Chapter 1071: Chapter 1070: Preparing in Advance

To be honest, when Gawain saw the dragon egg, he was just as puzzled as Amber: Dragons had gone to great lengths to deliver such a special... "gift" to him, so he really had to consider how to handle it afterward. The critical point lay in how exactly to deal with this thing—Gawain suspected that since the dawn of human history, nothing like this had ever happened. Although many chivalric novels and heroic biographies loved to involve dragons in their stories, often depicting protagonists who by sheer luck obtain a dragon egg and, after hatching it, become companions, nowadays everyone knows that these stories are most likely written for fun by dragons like Melita...

So, how was he supposed to handle such a dragon egg? Hatch it? How?

Melita glanced at Gawain and then at the dragon egg. After a long pause, she smiled awkwardly, "Actually... if you want to try hatching it, it’s not out of the question. After all, our leader only instructed me to deliver the dragon egg to you, without specifying how to handle it afterward. I reckon that after the fall of the gods, no further instructions were left. As I understand it... this implies you’re free to deal with it as you wish."

Gawain pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask curiously, "So, do you know how to hatch an egg?"

No sooner had he spoken than he realized something was amiss. The expressions of Aunt Heidi and Amber beside him turned strange as well. He suddenly became aware that such a straightforward question might seem a bit flippant, but couldn’t think of a better way to phrase it at the moment. In the end, it was the stark racial and cultural differences standing there, so he had no choice but to maintain a steady demeanor.

Upon hearing Gawain’s question, Melita visibly froze for a moment, then her face showed a hint of embarrassment. Fortunately, she didn’t seem too bothered by it, only smiling awkwardly, "Well... I actually have no experience, but I’ve recently learned some theories. I could tell you the method to hatch a dragon egg. However, I personally don’t have the free time..."

"No, no, I didn’t mean to ask you to help personally," Gawain quickly responded, "Providing theoretical guidance alone would be more than enough..."

Melita grew more embarrassed instantly, "That... that would be possible... But let me clarify in advance: this dragon egg is quite unusual. We’re not even sure if it can actually be hatched. So even if I give you the method, you may not actually hatch anything, and even more exaggerated... even if the method is correct, it might take an extremely long time for this egg to crack open. You might even need to establish a long-term operation like an Empire Hatchery Department for it..."

The topic seemed to be taking a bizarre turn. Even the thick-skinned and boisterous Amber found it hard to handle, prompting her to cough twice and break the silence, "Let’s not discuss such details right now. Could you at least tell us the general conditions for hatching a normal dragon egg?"

Amber’s sudden interruption slightly eased the awkwardness in the air, and Melita’s drifting thoughts finally stabilized. She coughed twice, quickly reorganized her vocabulary in her mind, took a deep breath, nodded, and began to explain, "Alright, let me talk about how to hatch a dragon egg—basically, hatching a dragon egg requires two conditions. First is an appropriate temperature, which is generally similar to most oviparous creatures. The second is continuous magical stimulation, which is considerably special.

"Managing the temperature is relatively easy; the temperature range for hatching a dragon egg is actually quite broad. Even the current room temperature here fits the criteria. A more suitable temperature would approximately be..."

Melita mentioned a rough temperature range, then continued, "Compared to temperature, magical stimulation is a more crucial factor. Dragons are extremely powerful magical creatures, and our affinity for magic is so potent that even at the egg stage, we can interact with the ambient magic. Dragon eggs need to grow under the stimulation of pure arcane energy. I suggest you create an incubation site using a Magic Web that can operate continuously and stably, then place the dragon egg within it..."

Melita detailed the method of hatching a dragon egg, while Gawain listened attentively, and Aunt Heidi even summoned enchanted parchment and a steel pen from somewhere. Her eyes gleamed as she magically reinforced the detailed procedure into a magic scroll. Gawain fully understood this reaction: this was knowledge about hatching a dragon egg! Who else in the world had access to such a secret? If it weren’t for the major incident in Talronde, prompting Melita to visit with the egg, how could such a secret ever spread to the human world?

Honestly, Aunt Heidi simply found a scroll to record without assembling the entire research department for an on-site discussion, which was exceptionally restrained...

