Goddess Kaleidoscope

During his previous examination, Lude had already discovered that the baby dragon in the egg was not fully developed. If the situation was simply maintained, the little guy would likely die.

Logically speaking, nature serves as a reference. Whether it is humans, dragons, or any other creature, the premature death of an offspring with congenital defects during the gestation stage is an unfortunate but perfectly normal natural phenomenon.

However, considering the mess Hamilton and his group had made, and the possibility that Nidhogg might take his grief over the loss of his son out on the innocent settlers living on the edge of the Unreal Forest, Rudd had to protect the little one as an apology to them.

So Lude suggested that they use the purest divine power to nourish the young dragon, artificially accelerating its development and making up for its innate deficiencies.

And so, over the next few days, Rude poured a steady stream of divine power into the still-unhatched baby dragon. Nourished by the divine power, its underdeveloped body rapidly grew stronger, like a crying infant absorbing all the divine power Rude supplied.

A week passed quickly, and the female dragon Tawawa had largely regained her mobility. A layer of shiny black dragon scales had grown back on the original wound, and there was no trace of the previous disembowelment. The two normal dragon eggs also hatched one after another, and two chubby little male dragons emerged.

For Nidhogg, this was the first time he had become a father in his five hundred years of dragon life. He was so excited that he flew to the top of the mountain in the middle of the night and howled at the top of his lungs for a long time, scaring all the birds and beasts within a radius of hundreds of kilometers half to death.

These two baby dragons were very strong from birth. They stood up less than half an hour after hatching, and opened their eyes an hour later. They had all their teeth in their mouths and almost bit Lud, who had come over to watch the excitement, as if he were a food supply.

Although dragons can be considered a highly intelligent race, their way of life is no different from that of wild animals. Therefore, the cubs will soon have a certain degree of mobility after birth, unlike human babies who take about a year to walk and are still not very agile.

It's worth mentioning that Ludwig had specifically asked Nidhogg if dragons had the ability to transform into human form. Nidhogg gave him a strange look, then thought for a moment and said...

"I've heard that some dragons can do that, but I can't."

Soon, Ludd had been at the dragon's nest for ten days. Each day, besides infusing divine power into the third dragon egg that hadn't yet hatched, he spent time with the Nidhogg family. During this time, he also taught the Nidhoggs how to play Connect Four, occasionally helping them pass the time.

That morning, as usual, Ludwig went to the hot springs to check on the dragon eggs, with two baby dragons flapping their wings behind him. Watching them, who had only just learned to fly that day, and their clumsy, wobbly way of flying, Ludwig thought to himself, "These two little troublemakers really live up to the names Nidhogg gave them—Brown and Brahmoth."

Despite their parents' repeated reminders that Lude was a guest, not food, and that they shouldn't try to bite him, these two dragon children were even more mischievous than naughty kids, and Lude had been teased by them quite a bit these past two days.

Interestingly, Nidhogg dotes on the two children, almost spoiling them, while she is ruthless in disciplining the two little brats, especially her gentle husband, Tawawa. After the two brothers play pranks and cause trouble for Ludwig, they are given a good "loving care" from their mother.

Thanks to Tawawa, the two little ones no longer dare to attack Lud, but they are still very curious about him, even following him to the toilet to peep.

Upon arriving at the hot spring, Lude glanced at the dragon egg, which had undergone tremendous changes over the past ten days. Due to the continuous infusion of divine power, the cracked dragon egg now emitted a faint golden light, and the shell had become translucent, allowing one to vaguely see the phantom of the young dragon inside.

All signs indicated that the young dragon had undergone some changes under the nourishment of divine power, but Rud had a premonition that this was by no means a bad thing.

I used divine magic to examine the inside of the dragon egg. The baby dragon had been curled up since three days ago, covering itself with its wings, looking like a sleeping bat at first glance. But all its vital signs were normal, and it seemed to be just sleeping soundly, accepting all the divine power injected into it.

Counting the days, Lude has been feeding her for nine days. In order to make sure she is full, Aina, who is staying in her hometown, is drained dry by Lude every day. After this trip is over and she goes back, she will definitely have to coax her a lot.

