A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

Chapter 484: Filling in a Year’s Gap.

Chapter 484: Filling in a Year’s Gap.

“I prefer you leave your hair as such, my lady. Without a doubt, your previous hairstyle was perfect for you a year ago since it was cute, but—what a surprise—now that you are older, elegance, femininity, and the feral strength of a dragon now encapsulates your new dragonewt body. I say, long hair!” Tasianna declared with a wide smile as she combed my new locks.

It was a wicked thought, filled with selfish desire, as I knew Tasianna was only saying this ‘cause she was starved out of Hestinium for over a year. She exploited the fact my humanoid form grew up to play dress up with me, grooming me into the image of the little perfect princess she imagined of me in her head.

What surprised me more was that there were actually clothes that fit me, which Tasianna explained were made by my first best friend—Saori. Apparently, about two months ago, when it was still unclear when I would wake up, she decided to make me an assortment of new outfits, estimating that I would outgrow the old ones. Considering that Tasianna and Saori had witnessed me growing out of my various dragonewt forms whenever I aged up or increased [Humanize]’s level, they knew how I’d change best.

It was very perceptive and thoughtful of them, but even Saori couldn’t have guessed that I actually had an additional growth spurt. My humanoid form reflected my former human self, which meant I had the genes from my German Papa. Before my coma, I was 157cm, but now, ahaha, I was 165cm! That was a jump of nearly 3 inches, leaving me at 5’5”… Honestly, it sounded better when I initially thought about it, but 165cm was pretty respectable for a girl considering how short Mama was.

Regardless, the clothes still fit well enough, but they did feel a bit tight when I put them on. Considering how fastidious Saori was when it came to clothes, once Tasianna reported this fact to the former, my friend would most likely want my measurements.

“I fully agree!” Mom’s voice interrupted my thoughts as she came out of the kitchen. Shay and Beth followed after her while carrying the dishes for our breakfast. “It would probably take a few more years, but our long hair actually matches, don’t you think? Ah, but, I guess you did look adorable with shorter hair, hiehie.”

The five of us were currently in our humanoid forms to fit into a little mansion Mom had commissioned for our family. Made from three special materials you could only find in her home—Blizzirk timber, Evernight ice stone, and a resin mixture made from ice dragon scale dust and boiled merfiend oil—it was not only sturdy but it protected you from even the fiercest blizzards if a special resin was applied to it.

White or light blue, that was pretty much how you could describe our mansion from the outside, as it looked pretty similar to those rustic stone and wooden winter vacation hotels you could find on skiing trips.

It was quite shallow color-wise from the outside, but Mom and the artisans responsible for the building made sure it felt homely. The walls were painted with warm, chestnut brown while more humbly-made blizzirk timber furniture decorated most of our home. Sure, Mom couldn’t resist adding some jewels on the pieces that she and I were supposed to use—like “my” bed and dining chair, for example—but she did make sure to not go crazy about it. She took some cues from how I decorated my subspace, it seemed.

Therefore, it would be kinda bad if all of this would go to ruin, right? Well, Mom mentioned how most of the material could insulate well, but only under a requirement. They required ice elementally-aligned mana nearby to maintain their structure; therefore, as long as I didn’t go crazy with my flames, the mansion wouldn’t be destroyed.

“Everybody please settle down, food time!” Beth stated with a wide smile. In the year I was asleep, Tasianna and Mom had taught the wyvern twins how to speak Common.

… When did she get that crimson necklace? I asked myself as I looked at Mom’s necklace. Noticing it, she explained she used some of my shed scales to create it, treating it like a piece of me she could hold on to forever. Considering that sharing a scale with another dragonkin and wearing it was considered a gesture of deep respect and loyalty, she probably wanted to show her love for me.

In any case, five dishes were placed on the table for us, looking like a food platter the English would have for breakfast. A bunch of meat, sunny-side eggs, beans, and mushrooms were on it, with Mom looking towards me in anticipation to see me try it out. In fact, everybody was.

Picking up a white metal fork, I tried the slices of steak, enjoying the juices that flowed into my throat. In fact, everything tasted well-cooked and well-seasoned, surprising me as the last time Mom cooked anything for me? Everything was either just okay or overcooked.

