Chapter 167. The Old Man and the Baby Dragon (2)
‘Huh...?'
This was strange.
And truly bizarre.
I may be old, but I’m not that senile yet. My eyesight isn’t failing. I’m not suffering from dementia, either.
So then why...
‘Why am I seeing things?’
Once a wholesaler.
The infamous merchant of Daparachia.
Richmond instinctively rubbed his eyelids roughly. Then he looked again at what he had just seen — something too unbelievable to accept.
“......”
It was certain.
Over there.
That undeveloped, toxic swamp zone. A place where one wrong step could lead to disaster... A child was toddling around that very place!
‘What... is this...'
Even while staring at it, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
His mind spiraled in confusion.
‘Who? Whose child is that?’
It was a child he had never seen before.
Perhaps five or six years old at most. A boy, with silky silver hair and a porcelain-white face — features that left a striking impression.
“......”
What is this?
Could he be from the demon race?
No, he didn’t have horns or anything like that.
...Thump! Thump!
Richmond’s heart began to pound violently. The moment he saw the child, the moment he realized the situation, he knew instantly.
This was incredibly dangerous.
‘Th-this is bad!’
Even adults were at risk in that toxic swamp zone. And yet, a toddler, still unsteady on his feet, was wandering around there alone?
‘I need to... save him.’
His instincts told him to run straight over and rescue the child. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Fear held him back — the fear that one misstep could be the end of him.
‘.....’
Right.
No matter how urgent, risking his life wasn’t the answer.
Richmond turned away.
And ran toward the members of the farming corps.
“H-hey! S-something terrible has happened!”
“Hmm?”
“There’s... there’s a child in the middle of the toxic swamp! A human child!”
“......What?”
The farming corps members, who had been working on the drainage by the rice paddies, were visibly shocked.
A human?
In a place like this?
Surely not.
And a child, no less?
“What is this? Could he be one of the human engineers’ kids?”
“I haven’t heard anything about them bringing children, Captain.”
“Exactly? Or could it be... Tbong?”
“But Captain, isn’t Tbong still a hatchling?”
“Oh, right.”
“From what I heard, a hatchling needs to be at least 100 years old to use polymorph magic to mimic a human or another race, right?”
“Oh, really? Then it’s not Tbong?”
“Doesn’t seem like it, sir.”
“Then it really is a human child?”
“Most likely, sir.”
“Then... this is a serious problem!”
Once they grasped the reality of the situation, everyone panicked. They dropped their shovels and tools, stopped working, and ran to the place Richmond had pointed out.
And they found it.
Nothing.
Just the same as always — the usual thick, acrid, toxic gas covering the barren landscape of the swamp.
“...........”
Everyone fell silent.
And thought the same thing.
Maybe the child was hiding.
So they checked the surroundings even more thoroughly.
But there wasn’t a trace of a child. Not even a single fly.
“...........”
Creeeeak...
Every head, every gaze turned toward Richmond.
His face went pale.
“I-I swear, it’s true!”
“Really? For real? You’re sure of what you saw?”
“Yes, yes sir! I saw it with my own two eyes. I’m telling the truth!”
“Tch. But now that we’re here, there’s no kid in sight, right?”
“That’s...”
“Look here, Mr. Ri. Are you serious? You’re doing this now?”
“......”
“Just because we don’t particularly like you, just because we’re not warm toward you, doesn’t mean you should get petty like this. Let me remind you — we’re not eating you alive only because it’s the Demon King’s order. It’s not because we like you.”
“Y-yes, I understand......”
“Tch. We’ll let it slide this once. But if this happens again, it’ll be a problem. Alright, everyone, back to work.”
The farming corps members turned back with displeased expressions. Richmond, shrinking into himself, remained alone at the swamp’s edge.
He felt wronged.
‘I swear it was real...’
He had truly seen it.
He was absolutely sure.
And yet, like some shepherd boy, he had been branded a liar.
It was so unfair.
And just then—
Splash!
“.......!”
A sound from somewhere.
The downcast Richmond instinctively lifted his head.
At that moment, he saw it again.
Splash! Splash!
The same silver-haired child he had seen earlier was toddling even deeper into the toxic swamp.
So dangerously.
As if he might topple over at any moment.
“......Ah!”
This time, it definitely wasn’t a hallucination. He wasn’t confused. It was crystal clear.
Richmond instinctively tried to run toward the child, but he abruptly stopped himself. He couldn’t go any deeper into the toxic swamp.
And so the child vanished into the darkness of the deeper swamp.
“.........”
Should he tell the farming corps again?
No.
At this point, no one would believe him anymore.
As his thoughts grew more tangled, Richmond found himself staring for a long time at the spot where the child had disappeared.
***
Splash, splash!
Each little step distorted the muddy ground. Round ripples spread around it. Floating debris in the swamp rippled with a sticky sway.
Watching it, Tbong smiled faintly.
“Heh.”
It was fascinating.
His own two feet walking through the swamp. His two hands, not needing to touch the ground as he toddled along energetically.
