Mid Evening - Late Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

"You can have anything you want from the vault. Even if it's dozens of items, including the family heirloom." Although Oliver kept a serious face, I could tell he was reluctant to speak.

But even still, I felt my mouth start to water. -I wonder what it’ll taste like…-

Looking over at Helen, I assumed she was going to object to it, but she seemed to be in agreement. "So how long is the contract valid?"

"I'm not too sure."

"So, if I went on the offensive, and destroyed the Tower myself, would the contract end?"

"Yes."

-So if Father manages to get Bahamut’s support, I can get that juicy mana core for free...- Although I didn’t want to show it, I made my decision at that moment. "I still need some time to think about it, but consider it valid unless I say otherwise."

The serious expression on his face slowly shifted to one of relief. "Take your time." After discussing a few more minor details, he eventually tapped the silencing artifact again and had everyone come back in. "So Viviana, I heard about you from Martha, but tell me a little about yourself."

As the conversation progressed, the joyful and caring family atmosphere steadily filled the room and caused a distant, blurry memory to surface in my mind.

It was simply the scene of me sitting at a small wooden table with three people around it.

At first, I felt nostalgia and loving warmth from the memory, but after another moment, it shifted to unfamiliarity and discomfort. -Is this really my memory?-

"Are you alright Vasilias? Is something wrong with the food?" Oliver’s voice was drowned with anxiety.

"Ah, I’m fine… I was just reminded of.. something." Silence filled the room as I reached for the silverware to finally eat. -When I was first born in this world, I was so confident that I was that human on Earth, but as time passes.. those memories feel so.. unfamiliar…-

Not wanting to think about it too much after that, I started eating and sparked some idle conversation among everyone.

Thankfully, my mind got sidetracked with the discussion, and I ended up actually having a decent evening after that.

The food was only moderately good, but more importantly, there was a lot of it. I ended up eating over a dozen plates. -I could really go for a field bison right about now...- "So, Oliver, are there any big field bison around here?" I leaned back in my chair to enjoy my temporary satisfaction.

"Field Bison? Ah, you must mean War Bison. We don't have them around here, thankfully. If they were common, towns would be destroyed constantly."

-Were field bison really that strong?- Struggling to believe that, I thought back to how Mother would bring them back like they were a couple fruit she, ‘stumbled upon’. -I guess dragons are just on a different scale…- "Maybe I should fly home and grab one..."

Oliver immediately tensed up, likely thinking I was going to leave. "What are you looking for?"

"Something big to eat. I'm just used to field bison."

Viviana's face was covered in confusion, but she didn't open her mouth to ask about it.

"The biggest monsters nearby are bluefin in the deep part of the bay."

"Oh? How big do those get?"

"20 meters on the big side. They live really deep though, so I can't recommend going after them yourself."

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"How deep is really deep?"

"A few kilometers at least. We do occasionally catch some if you want me to see if I can get one for you though."

Although I wasn't exactly scared of deep water, I couldn't say I wasn't nervous. -I'm not sure whether I want to confirm the validity of Mother’s stories just yet…- As I felt a shiver pass down my spine, I tried to put on a smile. "If you could check, that'd be great. Anything else that's big, like 10 meters or more, works too."

"I'll be sure to take a look. In any case, thank you for joining us for dinner, Vasilias and Viviana. I need to get back to work, so I will take my leave first." On his way out he gave a shallow bow, making Viviana freak out a little, but things quickly calmed back down.

"I'm gonna take my leave as well. I want to go stretch my wings some. I'll still be close enough to help should a problem arise though."

Viviana was, again, incredibly confused, but was too nervous to ask about it.

"Ah, when you come back, I'd like to speak with you, so please come by my office." Helen stopped me as I pushed my chair back in.

"Are you not going to sleep tonight?"

"Haah, no matter how much I want to, I have too much paperwork given by the nobles making a fuss over the incident in the academy for me to do so."

"Ah, sorry about that. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"Don't worry about it, thank you for the offer though." She put on a caring smile as I stood up to leave. "If there is anything else you would like for payment, please just ask." She stood up and gave a humble bow.

"That mana core will probably be more than enough, so don't worry. In any case, I'll be back before sunrise."

She was quick to straighten back up and put on a smile. "See you then~"

Giving another nod, I finally left the dining room and made my way to the plaza for a short pit stop. -I might as well check up on her, right?- But, honestly, it went about as well as I expected.

"Hey bastard, when are you going to let me out?" Maria glared at me with anger-filled eyes as I walked up to her.

-Thank goodness I put up a silencing barrier beforehand…- "Maybe if you told me where the halfies you know are, I'd consider it."

"I've told you already, I have no idea about them. They could be dead for all I know."

"Then that sucks for you." Noticing a bit of deterioration on the metal, I reached up to repair it. "You’ll be sitting here till things get figured out, so you might as well nap or something."

There was a short pause before she looked away from me. "If death is the only thing waiting for me, just kill me now."

The acceptance of her demise was honestly quite impressive. "The thing is, death may not be what is waiting for you. You never know. You might end up being a slave though."

Her fiery eyes immediately locked on me again. "I'd rather die than be a slave to a damn dragon like you-"

*DING* The entire plaza sank a few centimeters as I drove the ring into the ground a bit more. "Your tongue is really sharp for the situation you’re in."

"Eck.." She groaned as the ring pressed her neck to the ground.

"I'll be back in a day or two, so don't get too comfortable." Hopping off her back, I noticed her eyes were full of resistance, but I couldn't really blame her. -I'd be upset if I was in her situation too...- "Alright, let's go Ilios."

We left quite quickly after that, not wasting any time leaving the city and heading into a nearby forest.

We ended up scaring away just about everything in the vicinity as we got there, but it didn't really matter. -I think hobgoblins are the strongest thing in this forest anyways.-

Glancing down at Ilios after changing to my dragon form, I noticed he was looking up at me with unbridled joy. "Haha, you can hop on, Ilios!"

Almost immediately, he leapt onto my back and climbed up to my head.

Usually, dragons would never let anything ride on them, and I was no exception. To dragons, letting a creature ride on them was equivalent to saying you were below them, but to me, Ilios was a different story.

Instead of feeling inferior like most dragons, I just felt like I was letting him have a fun time, similar to how I would let Krystallo ride on my head if she asked.

"Well, if you sit up there, you need to hold on!" As my wings spread, Ilios casually sat down and looked up at the sky. *FWOOOSH*

Getting above the clouds in a few seconds, we finally looked up into the clear night sky and over the world around us.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's truly beautiful isn't it.."

"Woof!"

"Haha!" Looking down, I could see the city with stunning clarity. The various markets, homes, and even people walking along the streets gave the city a special type of beauty.

A small part of me was reminded of cities on Earth, but as I reminisced about them, an odd thought crossed my mind. -Does it really matter if I was that human on Earth?-

Quickly sifting through the countless memories, I couldn't find a single reason to return to Earth.

To me now, it was simply a world I had no attachment to. -But maybe... Maybe one day I'll find it to see if my memories are really just illusions...-