Isekai Online Game Developer

There are two methods of reproduction for dragons.

One is to bear an egg directly by nurturing mana over a long period.

The other is a sexual reproduction similar to that of humans.

Unlike the former, the latter results in offspring that are not as powerful as pure-blooded dragons since their blood is mixed with that of other races.

And there’s no reason for an entity that exists beyond the skies to follow the indiscriminate sowing of seeds by beings that barely live a hundred years.

What we call love is merely a kind of biochemical reaction that occurs to spread one’s genes as far as possible within a short lifespan.

For species that do not feel a desperate need to reproduce, such one-dimensional feelings have no reason to blossom.

But if it were about one in a thousand…

Then, such a thing might happen.

“Pwaaaah-!”

Riji is a hybrid of dragon and human—a half-dragon.

Her mother, Ziryaya, was a dragon elder who had lived for over ten thousand years.

She already had one child before Riji.

Riji was born just before her fate was sealed.

“Pwaaaah-! Pwaaaah-!”

“Good, good, my little one… try to break it harder.”

The newly hatched Riji was shooting out cute breaths in all directions.

It was a common behavior for baby dragons.

The difference was that her strength was much weaker than that of ordinary baby dragons.

Moreover, even without learning polymorph, some parts of her body were human.

“Good… my baby…”

In her polymorphed state, Ziryaya lovingly patted Riji.

She was so weak that it was hard to call her a dragon.

But details like that weren’t a concern.

Riji was the fruit of the love between her and her husband.

As time passed, Ziryaya’s husband grew old.

And Riji began to take on more dragon-like traits.

She learned polymorph and could take on a completely human appearance or a completely dragon appearance.

However, when she became a dragon, she was only about half the size of a typical dragon.

Even considering that she was not an adult, she was far too small.

Among dragons, it had already become well-known that Ziryaya had given birth to a half-dragon.

“Aah… I’m sorry. I’m just…”

“…It’s fine. This time, I will sleep by your side too, so please wait just a little longer.”

And then Riji’s father passed away.

It was a natural occurrence for a short-lived human.

But the young Riji couldn’t understand death.

And soon after, her mother, Ziryaya, also fell asleep next to him.

Dragons are originally solitary beings.

Riji, although a half-dragon, was still of much higher status compared to other races.

She had lost her parents, but like any other dragon, Riji did not dwell on it and began creating her own lair.

Being a red dragon, she settled in a volcano.

But then,

“Are you the half-breed?”

One day, a gold dragon came to visit her.

“Take on the role of protector for your race.”

The gold dragon offered Riji the position of guardian.

She had no idea what being a guardian meant, but she initially refused.

Dragons, after all, have no reason to be bound by anyone.

“I don’t want to! Why should I?”

However, Riji was a half-breed.

Naturally, she stood no chance against the gold dragon.

Somewhat forcibly, Riji settled in a shrine located in the high mountains.

That place was said to be a mountain city where a human tribe once worshipped dragons.

However, the lineage had died out long ago, and the heavy-bottomed dragons had left it untouched.

“What? You want me to get rid of the bugs?”

“Yes… I need to sleep, but these little ones crawling around are bothersome. Please exterminate the bugs in the vicinity.”

“What do you mean…!”

Riji became the guardian in place of that tribe.

Though it was called a guardian, she mainly did the menial tasks ordered by the dragons.

It would be too troublesome to appoint a human as a guardian due to their short lifespans and the hassle of maintaining the tribe.

When news arrived that a half-dragon had been born, it seemed they thought they could just use her.

“If the bugs keep coming out, just move away or something…”

Thus, Riji lived as a guardian.

Now, over a thousand years had passed, and she had grown accustomed to doing menial chores.

Still, she had plenty of complaints.

“…Uh?! Oh!!! Uwaaaaaah!!!!”

Then one day, while returning from the gold dragon’s lair after catching bugs.

Her egg had vanished.

Normally, dragons would never leave their nests unattended.

But because Riji was constantly being called here and there, she often left her egg alone.

No one would have imagined that there would be someone to steal it.

It was even a human when she saw the flow of mana.

It was an egg she had poured her heart and soul into crafting to birth a stronger dragon than herself.

With Riji’s rage, red scales erupted all over her body.

Transformed into a dragon, Riji descended into the city of humans.

“Wh… what?”

“It’s a dragon?”

“A dragon? Aren’t you talking too much about the Maple Leaf Story? Why would such a legendary creature come to this rural town… huh?”

‘Maple Leaf Story?’

The people looked at Riji, who was flying at high speed, with curious eyes.

It was a rural village in the outskirts of a kingdom.

Their reaction was quite calm for seeing a dragon.

Everyone was talking about something related to the maple leaves.

It was strange, but Riji set out to find her egg.

Gwaaaaaah-!
That village was engulfed in flames in an instant beneath Riji’s breath.

*

“A village has disappeared.”

