Chapter 84. The gold dragon

Chapter 84: 84. The gold dragon

"Is this a jackfruit?" asked Angeline, who was amazed by the variety of fruits that Kaileon and Jo had gathered from the forest.

"No, Your Highness. It does look like a jackfruit, but this is actually called a cempedak... It’s more fragrant than a jackfruit, and the taste is a little different, too," said Nathan.

"These fruits are so unique—I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one before... it looks soft and strange, but it’s delicious," said Jessica, pointing to a bread fruit.

"You guys eat plenty. I’m going to the river with Jo and Ricky. Nathan and Jeny, please watch over them," said Kaileon, before turning around and heading to the river with Jo and Ricky.

They were taking turns washing up.

"Don’t worry, young master, go ahead!" called out Nathan.

The river was actually quite a distance from where they were camping, but you could still say it was relatively close.

While the girls were washing up in the river, the air was still quite warm. That’s why they felt refreshed when they touched the clear river water.

However, in the evening—which was actually still around six in the afternoon—for some reason the air around them turned cold. This made them hesitate to touch the river water.

"We should just soak in some warm water; it’ll help us relax better when we sleep later," said Kaileon.

"You and Ricky can do that, young master. I’ll go into the river and catch some fish for tomorrow’s meal," said Jo, which piqued Ricky’s interest.

"I want to go swim in the river too! How do we catch fish?" asked Ricky, full of enthusiasm.

Kai let the two of them go and began setting up a spot for himself to soak.

First, he set up a sort of large tent, then placed a large bathtub inside it. Before filling the tub with warm water, Kai prepared the bathing supplies.

With water magic, Kai had already learned to clean himself using that magic. However, it certainly didn’t feel as comfortable as bathing manually. Therefore, Kai needed to soak in the bathtub.

Earlier, Kai had prepared bathtubs for the princesses, and they wanted to bathe with flower petals. The water used for soaking was milk. Kai didn’t use pure milk. Instead, he used a special milk powder for bathing, which was fragrant and made the skin smooth.

However, for himself, Kai used only flower petals and a bath bomb.

It wasn’t an ordinary bath bomb. Although Kai had obtained it from a supermarket in his system, the bath bomb actually came from a mysterious shop in Ardhez, not Earth.

The bath bomb was shaped like a peony flower and melted once placed in the water. Its fragrance was so intoxicating that even Jo and Ricky, who were trying to catch fish, came over out of curiosity.

"Why are you bathing among the flowers, young master?" Ricky asked in surprise.

"I’m just curious because the princesses before me did this. You guys should try soaking with me—the tub is huge, so there’s room for the three of us."

Kaileon’s curiosity about the sensation of bathing among the flowers caused something that had been sleeping nearby to suddenly awaken.

It was awakened by the scent of the incredibly fragrant flowers. As a result, it broke through the super-strong barrier it had created itself and emerged from the cave where it had been sleeping.

It was a cave dragon—a golden dragon that slept in a cave lined with piles of gold it had collected over the years.

It was the reason why the surrounding area was so safe from monster attacks. Even ordinary forest animals didn’t dare to approach the place. Only when they were truly in need of food would the animals come near.

Kai, who always kept his detection magic active, suddenly sensed the dragon’s presence.

He immediately understood the situation around him.

It was a female cave dragon who had been asleep for a very long time. And now she was approaching the spot where the three young men were soaking in the warm water.

Kai straightened his back.

"Jo! Do you sense that?" Kai asked.

"Sense what, young master? I don’t—oh, wait, is a dragon approaching? But its aura is weak," said Jo.

"A dragon?" asked Ricky, confused.

Kai nodded. "That’s right. This dragon is deliberately hiding its aura. So its aura feels weak and is almost undetectable. However, the monsters and animals around here are aware of this dragon’s presence, which is why it’s so quiet here."

"I understand, young master. Because of this dragon, none of the monsters or animals around here dare to come near... but why is this dragon approaching us, young master?" asked Jo.

Kai couldn’t answer why the dragon was approaching them. Still, he tried to stay calm and not panic. Kai created another, even stronger protective dome, even though he had already set up one earlier.

However, the dragon was unaffected and was still able to penetrate the protective dome.

