Chapter 49: Demon Beast Egg

“…What.”

Luca lifted his head from the newspaper, his eyes widening as if he’d seen something impossible.

Standing before him, as he went about his business like always, was Verdi. Normally she would have just taken the money and let it go, but she couldn’t do that today.

The reason—

Luca’s gaze shifted to behind Verdi.

There stood a small kid and a sturdy adult man.

From their attire, they were clearly Hunters.

“Who are they?”

“My party members.”

Verdi said calmly.

“Party members?”

Luca’s gaze turned back to Verdi.

*Companions? You?* — his face seemed to ask.

“Yeah. Got a problem?”

“No, it’s just…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Luca was at a loss for words.

Of course, back in the day, Luca had once asked Verdi if she’d ever try making companions or friends.

Back then, Verdi had firmly said, “I don’t need companions,” with absolute finality.

And that kid had actually made companions…

‘That brat…’

Overcome with emotion, Luca felt a lump in his throat.

The feeling Luca had now was like a parent whose daughter, who never managed to make friends, had finally brought one home for the first time.

Of course, unlike Verdi, Luca’s daughter Yura was an outgoing kid, sociable enough to be student council president at the academy, but still.

The point was, to Luca, this looked as special as that example with his daughter.

Verdi showing up at the lodging Luca ran with companions in tow.

* * *

“Feel free to stay as long as you like.”

“Really? What’s the occasion?”

That stingy Mr. Luca was lending out a room without charging rent — that was unexpected.

“Ms. Verdi, do you know him?”

Deneb asked me. She looked a little scared, probably put off by Mr. Luca’s rough appearance.

“Scavenger Luca…”

I was about to say he was just someone I was indebted to, but Marcel muttered under his breath.

“A former A-Rank Hunter. I never imagined he’d be in a place like this…”

Marcel spoke as if he knew a lot about Mr. Luca.

“True to his alias ‘Scavenger,’ they say he handled all sorts of dirty work. There were even rumors he’d killed people—”

“He’s never killed anyone.”

I frowned at Marcel as I said it.

When Mr. Luca was still active, there were plenty of grim rumors about him, but most were baseless.

“What’s your relationship with him, Ms. Verdi?”

“Just someone I’m indebted to.”

I said it casually, but I could see Deneb and Marcel’s faces turn pale.

What’s with them? They must think Mr. Luca is some terrifying guy.

Sure, Mr. Luca looks like a gangster or yakuza, but that’s just his appearance.

He can be intimidating sometimes, but he’s also a kind-hearted uncle. I know because I’ve known him a long time. Above all, he’s a family man.

Someone like that can’t be a bad person, right?

‘…Feels like I’m defending Mr. Luca somehow.’

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

A memory from the past surfaced.

Had Mr. Luca felt the same way back then?

When I was still holed up in my room, I happened to see Mr. Luca and the neighbors through the window.

—Mr. Luca, is it true you’re harboring that… murderer?

I didn’t need to think about who the murderer was. Obviously me.

Mr. Luca was dealing with the neighbors who didn’t like him sheltering me.

I still remember exactly what Mr. Luca said back then.

—If you spout that kind of crap in front of me again, you’d better be ready for the consequences.

I heard Mr. Luca got an earful from his wife after that incident… but it felt good.

Mr. Luca was someone who believed in me to the end. So if anyone slanders him, I won’t forgive them either.

“…I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”

Marcel bowed his head in apology. I gestured that it was fine.

“Anyway.”

I gestured with my eyes toward Deneb’s backpack, which held the dragon egg.

Normally, we would have disbanded by now, but not today.

Because we needed to discuss what to do with that egg.

“What do you plan to do, Ms. Verdi?”

“Well… I’m thinking selling it would fetch a pretty penny.”

The problem was how to sell it. There was no way to prove it was a dragon egg.

On top of that, there had never even been a recorded case of a Demon Beast egg being found.

“Eek! Sell it? We’re not going to raise it?!”

That was when Deneb blurted out nonsense.

“How exactly would you raise it?”

“Well… I mean, but still.”

“Raising a kid isn’t easy. Look at Mr. Luca over there.”

I pointed a finger at Mr. Luca, who was entertaining guests in the distance.

“That guy has a daughter. He used to have a much sharper edge to him, but ever since his daughter was born, he’s gone completely soft.”

“That’s what you call soft…?”

Marcel and Deneb looked horrified.

You bet. He used to be able to dominate people with just his eyes, but he’s mellowed out a lot, our Mr. Luca.

“Anyway, the point is raising a kid is incredibly hard work. Do you really think we could raise a Demon Beast that isn’t even human?”

I said that, but Deneb still looked reluctant.

