WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 201: Repaying a Favor (1)
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I didn't know.
No matter how many times I thought it over, I couldn't figure it out.
I'd definitely heard that dragons raised their young like precious jewels.
Which meant they would never entrust their children to someone they didn't trust.
If I hurt the hatchling in this situation, I would face terrifying retaliation.
And this was the Forest of Four Seasons. Unless an animal belonged to a herd, every other animal was practically an enemy.
There was the kangaroo Arena, which served as neutral territory, but that was an extreme exception born from an unspoken agreement.
The moment you stepped outside that neutral zone, everyone became enemies again. There was nowhere truly safe.
“Peep~”
“Kyuuu~ Kyu~”
Then why had the dragon left its hatchling with me?
The hatchling was currently running around and playing with Wonmo.
When the hatchling flapped its wings and rose into the air, Wonmo jumped up and down after it.
Watching the two adorable babies play together put me at ease, but that feeling didn't last long.
“Mister.”
“...”
“Even you've never seen something like this before, right? It's my first time too.”
I had no clue how I was supposed to treat the hatchling.
Had the dragon really thought of me as a daycare and left its child here, or was there another reason?
Either way, one thing was certain. I had to protect the hatchling no matter what.
It was the little thing that had crawled into the cave yesterday, covered in wounds.
I didn't know what had attacked it, but there was a good chance that threat was nearby.
‘The dragon probably went to beat the crap out of it.’
Maybe it had only left the hatchling with me until then.
I let out a long sigh and accepted reality.
I couldn't chase the hatchling away. We had no choice but to get along.
Thankfully, it seemed to like it here, and it got along well with Wonmo.
“Kyuuuu~”
“Peep~”
Even now, it and Wonmo were using Largo's neck as a slide.
Largo, meanwhile, was sweating bullets while trying not to upset the hatchling.
‘Maybe this is actually safer?’
Dragons were terrifying. That fear seemed ingrained not just in humanity, but in every animal.
Just like Largo, most animals probably wouldn't even think about touching the hatchling.
If that was the case, the shelter might receive the same protection.
Of course, this was still the Forest of Four Seasons. I had no idea what kind of monstrosity might show up.
‘It's basically a living nuclear bomb.’
That was how dragons were treated.
Allfather had told me before that a Dragon Heart alone could wipe out an entire city.
If even its heart could unleash that much power, then what about the creature that carried it? There was no need to ask.
I quietly watched the hatchling and Wonmo play, then connected to the Gallery.
I wanted to tell everyone what was happening and, while I was at it, ask why the dragon had entrusted its hatchling to me.
[Post title] Title) Daycare Is Open
[Author] Wild Grylls
[Post] (Photo of the hatchling playing with Wonmo)
[Post] (Video of the hatchling running around excitedly)
[Post] (Video of the hatchling struggling to pull Wonmo along)
[Post] I don't know why, but the dragon left its hatchling with me.
[Post] Anyone know why? It left at first, then came back and just left the kid with me.
[Post] I thought dragons treasured their young. Does anyone know why she's doing this?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: If she trusted you enough to leave her child behind, she must trust you greatly. In a way, it is only natural.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Why, though?
└ [Heavenly Demon]: Did you not say she was as intelligent as a person? Unlike people, beasts do not forget debts, whether of kindness or resentment.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Throwing a hatchling at me isn't repaying a favor. It's throwing a bomb at me;;
└ [SwordTasteMaster]: Don't think so negatively. In a way, you're under a dragon's protection now, aren't you?
└ A being under a dragon's protection. Didn't that show up in legends too?
└ Yeah, that came from myths too. It was from when dragons ruled humanity.
└ So the gods beat that dragon up and liberated humanity?
└ That's true too.
└ Why would they do that? From the perspective of a country protected by dragons, the gods would feel like invaders.
└ [Starlight Princess]: The dragons' exploitation was severe. The legend that dragon lairs contain every kind of treasure comes from that time as well.
└ Guess dragons had fucking awful personalities lol
└ [Starlight Princess]: They weren't known for being kind. There were stories of them killing people with their breath whenever they got upset. That dragon is one of the better ones.
└ Isn't he basically living on borrowed time?