When I stated this, she giggled shyly. “As I said, dragons do not need to cook. We eat everything raw, so I never got the chance to learn it … Well, I am happy all that effort didn’t go to waste. Delicious, no?”

I nodded, but felt my stomach growl as I saw how “little” was left. “… Could I ask for seconds?”

“There is enough for ninths, my lady,” Shay joked before reentering the kitchen while Mom grinned.

This really feels like an unofficial celebratory feast. Wish more were around, though.

I gorged down everything that was placed in front of me, enjoying every bit of it to satiate this ravenous hunger inside me. I had slept for over an entire year, so my body probably lost quite a lot of calories, which made me wonder if anybody tried to force feed me. I couldn’t have survived this long without anything to eat or drink, right?

“Dragons can survive on mana,” Mom explained. “However, in your case, we just placed you outside my nest whenever it’s warmer. The sun does the trick better for you, while Tasianna would force feed you water once per day, even if you technically shouldn’t dehydrate while hibernating.”

… I was treated just like a plant, huh?

In any case, once I was done eating, it was time for some serious talk. Mom, especially, looked like she was ready to get me up to speed with all that happened in the one year.

“As you know, our deal is in full effect now. As long as you were strong enough to deal with your troubles, I was fully willing to leave you on Altrust how long you wish, but the moment you showed weakness, I had you return with me for your safety. As such, you are now inside the Dragon Empire of Kargryx, on a northern continent island called Frozen Nest,” Mom began. “Miononbolax is pretty lax on rules and laws, since dragons aren’t the most social and quite prideful, so don’t treat this like Artorias or Yeos; rather, treat this place similar to the Belzac forest, only, you are part of the ‘Alpha’s pack’ if you understand what I mean.”

“You did mention how you were the, uh, former Dragon ruler of Ice, or something, right?” I asked, to which she nodded.

“And I had to hand over my title to my most trusted retainer when I became Eltharion’s sixth mate. Yet, to the dragons of Frozen Nest, I am still their undisputed ruler,” Mom said as if it was obvious. “However, our home is still filled to the brim with other creatures due to the mana in the soil. We dragons do not clean it up like the humans, elves, and dwarves, as we treat the random monsters simply as prey. So, no macula plants, all right? Not in mass, at least.”

So far so good.

“If you remembered my lectures on dragonkin mating rituals, you should know our home possesses a ‘the strong rule’ mindset. In addition, dragons only take on retainers they believe are strong and truly trust, as most are also an extension of their authority and strength. Quite a few dragonkin probably were confused why I took on two wyverns, heh.”

I raised my hand. “Question: what exactly does that have to do with me? Are you implying people might think of me as weak since Tasianna is my retainer?”

“No, that’s not the point, dear,” Mom shook her head. “It means, I technically only have five retainers—Shayatierus and Bethlieranha, and then three of my most trusted friends. I will introduce you to them later on; they have kids as well, so be mindful. Which brings me to the actual reason—other dragons. My retainers also have retainers themselves and so on, but I honestly have no idea who they are, since I don’t bother to remember information or names I don’t need. They know me, and they should recognize you since you’re the only fire dragon who lives here, so they won’t bother you, but it’s different for their children and grandchildren.”

“… Are you implying some of them are trying to ‘flirt’ with me by beating me up?” I grimace in disgust, causing Mom to giggle uncontrollably.

“The younger ones might, aha! So, just be a dear and don’t kill them, all right? Beat them enough to let them understand they shouldn’t mess with you, and then heal them up if you want, but I really don’t want to have to go about and intimidate their parents. Parents should certainly stay out of the disputes of children, and only get involved if it goes too far,” Mom said with a slight sadistic smile. “What I’m trying to say is that it might be a bit hard for you to adapt, Hestia. You still do not know how to speak draconic properly and not all your fellow whelplings know [Telepathy].”

