When Hikari heard this, her breathing stilled slightly as her eyes spun. How could she not understand the deeper meaning of Draco's question?
Hikari knew about s.e.x, but she was about as skilled in social interactions with the opposite s.e.x as a NEET was. She understood s.e.x and childbirth, so Draco's words impacted her.
"I… well…" Hikari found herself tongue-tied.
In the case of Roma, she had already lost her first time to him, not to mention that she was looking forward to such acts with Draco almost as much as Eva.
Hikari though, was a v.i.r.g.i.n in every sense of the word. If she had been a guy, she would have long since advanced from being just a 'wizard' and been recognized as a mighty archmage in no way inferior to a certain grey mage who loved to send out little people on suicide adventures...
Draco saw her discomfort and realized that this question might have been seriously badly timed. After all, she had just come to terms with her suffering, so to turn things slightly s.e.x.u.a.l in the next few minutes was…
Draco smiled and shook his head. "It's okay, we can discuss that later."
Hikari heard this and felt bad. Even though Draco claimed it was okay, she felt as if she had fallen short of something, so she steeled herself and answered anyway.
"I think the gestation period for our two species should be around 3 years."
Draco's eyebrows rose. 3 years in the Boundless world was about 9 months in the real world. In other words, should he i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Hikari right now, she and Eva would give birth at almost the same time.
His child with Eva - aside from being real - would be an entity of pure power, possessing the traits of a Devil, Dark Angel, Horned Demon, God Serpent, Sun Goddess, Celestial Entity, Abyssal Ruler and Paragon of Light.
In other words, both Yin and Yang would be present in one tiny little body.
From what he learned about Black Dragons and White Dragons, they were characterized by their respective elemental energies, which was destruction and creation.
Such a child would possess the ultimate offensive power with the ultimate defensive and supportive power. This child would be extremely similar to the Yin-Yang child he had with Eva, but of a slightly different - and weaker - flavor.
Draco thought about this quickly and smiled lightly. This was far too coincidental to be 'the will of heaven' especially since Lucifer and Amaterasu had stressed that no such thing existed.
Hikari saw Draco's smile and misunderstood. She felt that he was happy that they could have a child so quickly. For scale, most dragons gave birth after 10-15 years, but the relationship between Black and White Dragons was very special.
Hikari quickly changed the topic as she felt embarrassed. Discussing pregnancy and birth with what was her significant other was a mixture of exciting and worrisome for most girls, and she was no exception.
"Draco, you told me a lot about yourself, but that was by proxy. I want to know more about you, the immediate stuff you can tell me. Who are you?" Hikari asked honestly.
Draco parsed her question and answered slowly.
"I am Draco and I do not have a last name yet. My identity is a bit scattered, as I was an average orphan for a while, then I became the prodigy of some family line, then it turns out I am a clone of a certain God. It seems my existence keeps becoming more and more unique as I continue with my life."
Draco spoke this with amus.e.m.e.nt. "I also have a very calm and mature personality that has been nurtured by my experiences. For a long time, I was a callous and angsty fellow, so I have an extremely dark side that shows itself occasionally. I also have a shameless and jovial side that I show to my closest friends and family, including you."
"My goal in life is to reach the pinnacle of the world and create a safe place for my family to exist. This includes both this world and the World of the Gods. As I told you earlier, there are conflicts and divisions between us even up there."
"My greatest strength should be… hm. I'd say it should be my talent. I have so much talent and potential that even when I was shackled by various bonds, I still rose to the top once. Now that I have broken all those shackles, my return is even faster."
"However, my greatest weakness… is my mind. I have three types of thoughtstreams in my head, all vying for power. The people in the World of the Gods call this a split personality disorder. Because of this chaos, some acts I perform might not make sense to others or even seem uncharacteristic coming from me, but I still do them."
"As you saw earlier, I have very little likes. I like peace, I like to develop and build things, I like to craft, I also like to battle every now and then. As for my s.e.x.u.a.l preferences, those are very plain to see."
"As for what I dislike, it should be betrayal. I suffered from that greatly before, even though ultimately turned out to be a misunderstanding. I dislike being looked down upon and I dislike being spoken to improperly."
Draco stopped there and sat with his eyes facing the ceiling. He had spoken out what he felt constituted himself and he felt enlightened for it.
It was an extremely bizarre process to sit down and quantify yourself, your actions and your thoughts to another person. It made one extremely self-aware at that moment, and they would realize two key points.
The first was that they had traits and characteristics they never actively thought they had, or they had chosen to overlook usually. Realizing these traits made them aware of their own faults and strengths thanks to them.
The second was that they actually knew very little of themselves. No matter what, it was the bystander who would have the clearest view. What a person felt might be their flaw might not actually be a flaw, and what one felt might be a strength could turn out to be a weakness.
Confronting this allowed people to mature faster, and Draco was no exception. He considered himself pretty enlightened after all he had gone through in his past life and this one, but he suddenly realized he had more room to grow as a person, and not just as a combatant/player/crafter.