└ No, not borrowed time. His life is hanging by a thread.
└ A guy hanging by a thread taking in another life hanging by a thread lol
└ [Starlight Princess]: You people are truly awful.
Most people thought the same way I did.
The dragon had decided this was a safe place because I had protected its child.
The problem was that dragons were usually violent by nature, so there was no telling when she might change her mind.
Either way, it was still a ticking time bomb.
‘Ugh. I don't know.’
Time to eat. Thinking about it wouldn't solve anything.
I'd have to get as close to the hatchling as possible, so the dragon wouldn't be able to hurt me carelessly.
First, I decided to name it. Calling it Hatchling every time felt a little awkward.
‘If I ask the Gallery, they'll just give me all kinds of weird names.’
From now on, I would name them myself. As it happened, a suitable name came to mind.
A species that had once conquered Earth, only to go extinct after the Great Cataclysm.
A name that represented that species and was familiar to everyone.
Recalling that name, I approached the hatchling.
Then I scooped up the hatchling, which had been happily playing with Wonmo, and said,
“Tyrano.”
“Peep?”
“Your name is Tyrano from now on. Got it?”
“Peep!”
Now that it had a name, I should put it down.
It might take time before it recognized its name, but that was fine.
Just as I was about to start preparing our meal...
“...Tyrano?”
Ludwig asked with a slightly bewildered expression.
Apparently, he hadn't expected me to give it a name.
“Yeah. We'll be seeing each other a lot from now on, so it should at least have a name.”
“...”
Ludwig silently nodded.
I was the owner here, so he seemed to respect my opinion.
“I'll head up to the river for a bit. Stay here.”
I carried Fast Sloth on my back and headed up to the river. I left Ludwig at the shelter.
Ludwig was strong enough to protect the shelter, and Kkobong was there too.
“By the way, weren't you afraid of the dragon?”
I asked Fast Sloth as we climbed.
Everyone had been terrified when they saw the dragon, but Fast Sloth had casually scratched its back.
I didn't know if it was brave or simply fearless.
“...”
Naturally, Fast Sloth didn't answer. It had the same relaxed expression as always.
I wished it could talk like the gorillas.
Did it even have vocal cords? Still, it understood what I said, so that was enough.
Whoooosh!
It had been a long time since the rain stopped, so the river was back to normal.
There were no fish lying around near the river either. The animals had probably carried them off.
Normally, I would have come up to the river early in the morning, but the dragon's sudden arrival had kept me away.
‘I’ll set up a Fish Trap.’
It hadn't rained much yesterday, so I didn't need to prop it up with stones.
After roughly setting up the Fish Trap, I returned to the shelter.
When I got back, I saw something interesting.
“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
It seemed Ludwig had scattered wheat seeds around the farm while I was at the river.
The wheat had grown rapidly, naturally drawing birds in.
Normally, the birds would have picked it clean, but...
“Peeeep!!!”
“Chiiirp! Chirp!”
“Chirpchirpchirpchirp!!”
Flap flap flap!
The moment Tyrano roared, the flock fled in a panic.
It was only a hatchling, but it seemed to possess a dragon's natural intimidation.
Thanks to that, Ludwig could harvest the wheat without interruption.
“...Oh?”
That was an unexpected development. Harvesting wheat would be much easier from now on.
Ludwig must have thought the same thing, because he stared at Tyrano with a strange expression.
Tyrano, meanwhile, was already absorbed in playing with Wonmo again.
“All right, all right. Eat first, you two. Then you can play.”
We needed to eat first. Like I had said before, we still had fish left.
The problem was that Tyrano could easily finish an entire fish alone.
There were five of us: me, Ludwig, Wonmo, Kkobong, and Tyrano.
That meant we used up five fish in a single meal.
Thank goodness Largo only ate grass. Otherwise, it would have been terrifying.
‘I need to set up more Fish Traps, or expand the farmland.’
There was one concern, though. Would Wonmo and Tyrano become picky eaters?
Wonmo was a bear, so being an omnivore made sense, but Tyrano was probably a carnivore.
Unless Tyrano's mother brought us meat later, I would need to manage its diet for a while.