No, more than that — this was an Earth Dragon’s baby. We killed its parents and now we’re raising the child? What kind of third-rate drama is this?

“But would anyone even buy this egg? There’s no way to prove it’s a Demon Beast egg, let alone a dragon egg.”

As Deneb said, even if we wanted to sell it instead of raising it, we hit a dead end there.

If we were S-Rank Hunters, maybe someone would believe us.

But Deneb and I were D-Rank Hunters, and Marcel was an A-Rank Hunter, but his public reputation wasn’t exactly great.

“Should I ask Mr. Luca to sell it for us?”

Come to think of it, Mr. Luca knew I was an S-Rank Hunter.

“Is he trustworthy enough for that?”

Marcel lowered his voice to ask. I quietly nodded. If it was Mr. Luca, he was trustworthy.

So I tried talking to him…

“What the hell are you talking about? A dragon egg? Yeah, right, I’ll believe that. And even if I did buy it, I’d have to resell it to someone interested, but how the hell would I resell this thing?”

That was the answer I got. I didn’t expect even Mr. Luca to react like that.

Then again, who would want to buy a Demon Beast egg?

And I just thought of something.

‘Someone might show up asking where the egg came from.’

If word got out, it could reach the ears of the mage who teleported the Earth Dragon.

If that happened, that bastard might come after us to get rid of us.

I was confident I wouldn’t lose… but a faint chill ran down my spine.

So I decided to put selling it on hold for now.

“What if it hatches while we’re holding onto it?”

But that didn’t mean the problem was over.

What if this egg suddenly hatched?

“Then we kill it, I guess.”

“…”

When I said that, Deneb made a frightened face.

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

…Did I really need to explain that?

That egg was a Demon Beast egg.

Demon Beasts were enemies of Hunters, and by extension, of all humanity. I felt like that was the natural reaction, but still.

“Deneb, this egg is a Demon Beast egg. If it hatches and harms those around it, there’s no choice.”

Still, Marcel seemed to recognize the danger, so he explained the reasoning on my behalf.

“Yes…”

Hearing it put that way, Deneb seemed to accept it for now.

But where were we supposed to keep this egg? Like Marcel said, if it hatched while we were away and went on a rampage, that would be a problem.

“Um, Ms. Verdi.”

I was deep in thought when Deneb called out to me in a cautious tone.

“Could I raise it?”

“…?”

“Ah, no, I mean, could I take care of it?”

As I thought.

Deneb still seemed to have lingering attachment.

The way she was saying it, she really seemed to like that egg.

Well, unlike me, she was genuinely young and innocent. She must have had a dream.

The dream of becoming a Hunter who could raise a Demon Beast and command it like an extension of herself.

There had never been a single case of someone taming a Demon Beast like a summoned creature.

Demon Beasts weren’t even newborn cubs — there was no way they’d follow a different species like humans.

But what if it had just hatched from the egg?

Thinking about animal cases, it wasn’t impossible that the Demon Beast would see a human as its mother.

I don’t know if Deneb’s thoughts had reached that far…

‘Well, it’s not like I have anywhere to put it right now anyway.’

My room is out of the question for now.

Never mind Mr. Luca — there’s a chance Claire might come by to clean while I’m away, like last time, and find the egg.

I don’t want to suspect him since he’s an acquaintance of Mr. Luca, but there’s always that one-in-a-million chance.

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes!”

She answers energetically enough… but I’m still uneasy.

What’s inside that egg is most likely an Earth Dragon hatchling.

Dragon-kind are the strongest Demon Beasts. What if the hatchling is born and tries to attack humans?

If Deneb is left alone while Marcel and I are away, can she handle it on her own?

And if an accident happens — if someone gets hurt or dies because of it.

—Murderer!

—You killed them!

Deneb might have to hear those endless accusations.

This young, innocent g… girl, who still doesn’t know how cruel the world can be.

Those thoughts kept creeping in, and I felt like just leaving it to her would be irresponsible.

But if I flat-out refuse like this, she’ll probably sulk.

“…Hoo, fine.”

Then I have no choice.

We just finished our first mercenary job successfully (more or less). I don’t want to ruin the party’s mood by splitting opinions right when we should be pushing forward.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

So I’ll allow it.

“But you have to take care of it without any problems. If even a small issue comes up, I’ll dispose of it without hesitation. Got it?”

I made sure to say it clearly, so she couldn’t weasel out of it if something went wrong.

I’ve always been damn good at covering my bases like this.

“Yes! I’ll definitely take responsibility and raise it well! Ah, no — I mean, take care of it!”

This kid… she’s only thinking about raising it, isn’t she?

Even as I heard her answer, I subtly shot a glance toward Marcel.

Whether he understood the meaning behind that look — keep a close watch — Marcel nodded.

Well, that should be enough.