Chapter 232: Little Evil Dragon in the Western Fairy Tale World

Bert opened his mouth wide, waiting for his father to toss a big piece of meat into it. When he sensed someone trying to shove him aside, he called out to his father.

“Roar~”

Xie Hui fed the piece of roasted meat into Bert’s mouth. Watching the little dragon’s cheeks puff up, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction from feeding him.

With a casual wave of his hand, without even bothering to lift his head, the knight was suddenly thrown to the ground. Clutching his aching chest, he looked up at the king and said, “You see, Evil Dragons are such rude creatures! How can you let them eat with us? He should have died by my sword!”

The knight’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Xie Hui and Bert. Sensing the hostility directed at him, little Bert extended his soft pink claws, trying to appear fierce.

“Roar~”

Having learned from Xie Hui’s previous actions, the knight didn’t dare stay put, even in front of a young dragon. He quickly dodged to the side, looking quite disheveled.

Pleased with having scared someone, Bert happily snuggled into his father’s arms, his shoulders shaking with laughter. The more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed, so he buried his head in his father’s embrace to laugh to his heart’s content.

“Bert, don’t be naughty.”

Xie Hui said lightly. Although he was pointing out Bert’s misbehavior, there was no real reproach in his tone, and the indulgence in his eyes was evident.

Even though his own subject was injured, the king couldn’t bring himself to defend him without a clear conscience.

Even someone as good-natured as he would be displeased, even angry, if someone drew a sword against him.

Drawing a sword is inherently a very offensive act.

The king picked up a glass of wine, contemplating how to handle the situation when the princess, seated to the side, stood up.

“I need to remind you, they have their own names; they are dragons.”

“Even if they are dragons, they are better than rude people like you.”

Hearing the princess’s words, the knight turned to the king and said, “You personally promised that whoever kills the Evil Dragon would marry the princess. Does that still hold?”

Before the king could respond, the princess answered first, “Of course not!”

Bert, who hadn’t even finished eating his meat, nodded vigorously, joining in with his own cries. From the esteemed Bert’s perspective, this knight who wanted to attack him was unworthy of the noble and graceful princess.

“I apologize. It was my oversight before. Inviting you knights to the palace for a meal is my way of making amends.”

Being exposed by Xie Hui for previously seeking help to kill him made the king feel a bit embarrassed, his face inexplicably flushed. He was even more worried that if this Evil Dragon was displeased, he might overturn the entire palace.

“Is this how a king behaves, going back on his word?”

The king’s nature was indeed amiable, but that didn’t mean he had no temper at all.

Especially now, being questioned in front of so many subjects, his gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at the knight.

If the knight hadn’t jumped in front of him, he might not have remembered that this was the same poor boy who once had no clothes. His knighthood was entirely due to the king’s generosity.

The king was not a fool. From the knight’s earlier questions and his current angry demeanor, he could guess the situation.

Rather than worrying about the Evil Dragon harming the entire country, it seemed more like he was concerned about missing such a good opportunity.

“Guards, strip him of his knight’s attire and throw him out of the palace.”

The king, unwilling to argue further, ordered his removal. As the knight was being escorted out, Xie Hui discreetly used magic to tamper with him.

The grudge from the original story could still be settled now.

While Xie Hui was lost in thought, Bert’s gaze fell on the glass of wine on the table. He looked longingly at it, tentatively reaching out with his little paw.

“Bert.”

His father’s stern voice made Bert instinctively retract his paw, crossing his arms in frustration. He looked at his father with a hint of defiance.

“I just wanted to touch the glass!”

“Hmm?”

Xie Hui’s simple question made Bert pout, afraid of his own greed, and he resolutely avoided looking in that direction.

After the palace had sent away all the knights, the king, seeing Xie Hui preparing to leave with Bert in his arms, called out to him.

“I want to help clear up the rumors about dragons. Will you assist me?”

Xie Hui didn’t particularly care about reputation, but looking at Bert sleeping contentedly in his arms, he thought clearing things up might be a good idea.

“Thank you.”

The princess wholeheartedly agreed with her father’s idea. She didn’t want the false depictions in books to tarnish the true reputation of dragons.

Tired, Bert was taken back to his room by Xie Hui. The next day, the princess found an opportunity to bring him to her room.

