My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 17 - I Hope the Dochun Guild Will Take Care of It

“It seems that the magic beasts are becoming an obstacle.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Seriously, how many people do we have, and yet we can’t even get a single photo or a voice recording? If we can’t make a move on Yoo Eun-sae directly, we need to dig something up from the Dochun Guild members!”

Baek Chan-min couldn’t keep his legs still, trembling anxiously. His temple twitched.

“If they’re hiding it this much, there must be something going on. Do we have anyone in the guild with exceptional stealth abilities and quick reflexes?”

“But if we’re not careful, this could turn into a guild dispute.”

Yook Jae-hee voiced his concern, but Baek Chan-min cut him off.

“That’s why we need someone reliable—someone who’s not only skilled but also fiercely loyal to the guild!”

“…Hunter Im Yi-seok is adept in that area.”

Yook Jae-hee couldn’t stop Baek Chan-min, who was already seething with anger. A stern smile spread across Baek Chan-min’s lips.

“Send him. I don’t care what methods he uses—just make sure he doesn’t disappoint me.”

“Yes.”

Apparently, the silver lozenges weren’t enough. Baek Chan-min unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into his mouth. The conversation wasn’t over yet.

“Have you caught the mana stone seller?”

“…My apologies. But instead, we’ve requested the Hunter Association to regulate the supply volume.”

Baek Chan-min frowned. He found the Hunter Association’s sluggish response infuriating, considering how much money they had pocketed.

The sudden influx of mana stones in the market had caused the Gold Star Guild tremendous losses. The seller was an extremely meticulous and cunning individual.

Baek Chan-min felt an urgent need to see that seller’s face. Whoever had sabotaged his plans—

They would pay.

He idly flicked the lid of the Zippo lighter rolling on his desk, opening and closing it repeatedly.

“The source of the mana stones… They didn’t just fall from the sky.”

“From what we’ve investigated—this is top secret—but it seems that several dungeons, which the association had been secretly managing, were raided.”

“What?”

The lighter slipped from Baek Chan-min’s hand. He slowly bent down to pick it up.

“Ha… Those bastards. So that’s what they were doing behind the scenes.”

His voice turned icy.

Dungeons were a source of wealth, sparking fierce bidding wars between guilds whenever one appeared.

But now it seemed the association had deliberately kept certain dungeons off the records. Those dungeons likely served as secret slush funds for the chairman and high-ranking officials.

And yet, an unidentified individual had suddenly appeared and cleared them.

“Heh… Hahaha! The Hunter Association must be fuming right now.”

“The mana stones that flooded the market probably came from there.”

Baek Chan-min stroked his chin. Initially, when the incident broke out, he had been dead set on making someone pay.

But now—his interest had shifted.

“I really want to meet this person.”

A spark of curiosity flickered in his eyes, and his smile deepened.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

Eun-sae stepped into the backyard, holding the baby, and her mouth opened in surprise. Belquior, who had come out earlier to channel his magic into the World Tree, sensed her presence and turned his head.

“It’s only been a few days, and it’s already grown this much?”

Eun-sae approached Belquior with light steps. The World Tree, which had once been nothing more than a shriveled seed, had now sprouted and grown rapidly, reaching up to her waist.

A soft bluish glow surrounded the tree. Eun-sae’s eyes sparkled with fascination.

“Mmm. As long as it gets enough moisture and magic power, it’ll be fine.”

“Baby, look at this. It’s the World Tree! It comes from your original world. Isn’t it amazing how quickly it’s growing?”

“Mya! Bua, ba. Kyaah!”

The baby clapped its hands, mesmerized by the golden dust-like magic power falling from Belquior. For a moment, an unusual energy flickered across the baby’s palm, but Eun-sae didn’t notice.

“Father, it would be good for the baby to spend time near the World Tree, wouldn’t it?”

“…You should come as well and absorb its energy.”

“Me? Alright, I will.”

Eun-sae and the baby waited until Belquior was finished. Watching the World Tree absorb magic power was fascinating, no matter how many times she saw it.

When Belquior completed his task, he went back inside with Eun-sae and the baby.

“Could you watch the baby for a moment? I’ll go make some baby food.”

Eun-sae laid the baby down on the living room carpet and headed to the kitchen. As soon as she disappeared from sight, the baby flipped onto its stomach.

“Ang. Ma, ma.”

The baby started inching forward, wriggling on its belly. Belquior stared at the baby for a moment before placing a roly-poly toy in front of it.

He had seen Eun-sae do the same thing before.

The baby’s gaze locked onto the cute, wobbly duck-shaped toy as it swayed side to side.

“Wung! Hamu hamu…”

The baby wiggled with all its might, trying to grab the toy. But no matter how much it squirmed, it couldn’t move forward very well.

Frustration built up. The baby’s face scrunched, and tears welled up.

Just as it was about to cry, an excited voice rang out.

“So cute, my baby!”

