A Dragon's Curiosity

“A [Guardian Griffin]? What’s that? And that little guy is sooo cute!”

Aware of the two presences closing in, and at the same time blooming with excitement since the dragon recognized the two energy signatures, a feminine voice drifted over, surprising the two males. Whipping their heads over to the source, they recognized the owner.

“Anna, Lydia, you’re back.”

Taking one more look at the freshly hatched hippogriff, Nisha took a breath longer to turn, nonetheless her elation soared to the high heavens.

As close friends of the young mistress of the house and wielding the letter of the former head of the house, Annabelle and Lydia spent the first few moons at the Dharnas’ estate, helping their chosen younger sister settling into the city life before the duke had arranged them two apprentice spots in a merchant house affiliated with them, since learning the trade craft always had been a dream for the sisters.

Aware how much it meant for them to achieve the future vision where they had enough money and influence to be treated with importance no matter where they went, Nisha didn’t bother them to stay with her all the time when they were offered a room in the trading house; opportunities to pursue one’s dream were rare to come by.

Though a little saddened she couldn’t contact them very often during this period, all the melancholy was blown away when they returned. If it weren’t for the delicate bundle of fur resting in her bosom, she’d have already rushed up to the two to ensnare them in a deep hug.

“Please excuse us, master Galan, if we intruded into something. My sister Lydia and me just returned and were looking for Nisha, we were told she’s in the garden. However, I’m curious too, what’s that about a [Guardian Griffin]?”

Looking after her younger sister as usual, Annabelle approached with a quieter tone, restraining the energetic copy of her from running up to the table where a miniature monster was curiously looking around.

Both of them smiled at Nisha, who held a wolf in her arms, their eyes expressing how glad they were to see her again, even if they could not convey it physically at the moment.

“Miss Annabelle and Miss Lydia. Of course you did not interrupt. Forgive this old man, I have been temporarily overwhelmed by the results from the young master hatching his first monster egg.

According to my [Identify], this little one should be from the race of the [Guardian Griffins], a high ranked beast species that naturally have the potential to grow up to the eighth or even the ninth rank in rare cases! In other words, it is one of the strongest monsters and beasts I have ever seen!”

Ecstatic for the good fortune the young man he regarded as his own grandson obtained, Galan free-spiritedly let loose a wave of words one after another, unlike his usual composure as a professional butler.

“To make a comparison, only in rocky mountains containing strong spiritual energy and light element materials have [Guardian Griffins] been sighted before. The Guild offered a bounty for any party to hunt them down and sell the materials obtained for high prizes, with an astronomical never seen before prize in case they managed to bring back a young exemplar that could be tamed. A huge affair happened because of their emergence, yet no one had the courage to hunt them for the rewards. There are other monsters and beasts with similar strength and danger level, yet all of them are ranked in the peak of the ninth stage, simply because of the griffin’s extraordinary defense and inborn intelligence. Obtaining a young one from an egg is undoubtedly young master Henry's good fortune!”

Shedding a tear out of pure happiness, Galan handed the Griffin to Henry, who emotionally steadied his hands to receive the small creature that symbolized his hopes and dreams. What concept was a eighth or ninth rank being? Even a duke in the Leandar kingdom only had to reach the seventh rank to be considered an unshakeable pillar of their respective families, not to mention the fact that beasts and monsters inherently had stronger bodies than humans.

Having tasted this particular joy he was experiencing right now, Nisha stepped back and greeted her two close friends she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Welcome back. How did it go at the merchant house, aren’t you still in training? Why are you back at the moment?”

Treating each other as sisters, there was no need for a big celebration or over exaggerated gestures upon their reunion. The feelings they held for each other exceeded those kinds of trivial gestures far more.

“Yes, we had a good encounter and through the acquaintance Sir Luthais introduced us to we were able to work in the [Merchant Guild] for several moons, learning directly under a great trader. We even got an offer to stay behind and work for his company, but how could we miss the start of school for our little sister? Settling how we can start our own trading house can come after that, that issue is minor in comparison.”

Boasting of her own achievements as an employee in a trading house, Lydia held her head high pridefully, while her big sister closed in on Nisha, targeting Lia in her arms, her eyes sparkling.

“Who’s this little ball of fur? Did you chose a name yet Nisha? … It looks so fluffy, can I hold him for a moment?”

Annabelle on the other hand didn’t linger on their respective experiences and locked onto the [Wind Wolf] instead. Being held by Nisha, it meant the young elf contracted with this monster, the former servant sisters already heard from the employees in the house about the situation when they asked for the young mistress’s location.

“Go ahead. And her name is Accalia, I decided to call her Lia for short.”

Handing over her small follower to the usually composed young woman, the dragon was secretly amused about the gap between her regular coolness and the current fawning face she showed.

“Little Lia, you’re so adorable! Even your name is cute, just like your master.”

Rubbing her face against the comfortable fur and stroking the belly showing into the air when she cradled the wolf on her back in her arms, Annabelle fully enjoyed playing with it. Lia

reciprocated the playful emotions and chased after the fingers tickling her with her front paws, softly biting into them when Annabelle allowed her to catch them.

Nisha wasn’t worried about her sister getting injured due to the playful fighting, although their dream was to become the master of a grand trading house, her older sisters always accompanied her during training in the hunting grounds and both stepped into the second rank earlier than her. While it didn’t count as powerful, especially not here in Thurgau, the capital, a newborn wolf at least wouldn’t be able to injure them for real.

