Unique skill creation completed. [Earth Magic Lv. 10] [Lava Magic Lv. 3] [Long-Range Spell Enhancement Lv. 5] [Lava Resistance Lv. 5] [Inferno Resistance Lv. 6] [Terra Resistance Lv. 1] [Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 7] [Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 5] [Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 7] [Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 5] [Pyrokinesis] merged into unique skill [Volcanic Blaze]
Magic Lost: [Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Sturdy Earth] [Earth Spears] [Earth Crash] [Earthen Shackles][Lava Ball] [Lava Stream] [Molten Guard]
Skills Lost: [Earth Amp] [Earth Magic Efficiency]
Unable to automatically merge [Corrosive Fire Lv. 3] into [Volcanic Blaze]. Requirement: [Corrosive Fire Lv. 10]
…?
I couldn’t hear my other half speaking anymore. My short lived loss of touch returned as I felt the things around my hands, feeling some soft and comfortable materials in my fingers. I wanted to question where I was currently, but when that sudden System message appeared, I realized I was in the waking world again. My other half had returned to my subconsciousness while I returned to reality.
I opened my eyes and began looking around while still laying down. I was in my room.
Well, not my room on Earth. It couldn’t even be compared to my old room due to the lack of decorations and personalization. However, I could see my study table with a few books on fire magic and a pile of tools to create my bombs, so this had to be inside our party’s RV.
I had survived that battle, thankfully.
Wheeeeew, I sighed internally.
Admittedly, it was logical that I was still alive but it didn’t mean I was 100% sure about it. I couldn’t help being a bit nervous. I mean, when I was first reincarnated to this world, I had that weird-ass dream, right? In that cold dark place? It still gave me the creeps that was how my reincarnation probably happened, eeeik!
So, seeing a familiar ceiling and my barebones room was a relief. I decided on decorating my room after today, if there weren't any problems. I haven’t had the time or motivation to decorate it up until now, but remembering my old room back on Earth made me realize I shouldn’t be lazy. This was my home now.
Damn, I probably made Saori, Tasianna, Ellaine, and Grimnir worry…
I should probably stand up, but I felt a bit lethargic right now, even though I just woke up. Maybe my body was still fatigued. I did fight to my absolute limits to defeat that giant eldritch scorpion. Three tiring fights in one day was far too much… my core even cracked several times during the fights.
I’ll check it out afterwards. First, let’s see what my divine Quest reward is~ Mana Eyes!
Volcanic Blaze
An incomplete unique skill missing an important skill component. However, while the full power of this skill cannot be released yet, the extreme firepower of an [Obsidian Blaze Dragon] can still be displayed. The earth’s heat will follow the will of the dragon, blanketing the skies and earth in ash. The skills combined are: [Artillery Enhancement Lv. 1] [Volcanic Resistance Lv. 1] [Herculean Strength Lv. 1] [Indomitable Bulwark Lv. 1] [Pyrokinesis]
Hmm, yeah, I guess it did say ‘incomplete.’ Still, better than nothing.
The unique skill wasn’t bad. In fact, it improved quite a few of my skills. [Long-Range Spell Enhancement] evolved into [Artillery Enhancement], while my lava, inferno, and terra resistances merged into one. A third-tier resistance skill, I presume? I was already quite resistant to fire attacks, but I kinda hope it also helped against temperature problems.
Well, unfortunately, I did lose [Earth Magic] and [Lava Magic] with their respective spells. But, let’s be honest here, I probably won’t miss them.
I already used lava spells rarely, preferring fast casting or utility ones like lightning, wind, earth, and holy spells. Being able to create lava was still pretty dang cool, but those spells still required time to materialize, which made them slow to cast. Not my cup of tea.
And thankfully I only lost [Earth Magic] and not [Terra Magic]. Ever since I got the latter skill, the only reason why I would use [Earth Magic] spells was to create my bombs, but I could just use my [Corrosive Fire] to replace the bomb’s casing. Obsidian sounded far more moldable. It’s not a big loss.
However, in return, the skill mentioned something about ‘earth’s heat’? What is that supposed to mean? Seeing as my lovely [Pyrokinesis] got merged into this skill, maybe it’s saying I can control fire even better? But my control was already pretty good before.
No idea. I’ll have to test it out later on. Maybe it was referring to geothermal energy since it also took [Earth Magic]? Since it's related to my [Obsidian Blaze Dragon] evolution, everything seemed to be connected to [Corrosive Fire].
