Chapter 678: Dragon (3)

“Kiek! Kieeeeek!”

Every time she shook her tail, I heard a bang, and I felt a vibration.

She wasn’t that big when I last saw her. As she was always in her humanoid form, the image of Tol To-ri that remained in my memory was the size of a tiger. It’s surprising to see her bigger than an elephant.

It seemed that she was very happy, based on her big and glittery eyes. She was squirming to hug me, but she couldn’t control her large body.

How could I hug her when she’s like that in the first place?

“It seems that you were so excited that your original form came out. Dialuria, you have to focus.”

“Haaa! Heugh! Kieeeek! Pfew!”

A tongue, bigger than my entirety, swept against my face once. I wondered if Dialuria didn’t care much since she was that happy, but…

‘Most of the time, we couldn’t meet because she was sleeping.’

“Dialuria? Dialuria?”

Even though Elena’s amazement was caught in my eyes, Dialuria was turning into a humanoid was what caught my attention.

I immediately felt a hug.

“Dad! Dad!”

“Oh! Our Dialuria. How have you been?”

“Well, well, well!”

It was like a cicada hanging onto a tree. I could see Max walking behind her slowly, holding Dialugia’s hand.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t go see you right away as soon as you woke up, Luria.”

“No, I can understand. Mom also said you were busy every day.”

“You’ve been getting along well with your younger brother, right?”

“Yes!”

I still remembered the head-butt when she first met him. If she did that again, I wondered if my ribs would break.

Seeing that Max’s expression, who was still holding Dialugia’s hand, was normal, it seemed that she had completely stopped doing that.

His characteristics seemed to be the same, but mentally, he matured. Unlike in the past, when he didn’t listen to Dialugia’s words, I felt that he had finally acknowledged her position.

“You’re heavy to dad.”

“…”

She was still disobedient like before.

I wanted to say ‘no, it’s okay,’ but she kept hanging onto me. Slowly, I started running out of breath.

Eventually, Dialugia reached out her hand and pulled her away.

“You’ve grown a lot, our Luria.”

“Yes, but it takes a long time to grow as big as my mother. I hope I grow up quickly.”

“Wouldn’t it be soon? How are you going to school? You just started going again, right?”

It was Dialugia who answered the question.

“She was sleeping for a year, and as soon as she was re-admitted to school, she quickly caught up with others. Especially for subjects such as physical education or basic combat…”

‘She’s a dragon… Isn’t that natural?’

She couldn’t be seen as a top adventurer, but she would have stepped to the top based on her combat abilities.

I could bet that our Tol To-ri would be stronger than her colleagues, as well as the teachers.

Nevertheless, it was fun to see Dialugia being proud of her.

“Besides, you don’t know how smart she is.”

‘Of course, she’s a dragon.’

“Of course, Max is smarter.”

‘Still, it doesn’t seem you’re discriminating him.’

There was also affection in Dialugia’s eyes when she looked at Max. The same was true for him. Perhaps it was the predicted result.

However, unlike Tol To-ri, who didn’t obey her and walked her path, Max was the standard of an obedient child. I could bet that he had never done anything to upset Dialugia. Rather, he would have comforted and supported Dialugia.

“What can I do, Dad?”

‘No, if you talk like that, you’ll make me feel sorry. It makes it look that I call you only when I need you…’

“You don’t have to be so sorry. I know what situation the continent is in and how important dad is.”

‘You’ve grown a lot, Tol To-ri, really.’

Not only me, but Dialugia seemed to have the same thought.

She seemed to think, ‘when did my child’s thoughts deepen like this?’

Honestly, I tried to write a script and act moderately, but it didn’t seem bad to change my mind a little.

“I called you to see how you were doing. Should we go outside first? Max, you come too.”

I glanced at Elena slightly and immediately felt her nodding.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean? I’m trying to shoot the kids playing.”

“…”

“What, did you think I was going to turn her into a plague dragon?”

It looked like she really did.

Although I saw Dialugia, who regretted not being able to pass on the acting tips of someone experienced, it didn’t seem she was upset altogether.

Wasn’t I spending time together with them after a long time?

A couple of kids from different races were added there, but it was even better for Tol To-ri.

It didn’t mean that she was overly mature just because she’s a dragon. Although her mental growth was fast, she was still in the form of a kid.

As she sat with Dialugia, Elena introduced the children to her. Of course, the faces of elves and dwarves were very tense, especially the faces of dwarven children.

Other races were no different. Their expressions had fear and awkwardness coexisting, and Dialuria began to look disgruntled.

As if she wanted to be with me rather than her peers, she kept turning her head. She nodded as I waved my hand from a distance as if she was relieved.

