Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 470

“Iyaap!!”

With a cute yell, Shar threw the special volleyball, launching it at breakneck speed. It looked extremely intimidating.

Shar, a Dragon who could be called a master just by pure physical ability alone. Just glancing at that ball, it felt like it could knock someone out cold.

But Shar wasn’t clueless. In fact, quite the opposite; she had more than enough awareness. Hence, she was carefully controlling her strength better than anyone else present.

Swoosh!! The ball, flying at full speed, zoomed straight into the arms of a girl with pigtails.

Having received it head-on without any major issue, it was clear the ball wasn’t as powerful as it had seemed.

The girl wrapped her arms around the ball snugly. However, Shar was no easy opponent either.

Whoosh!! The ball, which had seemed securely caught, suddenly ricocheted off the girl’s body with fierce spin.

The teacher watching shouted out.

“Eun-ji is out! Come on out!”

“Eh…!! What was that about!!”

“Hehe, that’s just one of Shar’s two hundred and twenty volleyball techniques.”

Who prepares two hundred and twenty volleyball techniques, for crying out loud?

Eun-ji looked like she wanted to ask that, but the defeated don’t have the luxury of questioning. Swallowing her words with a grunt, she stepped out of bounds.

And thus, only two remained: Tae-oh and Shar. Coincidentally, fate had brought these two kids to face each other on the battlefield….

[How tragic to meet in a place like this.]

“It’s our cursed destiny surrounding us, isn’t it… Come on, Tae-oh.”

The two kids locked eyes, their gazes sharp enough to cut. At this moment, they could hardly be called siblings….

They looked like two beasts battling for the glory of their group.

Tae-oh dribbled the volleyball as if it were a basketball.

[Today is the day I surpass Sister Shar…!!]

“Come on, Tae-oh!! If you can surpass me, go ahead and try!!”

Tae-oh raised his arm holding the ball high, while Shar readied her stance to defend against it.

Until now, both had been controlling their strength, but when it came to a showdown like this—there was no need for that….

Just as Tae-oh’s arm was swinging down—

Ding-dong-ding-dong.

“Oh, the bell rang. Let’s head inside, kids.”

“…Eh.”

[Huh, can’t I just throw it once…?]

“Come on, we have to go in!”

With the authority of a teacher pressuring the kids, there was no way they could resist, and the two kids sulkily put the ball down and turned away. Only the teacher smiled with a sigh of relief.

‘That was close to a report….’

Some kids looked suspicious, but it was just suspicion after all. The only one who knew that Tae-oh and Shar were the children of the legendary war hero Choi Yeon-woo was the homeroom teacher.

After all, she had met them in person and even got their autographs. It was framed in a fancy picture!

Gently patting the heads of the two glum kids following her, the teacher comforted them.

Kids around middle school usually dislike this, but those two were different. One couldn’t help but wonder how they grew up to be so endearing.

Anyway, it was a relief. Those two running rampant might just blow the gym away. Then they’d definitely get in trouble for mismanagement. Yeon-woo would cover the costs but….

With that weight lifted off her shoulders, the teacher led the children back to the classroom.

During that process, she would hear quite shocking news, but it had nothing to do with the current homeroom teacher.

*

Today, Nea was sitting on the couch with a bewildered expression, when she heard the sound of the front door swinging open.

In a rush that almost sounded like shoes were thrown off, In-young dashed towards Nea.

“Is it really true!?”

“Welcome home….”

“It really seems like it!!!!”

Shar was startled by Nea’s clueless response and shouted. Following behind her, Tae-oh and Dawn also had expressions of shock.

“I can’t believe it.”

[Wow, a sibling!!]

Shar and Tae-oh started bouncing around the living room. Watching them, Dawn wondered what was making them so joyous, while Nea continued to stare at the ceiling, still dazed.

As Shar approached and plopped down beside Nea, she casually touched Nea’s belly.

“Doesn’t seem to be too big yet.”

[Then? Disappointing.]

“Maybe it hasn’t been too long. How long until the baby arrives?”

“Shouldn’t we get that checked?”

The kids began having such conversations about the baby inside Nea. Only then did Nea snap out of her daze.

“Uh, when did you get here? Aren’t you hungry?”

“You just told us to come and greet you!”

The normally quick-witted and rational Nea showing such a disoriented side was quite surprising, leaving Dawn visibly bewildered.

In fact, to Dawn, Nea was actually someone she admired deeply.

An incredibly capable wife, a researcher, a perfect person who lacked nothing anywhere.

Dawn would even think that if she were to date Tae-oh someday, she wanted to become a wonderful woman like that.

“Umm… Maybe I got scared of getting married….”

“Dawn, where’s that coming from all of a sudden?”

If Yeon-woo had heard that, he’d be teasing about whether she had someone in mind to marry, but Nea was gracefully handling the sudden awkwardness. Truly a woman of dignity.

“I’m not hungry! Please share your feelings!”