Still, it’s giving me some more motivation to level my poison fire skill up. I can only imagine how powerful it will become one day. Damn, unlike Shiterno, Aurena’s reward actually took redundant skills and used it to make a possibly better skill.
Satisfied with my reward from fighting that geisenlarg king, I pushed myself up and began to stretch. I knew I was fatigued after that battle but holy hell, it felt like I was stuck in bed for too long. My body was completely stiff and I could hear my bones and joints cracking as if I hadn’t used them in ages.
“Holy crap, argh, my body feels like a rock!” I complained.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it after you sleep through your first year.”
“Huh?” An unfamiliar voice just came from right next to me. When I turned my head around, a person I had never seen before was crawling out from under my blanket, yawning.
“Good morning, my little fire~”
“… Krriiyyaaaaaaaaah!”
I jumped off from my bed, wanting to create as much distance from this woman as possible, but I remembered that I didn’t have my wings out a bit too late. I ended up landing on the floor and jumping again to end up next to my room’s door.
“W-Who are you?! What are you doing in my room and why are you in my bed?!” I shouted, taking out my glaive from my storage and pointed it at her. My body immediately started to ache from all of these actions due to how stiff it was, even with the adrenaline rush from the surprise.
An unknown person who was sleeping right next to me? I mean, even if my body was still asleep or something, my reflexes were good enough to react. The real question was, why did I not feel any threat from her? I should have at least noticed her from [Detection Sensor] alone.
“Oh my,” the woman looked stunned at my reaction but suddenly snapped her fingers with an enlightened expression, as if she remembered something. “Oh, Saori did mention something like this might happen. Incredible, does she have future vision? At such a young age?!
Saori? Future vision? What?!
The woman continued speaking while I was flabbergasted. “Then I should follow what she told me to say. Ahem, Hestia, I’m sorry for sleeping in your bed and surprising you so much. However, gaze upon me. Do I not look familiar?”
Wary at how she knew of Saori, I did exactly what she told me to. Starting from the top, her hair was probably the most familiar sight to me, as it was pure white like snow, which looked a lot like Yorshka’s and her daughter Priscilla’s. Unlike theirs, however, hers had this constant glittering shine like polished silver. From afar, it probably looked less white and more like silver.
What caught my eyes next were her horns and tail. Both of them looked eerily like mine, only reskinned with a silver paint coat. I wasn’t exaggerating here, they looked extremely like mine and they probably would have been clones if they weren’t slightly larger, colored differently, and more pronounced.
Looking at the scales on her limbs and that scale-like dress, this woman might be a dragonewt. No, I could definitely smell that she was a dragonewt. Like Cernust, Priscilla, and Yorshka, she had that sweet aroma around her. True dragonkins and those descended from them usually have that scent.
This brings me to the most confusing parts: her ears and face. Dragonewts in a human or beastman body had short but sharp ears, like a pocket knife. However, hers were long and pointy like Tasianna’s elven form. Was she using [Elvenization]?
Also, even with her similar horns and tail, her face was completely unfamiliar to me. Why were her dragon features so similar but nothing else was? I recognized her as a dragonewt, no, maybe she was a dragon? But who exactly was she?
“… Uhm, are you a relative of Yorshka? A Nordor?” I asked cautiously. It didn’t seem like she had malicious intentions.
Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth was agape. Did I say something wrong?
“W-Well, yes, young Yorshka. I guess we are related through our bloodline…” Her voice was clearly filled with disappointment. I really did say the wrong thing, huh?
“B-But, my scent! Yes, you should be able to recognize my scent, correct! Yes, even if we met now or a year ago, what should make it clearer than even words should be our dragonkin scent. Please, I beg you, take another wiff.” Her quivering voice made her last sentence sound like a plea.
It was a bit creepy to ask somebody to suddenly smell you, but I guess this was just normal for dragonewts and dragonkins? Still, even if I did what she wanted, what am I supposed to learn from sme— Hold on.
I stepped forward, my nose sniffing the air like a dog finding something new. The sweet aroma entered my lungs again, a scent that I was finding completely addictive. It was like meeting a friend who bought and used a new type of bath salt.
At the same time, this smell somehow made me feel safe. Like a mother’s warm embrace. The more I breathed in, the warmer and safer I felt, drawing me closer and closer to the woman. And that was when I remembered something about her voice.
Wasn’t that the one I heard after I stopped burning? My parallel minds confirmed what I said. It truly was the female voice I heard before losing my consciousness after the geisenlarg battle. Like a lullaby, yeah, every word she said helped me feel calmer.