“On that note, we would advise you to be careful whenever you try to fly, princess,” Shay added. “Frozen Nest does have moments of strong blizzards that could freeze even you if you’re unattentive, and this is when frost dragons and wyverns start hunting. It’s the perfect cover for an ambush, especially for other dragons.”

“Brother, Tasianna, and I actually had that happen to us when we were out hunting for experience,” Beth explained. “The storm wasn’t wavering and a few insolent younglings thought we were prey, so they attacked us. Naturally, we fended them off, but that was still quite a scary night.”

“‘Insolent?’ When did you start insulting true dragonkin, Beth?” I asked, astonished.

“‘Insulting?’ Oh, you mean how I usually act? Of course, your highness, why would I ever bow my head to some mere rank D, C, or B dragonkin when I serve you and Empress Melloxtressa? Not to mention, I’ve gotten far stronger than a year ago. Hiehie, you’re going to be surprised!”

Ehe, at least her personality as usual. Always energetic, even if it does make her elven form seem a bit too cutesy.

Tasianna nodded. “My lady, please, do not forget that we are your retainers. To grovel before, or even just be defeated by random dragons and wyverns, would be seen as the height of weakness and would only sully your name. Reputation is just as important here as in the human kingdoms.”

‘Height of weakness?’ … Okay, I have to ask, but, uuueeeeh, kinda nervous.

“Then, guys, what level are you now?”

“120, my lady.”

“My sister is level 39 while I am 41.”

“Calculated into humanoid terms, I would be 119 while Brother is 121!”

… My eyes twitched. I was still level 32 since my half-sister, Neill, took the kill credit on the Prince of Envy, which meant I was still level 112 as a dragonewt. If I remember correctly, Tasianna, Shay, and Beth were 104, 107, and 106 respectively during the Aureolis raid, so all of them leveled so much in this place? A part of me thought they would be over 125 at this point, but still being this high of a level was baffling to hear.

Shay and Beth look far more professional and ‘civilized,’ but also became stronger? Haha … a year’s time, truly.

Although I wanted to keep those emotions bottled in, I just couldn’t. “Good job guys, but, maaaaaaan, really goes to show how much you can miss out in a single year’s time. Maaaan … when you’re out hunting, get me to come with you, okay? I really want to catch up.”

“Hahahaha! My goodness, dear, don’t be so hasty. Even if you make it to level 45 now, you wouldn’t be able to evolve anyways. Take it slow, you still have two more years until your restrictions are lifted,” Mom stated. “Now, instead of feeling sad, how about turning it around? We have some more news for you, if you haven’t forgotten.”

“Right! You’re right! Away with you, sour puss demon!” My mood instantly changed when I remembered the original reason for this talk. I slammed the table, smiling uncontrollably as I couldn’t wait any longer. “How are the others! None of them are hurt, right?”

Seeing all of them smile at my enthusiasm meant that nothing bad happened. Even if every single member of Aurora did outlevel me, at this very moment, I couldn’t be happier. Sure, a bit of jealousy did sting my heart but it was drowned out by pure elation as another wish of mine had been fulfilled—my teammates have finally fulfilled their part of the promise. They became stronger than me.

Sure, maybe not when we spar, but outleveling me was the first step and I couldn’t wait to see how much Tasianna actually got better in the year I was gone. What a weird timeskip. I stagnated while my friends got stronger? Strangely, it only made me more motivated to fight, and I was now in a place where I could do so.

Come, tell me how much stronger all of you’ve gotten! Tell me! Make me want to surpass all of you! … Jeez, that battle junkie part of me is back. Damn [Battle Frenzy], hiehie.

Mom smiled. “Don’t worry too much, they’re all doing fine. Putting aside anybody not part of the main Aurora members or those Earth kids, I would say the updates are quite favorable. Would you please, Tasianna?”

“Of course.” Tasianna gave a short bow while seated. “To give a quick overview of our allies, Saint Kushlek’zar and the saurians are back in Caedhul, as mentioned earlier. Yorshka was installed as the next Knight-Commander of the Knights of Aurena, and her first decision was to create an alliance with the dragoons of Loatryx, causing more dragonewts to visit the western human lands. In fact, this decision only accelerated the Shakaie-Narn Alliance’s legitimacy.”

