Karma

"So all that happened yesterday?"

"Man.. I slept like a log."

"Not just you, all four of us."

"This isn't good. We should've helped."

The four of them looked visibly shocked after Stuart explained everything to them. Not only did they sleep while they were under attack, but they even got quite the sound sleep because of the sleeping gas. It was rather embarrassing.

"No need to feel bad. They weren't that big a deal anyway."

"Yeah. Weak."

By their standard, these people were definitely considered weak.

"And you lot, you just wanna steal stuff from a Dragon's lair, so why do you call yourselves 'Dragon Hunter'? Have you no shame?"

Everyone brushed it off as no big deal since the situation was under control, except Ale. It was because he was the only one who knew that these weak bastards actually managed to hunt a dragon in the original timeline. Not just any dragon, but the baby dragon that was sleeping on his lap right now.

'Shall I just get rid of them when no one's looking?'

A quiet rage bubbled inside him as he looked at the hunters. The killing intent that he was trying too hard to hide started to leak out slightly. And the moment the hunters met eyes with him, they knew they were in trouble.

There was someone else who also noticed this. There were two, to be accurate. Rudy, who always unintentionally kept paying Ale extra attention and the dragon that was lying on his lap.

The source of the tingling sensation they felt on their skin was definitely Ale, but neither of them had any clue as to why he was feeling that way and why he was hiding his anger.

Rudy wanted to know if anything was wrong, so he approached Ale who was sitting directly facing the thieves. But before he could say anything, the dragon stood up, got down from Ale's lap, stretched its body and yawned.

Ale wondered if it was done sleeping but then suddenly, it looked at the thieves squirming in the corner and opened its mouth.

"Wait a sec-!"

*Fwooshhhh*

A dragon's breath. Although it was a baby dragon that hadn't hatched for more than a day, it was strong enough to turn an entire mountain size of forest into coal and dust.

The thieves that were looking for a way out, disappeared into thin air without even being able to make a sound. What remained were the white ashes on the floor.

"...."

"...."

"...."

It was unexpected. Very unexpected. The cute dragon that Ale used as a pillow even moments ago just turned a dozen humans into ash without any warning. The sheer absurdity of the situation made one want to throw up.

'But.. they deserved it I guess?'

Ale was different. Although he felt a little flustered and surprised in the beginning, even he himself was thinking about dealing with them. So it wasn't that bad a situation for him either.

And it looked more like karma to him. These guys were most definitely the ones that stole the dragon egg in the original timeline and probably did unspeakable things to it before finally killing it off. So it was definitely their karma.

"D-did that little guy just-?!"

"I told you to, didn't I? It's a dragon."

"There's only ash left.."

They were all left speechless by the absurdity of the situation. Although they knew it was a dragon, but it was just a one-day old baby. And it was extremely cute to top it off. They all let their guard down due to these reasons.

"Really.. You're one little troublemaker, aren't you?"

Ale grabbed the dragon that others were even hesitant to approach and put it on his lap once again. The dragon looked at him with big, shiny eyes, as if expecting Ale to praise it for doing a good job.

Ale caressed the dragon's body as if to say good job and not make it too obvious to the others. He was definitely proud of his little baby at that moment.

"Y-young master.. perhaps you should..p-put it down?"

"Why?"

"Well.."

'Is he really asking why?!'

Everyone looked at Ale like he was crazy as they all thought the same thing in their mind.

"Isn't that one less thing for us to worry about?"

He pointed towards the ash and asked. Ale, having remembered many of the future events during the past three years, lost certain emotions as a result. Concern for 'degenerated' human life was one of them.

From all those battles and suffering in the future, he knew that if he didn't take care of his enemies properly today, they'd definitely come back to bite him in the a** in the future. He wasn't a very big fan of showing mercy.

"He's right. Those people would've definitely harmed us if they had the chance. And since they're also expert escape artist, it's better to take care of them by ourselves rather than hand them over to the authorities."

Rudy agreed with Ale and decided to bury this matter inside this cave. There was also another reason. He was trying to hide the fact that the dragon might have gotten triggered due to Ale's emotions from the others.

"But is it really okay.. to take it with us?"

Stuart asked, considering the safety of their own team as well as the normal citizens outside.

"I'll take care of it for now. And make sure nothing like this happens in the future. So, you needn't worry."

Ale said, knowing he was the only one fit for the job. Soon after coming to a decision, they all left the mountain and the lair.

Just like before, it took them a while to reach the human settlements. By the time they reached the town, it was already evening.

Ale had made a baby sling with the blanket from before and hid the dragon inside the sling like a human baby. The others were amazed by his innovative solution and kept praising him all the way back to the inn.

Of course, they also emptied out the whole lair before leaving as well. Everything was kept in Ale's space ring. The sudden change in decision was due to a random thought that appeared on Ale's mind just before they departed from the Dragon's lair.

"Doesn't this all belong to him then?"

He suddenly wondered out loud. The dragons' parents must've left all this treasure here for their child. If that were the case, taking the baby and leaving the treasure would be foolish.

"What if another group of thieves come and steal his treasures?"

"Hmm.. You're not wrong."

If the dragon remained in the mountain, he could protect his treasures. But since that wasn't going to be the case, the next best choice would be to take those things with them.

As a result, right now, Ale himself had turned into a treasure mine. There was a mountain worth of treasure in his space ring that all belonged to the baby dragon.

"Young master.. Why are we going to a different inn?"

"Because we have a baby with us that wasn't here the last time."

"Ohh.. You're so smart."

"That I am."

Rudy approached them from the behind and looked at Ale. He looked like he had something to say but was feeling quite hesitant.

"What is it?"

Ale asked, tilting his head sideways. It was weird for Rudy to hesitate like this.

"Can we... this time..."

Ale could barely hear him, so he stepped a little closer and asked again.

"What?"

"Uh... That's.. Can we share a room this time?"

He finally blurted it out after squirming around for a while. Ale wondered what was wrong but then felt a little squirm on his back as well.

'Ah...the dragon.. So he wants to spend more time with it?'

He was right, partially. Rudy wanted to spend more time with the dragon indeed, but he also wanted to get to know Ale better. And the second reason definitely had more impact than the first one.

"Sure! Sounds fun!"

Ale agreed immediately, without even needing to give it much thought. Although he was oblivious to Rudy's interest towards him, he definitely had his own curiosity and interest towards Rudy.

"He didn't even ask us what we wanted."

"So that's what happens when people get new friend."

"Guess we're discarded now then huh.."

Kevin, Phil and Gary, all three of them started sulking from the back the moment Rudy left. They pouted like three-year-olds and looked at Ale with all the complaints and sadness in the world.

"Pfft.. what are you guys going on about? Is that a pout? Haha"

Ale found their behavior adorably cute as he watched them sulk and pout.