Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Of course! After witnessing the birth of a dragon, I feel so empowered myself. I can’t just sit still! I’ll make it my masterpiece, so look forward to it!”

Bottle-neck laughed heartily as he pounded his bicep. Could it be that, like the achievement, witnessing the birth of a dragon truly filled him with the driving force for life?

“Well, then, let me infuse some of my driving force into you…”

Leeha thought to himself.

His next destination was the royal palace.

After teleporting to the capital, he intended to walk, but the Hatchling, Blaugrun, flying around his head, posed a problem.

“Hey, Blaugrun, can you use teleportation?”

[Kyuu Kyuu!]

“No, not ‘kyuu.’ Can you use teleportation?”

What was Blaugrun to Leeha?

Though he understood it was his partner, it wasn’t in the sense of being a pet.

He could tell just by looking at Alexander and Baileypus. Even with the Soulmate sprite, it didn’t move with teleportation.

“Hmm, I’ll move alone for now and summon you―huh?”

Flap, flap, flap.

As if it understood that Leeha was planning to move alone, Blaugrun perched on his shoulder.

[Kwaaah!]

“….You actually understand everything I’m saying, don’t you? Are you just pretending not to know, whether to help or because you’re embarrassed? When we first met, you acted so cool, but now that you’re born as a baby, you’re pretending not to know?”

[Breeeh?]

Blaugrun’s bronze dragon head tilted 15 degrees.

Leeha was about to make a joke, but seeing Blaugrun’s actions of pretending or not pretending to understand, a smile naturally spread across his face.

“Never mind, never mind. Well then, let’s go.”

Leeha activated the Portal.

Ten seconds later, Blaugrun, the cyan Hatchling, was already with him, perched on his shoulder, as they teleported to Aelstock, the capital.

Leeha checked Blaugrun, who was on his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow.

“When our skin touches, do you move with me? It’s not even Mass Teleport… Is it because of the dragon’s mana affinity? I should ask about this when we can talk!”

As if laughing, Blaugrun’s face seemed to hold an innate cuteness.

Leeha was reminded of the handsome face Blaugrun had when in human form, and he felt a little proud.

“Someday, I’ll see that form again. Now, we’re going to the palace, so try not to stand out too much, Blaugrun.”

[Breeeh!]

“Ah, by the way, Blaugrun, you can choose three items from Bahamut’s Rare. Since you’ve been reborn, I wonder if you could get a few more items? We’re eternal ‘partners’ now, so it’s not a big deal to spend some big shots, right?”

At least, there was one good point.

For Leeha, who was often bored while moving, he now had a pretty good conversationalist.

While mumbling to Blaugrun on his shoulder, Leeha entered the palace.

***

“Leeha!”

“Ah, Nara.”

As soon as he entered the palace, Nara greeted him warmly.

Nara seemed to have logged in at an unexpectedly close time to Leeha’s login, as there wasn’t much difference in their time of arrival.

“Have you settled in?”

“Yes. I logged in just in case you were here. I couldn’t even wash up, and I logged in right away. Hehe.”

Leeha’s greeting made Nara chuckle. Her bright expression seemed to infect Leeha as well.

“We planned to meet in two weeks, but it’s so soon to see you again.”

“Are you unhappy about it?”

“Not at all.”

When Nara made a pouty face, Leeha shrugged his shoulders. He thought it would end up like this anyway.

When Nara and Leeha were walking towards the central palace from the royal garden, she noticed the strange creature on his shoulder.

“What’s that? What’s that doll on your shoulder―”

“Oh, this… Well…”

[Breeeh?]

Blaugrun extended its head from behind Leeha’s head and met eyes with Nara.

A creature smaller than a puppy, with smooth scales that didn’t look like dragon scales yet.

As if it was impossible to believe it was a reptile, there was a warm charm in the cute face of the creature. Nara’s expression immediately softened when she saw it.

“Woah?! Leeha, what is this? Where did it come from? A summon?”

“Well… That’s, um, a complicated story―”

“Come here, come here, come here~ Chuck, chuck, chuck.”

[Breeh, breeeh.]

As Nara held out her hand, Blaugrun flapped its wings and took off lightly from her hand.

Although it was flying at an extremely slow pace, Nara looked like she was going to burst out with delight as she watched the dragon flapping in the air.

“Wow, it’s flying! What am I going to doooo? It’s so cute! Omg!”

With a light touch, Blaugrun landed back on Nara’s wrist and rubbed its nose against it.

One could call it the cuteness of a dragon that no one in Middle Earth had ever experienced! Leeha couldn’t help but be surprised by the turquoise dragon with bronze scales.

‘Blaugrun… You’re also a man.’

Even in human form, Blaugrun had been male. Since Leeha used his mana to resurrect him, there shouldn’t be any change in gender.

Leeha watched Blaugrun, who placed its head on Nara’s hand, with a somewhat gentle gaze. There was no hint of jealousy. Blaugrun was just too cute for that.

“Where did it come from? Why does it look like a dragon? Whose summon is it?”

Nara bombarded him with questions as she continued to caress Blaugrun. Where should he start to explain everything perfectly?

“Hmm, well, it’s technically mine… and it’s a dragon, that’s true. But it’s not what I originally wanted…”

“Hey, Leeha!”

