It was a language the imoogi had never heard before.

And yet, for some reason, a few words sounded vaguely familiar, allowing him to roughly infer their meaning.

“Kyuuuk.”

He nodded in affirmation.

Then he began flailing his limbs, trying desperately to communicate something.

‘I really did come out of that thing. I wasn’t hatched—I was trapped inside. I’m not some Black-whatever… I’m the imoogi of the Black Dragon.’

The other’s expression went blank.

[No way…]

‘Did… a mere infant just babble at me?’

Even if it was a dragon, a newborn shouldn’t be able to communicate right away.

Yet, even if they couldn’t speak the language, this child was clearly trying to communicate through expression and gesture.

Christina looked down at the little one again with new thoughts.

‘Could he be a genius?’

As she stared in awe, the hatchling locked eyes with her, as if challenging her to a staring contest.

‘Pfft.’

His bold little stare was oddly adorable.

[Little one■.]

The enormous gold dragon lowered her massive head *whoooosh* as it leaned in toward the hatchling.

It was just a simple motion, yet the pressure was immense.

‘Get a grip. I’m a divine beast too! I’ve lived 999 years! I won’t be shaken by this level of intimidation!’

The hatchling clenched his tiny fists, his eyes wide with determination.

But—

‘Wh-What’s going on?’

No matter how mature his mind was, he still had the body of an infant.

He couldn’t stop his body from trembling in the face of such overwhelming pressure.

‘Ugh…’

His big eyes welled up with tears—and then the droplets began to fall.

The golden dragon paused, looking at him, and then gently turned her head away.

[Sorry■. Little one■.]

The voice was noble, yet gentle and warm. Just like her body, golden light bloomed across her body like petals.

Fwoosh—

Enveloped in light, the Gold Dragon’s form gradually shrank until she reached human size.

When the glow faded, she had become a blonde, blue-eyed woman in her mid-twenties.

The pressure faded significantly, and she now radiated a refreshing charm as she approached.

“Is this■ form less scary■?”

“Kyuuk!”

‘Who said I was scared!?’

The hatchling bared his teeth and growled.

Though honestly, it was just… childish.

‘What a feisty little thing.’

Christina, the Gold Dragon, smiled in amusement.

“My name■ is Christina.”

She knelt gracefully before the wary little one.

‘A black dragon hatchling… from a race I thought I’d never see again.’

She gazed at the pitch-black hatchling with wistful eyes.

Christina, the leader of the Gold Dragons.

In accordance with her duty, she had safeguarded the final egg left behind by the Black Dragon clan in her lair.

At first, she had hoped—just maybe—that the last child they left behind might hatch one day.

But a hundred, two hundred, even five hundred years had passed, and the egg remained cold.

It was practically a dead egg.

‘So it… was alive.’

She hadn’t come here expecting the hatchling to awaken—today was merely one of her regular visits to manage the relics entrusted by the Black Dragons.

She felt a pang of guilt for having given up.

Which made the child, awakened as if by miracle, all the more precious. All the more lovable.

Christina carefully reached out her hand.

“You must not■ have eaten… are you okay■?”

The concern in her voice made the hatchling realize his hunger.

‘Come to think of it… I should probably eat something.’

Grrrgle—

“…Kkyuk.”

Once aware of it, his stomach made its presence known quite loudly.

He glanced back and forth between his own belly and the hand Christina extended.

‘Even if she’s offering food… can I really trust her enough to eat what she gives?’

Clutching his black gem tightly, the imugi slowly pulled away.

A clear sign of wariness.

—

Christina let out a soft sigh at the sight.

‘I suppose… even though he was in the egg, the trauma of war and near-death lingers.’

Not that it was surprising. She moved slowly and gently, doing her best to appear harmless to the newborn.

“Here, look.”

Christina pulled a leather pouch from her waist.

“How about this■?”

From her hand emerged a bottle of pure white milk.

“This isn’t ordinary milk■. It’s from a ■■ that grazes on magical herbs in the ■ mountains.”

Pop.

As she uncorked the luxurious bottle—normally used for high-grade mana potions—a fresh milky aroma tickled his nose.

‘That smells good.’

Without realizing it, the hatchling twitched his nose, glancing back and forth between the bottle and Christina.

‘I don’t sense any malice from her right now. And besides…’

The gentle aroma, rich and fresh, flowed from the pale liquid as it swirled inside the bottle.

