The Baby Isn’t Yours

Chapter 174: Side Story 11

Drea wasnt someone who would ever leave Shaik under any circumstances.

Especially not now, when something strange had happened to him.

It wasnt Shaiks arrogance, but rather his conviction.

Even if Shaik had fallen ill and couldnt believe in anything, there was one thing he believed in, and that was Dreas feelings towards him.

The small dragon that imprinted on him as soon as she was born stubbornly clung to him no matter how much he pushed her away, tormented her, or acted indifferent.

Unfailingly, like a fool, she stood up again and smiled.

Whether it was love, obsession, or greed, Shaik dared to be certain that Dreas feelings for him would never change.

Sometimes, it looked so beautiful that it made him feel awkward.

Shaik! I like you!

The overwhelming emotion that crashed against him was perplexing.

It seemed like he was getting used to it, even more.

Drea This foolish dragon.

Actually, Shaik was lying a little.

The first thing he expected to see when he opened his eyes was not his mother Kalia, but a noisy white dragon.

He was worried that she might be crying and upset because he was in pain, but the girl wasnt near Shaik.

It was strange.

The dream I was having wasnt a dream about Drea Why did I wake up thinking of Drea?

Why did he automatically assume that the child would be by his side?

Shaik wanted to look deeper into his heart, but he simply didnt have the energy.

He could only think about why Drea wasnt here, where the child should be.

Drea

Amidst the fading consciousness and blurred thoughts, Kalias voice sang a lullaby to Shaik.

went to save you

What? What are you saying, Mother?

He couldnt quite make out the words that sounded like they were being cut off.

Shaik furrowed his brow slightly and tried to open his eyes, but his consciousness had already stepped into the deep currents of the dream.

His consciousness didnt comply with his will.

He couldnt confirm whether what he heard was true

And at that moment.

Shaik!

A clear voice, refreshing like raindrops on flower petals, resounded through the air.

It was a voice that instantly pulled Shaiks consciousness, which seemed impossible to escape.

As he blinked his closed eyes, a bright white gate appeared above the empty space.

Countless white flower petals also poured down from above his head.

Snow?

Shaik thought absentmindedly.

Does the scent of warm sunlight on the brightest day feel like this?

A warm and gentle fragrance enveloped him.

The soft flower petals brushed against his cheeks and forehead as they descended.

Shaik was completely buried in the shower of flowers.

A startled Kalia reached out and embraced the descending Drea in the air.

Drea!

Im back, Kalia Mama!

With disheveled hair, a broken knee, and a long cut on her cheek, Drea appeared and hugged Kalia with a bright smile.

What on earth!

Kalia looked bewildered as she stared at the two people coming in one after another through the gate.

Grandmother and Nua too?

Hohoho! I was so worried about this little one, so I went to pick her up! Finding the gate was difficult, but Gaia cleverly sent a bluebird to the spirit realm. I followed that child.

Leahs words made Gaia proudly spread her two fingers to make a V gesture.

Nua gently stroked Gaias head.

I went and saw. This little one fought very bravely. She courageously brought back a white flower!

What? What is all this

At the mention of a fight, Kalia tightly held Drea in her arms again.

Up close, she noticed small bruises on her face here and there.

Seeing the disheveled appearance of the child, Kalias eyes turned fierce.

Drea, did you fight? With whom? Who would fight with such a young child!

Kalias angry voice became sharp.

Drea smiled awkwardly and tightly hugged Kalia.

Drea was brave. She fought valiantly while thinking of Shaik. Like Kalia Mama, Drea and Gaia became a wonderful team and fought together!

Thats right. Drea was amazing.

In response to the excited words of Drea, Gaia clapped her hands and chuckled.

Drea and Gaia, both covered in wounds, were laughing. Nua and Leah, who were watching them with proud eyes, and Kalia, looked at them with a perplexed gaze.

Whats going on? Can someone please explain in more detail?

Leah gently stroked Shaiks cheek, buried in a pile of flowers, and smiled quietly.

The person involved knows the situation best, dont you think?

Upon hearing that, Drea rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Then, when her eyes met Kalias, the child smiled and spoke.

Thats

* * *

While she appeared as a grandmother in her human form, she was by no means an old woman in her manifested state.

She skillfully and flexibly moved Drea around, like an experienced elder, with ease and grace.

Even when Drea used her unfamiliar power of illusion, Drea was overwhelmed and had difficulty defending herself.

No, Ive seen and learned a few tricks too!

Nevertheless, Drea was raised by a war heros hands.

Perhaps it was because she grew up watching the continents best magician that she was exceptionally good at avoiding attacks.

She had always been remarkably agile from birth.

Then, as Demetris attack struck and sent Drea flying far away, she gasped for breath and swiftly returned, leaping around.

This is bad! You said you were only using 10% of your power! How is this just 10%?

Well, even though I didnt use all of it, are you already tired?

Liar! You used 20%!

As Ive said before, I do not lie.

Deme calmly retorted and unleashed magic without a moment to breathe.

Small ice and fire spells were automatically defended by Simons armor, so she didnt suffer much damage.

Instead, what troubled Drea was Demes melee attacks.

These are good magical tools. Theyre even sturdy. The durability is quite high. They should be able to handle even area-of-effect spells easily, right?

Demes words made Drea proudly straighten her shoulders as if she had received a compliment.

Of course! Theyre made by the best magician on the continent!

Nevertheless, it belongs to just a mere human.

Hes not just a mere human! Papa is incredibly amazing!

Dodging attacks and responding agilely, Drea boldly retorted while twisting her body.

Most of her outbursts were about how great his Mama and Papa were.

