Maybe he was overthinking it, but just in case, he pulled the blanket they had just obtained from the treasure chest out of the bag as well.

"Elias, could you go call Ron for me?"

When Qiong Xing said there was something he wanted to confirm, Elias tilted his head in confusion but obediently went to fetch him anyway.

...

"Please take a look at these."

The items Qiong Xing presented were all things they had found inside treasure chests along the way through the dungeon.

Raon himself had never entered a dungeon before, though of course he knew they existed, but even he could tell that these items were far from ordinary.

Still, seeing how disappointed Qiong Xing had been earlier, Raon had not teased or mocked him over it.

Now, however, being shown all these items again left him completely unsure what Qiong Xing wanted from him.

Did he want him to make some sort of joke about them?

That did not seem like something Qiong Xing would do, so Raon asked what exactly he meant.

"I only noticed earlier, but this..."

"...A dragon? Is that dragon embroidery?"

When he looked at it closely, there really was embroidery resembling a dragon stitched onto the edge of the towel.

Wondering why, Raon examined the bag and blanket as well, only to discover that they too had incredibly detailed dragon embroidery in different colors.

At this point, he understood even less than before.

"So I thought about it for a while, and... I do not think this is actually a bag. I think it is more like a baby carrier, or something meant to hold a certain thing."

"A certain thing?"

Perhaps Qiong Xing had already figured out the answer.

As Raon wondered what he could possibly mean.

"Hm? A baby carrier? Wait... do not tell me!?"

"I do not have proof yet. That is why I wanted you to confirm it for me."

It was about how dragons were born.

Unlike humans or beastkin, dragons were not born in humanoid form.

But neither were they born as dragons.

They were born as eggs.

A dragon laid an egg, and the mother would continue warming it until it hatched.

Apparently, the act of laying the egg itself was not especially painful, but from there, hatching took a great deal of time, and whether the child would safely hatch at all depended largely on chance.

The bag might actually be something meant to carry an egg, while the towels and blanket were perhaps meant to keep it warm.

"I see... Well, setting that aside, the real question is why these things appeared at all. Do you think there is a possibility that I am carrying Nura’s child?"

"...I do not know." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

To be completely honest, Raon himself had not even realized his mother was pregnant with Iseulnura until the day he was shown the egg.

Though dragons were not beastkin, they still began as something small and eventually grew into massive creatures.

Covered in shells infused with magic power, the eggs absorbed the mother’s magic as they developed.

"I had heard treasure chests could contain both good and bad rewards, but I did think it was strange for towels to appear. So I wondered if perhaps these were things I needed right now..."

Raon could understand the reasoning.

It was not a bad conclusion.

Or perhaps they were meant for the near future instead.

"At this stage, I still cannot sense any magic from it. Honestly, even I would not know until the egg is actually laid."

Back when Lian had been conceived, Cari had apparently noticed immediately, but that was likely because Lian was Qiong Xing’s child, born from a human with immense magical power.

Whether for protection or some other reason, dragon eggs possessed incredibly sturdy shells that accepted only the mother’s magic.

That was exactly why dragons with little magical power struggled to have children, and even if they did lay eggs, they often could not hatch them successfully.

"You should not have any problems when it comes to magical power, Qiong Xing. But if there is a possibility you are carrying a child, then do not overdo things. If Iseulnura found out, he would surely..."

Raon had been about to say that Iseulnura would definitely be overjoyed, but...

"About that... could you keep this from everyone else for now?"

"Why?" Raon asked.

Not only because of his younger brother, but because the possibility of a new dragon being born filled Raon with joy as though it were his own child.

That was why he had wanted to tell Iseul as soon as possible.

"Are you forgot about Leander...?"

At Elias’s words, Qiong Xing suddenly snapped back to himself.

"...If I tell Leander, he will definitely be happy for me. But whether he can truly accept it is a different matter, right?"

Elias and Joa already had children.

If it had only been that, perhaps Leander could have convinced himself it simply could not be helped.

But if Iseul’s child came after that as well, then surely Leander would not be able to stop himself from wondering why he alone was different.

"Until I can talk with Leander, could you please keep this from everyone else?"

"Yeah. Understood."

"It will be alright. Leander will understand."

Raon had been excited after hearing the news, but he understood now that from Leander’s perspective, this situation would not feel pleasant at all.

"I am sorry for bringing it up after telling you everything. But... I do not want to see Leander get hurt."

Qiong Xing apologized for getting their hopes up, but he had done nothing wrong.

"No, I was the one at fault. But Iseulnura will definitely be happy once he learns about it. He may be a strange younger brother, but please continue taking care of him."

No matter how unusual Iseulnura might be, to Raon he was still an important younger brother and beloved family.

More than anyone, Raon wished for his happiness.

"The feeling is mutual. But you are important family to me as well, Raon. If the child is born, I will be relying on you, so please help me then."

"Leave it to me."