TCPUAAV Chapter 47

 

Hector followed the navigation system and smoothly arrived at Fragrance Tower Manor.

 

Mo Li had received Rong Heng’s orders ahead of time and had already stationed people at the entrance.

 

As Hector followed the escort inside, his sharp eyes were drawn to the firearm holstered at the escort’s waist.

 

He was an expert in weapons and could immediately tell—

 

This wasn’t any model currently on the market.

 

At a glance, it looked similar to a laser gun, but its power and performance were unknown.

 

Licking his upper teeth, Hector’s initial reluctance faded, replaced by curiosity.

 

Maybe this trash planet was more interesting than he thought.

 

Stepping into the parlor, Hector immediately noticed a handsome young man sitting at the head of the room.

 

Though calling him a young man didn’t feel quite right.

 

He was about 1.78 meters tall, his lean frame appearing thin but not weak.

 

His posture was straight, and his dark eyes held an undercurrent of sharpness, though his aura was restrained.

 

Yet, despite this, his facial features were soft, carrying a hint of youthful inexperience.

 

Clearly, he was on the border between a youth and an adult.

 

Based on his judgment, Hector was pretty sure this person was an ancient human.

 

But something felt off.

 

Most ancient humans he had seen were either weak or timid, especially in modern society.

 

It had been a long time since Hector had encountered an ancient human with such presence.

 

Next to the ancient human, a tall, muscular Beastkin stood protectively.

 

His neck had scattered feathers, indicating his beast form was likely a raptor-type creature.

 

Judging by their seating arrangement, Hector concluded—

 

This “unusual” ancient human was the owner of Fragrance Tower Manor.

 

Hector strode toward him.

 

The young man stood up to greet him.

 

“You must be Mr. Hector?”

 

The youth’s smile was warm as he offered his hand.

 

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

 

Hector had just been about to say—

 

“The Prince—”

 

But at the last second, he changed his words.

 

“Where’s Rong Heng?”

 

His eyes narrowed as he sat down without hesitation, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip.

 

“He was the one who called me here, but now he’s nowhere to be seen. And what’s this about a dragon cub? Which family’s brat is it? Bring him over so I can take a look.”

 

??????

 

Ruan Shiqing frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.

 

“Didn’t Mr. Rong tell you the details?”

 

Hector shrugged, looking unimpressed.

 

“He just said I’d understand when I got here.”

 

His casual attitude and lack of military discipline didn’t quite match what Ruan Shiqing expected from someone in the Imperial Military.

 

Though he felt a little uneasy, considering this person was personally recommended by Rong Heng, Ruan Shiqing set aside his concerns and began explaining Heli’s situation.

 

Wait a minute…

 

The more Hector listened, the more wrong it sounded.

 

This story… hadn’t he heard it before?

 

He suddenly remembered something Rong Heng had mentioned before.

 

“Are you talking about Dares’ dragon girlfriend’s kid?”

 

??????

 

Ruan Shiqing blinked, feeling even more lost.

 

But still, he kept his good temper and clarified—

 

“No, he’s my cub. His name is Heli.”

 

Sitting beside him, Mo Li subtly shifted in his seat, his gossip sense tingling.

 

Wait.

 

Dares went to escort the blaster rifles back to Yanji… and still had time to get a girlfriend?!

 

Hector, meanwhile, choked on his tea.

 

“Cough—! His name is Heli?!”

 

“Yes.”

 

Ruan Shiqing nodded, sending a quick message to 09 to bring the cubs back.

 

Hector barely heard him.

 

His mind was already drifting into the past—

 

Years ago, he had also had a dragon egg.

 

It had never hatched, but he and Garland had already chosen a name—

 

Heli.

 

If nothing had gone wrong, his kid should be around the same age as that young black dragon he met earlier.

 

He and Garland used to argue about who the hatchling would take after—

 

But in the end, neither of them had lived to see the egg hatch.

 

“Daddy!”

 

A familiar voice suddenly snapped him back to reality.

 

Turning his head, Hector saw—

 

The nine-tailed fox cub and the little mermaid rushing into the room, throwing themselves into Ruan Shiqing’s arms.

 

And—

 

The young black dragon he had met earlier…

 

Because he was too big to fit inside, he had lowered his head, squeezing just half his face into the entrance, golden eyes blinking curiously.

 

Then, he also called out—

 

“Daddy!”

 

For a moment, Hector’s mind blanked.

 

Then reality came crashing down—

 

Ruan Shiqing walked outside, gently stroking the young dragon’s nose.

 

“Daddy brought you a teacher.”

 

He gestured toward Hector—

 

“This is Mr. Hector. You need to learn from him so you can transform sooner.”

 

Heli had already known that Daddy had found him a teacher.

 

In fact, he had gone out to practice flying today specifically to avoid embarrassing himself.

 

Hearing this, he immediately straightened up and obediently said—

 

“Teacher!”

 

With his wings neatly tucked, he looked exceptionally well-behaved—

 

A stark contrast to the fierce little dragon who had been baring his fangs at Hector earlier.

 

Hector nodded in satisfaction.

 

Just as he was about to speak, Heli suddenly lowered his head and sniffed him.

 

“Teacher, why do you smell familiar?”

 

His golden eyes were full of confusion as he sniffed again.

 

Hector coughed, trying to sound warm and friendly—

 

“You forgot? We just met earlier.”

 

He mimed a flying motion with his hand.

 

The more he looked at this young dragon, the more he liked him.

 

His voice even carried a hint of amusement.

 

!!!!!!

 

Heli froze.

 

Then—

 

Realization hit like a meteor.

