“Cirri…”
Kael called out in a weak, trembling voice.
And as if to answer her father’s call,
Crack
The Egg cracked and,
“Father!”
A voice that seemed like a distant echo was heard.
“Cirri?”
Kael stared at the Egg in his arms, a little confused.
“Father!”
The echo became stronger.
Crack
The crack widened.
Soon, the solid structure of the egg started becoming looser and looser, the clouds that had once solidified were returning to their previous form.
Kael waited, he couldn’t even breathe in anticipation.
His Cirri was going to come out and… since she had now completed her Evolution, she would now become a big Dragon like Igni.
Of course, even though Kael loved his Igni as he was, somewhere in his heart, he still missed his little Igni who he could carry in his arms and hug as much as he wanted, like a cuddle ball he was.
Kael clenched his fists, having Cirri running into his arms as he hugged her was one of the greatest joys of his life, but now… even Cirri was going to grow.
‘N-No, it is one of the greatest joys to see my children grow, there is no need to delve in the past.’
Kael quickly shook his head and convinced himself.
Then, he waited.
He waited for his Cirri to appear.
The clouds surrounding his daughter moved, slowly and dramatically revealing his daughter,
“Father!”
Cirri’s voice continued to get clearer and clearer, almost as if she was now getting closer to him. A few seconds later, the clouds finally disappeared, revealing Cirri and Kael…
He just stared at the adorable thing in front of him with absolute… confusion.
“Father!”
Cirri exclaimed loudly as she rushed into Kael’s arms like she used to. Kael’s body moved on its own as he hugged her like he usually did.
Yes, Cirri…
She didn’t grow one bit.
She was the same as before.
“Cirri…?”
Kael called out, now he was more worried.
“Did the Evolution fail…?”
He questioned and without waiting for an answer, his eyes turned golden.
[Name: Cirri]
[Race: Primordial Sky Dragon]
[Rank: Eternal]
[Age: 17 Days]
[Level: 19 -> 30]
[Strength: 95 -> 150]
[Agility: 112 -> 215]
[Speed: 119 -> 225]
[Stamina: 104 -> 190]
[Defense: 88 -> 165]
[Mana: 155 -> 280]
[Intelligence: 132 -> 234]
[Charisma: 168 -> 275]
[Strengths: Intangible Form, High Mobility, Density Control, Strong Senses, Difficult to Kill, Sky Dominion.]
[Weaknesses: Energy Dependency]
…
The moment the screen appeared in front of him, Kael got the answer to his question.
The Evolution did not fail.
Cirri was now as strong as Igni, something like that wasn’t possible if she hadn’t gone through evolution.
Then…
“Why didn’t you change?”
Kael questioned out loud.
“I am a Primordial Sky Dragon! My true form is being one with my Sky. My physical form is purely what I imagine myself to be.
I can be even bigger than Brother Igni and I can be as small as I am.
I decided to be small so I can stay in Father’s arms.
Hehe~”
Cirri answered as she continued to rub her head on Kael’s chest and Kael, who heard those words…
He felt a strange amount of relief and joy in his heart.
He tightened his hug around Cirri and,
“I am so proud of you, my little Dragon~”
He started kissing her.
“Father! That tickles~
Hahaha~”
Cirri laughed heartily, rolling in her father’s arms.
A smaller form was indeed the best.
As the father-daughter pair continued to play around, the space around them suddenly started turning white. It was similar to what happened when they cleared the Infernal Crucible.
It was over.
They had cleared the Tempest Sanctum.
Kael held his Cirri as he was soon teleported back into the little hut he was in and the instant he returned,
“Father.”
Igni and the rest of his children surrounded him.
“We are back.”
Kael smiled.
In an instant, Igni narrowed his amber eyes and,
“You have grown, Sister.”
He commented.
The Dragon could immediately sense how his sister had entered Phase Two of her Evolution.
“Hehe~ I am strong now.”
Cirri grinned adorably as she patted her little chest with her paws.
“No, you have just begun your journey. Do not be lost in arrogance.”
The big brother spoke.
“Yes!”
Cirri nodded.
For a very slight instance, she glanced at Vitaria and,
“Heh.”