Just as Leeha was about to explain, Hyton’s voice rang out loudly from the entrance of the Central Palace.

“Oh, Lam Hwayeon?”

“We’ve been waiting for you for so long. What are you doing?”

Thump, thump, thump.

Hyton’s steps were quick. While talking to Leeha, her eyes darted briefly towards Nara.

Holding Blaugrun in her hand, Nara was standing very close to Leeha. But when Hyton noticed her, Nara took a step back.

[Kyuu, kyuuu…]

Sensing the moment when the eyes of the two women met, Blaugrun instinctively flew back to Leeha’s shoulder.

“Hello, Lam Hwayeon.”

“Ah, hello. You’ve been busy, I see. Nowadays, you seem more focused on defending the palace than protecting the capital. With the Royal Guards, do you really need the Seikreed Knights?”

The Royal Guards are enough. Why complicate things by having the Seikreed Knights in the palace?

“Well, yes. Many untrustworthy outsiders are wandering around, claiming to be part of the reinforcement pact or something. I have to protect them; who else will? We can’t just leave it to NPCs.”

It’s because of untrustworthy outsiders like you.

Fzzz―!

Despite their gentle tones, the women’s eyes sparked with intensity.

If intensity was a gust of wind, wouldn’t their red and black hair have been blown into the sky?

Even Leeha, standing next to them, couldn’t say anything in the face of their fierce standoff.

“All right, then, please patrol around the palace to ensure safety, Lady Nara. We’re a bit busy with the reinforcement pact. Let’s go, Leeha.”

“Oh my, didn’t I just tell you that we’re protecting the palace because of the reinforcement pact? It’s just that while we’re at it, we’re going around to where the others are.”

“Hehe, no, there’s no need for that. The Central Palace seems to be fine, so it would be better if you could cover the East or West Palaces.”

Fzzz, fzzz───!

‘Ugh, it seems like Blaugrun just used a Lightning Magic spell.’

The sound of the women’s growls made it impossible to move recklessly; it was like a magical paralysis in their standoff.

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly.”

Jaw─!

Lam Hwayeon grabbed Leeha’s wrist.

Her firm grip even made Leeha slightly flustered. But he couldn’t just pull away as if it were strange.

“Leeha?”

Nara looked at Leeha with a bright smile. But her smile was by no means friendly.

“Come on, let’s go! Aren’t you going to complete the quest? You’ve convinced all the nobles, and now all you have to do is enter the conference room!”

Whether or not to resist, there was nothing he could do in this situation.

“Um, there, um― That― I’m here today because of the reinforcement pact. Just, wait a moment, Lam Hwayeon! You can see Lady Nara, too―”

“I understand. Let’s go, then.”

As she was dragged away, Leeha lowered his head lightly and quickly turned around. The Seikreed Knight’s cloak fluttered from her back.

“Ah….”

How was he going to deal with that cold expression? Leeha had a headache, but he couldn’t dwell on it right now.

“First, let me tell you the information we gathered about Minis. Pay attention!”

Even as they walked quickly, Lam Hwayeon didn’t stop talking. She was just as busy as Leeha, gathering and organizing information while completing quests related to the Three Musketeers and the Dragon.

***

“Users?”

“Yes. According to our intelligence, yes. I wondered why Minis was acting so submissive, so I investigated and found out that there’s a user traveling with the Chimera. Moreover, that user is― Hoo, don’t be surprised. This is Middle Earth after all. Don’t you know how it goes? The user traveling with the Chimera is none other than―”

“….Faust?”

“What? How did you know?”

“I heard some rumors.”

“Tsk, you should have told me earlier!”

“No, no, the rumors I heard were slightly different. I didn’t know they were traveling with the Chimera.”

As far as Leeha knew, Faust had followed along with the Blue Beard during that time, and he hadn’t seen him with the Chimera or traveling together.

“Well, I guess that makes sense.”

The reason was simple. The personal debt Faust owed Leeha during the National War.

It was Faust who had cut off the supply line through the Plains of Marching and greatly reduced their contribution score.

Lam Hwayeon had done her part, just like Leeha, gathering and organizing information while completing quests related to the Three Musketeers and the Dragon.

“Well, come to think of it, those three haven’t been in contact at all?”

“Yeah. All private messages are blocked. Same with Faust. And the users who were considered prominent outsiders in Minis all left on the same day. Of course, Faust had already left the guild before that.”

“Hmm… That could mean something.”

Lam Hwayeon’s insight was truly remarkable.

As far as she knew, there hadn’t been any related quests or connections involving the Blue Beard so far.

She had been gathering information about the Three Musketeers and the Dragon, just like Faust.

“Just, you know, with the chaos about to start, it’s not surprising they’d keep their distance.”

Lam Hwayeon’s analysis was quite convincing.

Still, the fact that Faust and the unknown users, along with the Chimera, were causing a commotion in Minis was advantageous to her.

‘Well, but it makes sense.’

The reason was simple. The personal debt Faust owed Leeha during the National War.

It was Faust who had cut off the supply line through the Plains of Marching and greatly reduced their contribution score.

Even in the face of such a chaotic situation, Lam Hwayeon wasn’t too flustered.