Hikari seemed to be a mixture of confused and yet enlightened as well. Draco came out of his daze and watched her silently.
"Why don't you do the same then?" He asked lightly.
Hikari was startled by his question. "I should do the same of what?"
"Tell me who you are, using the same criteria as I did."
Hikari paused to think. She spent far longer than Draco did as she thought up how to quantify herself properly, as she had never done this kind of introspective analysis before.
"My name is Hikari Ryushiki. I am the 7th daughter of Goranon, the Dragon God of the Elements and Mara Ryushiki, a White Dragoness of the Supreme Rank. I had 10 siblings up until that event and 7 other mothers."
Hikari took a deep breath before continuing. "I am gentle and very empathetic. I don't like to harm other beings and I prefer to help others as best as I can."
"My goal is to rebuild the Dragon race… I don't want revenge or anything because I dislike hatred…"
Hikari sounded uncertain as she said that, knowing that it would sound bizarre in the ears of any person who listened. After all, the one thing that should be on her mind 24/7 was how to enact revenge on Sigurd, but she didn't want that.
She just wanted to build her race up to their former glory. If anyone wanted revenge, that was their choice, but she wasn't interested in such a thing.
"My greatest strength is my empathy. I can feel the pain of another person, and help them overcome it, though I naturally can't do so for myself. That's why I need you…"
"My greatest weakness is that I'm… I'm naive. That's what my eldest brother once told me half-jokingly, but I can't deny that he's right. I know very little aside from what my father or my siblings taught me, so I'm clueless as to how the outside world works. And most of what I had been taught might already be outdated."
"I like healing and singing. I also like exploring things and discovering new stuff. I treasure those rare experiences, as I count them among the happiest memories with my family. I like being around people I care about, like my family, and now you."
"I dislike pain and harming others. I hate being trapped in one place for so long. I hate being alone without anyone I love near me."
Hikari ended her own sharing and went silent. She finally understood how Draco felt when he shared his own details with her, as well as the two key points everyone recognized.
It had a stronger effect on maturing the mind for her than it did for Draco. Especially since she realized how naive she would be in this new situation and how much more there was to learn about the world.
The secret to maturity was simple. One simply needed to realize that they weren't as perfect as they thought, and they would have taken the first step on the path to maturity.
Draco smiled and placed his palm on her shoulder. Before Hikari could tell what was going on, she suddenly felt space shift as she was deposited beside Draco in a random mountainous area.
She turned to Draco with incomprehension, wondering how they got there and why she was brought there. She noticed that where they stood was the peak of the mountain, which had barely enough space for her true body to lie flat.
As a humanoid though, it was quite spacey.
Draco smiled at her, a smile that made Hikari's heartbeat as she felt something stirring up in her. Draco's next words verified her suspicions.
"Since we have completed the Dragobond, it is natural that we must consummate the ceremony, no?"
Hikari's heart began to pound in her chest as she was confronted with the same scenario every young woman had to, which was her first time. Usually, most would be shy or scared, and Hikari fell into this category as well.
Some would be excited or anxious, and Hikari felt this too. A lot of emotions and thoughts roiled through her body and mind, making her skin reddened as her breathing became slightly heavier.
"I…I know…" She muttered weakly.
Draco placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face upwards gently. "Do you not want to spend your first time with me?"
Hikari gazed into his pulsing red eyes and felt her mind blank slowly as she spoke honestly. "I do, but…"
"But you are not ready yet, right?" Draco asked.
Hikari nodded slightly, with a guilty expression on her face. "I don't know if I am."
Draco released her chin and sighed with an understanding expression. "Then I'll wait for you to be ready. There is no need to rush things. Let me know when you're comfortable enough for us to complete the ceremony."
Draco hadn't meant anything with his words except that he understood her plight and was willing to wait. After all, he had been trained by Sublime and Maria, so he understood the kind of struggle that females faced during this pivotal moment in their lives.
However, Hikari understood it differently. She felt like she had greatly disappointed Draco and she had failed in her duty. This made her feel really bad and ashamed deep down, and she bit her lip.
It was a strange train of thought, but that was how she processed it. Draco had no idea what she was thinking though, as he prepared to blink them away again after the cooldown for the blink skill reset.
However, he felt Hikari grasp his arm tightly as she whispered into his ear. "I… I don't mind if we do it now…"
Draco was surprised when he heard this and noticed that she was refusing to make eye contact with him after she had acquiesced.
However, Draco shook his head and spoke gently: "No, you aren't. I can see it in your eyes, that you offer to do this out of guilt and such a thing is a great insult to me but more importantly to yourself. Give it time. You have just been released from what must be centuries, if not millennia of solitude in what was basically a prison. I don't know if you have ever imagined this kind of situation or perhaps dreamt about it, that you will one day be freed by your perfect mate, but a dream and reality are two separate things. You will eventually be ready for our copulation, and it might even be quicker than you might think. Until then, let's spend some time getting to know each other."
