David and his father, their hearts pounding guiltily, froze on the spot.
Who would knock on the door this late?
Could their commotion have alard a nearby forest Public Order Officer?
Facing the potential risk, Attilicia, the father, imdiately raised his tail and flicked a tail-signal to David, whose pupils had narrowed to slits. I'll go open the door.
He then morphed into the appearance of a Silver Dragon matron and climbed the wooden stairs to the first floor, feigning a deeply sleepy yawn.
"Who's there?"
Downstairs, as David was still tidying up the pile of alchemy equipnt, he heard Attilicia's sowhat incredulous exclamation:
"Shalaina? How did you get here?"
David's scales almost pricked up on the spot.
Especially when he saw a corner of the warehouse still piled with various clothes plucked from Shalaina's house—casually tossed there because the Portable Cave had limited space and he still needed to procure more materials—he took a deep breath and quickly stuffed them all back into the Portable Cave.
If this were discovered, given Shalaina's temper, he guessed the house might just explode on the spot tonight.
No, that's not right...
What if she thought his father had stolen all these? Would she then...
Take advantage of the situation?
PLOP.
Just as David entertained this dangerous thought—one that could potentially make his Dragon Mother cause another eruption of the Katjana volcano—he heard the soft thud of a fragrant body falling into an embrace.
Then ca Shalaina's voice—the fierce female Silver Dragon—her sobs affected, yet tinged with a drunken vulnerability:
"Attilicia, I'm so miserable! This morning, I was harassed by a Red Dragon ruffian, and by evening, my ho was burgled. All my clothes are gone, and the Tower Spirit and door locks are broken.
"I even lost the two giant stone golems that my father gave for protection!
"If my father finds out, he will certainly kill !
"I'm almost certain it was those perverts from the Sorrowful Wind Cult who did it this morning.
"The way they looked at was strange, and they even ca up to hit on . Thinking about it now makes sick!
"Attilicia... I'm so scared... I think they've targeted .
"I'm... holess now.
"Could I... stay at your place, just for one night?"
"Huh?" David and his father, one upstairs and one downstairs, stared in shock.
They had just been discussing how Shalaina, the female Silver Dragon, felt about Attilicia, and now she was practically delivering herself to his doorstep after a long journey?
She even got herself drunk in advance, deceiving herself as much as any dragon.
You have money to get drunk, but not enough to rent a room at a tavern? David thought.
Indeed, when won get impulsive, anything can be an excuse!
What David found even more unbelievable was that his befuddled father didn't imdiately refuse. His silence gave her the final bit of courage she needed.
"HICCUP! I just knew you were the kindest dragon, Attilicia! You wouldn't have the heart to let wander the streets, hehe."
Hearing her footsteps and the commotion, it sounded like she dragged an extrely heavy suitcase right inside, followed by a soft exclamation of curiosity:
"Why is it so late, and little David Uthos is still busy downstairs?"
David, who was hurriedly clearing up the ss in the basent, suddenly stiffened. He instantly realized.
She hadn't heard any noise; it was purely his own Dragon Might that had exposed his presence.
Between dragons, if not deliberately concealed, Dragon Might was like a beacon in the dead of night.
"Ah, Dad is teaching the basics of Alchemy. Tania's already asleep, and it's quieter in the basent." Just as the flustered Silver Dragon father was about to speak, David's deliberately calm voice ca from downstairs.
"Yes, yes, that's right," Attilicia quickly agreed.
This was exactly what Shalaina wanted. "Your family is so diligent and eager to learn! That's wonderful. Attilicia, could you help put my luggage in the basent warehouse too? Outside... HICCUP! There are still several boxes. I was afraid of running into more thieves, so I brought all my luggage with ."
When David heard she actually wanted to co down to the basent, his scalp tingled, and he desperately wanted to shout to the first floor:
Dad! Say sothing! Stall her!
If she found out, it would all be over!
After all, not every Silver Dragon had moral standards as flexible as his father's and younger sister's!
Especially this one.
If worse ca to worst, couldn't Dad just kiss her to shut her up?
A move like that would definitely keep a lovestruck Silver Dragon like her occupied for a few minutes.
Seeing that the female Silver Dragon was hell-bent on staying at their house tonight, and with his father unable to stand firm at this critical mont, David had no choice. He quickly used the Teleportation Portal he had copied from his father to shove all the things he had taken from her Mage Tower back where they belonged. To avoid suddenly vanishing from her perception while doing so, he had to send everything through to the other side in one go.