 

It’s that big annoying dragon???

 

Daddy hired him as my teacher?!!

 

He mocked me!

 

Heli’s face turned red, his nostrils flaring like he was about to breathe fire!

 

Ptui! He definitely didn’t want this kind of teacher!

 

Furious, Heli glared at Hector, but with Daddy present, he didn’t dare act too aggressively.

 

Lately, every time Daddy looked at him, his eyes were full of worry.

 

Even though Heli was usually carefree, he was very sensitive to Daddy’s emotions.

 

He knew Daddy was concerned about him.

 

If learning from this annoying teacher could help him quickly master transformation and become normal again, then Daddy wouldn’t have to worry so much anymore.

 

So, even though he pouted unhappily, he still muttered a reluctant—

 

“Oh.”

 

Even though his reaction wasn’t too obvious, his enthusiasm had clearly dropped compared to before.

 

Hector raised an eyebrow but, remembering what Ruan Shiqing had said, he chuckled to himself.

 

Forget it.

 

He’s still just a baby.

 

He decided to stop teasing him, instead shifting his focus to questioning Ruan Shiqing in detail about Heli’s changes.

 

Even taking the time to examine the surviving gemstones—the ones Ruan Shiqing had turned into accessories for the cubs.

 

According to Garland, the difference between regular gemstones and Dragon Crystals lay in a certain energy within them.

 

To normal dragons, gemstones were just pretty trinkets.

 

But Dragon Crystals could greatly enhance their power.

 

This subtle difference could only be detected with professional equipment.

 

And the only person capable of identifying them without tools…

 

Was Garland.

 

Back then, when they collected Dragon Crystals, Garland had been the one choosing the locations, while Hector simply dug them up.

 

Later, the screening and verification process was entirely handled by Garland.

 

Staring at these “gemstones” for a long time, Hector didn’t see anything unusual.

 

But since Heli had grown rapidly after eating them, it proved that these gems weren’t ordinary.

 

Most likely—

 

They were Dragon Crystals.

 

Dragon Crystals could strengthen young dragons, helping them overcome weaknesses caused by staying in their eggs for too long.

 

But—

 

Garland had also warned him before:

 

Too many Dragon Crystals at once could make a young dragon grow too fast.

 

If a cub grew faster than they could mentally process, it could leave them disoriented, which wasn’t good for their psychological well-being.

 

Hector turned his gaze back to Heli.

 

Because his body had grown too quickly, his movements were still clumsy.

 

But his eyes were still pure and bright.

 

Though he seemed a little troubled, he wasn’t showing any signs of distress or breakdown.

 

It was clear—

 

Ruan Shiqing had protected him well.

 

“Excessive Dragon Crystal intake triggers rapid growth, but it won’t harm his body. He just needs to adjust to his new form and catch up on missing lessons.”

 

Hector concluded,

 

“Even though he still thinks like a cub, his body is already fully matured. He is—for all intents and purposes—an adult dragon.”

 

Ruan Shiqing frowned.

 

“But in reality, he’s only three months old. Even if his body is mature, he’s only had three months to understand this world.”

 

He hadn’t even graduated from the cubs’ school yet.

 

Ruan Shiqing didn’t want Heli to be forced to become an ‘adult’ so soon.

 

Hector froze for a moment.

 

“You’re saying… he just hatched recently?”

 

Dragon eggs required extreme volcanic heat from Luso Star to properly incubate.

 

Even if a dragon was young, it should be several years old by now.

 

After all, a human couldn’t incubate a dragon egg, right?

 

It had to be a later adoption.

 

“Yes.”

 

Ruan Shiqing nodded, then finally explained Heli’s origins.

 

“A merchant sold me a dragon egg, claiming it was a rare rock crystal. Later, due to an accident, the egg fell and cracked open—And that’s when Heli hatched. That was when I realized… it was actually a dragon egg.”

 

He gestured with his hands, his voice carrying a touch of relief.

 

“He was only this big back then. His horns and wings were underdeveloped. Luckily, the Dragon Crystals made up for that deficiency, so when he grew up, there weren’t any lasting effects.”

 

An egg, discarded as a useless rock.

 

Unable to hatch for over a hundred years.

 

Born with congenital weaknesses.

 

And named… Heli.

 

Hector’s heartbeat faltered.

 

His gaze burned as he stared at Ruan Shiqing.

 

“Did you name him Heli?”

 

“No,” Ruan Shiqing replied. “It seems like his fathers named him that.”

 

He turned to Heli.

 

“Right?”

 

Heli hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.

 

Honestly—

 

It had been so long since he hatched.

 

The memories from inside the egg were already fading, replaced by new experiences.

 

Scratching his head, Heli tried to remember.

 

“I think it was… Karl… Kar…”

 

He struggled with the name, getting stuck on “Kar” for a long time.

 

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall the rest.

 

Then, in a hoarse voice, Hector finished the name for him—

 

“Karlfury and Ignatius Woods.”

 

Garland Karlfury.

 

Hector Ignatuswood.

 

Hector looked at the clueless young dragon, his voice rough with emotion.

 

This was…

 

This was the name he and Garland had chosen.

 

So long ago—

 

Back when they still believed they had a future.

 

Back when they thought their child would hatch and they would watch him grow together.

 

But the war had taken Garland.

 

And Hector…

 

Had spent all these years thinking the egg had died unhatched.

 

Now, here stood a black dragon cub, too big for his age, too clumsy for his size, struggling to find his place in the world—

 

And he carried the name “Heli.”

 

My child…

 

Is this really you?

 

 

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