Chapter 22
Michael lifted Honey Badger by the scruff of his neck.
“Time to go home.”
Honey Badger flailed his limbs, trying to escape, but he couldn’t break free from Michael’s grasp.
“See you next time, Isabel!”
“Okay.”
Isabel saw Honey Badger and Michael off at the door and trudged back inside.
She sat on the bed, looking a little downcast.
Seeing this, Ruruka couldn’t help but smile broadly.
‘Oh, my heart aches.’
Isabel, filled with disappointment, was still adorable today.
Ruruka asked.
“Are you that sad that Honey Badger left?”
“Yes.”
“But he said he’d be back soon.”
“What if Oppa bullies him again?”
Isabel wore a worried expression.
Ruruka gazed at Isabel with eyes full of affection and asked.
“Why do you like Honey Badger so much?”
“I like Honey Badger because his fur is soft. His body is warm, like hugging a heater.”
“It’s summer, you know?”
“I still like it when it’s warm. I have cold hands and fee……”
“Yes?”
“No! It’s nothing.”
Her body in her past life was problematic overall, and cold hands and feet were part of it.
Her hands and feet were so cold that they felt like ice, which was agonizing.
That’s why she liked holding warm things in her hands, and Honey Badger’s body was perfect for that.
“It’s so warm when I bury my hands in his fluffy fur.”
“It’s fascinating. He’s so fierce towards His Highness, but he’s incredibly gentle with you, Your Highness.”
In fact, Kim Beolkkul wasn’t very friendly towards Ruruka either.
Isabel was the only person Kim Beolkkul was openly friendly with.
“He’s shy, but he’s a good friend.”
Isabel flopped down on the bed.
The ceiling looked like an A4 sheet of paper.
She thought hard about how to modify and calculate the magic formulas.
She pondered how to read Honey Badger’s mind more accurately.
“Come to think of it, Honey Badger seemed to be very sensitive to heat.”
Then she had an idea.
“I should learn cold attribute magic. Honey Badger will like it, right?”
The thought of Kim Beolkkul made her feel happy for no reason.
I’ll play hide-and-seek with Honey Badger tomorrow. She fell asleep, having pleasant imaginations.
Meanwhile, Kim Beolkkul viciously scratched Michael’s cheek.
He twisted his body violently and escaped from Michael’s grasp.
“You ungrateful badger!”
Kim Beolkkul moved swiftly.
He escaped from Michael’s arms and ran.
“I’ll scratch you too. Just wait there.”
Michael tried to s*atch Kim Beolkkul, but he was too fast.
Kim Beolkkul nimbly dodged Michael and went to the window, opening it.
Michael scoffed.
“Humph, you’re going to jump from the 8th floor? Uh, uh oh? Hey, hey! What if you really jump!”
Michael hurriedly ran towards the window.
He was too strong and lost his balance.
He fell out the window like a launched projectile.
“Huh? Am I, am I flying?”
He spread his arms like a bird spreading its wings.
He flapped his arms.
“Can I fly?”
No way.
Thud!
Michael fell from the 8th floor.
Unfortunately, he landed headfirst.
It hurt a little more than usual, but he wasn’t particularly injured.
“Huh?”
Kim Beolkkul was nowhere to be seen.
“Wow, I guess he can teleport too.”
It was a mysterious event, but Michael didn’t think too much of it.
He had no thoughts today, either.
“I won’t miss him next time.”
Meanwhile, Kim Beolkkul’s body vanished and reappeared in front of a massive cave.
Rustle- rustle━━━
Kim Beolkkul moved into the cave as if he was familiar with it.
A voice came from inside the cave.
“Arun, it’s time to return to your true form.”
Multicolored mana began to seep out of Kim Beolkkul’s body.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Feeling slightly dizzy, Kim Beolkkul shook his head vigorously from side to side.
His honey badger self gradually faded away.
A gentle voice reached him.
“Are you alright?”
“……Ah, Mother?”
Kim Beolkkul remembered his name.
His real name was Arun.
“You must have learned a lot today.”
“I’m back.”
Arun examined his body.
He, who was a honey badger, had now taken on a human form.
“I don’t remember anything that happened.”
“That’s normal.”
Deep inside the cave.
Arun’s mother revealed herself.
She was a woman with black hair and jet-black eyes.
“Arun. What was your name again?”
“You just told me. Arun.”
“Oh, right.”
She chuckled.
“I have to keep reminding you of your dragon self so you don’t forget who you are. Say your name again.”
“Arun.”
Arun was a very young dragon, only 100 years old.
“Can I take a look at what happened to you?”
