Chapter 121

“Oh, Princess….”

“Yes?” (Ruby)

“I want to give my apologies. We can’t handle this situation amongst ourselves anymore…We can’t….”

“Don’t be so shy! Hurry and rise! Welcome Madam, I’m so relieved you came. Hurry and come this way.”

“Hey, thank god! The Princess has arrived!”

“Hey you bear, can’t you hear me! You can quit now!”

“The Princess is here!”

What is this incredibly welcoming atmosphere?

Seeing this, I didn’t know what to do.

I was dragged around blindly by Sir Ivan while in a state of confusion, and before long, the paladins stationed themselves near the entrance to the cave, and a familiar figure hovering above their heads appeared as if it was an illusion.

“Pi-yo-o-o-o-o-o-o!”

Griffin let out a long cry before I could even open my mouth.

Immediately following their cry, something sprung itself out from within the dark cave.

“Po, po!”

“Popo! Hey guys!”

“Madam, be careful …!”

“Po, po po po po!”

Rolling, rolling. (데굴데굴, 구르르.) (sfx)

Popo, who was passionately bouncing and flapping their arms, rolled on the floor for a bit as they vigorously hugged me with their plump arms.

(T/N: again, I’ll be using gender neutral pronouns “they/them” to refer to Popo, Griffin, or the baby dragon)

Oh my goodness, it was a chaotic scene, but I was happy to see them again!

“Po, po, po, po!”

“Pureung, cu, cu, cu, ku!”

Right above Popo’s head, Griffin was happily snapping his beak away.

I was touched to receive such a welcoming reaction from them.

“······· Those bast*rds don’t seem to be at all like beasts.”

(T/N: I guess this is a way of saying they may have some “humanlike” qualities at the most, or at the least, they behave differently compared to other beasts since they seem to be capable of showing action or reactions of a wider range compared to the average monster)

“Stay still, you idiot.”

I won’t go into detail on how the innocent, upright Paladins watched the little ones, who were rolling around together and basking in the joy of reunion.

Eventually, I was freed from Popo and Griffin’s intense hugs and sat gasping in the aftermath.

[Khao oh oh oh-] (sfx)

A groan emitting from the general area reverberated through the huge maze of a cave.

“Purreung, Purreung.”

“Po, po!”

Griffin nodded their head and Popo, having just remembered what the objective was, simultaneously used the current situation’s momentum to stand up and grab my hand.

They then flapped their other arm in the direction towards the inside of the cave.

“Po, po, po, po.”

“Madam.”

I blinked and turned my head in response.

Leaving behind the quivering eyes of their comrades, a small group of elite paladins daringly came to me with beaming looks.

”Is Iz in the cave right now?”

“Yes, the commander (Sir Barons) is also accompanying him. I tried to stop them from going in but they were both too stubborn. The current dilemma is that they might be lost inside at the moment, because they haven’t come out of the cave for nearly half a day, so I tried to go after them but they (Popo and Griffin) were blocking people from entry, and instead I’ve been keeping watch over the cave’s opening·······”

This bast*rd husband, it hasn’t even been close to half a day and yet he’s attempting to solve the situation (of figuring out why the dragon is wailing) by himself after we’ve made the agreement of figuring it out together as a married couple!

No matter how strong he may be, I’ll still be worried for his safety!

It’s become even more of a mess since he left with the commander!

“I’m going crazy…”

“I’m sure nothing will happen, since the most that has happened so far has been the dragon whining. Izek is either lost or taking the time to search for something else. We just thought Madam should be informed of this, don’t you think so?”

“The commander also mentioned something about two dragons….Madam, we will follow you if you decide to enter the cave too.”

It was then that Sir Ivan, who had been conversing with Sir Galar, and Sir Camus, who was approaching with the support of Andymion, staggered in.

“Madam, that bast*rd. I don’t think that Griffin punk is a Griffin.”

The hard-headed Sir Camus seemed to be in a rather bad condition today.

In order to discourage Sir Camus from insisting on taking action on Griffin, Sir Galar had to step forward and stop him from cutting his own nose.

(T/N: I thought “cut / slit his nose” is a Korean metaphor or idiom but apparently it is a reference dating back from the Middle Ages. According to wiki, “cutting off one’s nose (to spite one’s face)” is an expression used to describe a needlessly self destructive over reaction to a problem. “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one’s anger. It wasn’t uncommon to cut off someone’s nose for punishment or any misc. Reason back then and the expression has since become a blanket term for, often unwise, self destructive actions motivated purely by anger or desire for revenge.)

Sir Camus then fell unconscious from Sir Galar’s “intervention” and was then dragged out by Sir Ezekiel, who waved at us.

[Khao oh oh oh-]

“Po, po, po!”

Just like last time, Popo grabbed me and coasted forward while Griffin took the lead as they flew.

Two men plus a boy (the paladins) began chasing us as if it was a life and death situation.

For some reason, neither Popo nor Griffin seemed to care about the humans frantically scrambling after them even though the scene looked chaotic.

“·······Wow!”

A loud exclamation could be heard echoing from further back as the winding downhill road came into view.

I was clinging onto Popo in an embrace while wildly sliding down the road so I didn’t have time to check if everyone had safely and properly come down the road.

As I glided around the curved slopes that stretched out into several maze-like branches, my eyes rolled round and round.

Oh, I had forgotten this feeling.

“Ouch!”

“Po”!

Griffin then grabbed Popo’s ear as Popo leaped through the air.

Afterwards, the sound of someone being violently buried into a mountain of jewels rang magnificently from behind.

