"That should just about do it," Lone said as he slumped down onto the grass in front of Infa.

The night had come and gone to be met with a wild 'adventure' with the very demanding Sophie, but now Lone was currently inside The Glade with Garadia peacefully standing next to him.

Infa - the baby Rock Dragon - very slowly moved each of his limbs and even hopped in place, causing a slight tremor.

"I... I feel even better than before I left the tribe..." the dragon claimed.

Lone wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. "Good. Well, now that you're all healed up with all your limbs back and all of the scarring removed, wanna go outside?"

"Back to that city? No, not particularly, but I shall if you wish me to, Foxkin Lone," Infa admitted very honestly.

He hated the way that the presences who had seen him reacted to him when he and Lone had first come here, but after having his arm, his tail, and his eyes healed on top of his scarring and internal damage removed, Infa felt that he had no right to refuse a request that would only leave him feeling mildly uncomfortable.

"I know you don't like it, Infa, but don't worry. No one can hurt you with me backing you. We're just gonna go to The Adventurer's Guild, then we're leaving the country to deal with a war-ranked quest. You want to explore the world, right?" Lone asked.

Infa slowly nodded. "I wish to expand my knowledge, so yes, exploring the world would help in that regard. Do not worry, as uncomfortable as I feel, or as much as I wish to follow my instincts and run from you at the first possible opportunity, I shall do as you ask."

"Gao." Garadia didn't understand why Infa would want to run from her father, so she cocked her fluffy head to one side curiously.

Lone grinned. "Great. That's a good start," Lone said as he exited The Glade, leaving the two dragons on their own for a bit, presumably to get to an open area where Infa could safely be brought out of the pocket dimension.

Garadia slowly walked up to one of Infa's front legs then licked it. "Gao," she roared softly as her face scrunched up.

"I am made of rocks, so of course I am not tasty," Infa replied as his massive face smiled very faintly.

Over the past five days, he and Garadia had spent a few hours with each other every day.

Infa initially ignored her and simply tried his best to not hurt her accidentally since he knew that would enrage not only Lone, but his human lover, Soph, as well.

Infa didn't wholly trust Lone, but Infa did trust the foxkin's strength after watching his interaction with the city lord when they arrived at Mystopolis.

"Gao?" Garadia's cute voice reflected her questioning nature as she slowly crawled up Infa's body and nestled herself on top of his head.

"I do not know what you are asking, Young One. A dragon like you I may be, but a mind-reader like Foxkin Lone's sister I am not," Infa told the girl that was three-years his junior.

Garadia just closed her eyes and dropped her soft tail down Infa's forehead. "Gao."

The next second, Lone reappeared. He smiled when he saw Garadia being so comfortable with another person for once, even if that other person was from the same species as her. "Okay, let's leave."

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As Infa had predicted, many presences focused on him and Lone as well as Garadia who was only now being shown to the public for the first time.

He felt sticky and oppressed by the presences, but he kept Lone's promise of protection in his mind as he walked through the city with the man atop his back.

Moving his eyes to stare at the tail waging gently across his forehead, Infa thought, 'How can she be so calm in such a situation? Can she not feel presences like I can? I would love a life where I wasn't connected to the land...'

Lone's exploits over the past week kept most people from getting too close, but the odd urchin would approach the massive Rock Dragon which had a Foxkin seated on its spine.

When those children looked at Infa, Garadia and him with awe and wonder in their eyes, Lone couldn't help but immediately make and give them some food or warm clothes.

This continued all the way up until they had entered the guild quarters of Mystopolis. Once they were there, several people actually tried to attack Infa and Garadia as soon as they saw them, but naturally, Lone stopped all such attempts.

The weaker ones, he used his magic on, the stronger ones, he used his Ascending Aura. Sure, the number of injured adventurers, mercenaries, vagabonds and powerful people would sky-rocket today, but Lone hardly cared about that, now did he?

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Congratulations! The host's active earth magic skill [Advanced Rock Bullet] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 4.

Congratulations! The host's active water magic skill [Mana Waterspear] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Congratulations! The host's active air magic skill [Wind Blade] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 7.

Lone nodded in satisfaction at his skills' level-ups. He would have used Lightning Wave, Fireball, and Boulder too, however, he was concerned that he might cause permanent damage or even kill Infa and Garadia's attackers, which he didn't particularly want to do.

Naturally, he'd taken a mental note of everyone that had dared to raise a finger against the two dragons, so if they wasted their second chance that Lone had granted them, then they'd not be so lucky as to get away with some light injuries or a mild headache.

Lone scooped Garadia up into his arms then carefully jumped off of Infa's back. "If anyone starts shit with you, feel free to fight back. if they're too strong, shout for me as loud as you can and I'll be out in less than a second."

"Okay, Foxkin Lone, I shall," Infa replied as he laid down on the cobbled road.

Lone nodded then entered The Adventurer's Guild with his fluffy daughter snuggly held in his arms.

Immediately, all eyes fell onto Lone. Adventurers stopped talking with each other, they stopped drinking, they stopped laughing, they turned from the quest boards, even the employees gave their full attention to the man.

"Is... Is that a dragon?"

"I think it is... I've never seen that race before, but that head shape, the legs, the tail, the wings... It definitely looks like a dragon."

