The table was full of food. Dragon meat enriched with bacon and barbecue, chicken wings, lasagna—everything a good dinner needs.

Alex, Michael, and both their wives were enjoying the meat. Luna also appreciated the main dish—dragon meat.

Luna knew that the meat was from a dragon and that she was also one. It didn’t bother her though, because with her human form and Alex’s magical power, she can barely call herself a dragon.

The meat was also good for her growth, as dragon meat contains tons of vitamins, fibers, and amino acids. The very foundation of her body was made of human material, and her magical power was half human, and only a small amount of it was draconic mana; as a human, she needed everything inside that meat to grow.

While Luna was thinking about allocating her new resources in the best way, Alex and Michael were nervous. They would literally shatter Jenifer’s common sense; it wasn’t a simple decision. They had to do it carefully.

“Alex, I think the best moment to tell her will be at dessert time.”

Michael said through thought transmission.

“Are you feeling nervous? Well, I can relate. I will say it clearly: Do it now, or you will regret it later.”

“What would change telling her now or doing it later?”

“Everything. If you postpone an important decision, you do not want to do it.”

“You are... right... I will do it now.”

“Yeah! Go for it!”

Alex and Michael started to act strangely. Alicia knew it had to do with some kind of weird magic they both had, so she minded her own business; Luna knew they were using thought transmission magic, but she was focused on the dinner; as for Jenifer, she did not understand a thing. Why are they demonstrating excitement from nothing? Looking at each other’s faces as if they were speaking some kind of secret language that she could not even hear. Why is it?

Jennifer was almost looking away out of embarrassment when Michael broke the silence.

“Jeny, there’s one thing I hadn’t told you yet... It is something everyone knew; I hadn’t told you yet because this secret isn’t mine, but now that we are marrying, I can’t hold it anymore from you. Jenifer, I am working with Alex and Harper on military operations again, and worse than that, we are using unknown technologies as weapons.”

Michael said. The weight of his words made the atmosphere heavy.

“Michael, are you kidding me...”

Jenifer said. She looked at everyone at the table. No one had a playful expression. It wasn’t a joke.

“I am not. Everyone here knows it, including your brother. I hadn’t told you yet because it is Alex’s secret, not mine.”

“HOW IS IT NOT ‘YOURS’? YOU ARE RISKING YOUR LIFE, AT THE VERY LEAST I SHOULD KNOW, SHOULDN’T I?”

“I understand your worries, Jennifer. You will understand everything once you see why Michael hasn’t told you anything until now.”

Alex said.

“Understand? What should I understand!?”

“It may be hard to swallow, but I will tell you everything.”

Michael said.

“Remember the party, where we lost Alex for 6 hours?”

He continued.

“Yes, I do.”

Jenifer answered.

“Well. He met something or someone there. That ‘thing’ gave him powers.”

“And what the fuck does it have to do with you guys returning to military operations? Wait, powers? Are you kidding me?”

“I am not.”

“YOU ARE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ‘POWERS’ GIVEN BY WEIRD THINGS. EVERYTHING ALEX HAD DONE THAT DAY WAS DRINKING A LOT AND…”

Jenifer hesitated to tell everyone about Alex’s little incident.

“Michael, I think she will not rest until we prove what exactly we are talking about.”

Alex said.

“You are right.”

Alex then opened a portal in the dining room.

“What… The fuck?”

Jenifer was speechless. She had never seen a portal before.

How exactly is she supposed to describe it? Jenifer had seen the Nightclub’s holographic technology before; maybe it was the answer, she thought.

“No, it is not the Nightclub’s holograms. Please, enter.”

Michael said. He knew that Jenifer probably thought about the technology they had.

“Alicia, it is also a good opportunity for you to meet our base.”

Alex said. Even though Alicia knew about the portal and magic, she never crossed a portal before.

“I’m coming too!”

Luna said. Her happy and sweet voice broke the tense atmosphere, making Alex and Alicia chuckle.

The five of them crossed the portal, and there they were. Summerville, URA.

They were at the entrance of the base. A way made of iron trees, resembling an old European mansion, was in front of them. It led to the base’s doors. Harper was there, and after Alex opened the portal, he turned in their direction.

Harper looked surprised at Michael and Alex. Why is his sister there? Wait, if she’s there, it means Michael has told her everything... Including their sus income...

What a bad moment to be there, he thought.

“Alex, Michael, I’m glad you are back! May I know why you decided to bring your wives? And who’s that girl over there?”

Harper said.

“She is... my daughter.”

