Chapter 202: Bad luck
The crack in the eggshell widened.
All eyes turned toward the egg.
Sal clenched his fists tightly.
Will it be my little leopard? It has to be... right?
If it wasn’t—
No. It had to be.
Kith and Finch watched with quiet anticipation. Aviel, Lex, and Yanai remained composed. Odian and the others simply waited with warm smiles, ready to welcome the seventh cub.
Nina’s eyes shone with expectation.
The crack split further, and a tuft of golden fur appeared.
Sal’s eyes lit up.
Golden fur.
It’s mine!
Kith and Finch felt a flicker of disappointment.
Not theirs.
Aviel remained calm.
Fur... so not a dragon.
Lex had expected as much.
Yanai stayed serene—whatever the child was, it didn’t matter.
Dian’s bright eyes flickered with longing.
Someday... I want a child with Nina too.
The males all glanced at Sal. Looks like this one belonged to the leopard.
Sal lifted his chin, smug.
My cub has finally arrived.
But Setan frowned slightly.
That fur... why did it look familiar?
The shell split wider.
Everyone held their breath.
Crack—!
The shell broke apart completely. A fluffy golden head popped out.
Round.
Soft.
With small, rounded ears perched atop its head. Big, glistening eyes blinked open—innocent and curious. A tiny pink nose twitched as if searching for something.
Below it, a soft little mouth curved slightly upward.
Its entire body was wrapped in golden fluff, like a tiny sun.
Nina’s eyes widened.
"Wow... what a cute little lion."
Sal’s smug smile froze.
A lion?
His mind went blank.
Where is my leopard? Why is it a lion?!
It felt like a bolt of lightning struck him.
Everyone else had cubs, so why not him?
Was it... him? Was he the problem?
Sal silently stepped back, utterly shattered.
I need a moment...
Ghost Wolf and the others hurried after him. Their boss looked like he might collapse at any second. Better to keep an eye on him—just in case he did something frantic.
Kith and the others cast him sympathetic glances.
Poor leopard. This might take a while to recover from. After all, for males, this kind of thing mattered.
Taru and the others were stunned. It was another entirely new species.
Ridan and his group, however, were much calmer this time. As expected, Nina’s cubs were always impressive.
Meanwhile, Setan and the lion warriors were completely frozen.
A flame lion cub.
Their
kind. What... was going on?
None of Nina’s mates were lions. So how..?
Setan’s heart suddenly began to race.
How... could this be?
But just as quickly, his expression darkened. Among the Flame Lion clan, there was one unbreakable rule: cubs must never be left outside the clan.
So what did that mean? Should he take this cub back?
But... this was her child.
Why was it a lion? What was he supposed to do?
His gaze drifted toward Nina, his thoughts in turmoil.
At that moment, the tiny lion cub sniffed the air.
Then, as if locking onto something, its eyes lit up.
With a tiny kick of its short legs, it leapt straight into Nina’s arms.
The little lion cub burrowed happily into Nina’s arms, rubbing against her as he let out soft, excited cries.
"Awuu awuu—"
Mom, I finally hatched!
Nina laughed, her heart melting as she gently stroked his fluffy body.
"Congratulations, my baby."
She pinched his soft little cheeks, thinking for a moment before smiling.
"You’re like a tiny sun... how about I name you Sunny?"
The cub licked her hand lightly.
Okay. I love the name!
Nina’s eyes softened as she hugged him close, planting several affectionate kisses on his head.
She simply couldn’t get enough of him.
Rosen and the others gathered around, each offering gifts to the newborn. Sunny clutched them happily, clearly delighted.
Not long after the hatching, Roro emerged from the crater. Its body had grown much larger, and it carried a massive bundle in its mouth.
The bundle was tightly wrapped—no one could see what was inside.
It dropped it in front of Nina.
Master, keep this safe. There’s more in my nest—wait for me!
Before anyone could respond, it dove back into the crater. It went back and forth several times before finally finishing.
Nina blinked in surprise. Roro... really had quite the collection.
She had Odian store everything away, then prepared to leave. As she glanced around, she noticed something missing.
"Where’s Sal?"
Odian tilted his chin toward a distant spot. "He’s over there."
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Nina... you might want to comfort him tonight."
That poor leopard had taken quite the blow.
Understanding instantly, Nina nodded. "I will. I’ll stay with him tonight."
She felt a bit sorry for him.
Among all the males that night... he seemed to be the only one without a cub.
Bad luck, I guess...
Unlike Sal, she didn’t overthink it. To her, it was simply a matter of chance.
"Alright," Odian agreed.
The others had no objections, either. They could afford to be generous this once. After all, no male would take something like this lightly.
Just then, Sal returned, having composed himself.
Nina reached out and took his hand. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head lightly, his expression calm. "I’ll be fine."
At first, it had been hard to accept. But he had let it go. As long as the cubs were Nina’s, he would love them all.
It didn’t matter if none of them were his. As long as he could stay by her side... that was enough.
His gaze shifted to the golden little cub in her arms. "Nina, you said Sunny would be raised by me, right?"
"Yes. Sunny is yours to raise."
"Good." He crouched slightly and smiled at the cub.
"Sunny, I’m your father, Sal. I’ll take care of you from now on—and teach you how to hunt."
Sal nodded obediently.
Hello, Father Sal.
Looking at the adorable cub, the heaviness in Sal’s chest eased considerably.
From now on, this little one would be his.
Nina smiled. "Looks like I don’t need to keep you company tonight after all."
Before she could pull away, Sal wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close with a pitiful expression.
"I still do," he said softly. "You still need to stay with me tonight... comfort me properly."
There was no way he would give up such a rare opportunity.
Nina laughed lightly. "Alright."
And just like that, they left the volcano together, their mood light and warm.
Behind them, Setan stood still, watching Nina’s retreating figure.
His heart was in complete turmoil.