Several minutes later, Melita finally finished her explanation, and Aunt Heidi, writing swiftly, also let out a long relieved sigh. This Mage lady, who hadn’t indulged in research work for quite some time, looked satisfied with her recorded outcome. Then, all of a sudden, she frowned slightly as if recalling something, "It’s surprising that the real method to hatch a dragon egg would be like this... As far as I know, there’s a book titled ’The Wizard Ra Winter and the Red Dragon’s Egg’ that once described the hatchling of a dragon egg. The book claims that the dragon egg needs to be soaked in magma to mature gradually and that it must be struck repeatedly by lightning at the moment of hatching..."

As she said this, she couldn’t help but shake her head, a complex smile appearing on her face, "The book states this process with such certainty, and it contains many magical facts from the real world, leading many scholars to believe the content is true. Some scholars obsessed with studying the secrets of dragons even treated ’The Wizard Ra Winter and the Red Dragon’s Egg’ as a professional ’dragonology reference’ for their research... I really wonder how they’ll react when they find out the truth."

As Aunt Heidi lamented and sighed, Gawain accidentally glanced at Melita’s expression and picked up a hint of embarrassment. He immediately realized something, and tentatively asked, "Wait, Melita, the book Aunt Heidi mentioned... could it be your..."

"No, I didn’t write it!" Melita immediately waved her hands repeatedly to clarify, then smiled awkwardly, "It was written by a friend of mine..."

Amber’s eyes darted about, and she instinctively asked, "The friend you mentioned..."

"Really, a friend," Melita sighed helplessly, "His name is Calador. In fact, by age, he’s technically my senior, just that we both belong to the Mithril Vault, and are colleagues. When he traveled in the human world, he often assumed the guise of a red-haired wizard, ’Ra Winter’ was his most frequently used pseudonym—though due to a change in work assignments, he hasn’t been seen in the human world much since."

Gawain, Aunt Heidi, and others: "..."

Another round of awkwardness swept over them, and moments later, Gawain broke the silence with a sigh while holding his forehead, "Dragons roam the world in disguise, leaving no traces of Dragonkin behind in the world—yet our books and stories are full of your exploits."

"This... speechless," Melita murmured awkwardly, as Amber immediately pulled out a small notebook and started jotting things down, only to have Gawain swat her on the head, "That last line, not allowed to note!"

Amber jolted in reflex, reluctantly putting away her notebook, while murmuring regretfully, "Such a poetic sentence—especially profound in the latter part."

"Alright, it’s all in the past. The times are different now, and dragons will also change accordingly. Seeing as you intend to return to the world of the Mortal Races, presumably the ways we’ll interact afterward will also become open and transparent. As for these miscellaneous things... let’s consider them a minor prelude before Dragonkin formally ’introduces’ themselves to other races," Gawain shook his head, trying to steer the conversation back on track, "I’ve noted down the hatching method for the dragon egg, but I have another question. If there’s a problem during our hatching process, such as a short-term interruption... would it result in the death of the dragon egg?"

Gawain felt it was necessary to inquire about such details in advance—although he hadn’t settled on hatching the dragon egg or how to approach what theoretically belonged to the "relic of Enya," some insights in advance couldn’t hurt.

"There’s no need to worry too much about that," Melita nodded and replied, "dragon eggs are much more resilient than you imagine, at least normal dragon eggs are. Even if there are issues during incubation, as long as the egg isn’t cracked or thrown into lava to be boiled, it won’t easily die. At most, its development will pause for a period and continue to grow once conditions are suitable."

Gawain let out a sigh of relief, "That’s reassuring."

After that, Melita and Gawain discussed many things regarding dragon eggs, as well as the current situation in Talronde, the future of the Dragonkin, and Gawain’s grand plans. They chatted freely on the sofa in the living room, with the dragon egg quietly standing under the lamplight not far away. Aunt Heidi personally prepared tea and snacks, and Amber and Rebecca circled around the dragon egg repeatedly, each coming up with all sorts of wild ideas, discussing them with great interest.

Gawain hadn’t enjoyed such a peaceful and harmonious time in a long while—Melita felt the same.

In this private setting, the Talronde Ambassador and the ruler of the Cecil Empire temporarily set aside their identities, speaking as friends for a long time, until the day grew late and Melita had no choice but to say goodbye and leave.

