Slacker Second Gen C43

Chapter 43: Dragon Dad (13)

As a local noble, Aeregon took strict measures to handle the incident.

The guards of Langa City cleaned up the scene and arrested the members of the performance troupe, while Aeregon attempted to send the two children back to the manor first.

However, he encountered a small problem.

The young dragon, who had heroically struck down the criminals, refused to let go of the chubby penguin. She had not played enough yet and insisted on bringing him back to the manor to continue playing.

If it were truly just an animal, taking it back as a pet would not have been an issue. But he was actually a person who had drunk a transformation magic potion.

The young dragon, still at an early age, was not easy to communicate with, and once she set her mind on something, she was unbelievably stubborn.

To make matters worse, Fanny was cheering her on from the side, while the poor, helpless fat penguin was being dragged around by the two children, stumbling about.

Botrun, who was caught in the young dragon’s grasp, struggled desperately. In the end, the matter was only resolved when the transformation potion wore off, and he reverted to his human form.

Upon seeing him transform back into a person, the young dragon immediately let go, no longer demanding to take him home.

The stark contrast before and after left Botrun feeling both miserable and relieved.

The trio of workers who had barely escaped from disaster disappeared in an instant. For the foreseeable future, they probably would not dare to take up part-time jobs so casually again.

While the little Azure Dragon was taking down evildoers, her father, far away in the Sacred Mount Yada, was doing something quite similar.

A massive silver-white frost dragon soared over the mountain range, breathing out a stream of icy dragon breath.

The magical beasts fleeing through the valley were instantly frozen solid mid-stride, locked in their running postures.

Unlike the harmless tricks he had used against students at the Central Magic Academy, this time, the beasts were encased in thick ice, and within a few breaths, they shattered into piles of snowflakes.

Even the beastly corpses within the ice turned into fine black and red frost.

Lacia had already patrolled the Sacred Mount Yada several times. In this vast mountain range, he could sense many magical beasts stirring restlessly.

These mutated beasts, reeking of filth and surrounded by ominous magic, had already numbered in the hundreds under his purging.

The great dragon hovered in the sky. After cleansing all the magical beasts in the Sacred Mount Yada, he meticulously searched for the source of their appearance.

Eventually, he found it—a crack in a rock wall within a mountain valley, from which a faint, murky magical energy was seeping out.

The dragon, perched atop the mountain ridge, glided down. When he landed in the valley, the ground trembled violently.

Fortunately, the area surrounding the Sacred Mount Yada was all dense forest with no human settlements. Otherwise, such an event might have caused mass panic.

Lacia’s mysterious and deep purple eyes peered into the crack, narrowing slightly as the tainted magic aura irritated his senses.

In an instant, he shifted into his human form. The tall figure approached the man-sized fissure.

There were traces of a wolf pack around the crack, likely evidence of wolves that had made this place their resting ground. They must have been corrupted by the tainted magic, transforming into magical beasts.

A hand adorned with intricate dragon magic sigils pressed against the rock, and a purple glow, like intertwining threads, wove itself over the fissure, sealing it off.

This was not a permanent seal—just a temporary barrier to prevent any unsuspecting humans or animals from being exposed to the murky magic.

These kinds of tainted magic cracks could not be permanently sealed. The moment one was blocked, another would appear elsewhere, like a container on the verge of bursting. As long as the corruption inside kept growing, new fissures would continue to emerge, making it impossible to fully contain.

The only way to eliminate the tainted magic was to consume it.

Glancing at the fissure, Lacia transformed back into his dragon form and took off into the sky.

By the time Lacia returned to the manor, Aeregon had only just rushed back from Langa City.

He had gathered a group of young magicians to help locate the families of the kidnapped children and send them home. After a long, exhausting night, he felt as though he had aged even more.

In the garden, Qian was playing with a few fluffy little puppies when she noticed a shadow falling over her. She looked up.

A massive dragon glided down from the sky, descending toward her. Just before landing, the dragon folded its wings, and its enormous form dissolved into a flurry of magical light.

From within the radiant glow, only a figure in white robes remained, gracefully touching the ground.

With a gentle smile, he opened his arms to his child.

“Qian, I’m back.”

Qian, still clutching a tiny puppy, ran toward him—only to be scooped up mid-step.

Her father nuzzled her forehead affectionately.

Lacia’s smooth forehead was immediately poked by the two small horns on the little girl’s head.

Hugging his young dragon in his arms and taking a closer look, Lacia noticed that two horns had appeared on her forehead, while her hands had returned to being soft and fair.

“Did you successfully transform once? Hahaha!” Lacia tossed her up slightly, his pride evident.

“What a pair of unique horns. There has never been anything like them among the dragon race. As expected of the most miraculous descendant bestowed upon us by the Dragon God!”

He laughed joyfully, but in his excitement, he lost grip of Qian, and the little milk puppy in his hands was flung straight into his face, cutting off his laughter.

Arriving just in time to see this scene, Aeregon: “……”

But an elegant ice dragon would not get angry at his adorable young dragon. He removed the little milk puppy from his face, placed it back in the child’s hands, and looked at Aeregon.

“I have already dealt with Mount Yada. There won’t be any trouble for now, but you all should start preparing as well.”

Headmaster Aeregon’s expression eased slightly, but soon turned serious again.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s help. I understand. I will do my best to train more outstanding young magicians.”

Though disaster awaited in the future, as a headmaster, he believed that the youth of today were no worse than those of the past. They were just as brave and fearless and could shoulder the responsibility of protecting their homeland!

Lacia sized him up and suddenly said, “Aeregon, you don’t have to be so dramatic. Given your age, you might not even live to see this disaster.”

