———————————————
After telling Mei that he was looking for a dragon egg to find a mount for the Mei from his own world, Mei hesitated for a moment before taking Ryn to the Kukulkan clan's territory.
Sensing the arrival of their master, Mei, all the members of the Kukulkan clan scrambled to fly before Ryn and Mei, bowing their heads in submission.
Ryn was quite curious about the Kukulkan clan. A Neonate race with a proper name, unlike those cannon-fodder Honkai Beasts, was a great rarity.
He wondered if Benares also had a clan. If so, perhaps in the future he could arm the entirety of St. Freya High School as "Dragon Knights"?
Unfortunately, Ryn himself had no territory or Retinue, only a few scattered "Honkai Beasts."
Mei glanced at the Kukulkan clan, not even deigning to give them a proper look.
Because they were just tools, tools created to carry out her commands. It was meaningless to invest too much in them. Their upper and lower limits of strength and ability were set from the moment they were born.
Ryn's Kukulkan was an exception. It was a god first, then a Kukulkan. Just like Janna, "Honkai Beast" was just a general term. To define them as such was akin to saying a Herrscher was the same as the Herrscher of Finality...
Mei spoke coldly to the leading Kukulkan, "Take us to the dragon's nest. I need to select a dragon egg with enough potential to take with me."
The leader of the Kukulkan clan nodded, then lowered its head, signaling for Mei and Ryn to stand on its head, and it would take them to the dragon's nest.
Mei looked at it, then at Ryn who was holding her.
On one side was a cold, hard, armored dragon's back; on the other was a soft, warm body.
Between riding the dragon or letting Ryn hold her, she ultimately chose to stay in Ryn's arms.
"You think you're worthy of carrying me? Get in front and lead the way," Mei said, looking coldly at the Kukulkan clan leader, telling it to lead the way and not get in the way.
The Kukulkan leader seemed to be used to this. It turned and led the other clan members, flying towards the dragon's nest.
"Your personality difference is really huge..."
Ryn clicked his tongue helplessly. God Mei, except when dealing with him, Bronya, and the others, was a true Queen of Thunder. Not only did she look down on everyone, but she was also unreasonably domineering.
It always made Ryn feel that God Mei was less like Mei and more like the Herrscher of Thunder...
But it didn't matter, she was still Mei anyway.
Mei turned her head and glanced at Ryn. "If I weren't unable to beat you, you'd be the one groveling on the ground."
"Not just worthy of licking my feet?"
"Get lost!"
——————————————
——————————————
The Dragon's Nest, a place of life for the Kukulkan clan, built entirely of an unknown metal. Just as the insectoids preserved their life crystals, this place held the life and future of the Kukulkan clan.
Large, colorful dragon eggs were scattered messily in every corner of the nest. Occasionally, an egg would crack open, and a small, soft-armored "T-Rex"-like dragon hatchling would emerge.
When these newborns, full of curiosity about the world, grew up and evolved, they would metamorphose into the current fully-grown Kukulkans with dragon bodies, snake tails, and sky-covering wings.
The clan leader brought Mei and Ryn here, then quietly left with the clan members guarding the nest, leaving it completely and unreservedly to Mei and Ryn.
Even if Mei looked down on them, they would willingly offer her everything. As long as Mei didn't suddenly lose control of her emotions again and strike the whole nest with lightning...
"The dragon eggs are all here. Feel free to pick one," Mei said, pointing at the eggs on the ground, generously letting Ryn take his pick.
Ryn looked over. Aside from the variety of colors, the other aspects like shape and size of the eggs were all identical.
It was like drawing from a blind box; who knew what kind of talented little Kukulkan would hatch.
After looking at a few eggs and sensing the life energy within, Ryn thought for a moment and decided to ask Mei for help.
"Mei, these are all creatures born from the overflow of your power. Could you take a look and see which dragon egg is better? Pick one with high potential for me?"
"You want me to pick an egg for you?"
Mei blinked, then asked quizzically, "Just pick a good-looking one and be done with it."
"Huh?"
"Isn't the Raiden Mei from your world the Herrscher of Thunder?"
"Yes, but she hasn't fully mastered that power yet."
"Oh. Then that's fine."
Mei looked left and right, then chose a purple-red dragon egg that she found very beautiful.
Patting the egg, Mei pointed at it and said to Ryn, "Take this one. This is it. Its shell is pretty, so it probably won't be too ugly when it hatches."
"Wait, I need a strong one! Looks are useless."
Ryn pointed to a black and white dragon egg next to his hand. The life energy in that egg was stronger; it would surely be a powerful Honkai Beast in the future.
"Look at this one. I think this one is good."
"Are you an idiot?"
Mei rolled her eyes at Ryn, wondering how this idiot managed to hook up with her other self.
"You said it's a mount, so of course, being good-looking and cool is enough. The gap between a Honkai Beast and a Herrscher is hard to define, but a Honkai Beast willing to submit to a Herrscher is definitely not as good as the Herrscher.
So, you don't actually expect the mount to fight in a proper duel, do you?
If that's the case, I'd say the power gap is probably huge, to the point where the mount's master doesn't even deign to act."
Ryn: "That's true, but as a Dragon Knight, doesn't it seem weird for the knight to dismount and fight the monster themselves? Imagine, the Dragon Knight's dragon is watching from the sidelines while the knight is fighting for their life..."
"What does that have to do with me?" Mei shrugged, looking indifferent.
"Since my other self is also the Herrscher of Thunder, shouldn't you be even less worried about the dragon egg's strength?
I'm also the Herrscher of Thunder, and these are my Retinue. Based on our commonality, my other self should be able to establish a connection with them very easily.
Once a connection is established, their strength will depend entirely on how much power my other self is willing to invest in them."
"Alright, let's pick this pretty one then! By the way, will the dragon's color be the same as the egg's when it hatches?"
"Maybe, possibly, probably?"
Ryn: "Then, as the origin, do you want to give it a name or something?"
"I'll let my other self name it. But I think I might already know what name she'll choose."
Mei blinked, then mouthed a few words to Ryn.
A name that had popped into her mind the moment she touched this dragon egg.