Coupled with this scent, it made me feel so incredibly close to this woman. I did not know her name, I did not know where she came from… But, something inside me seemed to already know. My instincts told me that it was safe to hug her. None of my skills warned me of any dangers.
“A-Are you—”
““Lady H-Hestia!””
Before I could finish speaking, the door suddenly shot open, letting two young women in maid clothing enter. Both shouted my names as tears flowed down their faces and they jumped towards me with an embrace
“Tasianna?! Svena?!”
I was surprised to see them suddenly rushing into my room like that. Sure, they would sometimes wake me up if I overslept, but never in such an outrageous fashion. Their elated smiles paired with their watery eyes made me realize once again how much trouble I cause others.
I really am not the best friend, huh? I’m lucky to still have people willing to care for me.
“I’m awake,” I said as they wished me a good morning. “I’m sorry for worrying everybody.”
“Ehehiehie.” That laughter came out of nowhere while I was trying to apologize to Tasianna and Svena, who kept trying to tell me it was alright and that a maid’s duty is to wait for their mistress’s recovery.
I turned around to see the dragonewt lady standing next to my bed, smiling and laughing but with a slight “I am lonely” expression. As I was confused at why she was doing this, Svena noticed it before Tasianna and spoke up, dropping an information bomb onto me.
“Ah, we apologize for suddenly interrupting your talk with your mother, Lady Hestia. That was inconsiderate of us!” Svena apologized but when she mentioned “mother,” I was too baffled to continue listening to her. “U-Uhm, mayhaps, have you not made your introduction yet, L-Lady Empress?”
The woman smiled wryly. Svena let out an “oops” in response.
T-Then does this—?
Tasianna stepped forward, having understood the situation. She bowed to me and began introducing the woman, “Lady Hestia, may I present to you, the Sixth Empress of the Dragon Empire Kargryx, Melloxtressa Wisperia Nordor. My lady, this is your dragon mother.”
The woman walked slowly forward as I continued staring at her in disbelief. “I have much to say to you, my little fire, but I know we can do this later. Hestia, your mother is here.”
Memories of a shadow woman appeared inside my mind with those words, followed by the images of this woman. They were trying to merge inside me, with more and more bits of that shadowy woman being replaced by the one standing before me.
A part of me was telling me she really was my mother, but the other half, it knew this wasn’t true. The more I allowed my brain to function, the more my memories of my Earthen mother were replaced by another woman’s.
But there was a problem. A very prominent problem.
She didn’t look like me.
“H-Hestia?”
I didn’t respond. I simply grabbed my head, feeling an intense sting. A rejection. I was actively rejecting this woman’s face and smell. I turned around and walked through the door and into my [Room]’s community room.
My legs didn’t stop. Even when Tasianna and Svena called out for me, I didn’t stop. I had to get away from this “Melloxtressa.” I had no idea what was going on with me. My throat felt dry. My eyes felt wet. I felt light-headed.
After speaking with my other half, the person I was in my past life, I now had full confirmation how I looked. Except for my dragon features and shorter hair, I had instinctively shaped my body and face to resemble my Earthen version. That also meant that my mother and father had to be fairly similar to me.
But that woman wasn’t even close. That “mother” wasn’t my mother.
“Urgh!” While I kept moving forward without an aim, my legs suddenly lost strength and I could hear my stomach growling like a hungry beast. It was so loud that Tasianna and Svena immediately ran over to me and helped me up.
“Lady Hestia, you need to get something to eat. You must be famished!”
“Yes, your mother has been feeding you mana to sustain your body these past three weeks, but Empress Melloxtressa stressed that your body requires proper nutrients the moment you wake up.”
“W-What?! Th-Three weeks?!”
Did I hear that correctly? It has to be a joke, right?
“We will answer your questions later. First, we need to get to the kitchen!” With those words, Svena and Tasianna dragged me to the kitchen while the silver-haired woman followed from behind. I did not see her expression.
Once we entered the dining hall, I noticed five people happily eating at a table. The moment we locked eyes, three of them stood up and came over with smiles.
“Hestia! You’re awake! Oh, you must be hungry! Tamae-san, could you possibly cook a large breakfast portion for her? I will help,” Saori said.
“Of course, Sensei!” Tamae, one of Saori’s students, nodded vigorously. “It’s good to see you awake, Hesti-chan! We’ll catch up in a moment, alright? I’ll bring you a feast worthy of a princess!”