Deme found Dreas innocence pitiful and at the same time, she found it suspicious how the dragon showed such intense trust in the imprinted one and her family.

Most humans are unaware of the existence of the White Dragon, so how did she grow up loved and so well raised?

She couldnt help but be intrigued by the clothes Drea was wearing or the trusting eyes of the child.

Those eyes were the eyes of a child who had received love from those around her.

Kid, now that I think about it, it seems like I have nothing to gain if I win this bet. Its not a fair game, is it?

Drea furrowed her brows at Demes words.

Its okay. You should have checked all that before the game started! Its petty to try to change the contract now, Grandma.

Deme chuckled in response to Dreas words.

Youre quite a cunning kid, arent you?

Life is about survival!

Who said that? Papa?

No! Shaik did. So its only natural to beg and be cunning. I believe Shaiks words.

Each retort from Drea was adorable.

Because of that, Deme became even more ambitious.

She wanted to raise that child splendidly within the sacred lands.

The human world was filled with uncertainty, especially with frequent wars.

Humans often used dragons in those wars, resulting in many dead dragons.

To them, non-human races were simply tools.

Even if they could shed blood, hold conversations, and make eye contact just like humans, they could be treated like animals or discarded like tools as needed.

Humans were weak. Thats why they were more cruel and more ruthless.

Demes companion, the Golden Dragon, fell into the trickery of humans and demons and turned into a mad dragon, dying in the process.

She didnt want her companion to go mad anymore.

What was more humiliating was that his death was exploited by humans and demons.

Thats why she made up her mind to kill him. She asked the only human capable of killing him instead of being held captive by the demons.

That mans name was Shaik.

A pitiful and kind soul manipulated by the gods.

He claimed not to be one, but he was excessively righteous.

It was a strange occurrence.

She hadnt thought of that person once in hundreds of years, but now he kept coming to mind in front of this little dragon.

Have I truly grown old? Im having so many thoughts.

Deme chuckled and thought that she should wrap up this battle soon.

Anyway, kid. If I win, you have to grant me one thing I want.

There wont be such a thing! Because Im going to win!

Despite the messy appearance, Drea shouted bravely.

Deme laughed and twirled in the air.

Save that talk for after you win, little one.

And then, in an instant, Deme teleported behind Drea and struck her side with a large, muscular tail.

It was too late to dodge, and they were too close.

Its over.

That was the moment.

Just before Demes tail dug into Dreas side, Dreas form disappeared.

It was undoubtedly too late to evade, and there was no trace of teleportation, but the childs figure vanished in the blink of an eye.

Deme was rarely taken aback.

The childs figure disappeared right in front of her eyes, with both eyes wide open.

What, whats going on? Where did they go?

Lux. Did you read teleportation?

No! No, it wasnt a trace of teleportation.

That, really?

The dragons, who were munching on popcorn, were all startled and murmured in confusion.

It was an impossible event.

Deme hesitated for a moment and focused her mind to read the childs presence.

The faint presence of the child, which she thought had completely vanished, could still be faintly felt.

But at that very moment, something pricked Demes tail.

At the same time, the presence of the vanished child reappeared above her tail.

-I won.

It was such a small voice that it could easily go unheard.

Deme widened her eyes to examine the pain she felt in her tail.

Something was wriggling on top of it.

It was so small that it would be invisible if she didnt squint her eyes.

What is that huh?

Ha!

Deme burst into laughter at that moment.

She nervously shook her tail to get rid of something.

Then, something like dust that was attached to the tail fell off and quickly transformed in appearance.

Ta-da!

Drea, whom she thought had disappeared, appeared with her two fingers spread wide.

Was it a bit ticklish, Grandma?

In the giggling Dreas hand was a sword of Amuntia.

On Dreas left wrist shimmered a transparency bracelet she received from Shaik when she was very young.

You

Deme, seemingly incredulous, suppressed a chuckle and asked:

What have you done?

Grandma said it, right? That its okay to just tickle. So I tickled! I thought I could never deliver a fatal blow to you.

Drea laughed softly as she spoke.

Dreas best magic was changing appearance.

Though she was good at it, it was a magic she didnt need to use often. And when she did, it required quite a lot of energy, so it wasnt her favorite.

Nevertheless, Drea thought she would utilize that magic for the final strike.

Moreover, she could also use the bracelet borrowed from Shaik.

Smartly enough, she waited for Deme to make a close attack, knowing her own weakness against direct hits.

And finally, when Demes tail approached her, she shrunk herself to the smallest size she could.

At the same time, making her body transparent was the most challenging part.

She had to activate her magical tool while using magic.

But fortunately, Drea was strong in crisis and successfully made her small body transparent.

As the presence of the child diminished greatly, it took some time for the other dragons and Deme to realize it. In the meantime, Drea summoned Gaia.

Since Drea had shrunk, the bracelet also resized to fit her.

Drea, gripping the sword that Gaia had turned into with both hands, forcefully thrust it between the scales of Demes tail.

It probably felt like a sharp sting, but it was enough.

I tried a little wit. What do you think? I won, right?

Deme referred to that wit.

The massive white dragons body gradually shrank.

Deme, who returned to a more familiar human form than that of a dragon, saw Dreas triumphant look and burst into laughter.

You really are an amusing child!

Deme flew towards Drea and scooped her up.

Yes, child. Youve won. Your cleverness defeated me.

Wow!

Take the white flower as you wish. But make sure to visit again.

At Demes words, Drea smiled even brighter than the white flower.

She, lifted high up into the sky, tightly hugged Demes neck and exclaimed:

Thank you!