Hikari's heart sank when she heard Draco's words. Once again, she understood them in a different way from what Draco had intended. She felt that he was angry with her, and was quickly losing interest.
After all, he had Eva, Roma and all those servants to give themselves to him. She, who had been hesitant, was probably just one of the many he could spend his time with.
This was the problem with naivety. Naivety was usually accompanied by low self-esteem and this created many insecurities in the heart of the individual.
Even though Hikari was a beauty on par with Eva, with the kind of body proportions that fit Draco's tastes, she felt she was average compared to him. After all, he was a Black Dragon and an Immortal Adventurer with so many achievements in the little time he had been here.
He had even more potential than some of her brothers, who were almost God-Rank Dragons.
There was no immediate cure for this. Only time would make Hikari develop self-confidence, objective thinking and a composed demeanor. A lot of people in the real world suffered from this when they first became 'aware' of society and the opposite s.e.x.
Even Draco had been victim to this. Before he met Eva and became a hate-filled entity, he was a cowardly and insecure loser who hid his pain through fooling around and acting shamelessly.
After experiencing all that, he naturally became more mature and created the level headed person we saw today. The saying 'experience is the best teacher' was not the idle rant of a madman.
Draco took Hikari away, and a few blinks later, they were in the Guild Hall. He decided to introduce her to Eva, Roma, Qiong Qi and the other important members of the guild.
He was hesitant to show Hikari around as her physical beauty was on par with Eva. However, the fundamental difference was that Eva's body was curvy but had low proportions.
Hikari though, was curvy and had hefty proportions, so she was the full package. She didn't have the mental effect of Eva's Inheritance, so unlike Eva who made others adore her and hate the idea of tarnishing her, Hikari could instill l.u.s.t and direct covetous intention.
Draco appeared in his super mini small world room and summoned Eva, Roma and the Five Generals, as well as the rest of his core members.
Draco turned to Hikari. "I'm going to introduce you to some important people, including Eva and Roma. Let me know what you think of them when you see them."
Hikari's heart shook as she heard that and she was smothered by anxiety. She hadn't met another person for a long time and she was only getting used to Draco.
Having to introduce herself to a bunch of important strangers was a real test of her mind, but she tried her best to compose herself.
She felt she had failed him twice already, the first time when she hesitated to answer his question surrounding her gestation period and the second when she hesitated to share her first time with him.
She resolved herself not to disappoint him for a third time today, although such a thing didn't matter to Draco.
Roma was naturally the first to arrive, who was followed by Riveting Night by less than a split second. It would take the core members a bit more time to assemble, so he decided to introduce Hikari to these two right now. Perhaps it was for the best to introduce them to her in a smaller quantity first.
"Eva, Roma, this is Hikari Ryushiki. She is a White Dragon and one of the last surviving members of the Dragon race." Draco said as he gestured to Hikari.
Hikari gathered her courage and bowed. "Hello, Eva, Roma. I have been kept away from society all my life, so I might make a few mistakes. Please be patient with me if I do."
Hikari felt her words were quite good, so she wanted to see the reaction of Riveting Night and Roma. However, she was stunned when she saw Riveting Night threw back her hood and revealed the most beautiful and symmetrically perfect face she had ever seen.
What shocked Hikari further was the excitement on Eva's face, as Eva suddenly rushed up to her and grabbed her shoulders. Eva began to shake her back and forth till Hikari's eyes spun from dizziness, all the while shouting;
"Good! Haha! Perfect! Perfect! Good! Haha!"
Hikari didn't know whether to be happy or be scared that Draco's soulmate was so happy and pleased with her existence. Draco had already described Eva's personality to her in detail, so she had an idea of what to expect.
However, Hikari clearly underestimated Eva's insanity. Which wife would be so excited to see her husband bring home even more wives? Eva continued to prove that she was too far from normal to understand using common sense.
Roma though, just observed Hikari with a smile. She had learned her place as Draco's servant, so whoever else he brought home was not for her to judge.
As long as Eva approved them, Roma did too. She wasn't even a wife candidate honestly; she was more like a concubine at best. She was aware and had agreed to this, since Draco had explicitly explained this before taking her v.i.r.g.i.nity.
Soon, the other members came and saw Hikari. After beating back their shock and envy, they also greeted Hikari and acknowledged her presence in the guild.
Draco didn't tell them she was a Dragoness though, as that was too big a reveal. He just said she was a light element healer of a unique race who had sworn fealty to him.
After that was done, he settled Hikari in his room. Eva left to continue the training of the members of Umbra for the Guild War. Roma stayed to assist him while Qiong Qi had never bothered to show up.
Draco took the various weapons and pieces of armor from Sublime Notion. The 2nd Vice-Guildmaster had collected hundreds of thousands of them, filling up his super mini small world room with them.
They formed hills upon hills which stretched into the distance, baffling Roma greatly. How was Draco supposed to work with all that?
Draco though, brought out all his Aether Crystals and raised his hand grandly.
"Imbue!"