‘It’s not bad. Honestly, it looks good.‘

Wasn’t that a picture even if anyone just looked at it roughly? The first time that kids of different races met and exchanged greetings awkwardly with each other, and became closer, little by little, warmed my heart.

As expected, slowly but surely, the awkwardness was dissipating.

Of course, they instinctively felt fear of Dialuria, but the pure little kids soon became one and began to have fun and play.

Tol To-ri had an expression saying, ‘childish, inferior guys’, but she got excited when she started running and playing with them.

The same was true for Max. Dialuria was also like that, but I enjoyed watching Max’s new appearance, who always acted like a grown-up, and I also enjoyed looking at those little kids.

“Dialuria and Max seem to get along well with the other kids whom they met for the first time. This moment is so precious.”

Dialugia’s evaluation wasn’t bad. She seemed quite thrilled.

“This…”

“Yes?”

“This is the world that the Honorary Cardinal wants.”

I had to nod at Elena’s evaluation.

“It’s the world that Lee Kiyoung wants.”

“…”

“A lot of time has passed, but there are still many of our elves who do not believe in humans. We wanted to go together with you to fight for the continent, but the memories of the times when we were in conflict… Those wounds of the past do not disappear easily.”

“Of course, I understand.”

“Voices are constantly popping out to see if humans and other races can truly reconcile… Some still look at that scenario with suspicious eyes.”

“I can understand that too.”

“It’s embarrassing, but me too. Of course, I know that Lee Kiyoung and the Blue Guild are good people… and I realized that some humans have the right thoughts, but there are still many people with defiled souls. However… all those bad thoughts seemed to have flown away the moment I started watching that scene.”

“…”

“What value Lee Kiyoung really wanted, what Lee Kiyoung wanted to protect, and what future Lee Kiyoung is picturing… Maybe everyone will understand.”

“…”

Even Dialugia was looking at me with a different expression, so there was nothing else I could say.

It was a sight that could purify even the rotten heart of Dialugia, who firmly regarded me as trash.

Nothing else was as pure. Just seeing the sights of those children playing was overwhelming.

I could bet that any trash would become better individuals upon seeing them.

Tol To-ri was even showing off her dragon form. Honestly, I was hoping more and more for her to play with that form.

‘You have to show your true side to your friends.’

Of course, the startled little ones got wary or cried, but after going through the adaptation period again, I could see them playing on Dialugia’s back or tail.

In particular, it looked fun to see them using the tail as a slide.

The dwarf kid was sticking to his feet as if he was scared to ride the slide, but that alone seemed to prove that his alertness was broken.

“The children must be hungry. I have to prepare something.”

“I’ll go with you, Dialugia.”

“I’ll go with you too.”

“No. Someone must stay to watch the children.”

Honestly, I didn’t want to move, so I was thankful that they told me that.

‘Why is your expression so warm, Dialugia?’

I couldn’t get used to her warmest face since we met. Maybe she didn’t think that was bad either.

That was because Elena talked well. She might’ve thought that that was the environment Tol To-ri would grow up in, looking at her having fun.

Honestly, I also had similar thoughts. That kind of atmosphere was good to let the children live in. Maybe everyone thought the same.

The dragons wouldn’t be different either. They were originally spread across the continent, but they were no different from the elves.

They defended the continent and helped humans but were betrayed by them in the end.

Like someone once said, the Earth’s cancer was humanity. Wouldn’t the humans of the continent look like cancer in their eyes as well?

I hoped all the dragons who thought that humans couldn’t change and that they wouldn’t be able to reconcile would be able to watch that scene.

It was a transparent sincerity with no lies.

After some time passed, among the appearances of the little kids covered in dirt, it seemed that my child had the most fun. When Dialuria came back in human form, she ran over to me. Maybe she had something to say to me.

She was probably trying to introduce a friend or ask for something.

I didn’t know if it was because the pure mind inside me was stimulated, but the light kept trying to escape from my body.

Perhaps it was because of the children’s eyes. Even if I kept trying to hold it, the wings were trying to pop out. I wasn’t aiming for a good picture. No, honestly, I was aiming for that for a bit, but if I said I was going for that openly, I would look like trash…

I had to pretend that it was because of my warm heart that the ten bright wings appeared.

“Woooooow!”

“Wow…”

“Dad! Dad… It’s so pretty. So pretty… dad.”

“Wooooooooooooooooooooooooow!”

I spread my wings toward the future of the continent. Did they realize that they were covered in dirt?

They seemed to be having difficulties putting their hands on the bright wings of light. Instead, I hugged the children of different races tightly.

‘For the future of the continent, I will never give up.’

And…

As if living up to my expectations, the dragon meat shields that saw the began to gather one after another.