Puff-
After finishing his meal, Wonmo changed a little.
His body had visibly filled out. It wasn't just his belly, his entire body had grown larger.
That probably meant winter would arrive soon. We were prepared, but what would happen to Tyrano?
Would Tyrano's mother take it herself, or leave it here?
“Kyuuuu...”
With his belly nice and full, Wonmo toddled toward the cave for a nap.
Tyrano tried to stop Wonmo because it wanted to play, but the difference in their weight classes was too great.
Tyrano blocked Wonmo with its body and pulled at him with its mouth, but Wonmo didn't budge.
“Peeeing...”
In the end, once Wonmo began his nap, Tyrano wore a sad expression.
As if asking why he was sleeping when it could still play, Tyrano even pressed down on him with its forepaws.
Wonmo had already entered dreamland, though. There was no waking him.
‘Doesn't this one sleep?’
As far as I knew, most babies spent more than half the day sleeping.
Maybe dragons were different, because Tyrano was still full of energy.
I looked at the slightly dejected Tyrano and casually asked,
“Tyrano, want to play with me?”
“Peep?”
Flap! Flap!
Did it understand what I said too? The instant I spoke, it flapped its tiny wings.
Its big eyes even started sparkling. It looked ready to play immediately.
‘Come to think of it, didn't they say dragons liked shiny things?’
I asked Tyrano to wait for a moment and opened a box.
It held the Mithril that had broken off during Ludwig's prosthetic leg incident.
Mithril was a material that shone green, so maybe Tyrano would like it too.
‘We'll roll it around and play.’
I took out a round, fist-sized ball of Mithril.
When I showed it to Tyrano, it immediately looked full of curiosity.
Just as expected, dragons liked shiny things...
“Nom!”
“...?”
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
...Maybe it liked them in a different way.
Tyrano put the Mithril into its mouth and chewed it with great pleasure.
Mithril was famous for being as hard as steel, but it was eating it like a snack.
Gulp!
“Peeeep~”
“...Is it good?”
“Peep!”
As long as it was tasty, I supposed that was fine.
* * *
Dragons were widely known as the strongest living creatures on land.
Their immense size gave them overwhelming strength.
They possessed intelligence capable of using magic like humans.
They had wings that allowed them to glide freely through the sky.
And finally, they had breath that could melt anything.
Very few creatures could fight such a being on equal footing.
That was why most beasts, including humans, feared a dragon's wrath.
Most would pretend not to see a hatchling, and if someone touched one, that member would be expelled from the herd.
Expelling one member was a better option than having the entire herd wiped out.
But that was a story from outside the Forest of Four Seasons. The Forest of Four Seasons was home to monsters that rivaled dragons.
Like the giant crab and giant crayfish Grylls had seen by the lake, some animals looked as though they belonged in a monster movie.
In other words, creatures existed that were close to dragons in size and no weaker in combat.
“Grrrrr...”
The gray dragon let out a terrifying growl as she stared ahead.
Her expression was vicious, as if she would tear apart the creature before her at any moment.
The dragon was currently at her Dragon Lair, her home.
Normally, she should have been resting, but there was a reason she couldn't.
“Sliiiither-”
A gigantic White Serpent had boldly taken over the space.
It possessed a different kind of intimidation from the dragon, and its flickering tongue seemed openly provocative.
The monster was more than twice as long as the dragon.
The same went for its bulk. If it opened its jaws wide, it looked large enough to swallow the dragon whole.
It was not one of the imugi commonly found in the Central Plains. It appeared to be a far superior creature.
“Shhhhh...!”
When the huge White Serpent opened its mouth, sharp fangs came into view.
Purple liquid dripped from those fangs and seeped into the ground.
Sssizzle!
No. It did not seep in.
Even solid rock melted the instant it touched the poison.
This was the decisive reason the dragon had been forced to leave her hatchling behind.
It was also why the dragon had no choice but to entrust the hatchling to Grylls for a short time.
Like the Sky Whale, it was a monster that seemed as though it could only exist in the Mythic Age.
“Rooooar!!!”
“Shhhhhhh!!!”
In one corner of the Forest of Four Seasons, a desperate battle for survival began.
Footnotes:
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