As Lude was thinking this, he reached out and pressed his hand on the eggshell. However, before he could infuse it with divine power, the dragon egg, which had been floating quietly in the hot spring, suddenly began to shake on its own. Then, the cracks on the eggshell quickly opened up, and the next second it burst open with a "bang." The two little black dragons behind it huddled together, trembling, and cried out for their parents in their childish voices.

Lude, standing in front, was surprised to see a strange baby dragon, black and white with fur that looked just like a panda, lying by the eggshell, curiously looking at her with its golden eyes.

End of this chapter

"Mr. Ludd, I'd like to know what's wrong with my daughter?"

Inside the master bedroom of the dragon's lair, Ludwig and Nidhogg sat facing each other, while Tawawa was comforting his two frightened sons. The newly born third baby dragon was comfortably perched on Ludwig's head, seemingly planning to make its nest there.

Looking at the healthy and energetic little one, Nidhogg was utterly devastated. He was a black dragon, his wife was a black dragon, his two sons were black dragons, but why was his daughter black and white?!

Nidhogg believed his wife wouldn't do anything to betray him, so the problem must lie with Rudd, who infused the dragon eggs with divine power every day.

He needs a convincing explanation.

"It must be... influenced by divine power."

She reached out and grabbed the baby dragon that was clinging to her head. The little guy was slightly smaller than her two older brothers, and it didn't have any scales. Instead, it had a layer of very fine and soft fur, which felt like a plush toy to the touch, giving her an addictive desire.

Besides lacking scales and having black and white fur, this little creature's wings resemble those of a bird rather than a bat. Instead of dragon horns on its little head, it has a floating halo that seems to change brightness depending on its mood, which is quite magical.

Lude was pretty sure that the little guy had undergone some kind of mutation, or rather, super evolution, under the nourishment of divine power, and had become a completely new kind of dragon.

In addition, this little one is very smart and more sensible than her two mischievous brothers. She can recognize Nidhogg and Tawawa as her biological parents. After the two dragons arrived, she flew up and rubbed against them. Then she flew to Lud and looked at Lud with her cute big eyes, as if she wanted food.

So, with a try-it-and-see attitude, Lude reached out and released some holy light formed from divine power. The young dragon immediately flew over, sucked all of this holy light into its mouth, and then licked its lips, its contented little expression as if it had just drunk sweet honey.

Meanwhile, Lud thought to himself, "Could this be an addiction?"

In short, the young dragon is currently very close to Ludwig. He doesn't get annoyed when Ludwig holds him in his arms and pets him like a cat, and even makes very pleasant purring sounds, which is unacceptable to his biological father, Nidhogg.

"Why should I? I'm the biological father!"

Nidhogg then demanded an explanation from Rudd, but Rudd was also quite bewildered, after all, he was just a priest.

What is certain at present is that this little guy has decided to only eat the divine power provided by Lude and has no interest in ordinary meat. It is unclear whether this is simply picky eating or if the diet has changed, which is the most worrying issue for everyone.

Fortunately, this little guy isn't eating much yet, otherwise if Aina from my hometown found out, she would definitely be at odds with him!

"What are we going to do?!"

Looking at his daughter, Nidhogg paced back and forth in the cave, sighing. So worried about his daughter that he didn't even realize that his accent had been unconsciously distorted by Ludwig.

After a moment's consideration, Lu De tentatively asked.

"How about... I let your daughter stay with me for a while?"

"What do you mean by that? You want to take my daughter away?"

Nidhogg, keenly aware of the unspoken meaning in Ludd's words, instantly became alert and his gaze towards Ludd turned quite hostile.

Knowing that this guy would react this way, Lud quickly added explanations to his suggestion.

"I'm not saying I'm taking her away. Well, how should I put it... I don't know if you've heard of a daycare center? I can't stay here forever, right? I guess your daughter is just still growing, so she needs some pure divine power. Letting me be her caretaker isn't out of the question. Your child can temporarily stay with me. You can come and see her anytime, and pick her up anytime. If you have the time, you can even pick her up and drop her off every morning and evening. Since less than a thousand kilometers is considered neighboring distance for your dragon race, then we, who are less than four hundred kilometers apart, are practically next door, aren't we?"

"..."