Eun-sae, returning with the baby food, quickly grabbed her phone and snapped pictures of the baby’s belly-crawling attempts.

Startled by Eun-sae’s enthusiastic reaction, the baby’s tears vanished instantly. As long as Eun-sae was around, the baby would stop crying, break into laughter, and easily fall asleep.

“Kyaa, mam, mamma—”

“Did you just say ‘mamma’?! Oh my gosh, how smart you are!”

Belquior, who had been silently watching, finally spoke.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking pictures. Hmm, you can think of it as recording this moment.”

Worried that Belquior might not understand what a photo was, Eun-sae added an explanation. Belquior tilted his head slightly.

“So it’s like a magical recording spell? Why do you do it?”

“This way, we can look at it whenever we want. Babies grow up so fast, so humans like to save memories of their early days like this.”

Eun-sae checked the photos and blushed slightly.

Dragons, with their exceptional memory, had no need to physically preserve images of their children. But for humans, it seemed to be a meaningful act.

It was obvious from the way Eun-sae frequently held up her phone to the baby, capturing every little moment.

“Baby, let’s eat. I added a little sweet potato today.”

As Eun-sae fed the baby, she made sure to meet its gaze with every spoonful, sharing warm moments of connection. Belquior rested his chin on his hand, watching in silence.

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

A high-ranking government official contacted the Dochun Guild. While approving documents in the office, I answered the call, idly twirling my pen.

“So, you’re saying an S++-rank dungeon has appeared in Hunan, China, and they’ve requested Korea’s cooperation?”

— Yes. It’s a request from the Qinghua Guild through the Chinese government. The damage has already been severe, and the compensation is significant. The President hopes that the Dochun Guild will take on this task for the sake of maintaining friendly relations with China. The official document has been sent over.

At my signal, the secretary brought in a sealed envelope.

“I’ll review it and get back to you.”

— Understood. We look forward to a positive response.

I opened the envelope. The Qinghua Guild—one of the top five guilds in China—wielded immense influence within the country.

We had worked with them multiple times before.

As I read through the document, my brow furrowed. Pressing the intercom, I called for the vice guild leader.

“Send them in.”

— Yes, sir.

Moments later, the door burst open without a knock. Sol strode in confidently, calling out,

“The adorable me is here!”

“Why are you here, Sol?”

“I came too. Sol was with me, and I wanted to come along.”

Mirinae placed some takeout coffee in front of me. I popped open the plastic lid and crunched on the ice.

“What’s up?”

“We got a request from China through the government. But there’s an issue, so I wanted your input, Mirinae.”

“What kind of issue?”

“Read for yourself.”

I handed over the document. Sol leaned in to read it as well, and her expression soured.

“What the hell? They’re blatantly asking for Eun-sae to go.”

Eun-sae hadn’t taken on international requests—or even domestic ones—for quite some time. Yet, the Qinghua Guild had specifically requested her and the magic beasts for this mission.

It brought back memories of when China had once tried to take Eun-sae for themselves. Sol exploded in outrage.

“Unbelievable! Just ignore them. Do they think Eun-sae is someone who just comes and goes at their command? Ugh, these Chinese bastards never know their place. Hey, hey, just reject it.”

“What do you think, Mirinae?”

“Hmm…”

Mirinae tapped the armrest of her chair, her gaze fixed on the compensation section.

“The government is really hoping we accept this request.”

“They practically begged us on the phone earlier.”

A list of business rights and trade benefits—highly coveted by neighboring countries—was outlined in the document. If this deal went through, both the Dochun Group and the guild would stand to gain immensely.

“But what is this ‘magic beast egg’ they’re offering?”

“No idea. Maybe Eun-sae would be interested, but what are we supposed to do with it? Grill it and eat it?”

“Sol, you sound like a barbarian.”

Mirinae made the final call.

“Considering Eun-sae’s health and the baby, she’s probably going to reject it anyway. But we should at least bring it up to her. She needs to be aware of this offer.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Eun-sae, who had been napping with her baby, picked up our call and hesitated. She scratched her head.

“Uh… What should I do? I can’t leave home for long because of the baby.”

— Yeah, we figured as much.

We had expected this reaction, and Eun-sae felt a pang of guilt.

“So, should we reject the request?”

— No, we’ll put together the best possible team. If they refuse, then that’s that. The good news is that you’ve been turning down not just China’s requests, but other countries’ as well for over a year now, so this shouldn’t cause too much of a stir.

“Yeah… Thank you, and sorry, Ourie.”

— Don’t be. How’s your condition?

“My condition? Oh.”

Eun-sae’s tone brightened as she started chatting excitedly.

“You know, Belquior is growing a World Tree in our backyard.”

— …He’s growing what? A World Tree?

“Yeah! He brought a fruit from his world, planted it, and it actually started growing. He said the baby needs the World Tree’s energy, so I’ve been spending a lot of time near it. And you know what’s weird? My body’s been feeling better and better. Isn’t that amazing?”

— …Really?