In front of others, Bert was quite arrogant, but in front of the princess, he felt guilty for the trouble he had caused by taking her away. Feeling both guilty and a bit remorseful, Bert behaved well in front of the princess, letting her hold him and even allowing her to touch his tail.

Even if the princess made unreasonable requests, the most Bert would do was scold loudly, never intending to use his claws against her.

The king invited many people to the palace to witness the true lifestyle of dragons.

Dragons are a proud and discerning species. Their homes are so high because their favorite food, Losa grass, only grows at such heights.

Xie Hui’s dismissive attitude made those who saw the dragons doubt.

Even if they washed themselves clean and covered themselves in sweet jam, dragons wouldn’t lower their noble heads to look at them, let alone consider them as food.

The spread of this news was limited to a small circle, mostly during the princess’s occasional outings. She would wear an exquisite princess dress, holding in her arms a cute yet slightly fierce dragon hatchling.

When Bert was doing nothing, he was quite adorable. But when pushed to the brink and about to lose his temper, he was like a cat with its fur standing on end, making people want to soothe him rather than fear him.

How could such a cute dragon hatchling be anything like the rumors suggested?

Whenever the princess appeared before her subjects, she would always bring little Bert along.

If it weren’t for the fact that Bert always had a delicate gemstone in his palm, as an Evil Dragon, he would never let a human touch his tail!

Soon, products featuring dragon motifs became all the rage.

Elegant noble ladies were eager to add a little Bert to their fans or jewelry.

Even the aloof gentlemen were willing to let little Bert appear on their cloaks, which was indeed very cool.

Later, when Xie Hui appeared among the crowd, he fit the people’s previous speculations about dragons. The presence of little Bert helped dispel their prejudices.

Hey, this big dragon really looked mighty!

The princess was very approachable and liked going out frequently. When the subjects noticed that little Bert liked shiny gemstones, every time he went out with the princess, his little bag would be filled with gems. By the time they returned to the palace, the bag was bulging.

Soon, many new stories emerged. Their princess had bravely gone to the dragon’s lair alone, befriended the dragon, and even invited them to the palace as guests.

Although the king treated them very hospitably in the palace, Xie Hui still longed to return to the lair.

Perhaps due to the peculiarities of a dragon’s body, not eating the grass near the lair for a while made Xie Hui feel physically and mentally sluggish, intensifying his desire to return.

Every day, when little Bert returned to the room he shared with his father, he would first place the diamonds given to him into a delicate box, then turn to his father with outstretched arms asking for a hug.

“Father, when are we going back?”

Xie Hui had always been unsure how to tell Bert, as he seemed to be having a lot of fun here.

Unexpectedly, today, while holding him, Bert brought it up himself.

“Hmm? Bert wants to go back?”

“No, I just feel that Father is a bit homesick.”

Little Bert pressed his head against his father, rubbing gently, then whispered softly:

“So, let’s go back.”

Xie Hui nodded. The next day, he informed the king about it. After spending some time together, the king was somewhat reluctant to let them go, but he knew it wasn’t right to keep them.

Compared to the king, the subjects and the princess reacted more strongly.

Bert went to bid farewell to the familiar faces one by one, promising to return in the spring when the flowers bloomed.

Before leaving, the king even took off his crown and placed it on little Bert’s head.

“Remember our promise.”

“Yes.”

Little Bert touched the king with his paw, waved to the people, and then climbed onto his father’s back.

Back in the familiar lair, Xie Hui finally felt much more comfortable. It wasn’t that the other place was bad, but there was always a sense of constraint and pressure.

In the client’s memory, Bert left early. After all, he was just an egg picked up, so he didn’t feel too sad.

Moreover, many in the dragon family were staunchly single, so he didn’t really know how to properly raise such a small dragon.

Bert was mischievous, often getting himself covered in dirt. The once beautiful golden dragon would return to the lair in the evening looking all dusty.

Initially, Xie Hui didn’t know, so every time Bert flew over and hugged him tightly, he ended up needing another bath himself.

Later, he simply waited until Bert had played to his heart’s content and washed himself clean before bringing their dinner back to the lair.

Dragons have long lifespans and no natural enemies.

Moreover, the food they eat grows abundantly around their lair. They can start eating just by lying there, and the more particular ones would wash it first.

The main reason many dragons remain single is simply laziness.

Xie Hui loved basking in the sun, lying on the grass, smelling the flowers, and letting the sunlight warm his wings.