“Haha, yes, this is worth celebrating! Our little princess is finally awake! Oh, Tasianna, Svena, allow me to help!” Yorshka swooped in, replacing Svena and Tasianna. In a princess carry, she quickly brought me to my seat. “Also, I think you should be acquainted with these two. These two dragonewts are the ice wyverns you met in the Belzac forest, at least according to Saori and Tasianna.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
I turned around, noting two similar-looking white dragonewts. From their horns to tails, everything looked practically the same, almost like they were twins.
[“Lady Hestia, if you could remember, we were the wyverns who accompanied Astalos to escort you out of the forest.”]
[“We apologize dearly for creating a misunderstanding back then. The Empress has been gracious enough to teach us [Elvinize] and [Telepathy] so we can be here to serve you.”]
They both bowed.
[“I-It’s good to meet you,”] I said, feeling even more overwhelmed the more things happened. [“Uhm, I am Hestia. What are your names?”]
[““…””]
They explained they didn’t have any names yet. I felt embarrassed… long enough for Saori to bring out a tray of pastries.
“Coxinhas. Brazilian chicken croquettes. Tamae-san has been experimenting with food after we reunited a few days after you fell unconscious, so we got quite a list of things you need to try out, Hestia. It will really spur your nostalgia, I can assu—”
“Mamphf!” Without letting her finish, my body instinctively grabbed and bit into one of these croquettes. The fried breading, the creamy sour-spicy sauce, and the tantalizing chicken; it was a festival of tastes for my tongue. It was impossible for me to stop gorging everything on the dish.
“Seconds, PLEASE!” I screamed. Just a single bite was all that was needed to wake up this intense hunger I had. I was starving, I was so famished I could eat a whole whale!
I didn’t exactly know what I ate. I didn’t look at them for too long but I knew well enough that everything was incredible. Like from a Michelin restaurant. My eating speed was so intense that everybody had to pitch in to feed me. Even the silver-haired woman helped, using silver dust to carry out dishes.
If I wasn’t completely preoccupied with eating, I probably would have acknowledged this fact earlier, instead of when my head fell on the table. I was full, I was filled to the brim that I could feel my stomach bulging too much for my taste. I might have slightly overeaten.
“Jeez, you ate enough to feed multiple battalions, Hestia,” Yorshka commented before laughing like this wasn’t her problem. “Aye yei, Saori, thank goodness you have the goodwill of King Drangleic, correct? He can pay for all of this.”
“As if, Yorshka. The kingdom needs all the money it has to repair everything. We’ll work all this food off, as our party has always done up until now,” she replied.
Uuuurgh, the food cost…
The cleaning took a bit, giving me some time to calm down and digest. I also would randomly give the silver-haired woman a glance, only for her to smile back at me. Flustered, I would just turn my head around. What was wrong with me?
After Saori and the others finished cleaning up, they sat back down and the information bomb Svena set off continued.
“T-Three weeks?! Y-You have to be kidding me.” I still couldn't accept it, even if it came from Saori’s mouth.
“Unfortunately, we’re not, Hestia. Today is the 20th of SpringMoon. We couldn’t exactly extinguish the intense amount of heat you generated from your final attack. We were quite lucky to have your mother appear so suddenly, saving you from self-immolation,” Saori enlightened me. “She was also the one to repair your core.”
I turned around to the silver-haired woman.
“It is true, my daughter. It took me the entirety of those three weeks to repair the damages to your core, at least, the outward ones.”
“Outward ones?”
“Correct. From what I could see, this sun core of yours is like a secondary heart. With two, even if one were to be damaged, you could still live while you regenerate the other. However, unlike your flesh heart, your sun core is created from your concentrated, crystalized mana,” Melloxtressa explained. “The issues are that I cannot repair the internal damage to your core. It is your mana, not mine. There is a rejection. In addition, it seems that certain toxic substances have made their way into your core. The toxin merged with your core.”
“Hold on, if I understood that correctly, then only my own mana can repair my core? Some foreign substance can’t just go in and meld with it, correct?”
“That is correct, Lady Hestia,” Tasianna answered. “After Miss Saori took a closer look at it, we confirmed it’s corrosive obsidian, Lady Hestia. Yours.”
A-Are you kidding me?! Am I poisoning myself?!
Considering how often I used [Corrosive Fire] after my core cracked once, I guess this was a consequence of my carelessness. I did not even consider such a possibility.
As I was panicking, Melloxtressa spoke up in a hurry, “O-Oh, don’t worry, Hestia. I heard from Saori that this substance is something you made, correct? Well, then it shouldn’t endanger your body. However, it most likely will reduce your core’s efficiency.”
