My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon – Chapter 20 – Bring Her Here, If It’s Really Nothing

Author: Asternkm

The wind howled as it struck against the rocky cliffs, echoing through the barren landscape.

Belquior and Dew walked side by side along the gravel-strewn path.

From a distance, an eerie sound rode the wind. A haunting, unsettling wail that grated against the ears.

[We’re here.]

The closer they got, the louder the crying became. It wasn’t deafening, but it was enough to make Belquior scowl in irritation.

A vast flower field stretched between the cliffs.

Shaaah…

The breeze swept through, making the purple petals tremble and sway.

“No doubt about it.”

It was the Pandora Flower, better known as the weeping flower.

Its infamous trait made it a plant that both humans and beasts instinctively avoided.

[What should we do?]

“Tear it up.”

The layered noise was starting to get on his nerves.

Dew gleefully dashed into the field.

With a single stomp of his foot, the ground cracked and overturned. The Pandora Flowers let out piercing cries as their roots were ripped from the earth.

Dew rampaged through the field, tearing through the flowers.

One by one, their sorrowful wails weakened.

Finally, silence fell over the area.

Surveying the now-barren land, Belquior murmured,

“This part is done.”

****

“Kim Yuha, this way!”

An arrow of light sliced through the air, piercing the head of a Zombie Tarantula with a sharp pop as its brain burst.

“Ugh, I’m actually getting used to this.”

Wiping off the sticky fluid splattered on his face, Woori muttered.

“This makes… what, 390 now?”

“That’s creepy. You’re actually keeping count?”

“You’re wrong. It’s 391.”

“Mirinae, not you too…”

Yuha shook her head in disbelief before stepping toward the beast’s corpse. Pulling out a dagger, she slit its abdomen wide open.

“Ooh, bingo.”

“Did we get one? Did we?”

“Yep. We got lucky.”

Finding a beast’s egg outside of breeding season was purely a matter of luck. Their method of overcoming that? Sheer persistence and hard labor.

Woori stretched, cracking his neck.

“Let’s get out of here. If we stick around any longer, we’re going to get arrested for suspicious activity.”

“…I think it’s already too late for that.”

Several local Singaporean hunters were watching them with wary, disturbed expressions.

Deciding to ignore the looks, they casually left the dungeon.

After returning to their hotel and thoroughly washing up, they gathered again. Woori dialed Sol’s number.

The ringtone buzzed, and soon, a bright, cheerful voice answered.

“Hello!”

“Sol, how many Wraithstones did you get?”

“Thirty-five. I worked my ass off for them. There are no more spider dungeons left in the Philippines—it’s a complete wipeout. What about you guys?”

“Twenty-six.”

“Aha! I win! That means if we count what we collected in Korea, we’ve passed a hundred, right?”

“Yeah. And we’ve gathered enough Zombie Tarantula Eggs too. Time to head back.”

“OK! See you in Korea.”

Woori gripped his phone tightly as the call ended.

With an exhilarated gleam in his eyes, he looked at Mirinae and Yuha.

“We’re ready. Let’s go home.”

****

Eunsae stared intently at her tablet screen.

On the screen, a woman wearing glasses was demonstrating a sewing tutorial.

Eunsae folded her arms, her expression complicated.

“It looks so easy when she does it… so why does mine turn out like this?”

She sighed as she glanced at her failed creations—stuffed toys that looked like they had barely survived a battlefield.

She had started this project a week ago, hoping to make a comfort toy for the baby.

At first, she had been full of enthusiasm. With her friends overseas and Belquior gone for several days, she had plenty of free time.

While playing on the carpet with the baby, a thought had suddenly struck her.

That’s it! I’ll make a special stuffed toy for the baby myself!

Excited by the idea of making something for the child, she had eagerly signed up for an online class.

She had even learned sewing back in school, so how hard could it be?

She was confident.

But her confidence shattered within hours.

Huh? Why is the thread tangled like this?

Knots, uneven stitches, and a general lack of structure plagued her attempts.

Telling herself that it was just because she was a beginner, she tried again the next day.

And the next.

But the result never changed.

Her stuffed animals remained lumpy, misshapen disasters.

Feeling dejected, she finally picked up the least horrifying attempt—a bear that barely looked like one—and placed it in the baby’s hands.

“Baby, I’m sorry… I’ll buy you a proper one later…”

“Bwa! Ahh! Heehee!”

“Are you actually happy with it? You really are the best!”

Eunsae playfully squished the baby’s soft cheeks. The child burst into giggles.

Then, a deep voice cut through the moment.

“Are you planning to eat my son?”

Eunsae jumped up in surprise before breaking into a radiant smile.

“Father! Why are you only coming back now? The baby missed you so much!”

“…He did?”

Belquior cast a doubtful glance at the baby.

It had only been a few days, but the child had completely forgotten about him.

Instead, he was grinning ear to ear at Eunsae, utterly fixated on her.

Belquior’s gaze shifted to the odd-looking bundle of fabric in the baby’s hands.

