“I have no Magic, Father.”
Imperia answered as politely as always.
“What…?”
Kael frowned.
“Fufufu~
Not every being is born with Magic, Father.
Some are clearly superior to the others~”
The Little Fox spoke, side-eyeing her sister.
“Vita.”
Kael silenced her in a strict tone before he let Imperia climb onto his palm.
“Have you not awakened your Magic yet?”
He questioned, thinking of a possible explanation. His child could be a late bloomer.
“No, Father.
I do not possess any Magic.
I never will.”
Imperia shook her head.
What Kael found strange, however, was that his little girl didn’t seem… down about it.
After all, even if she acted mature, she was still a 5-day-old child. Vitaria liked to tease others and flaunt her powers; even Cirri and Igni shared those traits. Then, as the one who doesn’t have a way to flaunt her powers…
Shouldn’t Imperia feel down?
‘Is she hiding it?’
Kael thought inwardly, his worry taking over all his emotions. He couldn’t let his daughter bottle up all her emotions; it wasn’t healthy. He needed to do something. Something that would make his daughter open up to him.
He had been neglecting her for far too long, but not now.
Kael shook his head, his mind already coming up with things to say and not say.
He felt… nervous.
But then,
“She is too powerful to have any Magic, Father.”
Igni spoke up.
“Huh…?”
Kael frowned, turning towards his eldest.
“Do you remember what I said when that thing showed you the Duskmarch Ant Queen’s Egg?”
“That her Bloodline is much purer than yours.”
“It isn’t just me.”
Igni shook his head.
“What…?”
The Primordial Dragon glanced at all his siblings and,
“Ria’s bloodline is purer than all ours.
Cirri probably does not know it since she still hasn’t entered Phase Two of her Evolution, but Mother of All Ants does not need any Magic.
Magic, even Ancestral Magic, is beneath her.”
“Huh…?”
Kael’s expression changed. He once again glanced at his youngest, who had tilted her head with a light smile on her face, not saying anything.
She didn’t even act proud, almost as if what her older brother was saying was just plain obvious, nothing to react about.
Well, maybe that was a form of pride in its own way.
“How is she… strong?”
Kael couldn’t help but question.
Because of Igni’s words, he had been keeping an eye on Imperia’s stats all this while and… they didn’t seem any different.
Yes, when compared to Vitaria, who was at the same level, her average stats were higher. Vita’s average was 95.4, while Imperia’s was 105.6.
But that was only when Intelligence and Charisma were added, two things that aren’t very useful in battle.
If he removed those two, the average changed to 89.7 and 82.7, with Vitaria having the advantage.
Of course, it wasn’t groundbreaking, and the two were still close in terms of strength, but because of Igni’s words, Kael’s expectations were higher.
“That, I do not know.”
Igni, however, shook his head, unable to answer.
“Huh…?”
Kael raised his eyebrow and Igni continued,
“The Instinctual Knowledge in my head is vast; most of it is still unclear, but the name Mother of All Ants was still strong enough for me to remember.
And…”
Igni momentarily paused.
“And?”
Kael frowned.
Igni then stared at his youngest and,
“And my instincts told me to… be cautious.
To never make an enemy out of this being unless absolutely necessary.”
“!!!”
Kael’s expression changed.
For a moment, he felt goosebumps running down his spine as he heard Igni’s words.
For a Dragon to instinctually remember a name to be cautious of…
Just… what the hell is a Mother of All Ants?
What is… his daughter?
Kael turned towards Imperia again; the girl, however, just tilted her head as she stared at her brother and,
“Brother, there will never be a day when we will be enemies.
I will always stand by your side.”
She spoke lightly.
“That reassures me.”
Igni smiled lightly, bringing his claw next to Imperia, as if he was afraid to hurt her. No matter who she was or how strong her bloodline was, at the end of the day, she was the Dragon’s sister, and Igni was going to protect her.
As if knowing that, Imperia closed her big eyes and rubbed her little head with Igni’s claw. It was an interaction that made Kael smile.
But then,
“This little thing is strong?”
Vitaria, who had been listening silently all this while, jumped on Kael’s shoulder and stared at Imperia. Her eyes then shined in enlightenment and she turned towards Igni,
“Brother, that knowledge of yours is an illusion. Someone must have fooled you.”
Heck, the little Fox sounded impressed,
“A Generational Level Prank,
So you can do something like that as well, huh…
Eye-opening…”
“…”
Seeing the look in her eyes, Kael felt like he wasn’t going to like whatever the hell the little demon was thinking.
“Alright then.”
He attracted everyone’s attention.
He then turned towards Imperia and,
“Ria, I am looking forward to what you are going to show me.”
“I hope you will not be disappointed, Father.”
Ria answered politely.
“You can never disappoint me, Ria. You are my daughter, and I will always be proud of you.”
Kael answered, lightly rubbing Ria’s head, something that Ria accepted with a big smile on her face. She seemed to enjoy it every time her father rubbed her head.
After giving her the attention, Kael turned towards the rest and,
“Since I can now use your Magic,
How about you teach me how to control it and use it more efficiently?”
“Father, you should sleep. It is late.”
Imperia spoke up.
“Oh, come on! Who cares about sleeping!? We sleep every day!
Father! I’ll teach you! I’ll teach you everything you need to know to make a prank real, so real that any other magic won’t be needed! We will shut our enemies’ hearts!”
Vitaria spoke excitedly. It wasn’t just her—Igni and Cirri seemed interested in teaching their Magic to their Father. Heck, even Kael wanted to learn instead of sleeping, and seeing that, Ria shook her head and gave in,
“Alright, but only for today. This will not be an everyday occurrence.”
“Yes! It won’t!”
Kael nodded as he lightly kissed Ria, who shook her head and sighed again.