She grinned.
Vita’s mouth twitched in annoyance.
She wanted to do something, but even she could sense that her big sister had gotten too strong. She had to lay low for a while.
The youngest, however, had no such reservations,
“Stop teasing her. Vita is your little sister, Sister.”
Imperia spoke up, taking Vita’s side.
She could not allow the children to bully each other, that wasn’t healthy.
“…”
Cirri stared at the Ant, wanting to say something, but staring into those big, beautiful purple eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything and turned towards her Father instead, nudging his hands to continue patting her.
Kael did what he was told to with a big smile on his face.
This was indeed the best.
Cirri grew stronger and she still remained his adorable little cuddle ball~
The man was smiling so brightly that the entire hut seemed like it was being lit by the light he was radiating. His children shared his joy.
The only being who had absolutely no clue what was happening was…
Lavinia.
“W-Where did you go?”
The Princess questioned, she didn’t want to be left out.
“Hmm?”
Kael turned towards her and tilted his head in confusion.
“Ah.”
He soon realized that she was here as well.
“Nowhere in particular.”
He shook his head.
He obviously wasn’t planning on revealing everything, even though he trusted Lavinia because of everything Igni said about her being loved by the Elementals, he still didn’t think they were close enough to reveal all the secrets he had.
Lavinia sensed his hesitation as well and did not pursue any longer. She wasn’t entitled enough to believe that everyone should tell her everything when she demands it, every person has secrets. Not to mention…
The Princess stared at the two Dragons standing together with Kael and,
‘He has already revealed too much to someone he barely knows. Expecting more is wrong.’
“I understand.”
The Princess nodded.
Kael nodded back, appreciating how she wasn’t being nosy.
“Should we leave?”
He questioned.
They had already spent quite a lot of time here, they still had a long journey ahead of them.
Lavinia nodded in agreement as the two quickly made the preparations. They had already hunted enough for the breakfast, so they didn’t need to hunt again.
After the breakfast, the group finally left.
Yes, the entire group.
Since Kael had already revealed them, there was no reason to keep his children in Sanctuary. This would also allow them to spend more time together, something Kael or his Bonds did not mind one bit.
Again, the only one who had a problem with this arrangement was the Princess, and she couldn’t be blamed either.
Dragons!
She was walking with Dragons!
She felt like her heart would burst out because of how quickly it was beating.
Intimidated, excited, scared, awed, fascinated, curious, respectful, and… an existential crisis,
All these emotions overwhelmed her mind.
Seeing how Kael laughed together with these Dragons…
She felt… small.
Insignificant.
Of course, she had spent the night with these same beings, just that… yesterday, she had been too tired to think about all this.
But now…
It wasn’t the same.
With every step she took, she realized that she was walking with beings of legend.
And the worst part?
She couldn’t bring herself to say anything out loud and stayed silent like she usually did.
Of course, Vitaria did try to involve the Princess in a conversation or two every once in a while, but it was too difficult for the Princess to say anything.
She needed time…
A lot of time to get used to this.
On the other hand, the journey itself couldn’t be smoother.
With literal Dragons walking with them, Imperia didn’t even have to do anything. The Magic Beasts in the forest felt a suppression like never before, and none dared to approach them. Even the stronger Beasts instantly vacated their territories the moment they sensed the Dragons coming towards them.
Clearing through the forest was a breeze.
Of course, after Kael reached a Town, his children had to return. He and Lavinia rented the inn, ate dinner. One thing to note was that this time, Lavinia didn’t make Kael test the food before her and ate quietly.
The Princess had finally started trusting the Hero a little.
Kael smiled at that. The two took the same room, but today, Kael spent the night inside the Sanctuary since he couldn’t bring out his children here.
Lavinia didn’t say anything either, she just stared at him in silence as he entered the Sanctuary before going to sleep. Although, this time, her sleep wasn’t as relaxing as the day before, not that the Princess would ever admit it out loud.
Kael continued his training back in the Sanctuary before sleeping.
The next day, the one who excitedly woke him up was not Cirri but…
Vitaria.
Yes, it was now the Fox’s turn to play with her Father~