I guess that would be correct. If there are impure objects inside my core, then I probably will have some trouble transmuting solar energy into mana and nutrients. Still, even if it wasn't dangerous, I shouldn’t keep it in this state, so I asked her if there was a way for me to fix it.
“Well, of course, certain dragons and monsters have obtained crystalized mana features during their life. However, in your case, that mana core acts as a heart, and that obsidian seems to have fused itself pretty deeply into your core. If you ask me, it would be better to completely replace the core by removing it and creating a new one.”
“How?”
“As your mother, I will teach you, you do not have to worry, Hestia. In addition, before you transformed back into your dragonewt form, I took a look at your body and it seemed you had been neglecting yourself. When was the last time you shed your scales? So many of them are so flimsy and old.”
I was flabbergasted at what Melloxtressa said. My scales? Flimsy? Impossible. Those things are harder than steel and are perfect for weapon and armor making. And shedding? My scales are falling off my body all the time. I don’t think this woman knows exactly what she’s talking about.
Saori noticed my confusion and spoke up for the silver-haired woman, “It’s probably true, Hestia. We haven't been maintaining our original bodies enough. Your mother even noticed that my fur and claws were too overgrown. Look.” Saori took off her jacket and showed off the white fur on her arms.
“They aren’t just shinier but there are also less tangles. I shed and groomed my whole body.” Then she conjured up some of her stygian lightning. “The speed of my lightning generation has increased by a small amount, and you know how every millisecond is important. My arms also feel more comfortable, since the tangles aren’t shocking my skin anymore.”
“Ehehiehie,” Melloxtressa giggled. “I felt like I had received another daughter when I helped her. Yorshka mentioned you gave her some of your blood for her to evolve with, but it still surprised me how similar Saori’s scent was to yours. If you wish, I would be happy to help you if you need, Hestia. Body grooming is important to us dragons.”
“…”
I felt conflicted.
I could feel a genuine desire to help me coming from her, but at the same time, how she called herself my mother or how she called me daughter made me feel weird. Coupled with another reason—
“… Uhm, why do you look so different?”
Silence. Everybody looked at me as if I had gone crazy, causing me to realize how I just spoke my thoughts out loud! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!
“Ehehiehie.” For some reason, she laughed it off. “It’s alright. Usually this shouldn’t happen since young whelps generally imitate the appearance of their parents. Humanoid transforming skills create the ideal appearance a monster wishes for them to look like. Since you are a transmigrator, it would of course take on your original appearance. That of your Earthen mother and father, Hestia. If you like, I could morph my form a bit to look like yours. Of course, I won’t imitate your previous mother.”
What?!
What was I supposed to say to that? It felt awkward, it felt wrong. Why did she suddenly bring that topic up, huh?
She continued, “There is no need to worry. When I saw you in your dragon form, I noticed you were sharing some of my features, like your horns and tail. Our wings are also quite similar if I—”
“Tamae-chan, when did you guys arrive?” I ignored Melloxtressa. I didn’t even look at what her expression was. From how the others looked at me, I could already guess.
But then again, was it really that rude? I mean, she suddenly brought up Mama and Papa. “Not imitate?” As if! The fact she brought that up must mean that she’s trying to replace who my real Mama was.
Even that sickening smell must have been a trick. The fact that it made me begin to forget about Mama was the worst. I just gave a fucking speech to my other half about how I wanted to remember everything, especially my parents, and I almost began to replace Mama with some random woman? What is wrong with me?
“Hestia, you really shouldn’t—” Saori was about to scold me, but Tamae-chan understood what I wanted. Even if we had only met for a short time, she somehow understood me better than Saori…
“Oh, everybody arrived five days after we heard there was an attack in Griffonpeak. We planned to come to Griffonpeak before the battle, but we found some issue coming from the Lecartiglio duchy. A mass immigration.”
Griffonpeak wasn’t the only troubled place. The Lecartiglio duchy recently had a ton of beastmen kidnapped, causing beastmen to feel insecure in the area. That was what I heard from the King’s advisors and I had thought that would be the main reason why Duke Lecartiglio had to return to his fief before Griffopeak was attacked.
Tamae-chan, though, explained that the duchy experienced an uncontrollable amount of beastmen immigrating from the south, from the Atadoro kingdom. Many were slaves, and quite a few of them insisted they were former citizens kidnapped and bought off to be turned into slaves.