Initially, Bert found this boring. Xie Hui occasionally took him along, but soon Bert would sneak off to do something more interesting.

But at some point, Bert also began to enjoy lying there, stretching out on the grass.

As he lay there, the once small hatchling gradually grew up.

Even though the king was very hospitable, Xie Hui found the palace too confining, so every year Bert went to fulfill the promise on his own.

The kind king gradually aged, and the princess succeeded the throne, becoming the queen.

The little princess, once dressed in exquisite dresses and adorned with jewelry, matured over time.

The one constant was that every spring, she would wait on the city wall for little Bert to keep his promise.

At first, Bert was a clumsy little dragon that could hardly fly straight. Later, his flying became faster and more graceful.

As a child, he would crash land, but as he grew, his landings became much more elegant.

Bert accompanied the princess from her most beautiful years to her white-haired days, until she finally left this world.

After the princess passed away, Bert never returned to that country. Instead, like his father, he spent his days basking in the sun, occasionally turning over, and the day would pass.

In the Dragon Clan, Xie Hui helped Bert make many friends, some of whom were quite similar to him. A few of the young ones even went on adventures together.

This slow-paced life was perfect for Xie Hui to calm his heart. Even when it ended, it was with the same warmth.

Upon returning to the System Space, the client was still there, holding a teacup in an unorthodox manner. Seeing Xie Hui return, he smiled at him.

“Thank you, my dear. That little one is truly adorable.”

Bert was one of the rare members of the Dragon Clan who yearned for love. After reaching adulthood, he found a dragon from his own clan and soon after, they had three eggs together.

In his later years, when someone else was living his life, he was far from lonely. Instead, he was constantly disturbed by those three mischievous young dragons.

If it had been him, he would’ve probably lost his patience and swatted those annoying dragons away, along with their father.

However, sitting here watching the task-taker take on his appearance to raise the children, seeing him get frustrated but silently hold back his temper, he found it amusing rather than annoying.

“You’re welcome.”

After Xie Hui sat down, the dragon sensibly bid him farewell. Xiao Ze, at the control panel, carried out the tasks as per the Host’s usual requirements.

“Host, would you like to meet the next client?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Xie Hui finished speaking, a man walked in. His clothes were wrinkled, as if they hadn’t been changed for a long time, and he reeked of alcohol.

“My company went bankrupt because of a wrong decision. Since then, I’ve been in a slump, pinning all my hopes on my child…”

The man spoke at a steady pace, as if he were telling someone else’s story rather than his own.

“I spent the rest of my money to send him to the best schools, didn’t skip any kind of artistic training, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“I wanted him to start a business after graduating from college! Instead, he secretly enrolled in some film school and started acting before even graduating.”

Xie Hui pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea towards him. The client took a sip to soothe his throat before continuing:

“If I hadn’t seen him on TV, he would’ve kept it a secret from me forever.”

“So… you want me to help you educate him, get him into a good university, and start a company?”

After Xie Hui finished speaking, the client remained silent for a long time before shaking his head.

“I just want him to live well.”

He couldn’t understand why, after being so angry with his son that he ended up in the hospital, he scolded his son a few times from the hospital bed, and then Xie Chuan jumped from the hospital floor.

Only after completely losing his child did he feel endless regret.

“Would you be willing to let him continue acting?”

The client’s thoughts were crucial for Xie Hui, as it would guide the execution of the task.

“I wanted him to be successful… but now, it doesn’t matter.”

After burying his child, he silently reflected on the child’s life and repeatedly questioned whether his desire for control was too strong.

When asked if he wanted to be reborn or have the task-taker complete the mission on his behalf, he chose the latter.

Even though he regretted it after his child’s passing, he knew that his personality wouldn’t change if given another chance.

On one hand, he knew it was wrong to constantly control his child’s life. On the other hand, he couldn’t change his temperament, always feeling that since the child was his, he should follow his plans.

Even the slightest rebellion from Xie Chuan would anger him, let alone something as significant as secretly attending another school.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With that, Xie Hui stood up and moved on to the next Mission World.

——Arc End——

Translator’s Notes

• White-haired person sending off a black-haired person: A translation of the Chinese idiom ‘bǎifàrén sòng hēifàrén’ (白发人送黑发人), which describes the tragedy of a parent outliving their child. It is considered one of the greatest sorrows in Confucian culture.