Chapter 255: Brother? (5)

Louis blinked.

For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard something and scratched his ear.

Am I just tired?

Over the past two years, he had taken on an uncharacteristically large amount of work.

From acquiring the Syron Territory to building the Tower of Wishes, even after delegating tasks to his subordinates, countless matters still required his personal attention.

He had never been one to actively seek out such responsibilities, but he had found a strange satisfaction in developing the territory and the tower, throwing himself into the work with surprising enthusiasm.

So diligently, in fact, that others would have been astonished.

…Am I really tired?

But how could a dragon like him possibly feel fatigued?

But why was he hearing such strange hallucinations?

Refusing to believe what he was hearing, Louis spoke into the communication stone. “What… what did you just say?”

A small voice replied, “[I said our son has a little sibling now!]”

It seemed this was no hallucination after all.

“Really…?”

Louis’s face flushed with shock as he leaped to his feet.

Knock, knock.

“Tower Lord, it’s Douglas. May I come in?”

Douglas entered the room, carrying a draft of the new product. ”…Tower Lord?”

Flap.

Only the snow-white curtains billowing in the wind greeted him.

Three years and ten months had passed since Louis declared his independence and began roaming the Winter and Autumn Continents.

Returning to Genelocer’s Lair after such a long absence, Louis found it remarkably unchanged.

The peaceful atmosphere was bathed in the warm glow of the spring sun.

And there, nestled within it, were his parents.

“Mother… Father?”

“Oh! Louis, you’re here!”

His father, Genelocer, greeted him with an enthusiastic wave.

“Louis, you’ve come?”

His mother, Valentina, smiled kindly and gently.

Everything was exactly as he remembered it before he left.

Except for one thing: the pure white bundle nestled in Valentina’s arms.

Chirp?

Louis could only gape in astonishment as the sky-blue eyes of the tiny, white-scaled baby dragon turned to gaze at him.

Louis, his mind reeling from the shock, stammered, “So… she’s… my little sister?”

“Exactly!” Genelocer nodded vigorously.

Louis stared at him in disbelief and shouted, “But you said you were having a little sister!”

“Huh? Right! See? We do now!”

“No, no… I mean, I thought you meant Valentina was pregnant! Not that she’d already given birth!”

Usually, when someone says they’re “having a baby,” they mean they’re pregnant! Why wait until after the baby’s born to tell me?!

Genelocer, looking sheepish, gently put his arm around Valentina’s shoulders. “We didn’t expect things to happen so quickly either… we just forgot to mention the pregnancy.”

”…How could you just forget something like that?” Louis asked, incredulous.

“Well… it just happened! Haha!” Genelocer chuckled sheepishly.

“Somehow, things just turned out this way…” Valentina added, lowering her head slightly, looking embarrassed.

Louis pressed on, ”…Didn’t you originally say you’d only have one child and raise them well?!”

A long time ago, Genelocer had told Louis they had no plans for another child. “We’ll just have you and raise you properly,” he had promised.

Genelocer scratched the back of his head in response to Louis’s question. “That was the plan… But after raising you, we thought it might be nice to have another. And after you left home, the house felt so empty… it got awfully lonely, you know?”

”…Just say it wasn’t part of the plan. Why are you making such a fuss?” Valentina said, rolling her eyes gently.

“Ahem!” Genelocer awkwardly cleared his throat.

Meanwhile, Valentina walked over to Louis and offered him the child she was holding.

“Hold him for a moment.”

“Ah…”

“He’s your big brother.”

Valentina wore a soft smile as she dangled the tiny hatchling from her hand. Louis hesitated, unsure how to hold such a fragile sibling. Then, mesmerized by the clear, sky-blue eyes gazing up at him, he reached out and gently took the hatchling into his arms.

Chirp?

The little hatchling flailed its short limbs, momentarily startled by the touch of the stranger’s hand.

Valentina gently scratched the hatchling’s head. “Ariana, this is your big brother.”

“Her name is Ariana? She’s a girl?” Louis asked, his eyes widening.

Valentina nodded, and Louis lifted Ariana closer to his face, meeting her gaze.

Chirp?

Ariana tilted her head curiously.

Apart from her eye color, the little hatchling was a perfect replica of Louis’s own childhood self.

After a long moment of gazing into Louis’s eyes, Ariana broke into a wide, beaming smile.

Chirp-chirp!

Her pure, innocent smile was so endearing that Louis couldn’t help but smile back.

He gently cradled Ariana in his arms and asked, “Since you can’t talk yet, you must have just hatched recently.”

“I hatched yesterday,” Ariana chirped.

“Yesterday?!” Louis repeated, startled. Then, noticing something was amiss, his eyes widened in surprise. “Wait a minute… mom, shouldn’t you be in the sleep device?”

Recalling his own hatching, Louis remembered that it was Genelocer, not Valentina, who had held him when he emerged from his egg. Valentina had already entered a deep sleep to minimize postpartum complications.

Now that I think about it, mom’s face…

Initially too flustered to notice, Louis now saw beads of cold sweat glistening on Valentina’s forehead. She looked utterly exhausted.

“Are you alright…?” Louis asked, his voice thick with worry.

Valentina smiled reassuringly. “I’m still holding on.”

“But why aren’t you in the sleep device?”

Genelocer answered the question.

“It’s because of your father.”

Louis looked at him, confused.

“I couldn’t protect Ariana’s egg because of my duties to the Elder Council. That’s why your mother guarded it all this time.”

“Why didn’t you ask the Twins’ Aunt for help?” Louis asked.

“Your mother refused,” Genelocer replied. “She didn’t want to entrust Ariana to anyone else.”