“Wait, wasn’t she supposed to be a dragon? I know that Comoron had told you she could change her form and all, but isn’t it soon?”

“It may sound strange, but she somehow discovered how to do it by herself, and now, here we are... Also, she can speak English fluently.”

“It is indeed some... Unique situation. Well, Comoron will know what to do about it probably. Now, we have more important business, don’t we?”

“Yes… I’m sorry for not calling you earlier, but it happened so soon that I didn’t have time to call you.”

“Soon?”

“Yesterday, Michael said he would be coming to my house today. He knew that Luna was there, and she would have her dragon form. He deliberately chose to show my daughter's dragon form to Jenifer, and with that, we couldn’t hide the truth from her anymore. Fortunately, Luna made her human form quickly, which is what we are seeing now. After some talking, we decided to tell her everything, and here we are now.”

“Wow, that’s surely some fast development.”

“Yeah… Now that we are here, let’s show Alicia and Jenifer our base, as well as show it to Luna.”

“Now that we are here, is that the name you chose for your daughter?”

“Yeah, great name, isn’t it?”

“Indeed, a good name. Suits her… White appearance…”

Alex and Harper were talking to each other, almost forgetting about Michael and the girls behind them.

“What is that vehicle? Is it a tank?”

Alicia asked Alex, pointing to the two triphibic vehicles parked outside the base.

“They are something I bought in a random workshop.”

“So, you can buy war tanks at normal shops here.”

“Yes, you would be quite surprised with the freedom in this country. It is almost like the founding fathers wanted.”

“I guess…”

Alicia was surprised. They could buy war tanks there with ease. Although surprised, she quickly accepted it: if Alex could open portals and cast spells, a random country could sell high-destruction weapons in normal stores.

Who was the most surprised was Jenifer. She had common sense hours ago, but now, a world full of mysteries and things she could only dream of moments ago showed itself.

What had made Jenifer upset wasn’t her common sense breaking apart at an unreparable level, but the fact that Michael had known it for a long time and hadn’t told her anything.

Even though she wants to be angry, shout, cry, or express her feelings in any way possible, deeply, she knows that what Michael did was justifiable.

It wasn’t a light secret; only telling her meant a lot already. She cannot be angry at him at all.

Well, it doesn’t mean she can’t take advantage of the situation. Jenifer will make Michael do lots of things for the next few days.

“I… I don’t know what to say.

Jenifer finally said something after her internal dialogue.

“I know it is absurd. Don’t worry, let’s enter the base.”

Harper said. He is worried seriously about his sister. She had never experienced such circumstances before, and now she is in a new world full of technology in a base made of magic.

Wait… magic. Did Alex show her it? Harper thought.

“Sister, you made well. Some folks in your place would already go crazy.”

“I guess… Even you, Harper. Even you knew it all and decided it was best to keep it away from me... I understand why Alex hadn’t, but you...

“We just wanted to tell you at the best moment. The problem is that there was never a good moment available. At least, you know it now.”

“So, the camping days, work travels, everything was because of this little secret?”

“Precisely! There’s also another world, but the situation is quite dire; it is not a good idea to take you there. Not yet at least.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“And how is that world?”

Jenifer is starting to feel curiosity over surprise.

“A medieval world full of magic. The place being medieval makes it easier to deal with using gold; that’s why our income has exponentially risen.”

“Wasn’t it because of the nightclub? You told me that you guys earned a $1 million prize at a casino in Vegas or something like that, and with the money, you... Don’t tell me, is the prize fake?”

“You got it close. The truth is that the prize existed, but the money was already ours. We sold the gold for money and earned it through ‘luck’; the rest was only washed through the nightclub.”

“It... makes sense... Alicia also knows about it, doesn’t she?”

“That’s because Michael told her. He’s the one that has the powers; we are only extras. Don’t blame Michael, or me, for keeping it from you.”

“I understand…”

Everyone quietly walked to the main hall.

As they entered, Emily and Comoron were friendly, talking about modifications they had made on the TTM1. It looked like an entirely new vehicle, far superior to the last version.

Both looked at the door, only to see three unknown women. Well, 2 for Comoron; he had met Alicia before.

Seeing a red-haired girl talking to an elf about technical modifications on a military vehicle made Jenifer wonder about her life until now.

She worked really hard at a dark company, earning little money that barely paid the rent, and now, seeing the couple talking about hard technical information, Jenifer thought that her hard work was nothing.

“Who’s them?”

Jenifer asked.

“They are supporters. One works with magic, while the other works with technological stuff.”

Alex said.