“Indeed. Should we be grateful that they’re not shifting the responsibility onto us even in this situation?”

“It’s a mere tiny village, so perhaps they aren’t taking the situation too seriously yet.”

Lein and I read the newspaper with vacant expressions.

It reported that a dragon that suddenly appeared had reduced a small village to ruins.

And underneath it, speculations about an adventurer who stole the dragon’s egg were pouring in.

“It should be fine. It won’t reach Trinity, and even if it does, if the Tower Masters all join forces, we could probably take down a half-dragon.”

Lein forced a relaxed smile.

“But killing a mother who lost her child is too much, isn’t it? At least we should search for her child…”

According to the news, the dragon that appeared was a half-dragon.

Being significantly weaker compared to a regular dragon, perhaps they could contain her.

But before that, the dragon’s side of the story was understandable.

To steal her child and then go on to kill her—it’s only natural from a human perspective, but the initial wrongdoing lay with the humans.

The villagers who died without knowing what was happening were pitiful, but…

However, given that humans routinely hunt monsters and are always regarded as evil, it was a common occurrence.

It’s always viewed through the lens of humans.

From their standpoint, humans might be the villains.

“But it’s something we can’t avoid. We need to make sure to prevent further harm for now.”

Lein said calmly.

The other Tower people also had similar reactions.

Perhaps because it was only a half-dragon, they felt less urgency.

If it had been a true dragon, the world would have been in greater fear.

However, no one considered the perspective of that dragon who had lost her child.

It felt akin to nonchalantly slaughtering livestock.

“Sigh… Well then, everyone, let’s get back to work. We’ve rested long enough.”

I stood up, setting aside my discomfort.

Everyone returned to their tasks, and I headed to the top of the tower for server maintenance.

The games were running smoothly.

I was checking the server for “Maple Leaf Story.”

Kiiing—

Suddenly, a metallic sound reverberated throughout Trinity.

Frowning and looking around, I realized the sky was shimmering.

“The barrier…!”

The barrier surrounding Trinity was under attack.

A magical barrier created by the combined efforts of each tower encompassing the entire city of Trinity.

Kiiing—

“Ugh…!”

The barrier shook increasingly violently.

It felt as if some part of it might tear at any moment.

And then, one by one, the Tower Masters began to appear.

“The barrier is suddenly…”

“Ugh, how annoying! We were in the middle of COL!”

“Ah, I was about to double-kill because of this…”

“It seems a rather powerful entity has come.”

With many complaining, it looked like everyone had been in the middle of a game.

Even in a situation where the barrier was threatened, their expressions were not particularly urgent.

This indicated that it wasn’t a massively significant threat.

The Tower Masters were observing the barrier, as if to see how far it would go.

Crack—

And shortly after, the barrier tore apart.

A massive dragon appeared from the sky.

“A half-dragon…?”

“Why is there a dragon?”

“Does anyone have an appointment with a dragon?”

The dragon that appeared charged straight towards the Illusion Tower.

Before I could even think to run, the dragon was drawing closer, and,

“Is this the Maple Leaf Story?”

The dragon halted in front of the server of “Maple Leaf Story.”

Before I could escape, it approached at an incredible speed.

Fortunately, the Tower Masters had set up a defensive barrier in front of the Illusion Tower, so it seemed I wouldn’t die at least.

“You stole my egg!”

The dragon then glared at me as it spoke.

I hurriedly shook my head.

“Humans kept talking about this ‘Maple Leaf Story’ or whatever… saying they tame dragons here…”

Mumbling, the dragon.

I wanted to respond, but my mouth wouldn’t move.

It was such an overwhelming presence that just looking at it sent shivers down my spine.

“Dragon. What brings you down here?”

The Tower Masters, who had been watching, approached.

The dragon read the mana from the Tower Masters and tightened its expression slightly.

“Return my egg. I heard humans talking about the ‘Maple Leaf Story.’”

“‘Maple Leaf Story’ is just a fantastical game. I believe someone else must have stolen your egg, Dragon.”

The full Tower Master spoke.

The dragon gazed deeply around Trinity and sighed.

“Then I shall take my leave for now.”

“…Hmph.”

The dragon seemed to be about to leave willingly.

It appeared it had decided it couldn’t handle the strength of the Tower Masters.

It was a contrasting image to the arrogant dragon image, lacking in confidence.

“Wait a moment!”

At my shout, both the Tower Masters and the dragon turned to look at me.

For some reason, I was troubled by her drooping silhouette.

“I’ll find your egg, Dragon.”

“Hmm?”

Everyone, including the dragon, expressed puzzled voices.

“Why would you search for it?”

Electra asked me.

“If we send you back like this, it seems like you’ll burn down another village. And I share responsibility for this situation too.”

I went downstairs and grabbed a few artifacts to present to the dragon.

I thought it was right that I should take responsibility for this matter.

“Until then, you can just focus on the game, Dragon.”