Kai, who was about to stand up and get out of the tub, widened his eyes as a small dragon flew closer.

The small dragon immediately descended and soaked in the water with them.

Of course, the three young men were startled; they almost screamed but stopped when Kai motioned for them to stay calm.

"Hey! Come soak with me again, my handsome princes! I’m the strongest cave dragon here! And I’m already fifty years old!" said the dragon.

The dragon was very small, about seventy centimeters tall and weighing around fifteen kilograms.

Given that fifty-year age, they realized the dragon was still a child—one could even say it was just born. After all, the lifespan of dragons differs from that of humans.

"Ahem! So you’re still just a kid, huh? What’s your name?" asked Kai.

"Name? What’s that? When I was born, I was all alone in a cozy cave filled with things that were the same color as my scales... I’d wake up every ten years and study the creatures around me, but from that I learned that they were all afraid of me. So, I created a protective barrier around my body... by the way, you’re the only ones who aren’t afraid of me," said the dragon, looking very happy.

Whether he liked it or not, Kai called the water dragon, Nagisha. After all, the water dragon actually felt right at home with Prince Alex.

"What’s the matter, young master?" Nagisha suddenly appeared in her human form—a little girl the same age as Kaileon, wearing a maid’s uniform.

"I summoned you as a dragon, so there’s no need to disguise yourself. Anyway... I found this here—a golden-scaled dragon from the cave," said Kaileon, pointing to the little dragon sitting on Jo’s lap, which Ricky was feeding small fish to.

They stayed by the riverbank so the others wouldn’t get all worked up seeing the little dragon.

"Oh, I think he’s the child of the cave dragon... the cave dragon itself is feared around here; it likes to hoard a lot of gold inside its cave. About fifty years ago, it was indeed heavily pregnant. But I don’t know who the father is. What’s certain is that after giving birth, the cave dragon left its child there. Unlike humans, newborn dragons learn quickly and are immediately self-aware. So, it’s common for dragon babies to be left behind like that. You can make a contract with it if you want, young master!"

Kai was not at all pleased to hear Nagisha’s explanation. He felt it would be a huge hassle to have a dragon child clinging to him.

"I think we can just leave it here. I’m on a journey, and I don’t have time to take care of a dragon," said Kai.

Hearing that, Nagisha smiled broadly.

"In that case, I’ll take her and raise her as if she were our child—"

"Hey! What do you mean?"

"—So I’ll be the mom and you’ll be the dad!"

"Hey!"

Nagisha laughed as she watched Kai start to get worked up. It was very rare to see Kai get so emotional, and Nagisha liked it.

"Hahaha, I’m just kidding. But I’m serious about raising her... and besides, you have a fairy village behind the pavilion; she can live there with the fairies, who are also still children, and with the dragon around, the fairies will be safer too."

Kai smiled at Nagisha’s suggestion; it was a great idea for now.

"That’s a great idea! Let’s do that... and do we need to give her a name?" asked Kaileon.

Nagisha smiled mischievously, then said, "Isn’t it her dad’s job to name her?"

"Hey!"

"Come on, I can’t come up with a good name."

"You think I’m good at naming things? Ugh, but fine, how about Goldy?"

Nagisha laughed at that, "You’re naming her Goldy because she’s golden?"

"I like the name Goldy!" Suddenly, the little golden dragon flew around them, flapping its cute little wings.

"Oh, in that case, your name is now Goldy, okay?" said Kai, then patted the little dragon on the head.

"Okay, Dad!"

Nagisha laughed even harder when she heard the little dragon actually call Kai "Dad."

"Don’t call me ’Dad,’ just call me Kai."

The little dragon shook her little head. "No, no, ’Dad’ is easier to say. Right, Mom?"

Kai was at a loss for words. This was the first time anyone had called him "Dad," and the dragon was even older than he was.

"It’s up to you, then. Now, are you going to go with your mom? You’ll live in and take care of the fairy village. There are lots of fairy children there, and you’ll have friends to play with," said Kai.

Hearing that, the dragon was overjoyed.

"Really? Lots of friends? Mom, let’s go!"

"Hahaha, of course! Let’s go! Don’t forget to visit often, Dad!" Nagisha shouted before leaving with Goldy.