Actually, Gawain could arrange a guest room for the blue dragon lady within the Cecil Palace, but at this moment he had to consider the "Talronde Ambassador" status of the other party—it wouldn’t be quite proper to have the ambassador stay overnight without prior notice, and Melita also wished to return to her kin as soon as possible.

As the blue dragon lady approached the living room exit, Gawain suddenly remembered something and called out to her, "Oh, wait a moment."

Melita stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at Gawain curiously, "What is it?"

Gawain hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help asking, "Is the Mithril Vault... still around?"

"...It’s no longer there," a trace of melancholy flickered in Melita’s eyes, but she quickly composed herself, "however, I have a plan that seems overly naive at present... I hope to rebuild it, even if it takes many years."

She suddenly smiled, looking at Gawain as she said, "Also, you needn’t worry; what you entrusted to us is still well preserved—right here."

As she spoke, she pointed to her head.

"The original of the manuscript was destroyed by elemental storms, but I remember its contents clearly. I’ll keep it safe, and when the time comes, it’ll be the first commission upon the Mithril Vault’s reconstruction—I will faithfully fulfill our contract; the Mithril Vault remains a trustworthy client."

"That’s good," Gawain smiled as well, "I’m looking forward to the good news of the vault’s reconstruction."

Melita bent down with a smile, bowing with impeccable form, then took a step back, sighed about how wonderful it was to speak freely, and turned to leave.

Only after Melita left did Rebecca depart from beside the dragon egg. She approached Gawain’s side, stood on tiptoe looking in the direction of the door for a while, then muttered, "She left, huh."

"The situation in Talronde seems indeed very grim," Aunt Heidi sat down beside Gawain, saying thoughtfully, "Although Melita didn’t disclose some details, from what she did reveal, we can surmise... food, medicine, living space, social order... the Dragonkin’s predicament far exceeds our own initial situation."

"Though formidable in power, Talronde’s environment is also much worse," Gawain said in a deep voice, "I now feel very fortunate that Talronde chose to send an ambassador to engage directly with the human world in facing such dire circumstances, which is a fortune for all of us—including both humans and Dragonkin."

Rebecca heard Gawain’s words and thought for a while but couldn’t understand, "Huh? Why do you say that?"

"...Though Talronde faced an apocalyptic disaster, even one percent of surviving Dragonkin would still number in the tens of thousands or more, and those strong creatures could easily cross the Ice Ocean to the human world with just a pair of wings," Gawain patiently and seriously explained while looking at Rebecca, "Imagine if Melita and her kin didn’t strive to control social order immediately and chose instead to engage directly with the human world. If Talronde’s survivors went beyond the brink of social collapse, what kind of scene would it be when tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of starving and desperate dragons swept across human nations?"

Rebecca envisioned the scene Gawain described, and her expression quickly turned to horror, "....Oh my God...."

"It’s regrettable for a civilization to encounter such a disaster, and it’s even more so when the disaster befalls dragons," Gawain said with particular gravity; he wasn’t trying to scare Rebecca. In fact, upon first receiving the news from Northport, he was terrified to the point of breaking into a cold sweat—the thought of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dragons suddenly becoming refugees, with their society collapsing, and the remaining moral bottom line on the verge of crumbling, not knowing where they would next ’find food,’ was enough to unsettle the rulers of all nations across the world. "Now we can’t precisely say how many survivors Melita and her kin have consolidated, nor how many dragons are under control of the Agondale Provisional Government, but at least we can ascertain that Talronde’s dragons, as a group, have not completely collapsed, and social functions in some areas are somehow maintained, which is a relief."

"So... what do we do after that relief?" Rebecca looked at Gawain with some curiosity, "What do we do next?"

"Start preparing resources to sustain Talronde’s life, the sooner the better," Gawain said after briefly pondering, "though the dragon civilization is destroyed, it remains an accumulation of millions of years, and even the ruins are an astounding treasure—but the Dragonkin themselves might not yet have realized that. Our greatest advantage now is knowing this information earlier than all other countries, so we need to prepare earlier than they do.

"This could very well become our boldest and most rewarding investment to date."

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