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Everything about that is going as expected.

Continuing with the alliance, Tasianna mentioned how our victory over the Prince of Envy had spread to every corner of Altrust. Unveiling the fake pope and exposing the corruption of Aureolis with the documents we found rallied the dragonewt, elven, and dwarven populations, as the former two saw this as a dragon princess bringing peace to the western side of the continent, while the latter saw this as the beginning of their war of vengeance for what happened in Inkoran-Tazul.

As such, the dwarven and elven king were able to persuade elven priests and dwarven artisans to travel to Aureolis to help their rebuild efforts, allowing its capital to be rebuilt after seven months, and it took that long mostly ‘cause they had to beg Mom to come over to dispel the unmelting ice she encased the city. In addition, the corruption we managed to expose was also dealt with thanks to all the additional manpower.

“‘Liberated by the daughter of the matriarch of the Nordor clan and its holy knight order now led by a Nordor dragonewt.’ Their decision to make this the highlight of the news garnered the full support from the Nordor dragonewt. The Church of Aurena and Kargryxmor in Loatryx has also taken this chance to expand over to Aureolis,” Shay reported. “Her husband and daughter also immigrated over to support her. Farron should be a knight-commander by now, while his former vice, Gael, took over his place as the guild master of Firwood’s hunter’s guild.”

However, there were still plenty of complications despite all this good news. When the raid ended, I wasn’t able to finish my concert I had been holding during the meantime, causing a lot of panic once the truth was revealed. The fact the pope was a demonkin, that the cardinal vicar was blackmailed into helping him, and how their holy city was under control of their enemies caused a terrible turmoil.

The panic further escalated when elven priests from the Saelari Church of Aurena practically tried to force their authority on them. “The humans are too young to properly understand the words of the Holy Goddess,” was the main argument used, leading into a lengthy hostile relationship between human and elven worshippers. In fact, it led to many followers abandoning their homes in Aureolis to move to the human neighbors.

On the other hand, it also allowed Saintess Fleindia—my fellow blessed—to consolidate her power as the new leader of Aureolis. With the papal position abolished, returning the power back to us blessed, Fleindia was about to integrate the loyal clergymen we recruited during my time there over to her administration, while Theodore assured the Artorian church would fully support them, whether financially or politically.

It was ironic. The elves tried to take over Aureolis due to the situation, but failed as Fleindia had the support of the people, the priesthood, and also the knight order. Not to mention, people were still singing my name as the main “liberator,” along with Fleindia’s.

“The elves complained how they wanted their blessed to finally return home to solve the situation, ahaha!” Beth giggled with glee. “Honestly, you should be careful whenever one of them approaches you, my lady. They are not as united as they pretend.”

“At least the Saelari, yes.” Tasianna frowned, clearly disturbed by this. That was her home country, after all. “If you wish to learn more, I suggest we take the time to speak about them, my lady. Saelarial has been uncharacteristically aggressive, with King Elutis even supporting most of the more hostile decisions.”

Elutis, huh? … I know he still bears a strong grudge against the Folschreck Empire. It’s obvious that, without me acting as the alliance’s figurehead, he’s gained more control over it.

As I expected, this situation also summarized what happened to the Shakaie-Narn Alliance. With the reveal of the fake pope, the alliance not only announced its establishment but also that the Kingdom of Artorias would secede from the Folschreck Empire. Although the empire itself hasn’t fully acknowledged it, it did cause the neighboring human kingdom’s to fan the winds of war.

Atadoro, Astraford, Rakatheen, and even the Divide of the Five Princes were all turning their sights on Artorias, apparently, but haven’t declared war just yet due to the Empire. With Saelariel, Ankor-Nazta, Loatryx, and Caedhul potentially ready to defend Artorias, the human kingdoms were waiting on the Empire’s signal before making any offensive moves. Fortunately, Folschreck was completely occupied with their own wars and the fact the imperial Church of Aurena had split from Aureolis.

They’re moving, all right. What’s the demonkin’s response to all this?