‘Why does this look so delicious…?’

Normally, no matter how hungry he was, he wouldn’t be tempted by something as basic as milk.

But his young body, driven by survival instincts, responded more strongly than reason.

Just as he was about to reach out, he caught himself and froze.

But his eyes kept drifting to the bottle, and his toes twitched.

‘No. Focus!’

Shaking his head, the hatchling tried to clear his thoughts.

Reason won out—he clenched his little fists and withdrew his paw.

Grrrgle.

‘Ugh.’

But there was no silencing his stomach with willpower alone. His expression twisted in frustration.

The one flustered now was Christina.

‘Oh dear. He’s clearly very hungry, but he just won’t eat.’

Normally, a newborn hatchling would have an enormous appetite.

Even if the egg had provided ample nutrients, the instinct to survive should be overwhelming.

Right now, he looked more like a sickly chick trying to endure hunger.

“Little one…”

As he caught sight of her worried expression, he began to feel a twinge of guilt.

‘She doesn’t seem like a bad person.’

He hadn’t spent much time out in the world, but after living 999 years, he had developed a strong intuition.

Gazing once more at the milk bottle, the hatchling pondered.

‘Since she’s the one who owns this place, I’ll need her if I want to leave. That means I need to earn her trust.’

If she had meant harm, she wouldn’t need to go through all this effort.

So he decided to take the risk. Still, caution made him hesitate to grab the bottle.

Noticing his conflicted expression, Christina gave the bottle a little shake.

“Do you hate■ it that much?”

“……”

Just as the hatchling finally steeled himself to reach out—

“Well, if you don’t want it■…”

Worried that forcing the bottle on a nervous child might only raise more suspicion, Christina began to slowly pull it away.

‘No!’

“Kyuu—!”

Panicked, he lunged forward with his tiny arms, snatching the bottle and pressing the opening to his mouth, gulping it down eagerly.

And his eyes snapped open.

‘It’s just milk… but why does it taste this good?!’

It wasn’t just tasty—it subtly restored his strength.

Having completely exhausted his energy, he flipped the bottle upside down and shook the bottle to get every last drop.

Christina blinked in surprise but soon smiled in relief.

“Is it good■?”

“Kyuu. Kyuuk.”

So embarrassed he nearly hiccupped, he quietly nodded while pushing the empty bottle away.

Christina stifled a laugh.

‘I was saving that for tea, but I guess it worked out.’

Adult dragons don’t need food, but they often eat for pleasure.

Christina especially enjoyed cookies, tea, and other desserts.

“Kyuah!”

After finishing the bottle, the hatchling let out a puff and placed the empty bottle on the floor.

Bathed in sunlight, Christina crouched before him and spoke with a gentle voice.

“Come with■ me. In this world■, there are even more delicious ■s and fun■ things for you to ■.”

The little black hatchling, still clutching his black mana stone, looked up at her.

‘She’s saying to come with her, huh?’

He realized he had achieved the goal for which he had risked drinking the milk.

‘Perfect. She doesn’t seem hostile, and I couldn’t stay here forever anyway.’

In his current state, he was far too weak to act alone.

His young body obeyed hunger before reason, and all the strength he’d gained through nearly a millennium of cultivation was gone.

‘My nearly thousand years of cultivation undone by mere instinct…’

He nearly clicked his tongue at himself in shame.

‘If I can’t even endure hunger, rebuilding alone is impossible.’

Coldly assessing the situation, the hatchling rubbed his chin.

‘For now, going with her is the smart move.’

He gave a little hum in his mind, confirming his resolve.

‘And it’s definitely not because the milk was delicious.’

Having made up his mind, he hugged the black magic stone to his chest.

“Kkyuu.”

‘Alright. Let’s go.’

To show he was ready, the hatchling placed one tiny paw onto Christina’s hand.

With a warm smile, Christina scooped him into her arms.

Startled by the unexpected hug, the hatchling’s eyes widened.

‘Whoa…’

“Welcome, little one.”

Christina gently stroked his back.

Compared to other hatchlings, he felt slightly smaller.

‘He should’ve been born with plenty nourishment, protected by a parent…’

She suspected he was smaller and thinner than average because he’d awakened from an abandoned egg.

‘To suffer even before being born…’

She couldn’t forget the image of him greedily devouring a bottle of milk, despite all his wariness.

He was adorable, and a little pitiful.

And also—something to be grateful for.