Ludwig's explanation made Nidhogg fall into deep thought. He didn't genuinely have any designs on the young dragon; he was simply eager to return home. Living in this dragon's nest, although he had meat to eat every day and could bathe in wonderful hot springs, life was still quite inconvenient. If he stayed any longer, he would truly become a savage.

At this moment, Tawawa came over and gently nudged Nidhogg with her tail. Unlike her husband, who was raised by humans, she had a family concept similar to humans. Traditional wild dragons usually have a very Spartan parenting philosophy.

Tawawa truly loved her children, but she also hoped they could grow into independent dragons as soon as possible. Therefore, Lud's proposal was not unacceptable to her.

In fact, if Lude hadn't been working so hard to save the damaged dragon egg these past few days, and if Tawawa had been left to handle it herself, she would very likely have given up on the egg, which was inherently flawed—that's how dragons traditionally do things.

Since the child has survived but is heavily reliant on the power of this human being, we should proceed in the most appropriate manner.

At his wife's urging, Nidhogg reluctantly agreed to Ludwig's suggestion, promising to send Ludwig back the next morning and have his daughter fostered there as well, with him visiting her from time to time.

Ludwig solemnly promised that he would take good care of the clingy little one and would never hand her over to anyone else. However, in order to intimidate Hamilton and his group, Ludwig still needed Nidhogg to back him up, so that those with ulterior motives would not dare to make any rash moves.

Thus, the two parties reached a "childcare agreement," and Ludwig became Nidhogg's youngest daughter's godfather and babysitter.

Although Nidhogg was reluctant, he knew that his daughter's survival was all thanks to Rudd. Now that it was uncertain whether the child could only survive by absorbing divine power, keeping her by Rudd's side was indeed the safest option.

"Speaking of which, have you thought about what name to give this child? Don't give him any of those two little troublemakers that have such unreliable names."

"A daughter should naturally have a gentle and pleasant-sounding name. Let me think about it carefully..."

Like a human pinching his chin, Nidhogg racked his brains for a long time, frowning but unable to come up with a suitable name. Finally, Ludwig couldn't bear to watch this "naming-challenged" patient any longer and, like an old baboon, lifted the baby dragon and said...

"How about we name her Kanna? Let me tell you, dragons with that name are so easy to raise!"

End of this chapter

On the twelfth day after Lud was taken away by the dragon, the villagers of Pine Village deeply missed the selfless old priest.

Meanwhile, at the temple, the two nuns who remained organized daily prayers for the villagers, asking the goddess to protect the high priest. Two mercenaries hired by the village also actively assisted. Almost every day, everyone could see Sister Aina collapsing from exhaustion during the prayer ceremony due to excessive worry.

However, as time went by, apart from the two nuns who still firmly believed that their mentor would surely be blessed, the other villagers began to harbor a pessimistic attitude.

The reason why the dragon was so angry had already spread throughout the village. Everyone knew that it was related to Hamilton and the Silver Knights. They had provoked the dragon, which caused more than a dozen villages in the North to suffer as a result.

If everyone hadn't known they couldn't win, they probably would have already pulled out their weapons and settled the score with them. Now these few people are still shamelessly staying in the village. The adults certainly don't dare to offend these knights, but the children don't have so many scruples. They throw stones, spit, and make no attempt to hide their true thoughts.

Hamilton and the others knew they were not well received in the village. Feeling guilty, Jegan sent one of his men back to inform the Earl, firstly to explain the situation, and secondly to shamelessly request that the Earl provide relief food and pensions for these suffering frontier settlers, and to advance his salary.

This operation can be described as a complete failure. Not only did they fail to obtain a single dragon egg, but they also lost seventeen Silverwing Knights, and caused thousands of villagers on the border to suffer an undeserved disaster.

To date, Pine Tree Village has become the largest refugee camp in the border region. Villagers from all over who had their homes destroyed by the dragon have come here seeking refuge, quickly gathering nearly three thousand people. The refugees believe that the village is protected by a goddess, which is why they have remained safe and sound until now.

Even some villages to the east of the main village that were not attacked by the dragon came here in panic, bringing their families to beg for shelter.