Luna, who hadn’t said anything since crossing the portal, finally said something.

“Isn’t that the elf who looked terrified talking with Father?”

Too insensitive…

“Luna, Comoron has some precautions towards dragons; when I brought you here, he showed those.”

“OH, I get it!”

Luna happily said.

Seeing Alex’s vehicle, Luna jumped straight into it.

“Wait! It is not done yet! We need to test it!”

Emily said. She ran towards the little girl, trying to control her curiosity. She would be busy for a while doing so.

“I’m sorry for my daughter; she’s still little.”

Alex said.

“Well… Quite surprising that the little dragon became the little girl; she even learned how to speak.”

“I don’t know how it happened either. I guess that she’s a genius after all.”

“I think she inherited your coat of arms and accessed the knowledge there.”

“That’s a good hypothesis; I will ask her later.”

“I can barely sense draconic mana in her, and that’s good. Even though she can still turn into a dragon, her thoughts and her heart are one of a human now.”

“Good? Well, I think you are right.

As Alex and Comoron talked, Jennifer was still there but now complied with the situation. She sat on the chair. Alicia also sat there, and they stood silent for a while, and then Alicia finally broke the silence.

“I never visited this place before... Our husbands are amazing for building something like this, right?”

“Yeah, they are... But what about us? I bet they worked to their bones, while I just enjoyed my calm life. I could help them; I... I could do something.”

“Alex told me everything almost as soon as he discovered the powers. I kept my ‘good wife’ pose then, but I was also struggling internally. He was risking his life to bring comfort to both of us.”

“He should’ve told me that he was going into life-risking missions. I could at least stop him.”

“You wouldn’t. Michael is just like Alex; they won’t listen to us; all we can do in this case is help them the most we can.”

“Is that all that’s left for us?”

“Well, for me, yes. You have your brother to help you, though. You can control him at some point.”

“Hahahaha, don’t joke. Harper is my brother, but he’s also fearless at this point. He had done some pretty weird business back when they were mercenaries.”

“Hahahaha, Alex told me how things happened in the Middle East when he worked there.”

“Well, this little chat was helpful. Thanks, Alicia.”

Jenifer said. She was at ease after some really shocking experiences.

As both girls talk, Emily still struggles to put Luna in her place.

The little girl is running wild inside Emily’s new TTM01 model. Despite running wild, Luna hadn’t broken anything; the model was intact, and she just wanted to see her father’s machine, as she could sense his smell in the vehicle.

“Let’s stop, please.”

Emily said. She was panting.

Luna did not slow any centimeter. She continued to run through the entire vehicle, even though it was small.

After 2 minutes of doing so, she stopped. Luna looked at Emily, who was still panting and barely breathing, and sat at her side.

Luna stayed by Emily’s side for 3 whole minutes when the engineer finally broke the silence.

“Hey, little girl. What’s your name?”

“I’m Luna, and you?”

“Emily.”

“Why are you working on my father’s machine?”

“Because that’s what I do. I work with all the tech stuff, and after fighting with that dragon, he barely came alive. The vehicle was a mess, and well, I had to fix it.”

“It does not seem to be only fixed, but also insanely improved.”

“Well, hehehe. That’s my work after all.”

Emily could barely hide her pride.

“Can you teach me? That’s so cool!”

“Well, I can, but—”

Seeing Luna’s begging face, Emily couldn’t decline her.

“Alright. You won.”

“YAYYY!”

Emily then started pointing to pieces of equipment and teaching Luna about their functions.

“This thing here is a superconductor made of liquid mage-iron. It transports energy with incredible efficiency. We are only losing 10−100% of the total power. I made it with Comoron; he had that magical material that freezes at an incredible pace. All the lost heat is also converted into energy that we use to fuel the vehicle; that way, we are not only not losing power but also making the vehicle fuel independently.”

“Wow, that’s incredible! I can tell you also use that heat to move a magnet to generate a current through the coil and keep the machinery alive. That’s very clever!”

“Wow, are you actually a genius? You understood what the heat is used for and how we do energy using it.

"I'm my father’s daughter. I can remember everything he taught me.”

“Aren’t you 3 days old, or something like that? I don’t think he can teach you this much in so little time.

“He can, and he did! I can get all of his knowledge through my coat of arms!”

“So, that’s why you are so smart.”

“Maybe? What’s more to learn here?”

Luna said expectantly.