“From what I heard, there was a slave revolt down in the Atadoro kingdom. Those in the north and west decided to travel to Artorias, hoping for the kingdom’s charity,” Tamae-chan continued.
Yorshka nodded. “It was a real mess. The slaves were one thing, but it also caused the beastmen population in the duchy to lose trust for the nobility and governance. It’s true. Quite a few of those slaves were formerly from the duchy.”
They tried to help out the duchy with their problems, only to receive the recent news about Griffonpeak, where they quickly made their way over here. Not only Tamae-chan’s party but also the second set of students came.
Since I wasn’t around to modify the subspace, Tamae-chan and the others had to check in to a hotel in the meantime. I promised her I would create some more rooms for them to stay in, and she thanked me quite profusely. She mentioned how Saori had explained everything that happened to her, and decided it would be best if the students stayed with us now.
“We’ll be glad to have you,” I said before readying myself for the next news — Griffonpeak and the nobility.
“My students are out helping the city, and Ellaine had to support her parents as an aristocrat. Grimnir is in his forge,” Saori said before continuing into the meat of the news.
Essentially, certain parts of Griffonpeak were demolished and had to be repaired. Unfortunately, quite a number of citizens within the city died during the attack, but even more died outside the city. In the farms, the slums, and the small villages surrounding Griffonpeak; the majority of those places were destroyed by the geisenlarg.
Shaturein also didn’t come out unscathed. In fact, Saori heard that because I burned through the fairnite block separating Shaturein and Griffonpeak, the mana down there had been leaking into the main city. Knights were stationed at the hole, making sure monsters weren’t spawning while repairs were done.
I cursed myself for doing that.
Furthermore, King Drangleic also had to make some drastic choices during the aftermath. In particular, the cathedral’s Cardinal and Charleslyt.
“After Ellaine defeated Charleslyt, Lady Amelia and Jonathan brought him to the knights. Once he woke up, the king ordered for him to be tortured until he gave out all the information he had, including all those who supported him.”
This was just to fish out more information before the trial. After all, since Ellaine’s parents brought all the evidence they could to King Drangleic, he already knew enough. When Pestrodus appeared with every single piece of dirt Hamil had on the responsible nobles, it was already enough to create a trial.
The only problem was the cardinal himself. Sly fox that he was, he made sure that he was never the one to act on anything. All the supporters within the nobility he built up were done either through Hamil or Charleslyt. He never did anything to directly implicate himself. Even in the notes Hamil made, Hamil specifically noted “I made a deal with him.”
Working with people from Shaturein wasn’t outlawed, it was just frowned upon. Now, if he had done anything treacherous or forbidden through Shaturein, that would be a different story. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough evidence to implicate him in anything.
Since he was also a cardinal, he had the church’s protection. Without evidence, King Drangleic could not just execute him, even if it was clear he was one of the masterminds behind the attack. It almost seemed like the cardinal would run off without any problems. Almost.
“The cardinal hired Hamil to help him build up Charleslyt to become a worthy heir for his family. That was the deal and that was how the latter got those ‘wyvern slayers’,” Saori explained. “He intended to make Charleslyt into the next Duke Equevanna, allowing him to use the kid like a puppet. Essentially, he wanted to control the Equevanna and Olivus duchies at the same time. That was why those duchies had the least amount of problems.”
“From what Ellaine and Lady Amelia said, Charleslyt was mostly ignored by Duke and Duchess Equevanna during his childhood in favor of his older brother. That was when he met the cardinal and became almost infatuated with Goddess Aurena. He saw the cardinal as a father figure. His commands took priority over his actual father’s, even if it meant something as treasonous as stealing the passcode to the dungeon’s secret entry.”
There was a passcode to enter the dungeon through the royal entry. The only people who had this code were the King and Queen and their seven dukes. Charleslyt stole it from his father under the orders of the cardinal, with the latter assuring him this was the way to make him into the next duke. Like a mindless pawn, he did it.
The cardinal thought nobody would figure this out; the problem was that Charleslyt exposed everything. He was initially determined to bring this information to his grave, unwilling to betray the cardinal even after his family tried to force it out of him.
It was only when Ellaine and Amelia talked to him that he spilled it. With this information, they managed to locate the documents to the cardinal’s betrayal in his hidden residences. He was swiftly taken to trial, judged and executed. If the Church questioned King Drangleic’s decision, he would have the evidence to protect Artorias.
“So, what about Charleslyt? Sure, he had quite a ton of problems and also stole the passcode from his father, but the information he gave ws pretty substantial, right? What was his punishment?” I asked, earning me some dark frowns from Saori and Tasianna.