Good news, the alliance didn’t mention Elyonda or Estralia in their announcement, so our hidden allies would remain safe. Bad news, the war was inevitable at this point. Too many warmongers, too much bad blood, and then we had the whole issue with the Church of Aurena. Sure, Fleindia was fully acknowledged as the leader, but that didn’t mean people liked the elves pushing their agenda. They thought the alliance was taking over the future of the Church of Aurena.

Furthermore, my lack of presence did cause some dominos to fall. Reajaen, the former president of the Republic of Estralia, was … extradited, trialed, and then executed in Saelariel. Indirectly responsible for murdering the youngest fairy princess, Schuri, by hiring fae hunters, it was the right punishment in the situation, and this wasn’t mentioning her other crimes as a syndicate leader.

I looked over to Tasianna as she explained this, causing her to smile awkwardly at my worry. “My lady, you do not have to worry so much about it. It was expected and inevitable; even if you weren’t sent to Miononbolax, the Saelari would have demanded you to follow through with your statement to King Elutis. As you said, she will redeem herself through her actions before being tried.”

“I know … it’s just that I don’t know how you feel about it. Did you witness it?”

She shook her head. “My place is here. My revenge has been fulfilled, so I do not feel anything about it. A part of me does feel bad for her son, but both of them were prepared for this. Miss Saori said so.”

After Reajaen’s execution, a separate trial was held against the former Knight-Commander of the Knights of Aurena, Kuornig, and the Cardinal Vicar of the Church of Aurena, Marius. Although, in their case, theirs didn’t lead to anything, as it was mostly used as a publicity stunt to weaken the Empire’s image. Those two, apparently, returned to their homes.

“The Yanderu contact you made successfully executed your plan—the family members of the threatened priests and Vicar Marius were placed under Yanderu protection, with your cousin being the one handling it. In fact, he sent a letter to us using the same contact, saying, ‘I am fine. Stay healthy. Be wary when you come.’”

Franz … Well, you being difficult makes it easy on us.

The demonkin hadn’t done anything to the related priests just yet, but we couldn’t be too sure for the future. Then again, at that point, it wasn’t my problem anymore. I did what I could, so now it was their time to help their families. For example, Marius’s ill niece was actually sent to Caedhul and was waiting for me to wake up for her procedure.

“If you wish, I could delay the news of your awakening,” Tasianna suggested but I shook my head.

Mom nodded. “Have her sent to Coral Beard—that’s Loatryx’s largest harbor city here on Miononbolax. A fair warning though, mana surgeons will probably attend the operation if you are going through with this, dear. There is still no cure for Raffarson’s Debilitation, so every healer will eagerly await the chance to see your operation.”

Putting so much pressure on me, Mom …

I guess you could call it a good deed to be the person to have found a way to cure the mana path fragility illness. Caused by a genetic defect, probably, the disease was impossible for holy mages or alchemists to fully cure it, as the System considered it “normal” for the patients. As it was part of the person from birth, it wasn’t classified as an illness or wound on your Profile, and that meant a cure had to be found the same way we would on Earth.

I didn’t promise Marius I would cure his niece of it, but since I left him alive, I should try to make sure he wouldn’t randomly betray us again. I might as well use that excuse to go down to Loatryx now that I was “imprisoned” on Miononbolax until I became five.

However, who wasn’t imprisoned? Correct, the rest of Aurora! Yet, where were they, then?

“Do you remember that god that attacked you, Hestia?” Mom asked, causing me frown at what she meant. “The skeleton hand, I mean.”

“That was actually a god? Seriously?” I grimaced in horror as I reflected on that memory. “Then … the Prince of Envy actually made a deal and wanted them to kill me? You have to be kidding me? How is that possible? T-this is starting to not make sense at all. Isn’t the world supposed to be protected by the Origin Gods? Then why did they allow it a second time?”

“If you wish to know more about it, I suggest you ask the gods themselves. None of us can give you a clear answer.”

Right! Their punishment should be over, right? Goddess Aurena! Kramps! Hellooooo, are you there? I’m awake!

However, the response I was expecting felt a bit colder than usual.