“There’s this EMP launcher. It works incredibly easily, and after our upgrade, it reloads extremely quickly—2 minutes, and you are ready for a second round! We basically use external radiation to generate energy! It happens through a radio net that captures nearby radioactive energy, and that energy will be released in unpolarized waves. It will cause every nearby system to collapse, but ours! Why does it happen? Even though we launch unpolarized waves, those have a specific frequency that our machine here recognizes through this little thing called a radio receiver. When the radio is detected, some energy is released, reaching the transistors that amplify it, causing it to load the security systems that we adapted, and it launches eliminative waves at the very same frequency, making us immune.”

“Couldn’t you use the security system to detect nearby EMP waves and launch eliminative waves at them? I think that if you emulate waves, it can happen.”

“Well, you said it almost correctly. We can do it, but the cost would be high. It is preferable to reflect the EMP than eliminate it through wave emulators.”

“I think that I understand.”

“Well, you learn quickly. I think that Comoron will also like you.”

“Do you like him?”

Luna innocently asked. Emily flushed; she wasn’t expecting such a critical attack from the little girl looking at her.

“Well, I do; I mean, he’s such a good friend, more than that, but less than a lover; wait, we are not dating!”

Emily started to mix words, mentioning the word "lover," which literally handed her over.

“Hehe, you do like him! Why don’t you confess?”

“We are good friends; I don’t want to lose it... It is just that my head is messed up; it will pass soon. I can’t let those weird thoughts assume control.”

“You are lying to yourself.”

“When did a 3-day-old girl learn such words?”

"Yesterday, I guess?”

“AAAH! I’m not lying to myself!”

“Hehe, I think you are.”

Emily could barely hide her red face. Luna had launched a surprise attack, and it worked extremely well.

The two girls talked to each other for hours after.

….

..

Harper, Michael, Alex, and Comoron were finally alone. Alicia and Jenifer went to a nearby seat outside; Emily was handling Luna somehow, and they were free to talk about important matters.

“I’ve heard that the Demon World is under heavy movement. Something big had happened; they seem in a hurry.”

Comoron said.

“How did you get the information? I was told that info gathering in the demon places is extremely hard.

Alex asked.

“Emily helped me. We have a small spy satellite in orbit of the kingdom world. I was shocked when I discovered that we share the world with more places, and the continent isn’t the only land out there.

“That’s nice. Should we explore the other continents, aiming to get rare materials and exchange them for platinum, silver, and gold?”

Harper said.

“Well, I think that we can do it later. The Demon World movement seems to worry me more at this moment. There are a large number of beings coordinatingly entering and leaving a destroyed cave; it looks like something big has happened there.”

Alex looked at Comoron’s image; seeing the cave, it looked familiar...

“That place, maybe it is a dragon nest?”

Alex said.

“It is quite possible, but a dragon nest is usually full of gold. These flying-scaled insects are famous for stealing villages and killing for gold. They don’t even use it.”

“What if the nest is destroyed?”

“Seeing how many creatures surround the place, we are probably facing a large entity there.”

“A big hit?”

“Yes, there’s a chance we are facing an issue with a Demon Lord main subordinate. It means that the Demon Lord is already revived.”

“Probably… Well, when the spy satellite shoots again at the forest, try to pinpoint a possible place for the Demon Lord.”

“Alright.”

“Well, not that we are done; let’s test the new model Emily made for us.”

Alex said. He was excited to show his wife and daughter his work vehicle.

“Alright!”

Both Michael and Harper shouted.

As they were entering Emily’s workshop, they saw her and Luna talking to each other. They were so absorbed in the conversation that they hadn’t even noticed they were coming.

“It seems you liked Emily, Luna.”

Alex said.

“Oh, father!”

Surprised, Luna looked at Alex and then jumped in his arms.

“You’ve become quite fatherly, huh.”

Harper said. He was hiding a chuckle while saying it.

“How can I don’t? Look at this gem!”

Alex proudly said. He really loved his daughter, despite knowing her for only 3 days.

“Well, aren’t we here to evaluate the new model?”

“Oh, right. Emily, what’s new for us to test?”

“I’m glad you asked! The TTM01 can fly at least twice the previous height, submerge 2 miles deeper, launch missiles with a better fire control system, and run thrice the speed in soil, twice in air, and twice in water. As for the weapons, the EMP system reloads in only 2 minutes; as long as you have radiation nearby, it counts sunlight. The fueling is way more efficient; you can work the little boy over there for months without needing to reload, as it uses heat to generate energy. I’ve also added more things and augmented some capacities. Comoron helped me use some magical materials to help with the resistance and everything else. There is also a magical magnet; it generates a powerful camp, enough to cover the entire model into a 10 times thicker magnetic field. There’s also-”

“Enough… You’ve wonderfully managed to get this little boy to work better than ever! No need to tell me more about it; let’s test it!”

