[Later that day]
"Oh, good afternoon, guys. Congratulations on the successful flight." Uwe expressed his happiness as he watched us enter the dining room.
"Yo, thanks. Now, I can finally start exploring the world. Well, almost." I spoke, aware that I truly required their consent to proceed.
"Woah, hold your horses. Let's talk before you guys go off into the world." Leah said this, shaking her hands in a waiting motion.
"Why did something happen?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, not really, but a few things will happen for you in the next couple of weeks," Uwe said, putting his hands together and looking down at me.
"Hmm, I am all ears."
"Well, Duke White will be coming to meet you, and your potential betrothal will arrive any time now."
"Duke White? You mean Chief White's father?" I raised an eyebrow at them, expressing my curiosity.
"Yes, their entire family will be here tomorrow," Uwe said, sounding quite serious.
"I see just one question. How old is she? Chief White." I said it with curiosity.
"Sigh, let's just say she is almost the same age as your maid," Leah said, gesturing at Selone.
"I see her and her sister."
"A few years younger," Leah said curtly, not answering one of my questions properly.
"Why are you asking this?" Uwe asked, confused.
"I just wanted to know; she never answered me when I asked. Though I do understand why she never did, it's just that she has this feeling of wisdom around her that someone who looks to be my age shouldn't have."
"Ah, that's true. You will experience this more intensely with her younger sister. Lina's explanation left me slightly perplexed.
"Why?"
"She is already a general. To put things into perspective, the average age of the other generation is approximately 80. Leah's explanation caused me to raise an eyebrow at her.
"What? She is around 40 years old, and she is a general. Holy shit. That's insane." Oh, but you didn't mention the wife?" I said it thoughtfully.
"She passed away giving birth to Nyx, the youngest," Leah said, shaking her head.
"Ah, I see, so when will they be here?" I asked, knowing they already told me, but I wanted to confirm the time.
"Tomorrow morning."
"And why do they even want to meet me? I know I have talked with Chief White a few times, but that isn't enough reason for her dad to come meet me." I looked at them with skepticism.
"Well, that is another story, and it is not for the dining hall."
"Alright then, let's start eating."
"I am starving," I said, looking at the delicious food in front of me.
[An hour later]
"Ren, let's talk before you go," Uwe said just before I went out of the dining hall with Sara and Selena.
"Alright, you guys, take this with you. I'll see you guys later." I said, giving Sara boxes for our kitchen and the tablet I use to run the entire warehouse.
"Oh, you trust us with this," Sara asked, tilting her head at me.
"No. I trust Selena with it. I taught her everything she needed to know about how to use it." I said, looking sternly at Sara.
"What about me? Why can't you trust me?" Sara replied, deflated.
"Because you break stuff," I said simply, making everyone nod in agreement, knowing how clumsy Sara can be.
"Whatever, Sara, let's go. See you later, Ren," Selena said, dragging Sara out with her.
"So, how did you do it?"
"Do what?" I said, looking at Leah confusedly.
"Selena's attitude towards you is way better than it was two weeks ago."
"Oh, you meant that well. She made the same mistake I did by judging you guys." I replied, shrugging.
"You mean demons in general," Leah said with a playful grin.
"Yes, she had unpleasant experiences with quite a few halflings, so that's where it comes from. However, I do not consider myself to be a halfling. I chuckled and took a seat again.
"But how did you change her so much with so little?" Uwe asked with a raised eyebrow. Uwe asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't change her. She did it herself. I just pointed out that she is too quick to judge, like I was a few months ago." I explained.
"I see. That's good." So, are you going to call us "mother" and "father" yet?" Lina inquired, teasing me.
"No, like I said, I am not calling you guys that," I said, shaking my head.
"Tsk, worth a try," Lina said, shrugging.
"So, what do you want to talk about, Uwe?" I replied, eager to return to the main topic.
"Well, it's about the whites. They are dragons."
"I've got dragon scales. Is that why?" I asked, touching the scales under my eye.
"The scales themselves aren't the problem; the problem is that they are black." Leah continued.
"Okay, so what does that mean?" I said, tilting my head at
"So, you know, I've tried to keep it to myself, but these two are persistent," Leah said, staring daggers at Uwe and Lina.
