minute… What could Jacob possibly gain from the Cash Tower in this situation?

Jacob. Druid. The Cash Tower and its rumors.

Piecing together these clues, Louis reached only one conclusion.

No way… Could he mean…?

Louis’s expression turned slightly gloomy just as Jacob exclaimed with fervor:

“My dream is—”

“…”

“To tame a dragon!”

“…?!” Pablo, who had been stirring the campfire, froze at Jacob’s grand declaration.

Meanwhile, Louis’s face was frozen with shock, his lips trembling slightly.

What the fuck?!

Louis barely managed to suppress the urge to curse out loud.

What is this bastard talking about?

Jacob proudly proclaimed he would tame a dragon right in front of one, making Louis’s eyebrow twitch uncontrollably. Unaware of this reaction, Jacob excitedly continued detailing his dream.

“The strongest creature on earth! The legendary divine beast!”

“…”

“My dream is to tame that very dragon! With it by my side, there’d be nothing to fear in the world! You know about dragon knights, right? I’ll become a dragon mage, revered by all!”

“…”

Jacob looked starry-eyed as if already imagining himself riding a dragon and conquering the world.

On the other hand, Louis’s face contorted as if he had bitten into something foul. At that moment, Louis made up his mind.

This bastard… Should I kill him? Yes, I will kill him. Absolutely must kill him!

Jacob’s talk of treating dragons like personal vehicles was quite irritating to Louis. Initially, Louis considered making Jacob a slave instead of killing him outright, but it now seemed pointless to hesitate any longer.

Pablo hastily intervened, startled by the increasingly menacing look on Louis’s face. If things continued this way, Louis might strike Jacob at any moment.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Well, well, you have some…dangerous and impossible dreams.”

“Haha. That’s why they’re called dreams, right? But just wait and see! One day, I’ll tame a dragon!”

”…”

Go ahead then. Just make sure your neck stays intact until then…

Pablo gazed at Jacob with pity.