“Hestia… the Griffon King, Assurfel, is dead.”
“What?”
“Charleslyt admitted to giving the demonkins the passcode. They used it to sneak into the dungeon and slay Assurfel. His daughter, King Drangleic’s great-grandmother, managed to survive the encounter due to the Griffon King’s actions. When she arrived at the royal citadel, she told the Queen everything…” Saori informed me.
“For such a crime, Charleslyt was sentenced to death. He was executed one week ago, and, while Duke Equevanna hadn’t participated in any of this, the actions of his son reflect on him as well. He was stripped of his rank as Grand Duke and was forced to hand over his title to his older son. He is still alive but is being forced to repay his debt by serving King Drangleic personally now.”
I slammed my fist against the table. “Fucking idiot…”
I thought Charleslyt wasn’t a bad person. I kinda had that feeling when I fought him in the arena. Sure, he was competitive and desperate, but it didn’t seem like he had a black heart. He was just a noble who wanted to achieve his agenda. Not likable, but it wasn’t like I wanted to kill him.
It’s just that learning all of this, it made me want to scream and shout in his face. An idiot. A freaking idiot. He hired Eithalr to kidnap Amelia, who nearly killed Ellaine. His action at this point couldn’t be forgiven. Even if he didn’t do it on purpose, he was also a reason for the disaster in Griffonpeak. If the Griffon King had not been preoccupied, he could have helped with the geisenlarg king. What is he but a villian?
But most importantly—
“Those demonkins are strong…”
Saori and Tasianna nodded.
Assurfel was an A rank monster, at the end of the day. Achieving such a feat would not have been easy. On the other hand, how much did we struggle against the geisenlarg? Sure, it was corrupted to high heavens, but it took me cracking my core and going into [Symphonie des Feuergottes (Finale)] to beat it. I killed off one demonkin, but he wasn’t the one who killed Assurfel.
“This information was kept a secret from the public for now. The nobility already has to mourn two deaths, so it would be even worse if the commoners had heard it. Probably cause uncertainty in the kingdom’s future, you see,” Yorshka suddenly said with a deep sigh.
“Two?”
“Oh, oops.” Yorshka slapped her mouth shut, earning stink eyes from everybody else.
When I urged her to continue, Saori sighed and took over.
“You have to promise to stay calm alright, Hestia?” I nodded. “Okay… well, seeing how many people she saved, the mourning is still ongoing, you see. King Drangleic informed everybody in Griffonpeak of the death of Saintess Eshe of Sarkarfiina. The 29th of SpringBloom has been turned in honor of her into Saintess Eshe Day.”
“…” I stared at Saori. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.
This feeling in my chest… I knew I had forgotten something. I had to push something back. Those torrential emotions inside me finally burst out, freed after I sealed them to fight the geisenlarg.
My sadness for Eshe’s death.
Drip, drip, drip. The sounds of tears falling on the table were the only thing to break the silence. My tears. My teeth quivered as the memory of Eshe’s lifeless body reappeared in my head. Her lifeless eyes… it felt like they were haunting me.
Without saying another word, I stood up and walked towards the subspace’s exit. When I felt somebody following me, I turned around and immediately shouted, “I want to be alone! Leave me be!”
Something told me it was the silver-haired woman, so when I saw her through my teary eyes, I was able to confirm my suspicions personally.
“H-Hestia, if you want, I could—” she tried to say something but I didn’t want to hear it. What is she even trying to do here?
“No! I said it already, leave me alone! Why are you trying to get yourself involved here? You don’t know me. You don't know what happened. You don’t know anything! You appeared out of nowhere, and think you know how to solve this?! Just, urgh — leave me alone! Don’t follow me!”
I ran out as fast as I could, ignoring any sounds. I jumped out from the RV and materialized my wings with [Humanization]. With my rocket boosters, I flew off.
Dammit, dammit, why did you say that you idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!
“Huek! Hiieec, huek! Hieeeeggeggg…”
I slapped my head in frustration, cursing myself for what I said. Why did I do that? She was just trying to be nice. Why am I doing this? Why am I like this? What is wrong with me?
All these questions ran through my mind multiple times. My tears didn’t stop as I continued blaming myself for everything. Being a terrible daughter as my other half said, being a terrible friend as my memory told me, being weak and letting Eshe die, and then being unable to accept Melloxtressa. I couldn’t even give her a chance, despite promising Yorshka I would do it.
I am just the worst.
