Episode 25
“Quiet down and talk.”
Dylan placed the three dragons on the office sofa in turn.
Though they were forced to sit under his firm grip, the dragons sat with their backs to the sofa, pointedly ignoring him.
“Are you really going to keep acting like this?”
“Kya goo!”
“Pooooo!”
“Stop that.”
The three dragons continued to turn their backs on Dylan, making random animalistic noises.
In their current forms, they couldn’t speak human language, but their cries conveyed a plethora of meanings that flooded Dylan’s ears.
“Alright, I get it. You’ve made yourselves clear. But didn’t you promise Erina that you’d meet her once you’ve grown up properly? Does this look like proper growth to you? From what I see, you’re regressing spectacularly.”
At Dylan’s sharp reprimand, Resen was the first to retort.
“Kyahhh! Kyah kya kya! (Still, it’s unfair of you to go see her alone!)”
“I’m not a young dragon in growth, nor did I promise not to see her. So your promise doesn’t concern me.”
Dylan’s response, devoid of guilt, silenced Resen, who let out a huffy snort and glared at him.
The glare, coming from a lizard the size of his forearm, only made Dylan chuckle.
Next, Lia spoke up.
“Poa! Pyaa ya! Byabya bubbu! (Then next time, you can take us with you!)”
“If I take you, won’t you just settle down there for good? Do I look crazy enough to let that happen?”
At Dylan’s retort, Lia screeched “Baaa!” and scratched at the leather sofa with her claws.
The luxurious buffalo leather was shredded in an instant. Only then did her fiery temper seem to calm slightly.
“Lia, you’re responsible for fixing that sofa.”
If only Dylan hadn’t said that.
Lia, ready to explode again, hesitated when she saw his cold expression and reluctantly retracted her claws.
“Myama? Mya, momo, mama. Mya, mooo maa. (Dylan, you’re such an idiot. Just bring Erina here. We only want to see her.)”
“…What?”
For the first time, Dylan’s face showed doubt at Poi’s quiet mumbling. Noticing this, Resen and Ria eagerly joined in.
“Kyao! Kooo kyao! (That’s right! Bring Erina here!)”
“Pooo! Byabya po! (Exactly! Just bring her here!)”
As though they had discovered a groundbreaking solution, the three dragons flapped their wings and clamored noisily, making Dylan’s eardrums ache once again.
“Enough.”
“Kya.”
“Ba.”
“Ma.”
Surprisingly, they quieted immediately.
Dylan could tell they were quite pleased with the new approach. Sitting neatly, they gazed up at him with sparkling eyes.
If Erina had seen them, she’d have smothered them with kisses for being so adorable. But to Dylan, they were nothing more than cunning little reptiles.
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
As soon as Dylan’s reluctant words left his mouth, the dragons’ lips stretched into wide grins—a gesture they had learned from Erina.
Watching them, Dylan grimaced and told them to leave.
Yet instead of leaving, the three latched onto his legs as if to say, “That’s settled, but we’re still not done here.”
Their determination to pester him until Erina was brought to them was unshakeable.
Sighing at the weight dragging on his legs, Dylan realized that granting a little concession wouldn’t make them any less bothersome.
That day, he spent all his time walking around with the dragons clinging to him, much to the amusement and curiosity of the staff who witnessed the scene.
***
As days passed, Dylan’s thoughts grew heavier, so much so that his temples throbbed even when he sat still.
Two conflicting ideas fought for dominance in his mind.
First: Bringing Erina here would mean exposing her to others. He hated that idea.
To Dylan, Erina was like a treasured candy he wanted to keep all to himself. The thought of sharing her, even with his family, was intolerable.
Especially since there were five other dragons in this house. The idea of Erina’s attention being divided into sixths made him feel physically ill.
Second: Erina was necessary for his niblings’ growth.
She was the only one who could inspire and motivate them to mature into worthy successors.
Dylan could potentially handle it himself if he dedicated the next ten years, but time wasn’t on his side. Though dragons lived for centuries, the current state of the Harrison household left him unable to spare even a single year.
Caught between these opposing thoughts, Dylan spent his days deep in contemplation.
He even devised an escape plan but was thwarted every time by Mitzu and Hael, who refused to let him go.
Dylan, who had spent his life as a dragon with minimal effort, found himself uncharacteristically exhausted.
His current lifestyle was far removed from his “wing it” philosophy. 1To ‘wing it’ means to accomplish or execute something without sufficient preparation or experience; improvise.
“Ha, seriously.”
The sight of his niblings wrecking his office, napping on his legs, and growing more exhausting by the day solidified Dylan’s resolve.
He decided to focus on their growth first. Once they matured, he would bring Erina to his lair, where no one could see her or covet her golden hair.
Dylan’s long-term plan firmly in place, he stood up. After shaking the dragons off his legs, he disappeared in an instant, ready to put his plan into motion.
“Kya?”
“Bya?”
“Maa?”
The three dragons, who had been sound asleep, rolled around and blinked wide-eyed, staring at each other in confusion.
***
Meanwhile, Erina, who had stayed up all night with her eyes wide open, jolted awake as the sunrise painted her room.
She glanced around in a panic. It had become a common occurrence for her—spacing out only to realize it was already morning.
Her head, foggy from lack of sleep, cleared slightly as she shook it gently.
Erina gathered the mushrooms drying by the windowsill into a basket. There wasn’t a single scrap of food left in the house. She would have to sell the mushrooms to buy some bread today.
Ever since the children had gone back with their uncle, Erina had lost all motivation. She hadn’t even gone to the forest to gather fresh mushrooms, leaving her with only the dried ones to sell.
Letting out a short sigh, she stepped out of the house. She resolved to start gathering mushrooms again tomorrow. But she could already picture herself sitting idly at home once more when tomorrow came.
Fortunately, she managed to sell the dried mushrooms and was on her way home with bread and jam in her basket.
“Erina!”
A cheerful voice called out from behind. Erina turned to see who had called her name.
It was Luan, a friend who lived in town. They often enjoyed delicious food together and browsed stores during their outings.
“Luan!”
“It’s been so long! You haven’t been coming into town much lately. Wait, are you sick? Your face looks so pale!”
Luan frowned in concern, lightly touching Erina’s cheeks. Erina responded with an awkward smile, trying to wave off her friend’s worry.
Since her grandmother had passed away, Erina occasionally appeared tired, but this was the first time she looked truly unwell, which only deepened Luan’s concern.
“Erina, are you busy today?”
“Huh? No, I was just planning to rest.”
“Really? Perfect! I was thinking of buying a new ribbon—why don’t you come with me?”
Though phrased as a suggestion, Luan grabbed Erina’s hand firmly and began leading her toward a ribbon shop. Erina, unable to refuse, followed her friend to the store.
The shop they arrived at was the same one where Erina had bought ribbons for the dragons.
The pendants and ribbons she had gifted them were still on display, neatly arranged. Luan immediately spotted them.
“Erina! Look at this! It’s so pretty! You can even customize the pendants!”
“That’s right! We can make it exactly how you want,” the shopkeeper chimed in. “Your friend here bought three of them last time!”
“Really? Oh my gosh, Erina, you bought ribbons? You’ve always hated things like that for being over the top. These must be seriously stunning for you to buy them!”
Once again, Erina deflected the question with an awkward laugh.
Luan paused to glance at her curiously before diving into the task of choosing the perfect ribbon color with the shopkeeper.