Aeregon: “……”

Should he be grateful for the dragon’s attempt at comfort?

With a stiff face, Aeregon proceeded to report the recent incident of young dragons being abducted.

When he mentioned that students from his academy were working part-time outside and had turned into penguins for performances, Headmaster Aeregon’s expression became complicated. His earlier expectations for the younger generation wavered slightly.

If disaster truly came, could these students be relied upon?

After finishing his report, Aeregon braced himself, expecting to be scolded by the dragon or even face his wrath, as he had failed to protect the children properly.

However, after listening to the entire story, Lacia focused on a completely different matter.

He gently asked his young dragon, “Qian, do you want to play with penguins?”

At the mention of the keyword, Qian immediately perked up, nodding furiously, her chubby cheeks jiggling.

“That was just a fake penguin, but it’s fine. I can take you to play with real ones.” This old father, who would personally catch unicorns if his child wanted to play with them, made his declaration.

Qian and Lacia stayed at Aeregon’s estate for less than a week before preparing to leave.

Lacia was taking Qian south to the penguins’ habitat.

Fanny made a huge fuss over it for a whole day, but in the end, she couldn’t keep her new friend. She could only bid a tearful farewell and promise to meet again next time.

Lacia had traveled to many places, so he naturally knew where to find penguins. But since it was a long journey, he wasn’t in a hurry to rush there. Instead, he flew through the sky with the young dragon for a while before stopping to rest.

Flying at a slow and leisurely pace throughout the day, by evening, Lacia found a lively city where he and the young dragon could land and look for accommodations.

At night, the adventurers’ city of Aitlanck was brightly lit. Compared to the capitals of some nations, this city felt more primitive. Gas lamps were rarely seen here, and torches were still the primary source of illumination.

Yet, this did nothing to diminish the people’s enthusiasm for the night.

The city was lined with taverns, and as they walked down the streets, wooden signs painted with beer mugs could be seen everywhere.

Likewise, since the city needed to accommodate passing adventurers, it had an abundance of local-style inns.

Aitlanck was adjacent to the vast Gularada Forest, and many beastmen lived in the surrounding area. Seeing beastmen clad in leather armor, with animal ears on their heads, was an everyday sight in this city.

In contrast, a man like Lacia—fair-skinned, radiating an aura of holiness, elegant, and impeccably clean—was rarely seen in Aitlanck, making him all the more eye-catching.

Qian, nestled in her beautiful father’s arms, was wide-eyed as she curiously took in the beastmen around her, some with furry ears and others with fluffy tails.

At the same time, many of those beastmen were also looking at her and Lacia.

A large-eared beastman passed by Lacia, sneaking glances at his face before shifting her gaze to the child in his arms.

The female beastman’s eyes sparkled, captivated by the fair and adorable little one.

Qian’s gaze locked onto the twitching ears atop the beastman’s head, and she could no longer resist. She reached out and grabbed one.

The beastman tilted her head. “Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh!”

It was a close call, nearly causing an incident in the middle of the street. In the end, Lacia, carrying the child, took the beastman’s recommendation and chose a “special” inn to stay in.

The Nini Inn doubled as a tavern and restaurant. More importantly, most of its staff were beastmen, making it a favorite stay for travelers who loved beastmen.

Pushing open the inn’s doors, they were met with a lively scene—over a dozen neatly arranged tables, nearly all occupied, with a noisy atmosphere filled with the aroma of alcohol and food.

Just as the beastman had said, many of the inn’s attendants were indeed beastmen. Even the greeter at the entrance was a… uniformed worker with a pair of fiery red fox ears on her head.

“Welcome! Are you looking for a room, or—Lacia-sensei?! And Qian!!” The sweet voice suddenly rose sharply upon recognizing Lacia, almost cracking from surprise.

Lacia looked at the “beastman” at the door.

“Sixth-year student, Mewa?”

Lacia remembered that the Central Magic Academy’s current sixth-year student, Mewa, along with her two brothers, Bernie and Dewen, all came from a northern adventurer family where integrity and courage were the family motto.

They were pure humans, not beastmen.

Hearing Lacia call out her name directly, Mewa’s panicked expression was impossible to hide. She looked as if she wanted to find a hole to crawl into, cold sweat breaking out on her tanned face.

“L-Lacia-sensei, let me explain! I have my reasons for being here.”

Her eyes darted around, and then she suddenly spotted two figures carrying trays of food from the back kitchen. She immediately pointed at them. “My brothers are over there! Why don’t I call them over to explain to you?!”

In this situation, she had no choice but to sacrifice brotherly bonds. Sorry, big brothers!

Moments later, Lacia sat leisurely at a table with his legs crossed, while Mewa and her brothers, Bernie and Dewen, sat across from him, heads lowered.

Qian stood between Mewa and Bernie, squeezing Mewa’s large fox ears with her left hand and Bernie’s wolf ears with her right, gleefully kneading them.

The other two ears, the ones not being squeezed, drooped low in dejection.

Dewen, who had been spared from Qian’s grasp, was responsible for explaining.

The three of them had taken advantage of their school break to go on an adventure together. However, due to their lack of experience, they had been robbed by thieves in one city, losing their travel funds. Unwilling to return home in shame, they decided to work and earn money instead.

As for why they were working here, it was because beastmen earned higher wages and had an easier time finding jobs. So, they had used magic to give themselves tails and ears, disguising themselves as beastmen.

“Lacia-sensei, that’s what happened,” Dewen said in a small voice, shrinking back in fear. His wolf ears flattened against his head in nervousness.

Lacia propped his chin on his hand.

He recalled how Aeregon had mentioned that students in Maikesiduo had been using potions to turn into penguins for magic performances.

What exactly were today’s young magicians using their magic for?