The moment the Dragon Egg cracked open, the atmosphere in the room changed completely.
An ominously vast amount of Mana and the breathing of an unfamiliar life-form pulsed through the air.
Siul pressed himself against the far side of the room without even breathing.
More precisely, his back was plastered against the wall opposite the bed.
The instant he saw the creature poking its head out from between the shattered pieces of eggshell, his body had moved on reflex.
“Th-That’s….”
Siul stared at the newly hatched creature with trembling eyes.
Its body was slightly smaller than the egg it had emerged from.
Its teal scales gleamed softly in the light, while the tiny wings on its back twitched as though it had not yet learned how to fold them properly.
Two short, rounded horns protruded from its head, and its overall silhouette looked exactly like….
‘The Judgment Dragon?’
The resemblance was far too strong.
The color of its scales, the shape of its eyes, even the vaguely arrogant contours of its face.
The only difference was its size.
Gulp.
Siul swallowed dryly.
The thought that it was cute had not occurred to him yet.
For now, a far more primal emotion came first.
Fear and wariness.
‘It really is a dragon….’
He could not relax merely because it was small.
After all, Siul knew better than anyone what kind of creatures dragons were.
HOP!
“…!”
The baby dragon kicked off the eggshell and jumped.
Its tiny body floated through the air before landing on the bed.
PLOP—
The blanket sank slightly beneath it.
“Ugh…!”
Siul flinched in fear.
But there was already a wall behind him.
He had nowhere left to retreat.
The baby dragon steadied itself on the bed and fluttered its wings.
Then it began toddling across the mattress toward him on its short legs.
“Don’t come any closer…! Hey, wait…!”
Siul desperately raised his hands, though it was purely a defensive posture.
As though amused by his reaction, the baby dragon continued approaching with its scales quivering.
Eventually, it reached the edge of the bed.
One more jump would be enough to reach Siul.
Siul held his breath and looked down at the baby dragon.
The baby dragon, in turn, gazed up at him with enormous, gleaming eyes.
For a moment, they simply observed each other.
“WOOF!”
“…?”
A question mark practically appeared on Siul’s face.
‘Did it just… bark?’
Anyone could see that it looked like a dragon, yet its cry sounded exactly like a puppy.
It was such an unexpectedly harmless little sound that the tension slowly drained from Siul’s shoulders.
‘It doesn’t look like it came here to judge me right away….’
Siul lowered his guard and spoke.
“Are you, by any chance, the Judgment Dragon’s child?”
The baby dragon did not answer.
Instead, it slowly blinked its large eyes twice.
‘Can’t it talk?’
Judging by its reaction, it did not seem incapable of understanding him, but apparently it did not yet possess the ability to answer in human language.
‘What am I expecting from something that was just born…?’
Siul awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
Then, although it was not human speech, another very clear sound rang out.
GRRROOOWL!
Siul’s gaze dropped toward the baby dragon’s stomach, which had just produced a noise like a ship’s horn.
“Are you hungry?”
“WOOF!”
It had not even been five minutes since it emerged from the egg, yet the baby dragon was already looking at him as though demanding food.
Siul thought for a moment before moving.
‘If it’s a dragon, it must be a carnivore, right?’
Having reached that conclusion, he opened the refrigerator.
Several packages of beef he had bought recently were neatly stacked inside.
Siul took out a piece and returned without even bothering to put it on a plate.
“You can eat it raw, right?”
When he held out the meat, the baby dragon stretched its neck forward and sniffed it.
SNIFF, SNIFF!
“GRRR….”
A growl filled with blatant displeasure escaped the baby dragon’s mouth.
“You don’t like it? This is premium Korean beef.”
Siul protested as though personally offended, but the baby dragon had already turned its head sharply away from the meat.
“Why? Don’t tell me you’re a vegetarian?”
Half doubtful, Siul opened the refrigerator again.
Lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots.
He held out the various vegetables he had bought for the sake of his health one by one.
“GRRR….”
The result was the same.
“You don’t like these either?”
Siul ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Then what in the world do you eat….”
His expression suddenly stiffened midway through the sentence.
A disturbing possibility crossed his mind.
“Do you, by any chance… eat people?”
The baby dragon merely tilted its head, apparently unable to understand the question.
With his face drained of color, Siul slowly—very slowly—held out his hand.
His hand would regenerate even if it was bitten off, but remaining calm with a dragon’s teeth right in front of him was another matter entirely.
Nuzzle—.
“…?”
The baby dragon rubbed its head against Siul’s palm.
He felt the strange texture of its scales, neither cold nor warm.
“WOOF!”
The baby dragon barked brightly, clearly pleased.
Siul stared blankly at it before suddenly realizing something.
‘Does it like having its head petted?’
He moved his hand a little more and gently stroked the baby dragon’s head.
“WOOF!”
An immediate positive response.
By now, Siul had realized that this little creature expressed its emotions in an extremely simple manner.
When it disliked something, its cry was low and rough—
“GRRR….”
When it liked something, it was bright and cheerful—
“WOOF!”
He could distinguish its feelings entirely by the sounds it made.
“You’re basically a puppy.”
Siul laughed helplessly.
But the practical problem soon returned.
“It’s a problem if I don’t know what you eat. It’s not like I can take you to the supermarket with me.”
Summoners and Necromancers existed in this world, but there were no humans who kept monsters as pets.
The moment he took a baby dragon outside, it would only be a matter of time before someone reported him.
“Hm?”
While Siul was thinking, the baby dragon vanished from his sight.
“Where did it go?”
It was not on the bed.
Nor was it on the floor.
Then he heard a rustling sound from the kitchen.