He didn't even need to stick his head in to know that her bedroom, hundreds of kiloters away, was now a complete ss.
After finishing, David closed the Teleportation Portal and erged from the basent, right into the astonished gazes of his Silver Dragon father and Shalaina.
"Good evening, Aunt Shalaina. I'm here to help you with your luggage."
With that, he ran straight out the door and began moving the mountainous pile of luggage to the basent, giving his bewildered Silver Dragon father a reassuring look on the way.
However, David's 'sudden' help made Shalaina, who had been feeling uneasy, beam with joy.
Just as I thought, Shalaina mused, being Silver Dragons themselves, young David and Tania naturally wouldn't be too opposed to another Silver Dragon like . Otherwise, they wouldn't have fled with Attilicia from the clutches of the Crimson Calamity, Pafila, to co live in seclusion on this new continent, would they? At first, it was a bit hard for to accept, but now that I've gotten to know them, these two Silver Dragon children are so adorable!
So, unable to contain her excitent any longer, Shalaina hugged David as he passed by with a load of luggage and planted a hefty kiss on his cheek, leaving a conspicuous red lipstick mark.
"Thank you! Little David."
David, the entire dragon, froze. He twisted his head to look at the beaming Shalaina. You lovestruck dragon, are you crazy?! Why kiss ? Go throw yourself at my dad! Serves you right that Mom snatched Dad away from you, his childhood sweetheart, first!
But a mont later, Shalaina slipped a dragon-style armlet David had never seen before onto his clawed wrist.
Greed
"Thank you, Sister Shalaina," David instantly bead, his form of address changing imdiately.
It was common knowledge that Magical Items carried by Spellcasters were generally of good quality.
"You're welco. Just a little sothing from your big sister," Shalaina winked at David.
The charm and warmth she displayed now were a stark contrast to the fierce, clearly 'hormonally imbalanced' Silver Dragon from that morning.
"..." Only Attilicia, the Silver Dragon father, stood by, watching blankly as two dragons began moving into his house.
I don't think I've agreed to this yet!
Looking at his son David, who had beco so eagerly helpful after receiving a bribe, Attilicia seethed inwardly.
This kid is pushing into the fray!
But what could he say now? He couldn't possibly throw out his childhood friend again, could he?
Most importantly, he understood the aning behind David's earlier glance:
I've cleaned up all the loose ends. If we let her stay, we won't have to risk looking for another Alchemy Room.
Fine, Attilicia conceded to himself, let's just call it that 'ultimate house swap' David was talking about.
So, unbeknownst to Shalaina, the luggage she brought—already stolen once—was, in a way, returned to the basent storage of the Uthos family.
Just as they finished moving the last of it, Shalaina, suddenly curious to see David's alchemy setup, stepped on sothing hard and cold. CRUNCH.
"What did you drop on the floor?" Shalaina stooped to pick it up.
Noticing, David and his father both looked over. When they saw the female centaur breastplate Shalaina held, both dragons felt their scales stand on end.
Damn it! How did we miss that thing?!
It's David's fault! / It's Dad's fault! Father and son simultaneously passed the buck in their minds.
Then they heard a tipsy Shalaina, her eyes narrowed seductively, look at Attilicia and say with a smile:
"I didn't expect you also bought Master Filibert Copperbeard's limited edition Centaur Armor Set! I used to have one too, but unfortunately, it was stolen. Attilicia, your tastes... they're getting more and more... peculiar."
She had wanted to use the word "perverted," but with little David nearby, she thought better of it.
Attilicia, his tension suddenly snapping, said with an air of weary resignation:
"Yes, well, young David here likes it. So, whenever he ets his goals in his Alchemy lessons, I wear it and perform a dance for him as a reward to encourage his continued efforts."
"..." David was dumbfounded. Dad, do you even realize what you're saying?!
"...Huh?" Shalaina's brain had completely short-circuited.
That night, despite the mutual ntal shock they'd endured, nothing happened between the two adult Silver Dragons.
Instead, Attilicia, acting on reflex, had Shalaina share a room with Tania, who was snoozing like a piglet.
He himself squeezed into a nest with his son David.
However, it was the sa for them. That night, apart from Tania, the three other dragons were all sleepless.
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