“Yes.”
Arun’s mother placed her hand on Arun’s head and read his memories.
Arun had a new name.
‘Kim Beolkkul? What a funny name.’
After reading all of Arun’s memories as a honey badger, his mother smiled.
“You’re having good experiences.”
“What kind of experiences am I having?”
“You’ll realize it yourself when you grow up.”
Arun walked sluggishly.
After taking a few steps, a space even more magnificent than Michael’s room appeared.
It was clearly a deep cave, but this place was cleaner than the Imperial Palace.
It was the Dragon’s Nest.
Dragons had a lifestyle very similar to humans.
They usually lived in human form.
Because it was the most efficient way to consume mana when they were in ‘human form’.
Arun sat down on the fluffy sofa.
“But, Mother. Why do we have to do this bothersome thing?”
“To become a good a*ult.”
“If I don’t do this, will I become a bad a*ult?”
“That could happen.”
She smiled.
“A long, long time ago, there was a black dragon who called herself the Black Flame Dragon of Ultimate Termination, Destruction, and Transparency.”
“That’s a lot of things.”
“Isn’t it cool?”
Arun shook his head.
“I’m not a kid.”
“Huh?”
“Only 50-year-old brats would think that kind of bizarre name is cool, right?”
“……I, is that so?”
“But what’s a Black Flame Dragon?”
He knew about black dragons, but he had never heard of a Black Flame Dragon.
“She just called herself a Black Flame Dragon.”
“That’s so weird.”
“Anyway, the Black Flame Dragon of Ultimate Termination, Destruction, and Transparency was extremely bored.”
Dragons are born predators.
They reigned over everything without effort, naturally chanting magic spells and performing miracles with the Dragon Language.
“She didn’t know how to relieve her boredom.”
The 100-year-old baby dragon, Arun, was now engrossed in his mother’s story.
“And then?”
“She went around showing off her power.”
The Black Flame Dragon of Ultimate Termination, Destruction, and Transparency.
Kadelina had driven the world to the brink of destruction.
“But one day, the Black Flame Dragon stopped destroying things.”
“Why?”
“A cute human appeared. He gave her a ring and promised to make her happy.”
“How can a human make a dragon happy?”
“Exactly. What a ridiculous fellow. Anyway, the Black Flame Dragon seemed to find that human quite adorable. I guess he had a pathetic charm.”
“I see.”
“As a result, her boredom gradually decreased, and she stopped the massacre. So, it was cuteness that prevented the destruction.”
She chuckled.
“The cutest things are the scariest.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Arun nodded.
As if finding her son incredibly cute, she gently stroked Arun’s head and continued.
“Anyway, after that incident, dragons finally began to realize that they weren’t perfect. And they also learned what kind of danger could arise when an imperfect being possesses near-perfect power. That’s why laws were established to ensure young dragons like Arun have diverse activities and experiences.”
It became mandatory for young dragons to transform into other animals and live their lives.
They had to understand and empathize with the thoughts of other races.
However, for a ‘complete experience’, their dragon selves had to be completely erased.
Just like Kim Beolkkul living as a real honey badger, not a dragon’s transformed form.
“But I don’t remember anything.”
“Those experiences are embedded deep within your soul. If you remember everything now, your dragon self could be shaken. That’s why we seal the memories of your transformed form.”
“Ah, I see.”
Arun tilted his head.
“But, Mother.”
“Yes?”
“What’s Kim Beolkkul?”
Her body flinched in surprise.
“Where did you hear that?”
“I don’t know. I just remember it.”
That’s something he shouldn’t remember……
She didn’t say those words.
It was certainly strange that he remembered his experiences as Kim Beolkkul after awakening his dragon self.
It seemed to be somehow related to the girl who gave Arun the name ‘Kim Beolkkul’.
“You don’t know either, Mother?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Tell me if you remember anything else later.”
The Black Dragon, Kadelina, smiled gently.
Her black eyes narrowed like those of a reptile.
“But son, do you really hate that name?”
“The Ultimate something Black Flame Dragon?”
“Yes. The Black Flame Dragon of Ultimate Termination, Destruction, and Transparency.”
“It’s totally lame.”
“Then how about Dark Dragon instead of Black Flame Dragon?”
“That’s even worse.”
“I, I see.”
“Why? Do you know a Black Flame Dragon?”
“T, that’s ridiculous! How could I possibly know such a childish creature?”
✦✦✦✦✦✦
At the same time.
Goosebumps erupted on Isabel’s body.
It was because Lancer, her swordsmanship instructor（?）, brought up the story of the Black Flame Dragon from legends.