“Ah…”

“So your mother endured great hardship to protect Ariana’s egg, and she hatched safely. But now she’s reached her limit. She needs to enter the sleep device as soon as possible, possibly even today.”

Valentina added, “That’s not the only reason. I wanted to see our son’s face and let him hold his little sister. Oh, my children are just so beautiful.”

Valentina beamed as she gazed at her youngest daughter, nestled in her son’s arms. The two children looked so alike, one might mistake them for twins. Genelocer, agreeing with her, nodded contentedly beside her.

Louis sighed softly.

“Ha…”

His parents were truly a match made in heaven. Could there be another couple in the world so perfectly suited for each other? Their marital harmony was legendary, and perhaps that was why he now had a little sister. Louis shook his head, watching his parents still act like newlyweds.

Just then, Genelocer caught Valentina’s eye and awkwardly cleared his throat.

“U-um… Louis?”

Louis’s eyebrows twitched at Genelocer’s call.

Louis?

Genelocer usually called him “Louis” or “Son.” Why was he using his full name now?

Louis chuckled. “What is it?”

“Huh?”

“You want to ask me for a favor, don’t you?”

”…How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. So? What is it?”

Genelocer fidgeted before answering. “Well… Ariana’s been born, but this old man hasn’t quite finished his work yet.”

”…”

“So, um…”

“You want me to look after Ariana while you’re gone?”

“That’s right!” Genelocer nodded vigorously.

“Ariana’s still too young to take to Silver Flower Castle…”

“What?! Even with a newborn hatchling, that damned Elder Council won’t make an exception?”

“Exactly! What’s more important than spending time with my own daughter? That blasted Council can wait! Sob!”

Genelocer, who had been venting his frustration to Louis, clutched his side.

Valentina, who had nudged her husband in the ribs, spoke on his behalf. “Normally, the Elder Council wouldn’t keep your father away like this, but it seems something urgent has come up. Our family matters, of course, but remember that our family’s safety depends on the stability of dragon society. Would you mind looking after your little sister for a while?”

“Hmm… how long is ‘a while’?”

Genelocer’s face lit up at the question. “This dad will finish up quickly! It won’t take more than a year!”

A year wasn’t a long time by dragon standards. Louis, who had feared it might be longer, found it acceptable. Even if he hadn’t, what choice did he have? He couldn’t possibly leave this little child alone.

“Alright. I’ll look after Ariana until you return, Father.”

“R-really? Thank you!”

“No need for thanks. She’s my little sister.”

Valentina and Genelocer both looked deeply moved. Then, Genelocer asked, his voice brimming with anticipation:

“And, well…”

”…?”

“The thing is… your little sister came about so suddenly, didn’t she?”

“That’s right.”

“So, we weren’t prepared…”

“Prepared for what?”

”…Medicinal herbs.”

”…”

An incredulous look returned to Louis’s face.

And it was understandable. Dragons typically spend years meticulously collecting medicinal herbs to nurture their hatchlings, carefully preparing for parenthood. But Ariana was an unplanned child, arriving without warning. How could they possibly have been fully prepared for raising her?

Yet, the couple knew of one being who had long been hoarding medicinal herbs, squirreling them away like acorns…

Louis narrowed his eyes and asked, “So… you want the medicinal herbs I’ve been hoarding?”

“Ahem.” Knowing how meticulously Louis had been collecting those herbs, Genelocer looked embarrassed. “I-I, your father, will return them twofold, no, threefold when you get married!”

Was it just my imagination, or did that sound like the same old line parents used when they swiped their kids’ New Year’s money back in the day?

Louis chuckled softly. “Make it fourfold.”

“A-absolutely!”

“Oh, and one more thing…”

Louis retrieved a small box from his pocket dimension and handed it to Valentina. “Take this before you go into the sleep device.”

“Louis?”

“You look exhausted.”

“Louis…”

Valentina gently accepted the box Louis offered.

Valentina couldn’t possibly miss the pure, radiant energy of the Faster-than-Light attribute pulsing within the box. It likely contained a potent medicinal herb. But more than its value, Valentina was deeply touched by Louis’s thoughtfulness. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she hugged her son tightly.

Beep!

Ariana, nestled between Valentina and Louis, let out a cheerful cry.

“How could this mother ever leave behind such beautiful children?” Valentina murmured, her heart overflowing with happiness.

“Son? What about Father? What’s Father’s share?” Genelocer demanded, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation.

Louis casually retorted, “Fathers are strong, you know.”

Genelocer slumped dejectedly at those words.

Squeak!

Ariana burst into peals of laughter, finding his reaction utterly amusing.

Seeing his parents unchanged after so long, Louis couldn’t help but chuckle.

The next day, Valentina, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating, urgently departed for a secluded retreat prepared for her postpartum recovery. After seeing his wife off with Louis, Genelocer also left for Silver Flower Castle.

Louis was now alone with Ariana.

”…What on earth just happened?”

Just as Louis stood there dumbfounded, suddenly thrust into the role of sole caregiver,

Buzz-buzz.

The communication stone vibrated.

Louis picked it up, and a booming voice erupted from it.

“Louis! Where are you?! Where did you go?!”

As expected, it was Kani.

Louis replied with a tone that was half incredulous and half boastful, “Hey, I… I have a little sister now.”

Meanwhile, at the moment Louis found himself alone with Ariana, somewhere on the Spring Continent:

Scritch-scratch… Scritch-scratch…

After nearly four years of relentless work, a colossal figure had finally taken shape.

A form composed entirely of black lines.

It was none other than a dragon, towering well over thirty meters tall.

Yet its eyes remained unfinished, its gaze unformed.

And then, at last:

Click-click… Click-click…

Black dots began to fill the dragon’s eyes.