“Are you all okay?”

There was no answer for a while.

While Griffin gently set us down, I rubbed my head that was still recovering from motion sickness and tried to come to my senses.

Where do you see… Wait, but was this place always so bright?

“·······My, my, Sir Izek and his wife boast the extraordinary talent of managing to make a dramatic appearance every time. Don’t worry, we’re all right, Princess.”

Jalak jalak. Jalakjalak jalak (sfx of Ruby sliding down the mountain)

My body painfully slipped down the mountain of jewels.

Popo, you traitor·······.

“Hello, honey?”

Izek, who skillfully grabbed and hugged me as I slipped further down, wore an expression on his face that was quite a spectacle to see.

Just in time, the owner of this jewelry warehouse groaned dramatically.

“Kao-o-o-o-o-o, kao-o-o-o-o, kao-o-o-o-o·······”.

It was only then was I able to properly take in the surroundings.

Illuminated by a glowing lantern which seemed to have been brought in by someone, a huge pile of indigo scales could be seen draping up and down over the stone floor where a pile of jewels were pushed back.

A middle aged paladin, the knight commander of the Longinus Paladins, was smiling at me as he stood near the lifeless, drooping wings.

Was it Sir Barons?

“It’s growing pains.”

“Growing pains”?

“At first, I didn’t think it was the case because it wouldn’t have matched the timing, but now I think that it is definitely growing pains after observing it with my own eyes. Even though it’s a bit of a fuss, the pain is not too severe.”

Izek gently put me down.

I fumbled through the pile of scales and found the snout where the moans were flowing out.

Which side is the head?

“Hey, are you okay?”

I thought I saw the long, closed eyelids flinching for a bit as I was speaking softly to the dragon, and then, a huge golden eyeball soon revealed itself.

My breath instantly came to a stop.

“Kao······. Kao, Kao·····. Kao, Oh, Kao·····.”

I think they want to say something, but I can’t figure out what it’s supposed to be.

When I tenderly reached out to stroke the rigid nose bridge, a huge nostril snorted out.

It’s a relief that they’re not injured or sick, but it seems a little off for them to act like this.

Are you sure you’re our dragon cub?

“But the timing doesn’t fit·······.”

“It’s really just growing pains. The only time growing pains feel like death is when it occurs while they’re young. The cub is only transitioning into adolescence now, which means they may be much younger than we initially thought for their size.”

Surprisingly, my husband, who kindly explained it to me, sat down on his knees next to me and placed his hand near the half-opened dragon’s snout.

The dragon cub didn’t even budge.

Though in the midst of their pain, their half-opened eyes gleamed as if in a blaze.

Oh, were you really just a child?

“You’re so tall. And you were still just a child?”

“A child… That is my question as well, commander?”

“Madam, the last dragon to be seen in Erendil before the cub was the frost dragon of winter 19 years ago. We thought that they were the cub’s brother, but looking at the current chain of events, it looks like the dragon last seen may have been their mother. And maybe, the reason why the mother died in vain during its capture was to hide the cub······.”

“The commander didn’t kill the dragon that was last seen though. At any rate, I don’t know what state the cub was in at that time, but it seems like they’ve been locked up in this room since then, hoarding jewels and sleeping······.”

I know. The cub was a lonely child who survived with all their might······.

But if you’re still a child, how much bigger can you grow from here? You’re already so big.

“What size do you think the mother was?”

“I remember her to maybe be half of the current size of the cub. I wouldn’t be surprised if this dim cub has an early onset of puberty or hyperplasia, but could it possibly be hyperplasia?”

“Why are you asking me that, whatever the commander says would be more accurate because he is more knowledgeable on this subject.”

“But Sir is the best paladin of the North, aren’t you?”

“Ruby, what’s your take on the situation?”

“That’s right, Princess, what do you think, Princess?”

“Why are you asking me now?”

When I asked back because I was dumbfounded, both men immediately responded with pride.

“He likes you”.

“Weren’t you just whining and pleading for mercy, saying something was wrong?”

(T/N: Ruby is talking about how it’s strange they’re asking her for input on the dragon’s condition and how they are also calmer about the situation now that they’ve realized it’s growing pains whereas before there was a bit more sense of urgency b/c the cause of the cub’s distress was unknown. They believe that Ruby would be able to have better insight b/c the cub likes her and she is able to effectively communicate w/ them and other monsters in general)

What kind of answers were these that came from the commander and the subordinate.

“When will these growing pains end?”

“No one can give an estimate on how long these growing pains will last. It varies from individual to individual, and roughly about seven out of ten fail to grow properly, eventually dying.”

Tong, there was a dreary echo.

The dragon cub, who was apparently very unhappy with the human’s claim, shook its tail, growling and dispersing the jewels everywhere.

The knight commander, who was staring at the sparkling gold coins scattered in the air as if entranced, soon saw my expression and came to his senses.

“Oh, of course, it doesn’t mean that the cub will die. It’s just that it was often the case in the past······.”

“Why are you making my wife nervous with this nonsense?”

“I didn’t mean to do that, so please forget about the unverified information discussed. Although I have experience in caring for the young, their lineage has dried up over the years, and now that I’ve had a chance to examine the cub, we don’t need to be too concerned for them. It doesn’t seem like worrying about it is necessary!”

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“Lord, can’t you see (the cub is fine)? Save yourself from any worries and just trust me, isn’t the Princess also at ease now?

For a moment, we looked at the dragon cub that was growing way too quickly and suffering from growing pains.