Splash, splash! Whir, whir, whir!
The first experience of walking on two feet in his life(?).
Delighted by this strange and unfamiliar sensation, Tbong ran joyfully through the swamp.
And he thought.
That it had been a good idea to focus on the sudden thumping of his heart he had felt for the first time this morning. That it was good he closed his eyes and uttered those spontaneous murmurs that followed the thumping.
Then there was a flash of light.
A strange, tingling sensation spread through his whole body.
What they called mana wrapped around him. It transformed his body. From the shape of a baby hatchling into that of a human child.
It was the magic known in the world as Polymorph.
Thanks to that, Tbong?
He was simply thrilled.
“Heheh, heh.”
A shocking situation — that despite never learning it from anyone, not even from his dragon mother, he instinctively manifested the mana configuration for Polymorph!
If a human mage had seen it?
It would’ve been such an astonishing event that all the transformation magic theories built over centuries by themselves and countless predecessors would have to be thrown out.
But to Tbong, none of that mattered.
Crunch!
After transforming into a human child, even the sensation of biting into pebbles felt different. Even the taste had changed slightly.
How should he put it?
It felt... sweeter than before.
And so, Tbong was immersed in the sensation of Polymorph for the first time. He roamed every corner of the swamp all day long. And then... he got bored.
“........”
Playing alone felt lonely.
He wished someone would play with him.
‘Hmm, but Dad…’
Was always busy, he said.
Especially these days.
He was always glaring at the seedbeds with bloodshot eyes, saying he had to sow rice seeds and raise seedlings.
Even when Tbong begged him to play?
“Later,” was all he’d say.
“.........”
Dad’s mean.
Then how about the uncles from the farming corps?
They were even worse lately.
Busy all day, digging with shovels, digging again and again.
“........”
They’re all mean.
Tbong would go play with other kids.
So then… umm, hmm… hmmm...
“............”
He couldn’t think of any friends.
So Tbong began to feel a bit down.
“...Grrmph.”
He was sulking.
He wanted to play with someone.
Then maybe he’d go find a new friend.
That’s when it began.
Tbong toddled around the swamp, searching for a new friend who would play with him all day.
He lifted the biggest rock in the swamp. A demonic beast that had been sleeping beneath it let out a threatening roar. So Tbong roared right back. The beast fainted.
“............”
You’re out.
Tbong set out again to look for a friend. Then he spotted a giant dragonfly flying around the swamp. Its wings were even bigger than his outstretched arms.
Big smile.
He was excited.
He chased after the dragonfly.
The dragonfly flew away.
He got even more excited.
He chased it with even more enthusiasm. Eventually, the dragonfly flew high into the sky and disappeared.
“Wha? Hmm...”
Come back, friend.
Tbong waved his short arms vigorously, but of course, the dragonfly didn’t respond.
So once again, Tbong trudged along.
Alone again, toddling in search of a new friend.
Before he knew it, he had returned to a familiar place.
The makeshift camp or field site where his dad and the uncles had said they’d play “shoveling games” on one side of the swamp.
“.........”
Should I wake the uncles and play with them?
...Tbong was thinking just that when—
“...Commander? I’m really sorry to come so late at night, but... I have something I must say.”
Just then, from the big tent nearby, an old uncle’s voice could be heard.
A voice that didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Tbong recalled the owner of that voice.
Yes.
It was the voice he heard earlier that day.
The human grandpa who saw him and brought the other demon uncles.
If only he had played with that grandpa and the uncles back then. Why did he, of all times, get so fascinated by those round, shiny, purple frog droppings and get completely distracted?
Tbong regretted his choice from earlier and perked up his ears.
Then he heard the voice of the grandpa uncle from inside the tent.
“First, my name is Richmond. I have a long story, but... for now, I’m just an old man assigned to the demon race’s farming corps.”
“So, what brings you to me?”
“There’s something I absolutely must tell you.”
“Something you must say? And what might that be?”
“I... saw a human child.”
“What?”
“It’s true. Earlier today, while working on the drainage at the western rice paddy ridge, I saw a human boy toddling toward the deep part of the swamp. He looked about five years old, and also...”
“What are you saying? A human child?”
“I couldn’t believe it at first either. But it’s real. I saw him clearly, twice.”
“Then, why are you telling me this?”
“Well... I thought you, Commander, would be the one to handle this best.”
“Because I’m human?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The grandpa uncle who identified himself as Richmond sounded desperate.
“I don’t know why a human child would be in a place like this. But if what I saw wasn’t a hallucination... that child is in great danger right now. I couldn’t rest easy, so I snuck out to come find you. I just... really want to save that poor child.”
‘.........’
Oh.
Ohohoh.
What a kind grandpa uncle.
A small smile formed at the corner of Tbong’s mouth as he perked his ears toward the inside of the tent.
And Tbong thought:
That grandpa uncle deserves lots and lots of praise stickers.
This one is so exciting! I'm waiting for further interaction between Aged Kimchi and Kim Jangcheol!
I really enjoy reading this, and I adore the loyalty Credos' people held to him!