The rapid increase in population plunged the entire village into chaos. Old Rom simply couldn't manage so many people; they wouldn't listen to him, and he couldn't drive them away. He could only mobilize the militia to guard the village entrance, fearing that these outsiders, whose numbers far exceeded their own, would rush into the village and steal their stored grain.

As the situation worsened and could spiral out of control at any moment, a clear dragon's roar instantly silenced the chaotic villagers.

"The dragon is here again!!!"

The reappearance of the dragon caused an uproar among the crowd. The refugees scattered like headless flies, while the villagers instinctively tried to hide in the temple, believing it to be the safest place.

In the blink of an eye, the dragon flew over the village. Some sharp-eyed villagers noticed that a person was sitting on the dragon's back, who looked exactly like the priest who had been kidnapped for more than ten days.

The dragon circled twice above the village before slowly landing in front of the temple. The people realized that it had no intention of attacking, and that the person sitting on its back was indeed a high priest. Their fear vanished, replaced by curiosity, and they all crowded around to watch the spectacle.

At the temple, those who heard the commotion had already rushed to the entrance. Seeing Lud, who was riding on the dragon's back, unharmed, they all smiled with joy, while Hamilton and Jegan looked astonished.

"Master, has Your Excellency tamed the black dragon?"

"It shouldn't be, but since he lets you ride on his back, it at least means their relationship is special. This Lude... is amazing!"

Dragons are a very proud race. If humans want to tame these powerful creatures, they usually need to use some special methods. But in Rudd's case, it seems that he has successfully made friends with the dragon. This can be seen from the way he dismounted from the dragon's back. It was like he was sliding down the dragon's forearm.

"Friends, I'm back!"

Upon seeing Ludwig return safely, Aina was the first to rush forward, nearly knocking him down with a flying headbutt. In contrast, Shanis was much more reserved, stepping forward to greet Ludwig with the respect due to a disciple, but the smile on her face clearly showed that Ludwig's return made her happy as well.

At this moment, Hume and Fallen Leaf stepped forward, suddenly drew their swords and planted them in the ground, then knelt down on one knee and spoke to the bewildered Ludd in a very impassioned tone.

“Your Excellency! My brother and I have been striving for our ideals for many years and have met many noble and important figures, but none of them can compare to you. Your nobility has won our admiration. If you do not mind, we are willing to become the guardians of the temple and follow you at your beck and call!”

Hume's sudden declaration of loyalty startled Ludwig, but she quickly realized what he was up to. He wanted to legitimately become affiliated with the temple, so that even after their mercenary contracts ended, the two of them could remain with the temple and officially join as members.

So Ludwig accepted their allegiance, at which point Nidhogg behind him coughed twice and then spoke in a loud voice that could be heard within a radius of two or three meters.

"Human priest, I am very grateful to you for healing my wife and daughter. To express my gratitude, I can forgive your previous offenses. I also promise you that as long as you do not trespass into my territory again and try to harm my family, I will not attack your village. We will live in peace and not interfere with each other."

After Nidhogg finished speaking, he glanced down at Hamilton and Jegan in the crowd, then turned and flew away.

Watching the dragon disappear into the distance, the villagers all breathed a long sigh of relief. The local villagers of Pine Tree Village suffered almost no losses in this incident. Compared to the dragon they couldn't afford to offend, they actually disliked the lingering refugees from outside even more.

Most of the refugees who suffered misfortune did not dare to harbor any resentment towards the dragons. After all, they dared not even provoke noble lords, let alone the dragons, who were even more terrifying than nobles.

Lude, who returned alive, was treated like a hero. Everyone believed that Pine Tree Village was able to overcome the difficulties safely this time thanks to Lude. If you count the previous incident with the bandits, he had saved the village twice. In people's eyes, he was like a true saint who saved people from suffering.

Faced with the villagers' enthusiastic cheers and praise, Lud showed his usual humility, attributing the credit to the goddess who had always protected him. He then said that he was really tired and needed to go back and rest, and that he would talk about everything else tomorrow when he was more relaxed.

So, under the respectful gaze of everyone, Lud was helped back to the temple by two female disciples. As soon as the door closed, he immediately removed the mask from his face. Then, Aina and Shanis were surprised to see a fluffy little head sticking out from under Lud's wide robe, looking very energetic!