“What is that strange thing?”

“Oh… it’s a teddy bear I made. Do you want to see?”

She hesitated before reluctantly showing him her collection of failures.

Belquior assessed them briefly before delivering a blunt verdict.

“…You have no talent.”

“That’s weird. I used to be good at this…”

“When was that?”

“About… ten years ago?”

A mere blink in time for a dragon.

But for a human, ten years was a long time.

If she had deteriorated this much, there was little hope.

However, Belquior refrained from saying so.

“Keep practicing.”

“Yes! I’m thinking of learning knitting too. Wouldn’t it be nice to make the baby some socks or a hat?”

Brimming with enthusiasm, Eunsae eagerly searched for knitting tutorials.

Meanwhile, Belquior mechanically shook a rattle, keeping the baby entertained.

That evening, just as she was about to serve dinner, her phone rang.

Seeing the name on the screen, she immediately answered with excitement.

“Mirinae! How have you been? How’s Singapore?”

– Eunsae, are you home?

“Yes, I was just about to eat.”

– Is that dragon there?

“…You asking about my father first? That’s new. Yeah, he just got back today after being away for a few days.”

– Then I’ll drop by tonight. We’re in Seoul.

“Wait—really?!”

Eunsae’s eyes widened in delight.

After ending the call, she rushed over to Belquior, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Father, my friends are coming in a few hours!”

“They must be finished with their preparations.”

“Preparations?”

Eunsae blinked in confusion.

Belquior gazed at her silently for a moment before speaking.

“You should prepare yourself as well.”

His words were cryptic, but she didn’t press further.

It had been nearly a month since she had seen her friends.

She was too excited, wondering what had happened while they were away.

“YOO EUNSAE! YOU’RE ALIVE!”

Sol’s booming voice echoed from the yard.

Eunsae, who had been waiting after putting the baby to sleep, dashed to the front door.

“You guys! You’re all okay, right? What was with that sudden overseas trip?”

“Of course, we’re fine. Here, presents! We cleared out every new arrival at the duty-free shop.”

Shopping bags from luxury brands piled up from the entrance to the living room.

Eunsae was overjoyed but also flustered.

“You guys must’ve spent a fortune…”

“We work like dogs so we can spend it on stuff like this.”

Yuha grinned.

They spent some time catching up, but Eunsae couldn’t shake her curiosity.

“So why were you guys so busy? You’re going to China soon too, aren’t you?”

“Eunsae.”

Mirinae suddenly grasped her hand tightly.

The atmosphere shifted.

Her friends looked overwhelmed, as if they had something important to say but couldn’t quite get the words out.

Eunsae tilted her head.

“…We think we can break your curse.”

“…What?”

“Belquior is going to help us.”

All eyes turned to where the dragon stood by the window, arms crossed.

His golden eyes gleamed as he slowly spoke.

“Is everything ready?”

“We have it.”

Woori stepped forward, holding out an interdimensional storage pouch.

Belquior accepted it, his gaze unreadable as he studied them.

“There’s no telling how long this will take.”

“…Please, as quickly as possible.”

Woori bowed deeply, his voice filled with sincerity.

The others followed suit, bowing just as deeply.

Belquior turned without another word and stepped outside, heading toward the backyard where the World Tree stood.

Eunsae hurried after him.

“Father!”

“Belquior.”

“…Huh?”

“Call me Belquior. I told you my name long ago. How much longer are you going to keep calling me ‘Father’?”

“Oh…”

His golden eyes met hers, calm yet unwavering.

A whirlwind of emotions surged inside her.

Without thinking, she reached out and clutched the hem of his sleeve.

“Belquior… is what my friends said true? Can my curse really be broken?”

For the first time, Belquior placed a hand on her head.

His touch was gentle as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

A faint smile flickered across his usually impassive face.

“Just stay here with the baby, like always.”

“….”

“I’ll be back soon.”

By the time Eunsae snapped out of her daze, he was already gone.

She stood there for a long time, staring blankly at the softly glowing World Tree, until her friends came to find her.

****

Thud.

Two interdimensional storage pouches dropped at Sanchez’s feet.

She blinked in surprise, staring at Belquior, who remained expressionless as he spoke.

“I brought what you asked for.”

“…Wait. You actually got everything?”

Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ as she hastily opened the pouches.

Inside were 109 Tarantula Wraithstones, an overwhelming number of Zombie Tarantula Eggs, Chronos’s tendon, Pandora Flowers, and even the Root of Yggdrasil.

“You dug up the World Tree’s root? Yggdrasil actually let you?”

“Yes.”

“You really want to save that human woman, huh?”

“You talk too much.”

Belquior dismissed her coldly.

Not that it scared her in the slightest.

Sanchez barely held back a grin, her tone playful as she responded,

“Well, whatever. You went through all that trouble gathering materials—I have to help, obviously.”

“How long will it take?”

“Not long. But there’s a problem.”

“What.”

Sanchez’s eyes narrowed slyly, glinting with mischief.