With those thoughts, I made myself towards a single place—
— the orphanage.
----------------------------------------
“…”
“Melloxtressa?” I spoke to Hestia’s dragon mother, trying to cheer her up. “As I said, Hestia is currently having to deal with some personal problems. It won’t be easy to have her heart open up. However, she’s a good girl, she’ll do it eventually. You just need to be patient.”
“T-That’s right, Empress! Sensei is correct!” Tamae-san supported me. “I’m sort of in the same situation she is in. I love my parents and miss them greatly, so it probably would be hard to accept somebody else as a parent. It would feel too much like a replacement.”
“Yes, Matriarch! Also, if I hadn’t mentioned Saintess Eshe so suddenly, she probably would have been in a better mood to speak with you,” Yorshka apologized. “It would be best if we left her alone for now. Priscilla would sometimes have these moments when she’s dissatisfied with something. Like a protest, you see? And I consider her a very obedient daughter.”
“… Thank you for your concern but I think I am fine.”
Fine? I asked myself. She certainly didn’t look like that.
However, contrary to my thoughts, Melloxtressa suddenly smiled and began crying. When I asked if she really was okay, she responded with a strong nod.
“I am. It hurts my heart to see my only daughter not willing to accept me as her mother but… somehow, I was okay with it. Seeing her healthy and energetic enough to speak back against me — goodness gracious, the other Empresses already told me just how much children liked to be rebellious. It makes me happy. Really, really happy.” The floodgate opened. “I am so, so, so thankful to see she’s alive. I was so worried. I was so scared she was lost to me forever. To see her in pain like that, I thought… I thought it was over. Thank goodness. My own daughter, hiiek!”
I felt relieved, and so did the others. She was taking it well. Like a good parent.
“Good, good!” I clapped my hands. “Melloxtressa, how about this: Hestia probably needs some time for herself, then why not go out for now? To clear up your head?”
She stopped crying for a moment and tilted her head. “I do not follow, Saori.”
“How about we go out and drink a bit together?” I suggested.
“Ooooh, fantastic idea, Saori!” Yorshka chimed in. “It would give us some time to calm down and, while we drink, I can give the Matriarch a few tips on handling your daughter. As a mother, I can give you some advice.”
“I see… is this what humanoids do for fun? Yorshka, you should know this but dragons cannot take alcohol too well. Our bodies have a hard time breaking down the toxins, even if they aren’t harmful to us in any way.”
“I know that, but I’ll make sure to control your drinking amount, Matriarch! I will make sure you won’t go on a drunk rampage! Your brother, ancestor Odlesstrus, has handed down tips to control drunken dragons just in case he drank too much with his wife!”
It was decided. Tamae-san, Tasianna, and Svena declined on coming since they weren’t interested in drinking. The two wyverns joined us, mostly to act as guards for Melloxtressa. We might have been enemies once, but it wasn’t like we both held deep grudges against each other. They didn’t even take Astalos’s death too badly.
“Gu—Waaaaaaaah!” Melloxtressa suddenly yawned as we exited the RV. When I asked if she was still tired, Melloxtressa nodded.
“Yes… I honestly haven’t slept even once since I was pregnant with Hestia’s egg. Even after laying it, I still did not sleep. Not to mention when Hestia was lost to me. The moment I met her was the first time I slept in seven years.”
“Seven years?!” I was astonished.
Yorshka took over to explain, “The gestation period for a dragon egg is one to five years, depending on the parents. Coupled with low reproduction rates and the time needed for a dragon to fully mature sexually. The time needed to hatch an egg is also an issue.”
That made sense to me. Five years for Hestia’s egg to be laid then the near two years of her going missing.
“Also, the Matriarch isn’t just tired, she is missing out on some serious amounts of sleep. The older a dragon, the more rest they require to stabilize their mana. That’s why dragons sleep for so long.”
“Well, ten years of sleep usually go by quite fast. Dragon mothers usually have to stay awake for quite a bit to take care of their whelps, but I guess I didn’t sleep much when I was striving to evolve into an SS rank. That might have added up, it seems.”
“Hold on, does this mean you will have to go to sleep soon?” I asked, worried for her.
“Most likely, yes. I’ve kept myself awake for Hestia’s sake all this time. Once things settle down, I probably should go to sleep but… I’ve already missed out on nearly two years of her life. I can’t just go to sleep…”
I guess that is a problem. The first few years are the most important for the mother-child bonding. I guess I should have a good talk with Hestia after this.
But first, drinking time.