"The thing can't be more than a month old. I've fought a dragon before. It was a Fire Dragon, mind you, but the bastardin' thing was fifty-feet long. The smallest dragon recorded grows up to at least ten-feet long."

"Hey! Look outside! There's another one! A big rocky fucker!"

"Holy Primals above... 'At's a Rock Dragon. Things're rarer than a wench in the chapel!"

"Hahaha!" A burst of booming laughter from the second floor filled everyone's ears. Looking up, Lone saw Sarah leaning over the railing. "When'd ya get a second pet dragon, Patches?"

Lone smiled. "She isn't a pet, she's my daughter."

"S'at so? You didn't look like a dragon the last time that I checked. Maybe I ought to go buy some glasses. You just opened a shop recently, didn't ya? Ya do prescription lenses?" the grand guildmaster teased.

"I'm sure we can work something out, but I came here today to talk about the war-ranked quest. I'm gonna go do it today," Lone replied as he started making his way up the flight of stairs to the second floor.

Garadia was fully awake, and she certainly wasn't the biggest fan of all of the attention she was getting, so she shut her eyes closed tightly and curled up into as small of a ball as she physically could while still in her father's embrace.

It was different outside when people stopped to look at her for a moment or two or were actively hostile, but when they were so clearly... curious, it made the baby dragon feel awkward and embarrassed.

Sarah grinned then she gave a stern look to the loitering adventurers. "I'm issuing a quest right now! Go stand outside and make sure no one fucks with the Rock Dragon out there! Anyone who participates gets a ruby-gold coin, courtesy of my good friend Patches here."

Lone just nodded faintly to the questioning looks he received from the many C to S-ranked individuals filling the guild's main hall.

A unanimous roar of excitement filled the building before dozens upon dozens of men and woman of several species raced outside, all eager to earn some free money.

Lone walked up to Sarah and said, "I'm not very fond of others spending my money for me."

The woman shrugged. "It's not like ya've got a tight-purse, so suck it up, yeah?"

Lone shrugged. "True, just, don't make decisions in my stead, please."

"Sure, sure. Anyhoo, war-ranked quest, yeah?" Sarah asked as she folded her arms across her torso and pressed her back against the second floor's railing. "Whatcha wanna know?"

Lone lightly scratched the backs of Garadia's ears, making the baby purr like a kitten. "I know where it is and what I've to do. Crimson Foxkin Clan or the Free Nations' Alliance and support one or the other. I have a different idea to end the coming war, but regardless, you said you sent Sloth of The Seven Deadly Sins adventurer group out, right? Tell me where Sloth is. I'll go collect them first and then enact my plan. The last thing I want is for them to arrive after I'm finished and reignite shit or something."

"'Her', not 'them', but sure. Sloth, Envy, and Greed, all three of them are at Rohemiastas' capital. Know where that is?" Sarah asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Lone nodded. "Yup. That's a small country run by Higher goblins, right? Nasty place from what I've read about it. It's, what, about two-thousand-miles due west-by-southwest?"

"Yup, that's the place, and it ain't that bad if yer strong. Those gobs are smart enough to not fight people they know they won't win against. That's the whole reason Higher goblins are viewed as border-demis, not monsters," Sarah said as she picked some earwax out of her left ear and rubbed it onto her shirt to get it off of her finger.

"I know. I just don't have a good relationship with goblins in general, higher or not," Lone said as he took a small pouch out from within his pocket and handed it to Grand Guildmaster Sarah. "Here, the money for those adventurers plus some interest."

"Don't wanna know exactly where they are in the capital?" Sarah questioned.

Lone shook his head. "I'll find them. I'd rather you gave me that skill you're due me from when I did the quest for Count Lorton. I never mentioned it on the night since there was a lot on my mind at the time, but do you have any plans to deliver on that promise now?"

"Huh? Oh, right. I did say that, didn't I... Hmm... Ye'r a fast learner, aren't ya? Here, I'll use it on ya once, and only once, so if ya don't learn it, then its out of my hands," Sarah claimed with a short laugh.

"Sure, I can live with that," Lone replied with a grin on his face. 'I mean, if you're using it on me, then I only need you to use it once.'

"Okie-dokie." Sarah cracked her neck then said the words, "Ancestor's Eyes." Immediately, her irises turned into brightly-glowing orange magic circles which seemed to peer into Lone's very being.

The foxkin felt... odd. He felt exposed, no, beyond exposed. It was a difficult feeling to adequately express.

Perhaps ten seconds came and went before Sarah's eyes returned to their regular brown-colour. A smile was painted across her face as she smirked at Lone. "Well? Learn it?"

Lone smirked right back at her. "Yes, I did."

The host has developed the active skill [Ancestor's Eyes].

The host has developed the passive skill [Ancestor's Eyes Resistance].

"I learned it and its resistance," Lone said a little bit smugly.

"Hahaha!" Sarah chuckled as she put one of her massive hands on Lone's head and ruffled his hair roughly. "I expected nothing less from ya, Patches."

With that, she shoved her hands into her pockets then whistled as she wandered off, further up the floors of The Adventurer's Guild to the third floor, and out of Lone's sight.

The nine-tailed man frowned lightly. "What a strange woman," he said as he went about fixing his now messed up hair.