That deep, authoritative voice was, without a doubt, Kramps. Although it wasn’t what I was expecting, it did confirm the penalty Plesia placed on the Pantheon of Light has been lifted. Good, since I had a ton to talk to them once this was over.

Seeing me nodding out of nowhere, Mom continued her explanation, mentioning how in the process of attacking me, the Edjurl god’s energy poured into Peolynca, creating large cracks of demonic energy around the middle east of Altrust. During the time I was asleep, these cracks were concentrated into numerous dungeons to safeguard the energy, but one of them in particular created a huge castle-like dungeon entrance after it separated the continent into two.

“… Please, elaborate, what do you mean by ‘separate?’” I asked.

“The same situation as Frozen Nest and the main Miononbolax continent,” Mom said. “We’re officially counted as one landmass, even if the main continent’s body and my home are separated by sea. On Altrust, the energy caused a massive earthquake that lasted for an entire month, creating a massive gulf. Some of it remained dry, while other parts went so deep they were filled by seawater.”

“To be specific, a portion of Folschreck’s territory, specifically a large prairie, was where the divide happened. The dungeon is placed right in the middle of it, and I presume a bridge should have been constructed to reunite the empire’s territory. If the people are able to construct a city around it, this might be the birth of a new dungeon city,” Tasianna said.

Beth snapped her fingers, grinning widely. “Brother and I actually flew over there to check it out in person, and it’s true. A settlement was created to contain the monsters overflowing from the dungeon, but it should attract many adventurers! That’s what Brother explained, at least.”

“That was my understanding,” Shay said to excuse himself if he made a mistake, to which Tasianna and I confirmed it would happen. Dungeons were massive money makers, after all. “Then I would be delighted to inform you that that has been one of the goals of Aurora during your hibernation.”

Knowing that, without my presence, the Shakaie-Narn Alliance would deviate from my wishes, Saori had successfully managed to persuade the members to hold the alliance meetings within the subspace. Not only did it reduce travel time for everybody to meet, but it was also the best place for information to stay within the circle, since only those invited could enter it. Additionally, Saori could monitor them.

Although she didn’t want to overcomplicate our party’s life with too much politics, this was the minimum. It kept her updated and aware of what would happen, plus she could redirect sentiments to a pro-peace stance, delaying the inevitable with her authority as my vice-leader. One of the pieces of information she found out was about these dungeons.

Some of the dungeons were located inside the Divide of the Five Princes, bordering Aureolis. It prompted the alliance to take them seriously when deformed monsters began flooding out of them, leading to our party wishing to join the subjugation taskforce.

“Tatsuya and Miss Saori’s other students were the ones to go there,” Tasianna explained.

“What about the main party members and my sister?”

“Miss Saori, Ellaine, and Grimnir received an important task—to be envoys to Carmaniate. Do you remember how during your first alliance meeting, our allies suggested allying with the beastmen alliance to combat Folschreck? Miss Saori volunteered for the mission,” she replied, frowning quite deeply. “Aside from training, the main reason is to establish a supply chain for the materials needed for the rhytilic alloy.”

I looked to the side, noticing my black metal armor on a mannequin, probably from Mom’s attempt to make something like a cool armor stand. Not only was it incredibly defensive due to our resident blacksmith’s effort, the armor was moldable, adapting its size to the form of its user, although it did make every piece incredibly heavy. It allowed my dragon and dragonewt forms to have armor that wouldn’t break just from using [Humanize].

“Lastly, Princess Fargryneill should be in Elyonda with Lady Renee,” Tasianna continued. “A dungeon was opened in the middle of the ocean, and Princess Fargryneill had decided to use it to train herself.”

“And I’m happy to announce your big sister has reached her first goal to come back home.”

My eyes widened as I heard Mom say that, causing my tail to slam the tail to swing around. “W-wait, you don’t mean that she—”

“Correct, your sister is a rank A. She evolved,” she confirmed. “Currently, though, she decided against returning, as her friend’s country is being coerced into assisting in that grimgarian mess. ‘Help us reclaim our land by the honor of our alliance, or something,’ with threats of declaring them rebels to the Folschreck. Pitiful.”