“Uh, uh… um….”

Nea, flustered by Shar’s hyper enthusiasm, contemplated while placing a finger on her lips. If she asked again, she would surely get an answer from that cute person.

“I never thought such a thing would really happen…. It feels surreal.”

“Ohhh….”

The kids gasped at what sounded like a profound sentiment.

Nea’s family had always resorted to asexual reproduction. There had never been another mate, nor any nutrients to consume.

It could be said that they lived purely on the instincts of being a living being. Nonetheless, they felt the urgency that the bloodline must not be severed.

This didn’t mean that sexual reproduction was impossible. It was just that, having originally engaged in it, they switched to asexual reproduction when circumstances didn’t allow for it.

Of course, there were consequences. Although it wasn’t widely known, dragons were inherently difficult to conceive, and one couple would usually only raise one child in their lifetime.

Given that it was already hard for them to conceive, they wouldn’t even think about having a second child.

So, to have such a dragon switch to asexual reproduction meant they were now even more unlikely to conceive.

In Nea and Yeon-woo’s relationship, almost the only significant meaning was the love they shared, this had become Nea’s conclusion.

“…Hehe.”

“Mom looks happy.”

“Yes, I am happy. In fact, I can’t tell if this is a dream or reality. Just as joyful as when I met Shar again….”

Nea gently rubbed her belly. She had no idea what kind of baby would come out. Hadn’t the slightest clue about what it would look like.

But, one thing was certain: she was going to be a mother.

This pregnancy was altogether different from the egg form Shar once took, and Nea felt both perplexity and love for this new experience.

With a gentle, warm smile, Nea looked at the kids silently gazing at her. Nea noticed their expressions. They looked a little anxious.

“I feel like I’m thinking foolish things, so I need to give you a big hug.”

The three kids all snuggled tightly into Nea’s embrace. Even while feeling shy, none of them tried to escape. They simply enjoyed the pleasant warmth radiating from Nea.

“Shar, Tae-oh, Dawn, and this baby… they’re all my children. I plan to love them all the same. For a while after this baby is born, there might be times when I can’t give you all enough attention, and you might feel like I’m neglecting you, but could you bear with it just a little longer?”

Upon hearing Nea’s warm words, Shar and Tae-oh nodded, hugging her back, while Dawn shook her head vigorously.

“No? We don’t need to hold back, do we? If we just love that baby enough, isn’t that enough? Leave it to us, we’re confident in taking care of the baby.”

“Hehe, how reliable. Thank you for saying that. If I need help, I’ll definitely ask Dawn!”

“Shar can do well too!!”

[Tae-oh can too, me too!!]

The kids all stood up in unison as if refusing to lose, and Nea gazed at them like they were the cutest things.

Goodness, she had never even dreamed of such a day. A day when those she loved would multiply like this—was nothing short of a fantasy, something her imagination couldn’t even grasp.

Yet, despite everything, Nea’s embrace was full of love. It was something her past self could never have imagined.

A tear rolled down and plopped onto Shar’s head. It was Shar who was taken aback by this.

“Mom’s crying!! Seriously, what is Dad doing at a time like this!?”

When unsure of the circumstances, just blame it on someone else! Shar had now become all too familiar with the ways of humans.

*

“What do you mean by that, Riley?”

[Just as I said.]

Uh oh…. With that, Yeon-woo found himself at a loss for words. Riley’s message, saying Nea was pregnant and to go home, was exactly it.

“Pregnant….?”

He almost blurted out whose baby it was but, in truth, Yeon-woo already knew. Because there was no one else but himself.

“They said it was impossible.”

While it wasn’t totally impossible given Yeon-woo’s half-demon nature, the odds had been incredibly slim beforehand.

Saying it like that made it seem like he regretfully got someone pregnant, but in reality, he was extremely happy. So happy that it didn’t quite feel real.

He had to admit he felt a bit bittersweet. Of course, with two kids, and including Dawn, there was now a third, yet none of them resembled him.

After all, none of them had his genes. It was kind of like gathering lost orphans under the guise of family.

Yeon-woo and Shar came from a different time, while Nea was left alone after the world fell. Tae-oh had even taken his father’s life.

Though Dawn was newly born, he had nearly caused the destruction of the world he once lived in, so they truly formed a group of lost souls.

Of course, he loved the kids, but as a father, it was impossible not to feel some regrets. Seeing a child with even a hint of features from himself and his wife had been one of Yeon-woo’s dreams.

That wish was now coming true. One couldn’t help but feel elated to the point of wanting to fly away.

“…Is getting married really that important right now?”

Yeon-woo retorted to himself, tossing aside the progress report he was holding as he turned away.

It wasn’t hard to go back. After all, the only secret place Yeon-woo could sneak away to visit was Claire’s orphanage.

“I’m heading over now, Nea!!”

Yeon-woo threw himself into the Gate that appeared leading to Relin’s Archive.

(Continued in the next chapter.)