Seeing how their little sister had given her approval and how her big sister already fussed over the furry creature, Lydia joined in to play with Little Lia as well.

The dragon on the other hand turned her attention towards Henry, who sat in front of the [Guardian Griffin] in a daze and Galan, who still made a clamor and continuously shook the young master’s shoulder, even if the person in question didn’t even feel it.

“Congratulations, Henry. Did you decide on a name for your partner yet?”

Hearing her soft and chime-like voice, the blond haired noble broke out of his stupor and excitedly pinched himself to make sure this was reality and not a dream.

“What congratulations, this is all thanks to you, Nisha. If it wasn’t for you picking the eggs, how would I have gained such a powerful mount. How can I ever pay you back?”

Stroking the head feathers of the griffin, Henry beamed so wide Nisha was afraid his jaw would fall off his face soon. While the monster was of a similar size to her wolf at the moment, the servant behind them already informed them due to his never stopping chanting that a griffin wouldn’t lose out to a war horse in size as an adult.

“How can you say that? Isn’t it also your good luck that I managed to grab one of the good eggs? Quickly open the other one and make the contract, maybe there’ll be only be a low ranked monster inside since all the luck is already used up now.”

Speaking in a slightly teasing tone and refocusing the attention of her brother, the elf already knew that the second egg held a creature with strength below the [Guardian Griffin], yet it should still be considered fairly good in the middle rank. After all, she trusted her [Spirit Sight] unconditionally.

“You’re right, after getting an amazing [Guardian Griffin], there’s still the other egg left. Hand me the bag please.”

Turning his face away to wipe away the tears of happiness he unconsciously shed, Henry originally did not want to let her see him tearing up, but Nisha did not care. In fact, it meant they were close enough that he could relax himself to such a degree and openly show his emotions, it was a happy thing.

His hand never left the ceremonial knife, although he didn’t need to use it again. Dropping another few drops of blood dripping from his split palm, the azure egg reacted to his aura and mana contained within it and slowly split apart. Appearing from within, a slim aquamarine bird emerged, crying happily upon seeing its master, Henry. Due to just being born, it couldn’t fly yet and hopped from the table towards his frame and nimbly climbed on his shoulder, rubbing its head against his cheek.

“Grandpa, come and check this one too, please.”

Surprised and satisfied by the affectionate manner the bird displayed, he carefully reached for it and placed it on the table in front of the old man, who still absentmindedly rambled to himself.

“Huh? You already obtained the second contract? Let me see, let me see …”

The shock had been to big after all, even when the young man he considered family obtained his second companion, Galan didn’t even notice.

Repeating the movements from before, another wave of mana spread as he casted [Identify]. Seizing up the almost transparent blue feathers, the small body and the clear black eyes, he helplessly shook his head.

Henry dreaded the answer, maybe he really used up all his luck and got an inferior monster from an egg his sister spent a fortune on.

Fortunately, the old man quelled this worries swiftly.

“A [Cerulean Sky Owl]. What’s with the young people these days? Three monsters that are guaranteed to step into the beast realm sooner or later and one Empty Egg. Maybe the heavens really blessed the Dharnas’ family.

Young Master, this owl can not be said to be on the same level as your [Guardian Griffin], yet it’s also rare in another sense. As part of the owl family, the [Cerulean Sky Owl] is a bit of an odd one. Most birds innately belong to the air element, yet this owl type also shows a strong disposition towards the water element. With two innate elements, it’s a smart species which normally awakens an inborn talent to use water spells and becomes a beast as it grows up. Strength is around the top of the fourth rank, around the knight level.”

Finished with his explanation, he handed the owl back to Henry who couldn’t believe his good luck and flickered between his two companions with his eyes, intense happiness spreading through his body.

On the inside, Galan had recovered slightly after adjusting his mindset, anything regarding the young master and mistress turned out to be extraordinary recently. Still, he played along and kept his dead eyes, sighing as if he lost his soul.

“Come on, we will look for my wife and see if she can cook something good now that we’re finished here. Miss Annabelle, Miss Lydia, I will send someone to prepare a room for you again, you prefer it that way, right? We should head over for lunch first, it will be finished by that time.”

Walking towards the dinner hall, the four young people excitedly discussed the three companions obtained by Nisha and Henry. Whenever they had a question, Galan was happy to explain the missing things. As a senior of the older generation, he had come across quite a lot of monsters and beasts, even more so when overseeing the matters of the Dharnas house. Additionally he acted as an adventurer in the past to roam the Dungeon together with the man that changed his fate, Eldrin Dharnas, thus almost no monster was unknown to him.

Nisha wasn’t even sure what height his cultivation had reached. These days the butler acted much more subdued and while the energy signature on his body wasn’t all that strong in her [Spirit Sight] she couldn’t see through him either.

Stepping into the house, the dragon reclaimed her little wolf, carrying her around for now.

As a variant beast, no one was sure what size Accalia would reach, so only Henry left his [Guardian Griffin] in the prepared room in the stables, promising it to return soon after dinner and carrying the [Cerulean Sky Owl] on his shoulder.

Sharing many stories of the past turn, the three girls and the young master happily devoured all the delicacies Galan’s wife prepared to celebrate the good fortune.