"Well, explain."
"You see, you're a half-black dragon. No, you aren't going to have more scales than you already have." Leah sighed in relief, recalling that my entire back was also covered in scales. Although it felt wonderful and made me sleepy when someone gently rubbed it, it wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. We discovered this when Lina gave me a gentle massage. I slept like a little kid.
Additionally, that marked the final time anyone could touch them.
'She's lying about the scale part. I've observed an increasing number of changes in my body as I grow." I thought. I'll tell her another time.
"Hmm, so as you said, my exterior is the only part that is human," I said, uncertain how to feel.
"Did I tell you?" Leah remarked, unable to recall the conversation we had a few weeks ago.
"You do know I have ears," I said, laughing.
"… sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I came to accept it a while back already." I said it, although it was not the full truth.
"That's good to hear."
"Anyways, can we get back to the main topic? Why is it necessary for them to meet me due to my blood?"
"Well, black dragons don't exist anymore at all," Leah said awkwardly, looking down.
"So, I am an ancient being to you guys?" I said it sarcastically.
"That's actually true. But then again, you look like a half-human demon, so no one will believe that." Leah shrugged, still feeling a little strange.
"If that's true, then why are the whites coming?" I said I was getting worried about what might happen tomorrow.
"Because they were the family that killed all the black dragons 1,000 years ago," Leah said, making the words hang in the air.
"… What?"
"Don't worry. They won't try to kill you. Their actions resulted in a curse. Leah spoke, causing me to sigh with relief.
"Is it like a real curse?" I tilted my head in response to his words.
"Not only did the world turn its back on them due to their actions, but their closest allies also became their enemies. It took them 1000 years to get their honor back to what it is today." Uwe continued to explain.
"Huh, what an interesting story," I said, finding that there might be some holes in the story that she wasn't telling me.
"I know, right? I just thought about it." Leah said, smiling happily.
"So, it isn't true," I said, tilting my head at her.
"Black dragons indeed went extinct, but not the way I told you." Hahaha.
"Sigh, whatever, I am leaving," I said, standing up to leave.
"No, wait. The truth is, they hold dragon blood in high regard, and since Leah possessed some of it without their knowledge, they are deeply upset." Uwe quickly explained.
"So why do they want to meet me?"
"They just want to know who you are. They are the head of the dragon clan, so they need to document every dragon's existence. Half dragon or not." Uwe explained seriously.
"Ugh, that just sounds annoying," I said, grunting in annoyance.
"Official stuff is always annoying, Ren," Lina mutters, sighing to herself.
"So, they will be here tomorrow morning?" I asked again.
"Yes, we will bring them to your warehouse if you want."
"So they will be here before breakfast," I said, knowing how much Uwe values family time.
"Most probably. Duke White will need to get back to earth before the afternoon, so he doesn't have much time." Uwe explained, making me nod.
"Whatever," I said, walking out of the dining hall, annoyed.
I just want to relax for a moment. I thought I would be able to explore by next week. But no, a fucking brothel is coming to try and woo me. Something I doubt will fucking happen. And now, the Duke family wants to meet me. As I walked back to the warehouse, this thought crossed my mind.
A few minutes later, I found myself standing in front of the warehouse, or rather, under it. Looking up at it, I raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Why didn't I just teleport here?" I said it out loud. Not waiting another second, I teleported up to the garden gazebo, where Sara and Selena should be. After all, it's our hangout spot.
"Fuck! I hate when you teleport like that." Selena jumped in fright when I appeared in my chair under the gazebo.
"You're still not used to this? It has been 2 weeks already." I said, staring at her with a grin.
"It's not that simple." She said, grunting in frustration.
"Hey, Sara, why are you sleeping again?" I asked, noticing Sara once again dozing off on the grass.
"Because I am tired."
"But it's night already. Why don't you just go to your bed?"
"Because I don't want to..." she said, only to disappear from her spot.
KYAAAAA!!
"Did you just teleport her to her bed?" Selena looked at the warehouse where the scream originated.
"Yes."
"But you didn't touch her." She said this, looking back at me.
"Heh, it's a cool trick I have," I said, grinning at her horrid face.