When he turned his head, he found the baby dragon on top of a kitchen shelf.
It was quite high.
Even a person would need to stand on a chair to reach it.
The small wings on the baby dragon’s back vibrated rapidly, holding its body aloft.
‘It can fly too?’
Another thought immediately snapped Siul back to attention.
‘No, that’s not what matters right now…!’
Siul sprang to his feet in alarm.
“What are you doing up there?!”
The baby dragon paid no attention to him and continued rummaging through the shelf.
Then it turned around with something in its mouth.
“Huh?”
It was a dog chew.
Last spring, Siul had briefly looked after his neighbor’s Shih Tzu while the owner attended reserve military training.
It was one of the dog treats he had been given at the time.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH!
The baby dragon happily chewed on the dog treat.
“WOOF!”
Its satisfied bark was merely the finishing touch.
“What kind of dragon likes dog chews…?”
Utterly dumbfounded, Siul let out a short laugh.
* * *
Apparently satisfied now that its stomach was somewhat full, the baby dragon lay sprawled in the middle of the bed without moving.
Its little body was stretched out lengthwise, and its tail rested loosely to one side.
Siul quietly watched it from beside the bed while thinking.
‘If the System gave it to me as a Bonus Reward, it must be useful to me somehow….’
But looking at it now, he simply felt as though he had acquired a pet.
Siul sat on the edge of the bed and rested his chin on his hand.
‘It was only just born, so I should focus on raising it properly for now.’
Having made up his mind, Siul spoke to the baby dragon.
“How about we give you a name?”
The baby dragon opened its eyes in response.
“I think I need something to call you from now on. Since you’re a dragon, how about Dragonie?”
“GRRR….”
“Y-You don’t like it?”
Even though it could not speak human language, its reactions made it surprisingly easy to brainstorm together.
“Then how about Teal, after the color of your scales?”
“GRRR….”
“You like dog chews, so… Puppy?”
“GRRR…!”
“Pepper?”
“GRRR…!!”
“Chestnut?”
“GRRRRR—!!!”
“…You hate all of them?”
The baby dragon snorted and flopped back down onto the bed.
Siul smiled awkwardly before suddenly freezing.
“…….”
Reality abruptly hit him.
“I might die before this year is even over.”
The thought slipped out of his mouth before he realized it.
“I’m not sure I should be the one giving you a name.”
There were only five months left until his death notice came due.
He felt like someone who could not take responsibility for this little creature until the end.
Siul’s expression gradually darkened at the bitter thought.
Nuzzle—.
The baby dragon pressed its small body against him and rubbed its head against Siul’s arm.
“…You want me to pet you again?”
When Siul touched its head, an immediate, cheerful “WOOF!” escaped it.
That finally made Siul smile.
“Fine. I chose your egg myself, after all. At the very least, I’ll take good care of you until the day I die.”
At those words, the baby dragon lightly wagged its tail.
Siul thought for a moment before adding quietly,
“The only time you and I will have together will be while you’re still zero years old, right? So, with that in mind…… how about the name Zero?”
For the first time, the baby dragon looked directly into Siul’s eyes.
“WOOF!”
“Oh? You like it?”
“WOOF, WOOF!”
Only then did Siul smile as well.
“Good. Then Zero it is.”
Now that he had even given it a name, Siul somehow felt more attached to the baby dragon.
For the first time in his life, Siul had a family.
DING-DONG!
“…?”
The doorbell suddenly rang.
Siul and Zero simultaneously turned toward the entrance.
“Who is it? I’m not expecting anyone.”
Siul covered Zero with the blanket and stood up.
“No one else can find out about you, so stay hidden, all right?”
“WOOF!”
After confirming that Zero had hidden itself beneath the blanket, Siul opened the front door.
However, the person standing outside was not unfamiliar.
It was the woman he had encountered at the Hunter Shop several weeks ago.
The woman who had suddenly appeared and grabbed Siul by the wrist.
Baek Ga-hyeon.
“You’re….”
Before Siul could finish speaking, Baek Ga-hyeon practically forced her way through the doorway.
“Excuse us.”
Startled, Siul looked behind her.
Someone else had entered after her.
It was Kang Ho-cheol.
He swiftly closed the front door and even locked it.
“What are you doing?!”
Siul raised his voice, but instead of answering, Baek Ga-hyeon reached into the inner pocket of her suit and pulled out a sheet of paper.
She unfolded it and held it out in front of Siul.
Among the densely packed sentences on the page, one large title printed at the very top immediately caught his eye.
〈 Government Summons Notice (Mandatory Attendance) 〉
For an instant, Siul stopped breathing.
Baek Ga-hyeon folded the paper again, returned it to the inner pocket of her suit, and spoke in a low voice.
“Mr. Kim Siul, you have been identified as the sole witness to the Black Gate incident that occurred at approximately 1:21 p.m. on May 25.”
“…!!”
Siul’s pupils dilated.
He was so shocked that his entire body froze.
“You’ll need to come with us to Headquarters.”
The moment she delivered the notice, a chill ran down Siul’s spine.
Kang Ho-cheol was suddenly standing behind him.
Siul had not even sensed when he had moved.
‘This man… isn’t an ordinary Hunter.’
With Siul’s current abilities, he could at least estimate an opponent’s rank.
‘He’s S-Rank…!’
At the same time, a powerful arm hooked around Siul’s.
Kang Ho-cheol wrapped his own arm around Siul’s as though locking him in handcuffs.
There was no opening to run.
No time to resist.
“We called it a summons, but in practice, you’re under arrest.”
Kang Ho-cheol’s low, deep voice sounded beside his ear.
Radiating murderous intent, he whispered,
“Please cooperate.”