“Yessss! Wooooooo!” I cheered, jumping on my feet as I celebrated the efforts of my friends. “Tell me, how is Saori? Is she in a good position as well?”

“Last I checked, she needs only to wait for her birthday, my lady,” Tasianna answered, confirming my guess that she too reached level 45. Meaning, I actually was underleveled compared to my best friends now!

Unable to contain my excitement, I attempted to take out my subspace rune, only to forget I used them to create the safe haven during the day we raided Aureolis. My allies and friends probably picked it up when Mom brought me back to Kargryx. As such, I turned to Tasianna and asked if she could open hers, but for some reason, she hesitated and shook her head.

“You can’t,” Mom answered. “Have you forgotten about the rules, Hestia? You’re still a child.”

“No, of course, not.” I raised a brow, confused. “You know you can trust me to keep a promise, and I won’t go behind your back after you helped me with the Prince of Envy. Swear it on my sun core! I just wanted to see the subspace and meet everybody, not to mention Svena, Lorena, and Haati! I have to make sure they know I’m okay.”

“That’s exactly what I meant. You cannot go inside your [Room], or any subspace outside of the dungeons.” Seeing me tilt my head, Mom continued. “I spoke with your father after we arrived, giving him a breakdown of what happened. We … argued. Let’s stick to that for now.”

Mom? Now I was just flustered. Mom looked annoyed, almost furious with how her irises contracted.

“In the ‘discussion,’ your father told me subspaces count as ‘outside’ of Kargryx. Since void-touched are rare and that we’ve never had one until you and I, he corrected the laws to include this instance. You can speak with everybody from outside the [Room], but you cannot enter it,” Mom said, sighing in exasperation as she knew exactly how I would feel about this. “The punishment isn’t severe or anything, simply a spanking and some nest arrest, but only for the child. The parents usually are punished a bit harsher. I do not want you to think your father would kill me or anything, but … I would rather you obey.”

… Mom loved Eltharion, my father. Due to their past as fellow war comrades during the Kargryx civil war, they bonded with each other and the other five dragon empresses. As I saw her memories of this subject, I knew her true feelings, so I was sure her feeling angered about Eltharion must have meant this argument wasn’t just a small one.

Yet, she still told me to listen to her. To follow the rules, even if she knew how unfair it was to me. I could throw a tantrum, but nothing would change about it. Not to mention, I was 18 now, even if I kinda was 16 mentally due to the coma, so I should try and act a bit more like an adult. Plus, I loved Mom a bit too much to cause her trouble.

“Can I at least talk with my father?” I asked in the end, causing Mom to close her eyes and sigh. Yup, nothing good would come out of this.

“You need to meet your family anyways, so, yes, we will go to his nest. You will be able to talk with him, get to know your queen-mothers, and learn who your half-siblings are. Just … Hestia, I beg you, please, keep a cool head. As I probably won’t be able to if you get angry.”

My eyes widened once again, causing me to let out a deep sigh. Massaging my face, I could feel a headache coming up. “Mom, first tip to being a good mom, do your best to keep things positive. Your emotions will affect me as well, and probably worse, since nothing about this sounds good. Haaa … I-is my father actually angry at something? At me for something? You would only get so angry when it comes to me, so what exactly—”

“Let us follow your advice, no?” Mom pleaded. “We’ll deal with it together once it comes, all right?”

Right, right, maybe Mom’s just overreacting. This is her first time being a proper mother, so maybe something insignificant rubbed her the wrong way. Gotta stay positive. Gotta think good!

“W-wait, speaking together.” The thought of somebody suddenly came to me. “None of you mentioned Vifi. What happened to her? Also, Rajah, where is he?”

“Ah, perfect segue, my whelpling!” Mom cheered, wings beating happily. “Your little kitten and his family are with Saori since they missed seeing you off with me. However, your new, surprise demonkin friend is actually our sixth member of this household! She doesn’t like being idle for long, and she follows a strict regimen to stay fit. She should be out and about training right now, so how about we visit her?”

She stood up. “At the same time, how about I give you a front-row tour of my domain?”

What a way to distract me.