“Sure! Let me call the ladies to witness the greatest magical vehicle ever made by myself!”

“Alright! I will put it outside.”

….

…

10 minutes later.

Alex finally managed to get the TM01 model outside the base to test it. The process was tough though; through hard thoughts, Alex understood how to control the vehicle, and he had finally placed it outside.

Jenifer, Alicia, Luna, Harper, Comoron, Emily, and Michael were watching Alex start his evaluation. The expectations were high, and Alex would prove they were worth it.

He ignited the engines, and at an incredible 600 miles per hour, he crossed the ocean in front of everyone. Already on the water, he started the submerging protocols, and he quickly went 3 miles underwater and then swiftly reached 150 mph diving. After 2 minutes, he surfaced and began to fly. On the air, he had made it crossing the clouds! After 30 minutes of playing with his new toy, Alex finally reached the surface, where his friends were waiting for him.

“That was incredible!”

Alicia shouted. She had never seen such equipment before, so for the first time, it was magnificent.

Jenifer was left speechless, but with such equipment on their hands, she was at ease with Michael doing military service.

Emily evaluated the entire process, but there was still room for improvement. She would assess it and discover what they can improve on for now.

Michael and Harper were excited for their time. Comoron had seen what magic and technology looked like together, or what he and Emily could do together.

Luna was excited about the incredible speed her father reached. She wanted one of them too.

Everyone was happy; the test went smoothly. It looked like everything was going well, but the squad knew it wasn’t the case. The demon lord had just appeared, and they seemed in a hurry because of something. They better discover it soon, or things will get complicated, and they may even lose that world forever.

Where else can they find cheap gold?

……

…

Inside the Demon Lord’s chamber, Verris kneeled before the Demon Lord.

“My Lord, I bring further ill news. We have uncovered more remnants of the strange weapon—the one used in the vanishment of the Dragon King. My scouts retrieved fragments of what we now know to be a kind of explosive arrow, far beyond the means of mortal magic or craftsmanship.”

The Demon Lord, veiled in his dark shroud, shifted slightly, his voice reverberating through the chamber. "Explosive arrow, thy say? A weapon capable of such devastation? This one has long suspected that mere mortals could not wield such a force. Speak, Verris, what have thy found?"

“My Lord, this weapon... the markings upon its remains are like nothing from this realm. The metal, the design—these arrows are no simple constructs. They bear traces of energy foreign to our world, unlike any magic known to our kind or the magisters of any other realm. More of these 'arrows' were found near the Dragon King's lair, scattered as if to erase their existence. We believe this... third power continues to monitor us, to see what we uncover.”

The Demon Lord remained silent for a moment, his aura thickening with contemplation.

“A third power, then? Verris, this one tires of coincidence. Two mighty beings—the Dragon King and the King of the Forest—do not simply disappear without explanation. Someone, or something, seeks to challenge the natural order.”

“Indeed, my Lord,”

Verris said, his voice low.

“We have reason to believe they are watching us even now. My scouts have reported sightings of strange objects in the sky, moving faster than any bird or dragon. And the ruins near the Dragon King's lair—they hold more traces of these explosive arrows. They suggest an organized, strategic presence, my Lord. One that may be studying us as we speak.”

He continued.

The Demon Lord’s voice rumbled with a controlled fury.

“So, they think to spy on this kingdom. They think to strike without facing this one directly. Cowards, all of them. Thy say they use devices foreign to this realm, but this one demands to know their origins, their motives. Are they divine? Are they from beyond the stars? What fools think they can meddle in the affairs of this world without consequence?”

“We are not yet certain of their origin, my Lord,”

Verris replied.

“But we know they are beyond our current understanding. Our magisters are confounded by the materials and construction of these devices. No spell can decipher their nature. It is as if they operate on principles unknown to this world. I fear we are dealing with an enemy from... elsewhere.”

He continued.

The Demon Lord's eyes flared red beneath the fog.

“This one will not tolerate such insolence. Verris, instruct our spies to follow these sightings, to capture one of these objects. If this third power believes it can escape the wrath of this kingdom, it shall learn the error of its ways. We will not rest until their plans are laid bare, and their forces destroyed.”

“At once, my Lord,”

Verris said, bowing low.

“And Verris, make no mistake. Whoever stands behind this will know the full weight of this one's fury.”

The atmosphere inside the Demon Lord’s chamber is heavy.